Common Christmas catastrophes and how to avoid them this holiday season

Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year, but sometimes it’s also the most stressful. 

Cooking the perfect meal, neatly wrapping presents, and traveling are all stressful parts of Christmas that could quickly turn you into a Grinch.

Avoid these common Christmas catastrophes to keep your spirits merry and bright this holiday.

If you have late additions to your shopping list, it’s possible they may not make it to your doorstep before Christmas Day.

If time got away from you and you still have people to shop for in the days before Christmas, it’s best to do your shopping in person.

Although you likely won’t be able to escape the long lines associated with last-minute shoppers, visiting a store may be the only way you’ll get your gifts on time.

SAY GOODBYE TO THESE HABITS HOLDING YOU BACK IN 2023

Shopping early in the morning before the rush may help you somewhat avoid long wait lines.

While you should buy your gifts in person to ensure you’ll have them on time, browse online first before going in person. 

That way, you know exactly what you’re looking for when you arrive.

Many stores have pickup options, where you can buy online and go in the store to pick up your order, although there are often lines for this buying option, too. 

If you absolutely have to order online, Amazon is a pretty reliable place to do so. Prime members receive free two-day shipping, so you won’t have to pay tons out of pocket for overnight shipping.

In “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation,” one of the many iconic moments is the dinner scene.

THE ULTIMATE CHRISTMAS PLAYLIST: 100 SONGS TO PLAY TO GET YOUR HOLIDAY PARTY STARTED

From the outside, the turkey being served looks perfect, but when it’s cut into, it’s completely dried out.

“I told you we put it in too early,” says Catherine, the cook of the dry turkey.

Maybe your catastrophe won’t be quite as extreme, but it’s a common mistake to not time dishes correctly and end up with cold food by the time everything is complete.

Another common catastrophe is realizing you don’t have the right ingredients before you begin to cook.

CHRISTMAS PHOTO HUNT: HOW FAST CAN YOU FIND 3 HIDDEN BELLS?

Don’t worry, there are simple solutions to these problems.

To avoid a dinner disaster, consider doing a practice run before the main meal. In the week leading up to Christmas, pick a day when you can do a trial run of your meal. Hopefully, any mistakes will be fixed then instead of on Dec. 25.

Have plenty of timers ready, and don’t forget what timer is designated for what food.

If you are using timers on your phone, label them, so you know which is which.

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When you have your final menu established, write everything down and all the ingredients you will need for each one. Don’t rely on your memory alone to remember everything.

Take one grocery trip with your list in hand and cross out each item as you get it. That way, you won’t run into issues on Christmas Day with forgotten ingredients.

It can be a little awkward for you and your guests if there aren’t enough seats for everyone at your table.

Name tags are an easy solution to this problem. Create festive name tags to place at each person’s seat. This will ensure that no one is accidentally left out of the arrangements.

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Wrapping gifts can be a hassle. It’s even more of a hassle when you realize halfway through wrapping that you don’t have enough paper.

The first solution to this is to always buy more than you think you need. Don’t go overboard but always buy at least one more roll than you think you’ll use.

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Any extra wrapping paper you have, save for next year. Keep a storage box filled with extra wrapping paper, bags, bows, tissue paper, name tags, etc. That way, if you ever run out, you know you have extra set aside and don’t have to rush to the store to buy more.

Nothing is more awkward than handing a person a gift, watching them open the gift, and then realizing it wasn’t meant for them. 

Even if you dedicate different wrapping paper to each person, you may still forget whose is whose.

Name tags will help you organize everyone’s gifts and avoid guessing on Christmas Day.

You can purchase stickers that go directly on the wrapped present or tags that can be tied to bags to write each person’s name on.

You can also take a small piece of wrapping paper, fold it in half and write the recipient’s name on the inside, if you don’t have any tags at your disposal. 

If you are traveling to a loved one’s house for Christmas, it’s a common holiday problem to forget all your gifts you were so excited about giving at home.

Avoid this by putting all the gifts that need to go with you in a laundry basket right by your door.

You’ll see the gifts on your way out, and they’ll be easy to transfer into your car.

For more Lifestyle articles, visit www.foxnews.com/lifestyle.

Media 'waking up' to border deluge and pressing White House because they can't avoid it now: Jim Jordan

The mainstream media appears to be waking up to the effects of President Biden’s border policies as reporters not often heard challenging the White House are suddenly interested in the topic, Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, said Thursday. Jordan told FOX news the turning point might have been New York City Mayor Eric Adams warning that … Continue reading Media 'waking up' to border deluge and pressing White House because they can't avoid it now: Jim Jordan

Examples of E-commerce SEO Done Right (and Mistakes To Avoid)

We all know the foundation of e-commerce SEO is keyword research.

Over half of shoppers surveyed in a global retail study say they use Google to research purchases they plan to make online.

This is why SEO is your golden ticket to increasing organic visibility.

How?

Think about it: Before you create your site’s content, you need to know what terms your audience is using to search for products like yours.

How will you solve their problems without knowing the keywords behind their search intent?

You have to build your content with search engines and your users in mind.

The sooner you understand how SEO is changing and adapt your strategies, the sooner you’ll see ROI from e-commerce SEO.

Isn’t it impressive how far SEO has progressed?

Jump on the SEO train with me and I’ll show you why it’s important.

Why Is E-commerce SEO So Important?

You’re trying to get new customers to have all eyes on you.

You can’t win their attention if search engines can’t easily find you.

Your site is basically the secret menu at Starbucks if you don’t invest in keyword research.

That’s why it should be the critical first step in your e-commerce SEO campaign.

One of two things will happen if you don’t get SEO for e-commerce right:

  1. You won’t rank on page one—or near the top—because your target keywords are too difficult.
  2. The keywords you choose won’t drive in the traffic you’re aiming for or align with customers’ search intent.

However, getting your potential customers’ attention can be expensive.

For example, the average cost per click for the apparel industry is about 89 cents. The average cost per action is right below $10 when you break down WordStream’s results. Cost per action is a pricing model where payment is contingent on a qualified specific action, like a sale or submitted form.

While cost per click generates fast, profitable sales, you could spend thousands reeling in new customers.

By using SEO for e-commerce, you’re gaining free organic traffic by getting your site to show up in the SERPs.

But there are some missteps you should avoid if you want to see success.

Common E-commerce SEO Mistakes

What are the user’s needs?

If you keep this question top of mind, you should have a solid e-commerce SEO campaign.

Here is a list of at least three e-commerce SEO mistakes I don’t want you to make:

  1. Vague Product Descriptions: This is a place to fit in keywords that make sense for your product. Write a product description so your customer knows what to expect. Even when you’re naming the product, think about a user’s potential search queries. Optimizing your product pages gives them a great chance at a top ranking for items. Product descriptions provide clarity and answer important questions that encourage users to follow through with their cart.
  2. Display of Product Reviews: The beautiful thing about product reviews is they’re customer generated. It’s basically on-screen user-generated content. Reviews share customers’ unique experiences with your product. The page is like a living update, bringing more people to your site. Take advantage of the SEO benefits reviews bring to your e-commerce site. For added benefits, make sure you implement product review schema so your reviews will be even more prominent in Google SERPs.
  3. Non-Interactive Title Tags: Titles are not only a matter of SEO. They should line up with your users’ search intent. Focus on unique phrasing. The formula I like is this: Brand + Model + Item Type = Interactive Title Tag. If you want to see if the titles for your products are unique, use Ubersuggest to double-check.

There are many more benefits to SEO for e-commerce—and mistakes to avoid. I’ve got some examples of e-commerce SEO in action to serve as inspiration for you.

E-commerce SEO Sites That Are Crushing It

Some people say SEO is dead.

Well, I say they’re wrong.

No matter which side of the fence you’re on, you can’t deny the benefits SEO has on e-commerce.

Especially now with social e-commerce, there is big money to be made. Researchers see a trend in e-sales that will go beyond $1.3 trillion by 2025.

SEO for e-commerce done right drives relevant traffic to your social channels and website without spending big on paid ads.

Once you see those qualified leads come in, make sure your strategy is in place to convert them.

We chose these three examples to focus on because:

I’d like to show and tell you who’s crushing e-commerce SEO right now. We chose these three examples because:

  • They are large name brand stores
  • They are implementing technically sound SEO
  • They are using creative copy on the product pages
  • They have schema mark-up on the pages which helps create a more enticing SERP result
  • They have built strong, natural looking backlink profiles

All of these factors are extremely important to help with boosting rankings. Our research shows that show when sites implement SEO strategy and optimized copy, they see a larger keyword universe and higher domain authority. Combine these together and you get high organic traffic numbers.

Let’s take a closer look.

Etsy: Strong E-Commerce SEO Strategy

Etsy is a global online marketplace where brands can buy, sell, trade, and collect one-of-a-kind products. It’s a marketplace where you’ll likely find your new favorite handcrafted items from independent artists and designers.

This is a great environment for a brand to win at e-commerce SEO.

Etsy is making strong strides in SEO marketing right now.

In May 2022, Etsy ranked for over 14 million keywords in position one through ten, including nearly 5.5 million of those in the top three positions.

Etsy’s main navigation is intuitive and easy to use. There’s a banner with season-specific, popular items for the summer as well as popular gifts people are purchasing.

Businesses gain brand visibility thanks to how content is laid out over the site. There’s a strong emphasis on discovery. Etsy leans a lot on “keywords by intent,” especially via blog mentions. Their most trafficked blog article features the best Etsy shops, which nets 1,061 visitors and $462 in revenue.

Overall, 61.1% of Etsy’s keywords are informational and 29.9% are transactional. A whopping 87.4% of keywords owned are non-branded. This shows us what users want to know about the brands within Etsy. How they’re educated as an audience matters during their buyer’s journey.

I’d also like to mention a lot of Etsy’s success comes from stellar Core Web Vitals. This is a huge ranking factor in this mobile-first index ranking world. The faster people see their shopping interests during their user experience, the better.

Etsy gets this right all while supporting the shops that rely on them for a degree of brand visibility.

A graphic of Etsy's core web page vitals.

Overstock: A Great Core Web Vitals Example

Overstock is an online retailer that sells home goods at low prices.

A screenshot of Overstock.com's homepage.

Like Etsy, Overstock has great Core Web Vitals, so user experience with their online database is sharp. They are a tech-driven company, so that’s to be expected.

