James Hinchcliffe has been released from the new Arrow McLaren SP Racing team, two people with direct knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press, despite repeated public assurances that the popular Canadian was not leaving the organization.
Google announced that it has been rolling out a new update call Bert.
I know what you are thinking… does this update really matter? Should I even spend time learning about it?
Well, Bert will affect 1 in 10 search queries.
To give you an idea of how big of an update this is, it’s
the biggest update since Google released RankBrain.
In other words, there is a really good chance that this impacts your site. And if it doesn’t, as your traffic grows, it will eventually affect your site.
But before we go into how this update affects SEOs and what you need to adjust (I will go into that later in this post), let’s first get into what this update is all about.
So, what is Bert?
Bert stands for Bidirectional Encoder Representations from
Transformers.
You are probably wondering, what the heck does that mean, right?
Google, in essence, has adjusted its algorithm to better understand natural language processing.
Just think of it this way: you could put a flight number into Google and they typically show you the flight status. Or a calculator may come up when you type in a math equation. Or if you put a stock symbol in, you’ll get a stock chart.
Or even a simpler example is: you can start typing into Google and its autocomplete feature can figure out what you are searching for before you even finishing typing it in.
But Google has already had all of that figured out before
Bert. So let’s look at some examples of Bert in action.
Let’s say you search for “2019 brazil traveler to usa need
visa”.
Before Bert, the top result would be how US citizens can travel to Brazil without a visa. But look at the search query carefully… it’s slight, but it is a big difference.
The search wasn’t about US people going to Brazil, it was
about people from Brazil traveling to the US.
The result after the Bert update is much more relevant.
Google is now taking into account prepositions like “for” or
“to” that can have a lot of meanings to the search query.
Here’s another example… “do estheticians stand a lot at work”…
Google used to previously match terms. For example, their
system used to think “stand” is the same as “stand-alone”.
Now they understand that the word “stand” has the context of physical demand. In other words, is the job exhausting… do you have to be on your feet a lot?
And one more, “can you get medicine for someone pharmacy” …
As you can see from the before and after picture, it’s clear
that the new result is more relevant.
Same with this one on “math practice books for adults” …
Is that the only change?
It isn’t. Google also made changes to featured snippets.
For example, if you searched for “parking on a hill with no
curb”, Google used to place too much emphasis on the word “curb” and not enough
emphasis on the word “no”.
That’s a big difference… and you can see that in the
results.
The new changes this algorithm update brings makes it much more relevant for searchers and it creates a better experience for you and me and everyone else who uses Google.
But how does it affect SEOs?
You need to change your SEO strategy
There are three types of queries people usually make when
performing a search:
Informational
Navigational
Transactional
An informational query is like someone looking to lose
weight. They aren’t sure how so they may search for “how to lose weight”.
And once they perform the search, they may find a solution such as different diets. From there they may search for a solution, using a navigational query such as “Atkins diet”.
Once someone figures out the exact solution, they then may perform a transactional search query, such as “the Atkins diet cookbook”.
From what we are seeing on our end is that Bert is mainly impacting top-of-the-funnel keywords, which are informational related keywords.
Now if you want to not only maintain your rankings but gobble up some of the rankings of your competition, a simple solution is to get very specific with your content.
Typically, when you create content, which is the easiest way
to rank for informational related keywords, SEOs tell you to create super long
content.
Yes, you may see that a lot of longer-form content ranks well on Google, but their algorithm doesn’t focus on word count, it focuses on quality.
The context of the tweet from Danny Sullivan, who is Google’s search liaison, is that he wants SEOs to focus on creating content that is fundamentally great, unique, useful, and compelling.
So when you use tools like Ubersuggest to find new topics to go after, you need to make sure your content is super-specific.
For example, if you have a business about fitness and you blog about “how to lose weight without taking pills”, your content shouldn’t focus on diet shakes or supplements or anything too similar to diet pills. Instead, it should discuss all of the alternative methods.
I know what you are thinking, shakes and supplements may not be diet pills and they aren’t the same keyword but expect Bert to get more sophisticated in the next year in which it will better understand what people are really looking for.
Additionally, you should stop focusing on keyword density.
Yes, a lot of SEOs have moved away from this, but I still
get a handful of emails each day asking me about keyword density.
Keyword density will even be less important in the future as
Google better understands the context of the content you are writing.
