Well, I've had discussions with a few marketing agencies.
Their responses are exactly the same:
- A lot of hosts have their own internal marketing team.
- The hosting industry is too competitive
- You will need to spend thousands
- You may not get results for a long time
- Even Google AdWords is really expensive if you want first page results ($20+ a click)
- We suggest you team up with a web designer, so their clients host with you
- Focus on internal marketing, pushing your clients to be affiliates
Now each of them said this:
Sure, other companies can say they will give you results just send me $1,000.
But we won't because it will give us a bad name.
In our experience, what works is Google AdWords, so unless you are able and plan to spend upwards of $500 a day on Google AdWords, SEO simply won't get quick results.
So to sum up:
You will need to spend lots, and won't get immediate results.
Yes, there are long tail keywords that you can work on. But even a lot of these are highly competitive.
I can't recommend any SEO agencies, as I've not worked with any recently. But I'd ring them up for a quick strategy session. Any agency that can be trusted will probably say the above.
Also, numerous hosts will say (myself included) that word of mouth is their best source of new clients.
Also - local businesses as well.
