Written by: Jordan Sprogis
Edited by: Lillian Castro
Reviewed by: Cristian Lopez
TL; DR: Attention, Arkansas small businesses: Get better brand visibility and reliable web and email hosting with WebJIVE, your local web hosting and digital marketing partner. Whether you’re curious about web hosting, advertising, brand reputation, or WordPress support, WebJIVE has the expertise and tools to help. We interviewed Founder and CEO Eric Caldwell, who explained how the agency started from necessity and, 18 years later, serves more than 200 clients across Arkansas.
Did you know 99.3% of businesses in Arkansas are small businesses and employ more than half of the state’s workforce? Of course, you may not be aware of this if you’re not a local Arkansan or deeply interested in state economic development — but it’s important because many states, including Arkansas, are seeing significant growth in their small business and eCommerce sectors.
Still, there’s one challenge nearly every small business can relate to: reaching a wider audience. Whether it’s because of a limited budget, difficulty identifying the target audience, or unsure how to use social media marketing, converting browsers into customers is never easy.
WebJIVE is an Arkansas-based hosting and digital marketing agency helping local businesses establish a solid online presence. From creating a new website to implementing effective search engine optimization (SEO), WebJIVE is proud to prioritize its customers’ needs over maximizing profits.
“Too often, it feels these big companies don’t care — but I do,” said Eric Caldwell, Founder and CEO of WebJIVE. “Our customers receive value-driven solutions with us, so they don’t have to worry about being taken care of as they might with the big companies.”
Hosting, Marketing, and Other Digital Tools
WebJIVE is a powerful agency with impressive numbers. Eric founded the agency nearly two decades ago when he realized that big-name providers — such as Microsoft or Google — weren’t getting the promised results.
Primarily a web design agency, WebJIVE quickly expanded into hosting by developing its infrastructure and servers. At the time, it was hosting with outside hosting providers. But WebJIVE’s customers were less than impressed.
“We chose to bring this service in-house because customers frequently called about their sites being down. I quickly realized relying on third-party hosts put my business in someone else’s hands, so we began offering hosting instead,” Eric recalled. “Larger providers tend to put their customers on shared servers with hundreds or thousands of other users. But we don’t overload our servers or prioritize squeezing every penny out of our clients.”
Now, with more than 200 clients, WebJIVE specializes in web hosting and SEO services. The backbone of its operations relies on industry-leading tools such as cPanel, CloudLinux, and Immunify360.
The tech market is constantly changing, especially when it comes to Google. Some may recall how its 2021 algorithm updates reduced the impact of organic reach for SEO, causing an unfortunate decline in page rankings and decreased traffic and leads for millions of businesses.
Some small businesses ultimately gave up, but Eric warned against companies throwing in the towel if they don’t see their desired results.
“Find a local company with the same core values we do, which is to drive customer value, not profit.”
— Eric Caldwell, Founder and CEO of WebJive
He emphasized many businesses don’t realize how vital Google Business listings are — even more so than having just a website.
“When you look at the SEO environment, it’s clear that Google is actively working to diminish the impact of organic reach,” said Eric. “We made a strategic pivot about a year and a half ago, focusing not only on traditional SEO to bolster our clients’ rankings in search engine results pages (SERPs) but also optimizing their Google Business listings.”
This is vital because if a business doesn’t have a website, its Google listing won’t perform well since the algorithms look closely at both the business listing and the website.
A Local Approach to eCommerce Solutions
In addition to SEO reach and Google Business listing management, WebJIVE offers a suite of solutions so you can pick and choose what you need:
- Web hosting: For $35 to $75 per month, you get WebJIVE’s ISO 9000 dedicated servers and infrastructure. Enjoy unlimited email addresses, generous disk and bandwidth allocations, daily backups, and POP3, IMAP, and Webmail access.
- Web design: Get a professional website from experts in Arkansas. WebJIVE has won multiple design and web dev awards, including the UpCity Marketplace Top Web Designer 2023 Award.
- Advertising: Google PPC ads attract local or regional customers actively searching for products and services that match your site’s keywords. WebJIVE also provides social media ads and marketing to enhance brand visibility and improve customer relationships.
- Copywriting: Copywriting is more than just inserting keywords; it’s about showing your potential customers your features and benefits while developing a voice that allows clients to get to know and trust your brand.
- WordPress hosting: WordPress may be the world’s most popular content management system, but that doesn’t mean it’s always easy to use. WebJIVE takes care of every aspect of your WordPress website, including reliable hosting, security, and daily backups. Plans range from $35 to $75/mo.
- Online reputation management: If online reviews are affecting your business, WebJIVE’s Smart Reviews management software may be what you need. It promotes, protects, and defends your business’s online image, starting at $99/mo.
WebJIVE is also expanding to include email hosting services.
“People are tired of being pushed around by big email hosting companies like Office 365 and Google,” Eric said. “For over a year now, we’ve been bringing accounts in-house from Google, and that’s an area we’re going to focus on more — email services, which is exciting for us.”
Eric pointed out that he recently convinced a large company to transfer its email hosting to WebJIVE. This decision came after the company experienced frequent disruptions with its email service and found that its previous provider didn’t deliver the promised service and support.
Sometimes, opting for the underdog gets you the biggest wins.
Keeping SMBs at the Top of their Games
At WebJIVE, customer service reigns supreme. For example, Eric stressed the significance of vigilantly monitoring clients’ website performance to continue delivering top-notch results.
“It’s not uncommon for us to call a customer up and say, ‘Hey, your website’s performing well, but we’ve noticed a decline in your incoming calls,’” Eric said. “We monitor these metrics closely and act when clients inquire about boosting their call volume. We optimize their business listings to improve their SEO, and before you know it, their phones start ringing again.”
Too often, it feels these big companies don’t care — but I do.
— Eric Caldwell
That’s because, in contrast to larger providers, WebJIVE prioritizes quality over quantity. Choosing big-name providers with flashy ads and broad reach may seem tempting, but forgetting the importance of personalized service and care for your business success is a mistake.
“When looking for a digital marketing agency, always look local first. Find a local company with the same core values we do, which is to drive customer value, not profit,” Eric emphasized.
Talking with Eric made me sure of one thing: When you pick a local company like WebJIVE, you’re not just getting digital marketing services; you’re building a partnership based on trust, honesty, and a shared goal of delivering results — all while contributing to your local economy.
If you’re an Arkansas business looking to enhance your brand awareness or reach a new audience, start with a local company that genuinely cares about your success. WebJIVE is a cost-effective, supportive, and reliable solution for web hosting, digital marketing, or anything in between.
