I saw this question come up today and it is a popular question on the forums…
Can I use Search Engine Cloaker with Free Web Hosting?
The answer to this question is yes, but would I recommend it, NO! There are a number of issues with running SEC on free web hosting. I will try to discuss a few of them here, but I am sure that there are others.
The first issue has to do with having full control over your hosting. You have probably heard the expression “There is no such thing as a free lunch”. There is also no such thing as free hosting. The free host usually makes money by putting advertising on your website and hoping that the ads make more money than the bandwidth expenses. If your cloaked site isn’t making an money for the free web hosting service, they are likely to drop your website and you will be out of luck.
Another issue is that I have seen a lot of bugs and limitations on SEC caused by free hosting. Sometimes free hosting doesn’t offer .htaccess or limits other things you can do with SEC. These limitations severely limit the full potential of SEC and I promise you that you will make more money buy hosting SEC yourself on a shared server.
I personally have never used a free host, but I have heard a lot of horror stories. With hosting prices so cheap these days it just doesn’t make sense to use SEC on a free hosting service. Free hosting services are alright for personal websites or other websites you don’t care too much about, but I wouldn’t put any money sites on free hosting.
Do yourself a favor and pay $6 a month for unlimited domains over at DreamHost.