The Secret Guide to VSEO: Video and SEO

Since the Google Penguin and Panda updates, a lot of SEOs finally have realized that ranking a website in the long term is not just about building a large number of links. It’s also about creating high-quality content that will attract links naturally over time.

However, one type of SEO that still is underutilized is VSEO: video search engine optimization. Although a lot of brands are incorporating video content into their overall online marketing strategies, most SEOs don’t place a high priority on it. Usually, they opt for creating various other types of content (e.g., infographics, images, written content, etc.).

If used correctly, video can be an extremely powerful form of content and make a significant contribution to your overall SEO strategy, in more ways than one.

Avoiding a Common Trap and Defining Your Goals

Although the idea of producing a video might seem like a “nice” idea, it’s important to remember that it must compliment your overall SEO strategy and generate a return on investment (ROI).

If you fail to define your goals in the early stages, not only will the video end up costing you (or your client) a hefty chunk of money, it will be money down the drain that could have been spent better elsewhere.

Failing to clearly define goals is a common SEO mistake and one that often is seen with content such as infographics.

Many SEOs will commission the creation of an expensive, cool-looking infographic without putting enough thought into the overall goal. They get blinded by the idea that “infographics build links” without stopping to think whether they want the infographic to increase conversions, increase high-quality traffic (i.e., visitors who are likely to convert to paying customers), or simply provide off-page SEO benefits (i.e., links).

It’s the same with video content. You need to know what you want to get out of it. Without knowing this, it will be difficult to conceptualize/commission a production that has any hope of successfully captivating the intended audience and leading to your desired goals.

What Are Your Goals?

From an SEO point of view, there really are only two main goals that you possibly could have – to build links and generate social shares or to increase conversions.

Let’s start by looking at the first benefit mentioned above…

1. Build Links/Generate Social Shares

If it’s done well, a video can generate a large number of links for a website; and often from some pretty reputable domains, too. I’m not just talking about a few links, either. I’m talking about hundreds or thousands of high-quality links in some cases.

The problem is there’s so much online video content that unless you create an exceptional video and have a great outreach/marketing plan, its success is going to be limited.

People don’t link to or share any old rubbish these days. So, to get the success you’re looking for, it’s important for you to really think about who you want to share the video and who you want to link to it.

Essentially, your video has to offer something to the viewer. It might make them laugh, educate them, amaze them, shock them, or annoy them (or even a combination of these). The point is it needs to evoke a strong enough emotional reaction that they’ll want to share it, either by clicking the Tweet/Share button or by writing a post about it on their blog/website (with a link back to your site, of course).

DollarShaveClub.com

Perhaps one of the best examples of a video that generated a massive amount of backlinks is the “viral” video from DollarShaveClub.com (above).

About a year ago, hardly anyone had heard of Dollar Shave Club, but shortly after they produced and marketed the video, that all changed.

Strangely enough, the Dollar Shave Club video wasn’t produced for link building purposes. It was produced with the aim of raising brand awareness. But in the modern world of SEO/marketing, brand awareness and link building are directly related, at least when it comes to online content.

Let me explain with a timeless viral example.

According to YouTube, the Dollar Shave Club video was uploaded on March 6, 2012. Following the upload, it didn’t take long for the video to start going viral. Partly due to a great PR/outreach strategy and, in large part, thanks to its very amusing concept, it started to gain a lot of attention for the company.

Within hours, it was featured on leading news sites across the web, including Mashable (pictured above), The Next Web, Techcrunch, and literally hundreds of others. Within a month or so, it also had been featured on many other leading sites that most SEOs would work extremely hard to obtain links from, such as Forbes and BusinessWeek.

Obviously, this is great for brand exposure, but what has this got to do with link building?

Every single one of those leading news websites mentioned above linked out to Dollar Shave Club in their articles, as did the hundreds of other sites that reported on the video.

In fact, this screenshot (taken from MajesticSEO back in the day), shows just how successful the video was for Dollar Shave Club in terms of SEO.

As you can see, around March 2012 (when the video was uploaded), Dollar Shave Club attracted approximately 18,000 backlinks and has continued to attract relatively large numbers of links every month since then.

If you take a look at the cumulative view of backlinks gained (pictured below) since the video was uploaded (approximately 12 months ago), you’ll see that it has attracted almost 90,000 links to date and the site still is attracting links naturally every month as people continue to write about it (like me).

The reason for this is the video struck a chord with its intended audience, and, as a result, went “viral” and attracted links. It was funny, original, and kept its target audience in mind.

There also was an excellent outreach/PR strategy in place, which was responsible for getting the video off the ground and starting the link building process.

These are all things to note if you’re looking to use video for SEO.

Moz Whiteboard Friday

As I mentioned earlier in this guide, videos don’t necessarily have to be funny to attract links. They just have to offer viewers something they want to see. One good way to do this is to create a video that’s educational.

Every Friday, Moz posts a “whiteboard” style video on their blog. Due to the regularity of these videos, they’ve become known as the “Whiteboard Friday” videos. These videos not only attract a lot of attention from SEOs around the world, but also attract a significant number of links, embeds, and social shares; therefore increasing traffic for SEOmoz.

According to Open Site Explorer, a particular Whiteboard Friday video received 402 links from 37 referring domains and well over 1,000 social shares. Once again, proof that people love video content.

What Should I Learn from All of This?

In both instances above (DollarShaveClub.com and Moz), video content has been responsible for successfully attracting a substantial number of inbound links and social shares for the website in question. This proves that, when used correctly, videos really can provide a huge boost to your SEO campaign.

However, both of these videos successfully attracted links for different reasons.

For Dollar Shave Club, it was all about the video seeding/outreach strategy. Mike Dubin, the founder of Dollar Shave Club, came from a video seeding background, which obviously played a big part in the success of the video. No one knew about Dollar Shave Club in the early days, so the outreach process definitely played an important role in getting things off the ground.

With Moz, it’s likely that there was no outreach conducted in order to attract links/social shares, as Moz already has an extremely large, loyal community of followers who are likely to share their content naturally. For them, simply producing a high-quality video targeted at their fan base is enough to attract links.

It’s important to consider this when using videos for SEO because all sites are different, and, therefore, will require a different approach. Ask yourself: Do I have enough high-quality traffic already to attract links automatically, or do I need to conduct outreach? And, if so, how much?

It’s also important to remember that it doesn’t matter how good your outreach plan is if your video isn’t of exceptional quality. If that is the case, it’s not going to attract a large number of links.

It’s tempting to cut corners and produce a sub-standard video in order to keep costs down. But, in the long-run, this won’t pay off. Ask yourself: Is my target audience going to be interested in this? Would I link to this if I came across it? Does it evoke an emotion? If you answer “no” to any of these questions, go back and rethink things before you produce your video.

One last thing: To get the full SEO potential of your videos, consider hosting videos on your own website (instead of Youtube or Vimeo). The reason for this is to get people to link back to your domain, which will help your overall SEO efforts as well. The possible downside would be reduced exposure or shares.

Also, on most video hosting sites you can link back to your content from the video webpage. Don’t forget to do this! It’s a free link 🙂

2. Increase Conversions

Although some SEOs might disagree with this, I believe that the job of an SEO isn’t necessarily to increase rankings, but rather to increase online sales/revenue for the client.

Obviously, this is a two-part process: attracting more visitors to a website and then optimizing the website so that more of those visitors convert into paying customers/clients.

