Running a software development business or high-quality software house means marketing aggressively so you always have enough clients. These days, many companies know that top-tier software can mean the difference between satisfied customers or clunky, inoperable products/in-house apps and tools. They want the best… so it’s your job to convince them that your company can get the job done.
Fortunately, there are lots of smart ways to market your software house online. Let’s take a look at how you can market effectively using six key strategies.
Paid Ad Campaigns
You can’t go wrong with classic paid ad campaigns, specifically with PPC or pay-per-click ads. PPC ads are posted on search engines such as Google. With these ads, you “bid” for certain keywords related to your industry or niche.
When someone types in a certain keyword, your PPC ad will show up at the top of the page, hopefully funneling a client or customer to your site. Software houses or development companies can use PPC ads for keywords like “custom software”, “software design company” and “software production near me” to draw clients looking for hand-tooled software solutions.
When designing your PPC ads, make sure that they use compelling copy and calls to action. PPC ads can be quite cost-effective since you only pay each time someone clicks on your ad. Note that the effectiveness of PPC ads is contingent on you having an excellent landing page for your company website!
Software Demos
Alternatively, you could be successful by offering free demos of your software programs. Free demos can be downloaded from your company website and give potential clients the opportunity to see your team’s work firsthand before signing up for their own software solution.
Trial versions of your software can be either:
- Full versions of the software with a strict time limit, such as 24 hours or one week
- Limited versions of the software without a time limit, such as software that doesn’t include several major features
Regardless, the point of software demos is to show potential clients the value of your firm. Pick the best software your team has created and post it as a demo on your website. Even if the software isn’t exactly what a prospective client is looking for, the quality of the software demo could convince them that your software house is the right choice.
Branded/Informational Content
You also can’t go wrong with online branded or informational content, such as blog posts, guides, and FAQs or knowledge bases on your website. For the best results, you should post a new blog guide or discussion piece once per week on the same day.
Why? Simply put, Google will reward your site with better search engine rankings if you post frequently and with high-quality stuff. Not only does this help your site show up at the top of its important keywords, but it also convinces prospective clients that you know what you’re talking about and that your software company has the right tools for any job needed.
Leverage Social Media Marketing
In this day and age, social media marketing is more important than ever. At a minimum, you should have a Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram profile for your company, even in an industry as niche as B2B software development.
Social media marketing:
- Improves brand awareness
- Helps your company rank more highly with Google
- Offers potential customers an opportunity to communicate with your service specialists and ask questions
Put another way, social media marketing can help you connect with future clients before they sign up for any particular software project.
Of course, you can also post new ads on social media platforms like Facebook, plus announce special offers, timed demos or trial plans, and so on. Those ads have to be high-quality when marketing your information technology business. Consider coming up with a great logo for your company for each ad or your profile – logo templates from PosterMyWall can help you get started quickly and easily.
Bottom line: social media marketing is a versatile and effective means of online marketing for everyone, not just software houses.
Optimize Your Site for SEO
To really succeed with online marketing, you’ll want to revisit your company website and improve it for greater search engine optimization. This involves:
- Making sure the website loads smoothly – it should only take a few milliseconds at most
- Making sure the landing page is attractive and features a very straightforward selling funnel. It should be easy for a potential client to hit your landing page from a PPC or social media ad and immediately be taken to a contact page or “buy” page
- Spreading certain keywords throughout the website’s content to help it rank more highly with Google
- Eliminating distracting graphics or videos that take away from the overall experience
Above all else, make sure your website doesn’t have any broken links and that it is a perfect place for a potential client to get more information about your company and what it offers.
Also read: Why Should You Hire A Software Development Firm?
Target Local Clients/Companies
Last but not least, you can also practice good online marketing by targeting local potential clients in your area. Odds are your software house works remotely and handles clients that are geographically distant from it. However, you can also target local companies or clients to:
- Capture traffic or customers that may be ignored by larger, more international software firms
- Present your software house as the go-to choice for local companies. You can frame your ads so they show your software development company knows the unique challenges that local companies face, so you can make software specifically for their needs
Wrap Up
As you can see, there are many great ways to market a software house, no matter what type of software you create or where your clients come from. Great online marketing will provide a consistent return on your investment and become more profitable as you gain success.
Start with your website, revamp it for top-tier SEO, then try one or all of the advertising campaigns or strategies above. The more ways you advertise, the more likely it is you’ll gain profitable clients in no time!