Credit card rewards can be a great financing tool. Rewards points can reduce major expenses when you redeem them for cash back, statement credit, and more. If your business involves a lot of travel, travel points can be a huge budget saver. Strong business credit can help increase your chances of approval when it comes to business credit cards for travel points.
Increase Your Approval Chances When it Comes to Business Credit Cards for Travel Points, and Get our Top Picks for the Best Options
Of course, you will also need to do some research to determine which credit cards for travel points will work best for your business. Never fear, because we put together a list of some of the best business credit cards for travel to give you a head start.
Our Favorite Business Credit Cards for Travel Points
These are some of our top picks for credit cards that offer travel points, but remember, details can change often and without warning. Please check with the card provider directly to ensure you have the most current information.
Bank of Hope Credit Card
The Bank of Hope credit card offers many benefits. There is no annual fee, and you earn 5,000 bonus points after spending $1,000 in the first 3 months. Not only that, but you also earn 3x points on gas, 2x points on travel and dining, and 1 point per dollar on all other purchases. There is also a 0% introductory APR for 9 months. After that, there is a variable APR of 12.49%, 16.49% or 20.49% based on creditworthiness.
Banner Bank Credit Card
Another good option is the Banner Bank Credit Card. There is a $19 per card annual fee, and you earn 3 TruRewards points per net dollar on retail, internet, phone or mail order purchases. You can redeem points for cash back, travel, gift cards or merchandise. The best part, however, is the fixed 11.99% APR.
Business Advantage Travel Rewards Credit Card
The Bank of America Business Advantage Travel Rewards credit card is made for small businesses. It boasts a $0 annual fee. There is also a bonus of 30,000 bonus points. Regular rewards include 1 point per dollar on all purchases, except for 3 points per dollar on travel purchases booked through the Bank of America Travel Center. There is a 0% introductory APR for the first 9 billing cycles. After that the APR is 12.24-22.24%.
PNC Travel Rewards Visa Business Credit Card
The PNC Travel Rewards Visa business credit card allows holders to earn 1 mile per $1 in eligible net purchases and double miles on the first $2,500 in eligible net purchases. There is a variable APR of 10.99-19.99% and no annual fee.
Mastercard Money Manager Business Credit Card
With the Money Manager Business Credit Card from Mastercard, you can earn travel benefits or merchandise via Republic Bank’s ScoreCard rewards. There is no annual fee the first year, and a $95 annual fee thereafter. You can also get automatic fuel discounts and 0% intro APR for 9 months. After the introductory period, the interest rate is 17.45%.
Synovus Business Travel Rewards Visa Credit Card
This Synovus Business Travel Rewards Visa Credit Card offers 0% APR for the first 6 months on purchases. There is no membership fee the first year, and then $50 per year thereafter. You earn 5x points on up to $5,000 per year spent on travel purchases. This includes hotel, airlines, car rental, and vacation packages. You also earn 3x points on up to $3,000 spent quarterly for purchases in the category of your choice, and 1x points on all eligible purchases. There is no limit on points, and you can pay for purchases with points, subject to some restrictions. Points are worth 20% more when redeemed for travel.
Tip: Strong Business Credit Can Help You Get Business Credit Cards for Travel Points
Despite the fact that most credit cards will pull your consumer credit report, business credit can still play a role in the approval process. If your personal score is not right where it needs to be, but your business credit score is strong, you are more likely to be approved. Not only that, but you will have a better chance at getting the best rates and terms available.
This is why it is important to ensure your business credit is where it needs to be. A business credit expert can help. Get a free business credit consultation now.
For loans of $150,000 or less, the upfront guaranty fee is zero. The upfront guaranty fee is also zero for SBA Express Loans. For loans not through SBA Express, the upfront guaranty fee for loans to veteran-owned small businesses for $150,001—$500,000 (inclusive) is 50% less than the upfront guaranty fee for non-veteran owned small businesses. For loans for over 12 months, the fee is 1.5% of the guaranteed part. And for loans for 12 months or less, the fee is 0.125% of the guaranteed part.
Details
For loans of $500,001—$5,000,000 (inclusive), upfront guaranty fees for 7(a) loans made to veteran-owned small businesses depend on the loan amount and the loan’s. For loans with a term of over 12 months, guaranty fees are:
Loans of $500,001—$700,000: 3% of the guaranteed part
Loans of $700,001—$5,000,000: 3.5% of the guaranteed part up to $1 M
Plus 3.75% of the guaranteed part over $1,000,000
For loans for 12 months or less, the guaranty fee is 0.25% of the guaranteed part.
Qualifying for SBA Veterans Advantage
A small business must be at least 51% owned and controlled by a person(s) in these groups:
Honorably discharged veterans
Active Duty Military service members eligible for the military’s Transition Assistance Program (TAP)
Active Reservists and/or active National Guard Members; or
Current spouse of any veteran, Active Duty service member, Reservist, National Guard member, or the widowed spouse of a service member who died while in service or due to a service-connected disability
FYI, if you’re looking for a Patriot Express loan, the SBA doesn’t offer those anymore.
Get a VA Small Business Loan from the Military Reservist Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program (MREIDL)
The Office of Veterans Business Development (OVBD) administers this program. Eligible small businesses can get loans up to $2 million. Pay a fixed 4% interest rate with a maximum repayment term of 30 years. The purpose of these loans is to cover operating costs a business cannot meet due to the loss of an essential employee called to active duty in the Reserves or National Guard. It comes directly from government benefits.
Or get a VA Small Business Loan from the Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business Concern Program
Government financing can also come in the form of preferences for contracting work. The federal government’s goal is to award at least 3% of all federal contracting dollars to service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses each year. To qualify, businesses must be at least 51% owned and controlled by one or more service-disabled veterans. And one or more service-disabled veterans must manage day-to-day operations and make long-term decisions. Eligible veterans must have a service-connected disability. These are some of the best business loans for disabled veterans.
SBA Microloans Can Be a Good Alternative to a VA Small Business Loan (If You Do Not Need Too Much)
Available to both veterans and non-veterans, the SBA provides microloans to small businesses that cannot typically qualify for other lending options. SBA microloans currently go up to $50,000.
Microloans often have higher interest rates of 8%—13%. Often, a microloan requires collateral and heavy paperwork, including a business plan, various tax returns and financial projections for the business. Average SBA microloan size is about $13,000.
Supplement a VA Small Business Loan with a Grant from The StreetShares Foundation
This is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Its programs provide access to capital opportunities, educational content, mentors, coaching, and networking events. Its programs serve military community entrepreneurs nationwide. Their VA small business grant program, the Veteran Small Business Award, provides financial support to help veterans start or grow small businesses.
The StreetShares Veteran Small Business Award
Apply via video pitch. Tell the Foundation about the business and its social impact on the military community. Convey, in the written application or video pitch, your strategy for resilience in response to rapid market change prompted by the pandemic crisis.
They also evaluate your nonprofit or business entity on its positive social, community, educational, military-transition, veterans’ employment, health & wellness, or veterans’ mental health/spiritual impact, on the American military and veteran community. This is in addition to or in conjunction with business or nonprofit functions. Awards run $4,000—$15,000.
The StreetShares Foundation Military Entrepreneur Challenge
Qualified applicants submit their pitch on video. 8—15 finalists are chosen, then voted on, at the Foundation website. Awards are as follows:
$15,000 for first place
$4,000 for second place
$2,500 for third place
Qualifying for The StreetShares Foundation Military Entrepreneur Challenge
Applicant must be a veteran, reserve or transitioning active duty member of the US Armed Forces. Or they can be a spouse of a military member or the child or immediately family member of a Military Member who died on active duty. Applicants must own at least 51% of the business entity described in the application. Grant funding is for veterans and military spouses who are low-income or otherwise lack financial means and have a goal to start or grow an early-stage business or nonprofit.
So FYI, the USAA small business loan program with Street Shares has ended.
Get Work Vessels for Vets and Use a VA Small Business Loan for Other Expenses
This charity offers grants to veteran-owned small businesses. Their purpose is to help returning vets transition from military service to the civilian workforce. The program provides new or used equipment (adapted to accommodate injuries if needed) to returning veterans starting a non-farming business. So this equipment has been everything from laptop computers to commercial fishing boats.
