Month: May 2021

Check Out all the Grants for Black Business Owners Out There!

Business Grants for Black Business Owners and So Much More

Are you one of the millions of black business owners in the US? Or are you starting a business? Money is always going to be an issue. What if you could get what is essentially free money? That’s what grants are (for the most part).

Looking for Grants for Black Business Owners – and Other Options

How do you find the best options for you?  How do you know if you need to be looking for grants or business loans? We recommend that you explore every option. This is because it will probably take a combination of funding options to fully fund your business.

Funding and Grants for Black Business Owners

There are grants for black business owners, but not necessarily for them exclusively. Still, there are other funding choices out there. Loans, crowdfunding, and even angel investors are all viable options. More on those later.

Business Grants for Black Business Owners

The government and private organizations want to GIVE you money! They are highly competitive and rarely enough to fund a business on their own. Still, grants are a great way to supplement other business funding. Also, they are still worth the effort to apply. There really isn’t anything to lose except time – it’s free money. So here are a few you can start with.

The Minority Business Development Agency

The Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) is operated by the US Department of Commerce. It is dedicated to helping minority-owned businesses access the resources they need to grow and succeed. The MBDA is for both men and women. Grant competitions are regularly changing.

Visit the MBDA’s website for information on all current opportunities. Currently, the MBDA helps its members apply for grants via Grants.gov. This involves help with how to apply for government grants. See also mbda.gov/grants.

Enterprising Women of Color Initiative

The MBDA oversees the Enterprising Women of Color (EWOC) Initiative. The initiative focuses on the fast-expanding minority women entrepreneur population as a revenue generators for families, communities, and the nation. Minority women are the fastest growing population of entrepreneurs. While many women are making tremendous strides in the business world, they still face obstacles as entrepreneurs.

MBDA serves as an advocate for women’s economic empowerment. They do so by supporting efforts to advance women’s equality and promote women economic advancement programming. The vision of EWOC is to ensure women worldwide to reach their economic potential. See also mbda.gov.

The Verizon Small Business Recovery Fund

The Verizon Small Business Recovery Fund is new. It was established in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The fund offers $10,000 to successful applicants. The fund is specifically focused on providing grants to business owners of color, women-owned businesses, and other underrepresented entrepreneurs. See also lisc.org/covid-19/small-business-assistance/small-business-relief-grants/verizon-small-business-recovery-fund

National Black MBA Association Scale-Up Pitch Challenge

Also known as NBMBAA, the Scale-Up Pitch Challenge has cash prizes ranging from $1,000 to $50,000. The association states its purpose is to help newer businesses that have an African American ownership. This is a pitch competition for startup businesses. See also nbmbaa.org/scale-up-pitch-challenge.

Demolish your funding problems with 27 killer ways to get cash for your business.

Amber Grant

Black businesswomen have even more options open to them. The Amber Grant awards one prize of $10,000 per month to a woman-owned business. One of the recipients also receives an extra $25,000 grant at the end of the year. Applicants only need to tell their story and turn it in with a $15 application fee. See also ambergrantsforwomen.com/get-an-amber-grant/apply-now

Cartier Women’s Initiative Award

Black businesswomen can also try for a Cartier award. This award is for women and there’s no specification that a woman be a member of a minority group. The Cartier Women’s Initiative Award has a regional category award and a science and technology award. The regional award is $100,000 for first place, with $30,000 for second and third place.

The award goes to three women from each of seven international regions. So this award is a grant to 21 female business owners from around the world each year. Women business owners who are just getting started may qualify. Look over the complete application for more information. See also cartierwomensinitiative.com/about-us

Cartier Science and Technology Pioneer Award and Fellowship

The Cartier Science and Technology Pioneer award is new as of 2021. With this award, three more women impact entrepreneurs at the forefront of scientific and technological innovation will be recognized for a new thematic award. Open to women entrepreneurs from any country and sector, this award will highlight disruptive solutions built around unique, protected, or hard-to-reproduce technological or scientific advances.

The laureate will be awarded a $100,000 grant. Each of the two remaining finalists will receive a $30,000 grant.

