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We are about to launch our web site in 3 languages: German .de, French .fr and Spanish .es

All ccTLDs point to one server with one IP address. When I set the PTR record for this IP I can only input one common domain name though.

Now, I was wondering:
Is it better for SEO to add two additional IPs, so that each TLD has its own IP and a dedicated PTR records?

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    Nope, not at all Aug 18, 2014 at 14:35
  • This all speaks to domain name quality/trust scores. Google does look at whether a domain name resolves to a dedicated IP address and whether the PTR record resolves back. This is because for spamdexing issues, dedicated IP address sites with PTR often exhibit a higher quality/trust score and less likelihood of spamdexing compared to shared hosted sites (for example). While this does not effect individual PageRank for pages, it will effect how pages perform in the SERPs compared to other competitive sites when all things (PageRank and backlinks) are nearing equal.
    – closetnoc
    Aug 18, 2014 at 16:35
  • @closetnoc Do you have a reference or study that shows how using a dedicated IP impacts domain trust? I don't think this is even considered any longer - except maybe spam cases. Aug 18, 2014 at 16:43
  • I would have to do a search. I got this from internal Google documents that were shared with me in end of 2012/beginning of 2013. Again, this only effects site quality/trust scores which may have little effect except when all other things are equal- hence the idea that it really does not have an effect which would be true most of the time. For spandexing, these are factors of course. These factors along with registration data are clear indicators of site quality. For the OP, I would not necessarily recommend taking the extra step. I just wanted to put out a point often ignored.
    – closetnoc
    Aug 18, 2014 at 17:05
  • @jeffatrackaid There was at one point that people believed that Google used dedicated IP addresses in ranking, but I do not believe that was ever a fact. I take Google statements with salt often because what they may say is relatively true but not absolutely true- true under certain circumstances. You also have to pay attention to the question and answer very carefully. Often the question is answered within a narrow view and people take it with a broader view which would be misleading. Matt Cutts is often quoted, but often answers within a narrower view. It helps to remember this.
    – closetnoc
    Aug 18, 2014 at 17:35

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There's little evidence that dedicated IP addresses rank better than shared IP addresses.

In fact, I think Google's said shared hosting is fine.

I've never seen any mention of PTR impact on SERPS. I can only imagine they care about such things if you are using black-hat tactics.

I would need to find the reference, but if you are doing GeoIP targeting and trying to rank in local search (google.co.uk, .it ...) then where you host may have an impact.

Update

I wanted to add these references as I had to answer a similar questions for a customer today.

https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/182192?hl=en

https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/62399?hl=en&ref_topic=6002454

http://googlewebmastercentral.blogspot.com/2010/03/working-with-multi-regional-websites.html

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  • Dedicated IP address only counts toward domain quality/trust which has an extremely minor effect (normally) in ranking pages down the line, however, does have a significant enough effect on domain quality/trust scoring. I always recommend paying attention to domain quality/trust scores FIRST(!) because they are often ignored and can make a real difference against competition and sometimes whether a page places well in the SERPs at all. Remember to think of PageRank and SERP placement as two different functions. You can have PageRank and still not place well in the SERPs.
    – closetnoc
    Aug 18, 2014 at 15:46

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