More Programs
They also have a program for vets starting farms or ranches, and a program for nonprofits serving veterans. Still, they give preference to post-9/11 returning combat veterans. To qualify, you must provide a business plan.
Average vessel value runs about $5,000—$6,000. But the charity defines ‘vessel’ as anything a vet would need to do business, like tools or farm fencing. Charity Navigator gives them a failing score, but that may be more due to a lack of information versus anything nefarious.
Hivers and Strivers
Hivers and Strivers is an Angel Investment Group. They focus on early-stage investments to support start-up companies founded and run by graduates of US Military Academies. Also, they typically invest $250,000—$1 M in a single funding round and provide active involvement.
Hivers and Strivers involvement includes serving as board members and advisors and providing counsel and offering expertise. Venture Capital for Veterans will soon take over funding. Because they are affiliated with Hivers and Strivers.
Veteran Ventures Capital
This is an investment group. Any veteran-owned businesses can apply for funding. They also offer a full range of consulting services to ensure business success. As a Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business, they also have ties to government contracting to aid veteran entrepreneurs in expanding their opportunities to work with federal agencies.
Through their government solutions branch, they offer help with budgeting and professional staffing, along with product procurement, and getting government contracts.
Veterans Business Fund
VBF is a not-for profit organization, established to aid veterans by providing supplemental capital required to satisfy the equity requirements for a small business loan. The VBF provides capital in the form of a non-interest bearing loan with very favorable repayment terms. Currently, the VBF is not taking applications, while they go through a fundraising round.
More Funding Choices
So there’s more out there than veteran business loans and grants. Veterans and non-veterans alike may qualify for:
Merchant cash advances (if their business has incoming revenues)
Crowdfunding is an option for all, but conventional businesses tend to not do so well
Veteran and non-veteran business owners can also sell equity in their business to angel investors for funding
Yet more options include collateral-based funding, business credit, and our credit line hybrid. Our credit line hybrid is a form of unsecured funding—good for both veterans and non-veterans. Get business funding without having to supply bank statements or credit stubs.
Getting a VA Small Business Loan: Takeaways
VA loans and other financing are out there. And you can get grants or even venture capital investment in your business. There are also nonprofits which give money to veteran-owned businesses. But never forget about the SBA and their programs, and programs not specific to veterans, like our credit line hybrid.
Wondering how to find the best credit card for points? Well, it’s a question easier asked than answered. Everyone has different needs. Some businesses do a lot of travel, some entertain more, and others simply need to get cash back on purchases. Due to these differences, it can take some time to find just the right card for your business.
The Best Credit Card for Points Depends on a Number of Factors
The thing is, there is a wide variety of credit cards out there. Some offer points at different rates for different types of spending. Of course, redemption options vary greatly as well. You need to find a card that offers the most points for the types of spending you do the most, as well as the best redemption offers that will save your specific business the most money.
Also, if you’re asking yourself “Are credit card rewards taxable?” the answer is, they might be. It’s important to keep that in mind. There could be tax consequences associated with credit cards as well.
Here are some options we like when it comes to credit card rewards for points, but remember, details change frequently. We make every effort to update them regularly, but be sure to check with the card provider directly to ensure you have the most up to date information.
Alpine Bank Visa Platinum Rewards
The Alpine Bank Visa Platinum Rewards card boasts a $0 annual fee. There is also a balance transfer APR of 10%. You earn one point per dollar spent, which is pretty standard. However, you also earn a 5,000 point bonus after you spend $3,000 in the first four billing cycles. When you do the math, that is less than $1,000 per month in the first four months to earn an extra 5,000 points. The annual percentage rate is 21% for cash advances and Prime + 8.74-14.74% for all other purchases.
Bank of Hope Credit Card
The Bank of Hope Credit Card also has a $0 annual fee. Better yet, you can earn a 5,000 point bonus with this card as well. But, you only have to spend $1,000 in the first three months! You earn 3x points on gas, 2x on travel + dining, and one point per dollar on all other purchases. To top it off, there is a 0% introductory interest rate for nine months. After that, it’s variable at 12.49%, 16.49% or 20.49%, based on creditworthiness after the end of the introductory period.
Union Bank Business Preferred Rewards Visa Credit Card
Union Bank’s Business Preferred Rewards Card offers a very large points bonus of 10,000 points. To qualify, you have to spend $5,000 in the first 3 months. You earn 5X per dollar spent, up to $25,000 annually, on certain business expenses. Some of these include office supplies, utility bills, and telecom services. After that, you earn one point per dollar. You also earn 2X points up to $25,000 on gas and dining, and one point per dollar after that. All other spending is one point per dollar.
There is a 0% introductory interest rate for the first 6 months. Going forward, 11.99-20.99% variable. There is no annual fee.
With the US Bank Business Leverage Visa Signature Card, there is no annual fee for the first year. After that it is $95 per year. If you spend $7,500 in the first four months, you earn 75,000 points. You also earn 2X points in your top two spending categories.
PNC Points Visa Business Credit Card
This PNC Visa Business Credit Card for points offers 5 points per dollar on net purchases. There is an introductory interest rate of 0% on the first 9 billing cycles on purchases. Also, earn a $200 bonus when you spend $3,000 during the first three billing cycles. There is no annual fee.
Choose the Right Credit Card for Points for Your Business
How do you choose the right card for your business? Consider your spending. Do you spend a lot on dining? Then, pick the card that offers the most points back on dining with the best bonus offer. For example, in the list above both the Bank of Hope and the Union Bank cards offer 2x points on dining. They also offer bonus points.
You may be thinking that the 10,000 points bonus offered by the Union Bank card is better, and you are right. That is, if your business will spend $5,000 in the first three months. If not, you will likely be better off with the Bank of Hope card, where the bonus is half that, but you only have to spend $1,000 in the first three months.
It’s also important to note that there are sometimes expiration dates on points, so be sure you will be able to use them before they expire. If not, they are worthless. Bonus points may expire faster than other points, so watch for that too.
As you can see, it’s important to carefully weigh the details to get the best deal. There are a lot of options, and some of the offerings are for a limited time. If you pay close attention though, you can find the best credit card for points to benefit your business.
D2C companies, by definition, take out the middleman and sell their products “direct to consumers.” In many ways, this seems like an obvious choice. You sell your product straight to them and cut out any fees required with wholesale and other sales platforms. Plus, you don’t have to charge markup fees to cover those additional … Continue reading The 7 Best Strategies for D2C Brands
D2C companies, by definition, take out the middleman and sell their products “direct to consumers.”
In many ways, this seems like an obvious choice. You sell your product straight to them and cut out any fees required with wholesale and other sales platforms. Plus, you don’t have to charge markup fees to cover those additional costs, so you can keep the prices low for your customers.
The hiccup comes with marketing. Stores you could be selling wholesale to have the advantages of customer loyalty, brand recognition, a diverse inventory, and convenient locations.
With D2C, you have to find those customers and convince them to buy directly from you, rather than grabbing that item the next time they are out shopping.
It can be a challenge, but when done right, it can be worth it.
Examples of D2C Brands
We live in a world of disrupters. As a result, many of the most popular D2C brands tend to have a rebellious or revolutionary angle to their product or service.
Dollar Shave Club is the epitome of D2C brands because their product is often a last-minute purchase. Razors for shaving aren’t often something you search the internet for.
Dollar Shave Club found a way to directly sell in a way that also helps their customers avoid the inevitable: Forgetting to add it to their shopping list or not realizing they need it until it’s too late.
Warby Parker isn’t the first D2C eyeglasses company, but they are one of the first to make it cool.
Eyeglasses are often sold wholesale in doctors’ offices after appointments. Offices have captive audiences, and eyeglass sellers can connect with and supply them with the latest styles.
The problem for consumers comes when the office doesn’t have a style they like or when all options are too pricey for them. They may feel pressured to settle for something so they have a pair in their new prescription.
Warby Parker took a D2C approach to bring some very stylish brands and let customers try them out. As a result, customers don’t have to feel that pressure to just choose something.
