Im considering advertising on hosting directories, i would like to spend around $125-$250. Something like host search.com's show case would be good but there are $500/month, i e-mailed them to see if they would let me advertise for 1-2 weeks but they are not replying. Anyone got any ideas where i can advertise thats in my budget and will get me a reasonbale return?

Thanks

I'm not sure if your going to be able to find an effective advertisment site to offer you the price your looking for. And if you do find a company that will do it for under 300/month, than I would be worry about how many hits they get and if it will be just money you throw away. Look at the big sites like webhostdir.com, hostindex.com, tophost.com etc. . There is a site called, cgi-resources.com , go here http://cgi.resourceindex.com/ads/ They get a huge impression per month and have some small ad prices. like 5k impressions for $110. but that many impressions can go in like a week. We did advertising with them for 250k impressions. we found it was effective.

A couple of owners of web hosting directories visit the forum (as you are probably aware), and you might find an email from them waiting for you soon...

Originally posted by Chicken
A couple of owners of web hosting directories visit the forum (as you are probably aware), and you might find an email from them waiting for you soon...
I'd be interested in one of those emails:D

I'd be interested in one of those emails

Me too! :D

Send one my way.

I know FindSP lurks these boards, anybody else?
Give me a shout!

Hint!! Hint!!

I Love Email!

WINK!! WINK!!

is there any host here that have can tell me about their experiences in advertising with host direftories?

i've always been against advertising in hosting dir's but i am considering it as of late. if anyone wants to send me some info on it go for it :cool:

Originally posted by mmhosting
I'm not sure if your going to be able to find an effective advertisment site to offer you the price your looking for. And if you do find a company that will do it for under 300/month, than I would be worry about how many hits they get and if it will be just money you throw away. Look at the big sites like webhostdir.com, hostindex.com, tophost.com etc. . There is a site called, cgi-resources.com , go here http://cgi.resourceindex.com/ads/ They get a huge impression per month and have some small ad prices. like 5k impressions for $110. but that many impressions can go in like a week. We did advertising with them for 250k impressions. we found it was effective.

We are thinking of advertising on that site - how is the click through rate there?

We've used CGI resources in the past, and they had pretty good CPM rates but the clickthroughs we'rnt that great.

grr, so the only way to get traffic to host dirs, is google high rankings and CPC campaign these days??

I thought you had a campaign all sorted with a network? Has that fallen through?

BTW: Given the censorship risk on this thread, from you know who, it might be best to take this discussion somewhere less crowded

;)

Yea, I agree.. this is getting too much like Animal farm...

<<MOD EDIT:>>
Look people, I don't know why the forum guidelines would apply to every thread except this one? Please contact anyone interested off-board, thank you.
<</MOD EDIT>>

Originally posted by James Cross
BTW: Given the censorship risk on this thread, from you know who, it might be best to take this discussion somewhere less crowded

Originally posted by FindSP.Com
Yea, I agree.. this is getting too much like Animal farm...

Hmm, well I see you guys appreciated that I emailed you *privately* about the issue, enough to make a public comment about it. Whatever...

Originally posted by Chicken

Hmm, well I see you guys appreciated that I emailed you *privately* about the issue, enough to make a public comment about it. Whatever...

I think this is a case of shooting the messenger.....But what I don't understand is the support that is given to blatantly ridiculous rules

Originally posted by James Cross
But what I don't understand is the support that is given to blatantly ridiculous rules

I agree completely. This is a thread about advertising in hosting directories. The hosting directories should absolutely be able to respond to it. Quite frankly I'd *much* rather see a response from a hosting directory describing what they can do than I like to see a whole mess of "me too" posts from hosting company owners who are reading the thread and want to see the information. It's absurd.

Which is worse - a couple posts from hosting directories posting the information they have for everyone to see, or dozens of posts from hosting companies saying "yeah, e-mail that to me, too, please"?

I'm sorry, but I do think that this forum has some pretty silly rules, and this is one of them.

Jason

I'm sure you can find other forums with less restrictive rules.
If you don't like the rules here, there is a forum to request changes.

"Without order; there is chaos"

Originally posted by Jason Ellis
I agree completely. This is a thread about advertising in hosting directories. The hosting directories should absolutely be able to respond to it. ... I'm sorry, but I do think that this forum has some pretty silly rules, and this is one of them.

Jason

OK, I give up. Jason, which rule is the silly one?