Video content can be fantastic for increasing conversions on just about any website. In fact, more brands than ever are using videos on landing pages and on various other pages of their websites to keep visitors engaged and, eventually, convince them to make a purchase.

There are two main ways to increase conversions with video – by embedding a video on a landing page and by making use of rich snippets.

Video on a Landing Page

When a visitor lands on your site, you’ve literally got seconds to impress them and get them engaged with what you have to offer. This is the whole point of a landing page. But these days, people are so used to seeing rich media content on the internet that, quite frankly, text content often doesn’t keep them engaged.

Accordingly, I’m sure it comes as no surprise to you that embedding a video on your website not only will increase the length of time that visitors stick around, but, also, the number of conversions to paying customers, which, ultimately, is what SEO is all about.

Product Videos

Product videos are perhaps the most common way that retailers increase the conversion rate of their website using video content. Hundreds and thousands of retailers are making use of product videos these days, and it’s easy to see why.

According to Invodo, 52% of consumers say that watching product videos makes them feel more confident about going ahead and making a purchase.

Take a look at the screenshot above from the online retailer Zappos. It shows one of their product videos being used on the page for women’s Levi jeans. According to econsultancy, Zappos found that sales increased by between 6% and 30% on products with product videos.

Explainer/Introductory Videos

Obviously, not every business with a website has a product to sell, as some businesses are service-oriented.

For these, you can increase conversions with the use of explainer/introductory videos. There are varying styles for these videos, and, truthfully, there’s no exact science as to what style works best. It’s more about producing a video that explains/introduces a client’s business effectively and in an engaging way.

Dropbox found that they increased their conversion rate by over 10% by adding this video to their homepage. And considering that their homepage receives over 750,000 visitors a month, this means that it increased signups by several thousand every day and no doubt generated a huge ROI.

This video on the other hand introduces a local mobile bar company by explaining the service, introducing the guys behind the business, and showing their services in action. It’s a similar length to the Dropbox video, but it is presented in a different style. When embedded on the “about us” page of the client’s website, it increased his overall conversion rate by around 7%.

Rich Snippets

Increasing conversions with video aren’t only about what you show the visitor once they land on your website, but also what you show the visitor before they even get there.

If you’ve noticed Google’s search results recently, you have seen a significant increase in the use of something called rich snippets, and, in particular, video rich snippets.

If you’re new to rich snippets, you can watch Google’s official explanation in the video above. Essentially, though, this is what a site with video rich snippets looks like in the SERPs:

As you can see, Google displays information about the video embedded on the page, letting the Googler know that, should they click through to your website, a video is awaiting them.

To put it simply, video-rich snippets help you stand out from the other nine search results on that particular page, and, therefore, searchers will be more inclined to click your result, which will increase traffic to your website.

You’ll be able to show searchers a thumbnail of your video and the length of your video. Make sure the thumbnail stands out and sums up what the video is about if you want to maximize conversions.

How Do You Use Rich Snippets for Video?

To show rich snippets for your video in the Google search results, you’re going to need to self-host your video. If you’re using WordPress, there is a workaround for hosting your videos with YouTube using the Yoast Plugin, but it’s definitely recommended that you self-host your content, if possible.

There are a number of other SEO benefits to self-hosting your videos as opposed to using a free video host such as YouTube, as documented here.

Once you’ve gotten your video hosted and embedded on your site, it’s simply a matter of informing Google about the video. To do this, you’ll have to add the required Schema.org code to your page and submit an XML sitemap within Google’s Webmaster Tools.

It’s a bit of a hassle, but once you know how to do it, it’s pretty easy to do time and time again. Plus, if you’re already ranking for any high-volume keywords, it is well worth the effort, as the increase in conversions should bring significantly more traffic to your site.

Conclusion

The popularity of online video presents a huge opportunity for SEOs willing to get creative to achieve results. Producing videos isn’t always cheap, but it usually isn’t as expensive as people believe it will be, either. If you’ve commissioned and marketed infographics before, you definitely can afford to produce a video and use VSEO that will generate a good ROI for you/your client.

Remember, quality is just as important when it comes to online video as it is when producing any other form of content.

About the Author: Josh Hardwick is the founder of ShortyMedia, a leading production company specializing in viral, corporate, and web videos. He also is a freelance SEO and loves producing great content and building links.

The post The Secret Guide to VSEO: Video and SEO appeared first on Neil Patel.

Hreflang: A Beginner’s Guide to Targeting Languages and Regions

Tapping into new audiences is an incredibly effective way to grow your website traffic.

If you’re expanding your business globally, you may have already considered translating your website into different languages. It can be a great way to monetize your content or sell to people outside your local area.

It’s an exciting thought, but it’s not quite as simple as just hiring someone to translate your website’s pages. Some of the translated pages would likely be similar to the content on your existing pages, leaving you at risk for being penalized by search engines for duplicate content.

Consider the experience of your reader, too. Imagine how quickly they’d leave a site that offers prices and shipping details in the wrong currency or language.

There’s a huge opportunity to grow your business by attracting people in different geographical or language areas, but there is a specific way to guide new users to your site.

The best way to access these new audiences is by using hreflang HTML attribute tags.

Screenshot showing targeting languages and regions with hreflang.

What Is the Hreflang Tag?

Hreflang is an HTML language attribute or code that tells search engines important information about your content by indicating language codes and country codes for each piece of content. This code tells search engines what language and region you’re targeting with the content.

Here are new audiences you could attract using hreflang:

Visitors in the same country, who speak different languages
Visitors from different countries, who speak other languages
Visitors from different countries, who speak the same language

Using hreflang can boost the organic search engine optimization (SEO) on your website and launch your digital marketing outreach to new audiences without costing you domain authority or impacting user experience.

Why Are Hreflang Tags Important?

Hreflang allows you to tell search engines which pages to show to which users to show audiences the pages you created just for them. It also gives search engines a clear indication that the content on these pages was not duplicated, but rather, has been customized for different people.

Let’s say your website is written entirely in English, with your local currency noted for products. However, other English speakers in different geographic regions could benefit from your content and offerings.

What if you could show them an alternate version of your website that would automatically reflect their daily currency?

Let’s go a step further. What if you could also translate your content into different languages and then somehow make sure search engines showed the right search result to your target audience?

You can, and while it will take a bit of work to set up, the value of showing visitors what they want to see can be a significant boost to your rankings.

Want to learn more about getting international visitors to your content? Watch this video:

Who Should Use Hreflang Code Attributes?

You should use these tags when you want to offer the correct version of your website to groups you can identify and separate by language or geographical region.

This could include having your entire site content translated into different languages, just portions of it translated, or indicating that you have alternate versions of your site with other currencies.

For example, Canadian, American, and British English are the same language but have different currencies.

This tactic is best for companies that have a good reason to be accessing international markets. For instance, you can monetize the traffic, sell directly to those visitors, or creating a global brand.

If this sounds like your company, it might be time to invest in creating a global SEO strategy.

SEO and More: Benefits of Proper Use of Hreflang Tags

Your website can benefit from hreflang tags in three critical ways:

Improve your organic SEO by lowering bounce rates, increasing rankings, and improving click-through and conversion rates.
Your user experience (UX) will improve for readers outside your region.
It may protect you from being penalized for duplicate content.

The world is full of people who may not share your first language but are still valuable readers for your content. What about Spanish-, Hindi-, or Mandarin-speaking users?

There is a substantial global audience you could be reaching, but to do so, you’ll need to find ways to offer them versions of your content that is optimized for their experience.