Through Warby Parker, customers can use an app to see how they look in lots of “rental” pairs of glasses. Between this and having time to show the styles off to their friends, they can take a few for a sort of test drive, then purchase the one(s) they love.
Warby Parker can offer competitive prices by selling directly and avoiding markups at the doctor’s office.
Most of us grab our coffee at the grocery store—sometimes only because we realize we’ve already run out. We don’t often think to buy directly from the coffee maker unless we are talking about a local coffee shop that brews their own.
Peet’s brought these concepts together with their coffee subscription service. As a result, the same products you would usually get at the store are now available in an exclusive-feeling monthly delivery.
Nearly all the brands that use a specialty D2C subscription option in addition to their retail locations allow consumers to feel closer to the headquarters of these coffee producers. That is, the brand is best known in a particular part of the country, and they market their subscriptions to those who lived there and have moved away.
7 Strategies for D2C Brands
D2C, by definition, means you need to be able to reach your target audience. However, before you can reach them, you need to know who they are. The more you can learn about them, the better your chances of not only finding them with your message but of them converting to your brand.
1. Make Good Use of Reviews and Testimonials
Word of mouth is powerful for any brand, but D2C relies heavily on loyal customers spreading the word. Leverage this power by collecting reviews and testimonials and sharing them in your ads, social media, landing pages, product pages, and other relevant locations.
Unearth stories from your customers that speak to your key differentiators and use feedback that tells the story of the impact you made in their lives. For example, what was different about what you sell? How did it finally provide the solution they’ve been looking for?
Those reviews and testimonials sound like talking with a friend and help potential customers feel heard.
2. Be There When They’re Looking For You
Using SEO (search engine optimization) and PPC (pay-per-click) ads can place your brand before your potential audience where they look for you. By researching them well, you can learn the keywords and phrases they use to find what you’re selling.
Start with on-page SEO, capitalizing on keywords your target market is looking for and ensuring your website uses those keywords effectively. Weave those keywords into headlines, product descriptions and tags, page titles, and more.
Then create ads that leverage those keywords. You can place them on Google to show up when people are searching. Make sure your ads paint a clear picture of the solution you are providing.
Stay at the forefront of your customers’ minds by using retargeting ads that will pop up when they are scrolling other sites later. After a while, your brand should begin to feel familiar, and you may enter your potential customers’ subconsciouses.
3. Get Creative With Ad Placement
You can take the approach to another level by showing up in other places where you know your target audience is. You might use keywords your competitors would be using or are slightly off-topic but still related, keywords your target audience is searching for. It’s a disruptor approach that can work very well for D2C brands when done creatively and intuitively.
Although not D2C, you can see this a lot with software and technology brands. Here’s an example.
You need to know your audience to make this work: What are they looking for? What sense of humor do they have? What makes them unique?
4. Offer Something Different
This is a crucial step for D2C brands. If you are going to sell a product directly to clients, you’ve got to give them a reason to buy.
Sometimes a lower price or a unique brand personality can help them choose you over Amazon, the mall, the drug store, or Target.
However, to get traction with a D2C brand and build enough momentum to make it long-term, you need to come to the market in a fundamentally different way.
For many D2C brands, this may mean a monthly subscription, like the coffee mentioned above. You can bring the convenience of not forgetting or running out of a needed product.
You could also offer a unique approach to your consumers. For example, how are items in your industry typically packaged, sold, and delivered? How can you make the experience better? How can you provide more?
5. Referrals and Word of Mouth
As you build up your D2C brand, your customers will be your best marketers. When they love what you’re doing, they can help others get excited. In addition, they can probably talk about your product or service better than you can, so let them talk!
Dial up your referral program by offering incentives to those who refer others to your brand and even better kickbacks to those who put the work in and bring in a lot of referrals.
Make it easy for your audience by providing unique URLs they can share with others. You can also drop postcards and little treats into your shipments to help your customers spread the word.
6. Set Up a Chatbot
Successful D2C companies build relationships with their customers from the start. Those relationships start with first interactions, and you can add a chatbot to those first interactions on your website.
A chatbot allows people to immediately start “talking” with someone to get their questions answered. Although those initial interactions will be automated, you can and should follow up with customers who interact with your chatbot to find out how you can help more.
Bring some humanity to your brand, and you can stand out from the corporate competition.
7. Turn Customers into Product Developers
What do your customers want from you? Just ask!
Among the most significant benefits of D2C is that you have access to your customers. You can communicate with them, so do it.
Ask questions and listen to your customers: the happy ones and the unhappy ones. They are going to be your best research and development department.
They can tell you about what’s working well and what needs improvement, as well as what other products or services they would like to see in the future.
Not only does this help you bring products to the market that people will like, but it also builds rapport with your customers. People want to feel heard, and you can stand out as a brand that listens.
Additional Resources for New D2C Brands
If you’re thinking of starting a D2C business or want to offer some products direct-to-consumers, you may want to learn more about the advantages and challenges of this approach and some strategies for success.
You may have noticed some overlap in the millennial market and the uptick in D2C brands. Fundera explains more about how to leverage that connection in this article.
If learning by podcast is more your style, here is an excellent roundup of podcasts, episodes, and themes that you might find interesting as you explore this opportunity.
As we’ve discussed, building a loyal customer base is not only a necessity of the D2C approach, but it’s also an advantage of setting up your brand this way. Learn more from the team at Shippo about how you can use various tools and resources to win customers.
Direct to Consumer (D2C) Frequently Asked Questions
What does D2C mean in retail?
D2C means “direct to consumer” and refers to maintaining inventory and selling products directly to your customers.
Is Amazon a D2C company?
Mostly no; D2C companies sell own products directly to customers. Amazon does have some branded products, but most items are owned by other companies using Amazon as a sales platform.
What brands are going to D2C?
Brands from every industry have begun to try this method of reaching and interacting with customers.
Can you make a lot of money with D2C companies?
Success with D2C depends on whether you can connect with your target audience and provide them directly with a product or service they can’t get elsewhere or in a better way. This trend is growing and many companies are seeing success with it.
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7 Strategies for D2C Companies Conclusion
D2C companies are growing in popularity as e-commerce marketing technology makes it easier to connect with your audience and build sales processes in-house.
If you’re looking to overcome standard wholesale or dropshipping models, or if you just want to dabble in new methods, you may want to try direct to consumer. It can give you a closer relationship to your customers and provide new opportunities.
Disclosure: This content is reader-supported, which means if you click on some of our links that we may earn a commission.
Every great online store starts from the same place—with an ecommerce website builder. These tools make it easy for anyone to launch an ecommerce business by building a website from scratch.
So if you’re interested in selling products or services on the web, you’ll need to find an ecommerce builder to create your online store.
You don’t have to have any web design experience whatsoever to get started. To find an option that suits your goals, check out recommendations below.
You’ll find in-depth reviews of the eight best ecommerce website builders, followed by a brief buyers guide to help you narrow in on the best one.
#1 – Wix Review — The Best Drag-and-Drop Ecommerce Builder
Wix is one of the best overall site builders on the market today. The platform can be used to create any website—including ecommerce sites.
More than 160 million people across the globe have used Wix to create a website from scratch. There’s no code to write, no technology to master. If you know what you want, you can build it in Wix.
Start with one of Wix’s beautiful online store templates. These have been used by thousands of businesses to get their products and deals in front of customers. From there, you can customize the look and feel of your site to match your brand using the simple drag-and-drop ecommerce website builder.
Wix is a great option for beginners. Anyone can use this platform to build an ecommerce site, regardless of technical skill level. Here’s what makes Wix so great:
Intuitive drag-and-drop site builder
500+ stunning templates
Optimized for SEO
App marketplace for custom functions
Advanced design features like video backgrounds, animations, and scroll effects
Mobile-optimized ecommerce site
Custom domain, free hosting, and free SSL certificate
Supports multiple payment methods
Product pages and store manager tools
$300 in advertising vouchers
24/7 customer care
Unlimited products
Ecommerce plans from Wix start at $23. But I recommend starting with the Business Unlimited plan, at a minimum. It’s just $4 more per month and comes with enhanced features.
You can start building your Wix site for free to try out the drag-and-drop builder. Then take advantage of a 14-day free trial to access premium features.
#2 – BigCommerce Review — TheBest for Large Ecommerce Sites
BigCommerce is another industry leader in the ecommerce world. For more than a decade, this platform has served ecommerce sites in 120+ countries.
Over $25 billion in merchant sales have been powered by BigCommerce. It’s a great option for people who don’t want to hit annoying limits about what their site can and can’t do.
This platform is great for wholesalers, international ecommerce sites, B2B sellers, and multi-channel sales. For selling at scale, look no further than BigCommerce.
Easy to use and secure platform
Powerful ecommerce analytics and customer insights
Drag-and-drop building tools with no coding required
WordPress integration
Custom checkout capabilities with checkout API and SDK
Built-in Javascript, HTML, and CSS for full theme customization
Optimized for mobile and SEO
Built-in faceted search
Cross-channel sales support (brick & mortar, social, marketplaces, etc.)
Multiple currency support
Global CDN
Cross-border fulfillment
Built-in payment processing
Overall, BigCommerce is my top recommendation for large ecommerce websites. If you want to sell online without restrictions, this will be a top option to consider.
#3 – Squarespace Review — TheBest for Beautiful Ecommerce Designs
Squarespace is another all-in-one website builder that can be used to create any type of website.
But unlike other traditional site builders out there, Squarespace is optimized for businesses. With the exception of the personal plan, all Squarespace subscriptions come with built-in ecommerce functionality.
Squarespace is a popular choice for creative professionals who want to showcase their portfolios and sell online. It comes with features like:
Award-winning design templates
Built-in tax tools
Supports sales for subscriptions and digital content
Discount codes and gift cards
Secured checkout process from any device
Abandoned cart recovery tools
Ecommerce integrations for shipping and payment processing
24/7 customer support
You’ll need to connect your own payment processor to run an online store with Squarespace. Ecommerce plans start at $18 per month. Upgrade to the Basic Commerce plan ($26 per month) to avoid 3% transaction fees.
If creating a visually appealing ecommerce site with stunning designs is your top priority, Squarespace should definitely be on your shortlist.
#4 – Square Online Review — TheBest for Small Businesses with Physical Retail Space
Square is best known for its payment processing and POS solutions. But the platform also provides business owners with the ability to create a free online store.
If you’re a brick and mortar retailer that’s currently selling with Square POS, you can easily expand your online presence by building an ecommerce site using Square Online.
Let’s take a closer look at some of the features and benefits that you’ll get with Square Online:
Fast setup with no coding required
Built-in payment processing
Automatic sync with your Square POS system
Supports in-house and on-demand delivery
Instagram integration
Inventory management tools
Accept gift cards, Google Pay, and Apple Pay
Launching an ecommerce site with Square Online is free; you’ll only pay the transactional fees (starting at 2.9% + $0.30). For advanced features, paid plans start at $12 per month. Try it for free.
#5 – Bluehost Review — The Best Turnkey WooCommerce Store Builder
It can be a hassle to get a WooCommerce store up and working brilliantly.
From managing the WordPress plugins—both WooCommerce itself and the companion plugins needed to power up WooCommerce for your needs—to conducting regular updates, health checks, backups and so on, building a WooCommerce store can be daunting.
With their specialized WooCommerce Online Stores offering, Bluehost has made setting up a WooCommerce store a breeze.
It starts with Bluehost’s Online Store Creation Experience, a tool that will guide you gently through initial store creation and product uploads.
I love this because Bluehost has long been one of WordPress’ recommended hosting providers. They get WordPress, so who better to trust with maximizing the best ecommerce store plugin for it?
And remember what I said above about companion plugins?
Well, Bluehost has picked out the top ones your web store will need and included them at no charge to you.
That’s a big deal since it would cost you $80 each to install and utilize USPS shipping, FedEx shipping, and UPS shipping, for just one example. Right off the bat, you get the three major shipping providers and Bluehost saves you $240.
And that’s just three of the many plugins included.
Bluehost is generous with included features beyond that, as well. In the basic package, you’re allowed unlimited products and access to traffic analytics, 24/7 support, easy payment processing, manual order creation, and much more.
Plus, you get a free year of CodeGuard Basic for regularly backing up your site.
All of this comes at a good price of $12.95/month if you agree to a 36-month commitment. But if you’re serious about running an ecommerce store, I’d expect you want to be around for at least three years.
Upgrade to Premium—which starts at $24.95/month for the same 36-month term—and you’ll also get the ability to sell subscriptions, customize your products on a deeper level, and book appointments online.
Plus, they’ll give you CodeGuard basic completely for free, as well as domain privacy and protection.
In essence, Bluehost is taking so much work, research, and upkeep off your hands, there’s no question that this is one of the easiest ways to build and maintain an ecommerce store on your WordPress site.
If you currently have a WordPress website and need to add shopping cart functionality to it, WooCommerce will be the best option for you.
This plugin is built specifically for WordPress, and it’s one of the most popular WordPress plugins on the market today.
What makes WooCommerce so great? Let’s take a closer look:
Fully customizable with features that can extend its functionality
Flexible and open-source
140+ gateways and payment integrations
Ability to manage orders on the go
Supports physical products, digital products, and subscriptions
Hundreds of free and paid extensions
Fully scalable
Developer-friendly with REST API
To get started with WooCommerce, you’ll need to have an existing WordPress site. That means you’ll have to handle the domain registration and hosting on your own as well.
Shopify is king in the ecommerce space. Trusted by 1+ million websites in 175 countries, it’s one of the most popular ecommerce platforms available on the market today.
More than $200 billion in online sales have been facilitated via Shopify.
The platform is extremely versatile. Whether you’re starting a new ecommerce business from scratch or expanding your physical presence to an online store, Shopify can accommodate your needs. It comes with everything you need to build your website and start selling online:
Industry-specific templates
Supports multiple sales channels (point-of-sale, social media, online marketplaces, etc.)
Drag-and-drop store builder
70+ templates
Custom domains
Secure checkout
Gift cards
24/7 support
Unlimited products
Built-in payment processing
Shipping discounts
Marketing tools
Business insights
Regardless of your business size or industry, Shopify’s ecommerce platform is versatile enough to support your site.
If you have unique needs and you’re working with a developer or designer, Shift4Shop (formerly 3DCart) might be the solution for you.
Shift4Shop isn’t quite as popular as some of the other ecommerce website builders on our list. But with that said, it’s not for everyone.
While Shift4Shop does have drag-and-drop building tools to accommodate beginners, the software is powerful enough to support the needs of developers and design experts. So it can essentially be as simple or complex as you want it to be.
Other top features and noteworthy highlights of Shift4Shop include:
200+ built-in features
200+ ways to accept payments
50+ free themes
Simple and versatile shipping setups
Robust security
Supports dropshipping
Supports subscriptions, tickets, events, and print-on-demand sales
Powerful CMS
Optimized for SEO
All plans come with secure hosting, unlimited orders, 24/7 support, and no transaction fees.
If you use Shift4Shop for your payment processing, the entire platform is free to use. Whereas some ecommerce website builders cost hundreds of dollars a month, Shift4Shop doesn’t cost a thing more than the transaction fees, which you would still be paying on a platform that cost money.
The potential to save big is yet another reason I recommend Shift4Shop. Subscriptions are backed by a 30-day money-back guarantee. Try it free for 15 days.
What I Looked at to Find the Best Ecommerce Website Builder
Before you start searching for different ecommerce site builders, it’s important to understand how to evaluate these options.
Much will depend on where you are starting from and where you want to go.
Someone who wants to add ecommerce functionality to an existing website, for example, has a different set of challenges than a person who is still planning to launch their site.
Here are the major factors to consider as you’re shopping around and narrowing down your top picks.
Technical Skill Level
What is your technical background?
Some ecommerce website builders are designed for beginners, others are made for advanced users and developers, and the rest fall somewhere in between. If you’re a DIY-type person, then your technical abilities will play a significant factor in choosing the right platform.
