Magnopus is an experience company with deep expertise in AR, VR, mixed reality, and virtual production. The company was founded by a team of Oscar-winning artists, designers, and engineers from games, films, and other unusual places. We’re passionate about creating rich experiences that bridge the physical and digital worlds in ways people haven’t experienced yet.
We are building a new product and platform encompassing front end, back end, and middleware — and covering desktop, web, mobile, VR, and AR.
The crew at Magnopus are smart, they are good communicators, and they are gracious. So ideally you’re like that, too. These are all growth roles in a growing company in a growing team; you will not only ensure we get good results up front, but you will also have an opportunity to set best practices that will serve us for years to come.
(Other positions are also open, including Security Engineer.)
Magnopus is an experience company with deep expertise in AR, VR, mixed reality, and virtual production. The company was founded by a team of Oscar-winning artists, designers, and engineers from games, films, and other unusual places. We’re passionate about creating rich experiences that bridge the physical and digital worlds in ways people haven’t experienced yet.
We are building a new product and platform encompassing front end, back end, and middleware — and covering desktop, web, mobile, VR, and AR.
The crew at Magnopus are smart, they are good communicators, and they are gracious. So ideally you’re like that, too. These are all growth roles in a growing company in a growing team; you will not only ensure we get good results up front, but you will also have an opportunity to set best practices that will serve us for years to come.
(Other positions are also open, including Security Engineer.)
Have you heard of data visualization? Even if you don’t know the term, you’ve probably seen some examples.
Data visualization refers to graphical images that represent and explain data trends or other numerical information, such as charts, maps, scatter plots, or graphs.
You can use data visualization in articles or on web pages to make numbers and data easily digestible to the reader. Especially when you are trying to distill down complex topics to convert more readers, data can add value and help you make your case.
The Benefits of Data Visualization
Visuals are a powerful addition to your articles and presentations.
Our brains process images at a rapid pace, according to an MIT study. Including visuals in your article not only breaks up the text and gives your reader something else to look at, but also may help them process the information more quickly.
Think about it: we’ve been communicating visually from the cave painting days. Data visualization just takes image communication to the next level, integrating stats and data into compelling visuals that your brain can absorb faster than just scanning numbers.
Plus, it’s more than just laying out the numbers. Data visualization is about presenting data in a very specific way to back up your claims or illustrate your point. It’s more than just a table of statistics the reader has to work through to figure out for themselves.
According to the Nielsen Norman Group, people don’t read word-for-word online, going back to the internet’s earliest days. Instead, they scan, looking for stand-out headlines and images that grab them. Data visualization gives you that opportunity to capture their interest and get important stats in front of their eyes.
Examples of Data Visualization
Are you inspired to start creating data visualization images for your content, or are you still needing some examples? Here are a few ideas to get you thinking.
1. USA Today Housing Bubble Graphic
Using an interactive map, USA Today created this graphic to help readers understand the data behind current housing sales trends. The simple color palette makes it visually appealing, and the ability to scroll over each state to learn more means readers may spend more time on the page, interacting with the data.
2. CNBC Job Change Graph
This visual from CNBC is an example of using a bar graph in a visually compelling way. At a quick glance, you can see what’s growing and decreasing. As you look closer, you can check out more detail about the numbers and specifics.
3. NY Times Nutrition Scatter Plot
Scatter plots can get complex, which is why this graphic from the NY Times uses images to help make the point. It also explains the XY axes, so readers understand what they’re looking at.
Types of Data Visualization
When it comes to creating unique images, the only limit is your imagination, but here are a few common types to get you started.
Bar Graphs
Bar graphs are a simple option. Think back to your school days and science projects. Bar graphs can be vertical or horizontal, with each bar representing the values of each category.
Bar graphs can represent any set of numbers you need to compare side-by-side, and you can use colors to reflect different categories. For example, you could compare salaries for different jobs, prices for different products, or populations of different groups.
Pie Charts
Pie charts consist of circles representing 100% of something, broken into “slices” of ratios or percentages.
They are a great way to illustrate how various categories compare to their larger context. For instance, you can show how many people of a certain group have different behaviors, habits, or preferences.
Tables
While not always the most visually compelling, tables can allow you to provide multiple data points or categories to help people understand the relationships among items.
On a table, you can lay out in rows the main categories you’re comparing. Along each column, you can include as many different topics as you need to.
Tables are simple and useful but can easily get cluttered. Make sure to highlight the sections that need your attention and use colors to make things stand out. Keep everything lined up and clear to make it easily scannable for your readers.