When these readers can access a personalized version of your content, they’re more likely to stay on your site longer, reading more pages, which reduces your overall bounce rate.

However, you need to tread carefully any time you create similar content, even in another language. Use hreflang to match the correct piece of content to what the user wants to see.

What Does a Hreflang Tag Look Like?

A valid hreflang attribute might look like this:

link rel=”alternate” href=”http://example.com” hreflang=”en-us” />

How to Implement Hreflang Tags

What does successful implementation look like? There are few things to consider when setting up hreflang for your site content. If any of these steps are not complete, your tags will not work.

Create a Content Map and Plan

Start by doing a site audit to map out what you have already done to target new languages or regions. Include your existing content and any pages you have already translated.

Next, check your analytics and see who else is visiting your website, where they’re from, and the language settings in their browsers. Making decisions based on audiences already finding your site will help your changes have a larger impact.

Decide if your entire site needs to be shown in alternate languages. Would it be enough to have your home page or just your contact information and your footer changed? This can help you decide where to focus your time and resources.

Language and Country Codes

Next, you’ll need to choose the correct codes to create your tags. There are established language codes and country codes, so be sure you’re verifying as you go.

When creating codes, remember that you’ll need a language or country code. This means that you could simply choose a language code, but you’ll never just have a country code by itself.

Remember that you may not know every country you need to target, so it’s also good to have just a language code. This allows you to offer French content for people in France and a French version to capture French-speaking users from any other country.

Relationship Between Tags

You’ll need to be sure that you show the correct relationship between tags, which means understanding self-referential and bidirectional hreflang attribute references.

Self-referencing tags mean that each language version should reference itself and all the other versions.
Bidirectional means each tag should be paired with a tag on the alternate piece of content. For example, if page A links to page B, then page B needs to link back to page A. (This also ensures that nobody can create a one-way tag that links to an external source, taking your traffic away.)
X-default creates a default version of a page that does not target any specific language, or where users are asked to select a language once landing on a page. This should capture anyone who doesn’t have a language designated in their browser settings, or whose IP address doesn’t match any of the languages on your site. This would be your x-default tag: <link rel=”alternate” href=”http://example.com/” hreflang=”x-default” />

Choose an Implementation Method

You can implement valid hreflang attributes in one of three ways:

Implement the hreflang attribute using HTML in link elements in the <head> section of every page.
Implement the hreflang attribute in HTTP headers for PDFs and other non-HTML pages or non-HTML files.
Implementing the hreflang attribute in your XML si t emap markup (this will avoid having to edit multiple HTML documents each time you edit or delete a page. Direct access to the XML sitemap file can make this even easier.)

Resources for Successful Implementation of Hreflang Tags

There are a few handy resources to tackle hreflang tags on your site content. This is by no means a complete list, but they’ll come in handy as you move ahead. Remember that different platforms will have specific instructions for implementation, so reference those before you begin.

Hreflang tags generator tool
Google search console
XML sitemap tool for hreflang tags
Hreflang tag checker
Learn more about setting up international SEO before beginning the project

Should I Use Hreflang with Canonical Tags?

Yes, they should be used together, as they perform different functions. Canonical tags tell search engines which URL is the official or canonical version of a page and which page should be indexed. Hreflang tags tell search engines what language and region a page is targeting.

Common Pitfalls When Implementing Hreflang Tags

Common errors include using the wrong language code or country code, trying to use a code for too large a region (like using the EU instead of GBR), forgetting to make versions self-referential, or forgetting that pages need to be bidirectional.

Another area challenge is maintaining valid hreflang attributes once they are set up. As content is added to or removed from the site, or redirects are created within your existing content, hreflang tags must be updated.

Hreflang code attributes are a guide for search engines, not a guaranteed function. All it can do is suggest which pages search engines should display based on a user’s browser settings.

Additionally, while it works with Google and Yandex, it does not work for others such as Bing and Baidu, so look into options and instructions for each.

Conclusion

Hreflang can be a useful tool to tell search engines what language your site is written in, and what region you’re targeting with a particular piece of content.

Implementing hreflang tags can help you reach international audiences with content or offerings. Need help deciding if hreflang could work for you? It might be time to get help with your digital marketing strategy.

Hreflang is not easy to implement but can expand your reach and boost your organic SEO far beyond what your website is doing today.

Just remember to create a plan that avoids common pitfalls and double-check your tags after implementation and every few months.

Which language or region would you target first using hreflang attributes?

The post Hreflang: A Beginner’s Guide to Targeting Languages and Regions appeared first on Neil Patel.

A Simple Guide to the SERPs

The SERPs (search engine results pages) are the listings you see whenever you type a query into a search engine. For most of us (63%, plus 90% of mobile searches), that search engine will be Google, so if your website does well in Google’s SERPs, you’re going to see a lot of organic traffic. When …

The post A Simple Guide to the SERPs first appeared on Online Web Store Site.

A Simple Guide to the SERPs

The SERPs (search engine results pages) are the listings you see whenever you type a query into a search engine.

For most of us (63%, plus 90% of mobile searches), that search engine will be Google, so if your website does well in Google’s SERPs, you’re going to see a lot of organic traffic.

When it comes to digital marketing, organic traffic is something of a Holy Grail. Why? Because as opposed to paid advertising, where you pay to get eyes on your content, organic clicks = free clicks.

However, the SERPs aren’t as straightforward as they once were, and there are several ways they can influence the amount of organic traffic you get.

So, let’s take a look at some of the different forms of traffic, how the SERPs affect them, and how you can get your website noticed in SERPs.

What Types of SERP Results Are There?

When you look at a Google SERP or any other search engine results page, you will see two types of results: organic and paid.

The results in the red box are paid listings, and all the green ones are organic listings. Each has its positives and negatives, and its influence on the SERPs.

Paid Search Results

Google AdWords allows websites to show up at the top of the SERPs for their chosen keywords, and they pay Google every time someone clicks their ad.

These results display at the top and bottom of the SERP and have “Ad” written in bold letters next to the URL.

As you can tell from their prominence at the top of the SERP, these ads can play a crucial role in getting targeted traffic to your website, and paid advertising campaigns are frequently run in conjunction with search engine optimization (SEO).

Organic Search Results

Our example search term of “CRM software” shown above shows the variety of ways a site can earn organic traffic from the SERPs.

We’re all used to the traditional organic listing of a meta title and description, but Google has added more SERP features in recent years. These features, such as the Featured Snippet and Knowledge Pack that you see in the example, can significantly impact organic traffic.

Whereas paid ads are a quick way to the top of the results pages (the highest bidders will generally win), competition for organic results is fierce and more complicated.;

However, if you learn how to feature your pages in the SERPs and understand how to earn people’s clicks, you will see far more organic traffic.

How Does SEO Fit In?

The SERP is where the vast majority of an SEO’s hard work plays out. SEO is responsible for ensuring that your website shows up in the SERPS, gets its fair share of clicks, and ensures users find what they are looking for once they click-through to your website.

The SERPs and SEO are intrinsically linked. The steps you take in this area are the keys to building organic traffic and achieving your traffic goals.

Too often, people hear about SEO and think it’s too complicated. But it’s a process, and simple SEO steps can lead you to the top of the results.

You can reach the top positions in the SERPs, and you can build a significant volume of organic traffic; you’ve just got to be consistent with your SEO and follow the right steps.

