Day: September 29, 2021

Presto! Turn Your Commercial Fleet into a Turo Fleet

Is it Magic? No, it’s Turo!

One of the inevitable side effects of having a fleet of vehicles is they do nothing for you if they’re idle. In fact, you lose money on them, as you need to pay for parking. Plus, of course, they’re depreciating every single day. Turo is a company that can help you turn idle vehicles into cash cows – no magic wand necessary.

But first, you need to get the vehicles – and here’s how you do ALL that.

Building Your Commercial Fleet While You Build Your Business and Its Credit

Your business doesn’t start off with good business credit already built. In much the same way, you probably didn’t start with any vehicles. Or, at least, not with business vehicles you wanted to keep. And even if you bought your business fully created, you can still build it to greater heights. For all three goals, it pays to work in an orderly fashion. Step by step, it all works together.

Building business credit means getting vendor accounts. Starting with vendor credit accounts is a proven way to start building business credit. But we don’t include vendors just because they report to the business CRAs. We include them because they have quality products you can use, and great customer service. They are more than a means to an end!

Building Business Credit the Right Way

Let’s start with building business credit. You can’t start with high limits. First build starter trade lines that report (vendor credit). Then you’ll have an established credit profile. Then you’ll get a business credit score. With an established business credit profile and score you can start getting high credit limits.

Use your credit. Pay on time, like you should with personal credit. These vendors we’ll show you will report to the business CRAs. And you’ll build a good business credit score.

But Wait: What is Starter Vendor Credit?

These trade lines are creditors who will give you initial credit when you have none now. These vendors often offer terms such as Net 30, instead of revolving. So if you get an approval for $1,000 in vendor credit and use it all, you must pay the money back in a set term. Such as, within 30 days on a Net 30 account. But there are some revolving accounts still considered to be starter vendors.

Vendor Credit Accounts

You must pay net 30 accounts in full within 30 days. And you must pay net 60 accounts in full within 60 days. Unlike with revolving accounts, you have a set time when you must pay back what you borrowed or the credit you used.

To start your business credit profile the RIGHT way, you need approval for vendor accounts that report to the business CRAs. Once that’s done, you can then use the credit, pay back what you used.  Then the account is on report to Dun & Bradstreet, Experian, or Equifax, or some combination.

Once it reports, then you have trade lines, an established credit profile, and an established credit score. With an established business credit profile and score, you can then get approval for more credit under your EIN. For vendor credit, you can usually leave your SSN off the application. Because this credit isn’t offered through a bank. Then the credit issuer pulls your EIN credit, sees a solid profile and score, and as a result can approve you for more credit. Keep in mind, credit through a bank will demand your SSN. It’s an anti-money laundering requirement under federal law.

Vendor Credit Cards

Vendor credit cards will kick off business credit building for your business. Once you’ve added payment experiences from three vendors, and they have sent reports to business CRAs like Dun & Bradstreet, you can start qualifying for fleet credit. Make sure business credit cards don’t report on your personal credit.

Every step and every credit provider is designed to help your business. It’s meant to help you qualify for business credit cards you will actually use. This isn’t building for the sake of building, and it isn’t just to increase a number. These credit providers are going to have what your business needs to succeed.

Business Credit

Keep in mind, business credit is independent of personal. Applying for it often won’t harm your personal credit scores, although it can if you offer a PG and then fail to pay. An inquiry will also impact personal credit. Too many inquires can hurt your ability to get an approval. Building this asset can only help your business. You can help your future business right now.

Vendor Credit Benefits

You need 3 or more vendor accounts reporting to move onto more credit with higher limits and better terms.  More reporting accounts are even better. It will take 30-90 days for those accounts to report – 60 days on average. Do NOT apply for tier 2 credit without having 3 or more accounts first.

Getting a Vendor to Pull Credit Under your EIN

There is no Social Security requirement for starter vendor credit. This is unlike bank loans and bank cards. So leave the field blank. Don’t fill in any other number.  It’s a violation of two Federal laws.

A blank field will force them to pull your business credit under your EIN. But note: some creditors will still want an SSN for verification purposes. You should present your SSN in this situation. But make sure you aren’t agreeing a PG or personal credit check.

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

Building Business Credit – What You Really Need to Know

You won’t get a Visa or a MasterCard (bank credit cards) right away. You need to have credit to get more credit. Start building trade lines to get the big payoff. Getting initial credit is the hardest part. The vast majority of trade vendors who issue credit don’t report it to the business CRAs. So, you MUST find sources which actually report.

Using Business Credit Vendors

Check out three of our favorite starter vendors:

  • Wex Fleet
  • Marathon
  • 76

All three come from Wex.

Wex Fleet

They report to Experian and D&B. They offer universal fleet cards, heavy truck cards, and universally accepted business fleet cards. Their cards have features supporting a small business. This includes a rewards program. Before applying for several accounts with WEX Fleet cards, leave enough time between applying so they don’t red flag your account for fraud.

If you don’t get an approval based on business credit history, or been in business for at least a year, then a $500 deposit is necessary or a PG. Apply online or over the phone. Terms:  Net 15 (Wex Fleet Card), Net 22, or revolving (Wex FlexCard).
To qualify, you need:

  • Entity in good standing with Secretary of State
  • EIN number with IRS
  • Business address- matching everywhere.
  • D-U-N-S number
  • Business license (if applicable)
  • And a business bank account
  • Business phone number with a listing on 411

 

Marathon

Marathon Petroleum Company provides transportation fuels, asphalt, and specialty products throughout the US. Their product line supports commercial, industrial, and retail operations. This card reports to Dun & Bradstreet and Experian. Remember: before applying for several accounts with WEX Fleet cards, leave enough time between applying so they don’t red-flag your account for fraud.

To qualify, you need:

  • Entity in good standing with Secretary of State
  • EIN number with IRS
  • Business address- matching everywhere.
  • D-U-N-S number
  • Business license (if applicable)
  • And a business bank account
  • Business phone number with a listing on 411

Your SSN is necessary for informational purposes. If concerned they will pull your personal credit talk to their credit department before applying. You can provide a $500 deposit instead of using a PG if you’ve been in business less than a year. Apply online or over the phone. Terms are Net 15.

76

Phillips 66 Company owns 76. It has more than 1,800 retail fuel sites in the United States. This card reports to: D&B and Experian. Keep in mind: before applying for several accounts with WEX Fleet cards. make sure to leave enough time between applying so they don’t red flag your account for fraud.

To qualify, you need the following:

  • Corporate entity must be in good standing with the applicable Secretary of State
  • An EIN
  • Company address matching everywhere
  • D-U-N-S number from Dun & Bradstreet
  • Your business license (if applicable)
  • A business bank account
  • Business phone number with a listing on 411

Your SSN is necessary for informational purposes. If concerned they will pull your personal credit talk to their credit department before applying. You can give a $500 deposit instead of using a personal guarantee.  if you’ve been in business less than a year. Apply online or over the phone. Terms are Net 15. You can used this card at any P66, 76, or Conoco fueling location. Let’s move onto fleet credit.

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

Fleet Credit

Fleet credit comes after starter vendors. It comes from places like Gulf and Exxon. You use it to:

  • Buy fuel
  • Maintain vehicles of all sorts
  • Repair vehicles

Even businesses which don’t have big fleets can still benefit. These are usually gas credit cards.

You may need to have a minimal time in business. If your business doesn’t have enough time in business, you may be able to instead offer a personal guarantee or give a deposit to secure the credit. Now that you’ve got a bunch of cards to support your fleet, it’s time to look at vehicle financing to buy the fleet!

Vehicle Financing

Chances are you didn’t buy personal vehicles outright. In the same way, financing is a great way to get a vehicle now, without having to wait until you can pay cash and drive it off the lot. With a fleet car, your choices are usually buying or leasing. Providers include banks like Bank of America or the financing arm of the manufacturer, like Chrysler Capital.

Using Business Credit for Vehicle Financing

Finance a Vehicle or Lease Credit SuiteYou can even finance a vehicle purchase or lease through our Business Credit Builder. These offers are in Tier 4. So they have certain requirements that business credit neophytes won’t be able to meet. Lenders will want to see you have the income to support the purchase. Consider Ford Commercial Vehicle Financing.

