View Poll Results: Is SEO worth the time for a small host?

Voters
20. You may not vote on this poll
  • Yes

    11 55.00%
  • No

    9 45.00%
Results 1 to 10 of 10
  1. #1
    Join Date
    Oct 2002
    Location
    Hershey, PA
    Posts
    287

    Post SEO worth the time for a small host?

    Just wondering if SEO is really worth the time when it comes to marketing a web hosting company. Are small web hosting companies really found throgh search engines? Let me know what you guys think.

    Personally, I'm leaning toward focusing on forums, directories, and sites related to my target market, rather than SEO, but please let me know if i'm way off base....
    IQ Studio
    www.IQStudio.net
    Sales@IQStudio.net
    Create.Design.Innovate

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jun 2005
    Location
    Columbus, Ohio
    Posts
    171
    I would say "no" for a few reasons.

    1) Most SEOs are scams who often violate the TOS of search engines.
    2) Most SEOs often do not raise your rankings at all.
    3) Some SEOs (Especially the link-swaps) actually lower your rankings by linking you to sites that have lower ranks than you.
    4) Whenever I wanted a host I looked on directories

    Directories, forums, flyers to local businesses, and word-of-mouth are the best for any webhost.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Feb 2005
    Posts
    1,141
    I will have to completely disagree with GamePhreak.
    1) Most SEOs are scams who often violate the TOS of search engines.
    That is quite the statement to make, have you done any research to back it up? How many SEOs have you worked with? I think that it is a disgrace to the SEO industry to call most of them scammers. There are many legitimate white-hat SEOs who follow every rule in the book. I don't think that you should sterotype the entire industry that way.
    2) Most SEOs often do not raise your rankings at all.
    Again, have you done any research to back up this very large assumption? I don't think that the SEO industry would still be alive today if they were all scammers who don't help their client's rankings at all. I don't know what kind of SEOs you have worked with, if any, but that is a very absurd claim.
    3) Some SEOs (Especially the link-swaps) actually lower your rankings by linking you to sites that have lower ranks than you.
    It does not hurt your website to link to a site that has a lower rank than you. Your site would only be hurt if you linked to what Google considers a "bad neighborhood". Believe it or not, the whole concept of linking came way before the evolution of Google and of PageRank. Linking is not just an SEO strategy, but oh my god, some people actually link to a site it has useful information, but that must be really hard to believe these days. Linking to a site will only hurt your rankings if that site is participating in black hat SEO methods, and gets caught.
    4) Whenever I wanted a host I looked on directories
    Well, many millions of people use search engines to find websites. That's how Google's founders became multi-billionaires. Personally, I don't use directories to find a host, but I use both Google and WHT to find hosts, and then read about them on WHT to make my final decision. There are many hosting directories that simply sell high rankings, so not all of them are an accurate portrayal of a host's quality, but instead the size of their wallet. I am not sterotyping all directories, but am noting something that is true about many of them.
    Directories, forums, flyers to local businesses, and word-of-mouth are the best for any webhost.
    Those may be very good ways to advertise, but are by no means at all the only nor the best. There are many ways that hosts can advertise. I feel that SEO, when mixed with other methods, such as the ones that you mentioned, can combine into very successful marketing. For small web hosting companies, SEO can help most effectively if you have a niche market, that you can perform SEO for. It would be very, very hard to obtain a page 1 ranking for "web hosting", but it might be a lot easier to obtain a page 1 ranking for your niche market's keyword.
    Daily Updated Web Hosting News Blog
    Including an RSS feed that you can syndicate!
    Daily Updated Web Hosting News Blog
    Unlimited vs. Unmetered bandwidth

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Oct 2003
    Posts
    2,815
    I didn't vote, CDXSolutions, for the fact that it boils down to your target audience.

    If you have a unique niche then yes, quite possibly, SEO would be worth it.

    But, if you were the standard budget host, at standard prices etc, there are going to be millions of other hosts the same, all sitting in the search engines, probably with a much better foundation in terms of search engine position that your Website, so no, it probably would not be worth it in that instance.

  5. #5
    Well if your site is less than 6 months old, you should read about aging delay . It is being repressed on Google by some sort of aging delay. Tweaking, linking, resassembling your pages, and begging Google to tell you what is wrong will not help.

    Read more about it here: http://www.highrankings.com/forum/in...howtopic=12535
    Protagonist WebHosting Services
    Blog Hosting solutions:: Cpanel with Rvskin & Fantastico Deluxe
    Providing Reliable Hosting since 2002

  6. #6
    SEO is very worth it if you are know what you are doing, and research about it.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Oct 2003
    Posts
    2,815
    SEO is very worth it if you are know what you are doing, and research about it.
    Indeed it is, Minimalistix, in most cases, but do you really think so in the hosting industry for a company that is the 'standard' hosting company? If they have a unique niche, like I said above, then I think it is well worth a shot, but surely not if the company/Website is as standard as they come, where there are millions of other hosting companies, looking for the same audience, competing.

  8. #8
    Yes Jamie, i do agree with what you are saying, but if they do the sufficient research and aim for keywords which are not as competitive i dont see any reason why they cannot achieve decent rankings within a period of time. We all know SE rankings are not instant, so within time and knowledge expanding they could do reasonably well.

    Best of luck ;-)

  9. #9
    IMO, those that use search engine to find host won't spend too much time on finding host. So, it doesn't matter if you offer 'standard' plans. The most important thing is having top rank.

    I voted "no" because "hosting" and related keywords/ key phrases are very competitive. Small hosts probably don't have the money and man power to compete.

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Aug 2000
    Location
    NYC
    Posts
    6,623
    I'd say the question as it's asked is a little vague: "worth the time?" How much time?

    Some amount of time spent on some amount of SEO is worthwhile for almost commercial site. Consider that SEO done correctly aims at improved rankings but also should result in an improved site. A thorough approach to SEO should bring an improved understanding of your site's visitors' browsing habits and by extension the site's usability.

    Additionally, a successful SEO effort will result not only in changes in search engine rankings, but more link-generated traffic -- which you may find results in more sales than any increase in search engine traffic does. And there are examples where you want at least a decent search engine presence even if you're decided to "write off" organic search engine listings as a major source of your businss. For example: a former customer, or a friend of a customer trying to act on a referral, may not remember your company name or domain name precisely. If you're not found in search engines when they just come "close enough" or perhaps try "web host in Your City" you'll lose what could have been an automatic sale.


    The days when "SEO" meant tossing a bunch of "keywords" on a couple of pages and tinkering with meta tags are long over. SEO has essentially transformed into "search engine marketing," which is a sensible part of any online business marketing effort. So while it may not make sense for a "small host" to invest thousands of dollars or hundreds of hours on "SEO," some attention to it is certainly worthwhile.


    As an aside in response to the "most SEOs are scams" comment, let's consider for a second how many people would say almost the same thing... but replacing the word "SEOs" with "web hosts."

    Or credit card issuers. Or chiropractors. Or banks. Or car dealerships.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •