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Category: SmallWebBusiness

SmallWebBusiness

  • Business Today: How Small Business Hosting is Reimagining Workflows with Innovative Solutions

    Business Today: How Small Business Hosting is Reimagining Workflows with Innovative Solutions

    In today’s digital age, small businesses need to be able to keep up with the ever-changing environment in order to remain competitive. This is why many of them have turned to new hosting solutions that provide innovative ways for them to streamline their workflows and maximize their productivity. Small business hosting services can be done through a variety of platforms, such as cloud computing and virtual private servers (VPS). 

    Cloud computing allows businesses to access their data from anywhere and at any time, while VPS allows them to scale up or down depending on their needs. Both of these solutions are cost-effective, secure and reliable – perfect for small businesses that may not have the budget or resources for more traditional hosting solutions. Additionally, these modern solutions offer features like automatic backups, enhanced security measures, and flexible storage options that make it easier than ever before for businesses to manage their information. By leveraging these types of services, small business owners are able to increase efficiency and profitability without sacrificing quality or customer service.

    How does small business hosting enable businesses to become more efficient and cost-effective?

    Small business hosting services, given by companies specializing in the service, enable businesses to become more efficient and cost-effective by providing them with a reliable, secure and affordable web hosting solution. With small business hosting, businesses can easily manage their websites without having to worry about the technical aspects of running a website. This allows them to focus on other aspects of their business such as marketing and customer service. 

    Moreover, small business hosting provides businesses with access to advanced features such as email accounts, databases and eCommerce solutions that are not available with traditional web hosting services. Such features enable the businesses to better serve their customers while also reducing costs associated with running a website. Furthermore, small business hosting offers scalability options that enable businesses to quickly adjust their resources according to the changing needs or demands. This helps ensure that businesses remain competitive in the market while also keeping costs as low as possible.

    What specific features do small business hosting solutions offer that make them beneficial to businesses?

    Some of the small business hosting solutions offer features including scalability, reliability and cost-effectiveness. Scalability allows businesses to easily upgrade their hosting plan as their needs change, without having to switch providers or purchase additional hardware. Reliability ensures that websites are always up and running with minimal downtime. Cost-effectiveness is also an important factor for small businesses as they can often get more bang for their buck with shared hosting plans than with dedicated servers. Moreover, many small business hosting solutions offer specialized features such as eCommerce support, website builders and security tools that help protect against cyber threats.

    What types of business process are most commonly hosted by small businesses?

    Small businesses typically host a variety of business processes, including customer relationship management (CRM), accounting and finance, human resources, inventory management, marketing automation and eCommerce. CRM is one of the most popular business processes hosted by small businesses as it helps them to better manage their customer relationships.Human resources processes such as payroll and employee onboarding are also commonly hosted by small businesses. 

    Inventory management is another important process that helps small businesses keep track of their stock levels and ensure they have enough products on hand to meet customer demand. Marketing automation tools can help small businesses automate tasks, such as email campaigns or social media posts, to reach more customers with less effort. Finally, eCommerce solutions allow small businesses to easily set up an online store where customers can purchase products directly from the website. 

  • Shopify Evolving Into World’s First Retail Operating System

    Shopify Evolving Into World’s First Retail Operating System

    “Shopify is evolving into the world’s first retail operating system,” says Shopify COO Harley Finkelstein. “We think the future of retail is retail everywhere. A brand that’s going to be successful in 5, 10 or 15 years from now needs to sell across any platform and across any channel where they have customers. The idea is that it all feeds back in one centralized back-office, the retail operating system, which is Shopify.”

    Harley Finkelstein, COO of Shopify, discusses how COVID has dramatically sped up the timeline for commerce moving online and has also moved Shopify closer to its goal of becoming the world’s first retail operating system:

    Shopify Evolving Into World’s First Retail Operating System

    Most people assume that Shopify is an ecommerce provider. We have more than a million stores on Shopify. If you were to aggregate our stores in the US we’d be the second-largest online retailer in America. Of course, we’re not a retailer but we’re a platform. But we now have these great economies of scale that we’re using to level the playing field for entrepreneurs and small businesses. That being said, what really Shopify is evolving into is the world’s first retail operating system. 

    What we’re trying to figure out is what do brands and entrepreneurs and retailers need, not just now but in the future? We think the future of retail is retail everywhere. A brand that’s going to be successful in 5, 10 or 15 years from now needs to sell across any platform and across any channel where they have customers. This idea of enabling Shopify merchants to very easily push their products to the Amazon Marketplace or the eBay marketplace or now the Walmart marketplace, that gives them access to a new set of consumers. The idea is that it all feeds back in one centralized back-office, the retail operating system, which is Shopify. 

    Then we’ve gone ahead and asked what else can we do for these merchants? Can we do capital? We’ve now given out about a billion dollars worth of cash advances and loans to small businesses. We’re doing fulfillment and we’re doing shipping. We’re increasing the scope and the relationship that we have with the million stores on Shopify. This is allowing them to become category leaders.

    COVID Speeds Up The Ecommerce Revolution

    From our view, it seems like the commerce world that would have existed in the year 2030 has really been pulled into the year 2020 (as a result of the COVID crisis). We’ve seen ecommerce as a percent of total retail go from 15 percent to 25 percent in the last three months. That’s the same growth rate that we’ve seen over the last 10 years. What really has emerged here is sort of this tale of two retail worlds. On one side you have these resilient retailers that are doing great, they’re pivoting, and they’re expanding their businesses. On the other side, you have these resistant retailers who have not made it. In many ways, it’s probably the most exciting time for retail in a very long time. 

    We talk a lot about these direct to consumer brands that are becoming category leaders. The Allbirds and the Gymsharks who started on Shopify when they were very small and have grown to become the incumbents in their industry. Every 25 seconds a brand new entrepreneur makes his or her (products) for sale on Shopify. We talk a lot about those new startups, those new DTC brands. But actually, what we’re also seeing on Shopify are companies like Lindt Chocolate or Heinz ketchup or Chipotle. They are signing up for Shopify and basically from like five days from contract to launch they are completely changing their businesses. 

    This resiliency isn’t simply in the hands of just the smallest of brands. Big companies are also beginning to think a lot more about how to stay resilient in this time. They’re moving well beyond ecommerce or thinking about offline commerce now. They’re thinking about how do they sell across social media? How do they sell across different marketplaces? So no, I don’t think it’s too late (to enter ecommerce) but I do think they have to rethink their strategies.