Small Changes in the SERP Results Make a Big Difference to Your Traffic

Google and the other search engines’ primary objective is to provide the user with the perfect search query results. To do this, Google uses algorithms that employ hundreds of different factors to determine each person’s best possible search results.

This level of personalization means the SERPs can vary greatly. Here are some of the key aspects of the SERPs that can largely impact your organic traffic.

Ranking on Page One

When you get to a results page, do you ever make it to page two? Or do you skim the top handful of results to see which will help you?

On a rare occasion, we might click to the second page to see what’s there, but most of us choose from the top results, which is why there’s a massive drop off in traffic between page one and page two of the SERPs.

On page one, listings earn 88.7% of all clicks, leaving all the other pages to fight it out for the remaining 11.3%. This difference just goes to show the importance of ranking on page one — most people never make it to page two.

Not All Positions are Created the Same

So you are thinking, “That’s great, if I make it to page one, then I’ve got everything sorted.”

Unfortunately, this isn’t the case.

Although getting to page one of the SERP is a great start, it’s only part of the challenge. There’s a massive variance between the click-through rate (CTR = number of clicks divided by the number of times your listing is shown) for the top three results and the CTR for ones lower down. These positions influence your organic traffic.

Here’s how the CTR works out for each position in the SERP:

23.3%
20.5%
13.3%
8.7%
6.3%
4.7%
3.8%
3.1%
2.7%
2.3%

You may have reached page one, but there’s clearly a huge incentive to get to the top.

What Aspects of the SERP Can Hold Your Organic Traffic Back?

In the last section, we mentioned that 88.7% of clicks go to page one results, but this doesn’t mean that 88.7% of all searches go to organic listings.

Only 41.45% of searches end up in an organic click.

What are the major obstacles to getting more organic traffic?

Paid Traffic

Paid ads feature prominently in the SERPs, so it’s no surprise that they attract plenty of clicks. This traffic is significant, but it only actually makes up around 3.58% of all clicks.

The reason for this is that paid ads don’t appear for every search term.

Generally, there are three types of searches: informational, navigational, and transactional. Advertisers pay for every click and want a good return on their investment, so they tend to focus on transactional search terms with the highest buyer intent.

While it’s still possible to get organic clicks for these transactional search terms, it’s a good idea to use Ubersuggest to figure out which search terms are more likely to have a high share of paid clicks.

If you look at the cost per click (CPC) of your keyword, you can see which keywords are likely to be dominated by ads. As you can see in the results below, “CRM tools” has a high CPC, which means there are likely lots of people competing for it, and a higher likelihood you’re going to be competing with ads.

You can still gain organic clicks from these search terms, but you risk being pushed down the page by paid ads.

This search for “how to use CRM software” is a prime example. There are no organic results before the fold other than a video, meaning you have to scroll down before seeing even one traditional organic listing.

To do well in SERPs, you’ve got to be very focused on your keyword research to find the search terms with a realistic shot of gaining a prominent position in the SERP.

No-Click Searches

Google and the other search engines are always working to create a better search experience for their users. One way they have done this by introducing SERP features such as Featured Snippets and Knowledge Panels, giving people quick access to basic information.

In this search for “why use CRM,” we can see the power of the featured snippet.

CRM purpose SERP example featured snippet

With the Featured Snippet, Google gave the user a cursory answer without having to click on a link. That means that even though Salesforce has won the snippet, and SuperOffice has the first traditional organic listing, neither got the click. It’s a no-click search because the user can read the Snippet.

Of course, lots of people are going to be curious enough to click to Salesforce or SuperOffice to find out more, but some users’ curiosity is going to be satisfied by the Featured Snippet. No-click searches account for 49% of all searches.

How Can You Use the SERP to Get More Organic Traffic?

Despite the competition with paid ads and the numbers of no-click searches, there’s still more than enough organic traffic to go around. However, you’ve got to know how to use the SERPs to your advantage.

Every SERP has its leader of the pack, and these folks put a lot of work into maintaining that position, so you’ve got to work hard to unseat them.

So, how do you do that?

The great thing about SEO is you’re in complete control of the content you put out and how you appear in the SERP. If you use this wisely, you can significantly boost your CTR and positively influence your organic traffic. Here’s how.

Produce High-Quality, Relevant Content

Google wants to provide users with the most relevant answers to their search query. To rank higher, your page has to accomplish two critical things. First, it has to be relevant for the search query, and second, it has to be high-quality content.

If you’re not achieving these two goals, then Google has no incentive to put you on page one because you’re not helping searchers achieve their goals.

This element is where your keyword research comes in handy to help you figure out precisely what your audience wants to see. When you know what your target audience is looking for, then you can provide the hyper-relevant content that attracts people to your website.

The more people who click to your site and engage with the content, the more the search engines will reward you for helping them do their job.

Make Your Listing Stand Out

You have complete control over what your listing looks like in the SERP. You can edit your title, meta description, and use other aspects like structured data, so use this opportunity to stand out from the crowd.

If you’re ranked number three for a search term, then the top listing has an advantage over you. But you can turn that around by crafting a more engaging, more relevant title and description. (Google usually uses the page’s chosen title and description but does occasionally modify it.) Your listing is out there competing for clicks, so treat it like an advert and work to entice users.

Get Those SERP Features

Google will keep using those “extra” SERP features, so you might as well embrace it and make sure your website is featuring in them.

The SERP features might lead to a higher percentage of no-click searches, but they can also lead to much higher CTRs when you win them. Hubspot found that sites that land featured snippets have a dramatically higher click-through rate.

Featured Snippets, Knowledge Panels, Local Packs, Shopping Results: they all stand out and draw in users. If you can snag those features, you’ve got an excellent opportunity to boost your organic traffic.

If you’re following good SEO practices, you have a solid chance to win those SERP features, but you can also take some specific steps to increase your chances of winning features, such as inclusion in a snippet.

Conclusion

A SERP is simply the results page users see when they type a query into Google or any other search engine, but it has the power to help you unlock the full potential of your website.

While they might seem complicated, there are tangible steps you can take to rank well in the SERPs and bring in the organic traffic you crave. While the search engines are always changing the SERPs, SEO and high-quality, relevant content can help you stay on top.

Now that you’ve got a good understanding of what the SERP is, it’s time to start optimizing your SEO to help your website achieve its goals.

What goals will more organic traffic help you reach?

The post A Simple Guide to the SERPs appeared first on Neil Patel.

How do You Develop a Content Style Guide?

Do you have multiple writers writing for your website? Or are you a writer yourself working on different projects like website copy, emails, newsletters and more? The way you write matters when it comes to expressing yourself before your audience. That is why you need to know precisely what governs your style of writing. For …

The post How do You Develop a Content Style Guide? appeared first on ROI Credit Builders.

Your Complete Guide to SBA Loan Requirements and the Paycheck Protection Program

The Federal government recently passed the CARES Act. CARES stand for Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act. This bill addresses and responds to the economic impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak. It authorizes emergency loans to distressed businesses by providing federal funding for forgivable bridge loans, as well as for grants and technical assistance.

Note: the PPP keeps changing, and money sometimes is held up in Congress. Fundability, on the other hand, is achievable and helpful no matter what Congress is doing.

Do You Meet the SBA Loan Requirements for the Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program?

Paycheck Protection Program Loans and Economic Injury Disaster Loans are both included in the CARES Act as help for small business owners. What are the SBA loan requirements for each of these business funding programs, and do you qualify?