Based on what users are looking for, they win a lot of traffic for non-branded keywords (83.2%) vs. branded keywords (16.8%). Overstock is capturing users searching for queries that are not associated with their brand. Meaning, they are catching a lot of users looking for a solution their site can solve.

It makes sense why much of the site’s keyword intent funnels in through informational search queries (47% in May 2022). The data shows customers want to be informed before they make their purchases.

Transactional searches are almost equally as high (42% in May 2022). Think of a popular search like “patio furniture.” The products Overstock offers are essentially what users are searching for.

SEO for e-commerce serves Overstock well by targeting keywords users are looking for, even if it’s not branded. They have mastered aligning keywords with users’ search intent, allowing them to see results with strong performing non-branded terms.

A graphic of Overstock.com's core web vitals.

Lulus: How SEO for Ecommerce Helps A Brand

Lulus is a fashion brand with an affordable luxury feel.

A screenshot of Lulu's webpage.

They recently upped their Core Web Vitals, helping them rank higher and garner more organic on-page sessions. That’s just one of the ways they’ve upped their game.

Let’s look at how they’re crushing SEO for e-commerce to get these results.

One thing I noticed on this Lulus dresses page is the copy.

Well, what makes their copy stand out?

The high-priority keywords.

A screenshot of Lulu's high priority keywords to enhance their ecommerce seo.

I know it sounds simple, but if you’re searching for a cocktail dress for a company Christmas party, Lulus points you in the right direction on their site.

You’ve got the keywords and directions for your users. Now, they’re bound to trust you and follow through with their cart.

It goes the same way with backlinks. Lulus’ backlinks profile speaks for itself, with well over 19 million referring domains.

Follow links make up 80% of Lulus’ backlinks, signaling to search engines that the site is trustworthy.

Selling amazing products is one thing. Having outside sources vouch for your brand online makes you look even more credible. Think of the SERPs as one big popularity contest, and having other people vouch for you is a big help.

The traffic will come to you as potential leads to convert. They will make secure purchases knowing you have what they need, and they’ll come back to shop for other items they need in the future.

Whether they’re from fashion blogs or influencers, backlinks are e-commerce SEO gold.

This is how Lulus did it.

That’s what SEO for e-commerce does for a brand. It shows your customers you are their solution.

A graphic showcasing Lulus ecommerce SEO impact.

What We Can Learn From E-commerce SEO Done Right?

SEO for e-commerce is a game changer, so spend some time on it.

To play the game right means appearing high on the first page of search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo for terms your potential consumers use.

If you know how your audience makes decisions, you can create content that guides them through their purchasing journey.

Yes, having high-quality content and copy matters. It won’t convert to users if your keywords don’t have high-quality search intent, though.

Strategic internal linking—linking to other URLs on the same site—and optimizing product and category pages are some of the hardest parts of e-commerce SEO. However, they’re definitely on my list of e-commerce SEO best practices.

That’s why I’m here. To give you SEO tips that work for you.

Conclusion

Search engines like Google mostly focus on providing users with a valuable experience.

Your website needs to make usability its top priority.

That’s my golden rule for SEO.

If your user experience is convenient and intuitive, your customers will respect and trust you.

It’s like what’s good for your users is good for Google—so satisfying both go hand in hand.

If users spend more time on your site and don’t navigate back to previous search results, Google takes this as a badge of honor.

Links are what propel you to the top of the search results page, so people who like your website and what it offers are far more likely to link to it.

Put e-commerce SEO at the forefront of your marketing campaign and see how catering to your audience’s needs leads to increased traffic.

Have you found mistakes with your e-commerce SEO strategy? How could you tell you were underperforming? Let me know and I can help you fix it.

The post Examples of E-commerce SEO Done Right (and Mistakes To Avoid) appeared first on #1 SEO FOR SMALL BUSINESSES.

The post Examples of E-commerce SEO Done Right (and Mistakes To Avoid) appeared first on Buy It At A Bargain – Deals And Reviews.

Examples of E-commerce SEO Done Right (and Mistakes To Avoid)

We all know the foundation of e-commerce SEO is keyword research.

Over half of shoppers surveyed in a global retail study say they use Google to research purchases they plan to make online.

This is why SEO is your golden ticket to increasing organic visibility.

How?

Think about it: Before you create your site’s content, you need to know what terms your audience is using to search for products like yours.

How will you solve their problems without knowing the keywords behind their search intent?

You have to build your content with search engines and your users in mind.

The sooner you understand how SEO is changing and adapt your strategies, the sooner you’ll see ROI from e-commerce SEO.

Isn’t it impressive how far SEO has progressed?

Jump on the SEO train with me and I’ll show you why it’s important.

Why Is E-commerce SEO So Important?

You’re trying to get new customers to have all eyes on you.

You can’t win their attention if search engines can’t easily find you.

Your site is basically the secret menu at Starbucks if you don’t invest in keyword research.

That’s why it should be the critical first step in your e-commerce SEO campaign.

One of two things will happen if you don’t get SEO for e-commerce right:

  1. You won’t rank on page one—or near the top—because your target keywords are too difficult.
  2. The keywords you choose won’t drive in the traffic you’re aiming for or align with customers’ search intent.

However, getting your potential customers’ attention can be expensive.

For example, the average cost per click for the apparel industry is about 89 cents. The average cost per action is right below $10 when you break down WordStream’s results. Cost per action is a pricing model where payment is contingent on a qualified specific action, like a sale or submitted form.

