Congratulations! You are the proud owner of a web hosting business. You’ve  got a great website, you’ve got great products and the only thing you’re missing  is customers. There are so many businesses competing for consumer eyeballs these  days that it can feel pretty overwhelming. But fear not! With a few simple  techniques, and a little persistence, you can get your web hosting business the  traffic it deserves.

1. Social Networks

You  are probably familiar with social networks like Facebook and LinkedIn. What you  may not realize is that these social networks can be powerful marketing tools,  when they’re used wisely. Start by setting up an account for your business on  each of the major social networks. Before you start adding friends or soliciting  followers, make sure you populate your profile with information about your  company, images, and links to your website. As a general rule, don’t start  posting promotions right away. Establish yourself as an interesting person to  follow. Post links to relevant industry news articles and build a following in  the tech community. This takes time but, once you’ve got loyal followers, you’d  be surprised how many of them turn into customers.

2. Search  Engine Optimization

SEO is a term that is bandied about all  over the place these days, and for good reason.  The higher up your site  appears in searches, the more customers you’ll get. It’s a one-to-one ratio. If  you’re not familiar with SEO, head over to one of the many SEO forums and start  reading up. It’s not complicated, but improving your SEO is a skill. A good way  to start is by using a tool like Google Analytics to see what
search terms  people are using to find your site. Once you know what people are looking for  you can start seeding your site with those terms to boost your relevance in  searches.  You can also boost your SEO by earning backlinks from other  websites in your industry.

3. Backlinks

A  backlink is just what it sounds like: a link back to your site from another  site. Backlinks are heavily indexed by Google and a few high-profile backlinks  can send you right up the search result list, fast. The more popular the site is  that links back to you, the better. Consider soliciting backlinks by offering  products or services, or by reviewing other providers. Backlinks grow naturally  as you grow your business, so the real grunt work comes at the beginning. Don’t  despair if you don’t see immediate results. Chances are, when you do start  seeing results, they will snowball quickly.

4. Press  Releases

Press releases will get you immediate attention, and  they can be great for marketing specific products or promotions. There are many  websites where you can post press releases for free, and some where you can pay  for your release to be indexed faster and more comprehensively. If your release  is particularly newsworthy, you can submit it to local papers and radio and  television stations.

5. Email Newsletters

Email newsletters get your message out to the people who care to  hear it: your opted-in subscribers. There are many email newsletter platforms  you can use to manage your contacts and automate your messages. Most of these  cost under $30/month and include widgets for your website. Start sending out a  monthly newsletter about happenings in your company along with special  promotions just for newsletter readers.

6. Ad Buys

Ad buys are a classic, tried-and-true advertising tactic that work  best in conjunction with other forms of online advertising for grabbing consumer  attention and driving sales. Ad buys work best on forums or magazine websites,  where readers are spending a lot of time. Ad buys can be expensive, so, in order  to maximize your ROI, you should wait until you have a special promotion or a  new product line before purchasing them.

7. Classifieds

Classifieds are free, there are a ton of them out there, and they  are thoroughly searched by consumers on a daily basis. You probably won’t be  able to post a straight-up ad without getting flagged, but free giveaways, free  trials and contests are all fair game for most classified sites. Work classified  posting into your weekly schedule and the benefits will accumulate over time.

8. Articles

Well written, well researched  articles may not be easy to write, but the results can be exponential. If you  write something people want to read (and include a link back to your website)  people will follow it just to learn more about you, the esteemed author. There  are tons of free article-submission websites where you can build a following  fast. A single article can continue to drive traffic for months, and it gets you  noticed, both good things for your business. Writing one really good article  that impresses readers is infinitely more powerful than twenty mediocre articles  nobody wants to read. Take your time. Think it out. It’ll pay off.

9. Forum Participation

Forums are communities and, as  such, participating in the discussion and making friends is just like networking  in person. Build trust with the people you meet. Contribute interesting or  helpful information. Establish yourself as an expert in your field and be sure  to include a link to your website in your signature. Many no-follow forums may  not get indexed directly, but if you do your job, they will get followed.

10. Customer Reviews

Customer reviews are a  critical part of any established business. Reviews allow current customers to  express themselves and share their experiences and they allow new customers to  learn about your business. As a business, you can learn a lot from the  experiences of your customers. If you strive to deliver top-notch customer  service, you will see it reflected in your reviews. You may want to consider  partnering with a third-party review service. This lends authenticity to your  reviews, so your customers know they are real and unbiased.

Visit us at www.webhostsummit.com for more great articles, news and  podcasts.

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