    Shopify Evolving Into World’s First Retail Operating System Says Shopify COO Harley Finkelstein
  • How HubSpot is Using Surround Sound Marketing Strategy to Drive Sales

    How HubSpot is Using Surround Sound Marketing Strategy to Drive Sales

    “There is a very smart individual at HubSpot named Alex Birkett based out of Austin, Texas,” says Scott Tousley of HubSpot. “He is working on this concept that is really starting to take off called Surround Sound Strategy. Essentially what that means is that it runs with the notion that marketers are selfish. All we care about is how do we drive more traffic to our website.”

    Scott Tousley, Senior Team Lead of User Acquisition for all products at HubSpot, was recently interviewed on the B2B Growth Podcast by David Kelly, General Manager at Sumo Dojo. Tousley discusses how HubSpot is using Surround Sound Marketing Strategy to drive leads and sales:

    Surround Sound Marketing Strategy Starting to Take Off

    There is a very smart individual at HubSpot named Alex Birkett based out of Austin, Texas. He is working on this concept that is really starting to take off called Surround Sound Strategy. Essentially what that means is that it runs with the notion that marketers are selfish. All we care about is how do we drive more traffic to our website. I don’t care where it comes from. Whether it comes from search or social or referral traffic or email, it doesn’t matter. You’re always looking at how do I get more traffic to my website? The reality is that when we are trying to buy something you don’t go to one website. You go to multiple different websites when you are trying to make a purchasing decision.

    For example, I’m in South Lake Tahoe right now. One search I just did recently was “best bars in South Lake Tahoe.” I wanted to see a list and I wanted to see some reviews from a couple of different websites. I also like to surf, so let’s say I’m in the market for a new shortboard. So I search for “best shortboards 2019.” First, I’ll read a listicle, then I will go back to Google and I will click on the next list. Then I will go back again and click on the next list. Then I will start to narrow my decision based on seeing the same thing over and over. Once I narrow it down I will do a versus search such as “lost puddle jumper” vs. “channel islands average joe.” I’ve narrowed my decision at that point.

    We Want To Be At All Stages of the Purchasing Decision

    What we are trying to do at HubSpot right now is figure out how to be everywhere. We want to be at all stages of that purchasing decision when people are searching for “what is the best blank that exists today.” Well, there are a ton of lists that are out there and a ton of review sites and HubSpot’s B2B software (has to be there). There are a lot of review sites just dominating search engines right now like Capterra, G2 Crowd, and Software Advice. A lot of those are pay to play. You have got to pay to get listed on what appears when you land via search. Most of them are.

    But listicles are free. Not only are they free to get added to, but they are free to create. That’s one of the biggest things we are working on right now. How do we change our mindset from being so obsessed at driving traffic to our website? How do we make sure that HubSpot’s brand is everywhere when you are doing your product research and you are on many different websites? We actually sometimes prefer that we drive traffic to multiple different websites where we are listed versus just to our own. It’s good for social grouping.

    Listen to the full interview with HubSpot’s Scott Tousley.

  • Microsoft Advertising Can Now Import Facebook Ads

    Microsoft Advertising Can Now Import Facebook Ads

    Microsoft has announced its Advertising platform can now import Facebook Ads.

    Many companies live or die by their online advertising. Especially in the wake of the pandemic, many small businesses have increasingly shifted to online sales, making their advertising more important than ever.

    For companies looking to expand their advertising reach, recreating a successful campaign on another platform can be a time-consuming proposition. Microsoft is hoping to make it easier, releasing Facebook Import to help companies import their Facebook ad campaigns into the Microsoft Audience Network.

    Are you new to audience campaigns, or looking to expand your existing presence on the Microsoft Audience Network? Using Facebook Import, it’s now easier than ever to get audience campaigns up and running by importing from Facebook Ads. Now rolling out to all advertisers in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, France and Germany, this new feature is designed to save you time and maximize ROI by seamlessly bringing over your campaigns from the Facebook Audience Network into the Microsoft Audience Network. Facebook Import can be used as a standalone tool, as well as a powerful complement to any existing Google Import strategy.

    The new feature can be accessed via the Import menu in the Microsoft Advertising dashboard.

  • What Does My Business Website Need to Succeed In 2022?

    What Does My Business Website Need to Succeed In 2022?

    It’s reckoned there are around 2 billion websites in the world today. While only 200 million of them are active, that’s still a hell of a lot of content. And if you run a business, a lot of competition! So, having a great website for your operation is paramount. You’ve often got one chance to make a good impression, and if you blow your opportunity, it’s unlikely you’ll get a second go. You might think you’ve got a great site, but it might be a turn-off for your audience in reality. Read on and discover what your business website needs to succeed in 2022.

    Goals

    Business websites are digital shop windows. If you’re not sure what the purpose of your website should be, then you can be certain your audience won’t either. You must show them who you are, what you do and what you offer. Seems an obvious thing to say, but millions of sites out there never get this right at the outset. It’s not enough just to have a site – it needs to say something! Once you know what you want, then you’re off to a solid start and you can build from there.

    Know Your Audience

    So, you’ve established what you want. But what does what your audience want? If your site doesn’t match their needs, then you’ve a recipe for poor sales. Creating a good site takes time, money and energy – so you must ensure you’re hitting and attracting the right people. If your site is already up and running, then you’ll already have some key data sitting in Google Analytics, waiting to be tapped. If you’re not using this, then do not delay – it’s packed with priceless data on who is looking at your site and their behavior while they’re with you. It’s a brilliant place to get customer insights, and it’s free. Away from Google Analytics, you should look at your competitors. Who are they attracting? What are they doing? Once you understand your audience, you can design your content to suit.

    Easy Navigation

    Now your audience is identified, the next step is to ensure your site is structured in a way that makes navigating around it easy. It’s not a time for puzzles – people are time-poor and information-hungry. Satisfy both demands with a logically constructed site, with clear page categories and sections. It is very easy to get this design element wrong – you can have the best content and the best deals, but if they aren’t easy to find, they’re useless. It’s no surprise that millions of businesses make sure they get this right by using custom web development services for their sites.