While cost per click generates fast, profitable sales, you could spend thousands reeling in new customers.

By using SEO for e-commerce, you’re gaining free organic traffic by getting your site to show up in the SERPs.

But there are some missteps you should avoid if you want to see success.

Common E-commerce SEO Mistakes

What are the user’s needs?

If you keep this question top of mind, you should have a solid e-commerce SEO campaign.

Here is a list of at least three e-commerce SEO mistakes I don’t want you to make:

Screenshot of an ecommerce page with a vague product description.
  1. Vague Product Descriptions: This is a place to fit in keywords that make sense for your product. Write a product description so your customer knows what to expect. Even when you’re naming the product, think about a user’s potential search queries. Optimizing your product pages gives them a great chance at a top ranking for items. Product descriptions provide clarity and answer important questions that encourage users to follow through with their cart.
  2. Display of Product Reviews: The beautiful thing about product reviews is they’re customer generated. It’s basically on-screen user-generated content. Reviews share customers’ unique experiences with your product. The page is like a living update, bringing more people to your site. Take advantage of the SEO benefits reviews bring to your e-commerce site. For added benefits, make sure you implement product review schema so your reviews will be even more prominent in Google SERPs.
  3. Non-Interactive Title Tags: Titles are not only a matter of SEO. They should line up with your users’ search intent. Focus on unique phrasing. The formula I like is this: Brand + Model + Item Type = Interactive Title Tag. If you want to see if the titles for your products are unique, use Ubersuggest to double-check.

There are many more benefits to SEO for e-commerce—and mistakes to avoid. I’ve got some examples of e-commerce SEO in action to serve as inspiration for you.

E-commerce SEO Sites That Are Crushing It

Some people say SEO is dead.

Well, I say they’re wrong.

No matter which side of the fence you’re on, you can’t deny the benefits SEO has on e-commerce.

Especially now with social e-commerce, there is big money to be made. Researchers see a trend in e-sales that will go beyond $1.3 trillion by 2025.

SEO for e-commerce done right drives relevant traffic to your social channels and website without spending big on paid ads.

Once you see those qualified leads come in, make sure your strategy is in place to convert them.

We chose these three examples to focus on because:

I’d like to show and tell you who’s crushing e-commerce SEO right now. We chose these three examples because:

  • They are large name brand stores
  • They are implementing technically sound SEO
  • They are using creative copy on the product pages
  • They have schema mark-up on the pages which helps create a more enticing SERP result
  • They have built strong, natural looking backlink profiles

All of these factors are extremely important to help with boosting rankings. Our research shows that show when sites implement SEO strategy and optimized copy, they see a larger keyword universe and higher domain authority. Combine these together and you get high organic traffic numbers.

Let’s take a closer look.

Etsy: Strong E-Commerce SEO Strategy

Etsy is a global online marketplace where brands can buy, sell, trade, and collect one-of-a-kind products. It’s a marketplace where you’ll likely find your new favorite handcrafted items from independent artists and designers.

This is a great environment for a brand to win at e-commerce SEO.

A screenshot of Etsy's webpage.

Etsy is making strong strides in SEO marketing right now.

In May 2022, Etsy ranked for over 14 million keywords in position one through ten, including nearly 5.5 million of those in the top three positions.

Etsy’s main navigation is intuitive and easy to use. There’s a banner with season-specific, popular items for the summer as well as popular gifts people are purchasing.

Businesses gain brand visibility thanks to how content is laid out over the site. There’s a strong emphasis on discovery. Etsy leans a lot on “keywords by intent,” especially via blog mentions. Their most trafficked blog article features the best Etsy shops, which nets 1,061 visitors and $462 in revenue.

Overall, 61.1% of Etsy’s keywords are informational and 29.9% are transactional. A whopping 87.4% of keywords owned are non-branded. This shows us what users want to know about the brands within Etsy. How they’re educated as an audience matters during their buyer’s journey.

I’d also like to mention a lot of Etsy’s success comes from stellar Core Web Vitals. This is a huge ranking factor in this mobile-first index ranking world. The faster people see their shopping interests during their user experience, the better.

Etsy gets this right all while supporting the shops that rely on them for a degree of brand visibility.

A graphic of Etsy's core web page vitals.

Overstock: A Great Core Web Vitals Example

Overstock is an online retailer that sells home goods at low prices.

A screenshot of Overstock.com's homepage.

Like Etsy, Overstock has great Core Web Vitals, so user experience with their online database is sharp. They are a tech-driven company, so that’s to be expected.

Based on what users are looking for, they win a lot of traffic for non-branded keywords (83.2%) vs. branded keywords (16.8%). Overstock is capturing users searching for queries that are not associated with their brand. Meaning, they are catching a lot of users looking for a solution their site can solve.

It makes sense why much of the site’s keyword intent funnels in through informational search queries (47% in May 2022). The data shows customers want to be informed before they make their purchases.

Transactional searches are almost equally as high (42% in May 2022). Think of a popular search like “patio furniture.” The products Overstock offers are essentially what users are searching for.

SEO for e-commerce serves Overstock well by targeting keywords users are looking for, even if it’s not branded. They have mastered aligning keywords with users’ search intent, allowing them to see results with strong performing non-branded terms.

A graphic of Overstock.com's core web vitals.