So, where’s the opportunity?
As I mentioned, it’s related to creating highly specific content around a topic.
It’s not necessarily about creating a really long page that talks about 50 different things that’s 10,000 words long. It’s more about answering a searcher’s question as quick as possible and providing as much value compared to the competition.
Just like when you search for “what is it like to be in the
Olympics”, you’ll see a list of results that look something like this:
Although the first result has the title of “What it’s like
to go to the Olympics”, the article doesn’t break down what it is like to go as
an attendee, it breaks down what it is like to go as an athlete. Just like a
searcher would expect based on the query.
Bert was clearly able to figure this out even though the title could have gone either way. And the article itself isn’t that long. The article itself only has 311 words.
If you want to do well when it comes to ranking for informational keywords, go very specific and answer the question better than your competitors. From videos and images to audio, do whatever needs to be done to create a better experience.
Now to be clear, this doesn’t mean that long-form content doesn’t work. It’s just that every SEO already focuses on long-form content. They are going after generic head terms that can be interpreted in 100 different ways and that’s why the content may be long and thorough.
In other words, focus more on long-tail terms.
You may think that is obvious but let’s look at the data.
It all starts with Ubersuggest. If you haven’t used it yet, you can type in a keyword like “marketing” and it will show you the search volume as well as give you thousands (if not millions) of keyword variations.
In the last 30 days, 4,721,534 keyword queries were performed on Ubersuggest by 694,284 marketers. Those 4,721,534 searches returned 1,674,841,398 keyword recommendations.
And sure, SEOs could be typing in head terms to find more long-tail phrases, but when we look at what keywords people are selecting within Ubersuggest and exporting, 84% of marketers are focusing on 1 or 2-word search terms.
Only 1.7% of marketers are focusing on search terms that are
5 or words longer.
Following the strategy of creating content around very specific long-tail phrases is so effective that sites like Quora are generating 60,428,999 visitors a month just from Google alone in the United States.
And a lot of their content isn’t super detailed with 10,000-word
responses. They just focus on answering very specific questions that people
have.
Conclusion
Even if your search traffic drops a bit from the latest
update, it’s a good thing.
I know that sounds crazy, but think of it this way… if
someone searched for “how to lose weight without diet pills” and they landed on
your article about how diet pills are amazing, they are just going to hit the
back button and go back to Google.
In other words, it is unlikely that the traffic converted into a conversion.
Sure, you may lose some traffic from this update, but the
traffic was ruining your user metrics and increasing your bounce rate.
Plus, this is your opportunity to create content that is super-specific. If you lose traffic, look at the pages that dropped, the search queries that you aren’t ranking for anymore, and go and adjust your content or create new content that answers the questions people are looking for.
If you don’t know how to do this, just log into Search Console, click on
“search results”, and click on the date button.
Then click on compare and select the dates where your
traffic dropped and compare it to the previous periods. Then select “Queries”
and sort by the biggest difference.
You’ll have to dig for the longer-term search queries as those are the easiest to fix. And if you are unsure about what to fix, just search for the terms on Google that dropped and look at the top-ranking competitors. Compare their page with yours as it will provide some insights.
How and When a Sam’s Business Credit Card is a Good Option for Your Business It can be difficult to choose which business credit cards to use. There are so many options, and they all have varying benefits. It takes time and thought to figure out which ones will work best for your business and … Continue reading Is a Sam’s Business Credit Card Good for Your Business? It Depends
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How and When a Sam’s Business Credit Card is a Good Option for Your Business
It can be difficult to choose which business credit cards to use. There are so many options, and they all have varying benefits. It takes time and thought to figure out which ones will work best for your business and its needs. Where does the Sam’s Business Credit Card fall on the spectrum of being good for your business?
The answer to that question is widely dependent on a number of variables. The first is, do you shop at Sam’s? The card offers a lot of great benefits, but most are brand specific. If you do most of the shopping for your business at Sam’s, then you are good to go. However, if you do not shop at Sam’s a great deal already, it is likely not the best option.
Another question to ask yourself is, are you trying to build business credit? If so, there are other options that will work better. The Sam’s business credit card only reports to the personal credit reporting agencies (CRAs). These include Experian, Equifax, and Transunion.
It can also help to compare the Sam’s Business credit card to other business credit cards. To do that, you first have to know exactly what you are getting when you get a Sam’s credit card.
