404 Page Advertising..

Well, I just thought of a maybe good way to get new clients, that was sort of inspired by HostGator, but not close to what they did.

How about?
A company creating an universal 404 page that will benefit them by displaying a special coupon for new sign ups? Keep in mind, that this will be able to changed on the users end, and we will also assist them.


Do you think this is unethical? Yes or No, why?

Oh, I think it's a great way to get signups.
</sarcasm> But go ahead and do it :)

Oh, I think it's a great way to get signups.
</sarcasm> But go ahead and do it :)

Looking for serious comments please. Why don't you think its a good way?

IMHO - I don't think this is a good way to get new clients. Yes, you will end up with new clients - no doubt about it - but you are going to get a whole herd of angry customers coming your way shortly afterwards.

Why not offer all of your current customers a voucher and give them so much off there next payment for every new client they get to signup? That would keep your customer's happy whilst gaining new clients.

Well its just when I am looking to buy something on the internet, I mean really ready to buy, there is nothing more that I enjoy seeing than a good ol' fashion 404 page chock full of hosting coupons...

Think about targeting a group of people who are interested in your services instead of just blindly force feeding ads/coupons down a visitor's throat.

IMHO - I don't think this is a good way to get new clients. Yes, you will end up with new clients - no doubt about it - but you are going to get a whole herd of angry customers coming your way shortly afterwards.

Why not offer all of your current customers a voucher and give them so much off there next payment for every new client they get to signup? That would keep your customer's happy whilst gaining new clients.

Good point, we have WHMCS and we are also taking advantage of the affiliate system, but can't be guaranteed.

What if..
We contacted every customer, and told them we are doing it, and if they don't want it done, we will remove it for them?

What about those who don't actively check there email accounts? Then one day take a look at there website to see your advertisement on there error pages?

If you seriously are going to be looking into this as an option, then setup a survey, send it to all your customers and ask for there opinions before you even attempt to go ahead with any plans you have.

Any new clients you might receive off of this too probably won't outweigh the number of clients your irritate by 'disturbing' them asking if they will partake in your plan...

Thanks, I was thinking about it, but nothing is definite at this stage.

I would definitely try that survey suggestion. Thanks

All I have to contribute is that it's a horribly dumb idea. It's equally as bad as companies setting up their sites for 100% pure SEO purposes, littering them with keywords to get traffic.

Word of mouth is the way to go :)

I personally think it's a bad idea, people pay for hosting to get away from ads!

Maybe set up an affiliate program where it is the users choice?

We put ads on the 404 pages of our free customers, however we avoid it with paying customers. If I registered for a paid account and it ran its own ads I'd be gone right away, the user is paying you already and shouldn't have to support you in other ways (IMHO).

Not a Good Idea, my friend.

Untargetted ads are useless. People trying to reach a certain website and end up getting shoved to a "buy our stuff now!!!" page are not only going to be irritated...but they'll probably report it to the website owner, who will also be irritated. So, with your scheme to gather a couple of signups a month, you'll probably end up losing more than that.

BAD idea.

--Tina

IMHO - I don't think this is a good way to get new clients. Yes, you will end up with new clients - no doubt about it - but you are going to get a whole herd of angry customers coming your way shortly afterwards.
Hmm, I don't have problems with that when its done very subtle, unlike our friend hostgator ;)
I think the way Servage did it (http://opelsport.nl/asdasdasd), is quite acceptable.

As a customer, It depends...

Free hosting:
Absolutely! You gotta pay your bills some how

Paid hosting:
Hell no! I'm paying the bill, at least thats how its supposed to be. Bye-bye...

As a customer, It depends...

Free hosting:
Absolutely! You gotta pay your bills some how

Paid hosting:
Hell no! I'm paying the bill, at least thats how its supposed to be. Bye-bye...
That's how I'd view it...
but, even if the Paid hosting had advertisements, couldn't they change it via cPanel or their control panel?

We leave our customers 404's alone... They are able to customize them for themselves, and I think that is pretty much the way it should be.

Unless you are running a freebie host, I would say this is a bad idea.