Webhost Offers More

A webhost has found several value-added services that its business customers might like—and is offering most of them for free.

by ISP-Planet Staff [January 26, 2005]

San Diego, Calif.-based webhost Aplus.Net is offering a software package for free to all customers. The software is provided by a new Aplus subsidiary called Parsley Software.

Brian Chernicky, Aplus public relations manager, says the software is the result of in house development. "It's been a project until recently. It's released now. The site's been up but we haven't marketed it or told anyone about it until now."

The software package includes:

• Search Engine Pack, which registers sites with search engines and helps with organic search marketing by optimizing sites for specific key words
• Performance Booster, which ensures that Web pages are properly configured (for example, it checks for broken links) and optimizes images for the Web
• Image Impact, which edits images
• Form Shop, which provides sales letters and feedback forms
• Speak Easy, which provides real time chat

"Online marketing is becoming the newest, hottest trend in webhosting," enthuses Chernicky. "A lot of webhosting companies don't do it at all yet, but the bigger ones like us are starting to do it."

He says that customers often have unrealistic expectations of search engine marketing, expecting to jump into the top five websites for a specific key word with ease. "It's unrealistic to expect to get into the top ten for a general term," he says. "What's realistic is getting into the top ten for specific niche terms."

Let's talk
Aplus has partnered with enterprise IM and communications specialist WiredRed, which is also based in San Diego, to provide conferencing for business users.

Pricing is published on the website here. Chernicky says the company's flat rate plans distinguish it from the competition. "Their bills are structured like a cell phone bill, with extra charges for overages and for features like video."

He says the pricing for the service, which starts at $499 per month, means customers will generally be medium or large businesses with multiple locations.

The WiredRed software is also available directly from WiredRed for companies that want to host the service themselves.

The software features file sharing, live annotation, chat, and audio and video conferencing. The host of the conference can control permissions regarding who can speak and who can share or annotate files.

— End