Ford Commercial Vehicle Financing Through Credit Suite

Ford offers several commercial vehicle financing options. These include loans, lines, and leases to actual business entities. This is not for sole proprietorships. You can get a loan or a lease.

Ford may ask for a personal guarantee if you do not get an approval on the merit of your application. Apply at the dealership. Ford will report to D&B, Experian, and Equifax.

To qualify, you need:

  • Entity in good standing with Secretary of State
  • EIN number with IRS
  • Business address- matching everywhere
  • D-U-N-S number
  • Business license (if applicable)
  • And a business bank account
  • Strong business credit history
  • Must have a good Experian business credit score

Ally Car Financing Through Credit Suite

Ally provides personal financing. But they will also report to business credit bureaus. If your business qualifies for financing without the owner’s guarantee, you can get financing in the business name only. Ally will report to D&B, Experian, and Equifax.

Ally Car Financing: Ally Commercial Line of Credit

To qualify, you need:

  • Entity in good standing with Secretary of State
  • EIN number with IRS
  • Business address- matching everywhere
  • D-U-N-S number
  • Business license (if applicable)
  • And a business bank account
  • Bank reference
  • Fleet financing references

If you use a PG, Ally will not report to the personal credit bureaus unless the account defaults.

Ally Car Financing: Ally Commercial Vehicle Financing

Get a lease or a loan. To qualify, you need the same things as you need for an Ally Commercial Line of Credit. This is except for a bank reference and fleet financing references. There is no time in business requirement. Apply in person only. The dealer will say if you get approval or must provide a PG. Now that you’ve got the cars and the cards, let’s explore Turo.

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

What’s Turo, Anyway?

Turo is a peer-to-peer car sharing marketplace. You can book any car you want, wherever you want it, from a community of trusted hosts across the US, Canada, and the UK. Guests choose from a unique selection of nearby cars. Hosts earn extra cash to offset the costs of car ownership.

How Do Turo, Business Credit, and Business Ownership Work Together?

There are going to be times when some of the vehicles your fleet aren’t in use. This could happen if there’s a personnel change, or if an employee with an older vehicle gets an upgrade to a newer one. This could be a perk accompanying a promotion. Or an employee with a vehicle could be out for parental leave. But no matter how or why any vehicles are idle. you can be making money from them.

Turning the Idle Vehicles in Your Fleet into Moneymakers

Turo says you can make an average of $620 per month per vehicle. This comes from 2019 stats for hosts with twelve or more trips and “at least average quality metrics”. You can set your own price and availability dates. Make 70% of the price, or 80% if you can prove you have your own insurance and waive Turo’s coverage. Turo offers an array of coverage options with different percentages and deductibles. So you can choose what appeals most to you. Liability insurance comes from a policy issued to Turo by Liberty Surplus Insurance Corporation. They’re a member of the Liberty Mutual Group.

Bringing Out the Best in Your Vehicles to Make the Most Money

There are ways to make more money and get your vehicle out there to more riders, more often. Turo offers tips on taking better photographs of your car and listing your car’s options.  as riders may be searching for things like all-wheel drive or air conditioning, etc.

Working with Turo

Turo will provide guidance on how to write better descriptions,  and otherwise make a vehicle more appealing to riders. There is even a section on writing a business plan. Also – earnings go through Turo so you will get a 1099. And even making a few hundred per month per vehicle is a VAST improvement over letting a vehicle idle while you pay for parking and it depreciates! To end, let’s touch on personal guarantees for financing.

Vehicle Financing

With commercial vehicle financing, business owners may need to personally guarantee vehicle loans.  If you are a co-borrower the loan will most likely report to your personal credit report. Starting off by giving a personal guarantee means you can get money, and start building your commercial fleet now instead of later.

PG (Personal Guarantee) Financing

According to Investopedia, a personal guarantee is:

“an individual’s legal promise to repay credit issued to a business for which they serve as an executive or partner. Providing a personal guarantee means that if the business becomes unable to repay the debt, the individual assumes personal responsibility for the balance. Personal guarantees provide an extra level of protection to credit issuers who want to make sure they will be repaid.”

