We've started a webhosting company which sells web, reseller hosting as well as other services.

The main issue is getting those customers. We have signed up for google ads, etc. But we want it to be more effective.

Do you guys have any advice?

We dont mind hiring a few people and giving them 30% of te price for every customer they sign up with us.

Any other ways which are not too expensive as we are under a budget as of yet.

Thanks.

Here we have an advertising forum. That is very effective in my opinion, because of the reputation WHT is having in hosting field. If you can provide quality service and you are able to make a good reputation you will be getting some reviews and that itself can attract customers to you.

Unless you have very specific keywords, Google Ads may be a waste of money.

Finding niche forums and offering them your services works well, i.e gaming or business forums.

Keep in mind that there are 2 aspects to your problem. One is getting targeted traffic to your site, the other is closing the sale. Is it clear from visiting your site that your company is the one to use?

Try to partner with web designers, local or not. Their customers often need hosting, and they don't always want to be a host themselves.

What differentiates you with the other webhosting companies "which sells web, reseller hosting"? Who are your target customers? Where do those target customers go online to find hosting or information? What are your target customers looking for in a hosting service?

These are questions that come to mind, and answers to these questions will help you target your google ads and other advertising placements better.

Adwords is definatley a powerful advertising tool, but for new companies, especially in web hosting i just dont think its a cost effective method of achieving customers. I spent many days learning the ins and outs of adwords and was learning important stuff everday. But competing with large companies on the front page of google who can plough thousands in its a difficult place to get clicks but you may have better luck. From personal experience advertising in my local area using non digital media was highly effective.

I did google ads for a short while, my personal opinion is unless you can pay alot per click, its not worth it. :)

Adwords is definatley a powerful advertising tool, but for new companies, especially in web hosting i just dont think its a cost effective method of achieving customers. I spent many days learning the ins and outs of adwords and was learning important stuff everday. But competing with large companies on the front page of google who can plough thousands in its a difficult place to get clicks but you may have better luck. From personal experience advertising in my local area using non digital media was highly effective.

I agree here as well. Adwords can be useful but you better plan it accordingly. Starting new and using 'Webhosting' as a keyword for top page placement is like asking for your year long operating budget to be thrown away. You'll just never be able to afford the competitive rate.

Using Adwords to start however in a more local marketing niche may be fruitful in the end, also helps get the name out in your area.

AdWords is indeed great for a niche - or, even for a more general audience if you've got at least $50,000 to put into a good campaign. It really is impractical for anything else.

If you charge enough for your hosting plans, you will also find that telemarketing or going door to door targeting small businesses in your area can be very fruitful. But this will not work if your plans are priced more towards the budget end of the hosting pricing spectrum.

If you are not in a niche market then with 50 000 $ you can do better things than AdWords. From this you should not understand that AdWords is not for you but you should understand that AdWords does not work best when you are selling "yet another shared hosting account". You should have something special if you want to use AdWords and target the people that are after that special thing you have.

I like advertising on forums BUT you have to change the forums a lot (it doesn't do you any good in advertising for 6 month on the same forum if you don't change your offer and even if you do, if it's not a hosting forum then the result will not be as expected). Try to see where the people that you are looking for and will buy your hosting hang out... advertise there.

My suggestion excluding all the ideas you already got from everyone else would be to make lots and lots of advertisement banners to put everywhere you can, and make them flashy!

Good luck!

Well, adding a toll-free sales hotline and livesupport to our site this week has made an enormous difference in sales conversions.

Those things are useless, however, if you don't have the visiting traffic to back it up.

I'd agree with Matt - There are some advertising forums here you can get started with. =)

I agree with Mark, except for the sales line. If you can't afford it right away I would just start off with Live Chat. It also good for international clients. Yup advertise in the forums. I remember a week ago a new host got a new client for advertising in that section.

All the best,

Word of mouth seems to help.

I agree with John, Word of mouth give more customers than any other advertisement methods. But good support is a must.

Word of mouth is good, but use a referral for that word of mouth. We offer a referral credit and it works - especially when your customers know about it!

Craig - Webiness

Advertise on forums. Good pricing. Good Uptime. Good costumer support. The costumers will come.

- Daniel :)