First I'd like to apologize to Alan for the rest of this post, as it has nothing to do with his thread nor request which was as follows:

Originally posted by SplashHost.com
Im considering advertising on hosting directories, i would like to spend around $125-$250. Something like host search.com's show case would be good but there are $500/month, i e-mailed them to see if they would let me advertise for 1-2 weeks but they are not replying. Anyone got any ideas where i can advertise thats in my budget and will get me a reasonbale return?

If Alan was looking for hosting for $x-$x/mo and emailed HOSTABC looking for some sort of deal or discount, but hadn't heard back and asked if anyone knew of any other hosts who offered plans in the $x-$x range, etc., we wouldn't allow hosts to post responses. Mind you, the thread has been edited and I'm not talking about the posts by James and Lonny above, those are fine. (I think you realize this but for you or others who might be confused).

He then goes on to post:

is there any host here that have can tell me about their experiences in advertising with host direftories?

Any host... Now, I'm willing to hear the explanation but why would we allow owners of hosting directories to respond, introduce themselves, explain that they have many
advertising opportunities to choose from, post testimonials and links to testimonials, links to media kits, etc. ???

Really, I'm not trying to be the evil overlord moderator, but I don't see this as a grey area and I don't understand why the guidelines don't apply, nor what rule is silly. I don't mind an opposing view, but I really just don't understand your position.

No, we don't allow members to publish or discuss any information regarding their product or services, suggesting their own services, direct others to any pages at their own commercial website, etc., there seem to be plenty of forums that allow this and frankly, I don't even bother to go to them anymore due to lack of any actual information (just hosts posting 'contact me', or listing plans).

Again, what I'm really looking for is a reasonable explanation as to what you feel is silly, and why you feel this way. Feel free to post here (or better yet, email me), and again Alan, I apologize.

There is no need to apologize chicken becasue you are completely right. I was looking for experiences from other hosts and not wanting the owners of host directories replying with details of what they can offer.

Originally posted by Chicken
He then goes on to post:

Any host... Now, I'm willing to hear the explanation but why would we allow owners of hosting directories to respond, introduce themselves, explain that they have many
advertising opportunities to choose from, post testimonials and links to testimonials, links to media kits, etc. ???


OK, I'll take your point there. You're right - he was in fact asking other hosts for opinions. And yes, according to the rules then no directory owners should respond. I'll agree with you there. BUT...

A couple of posts down, you yourself posted:

A couple of owners of web hosting directories visit the forum (as you are probably aware), and you might find an email from them waiting for you soon...

Which then caused SoftWareRevue, DefHosting, RunOfTheMill, and Haze to all post messages saying they'd like to get that e-mail, too.

The problem I have is that you, as moderator, were also an instigator by posting a post that was off-topic, and then because of that post four other people posted off-topic posts. So at this point there were 5 off-topic posts in the thread already.

My point that I was trying to make in my post was that I'd *much* rather see a post from a hosting directory (or even 5 hosting directories) in a thread than see a bunch of "me too" posts cropping up all over the place. The posts from the hosting directories would be useful to most people here. The "me too" posts are just a waste of space and time.

I do not disagree that the original poster asked for feedback from web hosting companies, and I do not disagree that given that original post that directories shouldn't post in this thread. But once you, yourself, a moderator, opened the door for the off-topic shenanigans that soon followed, then all bets are off.

Trust me - I would *not* want WHT to be unmoderated, I think that would be a horrible situation. But it is a fact of life on a forum that threads change - what was posted in the first message may not have anything at all to do with what the thread eventually becomes. And when a moderator himself has a hand in changing the nature of a thread, as in this one, I think it's just plain silly to then go ahead and try to prevent posts that would have been on-topic to the course of the discussion if not on-topic to the original intentions of the original poster.

Anyway, that's just my opinion. Don't get me wrong - I think that, for the most part, the staff of WHT are doing a great job here. I think of all the moderators you, Chicken, are most consistent with your enforcement of policies, and that is definitely appreciated.

Thanks,

Jason

That's the kind of feedback I need, thanks for your input and detailed explanation. :)

I just thought i would let everyone know that i took out an advert on webhostdir.com it cost $240 for a month approximately.

Ive just been looking at my stats and there have been 86 impressions and 7 clicks(some of them were me) in 2 days. thats 43 impression a day which works out at 1290 impressions a month, which is the equivelant of a $186 cpm :bawling:

Looks like i would of been better paying per 1000 impressions.

Hello Splashost.com

I just want to say that showcase advertising isn't similar to banner advertising, the CPM inside the showcase is extremely high because of the quality of traffic you get from there.