Beginners should aim for platforms that don’t require coding. These website builders will let you put everything together with simple drag-and-drop functionality.
Advanced users and developers may want the ability to access the site’s backend code for advanced customizations. Businesses should consult with their tech team or whoever will ultimately be working on the site before finalizing a decision.
Business Stage and Size
New business and rapidly scaling startups won’t necessarily have the same needs in an ecommerce website builder. Some of you might even be looking to sell a handful of products online as a small side project or part-time job.
If you already have an existing website, you might not need a complete site builder. There are other tools out there that can add shopping cart functionality to your current site (more on this shortly).
Do you still need to register your domain name? Have you picked a web hosting plan yet?
There are website builders out there that provide you with all of these capabilities out of the box from a single platform. In other instances, you’ll need to get your domain and hosting plan separately.
Dropshipping
Dropshipping makes it possible to run an ecommerce website without having to buy, store, or ship inventory to your customers. When someone purchases something from your website, the supplier handles fulfillment and ships the product directly to those customers.
If you’re interested in running an ecommerce site that follows this business model, you need to make sure that your site builder supports dropshipping.
While not every website builder will come with dropshipping functionality out of the box, the best ones will seamlessly integrate with dropshipping software and third-party tools.
Design and Templates
Start to think about the visual aesthetics of your ecommerce site. The best ecommerce website builders will make it possible for you to create a beautiful site without having to hire a designer.
The easiest way to do this is by starting with a pre-built template and customizing it with your content. You should be able to choose a theme or template that fits with your brand image and industry.
As you start browsing and evaluating different platforms, you’ll quickly realize that the templates and design tools aren’t equal across the board—some are undoubtedly better than others.
Built-in Functionality
Not every ecommerce website builder comes standard with a long list of functions. In some cases, you’ll have to customize your site’s functionality by adding features from a marketplace or app store. Depending on the functionality you’re looking for, you might even need to integrate your site with a third-party tool or platform.
With that said, other site builders will provide you with all of the functions you could possibly need out of the box (with some restrictions).
There’s really no right or wrong answer here; it’s all about personal preference. Would you rather have every feature at your disposal as soon as you create an account? Or do you prefer adding functionality as needed?
The answer to these questions will help you narrow down your choices.
Limitations
Your ecommerce website builder might restrict how many products you can sell on the site. Some platforms will even charge you extra fees based on your traffic volume.
This usually isn’t a concern for new websites, but as your site scales, this can definitely become a problem.
Look beyond the rock-bottom prices and entry-level plans offered by different platforms. See how much it will cost you if your product list doubles, triples, or quadruples. Will you incur extra fees?
Some ecommerce site builders are better for selling just a dozen products or so as opposed to managing extensive product catalogs in the hundreds or thousands.
Conclusion
The first step to selling online is finding a viable ecommerce website builder.
Which one is the best? It really depends on what you’re looking for. Here are my top recommendations:
Shift4Shop — Best developer-friendly ecommerce software
For many people, Wix is going to be the absolute easiest option on this list. All the builders I picked are intuitive, but if your not super confident in your technical skills, Wix is a safe bet.
Of course, if you already have a WordPress site, WooCommerce is going to be even easier. For new WordPress sites, go with Bluehost, as they include so much at a great price.
In order to find the best option for your website, refer to the buying guide, reviews, and recommendations outlined in this post. This will definitely help you narrow down your options.
If you’re looking to build an SEO-friendly website, Squarespace is a solid choice. It offers easy-to-use templates and plenty of SEO tools to help your site rank better in Google search results.
Not sure where to get started? I’ll guide you through everything you need to know about Squarespace SEO, including what best practices to follow and the tools Squarespace offers.
Why Should You Care About SEO for Squarespace?
Even the most elegant website won’t do you much good if no one sees it. SEO is the act of optimizing a website so your target audience can easily find it.
SEO for Squarespace is about ensuring your Squarespace website plays well with search engines.
If you’ve used other website builders such as WordPress, you might be familiar with SEO plugins like Yoast. Unfortunately, those won’t work with Squarespace.
Other site builders, like Wix, offer minimal SEO tools that make it challenging to improve your ranking.
The good news is Squarespace comes with a ton of advanced SEO tools built-in. Understanding how to use them to optimize your site is crucial to your online success.
10 Tips for SEO for Squarespace
It’s easy to get overwhelmed by all the SEO advice out there. There’s on-page SEO, off-page SEO, and even SEO best practices for developers.
With Squarespace, you don’t have to worry about the most technical aspects of SEO. For example, all their sites are mobile responsive out of the box.
However, several steps will help your site rank well in Google, Bing, and other search engines. Here are ten best practices to improve your Squarespace SEO.
1. Perform Keyword Research
The core of SEO is keyword research. No matter what builder you use, it’s essential to take the time to find out what keywords your site should target. I’ve written several in-depth guides about keyword research, but I’ll explain the basics here.
Keywords are the words or phrases users type into search engines to find your website.
Sometimes they are pretty obvious; for example, a dentist in Chicago will probably target keywords like “chicago dentist.”
Other terms might be less obvious, such as “dentist near me” or “root canal.” That’s where a good keyword research tool, like my tool Ubersuggest (it’s free!), can be helpful.
Type in your main keyword and see what other terms come up:
These are terms you’ll want to use on your website in your domain name, URLs, and SEO page titles. (Don’t worry, we’ll cover how to do all that later.)
Consider researching what terms your competitors use as well. This can provide insight into what terms users are searching for.
2. Optimize Your Domain Name
While domain names aren’t a direct SEO factor, they can impact your overall SEO performance.
For example, if someone wants a dentist in Chicago, do you think they’ll click on a site like www.chicagodentist.com or www.marymandyddc.com?
Using keywords in your domain name is a simple way to clarify what your site is about and start building your brand.
If you already have an established website that is ranking well, there’s no need to change it (though you could redirect your site to a more SEO-friendly domain if you wanted).
If you are just getting started, make sure to include keywords in your domain name and make it easy to remember.
3. Use Keywords in Your URLs
Remember those keywords we looked at in step one? Make sure to include them in your URLs.
You’ll also want to make sure your URLs are clean and easy to understand, especially for service or product pages.
For example (sticking with the dentist example from above), the pediatric dentist service page should be www.chicagodentist.com/pediatric,not www.chicagodentist.com/he12909vhsw#.
Clean URLs perform better in search, and they look more trustworthy to users.
Here’s how to change your URL in Squarespace:
From the Home menu, click Pages.
Click the gear icon to open page settings.
Type your new URL in the URL slug field.
Select Save.
4. Integrate With Google Search Console
Google Search Console is a free tool that helps you monitor and maintain your Google presence. Integrating it with Squarespace allows the two sites to share data and makes it easier to see where your SEO efforts are paying off and where they’re falling flat.
The console makes it easy to verify your site and lets you see all that awesome Google data right in your Squarespace Analytics dashboard—no need to visit two sites.
To integrate, follow this guide on the Squarespace support page.
5. Add SEO Page Titles and Descriptions
SEO page titles and descriptions (also called meta titles and descriptions) are short blurbs displayed in the search results that tell users what they’ll find on your page.
Get these right, and your traffic can skyrocket. Ignore them, and Google will create them for you—and they might not be as effective.
Here’s how to update your SEO page titles and descriptions on Squarespace:
In the Home menu, select Pages.
Click the gear icon next to the title.
Select the SEO tab, then add your title to the SEO title field.
Select Save.
You can (and should) add SEO titles to all your pages, including blog posts and product pages. This guide to meta titles and descriptions will walk you through how to create SEO-friendly titles.
In general, meta titles and descriptions should:
include the main keyword you want to target
offer clear details about what the user will find if they click
6. Integrate With Google My Business
If you have a brick-and-mortar business, this is a step you can’t ignore. Google My Business is a free tool that lets you manage how your business appears in Google Maps and the search results.
For example, you might have seen the “Google three-pack” when you search for a local business:
Google pulls the information about reviews, pricing, and hours from the Google My Business account.
GMB is valuable, but for many smaller businesses managing another platform is a hassle. Squarespace makes it easy by interacting directly with Google My Business to manage your listing.