When you provide a PG, you are adding your Social Security number to the application. You should expect a hard inquiry. You’re also adding the details of your personal income to the application.

No PG Financing

With no PG financing, you can get higher limits and better terms. Continue to build exceptional business credit and pay your bills on time. In general, the following you won’t need to provide a personal guarantee for this type of financing if you have:

  • good business credit
  • a decent amount of time in business or
  • good personal credit

Much like with any other kind of business borrowing, the more assurances you can give the lender, the better.

Turo, Business Credit, and Growing Your Business: Takeaways

Use business credit to buy everything you need to run a fleet, from fuel to service. And use auto financing to buy the vehicles. Plus, you can make money with the idle vehicles in your fleet! Turn your fleet into a regular, reliable moneymaker – without having to pull any rabbits out of your hat. Let’s get together and talk about getting started.

The post Presto! Turn Your Commercial Fleet into a Turo Fleet appeared first on Credit Suite.

2021 Inflation and the Cost of Doing Business

2021 Inflation, You, and 2022

If you pay attention to business news—and even some national news—you’ve likely heard that 2021 inflation is coming. Or maybe that we’ll be spared until 2022.

But that’s wrong. 2021 inflation is already here.

Wait, what?

Is Inflation Coming Soon?

Economic predictions are, of course, never guaranteed. But per the New York Times, “there’s enough evidence to believe that a further upturn in inflation is coming.” But inflation isn’t all bad. Once the stock market calms down, an inflationary period is often the best time to buy stocks.

Per Inflation Calculator, the trouble started in March of this year. In January and February, inflation was at 1.4 and 1.7%, respectively. Then in March, it crept up to 2.6%.  In April, it was already 4.2%.

Then in May, it hit 5.0%. And now, through August, it hasn’t gone below 5.0%.

That’s more than a little troubling.

But What Exactly is 2021 Inflation?

Or, inflation in any year?

Per Investopedia, inflation is “the decline of purchasing power of a given currency over time. A quantitative estimate of the rate at which the decline in purchasing power occurs can be reflected in the increase of an average price level of a basket of selected goods and services in an economy over some period of time. The rise in the general level of prices, often expressed as a percentage, means that a unit of currency effectively buys less than it did in prior periods.”

In plain language, inflation is best understood through an example. In 1970, the standard cost of a new car was a little over $3,500. Yet in 1980, the average cost was $7,000. And in 2010, it was a little over $29,000. While the Covid-19 pandemic reduced prices, it didn’t reduce them even to 2010 levels. In 50 years, the average price of a new car went up close to ten times!

What Does the Federal Reserve Do?

If and when inflation strikes, the Federal Reserve will most likely raise short-term interest rates. The reason is to make it more attractive for banks to lend money. During an inflationary period, lenders will demand higher interest rates as compensation for the decrease in purchasing power of the money they are paid in the future. The Federal government will also sell off US securities. This takes money out of banks. And since the banks have less to lend, it forces the banks to raise interest rates.

Why Are We Experiencing 2021 Inflation Right Now?

What we’ve got right now is a near-perfect storm of circumstances, and it’s incubating the 2021 inflation we’re seeing.

Discover our business credit and finance guide, jam-packed with new ways to finance your business without emptying your wallet.

Reason #1: Supply Chain Disruptions

Remember the Great Toilet Paper Shortage of 2020? Remember that container ship that was stuck in the Suez Canal? The former was due to hoarding. And the latter caused some disruptions, but those were supposed to be done.

Not so fast. If you’ve had to have any work done on your home in the past year, you’ve experienced how slow and difficult it is to get lumber. This basic, vital commodity can still be obtained—but it takes longer. And delays cost money. Because those costs are passed on to the consumer, prices rise. Hence, 2021 inflation.

Reason #2: COVID-19

Well, of course. The pandemic doesn’t cause inflation by itself. But our country (as of the day writing this blog post) is missing over 600,000 people from the workforce.

When labor is scarce, it helps to raise salaries. This is because workers have gotten into a better bargaining position.

When there aren’t a lot of jobs and too few and too many workers to fill them, then the employer is in the catbird seat. They can set wages, and often those wages can be low. But the opposite is true right now. With businesses awash in jobs, but not enough people to fill them, potential employees are starting to dictate terms.