Infographics
A power horse of online images, infographics can mean almost anything. However, an infographic typically acts as a curated collection of charts, graphs, icons, and short text to share high-level information about a topic or tell a narrative.
They are usually vertically designed, with strong headlines and numbers. Its power comes in combining various elements to tell a story. Infographics are great for an overview, such as a brief history behind a topic or a quick lesson.
GIFs
What’s more visual than a GIF? Functioning as a quick video, a GIF can allow you to show growth, movement, regression, or progress. GIFs often involve an animated graph or chart that shows demographics or change over time.
Maps
When the information you present is demographically or locally focused, maps can help tell that story visually. You can connect readers with information relating to specific areas or groups of people in those locations.
Color-coding different areas of your maps can give your readers a quick visual of exactly which areas relate to which topics in your content. For instance, you can shade areas red or blue depending on how that region voted on a particular topic or election.
Heat Maps
A heat map can show areas of concentration or intensity. You can use this for actual temperatures, such as climate or record temperatures in certain areas, or you could use it for proverbial heat, showing intensity or even popularity.
Sometimes heat maps illustrate population density, for instance, or the behavior of users on a website, such as how often they interact with a certain area.
Scatter Plots
A scatter plot is a type of graph that shows the correlation or relationship between two topics on a horizontal and vertical axis, with dots scattered throughout to represent examples of that relationship.
You can draw a line through the area where the dots are concentrated to see trends. Your reader can see that as one factor changes, such as increases or heats up, the other factor tends to respond in some way.
Pair Up Simple Data Visualization Types
The above are just a few of the simple elements you can use to illustrate your data. The options are almost innumerable. Just about any kind of chart, graph, or map can be employed.
However, some of the best data visualizations integrate multiple types or pair up more than one element. For instance, you can use a series of pie charts to show how trends have changed over time.
Sometimes, matching up multiple elements can illustrate your point more fully or allow you to describe various points of your narrative better. You could even use a chart within a chart or lay them out in an infographic style to tell a story.
Make Data Visualizations Interactive
To make your data visualization work hard for you, you may want to consider interactive options.
Interactivity allows readers to scroll over or click on various parts of your charts or graphics to learn more about each section. Maybe each bar on your graph or each area on your map has more specific information that your viewers can read.
This not only provides more powerful data points to your image, but it also allows it to be a more relevant and customizable experience for more users.
Data Visualization Tools
You can create data visualization images for your content from scratch using design software or an online option like Canva. However, data visualization tools can give you a leg up by allowing you to create truly stand-out projects.
These tools can take the guesswork out of the process and let you focus on plugging in the data and cranking out designs that reflect your brand and convey your message.
The great thing about these tools is that they are made for the casual creator. You don’t need to be a developer or coder to get into making great charts or graphs. Here are a few of the plug-and-play options that can get your idea off the ground.
Flourish
Flourish advertises an easy option for creating and sharing data visualization. You can upload spreadsheets directly to the platform or create your images from scratch. It has a number of animated or interactive templates, which you can update with your brand graphics and elements.
Flourish has a free option that allows you to explore and create public data visualization. If you want to interact with your team or create private projects, it offers a few levels of paid options.
Datawrapper
Datawrapper promises to be easy to use, with no coding experience required. It provides several intuitive options, with tools such as a color-blind check that remind you of colors that are color-blind friendly.
With a variety of defaults in its templates, Datawrapper brings the details of each data visualization that newbies may not have thought through.
Infogram
This tool allows you to create charts and graphs that have the animation and customization you need to wow your audience. You can also use Infogram’s drag-and-drop feature to drag the images around and combine elements into a single, highly-effective visual.
Tracking the Success of Your Data Visualization Elements
The time and effort it takes to create data visualization and work it into your content can pay off if it helps drive people to your goals, like increasing readerships or leads. However, you’ll only know if they’re successful if you track the metrics.
Consider the Big Picture
As you start incorporating data visualization into your content, one of the easiest ways to track their success is to see how well your content is doing. The most basic questions to ask are: is the content with data visualization more popular? Do those pieces get more readers and more shares?
Dive Into the Data
One way to get a little geeky with your data is to set up a heat map tool, such as Hotjar. This can give you more data about how people behave on your page, such as how and where they scroll or click. This is especially useful for a landing page where you’re trying to convert people to sales.
Help Them Act
The only way to know if your data visualization is actually converting is to give readers a way to be converted. Once they have been convinced by the data you are sharing, what do you want them to do next? Make sure you keep clear CTAs near the data visualization. Clicks or email sign-ups can help you track the effectiveness of that image.
Conclusion
Data visualization can help you drive readership and more leads by engaging with them from the start. People come back to your online hub when they find quality content there. They’re also more likely to share your content with others when they find it interesting and engaging.
Data visualization can help you take complex or dry concepts and make them more compelling, helping drive home your point and increase sales along the way.
If it feels daunting to create and manage your data visualization elements, we are here to help out. We also offer services like SEO, content marketing, and paid media.
What kind of data visualization are you going to use in your content?
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Have you heard of data visualization? Even if you don’t know the term, you’ve probably seen some examples. Data visualization refers to graphical images that represent and explain data trends or other numerical information, such as charts, maps, scatter plots, or graphs. You can use data visualization in articles or on web pages to make …
Keywords play an integral role in search engine optimization.
That’s why, if you want your SEO strategy, particularly keyword research, to be successful, you must know where to find relevant keywords.
You must know how to find keywords everywhere—and not just any keywords, but high-intent, low competition keywords you can rank for.
Why It’s Important to Find Keywords Everywhere
Whenever keyword research is mentioned, the conversation is usually centered around finding the best keyword research tool.
However, to have a set of winning keywords for your SEO strategy, you need to look beyond the standard keyword research tools everyone else is using.
You can’t rely on one single SEO tool or strategy. That’s because no single SEO tool can provide you with all the information you need to create a robust SEO strategy. Besides, take a look at the results you get from different tools, and you’ll find that every SEO tool provides slightly different results for the same query.
That incomplete data puts you at a great disadvantage. That’s why, if you want to outperform your competition, you must put in the effort and look for keywords everywhere—not just using a single tool or platform.
So how do you find keywords everywhere?
That’s what I’ll share in this post.
4 Tools and Strategies for Finding SEO Keywords Everywhere
When done right, SEO keywords can help you rank content, sell more products, and build your brand. That’s why investing the time and resources to find the right ones is so critical to business growth. Here are some tools and strategies to help you do just that.
1. Do a Manual Google Search
What better place to look for relevant keywords than on the biggest search engines of our time? Yes, I’m talking about Google.
On your quest to find keywords everywhere, one of your first steps must be a manual Google search. Here are a few ways you can find relevant SEO keywords using this method:
Google’s Autocomplete
Google’s Autocomplete function is the suggestions Google offers when a user is typing in a search query. While it was originally meant to help users reduce typing time, it has become a wealth of data for SEOs. That’s because the autocomplete suggestions are pulled from real-time, trending searches.
Another way to manually find keywords on Google is by searching for niche-related keywords and focus on the featured snippets.
Also known as “position zero,” a featured snippet is the first listing on the search engine results pages (SERPs). It’s different from other results in that it contains more information. Both factors make it more appealing to users than the other results on the page.
Featured snippets can also help you find keywords to use in your content—and the best featured snippets to use for your keyword research are your competitors’ featured snippets.
Of course, manually searching for these is laborious and time-consuming. To make it easier, use an SEO tool like SEMrush’s Featured Snippet Report to track your competitors’ featured snippets.
Once you’ve compiled your competitors’ featured snippets, find the keywords they are ranking for and add those to your keyword list.
People Also Ask
The “people also ask” box is another great place to find SEO keywords. For some searches, Google will display related questions people ask in drop-down boxes like this:
Just like Google’s autocomplete feature, the “people also ask” box is a goldmine of long-tail keywords.
Related Searches
The related searches section at the bottom of the SERPs features related keywords users input into the search bar.
Sift through the related searches on as many pages as you can and look for relevant SEO keywords to add to your content strategy.
Ubersuggest is a free tool specializing in generating keywords and serving up critical data on those keywords. The main features of the tool include:
Domain Overview
The Domain Overview feature gives you insight into your competitors’ SEO, content marketing, and social media strategies. This allows you to see what’s working in your niche so you can adapt those strategies for your campaigns.
Top SEO Pages
This feature helps you discover which competitors’ pages rank for particular organic keywords. It also shows which content performs well on social media.
Keyword Ideas
This is one of my favorite features—and the most useful. All you have to do is type in a seed keyword, and the tool provides a list of head and long-tail keyword suggestions.
Ubersuggest will not only give you keyword suggestions, but will also give you important metrics about the keyword.
Search Volume: The number of monthly searches on Google for the keyword
Cost Per Click (CPC): The average cost per click if you want to pay for Google Ads
Paid Difficulty (PD): The estimated competition in paid search
Seo Difficulty (SD): The estimated competition in organic search
Of course, Ubersuggest isn’t the only keyword research tool on the market (but it is one of the best as far as free features go).