    Content

    With your design confirmed, it’s now time to populate your site with the engaging, compelling content you need to reel customers in and keep them coming back for more. Original content is a must too – it is this which will help you stand out from the crowd and build your brand. Having a blog section is a great way to deliver informative content and establish your expertise. Blogs can cover all sorts of relevant subjects. It can be a bit of news about your company, an industry development, a new product, an event or even a “guest” blog from one of your suppliers or partners!

    Use sensible fonts that are easy to read and aren’t jarring to look at. Always use the right words. Make everything clear and to the point and use a range of word lengths for your blogs and articles. Some topics need more detail than others! 

    Eye-catching imagery is a must – it has been long established that humans respond more strongly to visuals than text. Bland or poorly chosen images can make your website look amateurish. Always use visuals that reflect the brand images you want to promote. First impressions matter and your audience will see the pictures before they decide to read the text. Getting your words and images right on your site will not only satisfy your audience but will give your SEO (search engine optimisation) a boost. Vital to get your site shooting up the Google rankings!

    Speed

    We’ve all clicked through to a website that takes too long to load. And we all do the same thing – click straight back out, often never to return. Slow loading pages are a disaster for websites, and you’ve about 2-3 seconds grace before user frustration sets in. It strikes a hammer blow to your SEO efforts too. There are plenty of free online speed loading analysis tools so make sure you check regularly. Make sure you keep file sizes down (particularly images) and if you’re still encountering issues, you should think about speaking to a web development team.

    Think Mobile!

    Smartphones are used for everything now – gaming, streaming and browsing the web. While your site might look resplendent on your desktop and be packed with sticky content and great offers, it does not mean it will do so on smartphones (or tablets!). These days, more people access the internet on their phones than on desktops, so you ignore this at your peril. Make sure your site is optimized to look fantastic across mobile, desktop and tablet. You’ll simply bleed traffic otherwise.   

  • 4 Benefits of Investing in Next Generation Wi-Fi for Your Business

    4 Benefits of Investing in Next Generation Wi-Fi for Your Business

    Online connectivity was something to marvel at when it first became available for home and commercial use. Now it’s the backbone of nearly every company’s day-to-day operations. Without the internet and Wi-Fi, businesses wouldn’t be delivering many of the conveniences consumers depend on.  

    But like any technology, Wi-Fi remains in a state of evolution. New standards and infrastructure capabilities keep pushing the limits of what tech can do. Businesses that don’t keep up with the latest developments put themselves at risk.

    Slow and outdated Wi-Fi networks prompt more than short-term delays and frustrations. They can cause your business to get left behind as customers flock to competitors that offer the latest amenities. Outdated internet technology can also leave your company vulnerable to cybercriminal activity. Before you decide to put off adopting next-gen Wi-Fi, consider these four benefits.

    1. Adaptable Signal Strength

    If you have a larger or multi-story home, you’ve probably experienced poor Wi-Fi signal strength in more than one room. Perhaps you’ve tried a booster or extender, hoping to put a stop to the random disconnects and buffering. But these solutions didn’t do the trick, and you’ve still got a few slow spots where it’s difficult to connect.  

    The same scenarios happen in businesses due to sluggish Wi-Fi, resulting in lost productivity and patience. A small business Wi-Fi solution with the latest AI-driven technology can help prevent those slow and dead spots. Instead of just sending out signals, the network learns how and where you need connectivity the most. Over time, the technology adapts to your location’s usage behaviors and needs.

    Your back office might be hustling and bustling at 9 a.m., requiring the most capacity your Wi-Fi can muster. By noon, the front reception area needs all the signal strength it can get. And at the end of the workday, the staff cubicles are placing the highest demands on the network. Adaptive Wi-Fi can handle all of it by sending more signal strength where and when it’s necessary.

    2. Support for IoT and Additional Devices

    Although recent supply chain problems and shortages have lowered projections for Internet of Things (IoT) device adoption, market analysts still predict growth. The number of connected IoT gadgets is expected to reach 27.1 billion worldwide by 2025. The Internet of Things includes smart devices, wearables, and sensors. Some of these sensors help businesses manage inventory, fleet vehicles, and other assets. Farmers also use them to automate precision agriculture techniques.

    The next generation of Wi-Fi comes with increased capacity to accommodate the bandwidth IoT devices require. When there are more gadgets online, they start competing for available space on the network. It’s not just your POS systems, office computers, and employees’ smartphones that are vying for throughput. The smart locks on the doors and the sensors that monitor movements and appliances can’t function without enough bandwidth.

    Built into the latest Wi-Fi standards is the ability to divide a single channel into a larger number of subchannels. More devices can sustain a connection on a single access point without experiencing latency, freezing, or spotty service. Two-way or synchronous communication is also possible between access points and devices. This means more seamless and steady connections for all the machines businesses rely on.  

    3. Improved Power Management

    One of the benefits of a Wi-Fi connection is the freedom to move around with mobile devices. You’re not limited to using the internet and your web-based applications at your desk. That said, mobile gadgets rely on battery power to run. And although manufacturers have made strides in improving battery life over the years, batteries still require monitoring and recharging.

    Next-gen Wi-Fi reduces the strain on batteries through a capability called Target Wake Time. This feature puts the wireless signal on a device or access point to sleep until it’s needed. When it’s time to send or receive data on the network, the internal hardware responsible for communicating wakes back up.

    When wireless cards are constantly in “on” mode, they can drain battery life. During sleep mode, mobile devices save battery power. You can set your tablet down and keep it connected to the network. You won’t have to plug in a few hours later when you’re ready to start using the tablet again.

    4. Faster Speeds    

    According to industry reports, the latest Wi-Fi technology is three times faster than previous standards. Increased speed capacity allows for better video conferencing and streaming in 4K. If your business uses smart TVs to display entertainment, upgraded Wi-Fi can contribute to enhanced customer experiences.

    You’ll also notice quicker download and upload times when sending files or retrieving information online. Your team’s efficiency will get a boost since they won’t spend as much time waiting in front of their screens. Although a few seconds or minutes might not seem like a lot, those wasted moments add up. With faster response times, staff will feel more capable and productive, which can motivate them to keep moving forward.

    Similar to some previous wireless standards, the latest generation accommodates more than one frequency. Because next-gen Wi-Fi is backward-compatible, devices that run on 2.4GHz frequencies can take advantage of increased speeds. While those speeds may not reach the full potential of the newest wireless technology, improvement will still be noticeable. So if your business has devices that don’t operate on higher frequencies, you won’t have to ditch them.

