Web Hosting Marketing -- How To Get Your First Client
By: Bedrich Omacka
Submitted: 2008-10-22 11:16:10 | Word Count: 791
If you just started new web hosting company your main task will be to get your first client. In this article you will find some solutions which can help you to get in this very competitive business.
Your business plan should cover both short term and long term strategy. We will talk more about short term strategy because you need to get your first clients as quickly as possible. In the beginning you have to pay monthly fees for the server or reseller hosting plan and it is very important to avoid losses caused by paying for unused web space. Anyway, when you are implementing short term strategy you should always try to do it in the way which will help you in the long run too.
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First solution is advertising in web hosting forums. Just google for phrases like web hosting forum or web hosting board to find some of them. Join 3 - 5 forums which allow members to advertise their services for free. Also make sure that you can set up the signature which will be displayed under each post you make. The signature should be visible no matter if you are logged in or not and should be do-follow. This way you will not only get targeted traffic but also improve pagerank of your website. Before you create your first advertising thread read the forum rules. Some forums require about 10 - 15 posts before you can post to the advertising area. Make quality posts -- try to answer questions of your potential customers. You should choose carefully where to post. If you will answering questions like How much web space do I need for my photo gallery you will probably get more targeted traffic through your signature link then if you will answer questions of other web hosts like Which payment processor do you prefer.
Another way how to get small instant traffic together with SEO effect is submission to the web hosting directories. People who look for new web host usually want to compare a few companies before they sign up for any. This is the reason why web hosting directories are so popular and why you should submit your company to most of them. 99% of them allow free submission and link directly to your site so you will get some links to your site too.
The first two ways was good for those who have limited budget and can not pay for advertising. If you have some money to spend try to invest them in advertising. You can use PPC systems like google adwords. Put the tracking code on the page which is displayed when the order form is submitted and payment received. This will give you control over the costs. For example if your profit from single sale is $20 and your conversion ratio 10% you can spend up to $2 for every click. There are many advertising solutions on cost per click bases. You can try a few networks which pay the commission to their publishers who display ads on their websites. The advantage of such networks is the possibility to buy advertising space across the whole network. You can target your ad to webmaster related sites without contacting the site owners.
Very popular way how to increase the sales is running affiliate program. It is very cost effective solution because you pay only commission for the sales. This way you can never lose. It is possible to buy php script or join some of the affiliate networks. The first solution is cheaper, the second one more comfortable. If you join affiliate network you will have to pay about 10 - 30% extra but you will not need to send payments personally to every affiliate. If you join the network with a lot of affiliates it will be easier to attract them for your offer then surfing around and contacting every site owner.
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