Which marketing tactics work for web hosting companies and under what circumstances? Hartland Ross, President Hartland@eBridgeMarketingSolutions.com Devin Rose, Senior Media Strategist Devin@eBridgeMarketingSolutions.com Twitter: @ebridgeteam Phone: (604) 731 – 5530
No o Pit itch ch Present esentation ation Policy olicy Please help us produce more relevant content in the future by rating this session using our event app! Each presenter signs a speaker agreement certifying that their presentation will be educational and not a sales pitch. Attendees have a right to report speakers not adhering to the policy. THE GLOBAL EVENT FOR THE CLOUD AND SERVICE PROVIDER ECOSYSTEM
Ab About out eB eBridge idge ➢ Marketing agency specializing in B2B technology – especially SaaS, IaaS, PaaS, Hosting and Cloud ➢ Attended HostingCon since 2005 ➢ Exhibited at HostingCon since 2008 ➢ Spoken at HostingCon every year since 2008 ➢ Managed tens of millions of dollars of online media ➢ Web Hosting M&A division at thehostbroker.com THE GLOBAL EVENT FOR THE CLOUD AND SERVICE PROVIDER ECOSYSTEM
Ser ervices vices THE GLOBAL EVENT FOR THE CLOUD AND SERVICE PROVIDER ECOSYSTEM
Which marketing tactics still work for web hosting companies and under which circumstances? THE GLOBAL EVENT FOR THE CLOUD AND SERVICE PROVIDER ECOSYSTEM
Au Audi dience ence Polls lls THE GLOBAL EVENT FOR THE CLOUD AND SERVICE PROVIDER ECOSYSTEM
Ag Agen enda da • Background Info 1 • Marketing Tactics 2 • Case Studies 3 • Conclusion 4 THE GLOBAL EVENT FOR THE CLOUD AND SERVICE PROVIDER ECOSYSTEM
World’s First Banner Ad ➢ AT&T placed the first banner ad in 1994 (Kanarick & Timmons, 2014) ➢ Achieved a 44% click-through-rate (Greenfield, 2014) ➢ Current click-thru-rates are <0.2% THE GLOBAL EVENT FOR THE CLOUD AND SERVICE PROVIDER ECOSYSTEM
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Ind ndustry stry Cons onsoli olidat dation ion ➢ “Amazon Web Services (AWS), Google, IBM, and Microsoft control over half of the worldwide cloud infrastructure service market” (Longoria, 2015 ) ➢ EIG has acquired a fleet of hosting brands in recent years, but has slowed since acquiring Constant Contact (Burt, 2016) THE GLOBAL EVENT FOR THE CLOUD AND SERVICE PROVIDER ECOSYSTEM
On One St e Stop op Shop hop ➢ Increasingly, customers want an all-in one platform for a website vs just hosting ➢ Searches for branded terms like “ Wix ” or “Weebly site builder” are on the rise, while searches for generic terms like “hosting” and “email hosting” are on the decline (Weebly, 2016) THE GLOBAL EVENT FOR THE CLOUD AND SERVICE PROVIDER ECOSYSTEM
Im Implications plications fo for r Ma Marke rketers ters ➢ Marketing of “solution platforms for the SMB” Ex Weebly ➢ Few very large players = opportunities for niche play ➢ Consider offering managed solutions (WPEngine) ➢ Value of local vs overseas customers & quality ➢ Implications on valuation for declining revenue THE GLOBAL EVENT FOR THE CLOUD AND SERVICE PROVIDER ECOSYSTEM
Pre rerequi requisites sites fo for r Eff ffective ctive Cam ampa paigns igns ➢ Compelling UI ➢ Effective landing pages ➢ Conversion tracking ➢ Positive reviews ➢ Competitive offering ➢ Smooth checkout ➢ Sufficient exposure ➢ Support ➢ Increasing ARPU allows for a higher CPA = more choice THE GLOBAL EVENT FOR THE CLOUD AND SERVICE PROVIDER ECOSYSTEM
WH WHAT AT DO DOES ES AL ALL TH L THIS IS MEAN EAN FO FOR R MAR ARKETE KETERS? RS? MARK RKETING TING TACTICS TICS
Goo oogle gle Ad AdWords Words Inc ncluded uded tac acti tics: cs: PPC ads & the display network Suggested monthly budget: $8K to $12K plus management time / fees THE GLOBAL EVENT FOR THE CLOUD AND SERVICE PROVIDER ECOSYSTEM
Goo oogle gle Ad AdWords Words Pr Pros Cons ns ✓ Highly targeted ✓ Very competitive ✓ Strong buyer intent ✓ Large budget needed ✓ Easy to start and stop ✓ Tracking is challenging for longer sales cycles ✓ Ideal for local or international campaigns ✓ Susceptible to set and forget THE GLOBAL EVENT FOR THE CLOUD AND SERVICE PROVIDER ECOSYSTEM
Me Media ia Campaigns ampaigns Inc ncluded uded tac acti tics cs: Banners, sponsored listings, hosting directories, forum stickies, advertorials, podcasts, display ads, programmatic, email and newsletter campaigns Sugg gges ested ted monthl thly y budg dget et: $3,000+ THE GLOBAL EVENT FOR THE CLOUD AND SERVICE PROVIDER ECOSYSTEM