If you’ve got a bit of money to splurge and need to dive a bit deeper into data, you can also try tools like Moz, Semrush, and Mangool’s Keyword Finder.
3. Use Chrome Extensions Like Ubersuggest
If you want to find keywords on the fly, use Chrome extensions like Ubersuggest.
Every time you perform a search in Google, the extension gives you SEO data on your search query.
4. Complete Competitor Research With Tools
If you want to find keywords everywhere, one of the best sources for winning keywords is your competitors.
No, they won’t deliver those keywords to you on a silver platter. However, you can discover the keywords they are using by leveraging tools like TagCrowd.
All you have to do is input your competitor’s URL, and it will show you the keywords they’re using.
Other competitor research tools you can use to find the keywords your competitors are using include:
SpyFu
BuzzSumo
SEMrush
Ahrefs
Ubersuggest
You can then use those keywords to create better content that outranks your competitors.
4 Tools and Strategies for Finding Amazon Keywords Everywhere
Need to outrank your competitors on Amazon? It’s a tall order, as there are over 1 million of them in America alone.
Then you must know how to find Amazon keywords everywhere. Like Google, Amazon is a search engine that uses its own algorithm to rank content. And because searchers on Amazon are usually looking for something specific (products), your keyword research must align with their search intent.
A few tools and strategies to help you do that include:
1. Complete a Manual Search
Using Amazon to conduct keyword research manually is one of the best ways to find keywords on Amazon. To do this, type in your product name in the search bar and note the autocomplete suggestions that come up.
The suggestions are aggregated from the most popular searches users make. You can find some amazing keywords here you won’t find using regular keyword research tools.
Look at what comes up when you search for products that are similar to the ones you offer.
Check the product descriptions and look at the keywords they’re using.
Consider using the ones that apply in your own copy.
However, don’t just blindly apply your competitor’s keywords. Consider similar variations and think about what features are likely to be important to searchers.
3. Use Amazon-Specific Keyword Tools
Amazon is a search engine that uses its own algorithm to rank content. That’s why when looking for keywords to help you rank on Amazon, you must use Amazon-specific keyword research tools. Tools like Sonar and KeywordTool.io use complex algorithms to collect data about the keywords Amazon shoppers use when looking for products.
These tools will help you find keywords that are more relevant to your Amazon SEO strategy.
4. Use Analytics From Your Website
Your website is also another great to check out as you look for Amazon keywords everywhere. Use a tool like SEMrush to analyze your product pages and see which keywords are ranking high.
If they are specific and can be targeted towards Amazon shoppers, you can use them in your Amazon SEO strategy.
Remember, the competition on Amazon gets hotter every day as more people join the e-commerce bandwagon. To stay ahead of competitors, you’ll need to pull all the stops when doing your keyword research.
4 Tools and Strategies for Finding YouTube Keywords Everywhere
What started as a site to share video content has become one of the most popular search engines.
YouTube SEO is slightly different from other search engines because it’s a search engine for video content. Videos must follow YouTube SEO best practices to rank well there—and that includes using different keyword research strategies.
You must know how to find YouTube keywords everywhere possible to outrank your competition.
Here’s how to perform keyword research for YouTube.
1. Do a Manual YouTube Search
As with other search engines, your first port of call is to do a manual YouTube keyword search. To do this, you can:
Use the Suggested Keywords
Input your keyword idea into YouTube’s search bar, and it will suggest similar or related keywords.
A major advantage of this strategy is the suggestions are collected from real YouTube. As a result, they are more likely to be relevant.
Check Top-performing Video’s Metadata
Another YouTube keyword strategy is to look for popular videos in your niche and check the video’s metadata. This includes title, description, and video tags. You’ll find top keywords you can use for your own videos.
2. Use YouTube Keyword Tools
Because YouTube SEO is unique to the platform, it’s essential to use YouTube-specific keyword tools to help you uncover unique keywords.
Tools like Kparser and VidIQ specifically generate keywords for YouTube. They are also designed to generate keywords for video titles, descriptions, and tags.
3. Use Discussion Forums like Quora
An important aspect of keyword research is to find the keywords people actually use in search queries.
And what better place to find those keywords than on platforms where people discuss topics related to your niche or industry. One such platform is Quora.
Search Quora for hot topics in your industry and think about relevant keywords and content you can create on YouTube along those same lines.
4. Review Your Blog
When doing keyword research for YouTube, think about the keywords you use to rank blog content. Use an SEO tool to analyze which keywords you’re ranking for, and then use these same keywords to develop content ideas for your YouTube channel.
