Failover hosting essentially consists of two separate servers that have a “heartbeat” cable running between them. The main server, which normally hosts the website and stores data, sends electronic signals to the secondary server. Should the main server fail, these signals will cease, thus causing the secondary server to immediately take over the task of hosting the website. Each server is updated simultaneously, so that they always have the same type of data. This is called redundancy, and it is used to keep one server from getting ahead of the other and thus losing track of data.

Failover hosting can have a number of other benefits and features. Occasionally, there is a third server called a “spare parts” server, which is used to decrease downtime while failback is being performed. Failback refers to the process of restoring the original server to its normal capacity after it has failed. The second server may also be able to send a page to a technician or support center in order to get someone on the scene quickly to failback the original machine. Using failover in your hosting service is an excellent way to cut down on the amount of time your site is down during maintenance or technical problems, and will ensure that you don’t lose any important information in the case of any technical problems.

There are a lot of things that you will want to avoid losing, particularly if you run a business online, and failover hosting is simply the best way to prevent that. There are several ways to use failover, as it might be automated or be initiated by a human technician, but in the end it serves as the only way to not only back up data but increase overall downtime.

Meta tags.

What meta tags do is remarkable: they help you draw in visitors who are looking for specific things. The typical syntax of a meta tag is as follows:

Let’s take a look at an example of a description. This is what search engines would show to people as a brief synopsis of your website:

Here, you have the name of the business, and a brief slogan. This will help draw in customers, because if a potential buyer wants sprockets at low prices (and who doesn’t?), he’ll definitely click on a link with that description! And there’s your traffic.

Perhaps the most important meta tag is the one pertaining to keywords. These are the words that you want to draw people into your site with. The idea is to pull up your website when people search specific keywords. Here’s an example:

Separated by commas, there are several keywords, all of which pertain directly to the business: the type of product they sell, the reason customers would want to buy from them, and a value-added service: quick delivery!

There are many types of meta tags available, and you can use as many or as few as you wish, depending upon the needs of your website. When used properly, meta tags can increase your incoming traffic significantly, when compared to sites that don’t use meta tags (and surprisingly, there are some that don’t!).

If you need help, there are sites that can help you create meta tags, and then “validate” them, or verify that they are formatted correctly.

Meta tags can be a powerful tool for your website, whether that site is for your business, or your own personal pursuits. Using them correctly can increase your traffic, ad revenue, and rankings in search engines.

So how does one choose the best host? Here are some points to consider, and how we fit into the picture.

Customer Service: The last thing you want is to watch your website go offline, and have no one available to help you. At HostingZoom, that won’t happen. We offer several methods of support: trouble ticket, chat, telephone, and we even offer a Support Manager who can address issues if you feel that you’re not getting the attention you deserve.

Reliability: Obviously, you need your host to be reliable. You want your website up 24/7, right? We offer clustered failover hosting, which means that if one server goes offline, your website can stay up. With most hosts, if the server that your website is hosted on goes offline, your website goes with it. That’s not the case with HostingZoom, which means more uptime for your website or blog.

Trust: We understand that some customers may be hesitant to trust a company that they don’t physically visit. We’re located in Houston, Texas, and are accredited by the Better Business Bureau. We are not a “fly by night” company; our parent company, Landis Holdings, Inc., has been around for 11 years. Unfortunately, there are quite a few “hosting companies” run by teenagers out of their bedrooms. While their desire to run a business at such a young age is admirable, your website needs to be in the hands of a company with experience, and resources.

Ease of use: What good is a hosting company if you can’t use their services easily? At HostingZoom, we make the entire process easy for you. In fact, we’ll even help you move from your old host, as long as you use Cpanel as your control panel environment. Not many hosts offer that service!

Here at HostingZoom, we care about all of our customers, and when you sign up for service with us, you’re more than just a number. We think that when you apply the factors mentioned above to any host you may be considering, you’ll see that HostingZoom is the smart move!