Lulus: How SEO for Ecommerce Helps A Brand

Lulus is a fashion brand with an affordable luxury feel.

A screenshot of Lulu's webpage.

They recently upped their Core Web Vitals, helping them rank higher and garner more organic on-page sessions. That’s just one of the ways they’ve upped their game.

Let’s look at how they’re crushing SEO for e-commerce to get these results.

One thing I noticed on this Lulus dresses page is the copy.

Well, what makes their copy stand out?

The high-priority keywords.

A screenshot of Lulu's high priority keywords to enhance their ecommerce seo.

I know it sounds simple, but if you’re searching for a cocktail dress for a company Christmas party, Lulus points you in the right direction on their site.

You’ve got the keywords and directions for your users. Now, they’re bound to trust you and follow through with their cart.

It goes the same way with backlinks. Lulus’ backlinks profile speaks for itself, with well over 19 million referring domains.

Follow links make up 80% of Lulus’ backlinks, signaling to search engines that the site is trustworthy.

Selling amazing products is one thing. Having outside sources vouch for your brand online makes you look even more credible. Think of the SERPs as one big popularity contest, and having other people vouch for you is a big help.

The traffic will come to you as potential leads to convert. They will make secure purchases knowing you have what they need, and they’ll come back to shop for other items they need in the future.

Whether they’re from fashion blogs or influencers, backlinks are e-commerce SEO gold.

This is how Lulus did it.

That’s what SEO for e-commerce does for a brand. It shows your customers you are their solution.

A graphic showcasing Lulus ecommerce SEO impact.

What We Can Learn From E-commerce SEO Done Right?

SEO for e-commerce is a game changer, so spend some time on it.

To play the game right means appearing high on the first page of search engines like Google, Bing, and Yahoo for terms your potential consumers use.

If you know how your audience makes decisions, you can create content that guides them through their purchasing journey.

Yes, having high-quality content and copy matters. It won’t convert to users if your keywords don’t have high-quality search intent, though.

Strategic internal linking—linking to other URLs on the same site—and optimizing product and category pages are some of the hardest parts of e-commerce SEO. However, they’re definitely on my list of e-commerce SEO best practices.

That’s why I’m here. To give you SEO tips that work for you.

Conclusion

Search engines like Google mostly focus on providing users with a valuable experience.

Your website needs to make usability its top priority.

That’s my golden rule for SEO.

If your user experience is convenient and intuitive, your customers will respect and trust you.

It’s like what’s good for your users is good for Google—so satisfying both go hand in hand.

If users spend more time on your site and don’t navigate back to previous search results, Google takes this as a badge of honor.

Links are what propel you to the top of the search results page, so people who like your website and what it offers are far more likely to link to it.

Put e-commerce SEO at the forefront of your marketing campaign and see how catering to your audience’s needs leads to increased traffic.

Have you found mistakes with your e-commerce SEO strategy? How could you tell you were underperforming? Let me know and I can help you fix it.

4 Mistakes to Avoid When Setting Up With the Business Credit Bureau

Lenders pull business credit reports and scores from a business credit bureau. However,  not every business has a business credit report at all, let alone a credit score. Business credit, in stark contrast to consumer credit, does not start building automatically.

Avoid These Mistakes When It comes to Your Business Credit Profile

With consumer credit, as soon as you use your first credit card you have a credit report. If you continue to use credit responsibly, that report will include a strong credit score. The same is not true of business credit, and that leads us to mistake number one.

#1: Assuming You Are Automatically Set Up With the Business Credit Bureau

Just owning a business does not ensure you have a business credit profile.  There are some things you have to be intentional about to ensure this happens.  The first step is setting up your business with a Fundable foundation to ensure that it is recognized as a separate entity from you as the owner. This has to be done before you can even get credit in the name of your business.

Then, a business credit profile can be established with the bureaus.

How Do You Set Up a Business to Be Fundable?

In addition to a D-U-N-S number, you need to be sure your business has:

  • Separate contact information
  • An EIN
  • A dedicated business bank account
  • A professional website
  • And its own email address

This list is not exclusive, but it is a great start. Additionally, you’ll need to be incorporated. Operating as a sole proprietorship or partnership does not help you get set up with any business credit bureau.

Why Does a Fundable Setup Matter?

If your business is not set up to be Fundable, the information on the credit report may not be accurate. Furthermore, if your business is not set up to be a separate entity from you the owner, payment experiences may not go to business credit bureaus at all.

#2: Assuming There Is Only One Business Credit Bureau

There are many business credit bureaus. The three main ones are Dun & Bradstreet, Experian, and Equifax. Among the others, FICO SBSS is gaining popularity. Not all of them function the same way when it comes to setting up a profile with them either. It’s different for each one.

Many of them don’t really require anything from you. But, you still have to have your business set up properly.  Then, when your creditors report payments, they are reflected accurately.

Dun & Bradstreet

D&B is the oldest and largest credit reporting agency. Go to D&B’s website and look for your business. Don’t see it? It’s probably because you do not yet have a D-U-N-S number. You MUST apply for a D-U-N-S number from them. If you do not have one and your creditors report payments, your business will not be recognized in the D&B system regardless of how your business is set up. This number is how D&B gets your company into their system.  You can get one for free.