When you create your YouTube content, embed those videos into the related blog posts—which is a great way to boost SEO on both Google and YouTube.
Conclusion
Keyword research is not just confined to keyword research tools. You can find keywords everywhere—if you know where to look.
Hopefully, this blog post has provided you with several fresh strategies to find keywords.
While looking for keywords everywhere can be time-consuming, it’s one of the first steps to gaining a competitive edge.
Which keyword research tool or strategy is the most effective for you?
If so, you need to understand the importance of your Amazon sales rank and how it can help (or harm) your business.
What is Amazon Sales Rank?
Amazon sales rank (also known as best sellers rank or BSR) is a numerical score representing an item’s popularity in both its overall category and respective subcategories.
What does that mean? Let’s look at Jenga’s performance. While Jenga scored position three in the overall category of Toys & Games, it earned the number one rank in Stacking Games.
With this level of visibility into performance, sellers can view performance on multiple levels.
Amazon sales rank can range from one to over a million, with lower scores indicating superior rank. The metric is calculated hourly using the number of recent sales, as well as historical sales in relation to other products in the same category.
Wondering how you can find your product’s Amazon sales rank?
It’s easier than you think. Simply scroll to the bottom of your product page until you encounter the Product Details section. Then, look for the Amazon Best Sellers Rank.
Now that you’ve found your Amazon sales rank, you’re probably wondering, ‘is this a good score?’ When it comes to sales rank, all things are relative.
If you’re in a saturated category, a “good” score could still be an astronomically high figure. Conversely, if you’re in a small, niche community, a score that may present as low may not actually mean that much. As a general rule, you’ll want to aim for a score under 2,000.
Why Is Your Amazon Sales Rank Important
You might think your Amazon sales rank doesn’t have much bearing on your present performance, as is based on past performance. However, there are four distinct reasons why you should care about your ranking.
Amazon Sales Rank Shows Trust
For Amazon sellers, having a low Amazon sales rank is vital to success on the e-commerce site. Since rankings are used to define product popularity within a specific genre, and comparatively with its competitors, consider your sales rank as a vote of confidence in popularity of your product.
Provides a Competitive Edge
In addition to serving as a testimonial to the popularity of your product, Amazon sales rank provides insight into your competitors by providing visibility of the most high-performing products in your category. By assessing products that hold top Amazon sales ranks, you can then reassess your own campaign through their lens, optimizing your listing and marketing strategies accordingly.
It Increases Sales
In addition to credibility, consumers are more likely to purchase a product that others have also bought. What’s the likelihood that you would buy a product online without any reviews? None, most likely.
The same premise is at work here—more sales means more reviews, leading to even more sales.
It improves Brand Awareness
If your products are routinely ranking in top positions in your category or subcategories, buyers will notice. By increasing your products’ positive visibility, you can increase the visibility and awareness of your brand.
6 Ways to Increase Your Amazon Sales Rank
While it may feel like your sales rank is completely out of your control and dependent solely upon your consumers, there are actions you can take to drive sales and increase your Amazon sales rank.
Let’s look at six strategies to increase your sales rank.
1. Incentivize Reviews to Increase Amazon Sales Rank
Eighty-eight percent of consumers trust online reviews just as much as they trust word-of-mouth recommendations from their friends and family. Positive reviews can be the tipping point that causes a consumer to choose your product over a competitor’s.
While Amazon has banned true financial incentivization of reviews (such as offering a discount or payments) there are still options to encourage shoppers to leave glowing reviews. Here’s a few ways to increase your online reviews.
Follow Up
After a purchase is made, send a follow-up email. In this email, you can include a valuable piece of informational content that will grow goodwill between buyer and seller, perhaps leading to future purchases and future reviews.
You can also opt for Amazon to automatically send an email to the purchaser to review the product. This is a quick, easy way to score some valuable reviews.
Inserts in Packaging
Including a valuable piece of content in your packaging can also encourage customers to leave a review. Consider including a hand-written note that encourages the consumer to leave a review, which will also further foster that sentiment of connection. Even a printed thank you note with a reminder to review can help.
Amazon Vine
Amazon Vine is an internal program that offers products for free to trusted Amazon customers in return for feedback. The goal is to encourage honest reviews from real customers and is invitation-only for participants.
The only catch here is that you must be an Amazon vendor to participate in this program.
2. Do Keyword Research to Improve Amazon Sales Rank
We believe that keyword research should be the foundation of any online campaign, and selling on Amazon is no different. Identifying the right keywords for your product can be the differentiator between success and failure.
