I pulled out the new Google Patent the other day to try muddling my way through it (also pulled up Graywolf’s analysis). The domain points kept my attention, but particularly the name server area.

From the patent:

[0101] Also, or alternatively, the age, or other information, regarding a name server associated with a domain may be used to predict the legitimacy of the domain. A “good” name server may have a mix of different domains from different registrars and have a history of hosting those domains, while a “bad” name server might host mainly pornography or doorway domains, domains with commercial words (a common indicator of spam), or primarily bulk domains from a single registrar, or might be brand new. The newness of a name server might not automatically be a negative factor in determining the legitimacy of the associated domain, but in combination with other factors, such as ones described herein, it could be.

I remember asking on a seo/webmaster forum if the host you use could affect your search rankings. I was told no, and the information available at the time seemed like that answer was reasonable. But I think we can see from this that if the host you’re using doesn’t effect you now - Google does intend to use that in determining rankings at some point. They’re defining ‘good name servers’ and ‘bad name servers’ to judge the legitimacy of domains.

You want a webhost that:

Hosts a variety of sites that use numerous domain registrars (not all from GoDaddy, Namecheap, etc.).

Is established somewhat as a “good” host (no history of hosting spammy sites such as porn-pills-casino).

A new host isn’t a negative, but if it mainly hosts domains from the same registrar or hosts the p-p-c types of sites, it could be a negative.

My verdict:

It looks like the webhost you use will play a part in Google’s SERPs. I’m wondering if the older, more established hosts that run a clean place can start charging a more premium price for their services. It will be interesting to watch what effect Google’s new patent will have an on the hosting business, if any.

Network Linking:

Not only will your networked sites all need to be on different class Cs, but it also looks like you’ll want them on different nameservers altogether. Plus the domains you use in your network will need to be registered to different people and addresses. And those addresses will need to be valid (google map technology as pointed out in Graywolf’s info). And I don’t think the private whois will save the day since Google is a registrar.

Crikey this gets complicated!

You can use this Power WHOIS Service that can not only tell you the IP of a host, but how many websites are hosted on it, as well as what domains are on the server (click the number hosted). Good tool, loads of info and free with no registration required.