Here’s how to integrate your Squarespace site with GMB:
From the Home menu, select Marketing, then Location Management.
Select Add Location.
Click Import from Google.
If you don’t already have a GMB account, you can set it up in Squarespace by following the prompts. Once you’ve integrated, you can push and pull data from your website to Google automatically.
7. Create a Custom 404 Page
A 404 page is the page users see when they click on a link that doesn’t exist or has been moved but not redirected. Here’s mine:
I use it to direct users to my SEO tool, but you can also direct users to blog posts, product pages, or other important site pages. This keeps users on your site and helps them find the information they need.
A custom 404 page increases time on page, which can improve SEO.
SSL certificates (secure sockets layer) encrypt the data that passes between your website and your server. It improves website security, making it crucial for all websites but especially e-commerce sites.
In addition to just being a good idea, it’s also a Google ranking factor, which means enabling SSL on Squarespace is beneficial for SEO.
Luckily, Squarespace makes this process pretty easy. In fact, all their sites are automatically protected with an SSL certificate. However, you can adjust several settings based on your needs.
Here’s how to check your SSL certificate settings in Squarespace:
From the Home menu, select Settings, then Advanced.
Choose SSL.
Select Security Preferences.
Check the box for Secure and HSTS Secure.
Click Save.
9. Create High-Quality Content
High-quality content is a cornerstone of good SEO. It provides fresh content (which Google likes) and offers useful information your users want and need.
Squarespace makes it easy to add a blog to your website, though many themes come with them already in place.
Once you’ve created your blog page, it’s time to get writing. You can write yourself or outsource it to a freelancer. I recommend writing yourself at first to get an idea of what type of content your target audience wants.
Start by coming up with topic ideas. What questions do you answer most often? What pain points do your customers share? Aim to solve those problems.
Offer useful information: Answer a question, provide a step-by-step guide, or give advice. Keyword research can help with this.
Break up content: Use headings, lists, and pictures to break up longer content and make your piece easy to read.
Be specific: Don’t write for everyone; instead, write for your specific target audience (or even a subset of your audience). For example, this post isn’t just about SEO in general; it’s specifically for Squarespace users. A dentist could write about “how to brush your teeth,” but “how to teach your kids to brush their teeth properly” is likely to be more useful.
Optimize your content: Once you’ve created your useful, high-quality content, review Squarespace’s content best practices to ensure your audience can find your great content.
10. Add Internal Links to Important Content
Internal links are links on your website to other pages on your site. They improve user experience by helping users find pages, but they’re also great for SEO.
Internal links help Google understand which pages on your site are most important. Search engines also use internal links to pages on your site.
However, don’t go overboard with internal links. I aim for 5 to 10 internal links per 2,000 word article, which seems to be a happy medium. If you only have 10 pages on your site, you’d include fewer links.
Finally, make sure the internal links you add are useful. This isn’t a place to spam users about your newest product; it’s about leading them to useful pages.
Most Squarespace templates are pretty SEO-friendly. However, Brine gets top marks for the ability to customize headers, content insets, and adjust mobile styles. You can also add advanced features like parallax scrolling.
Is Squarespace good for SEO?
Yes. Squarespace offers plenty of SEO tools and features to help you optimize your website. While there are some things you can’t access, it offers a number of SEO tools and features.
Is optimizing SEO for your Squarespace free?
SEO features are included in their paid plans, so it is free in the sense that you don’t have to pay extra just for SEO. However, some features are only available to Business or Commerce customers. Make sure to consider your SEO needs when comparing plans.
What are the downsides to Squarespace, and how can you overcome them?
One of the major downsides to Squarespace is the lack of control. Although many templates are easy to adjust, the customization is limited. You can overcome these issues by carefully considering your template options and choosing a format that will grow with your business.
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Squarespace SEO Conclusion
Understanding how to implement successful SEO practices on Squarespace is crucial to online success. While SEO for Squarespace is a little different than other website builders, they still offer a wide range of SEO tools.
If you haven’t built your site yet, I strongly recommend starting with keyword research. If you get stuck, my team is happy to help.
Do you use Squarespace? Have you had success with their SEO tools?
Focusing on Drupal SEO ensures the hard work you put into your site helps you actually reach customers. Like other platforms, Drupal has specific SEO features and strategies that ensure your changes are communicated from Drupal to search engines.
Whether you are using your Drupal website for e-commerce or building a content-driven brand, such as a membership site, Drupal SEO will help your customers find you as they search for answers online.
Being there, with the answers and resources they need, you’ll be able to build your brand following, grow sales or conversions, and hit your brand goals.
What Is Drupal?
Drupal is a CMS, or content management system. Formally, this is the software you use to create, organize, display, and interact with digital content. For everyday use, a CMS is a platform you’ve chosen to build your website on.
With a history of reliability, Drupal generally requires more technical knowledge and allows for far more customization than the plug and play options like Wix or Squarespace.
Like WordPress, you code certain items to create a website that looks and functions the way you need.
Pros and Cons of Drupal
Although Drupal is not the most popular website platform (that market share tends to be dominated by WordPress), it is used by a number of popular websites, such as Pinterest and DocuSign, that host a lot of users per day with very custom experiences, according to W3Techs.
Because it can be so well-customized, Drupal also requires a fair amount of tech expertise. You should have some knowledge of coding and basic CMS tools before you dive in.
Drupal is not a plug-and-play website CMS where you can merely choose a template and just type in the content you need throughout the website.
However, you can create the exact site you need using open-source information and tapping into the Drupal community.
Whether you are using your Drupal website for e-commerce or building a content-driven brand, such as a membership site, Drupal SEO will help your customers find you as they search for answers online.
What Kinds of Websites Should Use Drupal?
Drupal is a workhorse platform that hosts websites that need a lot of heavy lifting. As mentioned above, websites like Pinterest and DocuSign use Drupal.
What do those websites, and other Drupal sites, have in common?
They host a LOT of digital data.
They need their data to be easily searched and organized, both on a large scale and by individual users.
They have members, with varying degrees of activity.
They have a lot of users either logging in to interact or stopping by their website daily.
They require unique functionality and features to reflect their brands.
They need to stay up and running, so members can access their data.
They need to be secure and respect privacy concerns.
This list should give you a picture of what makes Drupal very popular for some kinds of websites.
Drupal does the grunt work of supporting very large and very complicated websites, with iron-tight security and a reputation for reliability.
How do you make sure all those customers can find your Drupal website? Here’s how to do SEO on Drupal.
10 Best Practices for Drupal SEO
If you’ve invested in building a custom website, you want customers to find you on search engines. Drupal SEO is all about taking the steps to ensure your content can be crawled and seen by search engines and users alike.
1. Optimize Your URLs
Your URL is important for SEO. URLs with specific words that reflect the actual content of that page rank higher.
For Drupal SEO, you’ll have to go into your website settings and “enable clean URLs.” This will allow you to change URLs to reflect the individual page content, rather than a URL with randomized numbers and letters.
You can use a URL similar to the title of the page so the URL is more contextual. I strongly recommend including the main key term the page targets in your URL.
It takes too long for a search engine to crawl a slow-moving website, and search engines don’t want to serve up a slow website to their audience. They are in the business of connecting users with websites they are glad to find.
When they are served up a fast-loading website, they are more pleased with the experience.
You can also use Google PageSpeed Insights to analyze how well your site is doing. Here’s an example of what it shows for Home Depot, who uses Drupal.
3. Keep Your Website Secure
Search engines prioritize safety and privacy on the internet, so they give preference to secure websites.
If you’re not sure whether your Drupal website, or any website, is secure, you can look at the URL in your browser. The little “lock” icon and the “s” in https will tell you if a site is secure.
To secure your Drupal website, you can work with your hosting site. Note, that you may need to make certain URL updates if you are using Apache. See this Drupal documentation for that information.
4. Create Mobile Responsive Website
Search engines like Google prioritize mobile-friendly websites because so many searches are happening on mobile devices. Again, this goes back to wanting their customers to have the best experience.
One of the best ways to make sure your Drupal website is mobile-friendly is to make it responsive. Do images, text, and layout of your website morph depending on the size of your browser? Or is it a single static view no matter the size?