    Conclusion

    Wi-Fi connections are sometimes taken for granted. You think about keeping your laptops and other devices up to date because your business stops working when they do. But outdated network solutions can slow you down and end up hurting productivity, customer service, and brand appeal.

    The benefits of next-generation Wi-Fi are plenty, including adaptive signal strengths and faster speeds. These advantages keep your business in the game and allow you to offer the resources employees and clients expect. Investing in current network technology is a move you can’t afford to overlook.                                       

  • 4 Ways You Can Actually Make Your Business Work Smarter, Not Harder

    4 Ways You Can Actually Make Your Business Work Smarter, Not Harder

    The fast-paced nature of modern society has everyone trying to get more done in less time. Business owners especially have a lot to juggle, whether it’s brainstorming in a strategy meeting or mentoring a newly hired executive. Owners also want to keep an eye on operations, offering direction and motivation when things veer off track. Keeping your output at the highest levels possible seems formidable, even with endless cups of coffee by your side.

    Despite the sheer number of tasks on your plate, all humans have limits. There will never be enough hours in a single day to accomplish everything. That’s why embracing the principle behind the phrase “work smarter, not harder” can help you be more productive. By approaching responsibilities and operations from a strategic mindset, you and your company can realize more efficient outcomes. Here’s how to make working smarter a reality.

    1. Rely on Automation

    Technology and artificial intelligence don’t have to replace everything employees do. However, tools that automate repetitive assignments and provide insights can enhance workers’ jobs. Automation and analytics save time and redirect employees’ focus to critical, complex tasks. From contact center software to apps that automate routine emails, there are plenty of AI-driven tools to streamline daily work.

    When deciding what to automate, look for assignments and activities that don’t require complex thinking. Responsibilities that happen frequently or according to a predictable schedule are also good candidates for automation. 

    For instance, contact center agents might type similar case notes for every call. Built-in templates and transcriptions can pre-populate most of the words, letting agents concentrate on serving clients. Meanwhile, interaction analytics help reps quickly assess clients’ sentiments about their experiences with the company. Agents can instantly shift their approaches and tactics to lower the temperature or enhance lukewarm engagement.  

    2. Delegate What You Can

    Business owners and leaders can fall into the trap of thinking that they have to do everything themselves. Or that if they’re not doing it themselves, they need to keep a close eye on someone else’s every move. However, maintaining a tight grip on every assignment, emergency, or business function will actually lower your effectiveness. Micromanagement also reduces your staff’s output, as they become fearful of making decisions or acting without your authority.

    Research shows that delegation skills can actually help leaders generate more revenue. CEOs who have higher delegation skills produce 33% more revenue than their peers who don’t delegate well. An owner’s delegation abilities thus play an important role in ensuring company success.    

    While it might be challenging to let go, look for matches between responsibilities and employees’ interests and skills. Trusting staff with higher-level and stretch assignments builds confidence, redundancy, and a leadership pipeline. Others can step in and keep the business running, allowing you to focus on the most important decisions.  

    3. Hold Purposeful Meetings

    Meetings are necessary to coordinate initiatives involving several departments, generate collaborative ideas, and determine action steps. At the same time, too many meetings or those without clear agendas will sidetrack anyone’s day. Productivity is lost due to conversations that lack direction or are simple announcements better handled by other means.

    Sometimes bringing groups together to go over information or reiterate previous discussions is overkill. Before you schedule a meeting, use a set of criteria to determine whether it’s essential. Once you figure out the main purpose of the get-together, you may realize it’s better to share the information another way. If the objective is to communicate procedural updates, it might be more efficient to point employees to a shared document. Managers can then handle any questions that might arise.

    Other things to take into account are the urgency of an issue and the scope of information. Matters that require quick decisions probably aren’t discussions to have through email. However, consider who needs to be involved and whether it’s the right time for them to make meaningful contributions. 

    For instance, network engineers might be considering a planned outage that will impact a group of customers. But if they don’t have a schedule in place yet, it’s not the right time to include the folks in marketing.

    4. Define Objectives and Focus on Results

    Spending time trying to solve poorly defined problems or chasing multiple solutions without clear objectives will rarely produce effective results. If you haven’t found the root cause of a problem or specified your goals, any efforts may be little more than busywork.

    In some cases, the actual problem might get worse or amplified. If the team isn’t sure why customers are losing internet service, for example, applying a solution may only replicate the issue. The time that could be spent isolating the real culprit will be wasted on implementing a non-fix.

    In the long run, it’s more efficient to document troubleshooting steps and permanent solutions. The next time the team runs into the problem or something similar, they can refer back to those steps and solutions. They’ll save themselves the trouble of reinventing the wheel by getting to work applying known fixes. 

    Likewise, formulating precise goals helps define what to work on and what to ignore. A business can’t be everything to everybody, an approach that is likely to cause burnout.   

    Conclusion

    Working smarter instead of harder is a technique business owners can use to boost efficiency and productivity. The philosophy and its methods often involve stepping back and critically examining what you’re doing and why. By automating, delegating, and defining problems and purposes, you can significantly improve your company’s operations.   

  • Stop Making These 7 Online Marketing Mistakes and You Will Crush It, Says Neil Patel

    Stop Making These 7 Online Marketing Mistakes and You Will Crush It, Says Neil Patel

    If you avoid these seven online marketing mistakes and you follow these tips you’re going to generate more sales, says popular digital marketing expert Neil Patel. A common theme of Neil’s tips is creating a brand. “Google doesn’t want to rank sites that aren’t brands,” he says. “There’s an issue out there called fake news and that’s why they’re pushing brands over anything else.” Patel says that if you follow these tips you’re going to crush it!”

    Neil Patel, digital marketing expert and founder of Neil Patel Digital, discusses the seven online marketing mistakes in his latest video release:

    Stop Making These 7 Online Marketing Mistakes

    I’m going to break down seven online marketing mistakes that you need to stop. You’re probably wondering you’re doing all these things but why aren’t you seeing results? Even if you’re doing the right things, if you’re also doing the wrong things at the same time it’s going to hurt you and it’s going avoid you from getting the results that you deserve.

    Mistake 1: Not Collecting Emails

    The first mistake you are making is not collecting emails. It doesn’t matter how good you are with SEO or marketing only a very small percentage of your visitors are ever going to convert into customers. By collecting emails not only can you get people to come back to your site but you can convince them to convert over emails.

