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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Oct 2000
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    337
    Boy, banner ads sure aren't cutting it anymore. Can you say .01% click-through?

    Anyone have any experiences with some more effective advertising methods? How much are you paying to get a customer to your site, and what kinds of conversion rates are you getting?

    It seems hard to afford advertising without charging setup fees... so *that's* why they're there...



    [Edited by Travis on 10-30-2000 at 01:51 PM]

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Sep 2000
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    Smile

    It is true, regular banners have become ineffective. I do know that there are some alterntives to this - bluestreak.com makes ads that work. Although I have no idea where they run because its not standard.

    Tcoy~

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jun 2000
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    Wichita, Ks, USA
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    adv.

    You will find that your best form of advertising is word to mouth or customer referals, your advertising dollars should first be spent insuring current customer loyalty, them you may wish to look at other sources, such as offline advertising.
    affordablecolo.com carrier grade colocation at a affordable price!
    Charles Baker - Company Operations
    1-866-316-HOST

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Oct 2000
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    337
    That's definitely true regarding word-of-mouth - as a matter of fact, it's where most of our business comes from.
    QWK.Net spends a tiny, tiny fraction of its revenue on advertising. Most revenue has gone toward infrastructure and customer service, and that's always a good investment.

    However, a business does need to grow over time, and adverising is a necessary evil. Maybe offline advertising is an option we ignore at our own peril - it just seems most likely go to looking for our customers online, given the nature of the business.

    With all that said, I revert to my original question. For those who don't mind sharing a little wisdom, what have you found to be your most effective forms of paid advertising?

  5. #5
    I am curious how much traffic comes from those "find-a-host" search engines. Will you get any referrals from just adding your site to the database or do you actually have to advertise on those sites?


  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jul 2000
    Location
    Manhattan. NY
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    481
    You might be getting a low click thru because of non-targeted audience.

    Our click thru is usually a little higher than 3%.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Sep 2000
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    Search Engines are a very good if you know how to put it in high rank
    ICQ# 95884722

  8. #8
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    Jul 2000
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    Manhattan. NY
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    There is no way to really do so, except for paid ones, of course. (ex. goto.com)

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Sep 2000
    Location
    UK
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    Since August most of our clients have started focusing more on the actual cost per click (CPC) than the rather meaningless click through rates. At the end of the day you really need to know two things:

    1. How much does it cost to get someone to my website?
    2. How often does someone by after visiting my site?

    Once you've got these figures you can calculate your cost per sale, and choose the appropriate marketing channels.

    We've recently started talking to hosts about sharing in the sales revenue from their initial sign ups, as a way of reducing their advertising costs. I think the move will be towards minimising the fixed cost proportion of advertising budgets in exchange for revenue sharing sharing with partner sites.

    James

    BTW: This wasnt meant as a plug for our site, so i deliberately havent quoted our average CPC's and CT rates.


  10. #10
    I personally don't think banner advertising is dead.

    We ran a campaign on MSN for a charity last year that got an 18% click through and more than covered its cost.
    Our web hosting ads usually get about 1%.

    Whats more important is how you turn those clicks into sales and how much it costs you to acquire a customer.
    I know that we pay about $5 per sign up from advertising which is well worth it, but we are also in the fortunate position of getting thousands of free banner impressions through a number of our other projects.

    Its also not a good idea just to link to your front page.
    Our ads link to special pages which lead people through the sales process through a simplified sign up form (if appropriate).

    Here's a couple of examples:

    Banner:
    http://www.hudson.nu/banners/sheep1.gif

    Page it links to:
    http://www.hostroute.com/adex/sheep.html

    This then links to a simplified sign up form with no external links which could take visitors away.

    Banner:
    http://www.hudson.nu/banners/trapped.gif

    Page it links to:
    http://www.hostroute.com/adex/trapped.html

    There is also the encouragement for people to bookmark the page, but you could use an e-zine sign up pop up to similar effect.

    Gordon


    [Edited by GordonH on 11-10-2000 at 12:05 PM]
    Formerly: Managing Director, Hostroute.com Ltd & Marketing Director, Ultraspeed UK Ltd
    View my Professional Profile: www.gordonhudson.com

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Sep 2000
    Location
    UK
    Posts
    278

    Banners

    I agree with your point that banners are't dead, there will always be a place for Banners as they offer "branding" in addition to a click through percentage.

    But as I commented earlier companies are focusing more and more on the actual cost per click than the click through rate. I think the traditional CPM models are showing their age, as more and more advanced visitor tracking software becomes available marketeers will have access to much more acurate data on how their money is being spent.

    James

  12. #12

    -

    GordonH,

    Are you really paying only $5 per sign-up for your hosting service?

    Arnoud

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Oct 2000
    Posts
    337
    That's what I was thinking... I target $30-40 for a typical final cost per sign-up.

  14. #14
    Yes,
    Honestly its working out at about $5 per sign up if I divide the monthly advertising costs by the number of sign ups in total.
    A lot of those are word of mouth though, so that distorts the figures, but it averages out at about $5.

    Trust me, I have no spare cash for advertising.
    I started the paid hosting business with an investment of $100 per month, being the profit from my free web hosting service.
    The paid hosting business covered its first months costs in its first five days of trading and its been in profit ever since.

    Gordon
    Formerly: Managing Director, Hostroute.com Ltd & Marketing Director, Ultraspeed UK Ltd
    View my Professional Profile: www.gordonhudson.com

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Oct 2000
    Posts
    337
    I guess the rest of us would like to know where you're advertising that it's doing so well, then. That is, if you don't mind sharing such information.


  16. #16
    Join Date
    Nov 2000
    Location
    New York, USA
    Posts
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    I don't think there's any one magic bullet for promoting a hosting company or any e-commerce business. If promotion was so easy why do companies like Amazon, Travelocity, Priceline etc. have to make expensive TV ads?

    A little here and a little there and it all adds up. You just have to do what you can to monitor it all, drop those that don't work, expand the ones that do and try new ones also.
    Ocean View Host - http://www.OceanViewHost.com
    Affordable web hosting and E-commerce solutions for any size business.

  17. #17
    Join Date
    Oct 2000
    Location
    Moldavia
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    Hey, if it's good enough for Amazon, it's good enough for me. After all, I want to be just as profitable as they are.

  18. #18
    Join Date
    Oct 2000
    Posts
    337
    Tongue stuck in your cheek there, etLux?

  19. #19
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    Oct 2000
    Location
    Moldavia
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    Yeah, I guess, Travis... my way of pointing up, though, that advertising, however intense the campaign and no matter how much expense is put to it, is only one component of the game.

  20. #20
    I think Gordon gets the customers simply because of what he`s offerering for a realy cheap price.

  21. #21
    Join Date
    Feb 2001
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    I'm right behind you.
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    Talking

    It all depends on the locatio, banner design, and targeted traffic, mostly banners are here to show your presence - it's important for the company's reputation!
    Marketing For Hosting Companies:

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