Want to review your options with one of our consultants? Give us a call at 877-600-2487.

The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP)

The Paycheck Protection Program is a business lending program. It is designed to help businesses keep paying employees even when they are shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic. Allowable uses of funds include:

Payroll Expenses
Employee Salaries
Mortgage Interest
Rent and Utilities
Interest on debt incurred before February 15, 2020

The annual percentage rate for these loans is 1%. You do not make any payments for the first 6 months. However, interest does accrue during this time. Loans issues before June 5 must be paid within 2 years. If your loan was issued after June 5, the loan matures in 5 years rather than 2. These loans are up to 100% forgivable with approval.

SBA Loan Requirements: Forgiveness

To request forgiveness, you will submit a request to the lender that is servicing the loan. It should include documents that verify the number of full-time employees and pay rates. Also, you will need to verify the payments on eligible mortgage, lease, and utility obligations. You have to certify that the documents are true. In addition, you will have to show that you used the forgiveness amount to keep employees. If not, you will have to show the funds were used to make eligible mortgage interest, rent, or utility payments. The lender must make a decision on the forgiveness within 60 days.

What Else Do I Need to Know About the PPP and SBA Loan Requirements?

First, the program was recently extended to stay open through August 8, 2020. Not only does that not give you a lot of time, but you need to apply as soon as possible anyway. There is a cap on the funding, and processing applications will take time. Consequently, some lenders are limiting the number of applications they will accept in a single day.

SBA Loan Requirements: Who Can Apply, When Can they Apply, and Where Can They Apply?

Existing SBA lenders started accepting applications on April 3, 2020 from small businesses and sole proprietorships with less than 500 employees. Beginning on April 10, independent contractors and individuals that are self- employees were able to apply through SBA lenders.

Other lenders besides those that are currently working with the SBA are able to get in on the fun as well. In an effort to relieve some of the burden of processing, other lenders are able to enroll in the program and will be able to start accepting applications as soon as they get approval. There is a list of participating lenders, by state, at SBA.gov.

SBA Loan Requirements: What Do You Need to Apply?

It’s pretty straight forward. If you meet the SBA definition of a small business or contractor, you just have to make a few good faith certifications. These include:

Current economic uncertainty makes the loan necessary to support your ongoing operations.
You will use the funds to keep workers and maintain payroll or to make mortgage, lease, and utility payments.
This is the only loan you have or will have under the program.
You will provide all documentation necessary to verify the number of full-time employees on payroll and how much their payroll costs. Also, you will provide any necessary documentation needed to verify mortgage interest payments, rent payments, and covered utilities for the eight weeks after getting this loan.
Loan forgiveness will be available for the sum of documented payroll costs, covered mortgage interest payments, covered rent payments, and covered utilities.
All the information you provide in your application and supporting documents and forms is true and accurate.
You realize that the lender will calculate the loan amount using the tax documents you submitted. You guarantee that the tax documents are identical to those you submitted to the IRS.

Want to review your options with one of our consultants? Give us a call at 877-600-2487.

SBA Loan Requirements: The Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program

These are funds you apply for directly from the SBA. They can be used to cover the following expenses:

Payroll
Fixed Debts
Accounts Payable
Other expenses that cannot be paid because of the disaster’s impact. In this case, the disaster being COVID-19.

These loans are available up to $2 million dollars at an annual percentage rate of 3.75%. The terms go up to 30 years. These are not forgivable loans.

SBA Loan Requirements: How Do You Get Started?

Let’s start with what not to do. Do not get in your car and drive to the bank. While most lenders are back open for business inside, it is best to have an appointment to handle a PPP application. Even getting an appointment can take a while however.

The best option is to find someone, a middle man, to help you navigate these loan programs. This way you ensure you get the best lender for you, and you get your SBA coronavirus relief funds as soon as possible.

What Else Does the CARES Act Do?

In addition to the above relief for businesses, the CARES Act also provided relief for individuals. The bill also provided funding for $1,200 tax rebates to individuals, with additional $500 payments per qualifying child. The rebate phases out when incomes exceed $75,000,or $150,000 for joint filers. Most of these payments have already been distributed, but some are still waiting for theirs. The bill also establishes limits on requirements for employers to provide paid leave.

With respect to taxes, the bill establishes special rules for certain tax-favored withdrawals from retirement plans. It also delays due dates for employer payroll taxes and estimated tax payments for corporations.

The bill also authorizes the Department of the Treasury to temporarily guarantee money-market funds.

It’s a Mad World

Here are the facts. The federal government does not want to see a collapse of the economy any more than we do. They want to do what they can to help small businesses. They are taking steps to do just that.

State governments are in the same boat. They want to ensure their states are able to survive and thrive economically despite the coronavirus business impact.

Here’s the bad news, as if you didn’t already know. Businesses lost tons of income during the shut downs caused by the virus. Even opeinig back up, people aren’t going out as much as they did pre-pandemic. Even more, some states and cities are shutting down certain businesses again. Spending is vastly curtailed. Without a steady flow of income, eventually businesses will not be able to make payments on existing debt.

The good news in light of all of this darkness is that no one wants this to happen. That means measures are being taken to try and stop the spiral. These include those mentioned above. It’s not just the Federal and state governments that are coming to the rescue however. Local governments, along with many charitable and professional organizations, are tossing in life rafts as well.

SBA Loan Requirements: What Can You Do for Yourself?

However, you have to do your part. You aren’t helpless, though it likely very much seems this way. First, do everything you can to access all the help you can now. Find someone that can walk you through the process to ensure you get all you can as fast as you can.

That’s not the end of the story however. You need to do all you can to make certain you can get back to business as usual as fast as you can when this is all over. How do you do that? You need to adapt your business to the current situation. The relief funds can help you. With those funds, you can do many things to not only keep your business afloat, but to make it stronger than ever.

Hard Times Breed Innovation and Adaptation

These are the times that breed creativity and innovation. Use the funds to keep your employees on board, but don’t forget you can use them as well. Is there some way you and your employees can provide products and services for your customers? Can you do anything online or go to customers’ homes?

For example, some local bakeries and ice cream shops have been taking food trucks out to neighborhoods during this time to increase sales. To aid in social distancing, they take orders online first, and of course take all protective precautions.

Beauticians and barbers that are even allowed to open are having to reduce the number of clients they can serve at one time. Of course, they are taking all necessary safety measures to ensure that disease isn’t spreading. Gyms are offering online fitness classes for their members since they cannot have as many people inside at one time. Pet groomers are going mobile even if they do not usually provide mobile services. Speech therapists, counselors, and more are working via video chat. Small boutiques are doing giveaways online and offering curbside pickup to reach those that are not comfortable getting out yet. There are options, and these funds can help you take advantage!

Work on Fundability

The relief funds available through the CARES Act are available to both businesses and those that are self-employed. However, beyond this, a business has to be fundable to get financing to build, grow, and thrive. This will still be the case long after COVID-19 has passed. Now is a great time to assess the fundability of your business and make changes to improve it if need be.

The first part of this process includes making sure your business is set up to be fundable. What does that mean? It means that your business:

Has Separate Contact Information

That doesn’t mean you have to get a separate phone line, or even a separate location. You can still run your business from your home or on your computer if that is what you want. You do not even have to have a fax machine.

Want to review your options with one of our consultants? Give us a call at 877-600-2487.

Applies for Credit Using an EIN Not Your SSN

The next thing you need to do is get an EIN for your business. This is an identifying number for your business that works in a way similar to how your SSN works for you personally. You can get one for free from the IRS.