Improve your Drupal SEO by ensuring people can effectively access your content on whatever device they are using.
5. Use a Mobile-First Mentality
Drupal SEO for mobile doesn’t just mean responsive design. It’s also about creating content that is optimized for small devices and on-the-go access. This is a mobile-first design mindset, and it can shape your decisions as you create content and build your website.
A few things to keep in mind include:
Use headings, bullet points, lists, and images to make content easier to scan.
Create “stacked” designs, rather than side-by-side. In other words, think vertical instead of horizontal.
Avoid adding too many popups that can disrupt the mobile experience.
Thinking about how your website looks on mobile can improve your SEO.
6. Ensure Website Accessibility
Another topic to explore with Drupal SEO is accessibility. Google and other websites weigh the accessibility features of a website when ranking websites in search results. They give priority to websites that check all the accessibility boxes, and deprioritize ones that lack compliance.
Accessibility is about how accessible your website is to people across a spectrum of experiences, abilities, and perspectives. This can include visual limitations, device and technology limitations, and more.
Websites that are more accessible can be accessed by a wide range of people. In essence, the more people who can access your website the better, and search engine websites reward you for that. It’s also just the right thing to do.
There are several Drupal tools you can use to assess how well your website is doing and identify the areas for improvement. Then you can go about making those changes.
7. Know Your Target Audience and What They’re Looking For
In addition to the technical specs we discussed, you also need to be aware of the content you create for your website. In particular, you need to clearly understand who you are trying to draw from those search engines.
Drupal SEO should focus on what your target is searching for and building great, long-form content around those topics. Because Drupal is known for the ability to host and support great amounts of data, this is your opportunity to be the storehouse of information on your particular topic.
However, you want to make sure you are actually creating content that drives the right target audience to your site so you have a better shot at turning them into customers.
8. Keyword Research
Incorporating relevant keywords into content and page copy allows you to draw your audience into your website and provide the information they need.
To ensure you are using the right keywords and phrases, you need to perform keyword research. While your intuition is a starting point, diving into what people actually search and the phrases they use can help your website appear higher in relevant searches.
You can use tools like Google Keyword Planner or Ubersuggest to build your keyword lists.
9. Use Keywords Naturally
Once you get a handle on the keywords that your target market is using, and what they are looking for, you can start to create content that draws them to your website.
This isn’t about trying to hack the system. The websites that optimize best are simply the websites that serve up content people care about on a regular website.
Once you’ve found your keywords, you need to incorporate them in natural and helpful ways. Sprinkling them throughout your content, using them in headlines, placing them in relevant URLs, and tucking them into page descriptions.
10. Find Drupal SEO Modules
With open-source coding, Drupal boasts a plethora of Drupal modules that people have created to serve the needs of Drupal users. Modules are software codes that others have made and tested, and are still improving, that you can try out too.
If you go to Drupal Modules, you can search for SEO ones in particular.
Here, you’ll find modules to add all sorts of SEO features, including meta tags, sitemaps, share buttons, and bread crumbs. These are one of the easiest ways to improve your Drupal SEO.
Drupal SEO Frequently Asked Questions
Is Drupal Good for SEO?
Drupal provides a robust platform that can be home to great SEO-friendly content and strategies. You can build an SEO-effective website on Drupal.
Is It Free to Optimize Drupal for SEO?
Optimizing for search engines, or SEO, consists of a series of best practices that help your Drupal site rank higher. These practices are free to do, but may require time investment.
Is Drupal "Dying?"
No, Drupal continues to be a popular platform for building websites. It is used by several big names including eBay, The Economist, and NCAA.
Is Drupal Hard to Use?
It is not beginner friendly. Drupal is very adaptable using basic coding techniques, and can be further customized with advanced technical knowledge. With open-source coding and an active community, Drupal users can find support and insights for building their sites.
What's the Difference Between Drupal and WordPress?
Although WordPress boasts a larger share of the website market, Drupal has a history of reliability, security, and robustness. They are home to many big-name websites who require their membership level customization, data hosting prowess, and more.
Drupal provides a robust platform that can be home to great SEO-friendly content and strategies. You can build an SEO-effective website on Drupal.
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“name”: “Is It Free to Optimize Drupal for SEO?”,
“acceptedAnswer”: {
“@type”: “Answer”,
“text”: ”
Optimizing for search engines, or SEO, consists of a series of best practices that help your Drupal site rank higher. These practices are free to do, but may require time investment.
No, Drupal continues to be a popular platform for building websites. It is used by several big names including eBay, The Economist, and NCAA.
”
}
}
, {
“@type”: “Question”,
“name”: “Is Drupal Hard to Use?”,
“acceptedAnswer”: {
“@type”: “Answer”,
“text”: ”
It is not beginner friendly. Drupal is very adaptable using basic coding techniques, and can be further customized with advanced technical knowledge. With open-source coding and an active community, Drupal users can find support and insights for building their sites.
”
}
}
, {
“@type”: “Question”,
“name”: “What's the Difference Between Drupal and WordPress?”,
“acceptedAnswer”: {
“@type”: “Answer”,
“text”: ”
Although WordPress boasts a larger share of the website market, Drupal has a history of reliability, security, and robustness. They are home to many big-name websites who require their membership level customization, data hosting prowess, and more.
”
}
}
]
}
Drupal SEO: Conclusion
Drupal SEO comes down to using the tools available, along with basic SEO practices, to showcase your content and get in front of the right audience.
Start by implementing standard SEO best practices, like making sure you have HTTPS, checking site speed, and optimizing your URLs. Then, move on to Drupal SEO modules for more advanced features.
By taking the time to set your Drupal site up for success and build quality content that people want to consume, you can make the most of one of the most powerful platforms on the Internet.
Do you use Drupal? What are your favorite SEO modules?
Business grants are not easy to come by for anyone, but for startups, it’s a whole other story. Small business startup grants do exist. However, they are even more competitive than grants for existing businesses. We have put together a list of some of the best options, along with some tips on funding startups if grants aren’t enough.
Are Small Business Startup Grants Always the Best Option?
There are a lot of options out there when it comes to small business grants. Who doesn’t want a grant? After all, it’s free money. You don’t have to pay it back. I mean, what’s not to like?
Truly, grants sound like the perfect solution for business funding. Actually, they are great if you can get one. Yet, there are two cons most don’t realize. Of course they are highly competitive. But also, the money isn’t as free as you may think. Even though there is no interest and no repayment, it often takes a lot of time and effort to apply for a grant. Not to mention, sometimes there is an application fee.
On top of the highly competitive nature of most grants, the result is that you could spend a lot of time and money applying for grants with nothing to show for it.
Unfortunately these problems are only magnified when it comes to small business business grants. There are far fewer grants available to startups. That means the competition is even more fierce. Furthermore, most of them are not open to just any business.
There are research and development grants, as well as grants for specific types of business owners.
Examples include:
Veterans
Minorities
Women
And those in low income areas
Is It Even Worth it to Apply?
Due to the fact that it can be very hard to get a grant, you may wonder if it’s even worth trying. That depends. Honestly, If the application process is fast and cheap, then yes, it is likely worth it. Of course, that is assuming you know that you meet all of the requirements.
However, if you are not sure you qualify, and the application process is long or there is a large application fee, it might be best to skip it. Remember, you can use that time and money to pursue other funding options.
Best Options for Small Business Startup Grants
We’ve put together a list of some of the easiest grants to qualify for. Still, competition is still very tough. Also, there are never any guarantees. We’ve divided them into the following categories:
Open to all businesses
Innovation and Research
Women
Minorities
And veterans
Best Open to Any Small Business Startup Grant
FedEx Small Business Grant Contest
The FedEx Small Business Grant is one of the most popular small business startup grants around. The contest is open to any business that has been in operation for at least 6 months and has 99 employees or less. It awards eight $7,500 grants, one $15,000 grant, and one $25,000 grant to winners each year.
Best for Innovation and Research
Small Business Innovation Research Program
This grant is designed to provide funding for scientific research and development. The business must be an organized for profit, with a place of business located in the United States. In addition, it must be more than 50% owned and controlled by one or more individuals who are citizens or permanent resident aliens of the United States. It can have no more than 500 employees.