Once you have a D-U-N-S number, you’ll need at least 3 payment experiences before they assign a PAYDEX score. A payment experience is just a reported purchase from a business, which reports to a credit reporting agency.

Experian

Experian will assign your business an identification number called a BIN after you have a payment experience reported to them. Just be sure your business is set up to be Fundable.  Then when you have business creditors that report to them, your business will be in the system.

Equifax

Equifax assigns companies an Equifax ID. It doesn’t appear that you will need to sign up for or request one.

#3: Assuming You Already Have a Business Credit Profile With a Business Credit Bureau at All

Suppose you have been in business for a while. Maybe you are just now figuring out what business credit is. Maybe you thought you had credit in the name of your business, when actually what you have is business funding that you got based on your personal credit.

Where do you start if this is the case?First, look for your business credit profile from each of the main credit reporting agencies, starting with D&B. Of course, if you do not have a D-U-N-S number you will not be in their system.It is POSSIBLE that you may be in the Experian or Equifax system. but you’ll want to check your information closely and request corrections to any mistakes.

Business Credit Monitoring

The next question is, how do you do this? You can go through the business credit bureaus directly, but it can be costly. Credit Suite offers business credit monitoring with all three of the most commonly used business credit reporting agencies, for a fraction of the cost.

Once you see your reports, or lack thereof, you can be proactive in either correcting errors or establishing initial reports. What sort of errors are you looking for? In addition to payment experiences being reported incorrectly, you need to look at your actual business information.

Make sure your business contact information is up-to-date and accurate. If you already have an EIN, ensure that it is attached to your business and is correct. One big issue a lot of small business owners run into is inconsistency in the name of the business.

Something as small as using an ampersand in one place and the word “and” in other places can cause big problems. Ensuring your business name is correct and consistent everywhere, including on your business credit reports, is crucial also.

#4: Ignoring FICO SBSS as a Business Credit Bureau

This score is becoming increasingly common. It stands for FICO Liquid Credit Small Business Scoring Service. Unlike your personal FICO, the SBSS reports on a scale of 0 to 300. The higher the score the better. In general, most lenders demand a score of at least 160.

The thing is, you don’t really “set up” your business with FICO SBSS. The scoring model for this score is very different from other business credit scoring models. However, that does not mean you are helpless.

How Does FICO SBSS Calculate Business Credit Score ?

The score itself isn’t readily accessible. The formula for calculations is proprietary, and they guard it well. The information is not public. Of course, this means you can go into a lender totally blind as to what your FICO SBSS credit score may be.

With other credit reports from business credit reporting agencies, you can actually get a copy of your credit report and know where you stand. In contrast, the FICO SBSS can be different from lender to lender.

How Does a Lender Get Your FICO SBSS Score?

After you fill out a loan application and turn it in with all necessary documents, the lender processes this information and sends it to FICO with a request for your SBSS score. At this time, the lender can ask for certain factors in the score to carry more weight than others. Your score can vary depending on how a lender weighs each factor .

A score variation can happen if a lender puts more weight on your personal credit score or your business credit. Similarly,  they could choose to weigh annual revenue as more important than payment history. It is their choice.

FICO then searches business credit information from business credit agencies including D&B, Experian, and Equifax. As a result, your score with these bureaus affects your FICO SBSS.

What Can You Do?

Even though there is no real way to set up your business with FICO SBSS, you can definitely work to affect the score. Establish your business with the other business credit bureaus. Keep your personal and business credit in good order. Then, if a lender chooses to use that score, regardless of how much weight they put on each factor, you should be good.

You Must Be Intentional When it Comes to Your Profile with Any Business Credit Bureau

You aren’t powerless. The great thing about business credit is that it does not just carry you off before you know what is happening. In contrast, you have to intentionally jump in. The first step is to set you business up to be Fundable. Then, get a D-U-N-S number. After that, find accounts that report and get started building your business credit score.  Check out our business credit builder for a step-by-step guide to building the strongest business credit score possible for your business.

The post 4 Mistakes to Avoid When Setting Up With the Business Credit Bureau appeared first on Credit Suite.

Business Credit Builder: Avoid Major Credit Blunders with this Simple Tool

Credit is a complicated creature. The second you think you have it figured out, it turns on you.  Truly, if you don’t handle it just right, it can morph from powerful ally to mortal enemy in a flash.  This is especially true if you are trying to run a business.  Thankfully, the Business Credit Builder can help in a big way. 

Get our business credit building checklist and build business credit the fast and easy way. 

3 Major Credit Blunders and How the Business Credit Builder Can Help

Across the ages, one major problem business owners face is funding. Funding is an issue that cuts across all industries, all owner experience levels, and all business entity types. 

One reason business owners may have trouble finding funding is, they do not realize there are actually two types of credit.  Not only is there personal credit, but there is also business credit. Once this simple revelation comes to light, the trajectory of the business can begin to change for the better. Personal finances do not have to suffer. 

What is Business Credit? 

Business credit is credit in the name of your business only. It is based on how likely the business is to repay bills, not the owner.

As a result, business credit accounts do not show up on your personal credit report.  In fact,  they do not affect your personal credit score at all.  In addition, the business is responsible for repayment, not the owner. 

Why Do You Need Business Credit? 

Few business owners understand all the benefits of business credit. 