Is Incorporated

Incorporating your business as an LLC, S-corp, or corporation is necessary to fundability. It lends credence to your business as one that is legitimate. It also offers some protection from liability.

Uses a Separate Business Bank Account

You have to open a separate, dedicated business bank account. There are a few reasons for this. First, it will help you keep track of business finances. It will also help you keep them separate from personal finances for tax purposes. In light of SBA loan requirements, it can help you prove how you used loan funds for the purpose of qualifying for loan forgiveness.

Has All Necessary Licenses

For a business to be legitimate it has to have all of the necessary licenses it needs to run. If it doesn’t, red flags are going to fly up all over the place. Do the research you need to do to ensure you have all of the licenses necessary to legitimately run your business at the federal, state, and local levels.

Has a Professional, Practical, User Friendly Website

What does this have to do with anything. Well in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, a website can help you stay operational despite social distancing standards. Not just any website will do however. You need to make sure it is professional and that it is easy for your customers to use. Likely, this means you need to hire someone to help you with this. The cost is well worth it.

SBA Loan Requirements: This Isn’t the End

This doesn’t have to be the end of your business story. Help is available and you do have options. At this point, the very first thing you need to do is find help to navigate the SBA resources available to you. Next, be sure you use the resources in a way that your business comes out even stronger. Lastly, use this downtime wisely. Take a look at the fundability of your business and see what you can do to improve it. Then, when the time comes, you will be able to sail out of the storm and into the light.

The post Your Complete Guide to SBA Loan Requirements and the Paycheck Protection Program appeared first on Credit Suite.

Your Ultimate Get Started Guide to Recession Business Finance

First, with COVID-19 in the picture, you are likely in survival mode. If your business has been affected by the pandemic, you need to sign up for the SBA Paycheck Protection Plan, a Disaster loan, or both. Do it now, because funds are limited and the application process takes time. This will help your business keep going while you figure out the next steps for whatever the future holds for our economy, including recession business finance.

Everything You Need to Know About Recession Business Finance

During a recession, everything changes. There is less spending, less lending, and less cash moving period. Lenders are tighter with what they are willing to dole out, and that leaves many business owners wondering what to do about business funding. It makes recession business finance exceptionally tricky.

Some sources of funding that may work well during the good times are not reasonable to count on for recession business finance purposes. It is important to know what options are available and which ones will work best during harder economic times. Recession business finance can be a bit more difficult to navigate.

There are not as many options for recession business finance as there are for business funding during good economic times. Of the available options, the ones that will work best for you depends on a number of factors. You have to know more about each before you can make an educated decision. It is necessary to know the differences between them, what the qualifications are, and if you even have access to them before you can begin to think about making a decision.

We break it down for you here in our ultimate guide to recession business finance so you can make the best decision possible during the hard times of a recession.

Are Traditional Business Loans an Option for Recession Business Finance?

These are the loans that you go to the bank to get. As a business, your business credit score can help you get some types of funding even if your personal score isn’t awesome. That isn’t necessarily the case with this type of funding.

With a traditional lender term loan, you are almost always going to have to give a personal guarantee. That means they will check your personal credit. If it isn’t in order, you will likely not get approval.

What does it mean to have your credit score in order? If you have a personal credit score of at least 750 you are in pretty good shape. Sometimes you can get approval with a score of 700+, but the terms will not be as favorable.

If you have really great business credit, your lender might be more inclined to offer a little more flexibility. However, your personal credit score will still weigh heavily on the terms and interest rate.

Of all of the available business funding types, this is the hardest to get. It is usually worth the trouble though if possible, because it often has the best rates and terms.

Term loans are not easy to get, and during a recession, it is even harder. Unless you have stellar personal and business credit with an already established, successful business, this is a long shot when it comes to recession business finance.

Check out how our reliable process will help your business get the best business credit cards, even during a recession.

SBA Loans

These are government secured term loans offered through traditional banks. The Small Business Administration, or SBA, works with lenders to offer small businesses funding solutions that they may not be able to get based on their own credit history. Because of the government guarantee, lenders are able to relax a little on the personal credit score requirements.

In fact, it is possible to get an SBA micro-loan with a personal credit score between 620 and 640. These are very small loans, up to $50,000. They may require personal collateral as well.

The trade-off with SBA loans is that the application progress is lengthy. There is a ton of red tape connected with these types of loans.

During a recession however, the government works hard to build the economy. In light of this, SBA loans may still be a viable option.

Business Line of Credit for Recession Business Finance

This is basically the traditional lender’s version of a business credit card. The credit is revolving, meaning you only pay back what you use, just like a credit card. Rates are typically much better that a credit card. The application and approval process, however, is more similar to that of a traditional term loan.

If you need revolving credit and can qualify for a term loan, this is the best option. It is great for bridging cash gaps and covering short term expenses without the high credit card interest rates. If you already have this in place before a recession hits, even better!

There are no cash back rewards or loyalty points though. That makes some business owners prefer business credit cards in some cases, despite higher interest rates.

Since this is basically a revolving traditional loan, it could be as difficult to come by during a recession as a term loan from a traditional lender may be.

When you apply for financing from traditional lenders, they will always ask for certain information. This is regardless of whether you are applying for a line of credit, an SBA loan, or a traditional term loan. You will need to provide, at a minimum:

A complete, professional business plan if you are a startup
Complete company financial statements or tax returns for recent years
A list of owners or officers
Personal financial information, including bank account balances and credit history

While this list is not exhaustive, it is a good start for what you need to have together before you begin the application process if you plan to pursue this type of recession business finance.

Credit Line Hybrid

A credit line hybrid is basically revolving, unsecured financing. It allows you to fund your business without putting up collateral, and you only pay back what you use.

What are the Qualifications?

How hard is it to qualify? Not as hard as you may think. You do need good personal credit. That is, your personal credit score should be at least 685. In addition, you can’t have any liens, judgments, bankruptcies or late payments. Also, in the past 6 months, you should have less than 5 credit inquiries, and you should have less than a 45% balance on all business and personal credit cards. It’s also preferred that you have established business credit as well as personal credit.

If you do not meet all of the requirements, all is not lost. You can take on a credit partner that meets each of these requirements. Many business owners work with a friend or relative to fund their business. If a relative or a friend meets all of these requirements, they can partner with you to allow you to tap into their credit to access funding.

What are the Benefits?

There are many benefits to using a credit line hybrid. First, it is unsecured, meaning you do not have to have any collateral to put up. Next, the funding is “no-doc.” This means you do not have to provide any bank statements or financials.

Not only that, but typically approval is up to 5x that of the highest credit limit on the personal credit report. Additionally, often you can get interest rates as low as 0% for the first few months, allowing you to put that savings back into your business.

The process is pretty fast, especially with a qualified expert to walk you through it. One other benefit is this. With the approval for multiple credit cards, competition is created. This makes it easier, and likely even if you handle the credit responsibly, that you can get interest rates lowered and limits raised every few months.

Invoice Factoring

An established business with accounts receivable can look to invoice factoring as a source of recession business finance. This is where the lender buys your outstanding invoices at a premium, and then collects the full amount themselves. You get cash right away, without waiting for your customers to pay the invoices.

For those businesses already up and running enough to have accounts receivable, this can be a viable option during a recession. If your customers cannot pay or are paying slowly due to the economic downturn, you can still get the funds you need to run your business, although not at full value of what you would get if your customer paid you.