And their terms include higher salaries.

Health Care Workers, a Special Case

In addition to people trying to dictate better terms, we also have an issue with healthcare workers. Every day in the news, you see stories of health care workers who are just plain fed up. It could be that they’ve seen far too many COVID patients die, or they are angry at people who aren’t vaccinated, or they refuse to be vaccinated themselves. In any of these circumstances, this means that they just plain don’t want to work. They are ready to throw in the towel and leave.

And what is especially interesting about this is that nursing in particular was only until recently considered to be a recession-proof profession. Hospitals, nursing homes and more could barely fill job openings.

But now they really can’t fill job openings.

Retail and Hospitality Workers: Another Special Case

For people who normally make either minimum wage, or make some of their money in tips, the pandemic and its resultant pauses in our lives has led a lot of them to reconsider their career choices. People are also considering that if they need to enforce a mask requirement, then they may have few to no tools with which to do that. These people are tired of being abused, particularly for a very low salary.

So they want more money. And they’re tired of working three jobs to be able to feed their families and make rent. They’re just plain tired.

Reason #3: People Restarting Their Lives

In addition to hospitality and health care workers, there are a number of other people who don’t necessarily fit into those buckets. But during shutdowns in particular, they reassessed their lives. And some of them realized that they didn’t want to do what they had been doing. There’s nothing wrong with this. People change their careers all the time. But what we’re seeing right now is a wholesale change in hundreds of thousands if not millions of people.

Because, at times, those people are used to higher salaries, they are trying to demand them even if they need to start over at the bottom.

Social media and the regular mainstream media don’t help. If they tell people that they can get more money to do any kind of work, then job seekers will start demanding higher salaries, and continue to do so. No one will want to demand a lower salary, of course.

Discover our business credit and finance guide, jam-packed with new ways to finance your business without emptying your wallet.

Reason #4: Side Hustles

As a corollary to people changing their lives, there are also people who may have thought that they wanted to perhaps change things. But they weren’t ready to jump in headfirst. As a result, they’ve created side hustles of various kinds. With eBay, Etsy, Upwork, and various other sites where you can sell or offer your services online, people are spreading their wings and trying to do something different.

A businessperson might decide that because they make incredible muffins, that they should go into the bakery business. But chances are the bakery business is not very easy to succeed in. So instead of quitting their day job, they bake muffins on the side, and ship them. They can do so without an office, and can quit pretty much whenever they need to.

Higher Starting Wages and Decreased Supply Equals 2021 Inflation

Prices are going up. Whether it’s because of shortages, or potential workers demanding higher salaries, either way, prices are rising. Hence, 2021 inflation.

How Does 2021 Inflation Change How You Run Your Business?

The first obvious reason is that the cost of supplies is increasing. There are parts of this country where gasoline costs over $5 per gallon. And shortages of other supplies, such as lumber (mentioned above), means that everything takes longer to do. If you would normally complete, say, ten jobs in a week, but you can only complete eight now, then you will have to pass your added costs onto the consumer. And since you still need to pay rent, feed your family, and perhaps make payroll, you’ll raise prices.

If you raise prices, then other people will as well. And around and around we go.

The Inflationary Cycle

2021 Inflation Credit SuiteInflation will cut into your profit margin unless you raise your prices.

If your business customers raise their prices, that perpetuates a cycle of price increases. Government clients may start to rack up municipal debt. Individual customers might buy less, and they may even take their business elsewhere. But since inflation hits everyone, chances are they won’t find a safe haven with lower prices at your competitors’.

How Can Your Business Ride Out Inflation?

You will need business capital. This is the money or wealth needed to produce goods and services. All businesses have to buy assets and maintain their operations. Business capital comes in two main forms: debt and equity. Getting capital for business financing should be your concern.

Business financing is the act of leveraging debt, retained earnings, and/or equity. Its purpose is to get funds for business activities, making purchases, or investing. With lower retained earnings and perhaps less equity, it’s a good time to leverage debt. One way you can do so is to request a credit line increase, particularly if you’ve been a good credit customer and have paid your business’s bills on time.