    The moment someone gives you their email address think of that as a micro-commitment. They’re much more likely to convert into a customer because they committed, they already gave you something. That’s why you want to collect emails. You can do this through sliders or exit pop-ups. You can do this for free using tools like Hello Bar.

    Mistake 2: Not Collecting Subscribers Through Push Notifications

    The second mistake you’re making is you’re not collecting subscribers through push notifications. There are free tools like Subscribers.com that’ll make it easy. Just add in a JavaScript or a WordPress plug-in and then when people come to your website they will automatically subscribe through the browser. Then anytime you have new content or products or services that you want to sell then you can notify them through Subscribers.

    Mistake 3: Not Building a Brand

    The reason tip number one on collecting emails and tip number two on getting more push notifications subscribers are really important is because you need to build a brand. This gets you into the third mistake. Google doesn’t want to rank sites that aren’t brands. Why is this? There’s an issue out there called fake news and that’s why they’re pushing brands over anything else. It’s not just going to be Facebook and in Google. Eventually, it’s going to be Twitter and LinkedIn and all the sites out there.

    When you get people back to your site seven times you’re much more likely to build a brand. It’s called the Rule of Seven in marketing. So with your site, you want to provide an amazing user experience. When you provide an amazing user experience, create a great product, create a great service, it’ll help you build a great brand over time.

    Mistake 4: Not Interlinking

    The fourth mistake you’re making is not interlinking. You may notice on Google I’m ranking for terms like online marketing on page one. You’re probably wondering how do I do this? A lot of it comes out to interlinking. In my sidebar, I link to my most popular pages of content. When I write blog posts related to online marketing I link back to the online marketing guide that talks about what online marketing is. By having all these links it helps me rank higher.

    Mistake 5: Just Focusing On Text-Based Content

    The fifth mistake I have for you is just focusing on text-based content. The future of digital marketing is moving to video. It doesn’t mean you should stop doing text but it means you should also be doing video. When you do video you’re going to get more traffic because everyone’s lacking it. LinkedIn wants it right now. YouTube wants more of it. Facebook wants it. Instagram even wants it.

    Why is this? They want to crush the television networks. You look at things like the Oscars or traditional movie theaters and they’re not doing as well. You look at traditional TV and they’re going to get crushed. Why? It’s because of Facebook. It’s because of Google. It’s because of Netflix. If you’re there creating that video content you can be part of it and you’re going to get extra traffic. They want as much help as possible to crush these big old-school companies.

    Mistake 6: Sticking To Just a Few Marketing Channels

    The sixth mistake that you’re making is you’re really sticking to just a few marketing channels. Marketing is competitive. People raise venture capital hundreds of millions of dollars just so they can compete in marketing and sales. You need to do more than one or two or three marketing channels. The more you do the better off you’re going to be.

    Mistake 7: Not Asking For the Sale

    The seventh mistake I have for you is not asking for the sale. Whether it’s a lead or whether it’s getting people to buy your product, there’s nothing wrong with asking people to buy from you. If you don’t you’re not going to generate any sales. Everyone’s like I get all this traffic through my online marketing but no one’s converting. Why? Because you’re not asking for a sale.

    Stop Making These 7 Online Marketing Mistakes and You Will Crush It, Says Neil Patel


  • Stop Making These 5 Deadly SEO Mistakes, Says Neil Patel

    Stop Making These 5 Deadly SEO Mistakes, Says Neil Patel

    After you stop making these 5 deadly SEO mistakes your google traffic is going to increase, says digital marketing expert Neil Patel. Sometimes just making a simple change can dramatically increase your traffic. For instance, Patel says that the moment he took out the dates from his URL his search traffic shot up 58 percent in just 30 days.

    Neil Patel, digital marketing expert and founder of Neil Patel Digital, discusses the five beginner SEO mistakes in his latest video release:

    Mistake 1: Putting Dates in URLs

    The first mistake is putting dates in your URL. I used to do this with NeilPatel.com. What a huge mistake. My URL structure used to be NeilPatel.com/year/month/TitleofmyBlogPost. The moment I took out the dates from my URL guess what happened to my search traffic? Within 30 days it went up by 58 percent. I’m not talking about taking my search traffic from a 1,000 visitors to you 1,580 visitors. I had hundreds and thousands of visitors from Google already each month with dates in my URL. The moment I removed them I saw an additional 58 percent increase in my search traffic.

    So whatever URL structure you have just make sure it does not have dates. Reason being is when you have a date in your URL, Google thinks of your site as being relevant to that date. You write a blog post and they’re like oh, this blog post must be related to January 12, 2025, or whatever the date is today. If you want your content to continually rank as evergreen content you can’t put dates in your URL.

    Mistake 2: Thinking of Your Site as a Silo

    The second mistake that you’re making is you’re thinking of your site as a silo. It doesn’t matter how many different sections you have or categories, it’s still one site. It’s on one domain name. For example, my blog is about marketing, so when I create content I link to all the other marketing posts (on my site) that are relevant to the posts that I just released.

    You should consider thinking of your website as one big site versus different silos so when you write content you should link to other pieces of content that are relevant. That way all of your pages are going to be interconnected and they’re going to rank higher.

    Mistake 3: Thinking of SEO as Just SEO

    The third mistake that you’re making is you’re thinking of SEO as just SEO. It’s not just about on page code. It’s not just about building links. It’s not even just about getting social shares. It’s about building a brand. Eric Schmidt, the ex-CEO of Google, once said that brands are the solution. What he’s talking about is that when Google was trying to figure out what sites to rank higher than others he decided as well as ton of other people in Google that if you have a brand you should rank higher.

    Why is that? You’ve heard of this thing called fake news. It’s a great way to combat that. It’s not just Facebook who’s concerned about fake news. It’s also Google, LinkedIn, Twitter, and all of the major platforms out there. Building a brand does wonders for you especially when it comes to SEO. You can do things like collecting emails to get people to keep coming back to your site. You can use tools like HelloBar to do that for free. You can use tools like Subscribers to do push notifications so that when people come to your website within one click they can subscribe. Getting all of those people to keep coming back will help reinforce your brand to them. That’ll help you climb in the rankings in the long run.

    Mistake 4: Just Writing Content

    The fourth mistake is just writing content. I know you’re that content is king, how is that a mistake? Writing content isn’t a mistake. It’s writing content and then not updating it, and that’s what most people do. They just write content and they write more new content then after that they write more content and guess what they do after that they write more new content. If you update your content Google’s going to see it as fresh, hip, new, and still relevant, and rank it higher.