The cash comes fast, which is also a bonus. Since the lender collects the funds directly from the customer, this can be a really good recession business finance option.

Because this type of funding is based on receivables, it is still a viable option if your business has them. The only problem is, during a recession, sales could go down. This would reduce the amount of funds you have available to you.

If you accept credit cards, you may be able to get a merchant cash advance. It is similar to invoice factoring, but instead of buying your open invoices, the lender advances cash based on expected credit card sales.

Break with Tradition: Look to Non-Traditional Lenders for Recession Business Finance

These are lenders other than traditional banks and credit unions that offer terms loans. Usually they operate online. Occasionally they will have a brick and mortar location as well. The difference between these and traditional lenders is that the loans have looser approval requirements and a much faster application process. Most often you can simply apply online, get approval in as little as 24 hours, and the funds are in your account within 24 to 48 hours after approval.

They are an option if your personal credit isn’t terrible and you need funding fast. In times of recession, these guys are a go-to source as they specialize in lending to those that may have trouble with traditional lenders.

There has been an explosion of non-traditional lenders onto the scene in recent years. Some are better than others. Be sure to research each one thoroughly. Check them out on the Better Business Bureau website and read online reviews to get a good start.

Grants: The Recession Business Finance Miracle

While there are not a lot of these out there, grants are a super source of recession business finance if you can get one. They are usually offered by professional organizations. There are some government grants available also. Competition can be fierce, but they are definitely worth a shot if you think you may qualify.

Requirements vary from grant to grant and most are only awarded to a certain number of recipients. More opportunities are available if you fall into one of the following categories.

· Women owned business
· Minority owned business
· Businesses run by veterans
· Businesses in low income areas

There are also some corporations that offer grants in a contest format that do not require much other than that you meet the corporation’s definition of a small business and win the contest.

Check out how our reliable process will help your business get the best business credit cards, even during a recession.

Interested in a Government Small Business Grant? Start Here

Federal government small business grants run through the Small Business Administration, but they are rarely awarded directly to a business. Instead, they award the grant to local non-profits or governments to disburse to small businesses in their communities. To find these, check with local economic development agencies and governmental entities to find out what available business funding types they have.

Another place to look is the local Small Business Development Center, or SBDC. These offer support to local small businesses and are generally related to a local college, university, or economic development center.

As a general rule, they do not offer grants themselves. They can, however, point you in the right direction. They know where the money is, who qualifies, and how to start the application process. These agencies also offer many other services to small businesses, making them a great resource regardless.

Corporate grants are another great option if you live in an area where they are available. Companies like FedEx and LendingTree have grant contests each year.

Grants are a great possibility at any stage of business. They shouldn’t be counted on too heavily however. Funds are limited and competition is fierce. A backup plan is definitely necessary if you are planning to use the funds for a specific purpose.

Business Credit Cards: Can They Work as Recession Business Finance?

Credit cards as a whole get a bad reputation, but in lieu of another option, they can actually do the trick quite nicely. They are more readily even with a credit score that isn’t awesome, but the lower the credit score the higher the interest rate. Also, there are limits on how low they will go with a credit score.

However, this is one of the available business funding types that most of the general public are eligible for at any given time. They do a credit check, but your credit doesn’t have to be as high as it would be to gain approval for a traditional loan.

The downside of business credit cards is that they typically have a high interest rate. The upside is that many of them offer rewards in the form of cash or points that can be helpful.

Credit cards are plentiful even during hard economic times. It may be harder to get approval if the recession has hit your credit score hard, but there are ways to fix that.

Apply for business credit cards with your business name and EIN to get them without a personal credit check. If you do not yet have a business credit score, you need to get one. Find more about how to establish and build business credit here.

Best Uses for Each Type of Recession Business Finance

Which type of recession business finance you should use in any given situation depends on many variables. The biggest piece of the puzzles is which types of funding you are eligible to receive. However, there really is more to it than that. Assuming you are eligible for all types of financing, here are some other factors to consider.

Startup During a Recession

In the startup phase, there are a couple of things to think about when determining which funding types might work best.

If you fall into one of those categories that make grants an option, that is the best first stop. Grants are free and clear. That money is yours, without repayment, to use in your business. They typically do not rely on success of the business or the credit worthiness of the owner. The business or proposed business only has to meet the requirements set forth to apply, and then win the grant.

Traditional term loans are a good idea for the startup phase also, if you qualify. The interest rates and terms are generally more favorable than other types of financing for those that meet the credit requirements. They are less of an option during a recession however.

If you do not meet the credit requirements for traditional term loans, then non-traditional lenders are the next best option. They may have higher interest rates, but they do the trick. Plus, they can help build your business credit score if you make your payments on time. That, in turn, makes you more eligible for other types of recession business finance.

While not impossible, it is not usually a good idea to start a business using credit cards if it can be avoided. Of course, invoice factoring is not an option here as you have to already be in business to have the invoices necessary.

Check out how our reliable process will help your business get the best business credit cards, even during a recession.

Growth During a Recession

There are several different aspects of growth that can benefit from various types of business funding.

Inventory Increase

If you see the potential for higher demand and need to increase inventory to accommodate, a revolving credit line is going to work best.

If already in place, these are instantly available to meet the cash needs that a large inventory purchase creates. They also allow for taking advantage of special pricing when available, which can be huge during a recession.

A business line-of-credit works well due to the lower interest rate, but business credit cards will work in this situation also. In fact, if they have really great rewards attached to them, they could even be the better option. It can’t hurt to have both available if you have that luxury so that you have choices.

If available, grants work well for growth projects during a recession also.

Recession Business Finance for Equipment Purchase and Repair

For large equipment, it is best to use traditional term loans of some sort if possible. This is simply because they are typically longer-term loans for larger amounts. Lower interest rates and favorable repayment terms are key. However, we all know that isn’t always possible. Other types of recession business finance can be used if necessary.

Grants may be an option if there is not a time crunch. If time is of the essence, it is possible to purchase equipment on credit cards, but you could run in to problems with cost versus credit limit.

Recession Time Expansion

Expanding during a recession can be tricky, if not downright risky. However, if you want to add on to your current building or add an additional location, term loan financing is the best option. Whether it needs to come from a traditional or non-traditional lender will depend on your specific situation.

Recession Business Finance for Working Capital

Working capital is the cash you have available to run your business. Everything from payroll to repairs, maintenance, seasonal cash gaps, and emergencies are all things working capital covers.

Working capital can come from various sources. There are working capital loans available, but lines- of-credit and business credit cards can work in these situations as well. Unless you already have a working capital loan before the need arises, it is likely you are going to need to access business credit cards or some form of non-traditional financing for this.

In a pinch to cover a cash gap, a merchant cash advance or invoice factoring can work well.

Recession Business Finance Can Be a Delicate Dance: The More You Know About Each Option the Better

It doesn’t matter what type of business you own or whether or not you need funding at this moment. If you own a business you need to know what the available business funding types are, which ones you currently qualify for, and how to qualify for those that are not currently available to you.

You also need to know which types of funding work best in various situations. Once you know these things, you can make an informed decision about how to best fund your business during the recession.

The post Your Ultimate Get Started Guide to Recession Business Finance appeared first on Credit Suite.

Survival of the Fittest: The Essential Guide to Establish Business Credit in a Recession

It may seem that trying to establish business credit in a recession is too little too late. It is definitely better to have strong business credit before a recession hits. However, if you are in the middle of hard economic times and trying to figure out how to survive and even thrive, all is not necessarily lost.