Cartier also offers a fellowship program. The fellowship is an educational program geared towards the 24 fellows selected each year. This program aims to equip the fellows with the necessary skills to grow their business. Also, it helps them to build their leadership capacity by drawing upon the experience and expertise of an array of academics, practitioners, industry experts, and entrepreneurs.

The fellowship isn’t exactly a grant. But while it’s not a monetary award, the mentoring and networking opportunities could be worthwhile to apply for. See also cartierwomensinitiative.com/fellowship-programme.

Demolish your funding problems with 27 killer ways to get cash for your business.

The Native American Business Development Institute (NABDI) Grant

Are you also part Native American? Then check out this grant.

The NABDI Grant is funded by the US Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Indian Affairs. It provides funding to business owners of Native American or Alaskan Native descent. In 2019, it gave over $727,000 to 21 indigenous tribes. So this was to support economic feasibility studies for specific economic development projects or startups.

For 2020, NABDI planned to award 20-25 grants. There is no minimum or maximum amount of funding you can request. But most awards range from $25,000-$75,000. They only fund projects for one year at a time. So this is when they expect projects to be completed. To apply for a NABDI grant for your proposed economic development feasibility study, go to bia.gov/service/grants/tedc/apply-nabdi-grant.

Indian Affairs

For black business owners also with Native American heritage, it doesn’t stop there. There is more available via the Bureau of Indian Affairs. You can get financing from the federal government through the Indian Affairs branch. A person can fill out an application for up to $500,000. But business entities and tribal enterprises may apply for more.

Potential borrowers can apply with any lending institution. They just have to use the application for Indian Affairs. There are more requirements if you use the funds for construction, renovation, or refinancing. In general, you must supply a list of collateral, a credit report, and an analysis of business operations. See also bia.gov/as-ia/ieed/loan-guaranty-insurance-and-interest-subsidy-program.

The South Asian Arts Resiliency Fund

If your business is in the arts, and you’re also of South Asian descent, then check out this fund. The fund is run by the India Center Foundation. It supports US-based South Asian arts workers impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The fund will disburse grants up to $2,000, depending on financial need to US-based arts workers of South Asian descent. This includes those in the performing arts, film, visual arts, and literature. Also, you must have heritage from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. Initial funding for the program is $20,000, but the India Center Foundation is soliciting donations to expand the grant program.

Eligibility for The South Asian Arts Resiliency Fund

To be eligible, applicants must be of South Asian descent. Also, they must work in the arts and demonstrate loss of income due to COVID-19. Also, applicants must be:

  • at least 21 years old
  • not enrolled in a degree program, and
  • can receive taxable income in the US

You can put grant funding toward any artistic project you can develop, create, and present within 4-6 weeks of funding. See also theindiacenter.us/artsfund.

Demolish your funding problems with 27 killer ways to get cash for your business.

Grants from the Federal Government

Grants.gov is a running list of over 1,000 available federal government grants. The website compiles grants from over two dozen government agencies. These include the SBA, USDA, and the US Department of Commerce. To find a grant right for your business, use the Search Grants tool on the website. You can sort through the list by keyword or opportunity number.

First, locate the grant you wish to apply for. Then click the opportunity number for more detail. There, you will find more information about the specific grant plus any documentation you need. To apply for a grant through Grants.gov, first register. Then, download an application package for the grant you want. Be ready for a lengthy process. See also grants.gov.

An Alternative to Grants for Black Business Owners: Crowdfunding

If you would rather not rely on grants so much to fund your business, crowdfunding is a viable option. Keep in mind, not everyone with a campaign on a crowdfunding site succeeds. More unique products and services tend to do better. Kickstarter and Indiegogo are two of the most popular crowdfunding platforms to use. Some platforms may have higher success rates.

An Alternative to Grants for Black Business Owners: Angel Investors

Angel investors are informal investors. Essentially, you sell a part of your business to them. But they tend to not want too much of your business. Also, they won’t pass by more conventional businesses, like crowdfunding and venture capital. Hence they can also supplement or replace grants.

An Alternative to Grants for Black Business Owners: Loans

If grants aren’t an option, loans might also work.

Business Center for New Americans

Also an immigrant? Then try the Business Center for New Americans. They offer a pilot program for microloans up to $75,000. They work with immigrants, refugees, women, and other minority entrepreneurs. The goal is to help minority business owners who have not been able to get traditional financing. Terms are 3% interest. Loan repayment term goes up to a year. See also accompanycapital.org.

Grants for Black Business Owners: Takeaways

There are several options for grants for minority business owners. Black entrepreneurs should apply for whichever grants they feel they are most likely to get. Other options for funding include crowdfunding, angel investors, and loans. Credit Suite can help you get the funding you need.

The post Check Out all the Grants for Black Business Owners Out There! appeared first on Credit Suite.

Stoker bids for FIA presidency with Kristensen

British barrister Graham Stoker announced on Tuesday his candidacy to succeed Jean Todt as head of Formula One’s governing body, the FIA, with Denmark’s record nine times Le Mans 24 Hours winner Tom Kristensen in his leadership team.

The post Stoker bids for FIA presidency with Kristensen appeared first on Buy It At A Bargain – Deals And Reviews.

Indy to fete Sato during introductions for '20 win

To help give Takuma Sato his due, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway will break from tradition Sunday and single out Sato during driver introductions for his 2020 victory, when there were no fans in attendance.

The post Indy to fete Sato during introductions for '20 win appeared first on Buy It At A Bargain – Deals And Reviews.

How to Check Subscriber Count on YouTube, Instagram, Twitter, & More

Whether you run a YouTube channel, blog, or social media empire, it pays to know how many subscribers you have on each platform. Not only do subscriber counts show you which channels are working and which aren’t, but you can also leverage them to build stronger and more profitable partnerships with brands.

Checking your subscriber count isn’t always easy, though. For every platform like YouTube that makes your following incredibly transparent, there’s a channel where it can be next to impossible to find your subscriber count.

Notice I said “next to impossible,” not “totally impossible.”

I’m here to explain how you can check your subscriber count on every major channel and social media platform.

Why Is It Important to Know How Many Subscribers You Have on Different Platforms?

It’s vital to know exactly how many subscribers you have on each platform for several reasons.

Let’s say you’re an up-and-coming marketing influencer. Part of your income will come from brands paying you for sponsorships and endorsements. Exactly how much they pay you hinges on how many subscribers and followers you have.

If you can show 50,000 people subscribe to your podcast, 100,000 people read your blog each month, and almost half a million people follow you on Instagram, you’ll be in a very strong position to command a big payday.

Your subscriber count can also help you make decisions on your way to becoming an influencer or growing your business’ following in general. Imagine you created accounts on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Pinterest when you started your business and posted to all of them equally.

At some point, you need to focus your efforts on the platform where you see the most success. Your subscriber count is a great way to quickly separate the good social media platforms from the ineffective ones. After all, what’s the point of wasting time on Pinterest, where you have half a dozen followers, over Twitter, where you have several thousand?

It’s not just social media subscribers you should think about, though. Perhaps you have a blog that gets upwards of 100,000 visitors every month, but you only have a couple of hundred people on your email list. This indicates your email marketing strategy isn’t working, and you should take steps to change that.

How to Check Your Subscriber Count on YouTube

YouTube is one of the more transparent subscription-based platforms out there. Log in to your account, click on your profile photo, and head to your channel. You’ll see your subscriber count underneath your channel’s username.

You can also see your subscriber count by navigating to YouTube Studio. In addition to the overall numbers, you can find a list of your 100 most recent subscribers.

Visitors to your channel see a shortened version of your subscriber count rounded down to the nearest 10, 100, or 1000 subscribers. YouTube Studio provides a handy table showing how your subscriber count will be displayed to viewers.

How to Check Your Subscriber Count on YouTube

YouTube also notifies you within YouTube Studio and via email when you hit certain subscriber milestones.

subscriber count - Youtube milestones

How to Check Your Subscriber Count on Your Podcast

Podcast success goes way beyond subscriber count, but the metric many podcasters want most is how many people subscribe to their podcast. This is often the hardest number to find.