    With over a billion blogs out there Google likes picking brand new updated content versus old outdated content. This doesn’t mean you have to rewrite the whole article. It could just be paragraph or two or a few lines. It could just be reviewing an article and making sure it’s still up to date where you make no modifications because it’s still good to go.

    Mistake 5: Not Thinking About the User

    The last mistake you’re making is not thinking about the user. Google looks at something called user metrics. Whether it’s the browser or the toolbar Google wants to make sure people have an amazing experience. They’re using all those platforms to track how and when people come to your website and how they perceive it.

    They can’t talk to them by serving them or anything like that. What they can see is when someone performs a Google search, clicks on the listing landing on your site and within a second they are they clicking the back button. If they are it tells Google your website or that web page isn’t relevant. By putting the user first instead of putting SEO first it’ll help you climb to the top.


  • Fiserve CEO: From Large To Small There’s a Comeback In Payments

    Fiserve CEO: From Large To Small There’s a Comeback In Payments

    “It’s a great space a great and a great opportunity,” says Fiserv CEO Frank Bisignano. “You have to love the clients and you have to love the payment space. The opportunity to build things and grow is always a lot of fun. From large to small there’s a comeback in payments and we see growth going forward.”

    Fiserv, a major fintech player worldwide, had a strong earnings report in the second quarter with 129 percent growth in revenue.

    Frank Bisignano, CEO of Fiserv, discusses how their Clover acquisition will help the company power their growth going forward. Fiserv announced that they completed their $22 billion purchase First Data which included Clover on July 29:

    From Large To Small There’s a Comeback In Payments

    Clover is an unbelievable platform. It continues to grow. It serves small businesses. We think it’s integral. Our bank partners love it since we announced the deal. We have 160 new banks that want to be Clover partners with us. It is growing. We talked about a 32 percent growth rate in July in the heat of a pandemic. It’s a tool that we help businesses manage their business through. It’s a great asset to help small businesses. We see it as an integrated solution for our company.

    We’ve seen growth with Clover. We talked about seeing what we call internal revenue growth which is driven by transaction volume. We see transaction volume up and there is obviously a large move to e-com. If you look at our Clover platform which has order ahead capabilities and virtual terminal that’s driving that growth. From large to small there’s a comeback in payments and we see growth going forward. There are still businesses coming back in the recovery. Lots of businesses are still working their way back. We’re here to help small businesses grow.

    Fiserve CEO Frank Bisignano: From Large To Small There’s a Comeback In Payments
  • The Divorce is Final: eBay Sellers Can No Longer Use PayPal

    The Divorce is Final: eBay Sellers Can No Longer Use PayPal

    The end of an era has arrived as eBay is ending its support for PayPal for sellers.

    eBay first bought PayPal in 2002 before splitting the company off in 2015. The two companies continued to work together, but that appears to be coming to an end, at least for eBay sellers.

    According to The BBC, eBay has updated its terms to exclude sellers from receiving funds via their PayPal accounts. While buyers can use PayPal to purchase goods, sellers will need to link their account to an actual bank account.

    In terms of fees, the move has pros and cons for users. On the one hand, sellers will not have to pay PayPal fees. On the other hand, eBay will increase its fees slightly. As a result, the fees will likely be a wash for most sellers.

    One of the biggest tangible impacts will be the time it takes for payments to clear. Most payments will now take two business days to make their way into a bank account, as opposed to same day for PayPal. In addition, many sellers are not happy about being required to link their bank accounts with eBay.

    It remains to be seen if there will be any major fallout from the decision, or if the uproar will blow over. In the meantime, some users will be required to make the change as of June 1, while others will be notified in the coming weeks and months.

  • Twitter Officially Launches Twitter Blue

    Twitter Officially Launches Twitter Blue

    Twitter has finally taken the wraps off of Twitter Blue, its subscription service aimed at power users.

    Twitter Blue has been rumored to be in the works for some time. The company bought Scroll to help serve as the basis for subscription services, and Jane Manchun Wong leaked details about possible features last week.

    The company has now officially unveiled the service via its blog.

    We’ve heard from the people that use Twitter a lot, and we mean a lot, that we don’t always build power features that meet their needs. Well, that’s about to change. We took this feedback to heart, and are developing and iterating upon a solution that will give the people who use Twitter the most what they are looking for: access to exclusive features and perks that will take their experience on Twitter to the next level.

    The company assures users the free service is not going away, Twitter Blue is merely adding additional functionality for those that want it. The new service will include long-requested features, including Bookmark Folders, Reader Mode and Undo Tweet.

    The service is rolling out first in Canada and Australia, and will cost $3.49 CAD or $4.49 AUD per month.

  • Salesforce and Sean Combs Team Up on Marketplace for Black-Owned Businesses

    Salesforce and Sean Combs Team Up on Marketplace for Black-Owned Businesses

    Salesforce and Sean Combs are working together on SHOP CIRCULATE, a digital marketplace for Black-owned businesses.

    The collaboration comes just after the 100-year anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre. The initiative is designed to bring attention to Black-owned businesses and help them reach a wider audience and, at the same time, build wealth within the Black community

    “Building Black wealth starts with investing in Black-owned businesses and giving entrepreneurs access to the consumers needed to build sustainable companies that can thrive,” says Sean Combs, Chairman of Combs Enterprises. “I’m excited to partner with Salesforce to create a platform that will advance our collective pursuit of economic justice.”

    “Salesforce is honored to collaborate with Sean Combs and Combs Enterprises to help close the unjust wealth gap that prevents too many Black Americans from achieving economic equality,” said Marc Benioff, Chair and CEO of Salesforce. “SHOP CIRCULATE will empower us all — as individuals, communities and companies — to support Black-owned businesses, amplify the talent of Black entrepreneurs and move us closer to true equality.”

    The new platform will be built by Deloitte Digital, a leading Salesforce partner, and powered by Marketplacer’s technology.

    “Deloitte’s purpose is to make an impact that matters. As the largest professional services organization in the world, we have a responsibility to help level the playing field and advance opportunities for the Black community in business,” says Punit Renjen, Deloitte Global CEO. “This is one of the most effective ways for organizations like ours to do our part in ending systemic bias, racial injustice, and unequal treatment in all its forms.”