Some of these include: 

  • Liability protection
  • Lower debt-to-credit ratio on your personal report
  • And higher credit limits

How the Business Credit Builder Can Help

So, how do you build business credit? How do you get accounts that are not connected to your personal credit?  With the Business Credit Builder of course! It sounds simple, but here is the thing. While building business credit is not necessarily hard, there are a lot of steps. It can be overwhelming without guidance.

This is where the business credit builder comes in.  It can help guide you through the process.   Even better, it can help you avoid these three major credit blunders, among others.

Blunder 1: Ruining Personal Credit with Business Debt

This is a huge problem. So many business owners do not know that they can get business credit without a personal guarantee. These are credit accounts that will not affect your personal credit profile should your business not be able to pay. 

Of course, being personally on the line for business debt can cause a lot of issues.  For an extreme example, consider the case of West Virginia Governor Jim Justice. He personally guaranteed over $700 million in loans for his coal company, Bluestone Resources.  The loans were through Greensill Capital, which is now defunct.  The downfall is due to an insurance carrier choosing to no longer underwrite funds for the popular finance company.  As you can imagine, the domino effect is vast and far reaching. 

Get our business credit building checklist and build business credit the fast and easy way.

Currently the impact on the Governor’s personal finances remains to be seen.  However, it’s not hard to imagine the devastation something like this could wreak on a small business owner. Fortunately, working to build business credit with the Business Credit Builder can help you avoid this type of credit blunder and protect your personal finances. 

Blunder 2: Ignoring Fundability Factors

Fundability is the overall ability of a business to get funding. There are over 100 factors that affect it.  That makes it difficult for the average small business owner to navigate and assess the fundability of their business on their own.  

The first part of this is what you will work through in Step 1 of the Business Credit Builder. It walks you through the process of building a foundation of fundability.  After all, you wouldn’t build a house on a shaky foundation.   You shouldn’t try to build business credit without a strong, fundable foundation either. 

Blunder 3: Accounts Not Reporting

The only way to get a business credit score is to get accounts that will report to the business credit reporting agencies

Honestly, this is tricky.  With consumer credit, pretty much all accounts report payment history to your personal credit report.  In contrast, only about 7% of companies that issue business credit report payments to business credit reports.  Without this payment history, you do not have a business credit score. 

Get our business credit building checklist and build business credit the fast and easy way.

What makes it harder is the fact that most companies that do report do not make that fact common knowledge. In fact, the only way to build business credit payment history on your own is through trial and error. You have to guess at which vendors will report your payments.  And of course, there is the fact that you have to get accounts that will not only report, but that will extend business credit before you actually have a business credit score so that you can get started. 

How the Business Credit Builder Helps You Get Accounts Reporting

Step 2 helps you establish your initial business credit profile, so that accounts have something to actually report to. 

Then, in Step 3 of the Business Credit Builder, you will get exclusive access to starter vendors that will issue net invoices without checking credit. Then, they report your payments on those invoices to the business credit reporting agencies. We remove the need for trial and error and show you the exact accounts you can get to get the business credit score process going.

After enough of these types of accounts are reporting payments, you will qualify for more types of accounts.  

Step 4 addresses this by showing you how to get copies of your business credit reports and see which accounts are reporting.  You will also have the opportunity to review these reports with one of our expert advisors to learn more about what it says and how to address issues and mistakes. 

How do you know when you have enough accounts reporting? How do you know which accounts to apply for next?  Fortunately, the Business Credit Builder can guide you.  In fact, this is your all-in-one tool for business business credit. 

Steps 5-7 take you through the process of adding accounts to continue to build credit.  As you gain enough accounts in each step, you will unlock access to vendors that will both approve you at your current step in the process and report your payments.  

Other Benefits of the Business Credit Builder

In addition to all of this, there are a number of other benefits to the program. For example, you will get free, unlimited use of a business valuation tool. This will allow you to see what your business is worth right now, and monitor its growth into the future. 

You’ll also have the opportunity to save up to 90% on business credit monitoring, and have access to expert help. You’ll get a whole year of business advisor support and 5 years of finance officer support, all included!

Are You Ready to Get Started? 

Honestly, the best way to start is get a free consultation with a business credit expert. This is someone who can help you determine where your business stands now, help you find financing, and help you determine if the Business Credit Builder is right for you.

The post Business Credit Builder: Avoid Major Credit Blunders with this Simple Tool appeared first on Credit Suite.

Just How To Avoid Unreasonable Penalties

Just How To Avoid Unreasonable Penalties

There are lots of factors to stay clear of lugging a huge equilibrium on your credit history cards. Currently there’s one even more factor to prevent lugging a huge equilibrium: if you make a late repayment, your charge could be connected to just how much you owe the card firm.

It’s real; card business make their cash with charges, charges, and also rate of interest. Some of the fines are extreme, such as what appears to be the brand-new requirement: a $39 late cost on equilibriums of $1,000 or even more. Which fine can originate from being simply 2 days late on a repayment.

The home loan dilemma is to condemn; with so several poor financial obligations being created off by residence customers submitting personal bankruptcy, card firms are dealing with document losses. They are attempting to redeem these losses nevertheless they can, and also fines and also charges are the fastest means.

Have a look at current data for 3 of the leading card companies in the United States:

Discover

Late charge: $15 on equilibriums approximately $100; $25 on equilibriums of $100 approximately $1,000; $35 on equilibriums of $1,000 as well as better.
Over-the-limit cost: Same as late cost.