Building and improving your business credit is a great way to help your business ride out inflation. Buying on credit means you can wait a bit (although not forever) to pay for goods and services. If prices go down, particularly during a grace period where you don’t have to pay, you’ll do better. But better terms will only come to your business if your business credit is good.

Discover our business credit and finance guide, jam-packed with new ways to finance your business without emptying your wallet.

How Can Your Business Prepare for Inflation?

It’s already here, but it may get worse. And, no matter what, it’ll come back when it’s finally gone. So here are some ways to get your business ready.

Your money won’t go as far. So before inflation hits harder, it should be a good idea to invest in new equipment if you need it. This may mean leveraging accounts receivable or using merchant cash advances to get capital now so you can act before inflation skyrockets.

It may also mean equipment financing and/or equipment sale and leaseback. So you can spread payments out over time.

And build business credit. Because if prices are going to rise, you want to buy from starter and other reporting vendors before that happens.

Getting Through 2021 Inflation Now, and Coming Out Better on the Other Side: Takeaways

As prices continue to rise, and demands for goods, services, and workers goes unfulfilled, inflation has the potential to worsen before it gets better. Act now. Secure larger ticket items your business needs before they become more expensive. If you need to hire, see if you can offer non-salary incentives to help break the cycle, such as offering more vacation time to new employees. And work to build your business credit before you need it, to better weather 2021 inflation and beyond. Good business credit is an asset that won’t lose its value, no matter what the economy does.

The post 2021 Inflation and the Cost of Doing Business appeared first on Credit Suite.

New comment by dejwakh in "Ask HN: Who wants to be hired? (September 2021)"

Location: Hampton, Virginia

Remote: Yes

Willing to relocate: No

Site: https://vahid.blog

Email: hi [at] vahid.blog

Technologies: NodeJS, Golang, Ruby, Express, PostgreSQL, MongoDB, Redis, Kafka, Sinatra, Ruby on Rails, SQL, Webhooks, RESTful APIs, EventSource, SSE, Websockets, Socket.io, JavaScript, Ajax, jQuery, HTML, CSS, React, Redux, Bootstrap, Handlebars.js, Digital Ocean, Heroku, GitHub, Docker, AWS (CDK, Cloudformation, ECS, ALB, Fargate, Elasticache for Redis)

=====

I’m Vahid, a software engineer based in Hampton, Virginia. I’m looking for a backend or fullstack role at a growing company. Quick learner and methodical problem solver, with a law degree and demonstrated experience of leading projects from ideas to completion.

I recently built the Fjord framework with a remote team of three other engineers. Fjord enables client-side streaming from any Kafka topic in real-time, and provides an easy-to-use CLI to deploy all the infrastructure you need to AWS.

More info here: https://fjord-framework.github.io/

Karbon Card (YC S21) Is Hiring

Article URL: https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/karbon-card/jobs/R0EDqNY-chief-risk-officer Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=28689219 Points: 1 # Comments: 0

New comment by SecureDNA in "Ask HN: Who is hiring? (September 2021)"

Software development manager The SecureDNA project The SecureDNA project seeks to enable fast, reliable, cheap, automated screening of DNA synthesis orders, to prevent both careless and malicious users from synthesizing potentially-hazardous DNA sequences anywhere in the world. It is an international, academic/commercial partnership project, consisting of researchers from MIT, Tsinghua University, Aarhus University, Shanghai Jiao … Continue reading New comment by SecureDNA in "Ask HN: Who is hiring? (September 2021)"

How to Streamline PHP for SEO

There’s a lot of misconceptions about PHP for SEO. Many people don’t understand it, what it is, how we use it, and how it impacts our SEO.

The good news is that you don’t likely have much to worry about. PHP can make your website better for SEO and better for your users. The key is to know how to use it properly and what pitfalls to look out for. 

The goal of this guide is to help you better understand how PHP relates to SEO and how to use it to your advantage. 

What Is PHP? 

PHP, or Hypertext Preprocessor, is a programming language that allows users to create dynamic content on a website. The goal behind PHP is to help make your website more interactive and more interesting. 

Here’s a simple example of what it looks like (alongside HTML, in this case):

example of PHP

The reason PHP is so popular is because it operates server-side, which means it’s already embedded in HTML so it’s simple, efficient, and forgiving. Using PHP allows you to perform standard website functions such as opening files, reading information, and closing them.

Since it’s also open-source, it means that it’ll run with your web hosting server without the need for any additional files. 

One of the most popular places where we see PHP and SEO come together is on WordPress. Many of us content marketers use WordPress for its simplicity and ease of use. The ability to upload files, drag and drop, and work directly in WordPress is why we use it. Most of this is thanks to PHP.

How Does PHP Affect SEO? 

The immediate thought when we look at PHP for SEO is that it is overcomplicated. This is because PHP is a programming language with an unusual syntax. It doesn’t have the uniformity and predictability of other languages. However, this flexibility is what gives developers room to work without too many restrictions. 

One major goal of website design and functionality is simplicity when it comes to SEO. We find that Google prefers a simpler website because it’s easier to crawl, Google picks up on more of our keywords, and it takes less time which means Google will crawl more pages. That’s what we want. 

Complicated scripts adding in dynamic features make it more challenging for Google to crawl the site thus having a negative impact on our SEO. 

PHP on the other hand can have a positive effect on SEO if we use it properly. Header files can vary based on the page being viewed which means we can use a wider variety of metadata resulting in more keywords and higher relativity to the page the user is on. 

Not to mention the fact that server-side optimization opens the door for more inexperienced web builders and SEOs. Without the need for complicated scripts to create simple things like buttons, you’re able to make the site more user-friendly and engaging which will keep people on your site longer. This factor also has a positive impact on your SEO. 

The goal of every SEO, site builder, and creator is to develop a website that is engaging, simple, entertaining, and effective at a certain goal. If you’re trying to drive visitors onto your website to purchase something from your e-commerce store, ideally you want to get them from point A to point B as quickly as possible, right? 

Years ago this was complicated. It required scripts and if you made one little mistake you’d break a large portion of the site and you’d have to backtrack to figure out what happened.

As a result, most people hired programmers to build even the simplest of websites. Today, inexperienced SEOs can build interactive websites with features that allow users to engage and stay on the site longer, which tells Google that people like whatever it is you’re offering. 

The Effect of PHP on User Experience

One of the main goals of PHP is to make your website more interesting and interactive for users. 

Let’s start with some of the most basic aspects of user experience and that’s the usability of your website. When your site loads slowly and portions of the site are broken, it creates a poor user experience because visitors are wondering what they’re missing and debating on whether they should do business with you. 

PHP SEO scripts helps create a positive user experience without requiring too much complicated code that can slow your site down.

E-commerce is one of the most popular uses for the PHP framework because it allows you to do things like create a shopping cart, optional upsells, and integrate payment processors like Stripe.

If you’re just getting started in e-commerce, this strategy works well because you can use ready-made scripts which will save you time and money if you were considering hiring someone to build the site for you. 

Another way that you can use PHP on your website is to create interactive features such as forms, clickable buttons, graphs, and charts. Doing all of this helps keep people on your website which reduces your bounce rate.

A bounce rate is a high determining factor for Google when it comes to deciding what site is going to rank high on the SERPs. 

The Effect of PHP on Website Features 

Everyone wants a website people find interesting and helpful in some way. PHP helps with that.

We’re living in a world where trust is at a premium and we never know which websites we can trust and which ones we can’t. Using PHP for SEO can help increase the security of your site by ensuring that all your applications are fast and secure. 

Since PHP uses its own memory, it is just as fast (or faster) than most other programming languages. Security has been a concern since it’s open-source but that doesn’t mean that it’s any more or less secure than the rest. Being that it has such strong community support, there are many different tools and frameworks to help reduce and fix vulnerabilities right away. 

There’s also a lower margin of error with PHP which helps anyone create web pages quickly having a roundabout impact on website features.

Think about it this way: If an inexperienced marketer wants to build an e-commerce website from scratch and they don’t have a large budget, they might attempt to do it themselves. To get the features they need, they’ll have to learn how to code. They may make a lot of mistakes along the way and possibly give up because they’re unable to build a functional site. 