    “Marketplaces are a great leveler in bringing together businesses of all sizes into a single venue to drive opportunity and growth. It’s our goal that our partnership with SHOP CIRCULATE will bring our powerful marketplace platform to Black-owned businesses and entrepreneurs as a vehicle to drive change, growth and success,” said Jason Wyatt, Executive Chairman, Marketplacer.

  • Google Rolling Out June 2021 Core Update

    Google Rolling Out June 2021 Core Update

    Google is rolling out the latest updated to its search engine algorithm, and webmasters the world over are anxiously waiting.

    Google updates its search engine ranking algorithm regularly, usually every six months or so. This summer, however, Google will be rolling out two updates in quick succession, one in June and one in July

    Changes to the algorithm can wreak havoc on websites and their rankings, significantly impacting businesses. Google has not listed exactly what the updates address, only that some sites may see their rankings go up…or go down…or stay the same — Google is obviously a fan of really clearing things up.

  • Bob Iger: Act Boldly To Achieve Your Dreams

    Bob Iger: Act Boldly To Achieve Your Dreams

    Former Disney CEO Bob Iger gave the commencement address at University of Texas at Austin where he told graduates that acting boldly is the only way to accomplish meaningful things in life:

    The only way to accomplish meaningful things in life is by acting boldly. Being timid has never gotten anyone anywhere. Of course, boldness is just not being timid. It means taking swift significant action in the face of fear and uncertainty. It means standing with courage and conviction particularly when confronted with tough or unpopular choices. It means having an unwavering commitment to honesty, integrity, and just doing the right thing. It means having a deep and abiding curiosity about people, places, ideas, and just a sheer willingness to try something new.

    Being bold also requires ambition and a willingness to dream big. There is just no such thing as having dreams that are too big. My advice is to be optimistic, be confident, have faith in yourself and in your abilities, and believe that your dreams are achievable, and don’t let anyone tell you they’re not.

    Bob Iger: Act Boldly To Achieve Your Dreams
  • Shopify: We Are Arming The Rebels

    Shopify: We Are Arming The Rebels

    “We are arming the rebels… the entrepreneurs, the small business owners, the independent brands, and the rebels are winning,” says Shopify President Harley Finkelstein. “It feels like the retail world that would have existed in 2030 was pulled back to 2020. We have seen this massive catalyst to an acceleration in digitalization in commerce and retail. We are writing the future of commerce and entrepreneurs are really the heroes of the Shopify story.”

    Shopify President Harley Finkelstein says the rebels―the entrepreneurs and the small business owners―are the heroes of the Shopify story… and the rebels are winning:

    We Are Arming The Rebels

    There’s a lot to be optimistic about even in the second half of 2021. It feels like the retail world that would have existed in 2030 was pulled back to 2020. We certainly have seen this massive catalyst to an acceleration in digitalization in commerce and retail. But actually, we are writing the future of commerce and entrepreneurs are really the heroes of the Shopify story. We are arming the rebels… the entrepreneurs, the small business owners, the independent brands, and the rebels are winning.

    Consumers have been voting with their wallets for the last ten months or so to buy from independent brands wherever possible. In 2020, 47 million consumers purchased from a Shopify merchant. That’s up 52 from 2019. Our merchant’s performance helped expand Shopify’s lead on an aggregated basis to be the second-largest e-commerce retailer in the U.S. Shopify is now about nine percent of all US ecom. If you think about it, Shopify is a proxy for independent retail and for direct-to-consumer retail.

    Shop Pay Launches Accelerated Checkout

    We only succeed when our merchants do. This has led to us having more than 1.7 million merchants on Shopify. This includes people from first-time entrepreneurs making their first sale every 28 seconds to the likes of O’Neill and Hallmark and Herman Miller and Purina. Diageo, who also just launched in Shopify and in Q4 alone revenue nearly doubled year over year to $978 million. There’s a lot to be optimistic about. Actually, the future of retail and commerce we think is going to look a lot more like these independent brands than these sort of department stores that existed in the past.

    Shop Pay is our accelerated checkout. We just announced it last week. We know that it not only helps merchants get more sales, it helps buyers convert better and much faster. Now we think that providing it to the Instagram and Facebook platforms means that our merchants can not only access new customers on those platforms, and frankly anywhere where customers are, but now can transact in a more efficient way. Shopify is becoming far more than an e-commerce provider.

    Future of Retail Is Wherever Consumers Are

    We are trying to build the world’s first retail operating system, which makes it as easy as possible and where the cost of failure is as low as possible, so more people can participate in entrepreneurship. We think the future retail is not online or offline or anywhere, in particular, it’s wherever consumers are. That’s what we’re trying to build. Seeing Shop Pay move into Facebook and Instagram is a really great way to demonstrate where the future of retail is happening.

    We are trying to get to a point where we completely democratize entrepreneurship. We use a 100-year perspective and we want to build a 100-year company. We’re about 15 years into our journey right now and we have 85 years left to go. In the long run, we’re happy where Shopify is but frankly, on the topic of more participation in the equity markets, we think that is also entrepreneurial and we think that’s also democratizing.

    Shopify CEO: We Are Arming The Rebels

  • Microsoft Blocks 300,000 Advertising Accounts In 2020

    Microsoft Blocks 300,000 Advertising Accounts In 2020

    Microsoft Advertising has released its 2020 year-in-review report, giving a glimpse of the state of online advertising.

    The company blocked some 300,000 accounts from its advertising platform, a 30% increase from 2019. Microsoft also removed 1.6 billion bad ads, as well as 270,000 sites from its system.

    Given the year that was 2020, it’s not surprising what Microsoft’s five key areas of focus were: the pandemic, political advertising, third-party government services, tech support scams and advertiser safety.

    Microsoft emphasized its approach to advertising, one that uses a combination of artificial intelligence and manual reviewers.

    Advertising fraud is fast-moving, and we continue to see new patterns surface globally. We take an all-hands-on-deck approach to ensure we continue to deliver the highest quality content possible. We constantly update and refine our policies to ensure we meet evolving needs. Our fraud detection technology makes use of a wide variety of signals and uses the latest machine-learning algorithms to find fraud patterns which can otherwise be difficult to detect. We also have a geographically distributed team of experts working round the clock to help us conduct detailed investigations on any new patterns we’re seeing, by making use of smart and scalable tools. Detecting fraud before it has a chance to reach customers is one piece of our approach.