Part of the problem is consumers can use dozens of different podcast apps to subscribe to shows rather than a single platform like YouTube. That means your podcast subscriber count will only ever be an estimate.

Most podcasting platforms, from the free to the pricey ones, provide some way to check your subscriber count. The method (and accuracy) varies by platform. The platform, however, should make it clear how to find this number. It’s usually to the side of where you post your podcast to begin with.

Some podcasting apps release subscriber numbers, though. You can end up with a bit more accuracy this way, but it takes more legwork on your part.

A couple of these are Podcast Addict and Castbox, though both account for about two percent of the market. Multiplying either subscriber count by 50 could give you a vague idea of how many subscribers you have in total, but it won’t give you the full picture.

A final suggestion from The Podcast Host is to publish a new episode and hold back from promoting it on social media, email, or anywhere else. In theory, any downloads occurring within about 24 hours of your show being posted are automatic downloads from subscribers; so if you have 50 downloads within a day of posting your episode, you likely have around 50 subscribers.

How to Check Your Subscriber Count on Social Media

Most social media platforms make your number of subscribers readily available, so finding them is simply a matter of knowing where to look.

Here’s how you can find your subscribers on all of the major social media platforms.

Facebook

How you check your follower count on Facebook will depend on whether you have a private user account or a business page.

Private users can allow people to follow them by turning on public posts and allowing people who aren’t their friends to follow them. This is an excellent option for bloggers and public figures who don’t want to have a private and a business Facebook account.

If this is you, head to the “Friends” tab on your profile page and click the “Followers” sub-tab. This will show you a full list of followers. You can see the total figure even faster by reading the “Intro” section on your profile page.

Facebook Business Page owners will need to navigate to their page, click on the “More” tab and then “Community” in the dropdown menu. Here you can find your total follower count, what your followers have posted on your page, and any posts where your business page was tagged.

Instagram

Instagram puts your number of followers front and center. At the top of your profile, you can see how many people you’re following and how many people follow you. Once you get over 10,000 followers, the number will be rounded down to the nearest 100 or 1000 followers.

subscriber count - instagram

If you want to get an exact subscriber count, use Instagram’s Insights tool. Navigate to that section on the app and click on “Audience” to see an exact follower count and a growth comparison with the previous week.

Twitter

If you have fewer than 10,000 followers on Twitter, you can see exactly how many people follow you by looking at your profile page. If your follower count is higher than that, Twitter rounds the nearest one hundred followers.

Subscriber count - Twitter

To find the exact subscriber count on Twitter, head to the Analytics section and hover your mouse over the subscriber number in the top right-hand corner. An exact count will appear.

Snapchat

The only way to see your subscriber count on Snapchat is to have a Public Profile. Not only will you be able to see your subscriber count on the back-end of the platform, but you’ll also have the option to display your follower count publicly.

TikTok

You need a Pro account to check your subscriber count on TikTok. With this kind of account set up, head to the “Settings” menu and click on “Analytics.” This shows a graph with how many video views you received over the last 28 days and how many followers you have.

Note: You need to wait seven days after creating a TikTok Pro account before analytics data becomes available.

LinkedIn

When I talk about subscribers on LinkedIn, I don’t mean the number of connections you have. I’m talking about the number of followers you have.

To see how many followers you have, sign into your account and scroll down to find the “Activity” section. There you can see your exact number of followers.

subscriber count - LinkedIn

Pinterest

Track your Pinterest subscriber count on your Analytics dashboard. In addition to your follower count, you can see engagement metrics, popular pins by your fans, referral traffic, other top influencers, and competitor data.

How to Check Your Blog Subscriber Count

People don’t subscribe to blogs in the same way they subscribe to YouTube channels or podcasts. That makes coming up with a subscriber number a little trickier. Here’s what you can do to estimate your subscribers.

  1. Create an email newsletter and see how many people sign up.

    Having an email newsletter is probably the best way to gauge how many people “subscribe” to your blog. However, you need to ask people to enter their email addresses without giving them anything other than your updates in return, as Ahrefs does, for example.