Using PHP, that same marketer can use the existing PHP framework from other e-commerce websites and work from that template. The command functions are simple and the barrier of entry is much lower than in other programming languages. 

All of these factors help anyone create a high functioning website with features that work properly and remain consistent over time. In the event of a security issue or crash, the community resources behind PHP help ensure that everything gets up and running quickly and smoothly. 

Pitfalls of PHP for SEO

There is a lot of information floating around about the challenges behind getting PHP pages indexed by Google. The general belief is that if you follow all the right steps, you should have no problem getting your PHP pages indexed. That’s not to say there aren’t any red flags to look out for. Here are some of the things you want to avoid at all costs:

Use SEO-Friendly URLS

At one point, webmasters were warned Google wouldn’t index pages with “id=” in the URL. This could be what sparked the notion that Google doesn’t index PHP pages altogether, but this isn’t entirely true.

In 2008, Google stated they can (and do) crawl dynamic URLs. They also shared you don’t have to rewrite them, thought it can make it slightly easier for users.

Still, there are some SEOs who think dynamic URLs are bad for SEO.

Here’s my thought process: clean, easy to read URLs are better for SEO. However, changing dynamic URLs to static URLs can be time consuming. Don’t spend hours on this. If its something you can streamline, using a built-in SEO tool such as AIOSEO (all-in-one SEO) or all-in-one Joomla SEO, then great.

But (in general) there are more important changes that will give your SEO a bigger boost than URL structure.

Just remember, SEO isn’t a one-size-fits-all. If you want to talk more about your site, feel free to reach out to my team for a consult.

Pay Attention to Meta Data

This goes for all your metadata. PHP-developed websites will not take care of this for you. You’ll need to pay attention to all of your basic SEO principles like updating meta tags and descriptions for each individual page. 

You’ll also need to pay attention to HTML tags and develop a well-thought-out sitemap to help make crawling and navigation easier for Google. 

Pay Attention to Security

Lastly, the one pitfall we can’t avoid with PHP is from a security standpoint. While it might have plenty of security features to help you, most attackers are always one step ahead of the most recent update because of its widespread open-source use. If you’re capturing banking info or anything sensitive you might want to consider something else. 

PHP for SEO Frequently Asked Questions 

Here are some of the most frequently asked questions about using PHP for SEO. 

Why Is PHP Used? 

The main reason why PHP has grown so quickly is because of the sheer number of developers out there. Having a large number of people who specialize in the language makes it easy to find someone to help you and at a cost that is affordable for small businesses and individuals.

The language is also easy to learn, so even a new developer can possess the skills necessary to build you a website that gets the job done. 

Another factor is speed. Google puts a heavy emphasis on site loading speed and how well all the components of your site load together. The Core Web Vitals update pays close attention to elements of your site that load slower than the rest. PHP helps websites load faster resulting in higher visitor satisfaction and a lower bounce rate. 

Why Do Some People Think PHP Is Bad?

The main reason people dislike PHP is because of the security issues. The open-source nature of PHP results in a lot of vulnerabilities and the low barrier of entry for programmers is also a problem.

There are a lot of plugins and apps developed by inexperienced coders resulting in shoddy performance and simply bad security policy for websites that are capturing sensitive information.

Is PHP a Frontend or Backend Language?

PHP is used for backend development only. The scripts are written on the frontend and operate with MySQL or JavaScript depending on the platform. 

What Is the Difference Between PHP and HTML?

PHP is a scripting language and HTML is a markup language. HTML is designed to make up the general structure and content of a website while PHP works server-side to add dynamic elements to the site. 

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The language is also easy to learn, so even a new developer can possess the skills necessary to build you a website that gets the job done. 

Another factor is speed. Google puts a heavy emphasis on site loading speed and how well all the components of your site load together. The Core Web Vitals update pays close attention to elements of your site that load slower than the rest. PHP helps websites load faster resulting in higher visitor satisfaction and a lower bounce rate. 

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PHP for SEO: Conclusion 

There are many ways to use PHP for SEO and when done correctly, it can have a huge impact on the user-friendliness and performance of your website. The goal of every SEO should be to design a website that is both enjoyable and SEO-optimized. PHP helps make that possible. 

Do you use PHP on your website?