    We also address escalations and complaints from customers to quickly remove low-quality ads. In 2020, we received a total of ~50,000 complaints related to ads not being compliant per our advertising policies. We investigated each complaint and found ~ 65% of the reported ads to be in violation of Microsoft Advertising policies. Most of the complaints were related to trademark infringements. As we continue to roll out new products and make it easier for brands to engage with audiences, we made additional investments to protect and respond to advertisers’ concerns around trademark use and were able to reduce the trademark related complaints by ~ 25% year over year. We also received a few complaints related to unlicensed gambling sites, phishing, unauthorized government service provider websites, and other user safety concerns. We have a highly responsive operations team working 24/7 to promptly address concerns relating to our ads. In response to complaints, our operations team took down nearly 400,000 violating ads from our network.

    Microsoft’s 2020 report shows the challenges the advertising industry faces, as well as provides insights into how to manage those challenges.

  • Box CEO: I’m A Pretty Annoying Founder

    Box CEO: I’m A Pretty Annoying Founder

    Box co-founder and CEO Aaron Levie recently appeared on the Jason Calacanis podcast, This Week In Startups, where he talked about being annoying and stubborn:

    I’m a pretty annoying founder. I’m very stubborn and very steadfast. Sort of this is my very strongly held opinion and belief and I’m gonna run into a wall to prove it out. That has certain characteristics that can be annoying at times I’m sure both at the investor level as well as for anybody that is working with me. I’ve been able to tone it down over the years and control it more and contain it. I think it’s not causing probably as much annoyance.

    You have to be stubborn and right is the key. Stubborn and wrong means new job. There’s a Venn diagram of stubborn and right and you want to be right in that target zone. I look back when when I was 20, 21, or 22 and learning this trade and there were plenty of times where I was stubborn and wrong where maybe I took too long to pivot.

    My co-founder was telling me we’ve got to go enterprise probably for three to six months earlier than we actually did. What are three to six months in compounding terms? I don’t know. Maybe we’d be 20 percent bigger now as a result of if I had not been so stubborn at that stage and not seeing the information in the way that he was? That can just be sometimes an annoying pattern that people run into.

    Box CEO: I’m A Pretty Annoying Founder
  • Homeland Security Investing Fake N95 Mask Scam

    Homeland Security Investing Fake N95 Mask Scam

    As if the pandemic is not bad enough, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is investigating a scam involving fake N95 masks.

    Effective masks are one of the principle ways to combat the coronavirus and prevent its spread. While important for the population at large, masks are especially vital for front-line health workers who are exposed to the virus on a daily basis. N95 masks are particularly important to health workers, as they provide a higher level of protection than a basic face mask.

    Unfortunately, companies are selling counterfeit N95 masks to hospitals and frontline workers. The counterfeits, purporting to be 3M masks, are becoming more difficult to detect, putting health and frontline workers at risk.

    “They’re not coming from authorized distributors,” said Kevin Rhodes, 3M’s vice president and deputy general counsel, according to the Associated Press. “They’re coming from companies really just coming into existence.”

    “These products are not tested to see if they make the N95 standards,” Rhodes added “They’re not interested in testing them. They’re interested in making as many as they can as cheaply as possible.”

    To help combat the counterfeits, 3M has published guidelines to help individuals and companies identify fakes.

  • Pandemic Reinvention Is Real For SMBs, Says Bill.com CEO

    Pandemic Reinvention Is Real For SMBs, Says Bill.com CEO

    “I believe SMBs deserve innovation,” says Bill.com CEO and founder Rene Lacarte. “That innovation that we focus on is around the digital processes that are lacking in the back office of SMBs. We’ve seen it in part with the pandemic showing that there’s a need for being digital and to be able to run your business from anywhere. It’s a requirement now. The pandemic reinvention is real and something that we think is going to stick around.”

    Rene Lacarte, CEO of Bill.com, says that the pandemic reinvention is real for small and medium-sized businesses and that they need to innovate and digitize the back office:

    SMBs Deserve Innovation

    At the core of why I started the company is that I believe SMBs deserve innovation. That innovation that we focus on that I really believe is missing out there is around the digital processes that are lacking. We digitize the back office. Then we connect that back office to the banking system so money can move, to the accounting system so records can be reported, and to the accounting firms that they’re involved with.

    All of that connection creates a connective tissue that operates and automates the financial operations. Because of that it’s driving demand, it’s driving opportunity, and it’s driving growth across our existing customers as well as the new customers coming in. That’s how we do it. That’s how we bring the back office into the back pocket.

    Pandemic Reinvention Is Real For SMBs

    Nobody gets into business to actually do the back office. I grew up in small businesses. My parents had small businesses. My grandparents had small businesses. A lot of our friends had small businesses. This was always the bane of existence. This is what people had to do on Friday night. Who wants to do this on a Friday night? That’s what people are doing when they’re trying to run their business from their back pocket when they don’t have the tools. They have to do it at night at home.

    We take care of that. We automate the processes. That’s what’s driving the demand, it’s the opportunity. We’ve seen it in part with the pandemic showing that there’s a need for being digital. This opportunity to be able to run your business from anywhere is a requirement now. The pandemic reinvention is real and something that we think is going to stick around.

    Pandemic Reinvention Is Real For SMBs, Says Bill.com CEO Rene Lacarte
  • Barely a Quarter of SMBs Buy Software That Meets Their Needs

    Barely a Quarter of SMBs Buy Software That Meets Their Needs

    A new survey shows that only 27% of SMBs buy software that meets or exceeds their needs.

    Unlike many large businesses and enterprises, small and medium businesses often rely on off-the-shelf software for their daily operations. Despite that, the vast majority are making significant compromises when buying software, according to a survey by Capterra.

    In a Capterra survey of 1,000 small-business leaders who have influence on software purchase decisions, only 27% managed to secure what we call a “Great Match” on the last software purchase for their organization.

    That’s it! The rest either compromise on their original vision, or purchase software that fails to meet expectations—leading to further problems, additional software purchases, or, in the worst cases, purchase regret that forces small businesses to start over.

    Capterra recommends SMBs follow specific steps to avoid this problem, including focusing on internal goals, involving decision-influencers in the discussions, verifying information through independent sources, using free trial periods and sticking with shortlists of the best candidates.

    At a time when SMBs are already under increased pressure, Capterra’s survey highlights the challenges they face with something as important as the software they rely on.