One of the biggest perks to the Sam’s Business credit card is the cash back. You get 5% cash back on gas worldwide including at Sam’s Club. This is capped at the first $6,000. After that you get 1%. You also can earn 3% back on dining and travel and 1% on other purchases.
Another perk is that there is no annual fee, but you do have to have a membership to Sam’s Club. The membership does have an annual fee.
There is a variable APR of 14.90% -22.90% and a 3% foreign technology fee. The penalty APR goes up to 29.9% and is also variable. Late fees and returned payment fees are up to $39.99.
Here’s the thing, while the Sam’s Club card is probably not a bad thing to have if you shop at Sam’s often anyway, making the membership worth it, there are other options that work just as well or maybe even better depending on what you need. There isn’t anything particularly fabulous about the rewards or interest rates with the Sam’s Club Business credit card.
What Are Some Alternatives to the Sam’s Business Credit Card?
There are hundreds of choices for business credit cards, and each one has its own pros and cons. You have to do your own research to make the best decision for your business. However, we have put together some information on some that we consider to be the best to get you started with your comparison to the Sam’s Business credit card.
Capital One® Quicksilver® Card
Take a look at the Capital One® Quicksilver® Card. It features flat-rate rewards of 1.5% on all purchases. There are no limits to the amount of cash back rewards that cardholders can attain. Also, the card has a $0 annual fee.
New cardholders have a 0% APR on purchases and balance transfers for the first 15 months after opening the account. After that, they have a 14.74 — 24.74% (variable) APR. A cash bonus of $150 is available for those who make a minimum of $500 on purchases within 3 months of opening an account.
Also, cash back rewards do not expire for the life of the account, with no limit to how much you can earn. A cash bonus of $150 is offered to cardholders who make a minimum of $500 in purchases within 3 months of account opening.
Drawbacks include the increase in interest rate after 15 months and the flat rate for rewards.
JetBlue Plus Card
The JetBlue Plus Card also has a 0% introductory APR. You can earn six points per dollar on JetBlue purchases, two points/dollar at eateries and grocery stores, and one point/dollar on all other purchases.
If you spend $1,000 in the first 90 days and pay the annual fee, you get 40,000 bonus points. New cardholders receive a 12 -month, 0% introductory APR on balance transfers made within 45 days of account opening. After that, the variable APR on purchases and balance transfers is 17.99%, 21.99% or 26.99%, based on your credit score. The annual fee is $99.
Capital One® Spark® Classic for Business
The Capital One Spark Classic for Business offers decent cash-back rewards as well. The card earns an unlimited 1% cash back on all purchases. You also get benefits including an auto rental collision damage waiver and purchase security.
The ongoing APR is 24.74% variable, with the penalty APR even higher at 31.15%. Also, there is no sign-up bonus.
Bank of America® Business Advantage Travel Rewards World Mastercard® Credit Card
Earn 3 points per dollar spent when you book travel through the Bank of America Travel Center and 1.5 points per dollar on all other purchases. You can get unlimited points and points never expire.
There is a 25,000-point sign-up bonus when you spend $1,000 in the first 60 days of opening the account. The card has no annual fee and comes with a 0% introductory APR on purchases for the first nine months. After that, the card has a 13.24 — 23.24% variable APR. There is no introductory rate for balance transfers with this card, and bonus categories are limited.
Uber Visa Card
Did you know Uber has a credit card? It’s the first ride-sharing service to offer such a thing. The Uber Visa Card is in partnership with Visa and Barclays. It provides 4% back per dollar spent at restaurants, takeout and bars, including UberEATS. Also, get 3% back on hotel, airfare and vacation home rentals. You can even earn 2% back on online purchases.
This includes retailers and subscription services like Uber and Netflix. Cardholders earn 1% back on all other purchases. Each point has a value of 1 cent. You can redeem points for cash back, gift cards or Uber credits directly within the app.
By spending at least $500 in the initial 90 days, users can earn a $100 sign-up bonus. Cardholders spending at least $5,000 per year are eligible to receive a $50 credit toward online subscription services.
One major perk is if you pay your cellular phone bill with this card, you are insured up to $600 for cellphone damage or theft. Cardholders are also eligible for exclusive access to specific events and offers. Uber anticipates most of these offers to be available in major cities like New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago and DC, so this benefit is more relevant if you live in or often visit these cities.
There is no foreign transaction fee, but there is also no introductory rate. The APR is a variable 16.99%, 22.74% or 25.74%, based on your creditworthiness. Cardholders with lower credit scores will be on the higher end of the range.
Also, there are restrictions on Uber credits. To redeem points as credits in the Uber app, accrue a minimum of 500 points, or $5. Cardholders can convert a maximum of 50,000 points, or $500, in a given day.
Costco Anywhere Visa® Business Card by Citi
You can’t truly do a comparison with Sam’s Business credit card without including the Costco counterpart. The Costco Anywhere Visa® Business Card by Citi earns cash back with every purchase.
Get 4% cash back on the first $7,000 spent on eligible gas purchases annually (1% after that). Earn 3% cash back at restaurants and on eligible travel purchases. In addition, you can get 2% cash back at Costco and Costco.com, and 1% cash back on all other purchases. There is no annual fee, but of course you must have a Costco membership. There is no sign-up bonus.
If you travel a lot and are interested in earning miles, look at the United MileagePlus Explorer Business Card. Earn 2 miles per dollar with United Airlines and at restaurants, gas stations and office supply stores. All other purchases earn 1 mile per dollar. There is a 50,000-mile sign-up bonus if you spend $3,000 in the first three months after account opening. Benefits include priority boarding, and a free first checked bag for you and a companion on the same reservation.
In addition, you get two United Club passes annually. There are also upgrade options and other perks at hotels and resorts.
After the first year, the card has an annual fee of $95 and an APR of 17.99% — 24.99%, based on creditworthiness.
Ink Business Cash℠ Credit Card
The Ink Business Cash ℠ Credit Card is also a viable option. Small businesses can earn cash back with every purchase. Spend $3,000 in the first three months from account opening and earn a $500 in bonus cash back. You can also earn additional cash back on business categories. So, these include office supply stores, telecommunications, gas stations and restaurants.
There is a $0 annual fee with a 0% introductory APR for 12 months on purchases and balance transfers. Afterwards, the APR is a 15.24 – 21.24% variable.
Capital One® Spark® Classic for Business
If your credit is just ok, Capital One Spark Classic for Business could be a good option. It has no annual fee, and there are even still cash-back rewards. The card earns an unlimited 1% cash back on all purchases. There is no annual fee.
There is no sign-up bonus, and the ongoing APR is 24.74% variable APR. The penalty APR is even higher at 31.15%.
Wells Fargo Business Secured Credit Card
If your credit is less than okay, consider the Wells Fargo Business Secured Credit Card. It charges a $25 yearly fee per card. It also requires a minimum security deposit of $500 (up to $25,000) and it is intended to help cardholders establish or rebuild their credit.
You can choose between 1.5% per dollar in purchases with no limits, or earning one point for every dollar in purchases. You also earn 1,000 bonus points for every month your company makes $1,000 in purchases on the card.
In addition, you get your FICO score for free each month so you can watch as your score improves. They also regularly review accounts, and it is possible to upgrade to an unsecured card as your score improves.
APR is the current prime rate plus 11.90%. There is no introductory APR period and no sign-up bonus. Balance transfers are not an option either.
There are many factors to consider when determining which of these, or if some other card, is best for your business. First, you have to take your credit score into account. If your score isn’t very good, you will not have any many options. Then, you need to consider what your goals are. Do you want a card that earns lots of rewards, or do you want the best interest rate?
Lastly, consider your spending habits. You need a card that will first, support your spending habits. In addition, it would be nice if the perks offered reward your specific spending habits.
Is the Sam’s Business Credit Card Right for Your Business?
This is a fine card if you are already a Sam’s Club member. The benefits are respectable, and the interest rates are comparable. However, if you are not already a Sam’s Club member, it probably isn’t worth becoming one just to get this card. There are a lot of other options available that are just as good, if not better, and that do not require a membership. Look around and see what you can find that may better suit your needs.
Remember, if you are looking to build business credit, you will need to find business cards that report to the business credit reporting agencies. These include Dun & Bradstreet, Experian Business, and Equifax Business. The Sam’s Business credit card definitely does not do this.
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The Pirates have reportedly fired GM Neal Huntington, who had been in the role since September 2007. President Frank Coonelly and manager Clint Hurdle have also been fired this offseason.
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