    If you offer them something like a discount on a product you sell, you can’t prove they actually read your blog every week—they may immediately stop reading after they get their discount.

  2. If you already have an email newsletter, count your subscribers.

    Checking your blog subscriber count can be as simple as opening up your email marketing platform and seeing how many people you have on your email marketing list.

  3. If you don’t have or want to send an email newsletter, use Google Analytics.

    If you don’t think your email list accurately depicts your subscriber numbers, you can use a Google Analytics report to estimate the subscribers you have. Navigate to the “Audience” tab, click on the “Behavior” dropdown menu, and choose “New vs Returning.”
    subscriber count - Google Analytics
    This will give you a chart that separates new users from returning visitors. I’d recommend taking the data over the last 30 days to get an accurate idea of your subscriber count.

Conclusion

Your subscriber count is certainly worth knowing, but it isn’t the end-all, be-all. Measuring the engagement on your website, YouTube, and social channels is also an effective way to show brands and other potential partners how valuable your following is.

It’s also a great way for you to determine which social media accounts are worth your time.

If you’re still feeling a bit stuck, whether with subscribers or engagement, that’s okay—there are a lot of metrics to take into consideration. For some extra help, check out my guide on how to make social media marketing work for you.

On which platform do you have the most subscribers?

How to Choose Which Top Level Domain to Use

Buying a domain name is exciting. It means you’re taking the first steps to establish yourself and create a professional website. But, it can also be overwhelming.

Not only do you have to find an available domain name, but you have to choose between dozens of top-level domains (TLDs) such as:

  • .com
  • .co
  • .org
  • .io
  • .co.uk
  • .net.
  • .gov

The list goes on!

Picking the right TLD is just as important as choosing the rest of your domain name. You want the best option for your business type to establish trust with your target audience and one that’s memorable.

In this guide, you’ll learn about the different TLD types, which ones you can and can’t buy, and how to know what type is the best fit for your business.

What Is a Top-Level Domain?

A top-level domain (or TLD) is the last segment of a domain name.

For example, the TLD for NeilPatel.com is “.com.”

What Is a Top-level Domain - NeilPatel Example

.com is just one of the many options available, though.

The Different Types of Top-Level Domains

The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) officially recognizes three types of TLDs.

1. gTLD: Generic Top-Level Domains

The gTLD contains the most common top-level domains, and anyone can register most of these domain extensions.

Some of the generic top-level domains in this category include:

  • .com
  • .co
  • .org
  • .net
  • .xyz
  • .biz
  • .info

In 2011, ICANN extended gTLDs to companies and organizations. It helps brands register their name as a domain extension.

A few real-life examples are:

  • .barclays
  • .cern
  • .google

Some companies choose to use extended gTLDs as redirects. For instance, if you go to search.bing, it redirects to bing.com. Others, like .cern, strictly use their extended gTLDs.

Businesses can also register generic TLDs around their industry niche.

For example:

  • .realestate
  • .democrat
  • .republican

2. sTLD: Sponsored Top-Level Domains

An sTLD are domains sponsored by a specific entity like a business, government, or other groups.

In this category, you’ll find domain extensions for:

  • .gov
  • .edu
  • .mil
  • .int
  • .coop
  • .museum
  • .jobs
  • .post
  • .travel
Different Types of Top-level domains - .gov domain example

3. ccTLD: Country Code Top-Level Domains

The last type of top-level domain is ccTLD. These domain extensions are reserved for countries, sovereign states, and territories.

These codes are two letters long and represent the country or territories’ abbreviated name.

For example:

  • .us – USA
  • .uk – United Kingdom
  • .eu – European Union
  • .ru – Russia
  • .ca – Canada

However, ccTLDs are not only for countries. Businesses use ccTLDs to geotarget users in different markets.

For example:

  • hm.com – USA
  • hm.co.uk – United Kingdom
  • hm.co.za – South Africa
Country Code Top-Level Domains - Starbucks Example

How to Choose the Perfect Top-Level Domain

Think of your domain name as your brand’s search representative.

Some TLDs may hinder your branding because of spam associations, while others could improve your search result rankings.