As you craft your Amazon listings, include your keywords in your title and bullets. By including these terms, you ensure more searchers see your listing, which, in turn, increases the likelihood that your product will be purchased.
3. Use Quality Photos to Increase Amazon Sales Rank
Photos matter. In fact, 63 percent of consumers report that photos are more important to them when shopping on Amazon than verbal descriptions. It pays to invest in quality photos.
As you select photos to include in your listing, think about what you would want to see as a consumer. Would an image that incorporates an infographic be effective? Would an image of an individual using your product convey value? If you take your own photos, look for tips that will help you take professional-level photos.
Regardless of which approach works best for your product, quality photos can attract and convert attention, drive sales, and increase your Amazon sale rank.
4. Write Good Sales Copy
A lot of Amazon product listings showcase some pretty lackluster writing. Common offenses include un-optimized pages, titles stuffed with keywords, and sentences that don’t even make sense (which won’t inspire trust in your company.)
To help your product stand out from the crowd and drive more purchases, write thoughtful sales copy for each of your product listings. Focus on the benefits your product offers and what makes it stand out.
Amazon visitors come with commercial intent. If you can attract them with strong sales copy, they’re that much more likely to convert.
5. Optimize Product Description and Title
Here’s a fun fact—90 percent of Amazon product listings don’t adhere to Amazon’s description requirements. Just like Google, Amazon makes frequent algorithm updates. Staying current on recommended listing details, including character counts and word limits, can help your products perform better and increase visibility.
When crafting product descriptions and titles, remember that Amazon users are shopping on the platform because it is quick and easy. If your would-be consumer struggles to understand your products, they’re likely not returning for a second look.
To make your titles stand out among the multitudes, try these three things:
be creative
adhere to Amazon’s 200-character limit
use descriptive titles that communicates what your product is
Be sure to useAmazon’s best practices when creating product titles. They exist for a reason, so be sure to implement them in your title strategy
first letter of primary words must be capitalized
on’t use an ampersand
share exact size detail
use numerals when conveying numbers
6. Promote Your Products to Increase Amazon Sales Rank
The conversion rate in the Amazon Marketplace averages around 15 percent, considerably higher than other e-commerce platforms. The key to ensuring your products see that level of conversion is to ensure and increase visibility. If no one sees your product, no one can buy it.
While there are a number of ways to promote your products on Amazon, we’ve gathered our top three to share with you.
Invest in Sponsored Product Ads
To increase your product’s visibility, consider investing in sponsored product ads. As a seller, you only are charged when a buyer clicks on your ad, so this is a reasonably priced way to get your product in front of fresh eyes.
In the above ad, the sponsored product appears on the first page of search results.
Use Your Social Channels
Harnessing the power of your business’ social channels is a great way to get your products seen by more buyers. While you don’t want to inundate your followers with ad after ad, there are a few strategies you can employ to get your Amazon listings noticed.
Host a giveaway or contest: By creating a contest that encourages people to interact with your Amazon product listing, you increase visibility. For example, you could give away a product to a lucky winner who shares your Amazon listing in their bio or in their stories.
Share content with a link to your Amazon listing: When you post a helpful blog specific to your industry, people will come to that content to learn. Not only will this establish you as a thought leader in your industry, it also is an opportunity to link to your Amazon listings and increase visibility.
Offer a social media promo code: If you have a Professional Selling account on Amazon, you can create a promotion link to share through social highlighting a discount offered on the listing. Here’s a guide for navigating setting up a promotion link.
Offer a Lightning Deal
Increase interest in your product by offering shoppers a Lightning Deal. These sales are time-sensitive and buyers can locate them in Amazon’s Today’s Deals section. These are extremely popular with shoppers as they urge action given their time-sensitive nature.
When you include your product in Amazon’s Today’s Deals sections, you not only will increase your sales, but you’ll inevitably boost your Amazon Sale Rank.
Whether you start by researching keywords for your e-commerce store or shining up your existing copy, you’ll be on your way to improving product visibility. As that visibility increases, so will your sales, driving your sales rank up simultaneously.
What’s your most successful strategy for increasing Amazon sales rank?
Either a personal or a business credit record can have errors in it. There are all sorts of reasons why you or your business would not be able to get funding. Correcting mistakes is one way to make it easier for your business to get money.
Let’s look at errors in public records.
Correcting a Credit Record Means Enhancing Fundability
But what’s fundability? Fundability is the ability of a business to get funding. This is everything from getting credit to business loans. Because every business needs money, it quite literally pays to enhance your fundability whenever and wherever you can.
