Online opportunities join old-school methods as ways for independents to build a reputation and draw clients.

When Sue Burns started SMB Transport, based in Marlow, Okla., in January she had no advertising budget. So she took advantage of the free service Webs.com to launch a website, smbtransportllc.webs.com, promoting her hotshot trucking business.

Mark Arnold and wife Terri riffed on the word always to form their company name, All Ways Trucking. The name and slogan, “Always dependable,” go on email, scans, cards and his truck.

“The Internet to me is the equivalent of the Yellow Pages,” says Burns, a 52-year-old former police officer. “I take advantage of every free option I can find.” For example, Burns chronicled her CDL training period on a blog through WordPress.com.

Her first load, however, came through traditional means. A customer saw one of the fliers she distributed for her startup in Marlow, an oil-field region with strong demand for hotshot hauls.

As Burns has learned, marketing options for a small trucking business have proliferated and all have some value. Smart operators are taking advantage of many of them to establish their name, tout their equipment and services, and distinguish themselves from competitors.

Sue Burns sought a professional image for her website by posting contact information, a brief description of her hotshot hauling service and photos of her 2011 Dodge Ram 5500 and 2011 Maxey 20-foot flat float trailer. She says some calls for jobs probably originate from the website.

Websites can be “a trucker’s front door,” says Ultimate Marketing Solutions CEO Landon Middleton. He advises the Texas Motor Transportation Association and spoke recently at the First Annual Truck Driver Social Media Convention in Tunica, Miss.

Middleton and other Internet marketing experts say independents with small budgets should use free websites, as Burns does, to establish credibility and make contacts. Content on websites, videos and social media outlets should be precise, with contact information posted clearly. Services, equipment and pertinent information should follow.