Below, we’ll unpack some of the most common TLDs to help you select the perfect domain name for your business.

Some Top-Level Domains Aren’t Available to Everyone

Not all domain names are available for anyone to buy. These are restricted top-level domains known as rTLDs.

To obtain an rTLD, you need to meet specific criteria laid out by the TLD’s registry.

For example:

  • .gov and .mil are reserved for official government and military uses and are controlled by the US government.
  • .edu is an extension only available to eligible postsecondary constitutions in the U.S., some governing boards, and nonprofits where 75 percent of their members are eligible educational groups.
  • .name is reserved for individuals.

Trademarked rTLDs aren’t available unless you can prove you are the trademark owner. For example, you can’t buy a .nescafe or .walmart domain name unless you own the company in question.

rTLDs can also be geo-location domain names. You can’t buy a .nyc domain name unless you have a valid New York City address.

These controls help prevent fraud and forgery and give users a sense of security when using these sites.

How to Buy an rTLD

If you meet the requirements for some of the most common rTLDs, here are the steps to take to purchase them:

  • .mil: Go to the Department of Defense‘s official website. You need to fill out the official form for website registration and submit additional information such as government point of contact and select the correct government component.
  • .gov: Go to the official DotGov registration site. You can check if the domain you want is available, review the requirements, and download the authorization letter template.
  • .edu: Go to the Educause website. The site details the eligibility of domain names, provides domain name prices, and offers a tool to check domain availability.

When to Use .com Domain Extension

If you run a business, blog, or another professional website, a .com TLD is probably the way to go.

The .com stands for commercial. It’s one of the best TLD domains to use because people view it as credible, trustworthy, and more memorable than other obscure domain extensions.

A study from GrowthBadger found .com is the most trusted TLD. Plus, people are 3.8 times more likely to simply assume a domain ends in a .com than anything else, meaning if they try to go directly to your website, they’ll probably end with a .com by default.

However, there’s a catch.

Anyone can register a .com domain extension, and because it suits a range of business types from business coaches to online stores, it’s not easy to find a .com no one has snatched up already.

If your perfect domain name is unavailable, not all hope is lost. There are strategies you can use before settling on a complete rebrand. For instance, you could try to buy the domain from its current owner or use a reasonable variation on your company’s name.

You can try an alternative domain extension like .net (more on this below) or add a country code if it makes sense to do so.

When to Use .org Domain Extension

The .org stands for “organization” and is commonly used by nonprofits, social causes, groups, and clubs.

Examples include:

  • charitynavigator.org
  • kidneyfund.org
  • doctorswithoutborders.org

Using the .org extension can give your brand more credibility than other extension options.

That said, anyone can register a .org—there isn’t a regulating body. However, it’s best to buy another domain extension if your site doesn’t fit into one of those three categories.

Why?

Users already associate the domain with nonprofits and groups, and it could be confusing if you’re a SaaS business with a .org. Worse, if you don’t run a nonprofit, consumers could feel like you’re trying to trick them by having a .org.

If you run a nonprofit and want to use .org, keep in mind that 44 percent of people remember .com TLDs, while only 32 percent recall .org extensions.

How to Choose the Perfect Top-level Domain - Memorability of domains

The lower memorability score could end sending people to the wrong site. But, you can avoid this by buying the .com version in addition to the.org. It will protect your brand because no one else can buy the .com, and you can set up a redirect to your .org site.

When to Use .net Domain Extension

The .net domain extension is another option for businesses, but it’s not a great fit for everyone.

The .net stands for network, and the extension is for:

  • internet service providers
  • network services
  • online technology companies
  • database providers

If your business has nothing to do with tech, it usually won’t be the best option. An excellent example of an exception to the rule is behance.net. The website is an online design community and has nothing to do with providing internet or database services.

However, it works for their brand because it is a network for designers and clients to find each other.

How to Choose the Perfect Top-level Domain - .net TLD example

From an SEO point of view, the .net is better than most other lesser-known extensions if you’re in the tech industry or work for another brand .net fits with. It’s been around long enough for people to remember it, and it’s considered trustworthy and authoritative.

How to Buy a .com, .org. ,or .net TLD

Ready to buy a domain name? Fortunately, it’s usually a straightforward process.

Two of my favorite domain registrars are Bluehost and Namecheap.

Both sites are easy and straightforward to use, though they serve different purposes. Bluehost provides hosting and other services, while Namecheap is strictly for buying domains.

You can buy common TLDs such as .com, .net and .org as well as alternative domain extensions like .io, .so, .new, etc.

buy a top level domain with namecheap suggested TLDs

How Does Your Top-Level Domain Affect SEO?

Besides branding, choosing a TLD has an impact on your SEO. Here are the main things you need to consider when deciding on a TLD domain.

Public Perception and Spam

Unfortunately, some TLDs are associated with nefarious online behavior. If you use them, Google might assume your site isn’t safe, and you’ll never make it to the top of search results.

According to Spamhaus, these are the TLDs with the spam worst reputations:

  • .date
  • .surf
  • .cam
  • .bar
  • .icu

Besides search engine rankings, using an alternative domain extension can affect your click-through rate (CTR). For example, if your target audience is unfamiliar with the TLD, they might not view your site as safe, and you won’t get traffic.

In the same study from GrowthBadger, these were the TLDs that have the lowest trustworthiness, factoring in things other than spam:

  • .blog
  • .io
  • .biz
How Does Your Top-Level Domain Affect SEO

Using an Industry-Specific TLD

Depending on your industry, using an industry-specific TLD could boost your SEO.

For example, several start-ups use the TLD of .tech or .io. Other options include using .food for a food blog or .travel for a tour operator.

Using an industry-specific TLD tells Google and people what your site is all about, which can help improve your rankings and CTR.

Examples of sites using industry TLDs:

  • visitdurban.travel
  • voodoo.io
  • nothing.tech

Yes, we know we just said .io had a low trustworthiness rating. This is because many folks simply don’t know what it refers to, which is understandable. This TLD is a play on I/O, meaning input/output in computer science terms, so it follows that tech (particularly gaming) companies would use it.

Geotargeting

Is your business tied to a specific location?

You might get an SEO boost by using geotargeting in your TLD.

It signals to Google that your site serves a particular country or city, and it could make your pages visible to people searching from those locations.

You can also use TLD geotargeting if you have a business that operates in multiple countries worldwide.

For example, Amazon has:

  • amazon.com (USA)
  • amazon.co.uk (United Kingdom)
  • amazon.nl (Netherlands)
  • amazon.de (Germany)
  • amazon.fr (France)

Conclusion

A top-level domain is an integral part of your website’s structure. Before you buy one, take the time to look at the different TLD options and select the best one to represent your business online.

If you need to change your TLD or domain name later, you can. But, you’ll need to 301 redirect the old domain and every page to the new one, and it can take up to six months for your traffic to recover.

It’s much easier to start your website on the right foot than have to go through a site migration process, hindering your bottom line and SEO content marketing efforts.

Which top-level domain will you choose for your business?

Torrence takes Top Fuel at SpringNationals

Texas-based Steve Torrence beat Doug Kalitta in the Top Fuel final on Monday at the rain-delayed Mopar Express Lane NHRA SpringNationals at Houston Raceway Park.

The post Torrence takes Top Fuel at SpringNationals appeared first on Buy It At A Bargain – Deals And Reviews.

Former FIA president Max Mosley dies aged 81

Max Mosley, the former president of motor racing’s governing body, the FIA, has died of cancer aged 81.

The post Former FIA president Max Mosley dies aged 81 appeared first on Buy It At A Bargain – Deals And Reviews.

Plivo (YC S12) Is Hiring a VP of Engineering Based in India

Article URL: https://jobs.lever.co/plivo/35b5dd7e-8f4c-4a1f-bdee-9d4002645c24

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27260129

Points: 1

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Jerry, Inc. (YC S17) Is Hiring Senior Software Engineers

Article URL: https://apply.workable.com/jerry/j/07E1D2B302/

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27271555

Points: 1

# Comments: 0