Public Records Matter to Your Credit Record
In addition to how well your business pays its bills, and your personal credit score, and whether your industry is felt to be a risky one, there’s the matter of public records.
Public records include bankruptcy (both personal and business), liens, judgments, and UCC filings. Errors in any of these kinds of public records will affect fundability, so correcting such mistakes will enhance your ability to get cash for your business.
Bankruptcy is a process a business goes through in federal court. The idea is to help a business eliminate or repay its debt under the guidance and protection of the bankruptcy court. Business bankruptcies are often liquidations or reorganizations. This depends on the type of bankruptcy an entrepreneur takes.
Corporations are legal business entities separate from their owners. They are more truly separate than partnerships. But in the event of a bankruptcy, either type of structure commonly will file of Chapter 7 (bankruptcy protection), or Chapter 11 (reorganization). The chapters refer to the US Bankruptcy Code.
Chapter 7: Liquidation
This one may be the best choice when the business has no viable future. It is often used when the debts of the business are so overwhelming that restructuring them is not feasible. Chapter 7 bankruptcy can be used for sole proprietorships, partnerships, or corporations. It is also appropriate when the business does not have any substantial assets. To read the full text of Chapter 7, go here: law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/11/chapter-7.
Chapter 7 Details
If a business is a sole proprietorship, and an extension of an owner’s skills, it often does not pay to reorganize it. Hence Chapter 7 would be appropriate.
Before a Chapter 7 bankruptcy gets approval, the applicant is subject to a “means” test. If their income is over a certain level, their application does not get approval. But if a Chapter 7 bankruptcy gets approval, the business is dissolved.
In a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, a trustee is appointed by the bankruptcy court. The trustee’s job is to take possession of the assets of the business and distribute them among all of the creditors.
The order in which creditors are paid can depend on the type of debt (secured vs. unsecured). Collateral is what you use to secure a debt. With no collateral, a debt is unsecured. As a result, those types of debts are further down the line when it comes to decided who will be paid in a bankruptcy.
After the distribution of the assets and paying the trustee, a sole proprietor gets a “discharge” at the end of the case. It means that the owner of the business is released from any obligation for the debts. But partnerships and corporations do not receive a discharge.
Chapter 11: Business Reorganization
Chapter 11 may be a better choice for businesses with a realistic chance to turn it all around. It is often used for partnerships and corporations. It can also be used by sole proprietorships if their income level is too high to qualify for Chapter 13 bankruptcy. For the full text of Chapter 11 go to: cornell.edu/uscode/text/11/chapter-11.
Chapter 11 Details
Chapter 11 is a plan where a company reorganizes and continues in business under a court-appointed trustee. The company files a detailed plan of reorganization. Such a plan explains how it will deal with its creditors. The company can terminate contracts and leases, recover assets, and repay some of its debts, while discharging others to return to profitability.
The business presents the plan to its creditors who will vote on the plan. If the court finds the plan is fair and equitable, it will approve it. Reorganization plans provide for payments to creditors over some time. Chapter 11 bankruptcies are rather complex and not all of them succeed. It usually takes over a year to confirm a plan.
Chapter 11 and the Small Business Reorganization Act of 2019
The Small Business Reorganization Act of 2019 enacted a new subchapter V of Chapter 11. This subchapter of Chapter 11 seems to favor the side of the applicant for business bankruptcy. But it only applies if the applicant wants it to apply. See cornell.edu/uscode/text/11/chapter-11/subchapter-V.
For example, subchapter V does not require that a committee of creditors be appointed, or that creditors have to approve a court plan.
Per the U.S. Department of Justice, the act: “imposes shorter deadlines for completing the bankruptcy process, allows for greater flexibility in negotiating restructuring plans with creditors, and provides for a private trustee who will work with the small business debtor and its creditors to facilitate the development of a consensual plan of reorganization.” See justice.gov/opa/pr/us-trustee-program-ready-implement-small-business-reorganization-act-2019.
Chapter 13: Adjustment of Debts for Individuals with Regular Income
Chapter 13 bankruptcy is a form of bankruptcy for individuals. Since a sole proprietorship is an extension of its one owner, the owner is responsible for all assets and liabilities of the firm. It is most common for a sole proprietorship to take bankruptcy via Chapter 13. This is a reorganization bankruptcy. For the full text of Chapter 13, go to: law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/11/chapter-13.
Chapter 13 Details
Use Chapter 13 small businesses when a reorganization is the goal instead of liquidation. The entrepreneur files a repayment plan with the bankruptcy court. This details how they will repay their debts. Note: Chapter 13 and Chapter 7 bankruptcies are very different for businesses.