Me Media ia Campai ampaigns gns Pros Cons ✓ Immediacy of traffic ✓ Ad fatigue ✓ Lots of options ✓ Difficult to achieve an ROI with an unknown brand ✓ Can often be paused ✓ Tracking is challenging for ✓ Easy to test different offers longer sales cycles and landing pages THE GLOBAL EVENT FOR THE CLOUD AND SERVICE PROVIDER ECOSYSTEM
Re Reta targeting rgeting Impl plemen ementa tati tion: on: Can be done via Google or 3rd parties Sugg gges ested ted monthl thly y budg dget et: Min $500 (limited by site traffic) THE GLOBAL EVENT FOR THE CLOUD AND SERVICE PROVIDER ECOSYSTEM
Re Reta targeting rgeting Pros Cons ✓ Generates view-through ✓ Reliant on initial traffic. conversions ✓ Doesn’t reach new users. ✓ Very targeted ✓ Generally considered to have a good ROI THE GLOBAL EVENT FOR THE CLOUD AND SERVICE PROVIDER ECOSYSTEM
Or Orga ganic nic Social ocial Me Media ia Inc ncluded uded tac acti tics: cs: Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and LinkedIn. Sugg gges ested ted monthl thly y budg dget et: $500 to $2500 for management plus resources to create content THE GLOBAL EVENT FOR THE CLOUD AND SERVICE PROVIDER ECOSYSTEM
Or Orga ganic nic Social ocial Me Media ia Pr Pros Cons ns ✓ Provides a “face” for the ✓ Hard to track ROI company ✓ Time consuming ✓ Brand perception and ✓ Social media algorithms thought leadership can limit reach of posts ✓ Potential for external linking to aid SEO THE GLOBAL EVENT FOR THE CLOUD AND SERVICE PROVIDER ECOSYSTEM
Paid aid Soc ocial ial Med edia ia Inc ncluded uded tac acti tics: cs: Ads on social media channels such as Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. Can also include paid 3 rd party management for thought leadership programs Sugg gges ested ted monthl thly y budg dget et : Variable THE GLOBAL EVENT FOR THE CLOUD AND SERVICE PROVIDER ECOSYSTEM
Paid aid Soc ocial ial Med edia ia Pros Cons ✓ Increasingly competitive ✓ Extensive targeting options ✓ May require a different ✓ Less expensive than other strategy (with supporting advertising channels resources) than other advertising channels ✓ Encourages sharing and brand ✓ Can easily get lost in the interaction clutter ✓ Flexibility to start and stop ✓ Variable success campaigns and change ad creative THE GLOBAL EVENT FOR THE CLOUD AND SERVICE PROVIDER ECOSYSTEM
SEO EO Inc ncluded uded tac acti tics: cs: Onsite content and structure optimization, blogging, external link building, press releases, off-site interviews, external reviews, link sharing via social media. Sugg gges ested ted monthl thly y budg dget et: Min of $2500/month + resources to create content THE GLOBAL EVENT FOR THE CLOUD AND SERVICE PROVIDER ECOSYSTEM
SEO EO Cons Pros ✓ ROI is medium to long term ✓ Free high-quality traffic once the foundation is laid ✓ Large budget needed to move ✓ Good organic rankings will the needle support paid search efforts if ✓ Traffic volume is not usually run together enough to grow aggressively ✓ Some SEO tactics may also ✓ Without a niche focus, it’s have other benefits such as extremely difficult expanding brand awareness THE GLOBAL EVENT FOR THE CLOUD AND SERVICE PROVIDER ECOSYSTEM
Cont ontent ent Creation eation Inc ncluded uded tac acti tics: cs: Press releases, blogging (own and guest), whitepapers, case studies, articles, interviews, webinars, hangouts, adding pages to your site, newsletters and knowledge base development or enhancement. Sugg gges ested ted monthl thly y budg dget et: Min of $500/month THE GLOBAL EVENT FOR THE CLOUD AND SERVICE PROVIDER ECOSYSTEM
Con onte tent nt Creation eation Pros Cons ✓ Thought leadership ✓ Time consuming and ongoing ✓ Expensive and medium to long ✓ Good for SEO term ROI ✓ May have long shelf-life ✓ Can be very hard to measure a (evergreen content) direct ROI ✓ May require very specific knowledge THE GLOBAL EVENT FOR THE CLOUD AND SERVICE PROVIDER ECOSYSTEM
Lo Loca cal l an and indu d industry stry sp specific cific gro roups/event ps/events s Include uded d tacti tics: cs: Sponsorships, trade shows booths, tables, and speaking engagements. Sugg gges ested ted monthl thly y budg dget et: Min $500 and up THE GLOBAL EVENT FOR THE CLOUD AND SERVICE PROVIDER ECOSYSTEM
Lo Loca cal l an and indu d industry stry sp specific cific gro roups/event ps/events s Pros Cons ✓ Very targeted ✓ Manual process ✓ Usually low price point to ✓ Likely lower volume (lacks participate – especially if scale) hyper local ✓ Results tracked offline ✓ Higher conversion rates likely THE GLOBAL EVENT FOR THE CLOUD AND SERVICE PROVIDER ECOSYSTEM
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