Citibank

Late charge: $15 on equilibriums as much as $100; $25 on equilibriums of $100 to $1,000; $35 on equilibriums of $1,000 as well as even more.
Over-the-limit charge: $35.

Financial institution of America.

Late cost:$ 19 for equilibriums much less than $100; $29 for equilibriums $100 to $1,000; $39 for equilibriums more than $1,000.
Over-the-limit charge: $35.

Financial institution of America’s American Express card additionally bills 25% rate of interest on cash loan. If you utilize your card for that function, after that bring a big rotating equilibrium on the card, you will certainly locate that the majority of your month-to-month repayment is being consumed by costs, fines, and also passion, with really little paying for the real equilibrium on the card. This can be destructive as well as discouraging to card owners that are attempting to leave financial obligation.

You can contrast store for credit scores cards right below on Creditor Web. If you have a huge equilibrium on one card that you might pay off within 6 to twelve months if just the rate of interest were reduced, take into consideration using for a 0% rate of interest equilibrium transfer card. (Be conscious that 0% rate of interest cards do start to build up passion after the initial duration.

Talk to good friends as well as household participants that are pleased with their credit score card solutions. When you’re equipped with understanding, you will certainly be able to make a smart choice regarding which card is appropriate for you– and also maintain unreasonable costs as well as fines at bay.

There are several factors to stay clear of bring a big equilibrium on your credit scores cards. Currently there’s one even more factor to stay clear of lugging a huge equilibrium: if you make a late settlement, your charge may be connected to just how much you owe the card firm.

It’s real; card business make their cash via charges, charges, and also rate of interest. If you utilize your card for that objective, after that lug a big rotating equilibrium on the card, you will certainly locate that many of your regular monthly repayment is being consumed by charges, fines, and also rate of interest, with extremely little paying down the real equilibrium on the card. If you have a huge equilibrium on one card that you can pay off within 6 to twelve months if just the passion were reduced, take into consideration using for a 0% rate of interest equilibrium transfer card.

The post Just How To Avoid Unreasonable Penalties appeared first on ROI Credit Builders.

Just How To Avoid Unreasonable Penalties

Just How To Avoid Unreasonable Penalties

There are lots of factors to stay clear of lugging a huge equilibrium on your credit history cards. Currently there’s one even more factor to prevent lugging a huge equilibrium: if you make a late repayment, your charge could be connected to just how much you owe the card firm.

It’s real; card business make their cash with charges, charges, and also rate of interest. Some of the fines are extreme, such as what appears to be the brand-new requirement: a $39 late cost on equilibriums of $1,000 or even more. Which fine can originate from being simply 2 days late on a repayment.

The home loan dilemma is to condemn; with so several poor financial obligations being created off by residence customers submitting personal bankruptcy, card firms are dealing with document losses. They are attempting to redeem these losses nevertheless they can, and also fines and also charges are the fastest means.

Have a look at current data for 3 of the leading card companies in the United States:

Discover

Late charge: $15 on equilibriums approximately $100; $25 on equilibriums of $100 approximately $1,000; $35 on equilibriums of $1,000 as well as better.
Over-the-limit cost: Same as late cost.

Citibank

Late charge: $15 on equilibriums as much as $100; $25 on equilibriums of $100 to $1,000; $35 on equilibriums of $1,000 as well as even more.
Over-the-limit charge: $35.

Financial institution of America.

Late cost:$ 19 for equilibriums much less than $100; $29 for equilibriums $100 to $1,000; $39 for equilibriums more than $1,000.
Over-the-limit charge: $35.

Financial institution of America’s American Express card additionally bills 25% rate of interest on cash loan. If you utilize your card for that function, after that bring a big rotating equilibrium on the card, you will certainly locate that the majority of your month-to-month repayment is being consumed by costs, fines, and also passion, with really little paying for the real equilibrium on the card. This can be destructive as well as discouraging to card owners that are attempting to leave financial obligation.

You can contrast store for credit scores cards right below on Creditor Web. If you have a huge equilibrium on one card that you might pay off within 6 to twelve months if just the rate of interest were reduced, take into consideration using for a 0% rate of interest equilibrium transfer card. (Be conscious that 0% rate of interest cards do start to build up passion after the initial duration.

Talk to good friends as well as household participants that are pleased with their credit score card solutions. When you’re equipped with understanding, you will certainly be able to make a smart choice regarding which card is appropriate for you– and also maintain unreasonable costs as well as fines at bay.

There are several factors to stay clear of bring a big equilibrium on your credit scores cards. Currently there’s one even more factor to stay clear of lugging a huge equilibrium: if you make a late settlement, your charge may be connected to just how much you owe the card firm.

It’s real; card business make their cash via charges, charges, and also rate of interest. If you utilize your card for that objective, after that lug a big rotating equilibrium on the card, you will certainly locate that many of your regular monthly repayment is being consumed by charges, fines, and also rate of interest, with extremely little paying down the real equilibrium on the card. If you have a huge equilibrium on one card that you can pay off within 6 to twelve months if just the passion were reduced, take into consideration using for a 0% rate of interest equilibrium transfer card.

The post Just How To Avoid Unreasonable Penalties appeared first on ROI Credit Builders.