New Techniques for Marketing Your Web Hosting Company in 2006

There are many ways to market a web hosting company. Traditional methods include web hosting directories, banner ads on webmaster sites, search engine placements, ppc advertising, and so on. These are all effective methods if used and managed properly. These techniques, however, market primarily to a limited target audience: Webmasters, Programmers, Graphic Designers, and small hosting companies.

With the evolution of web hosting and website builder tools, as well as the ongoing education of the common person, the average web hosting customer is no longer a Webmaster. It is more likely an alumni association, a church, an artist, a soccer club, or a family photo album. Recently, the staff of Hostchart.com analyzed the signups from several popular web hosting companies across the month of January, and here is what they found: the number of signups from people in the industry was less then 20%. Over 80% of all Hosting customer signups were from people who are not Internet professionals! So, how best does a Hosting Company target such a wide audience?

Assuming that 80% of your customer base is non-internet professionals, a Hosting Company’s marketing methods should be greatly expanded beyond Webmasters alone. If your marketing budget includes online marketing only, then some potentially rich areas to find Hosting customers may be on sites like Vacation/Travel websites, Investment sites, Retirement websites, or any site that has a potential customer base with expendable time and/or income.

If a Hosting Company’s advertising budget includes non-Internet methods, it may want to consider marketing on billboards, in newspapers, phone directories, or even brief commercial ads. GoDaddy has proven how powerful a TV ad can be with it’s provocative Superbowl ads the last two years. Even a simple advertising method like handing out free t-shirts can h