The Amber Grantawards one prize of $10,000 per month to a woman-owned business. One of the recipients also receives an additional $25,000 grant at the end of the year. Applicants only need to tell their story and turn it in with a $15 application fee.
Best for Minorities
The Minority Business Development Agency
The Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) is operated by the US Department of Commerce. It is dedicated to helping minority-owned businesses access the resources they need to grow and succeed. They provide grants through their Minority Business Centers.
You can find grants available in your area by searching for your local Minority Business Center or visit the MBDA’s website for information on all current opportunities. You also need to have a D-U-N-S number to apply for these grants. Which is necessary for fundability anyway.
Best for Veterans
StreetShares Foundation’s Veteran Small Business Award
The StreetShares Foundation’s Veteran Small Business Award is for individual veterans who are low-income or otherwise lack the financial means to start their own business or nonprofit venture. This grant is also available to surviving spouses and children. The winner must have a positive impact on the veteran community.
Honorable Mention
The InnovateHER small business challenge is sponsored by the SBA office of women’s business ownership. The program awards three winners $30,000 in prize money for businesses that have an impact on the lives of women. Awards are designed for products that meet certain standards including:
Having a measurable impact on the lives of women and families (30%)
Having the potential for commercialization (40%), and
Filling a need in the marketplace (30%)
What if Grants Aren’t Enough?
It’s almost certain grants will not be enough. Of course, any free money is better than none at all. Still, you cannot rely on grants alone to fully fund your business. Instead, one of the best things you can do for your business is build a strong business credit profile.
A business credit profile is the credit history of the business itself, not the owner. It includes all business information and the business credit report, which reflects the business credit score.
To establish a business credit profile your business needs to be fundable. As a startup, this means starting now. Get an EIN, incorporate, make sure you have a physical business address and open a separate, dedicated business bank account.
Honestly, these things are good to have for a grant application anyway. After you establish a business credit profile, look for vendor credit that will report payments to your business credit report. Most importantly, always pay everything on time.
In time, you will have a strong business credit score. Then, you can apply for business loans and lines of credit using your business information, and your business can basically fund itself. Any grant money you can get will be icing on the cake.
Web development and search engine optimization (SEO) become increasingly intertwined as search engines become more intelligent. Therefore, experts in both fields need to have a basic understanding of the other.
Today, I’m speaking to web developers. While you can leave the nitty-gritty to the SEO experts, the best practices I’ll talk about in this piece could help you communicate with your team, raise your brand image, and provide better services to your customers. In this post, learn the 8 best practices for SEO for developers.
What Do Developers Need to Know About SEO?
If you’re responsible for building and maintaining a website, you’re also partially responsible for making sure it can rank in the search engines.
technical SEO: how search engine bots crawl and index a website
on-page SEO: how well the content on the site is optimized for target keywords and user experience
off-page SEO: how other websites link to your website to boost its authority
Naturally, developers play a big part in technical SEO, but this isn’t where SEO for developers should end. They also help ensure a positive user experience, which can help with on- and off-page SEO.
Here are eight best SEO practices developers can focus on to take their efforts to the next level.
Consumers value convenience more than almost anything else. We want quick access to information, and everything that gets in the way damages the user experience. More complicated code can lead to more roadblocks for site visitors.
Keeping your code clean is one of the first steps in SEO for developers. When people land on a website, they make quick-fire decisions about whether it’s worth the effort.
Search engines want to send users to websites that quickly and accurately answer their questions.
If another website can deliver comparable information twice as fast as yours, Google will likely prioritize them on search engine results pages (SERPs).
Even if load times weren’t a direct ranking factor, this would still be a big issue.
A page’s load time directly impacts its bounce rate. For example, pages that take two seconds to load have an average bounce rate of six percent. At four seconds, that rate jumps to 24 percent, and once a mere six seconds have passed, 46 percent of visitors are gone.
When Google sees people bouncing straight back to the search results, it likely thinks your page isn’t valuable and assigns less ranking power.
3. Use the Correct Redirects
Websites are constantly evolving. Content gets updated, pages move, new elements are added, and developers make sure this happens smoothly.
The end-user is the most critical factor in this equation because anything you do has to work for them. However, you’ve also got to think about how the crawlers view your website.
This is where it’s essential to understand how redirects work in SEO.
A 301 redirect indicates to the search engines that a website or pages have permanently moved. When you use a 301 redirect, the search engines will transfer most of the original page’s link equity to the new page.
A 302 redirect, on the other hand, indicates that a page has moved temporarily. You might use this when you’re redesigning or updating your site, but you still want to keep the original page’s link equity.
Using redirects correctly may seem like a small thing, but it can make a big difference in SEO terms.
4. Add a Sitemap
Search engines are very sophisticated, but they don’t experience a website like humans do. They need you to give them clues about how pages link together, and one of the ways you can do this is with your sitemap.
When indexing your site, bots follow every link to see where they go. One way you can help with this process is by adding a sitemap.
Google and the other search engines should be able to crawl your entire site if you use good internal linking. However, large sites can get complicated, so a sitemap makes things easier for the search engines and ensures your site will be indexed appropriately.
Google now uses mobile-first indexing, which means when its bots crawl your site, they use the mobile version. If your website doesn’t perform on mobile devices, it’s unlikely to rank highly on SERPs.
Even today, too many websites neglect this vital fact.
To check how your website performs for mobile, Google’s mobile-friendly test is a convenient option. It gives you a quick performance check and tells you where you can make improvements.
If you want to dig a little bit deeper, then Google Lighthouse is also a great option for overall UX.
6. Check the Robots.txt File
The robots.txt file sets rules for how web crawlers crawl different parts of a website. It’s a simple piece of code, but it can have a significant impact.
A robots.txt file unintentionally blocking crawlers from content can be catastrophic for SEO. If the bots can’t crawl the page, it won’t be indexed—meaning it won’t appear in search results.
Sometimes, webmasters don’t want a page indexed, and a robots.txt file is a valuable tool. However, if your SEO team notices a page that should be getting traffic isn’t, keep an eye out for a rogue robots.txt file.
7. Ensure Follow/No Follow Links Are Used Appropriately
One distinction to be aware of is follow links vs. no-follow links.
Follow links, also called do-follow links, are backlinks where the person linking to the page doesn’t edit the HTML to ensure Google doesn’t associate their site with another. When a site gives a clean backlink with no changes, a crawler sees this as one page vouching for the quality of the other.
Crawlers still look at no-follow links to see where they go, but they don’t ascribe value to the link.
From an SEO standpoint, you want follow links from authoritative websites to yours. However, you should still consider no-follow links valuable. Even if the link itself doesn’t give authority, it can still drive traffic to or from your site.
For developers, this means they’ve got to make sure they’re using the right links to communicate properly with the crawlers.
8. Understand and Implement Structured Data
Structured data can be tricky for many people involved with SEO…and this is where developers can really shine. Developers already know how to format a page so that all parts of it flow well and can be read by both human and search engine searchers.
When used well, structured data lets Google know exactly what’s on every part of a webpage. Beyond that, it can tell Google precisely what questions you’re answering. In fact, the FAQ below uses a structured data (schema) markup to indicate to Google that we’re answering common questions.
SEO for Developers: Frequently Asked Questions
How Do Developers do SEO?
Developers should be familiar with technical SEO and effective user experience.
Do Web Developers Do SEO?
Web developers do SEO to some extent. A clean, functioning website that offers a great user experience essential to SEO is all the developer’s domain.
What Is SEO Software Development?
SEO software development is the process of making sure software and web applications are SEO-friendly.
What Is the Role of an SEO Developer?
An SEO developer understands how development decisions will affect a website’s search rankings and organic traffic.
Good developers naturally aid SEO by creating user-friendly websites, but it pays to understand search engine optimization itself. Even just the basics could allow you to make more informed decisions and offer a better service for your clients.
SEO for developers doesn’t have to be complicated, but it can make all the difference to a website’s success.
How do you approach SEO as a developer?
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