You have: people who are only interested in a certain hosting plan, going to the showcase where they are given a brief explanation about your company, and only if they are interested they click on it so it's different than banners.

Now, I've noticed that you began your campaign on the weekend where the traffic is lower than usual, most of the webmasters are out and not looking for hosting on Sunday :o

Now, although WebHostDir.com is one of my competitors, I must say that these results are quite standard. BTW remember that after you'll get some sign ups because of the showcase, you'll get your money back and expand your customer base which is very important because it gives you more advertising: word of mouth...


Good luck :)

ok, ill just need to wait and see how it goes.

I'd like to add a few tips on this.

From past expirences with advertising I've found the best way is to buy a CPC program not a CPM program. With a CPC program you are only paying for results.

Maybe you should also look into a program which you can buy off http://www.cj.com

CJ.com doesn't accept CPC anymore, besides there are too many ways to cheat, so I would recommend to do it CPA.

But still, in my opinion advertising on Host Directories and portals is the best method for hosting companies.

I do not know where the discussion started to breakdown. I was browsing this particular thread because I am a host directory of sorts and people who advertise or trade links is always welcome.

However it seemed the conversation went from intelligent to discussing the 'rules of engagement' on this forum. Though at times I do not agree with all of the applications for the rulings, objectivity is always foremost and you cannot start making exceptions. Private email of a subject such as this suits me just fine, although I have to work more.

Anyway back to the subject. It was asked how good is advertising on a Host Directory and I will say this it all depends on your banners and the traffic of the directory, as with banner advertising on any other Web site. Advertising on directories does however allow a more focused clientele. People who visit directories are either visiting for two reasons:

To find a new host.
To browse the directory's resources.

So, if you are a Web Host you will find it advantageous to advertise with Host directories because it hits your target audience.

In order to have a truly effective ad campaign, you must first have effective banners that make the customer want to click on them. Also swapping banner ads to keep them fresh and updated will put you at the top of the click through lists. Speaking from experience, advertisers who have a question that goes unanswered on the banner entices people to click on them. When I look at site statistics it is usually the ones who keep their ads fresh and new, that get more clicks and gain something from the advertising.

I hope this helps.

James

I've always grown up around the punk mentality that moderators, rules etc. of any sort are a bad thing. However, in this case I have to go with Chicken. This place would be nothing but a big advertising board if he let people run willy-nilly (is that the proper term)? In my opinion, it's the only way to get a real/somewhat unbiased viewpoint.


Now, everyone go to my website.



Antonio_LA

Hey Chicken, how about locking this thread, I think we've reached an understanding.

Besides this thread is not about moderation, but advertising in hosting directories.. so most of the posts are off topic/

Dont lock the thread, just remove the unrelated posts.

Agree Splash, BTW how is the campaign with WebHostDir.com going?

So far 230 impressions, and 17 clicks in 3 1/2 days. No sales as of yet, maybe i need to improve the site.

Maybe...

Try to add some style sheets andmore dynamic fonts? Like Tahoma, and Verdana, and Arial Helveteca or something like that

I was just visiting your website and went to the order page and got an error in internet explorer. Perhaps that might have something to do with it?

Originally posted by SplashHost.com
So far 230 impressions, and 17 clicks in 3 1/2 days. No sales as of yet, maybe i need to improve the site.

Originally posted by Haze
I was just visiting your website and went to the order page and got an error in internet explorer. Perhaps that might have something to do with it?



fixed :)

heh, it's a good thing you found out about it. BTW, looks like you have a good CTR, i hope that you'll get some sales now that the page is fixed.

that page was only broke for a few hours after me making an update, it was a typo in my javascript.:rolleyes:

maybe I don't have to ask this :)
but how much are you paying for the showcase in webhostdir?
If you can answer me openly, can you send me an email?

Thanks in advance

Originally posted by SplashHost.com
Dont lock the thread, just remove the unrelated posts.

Heh, well I agree although in looking through the thread, there are only about 3 or 4 posts that are actually related to the first post :D Finally, at the bottom of page two, I think Splash posted what Alan was hoping to get in the first place. Might as well just leave it be and see if anyone else adds to the discussion (or Alan is welcome to start another thread and I'll remove this one, or leave it, or whatever floats your goat).

<<MOD EDIT:>>
John,

Participants may not use the forum to publish or discuss any information regarding their product or services. This includes suggesting your own services.
Participants may not use the Forum for commercial gain.
Participants may not use the Forum to direct others to any pages at their own commercial website, including informational pages.
<</MOD EDIT>>