Chapter 13 is vital for individuals whose personal assets are tied up with their business assets, because they can avoid problems like losing a home if they file Chapter 13 versus Chapter 7. Chapter 13 lets a business stay in business and pay its debts. But Chapter 7 does not.
In general, to correct bankruptcy issues, all you or your lawyer will need to do is file an amendment to your bankruptcy petition. These can be errors like forgetting to list an item of property. Or it can be disclosing an incorrect property value or forgetting a creditor or income from a side business. See alllaw.com/articles/nolo/bankruptcy/bankruptcy-petition-mistake.html.
Liens in a Credit Record
What’s a lien?
Per Investopedia: “A lien is a claim or legal right against assets that are typically used as collateral to satisfy a debt. A lien could be established by a creditor or a legal judgement. A lien serves to guarantee an underlying obligation, such as the repayment of a loan. If the underlying obligation is not satisfied, the creditor may be able to seize the asset that is the subject of the lien. There are many types of liens that are used to secure assets.”
Errors in Liens
Some of the worst errors when it comes to liens can involve real estate if using land to secure a debt. Minor or typographical errors are called Scrivener’s errors. You can often correct them by rerecording the deed of trust or by recording an instrument explaining and correcting the error. But you cannot cure more substantial errors except by a Reformation lawsuit. This type of lawsuit asks a court to correct the deed of trust to reflect the parties’ intent.
Businesses of all sizes can be on the defense end of a lawsuit. Lawsuits can be for everything from a customer slipping on ice in your parking lot to a supplier suing to get you to pay them.
The main ways you can lose in court are if you default at the start and never answer a summons and complaint. Or you could lose a motion for summary judgment brought by the other side. Another way to lose is to lose a bench or jury trial. Or you could exhaust all appeals and end up on the losing end.
If you or your business lose in court, then a judgment may be entered against you. Judgments generally take the form of paying damages, which is money. Or the judgment could be for specific performance where you’re required to do (or not do) something. Another option is an injunction is entered and you may be prevented from doing something. A civil judgment can’t send you to jail. That’s criminal, which is rather different.
Errors in Legal Judgments
Errors often take the form of a judgment entered against the wrong person and/or company, or a typo in the amount of money damages listed in the court’s records. Or the judgment is entered but it’s already been satisfied (paid). Another kind of error is fraud or other misrepresentation on the part of one of the parties. Plus there could be excusable neglect. For example, a city recovering from a major hurricane might not make the proper clerical entry of judgments a priority.
Correcting these errors can take several forms. Different states have differing rules. But every state wants their records to be correct. They just have different ways you need to go about correcting the record.
Correcting Errors in Legal Judgments
You or your lawyer will need to look up how to correct mistakes in a legal judgment in your state (or the District of Columbia or a US territory, like Puerto Rico).
Like with most things, the faster you work to correct a legal judgment, the less it will cost you. In particular if the wrong person (you) is the defendant, acting as quickly as possible will save you in legal fees. Ignoring these problems will not make them go away.
When you secure a loan with property, creditors can tell other creditors about any of your assets in use as collateral for the secured transaction. UCC liens filed with Secretary of State offices act as a creditor’s public notice of their interest in the property.
It’s in a creditor’s best interests to check for UCC filings. This is so they can make sure they’re the only creditor with a claim on that collateral.
Errors in UCC Filings
Like anything else, there can be typographical errors in UCC filings. But the law says that, unless the errors “make the financing statement seriously misleading”, the UCC filing is still in effect. Are you depending on a typo to get out of a UCC filing? You might want to rethink that strategy. See law.cornell.edu/ucc/9/9-506.
Correcting Errors in UCC Filings
For the most part, unless the errors are seriously misleading, the UCC says you don’t have to fix them. This is because of the policy behind the law governing secured transactions under the UCC. Essentially, financing statements exist to provide notice of a transaction. And they are also meant to give enough information to later potential creditors that the debtor’s property may be covered by an earlier creditor’s security interest.
Correcting the Public Document Errors in Your Credit Record: Takeaways
Your personal credit record can directly impact your business credit record. Both need to be right. And correct records are more likely to get your business money.
It’s possible to fix errors in public documents like judgments and UCC filings. But the mechanism for doing so will differ. This depends on the error, the type of record, and the jurisdiction. The more quickly you act, the better and cheaper it will be for you. Ignoring these mistakes will not make them go away. Correcting mistakes can make your business more fundable.
For more information on fundability and getting business credit, contact us today.
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