Also, business credit is a huge part of fundability. Strong fundability will benefit your business not only now, but long after the recession is over.

Establish Business Credit in a Recession: Survival Skills and Tips to Ensure You are Make it Off of Recession Island Alive

Becoming a business owner during a recession can feel much like being dropped into an episode of a survival reality show. Add in the COVID-19 pandemic and the illusion becomes even closer to reality. Everyone is struggling to hang on. The competition is fierce. You can only hope you will not be voted off. If you do not already have strong business credit in place, you may think the situation is hopeless. Yet, it is possible to establish business credit in a recession. It just may take a little more patience and creativity. Truly, nothing breeds creativity like hard times.

Whether you need it immediately or not, it is vitally important to have separate credit for your business. This is regardless of your current situation. The need is even more pressing during a recession.

The first step to establishing business credit in a recession is to set up your business as a separate entity from yourself. Even if you have stellar personal credit, you do not want it tied up with your business. The reverse is true as well.

If your personal credit goes south due to recession issues, you do not want your business to suffer. On the flip side, if your business struggles, you want your personal credit protected as much as possible.

Hit the jackpot and weather any recession with our best webinar and its trustworthy list of seven vendors who can help you build business credit.

Why Establish Business Credit in a Recession?

If you have found yourself on recession island without business credit, you may wonder how it could possibly help to establish it now. Here’s the thing. No business credit is the same as bad business credit. There is no time like the present. If you do it right, establishing and building business credit during a recession can only help you.

Business credit can help you access funding to get you through the hard times. If you need to cover a cash gap brought on by slow-paying customers, business credit can open up options for that. If you want to purchase inventory in bulk to take advantage of special pricing, business credit can help with that as well.

These are just two examples of how having strong business credit during a recession can help your business survive. It’s best to have a strong credit score in place before a recession hits. However, if you do not, you can establish business credit in a recession with these tips.

Separate from the Pack: Get Incorporated

While alliances are often formed on survival reality shows, the truth remains that you cannot trust anyone but yourself. This is especially true in the beginning. Your business needs to stand on its own.

The first step to separating your business from yourself and your personal credit is to incorporate. While easiest done on the front end when you first start your business, it is never too late.

You have a few options.

C Corp– This is the most definitive separation, but it is also the most complicated and expensive. Before choosing this option, be certain there are reasons other than establishing business credit that it needs to be done. If it isn’t necessary for some other reason, there are other, less complicated, and less costly options.
S Corp– This option basically offers the same separation as the C Corp, but taxes are paid at the personal level, rather than requiring the business to be taxed as well, resulting in double taxation. It is also cheaper than incorporating as a C Corp. If you aren’t required to file as a C corp, this is a good alternative.
LLC– forming a Limited Liability Corporation results in less liability, thus the name, and offers enough separation to serve the purpose of establishing business credit. If you are not required to be a C Corp or S Corp, this is the easiest and most cost-effective way to create the separation of business and personal credit needed.

Throw off Your Old Self: Get Rid of the SSN

Apply for an EIN and stop using your Social Security Number as the identifying number for your business. Your SSN is tied to you, personally. It is virtually guaranteed that anything connected to it credit-wise will end up on your personal credit reports.

In fact, if you follow the other steps for establishing business credit and skip this one, it could end up on both reports. You don’t want that.

The process for applying for an EIN is easy. The IRS has an online form. As soon as all the information is verified you receive your number. Typically, this happens almost immediately.

Separate but Equal: Do Not Mingle Personal and Business Finances

Do not buy into the falsehood that you can run your business expenses through the same bank account as your personal expenses. When you want to establish business credit in a recession or at any other time, your business needs its own account. Separate finances are vital to separate credit.

You have to separate expenses for tax purposes anyway. Having a separate business banking account will only make it easier.

Hit the jackpot and weather any recession with our best webinar and its trustworthy list of seven vendors who can help you build business credit.

Know Who You Report To: Get a Free DUNS Number

Dun and Bradstreet is the most widely used business credit reporting agency. They issue each business on file a 9-digit D-U-N-S number. The application is easy and free. Once you have that number, you will be even closer to establishing credit for your business separate from your own.

Be Easily Accessible: Set Up Separate Business Contact Information

Your business needs its own phone number. It should be an 800 number or from some other toll-free exchange. This way, when you apply for credit, you can enter contact information that is separate from your personal information. When information is reported to agencies, sometimes the phone number is an identifying factor. If you and your business share a number, that just decreases the level of separation.

The same is true for a separate business address, email address, and website. Your business address should not be the same as your home address. The business email address should contain the website URL. Do not use a free service such as Yahoo or Gmail.

Make sure your website is professionally presented and put together. A poorly put together website or broken links can do more damage than you may imagine.

Be sure you get your business phone number and address listed in the directories under the business name.

Form Preliminary Alliances: Start with the Vendor Credit

After you separate your business from yourself, it is time for the next step to establish business credit in a recession. Do business with starter vendors that will extend invoices with net30 terms. Then, when you pay, they will report the payment to the business credit reporting agencies. As a bonus, if you are finding yourself short on necessities due to the COVID-19 outbreak, these vendors may have what you need. Toilet paper, paper towels, and cleaning products are all available through some starter vendors.

Typically, these vendors issue net terms without regard to either your personal or business credit score. This makes them the perfect way to begin building your business credit score. While there are a lot of these types of vendors out there, some are better to start with than others.

You want to start with those that offer products you will use in the daily course of business. They also need to have minimal requirements for net30 terms. Though they do not check credit, some do have minimum time in business or annual revenue requirements. Others only require that you make a few initial purchases before they will extend net terms.

Three of the most common starter vendors that work great at the beginning of the process include:

Quill– offers office and cleaning supplies
Uline– sells packing supplies
Grainger– supplies for working outside including tools

Keep Building: Apply for Business Credit Cards

Continuing to build business credit is the next step after you establish business credit in a recession. Once you have your name, EIN, separate contact information, and 5 to 7 starter vendors reporting to the credit agencies, you can apply for credit from certain retailers. This step includes specific stores that issue credit to be used only in their stores or on their website.

Shoot for the highest limit, lowest interest, and most rewards options possible. Perks like cash back and travel points can pay off.

If you only qualify for a $200 limit and a higher-end interest rate, in the beginning, that is fine. You may not be able to get the best rate with a business that has a shorter credit history. This is especially true during a recession. However, if you pay consistently and on time, things should change quickly.

After you have several store accounts reporting, you can apply for fleet cards. These include cards from companies such as Shell and Fuelman that you can only use to pay for gasoline and automobile repairs.

Once you have several accounts reporting from all three of these types of cards, you can apply for credit that isn’t restricted by retailer or purchase type. These include well-known credit cards such as Visa and Mastercard that offer higher limits, lower rates, and better rewards.

Look for Friends in Unlikely Places: Open Talks with Your Utility Providers

Sometimes utility companies are willing to report payments to credit agencies. However, you almost always have to ask. The worst they can do is refuse. If they do, no harm no foul. If they agree, you will only establish your business credit faster.

Remember, if you are having trouble making utility payments right now due to reduced income related to coronavirus, you should probably wait to do this. Instead, talk to the utilities about what options they are offering in these circumstances. Some are not counting missed payments against customers for a couple of months. You have to discuss this with them however, do not assume anything.

Talk to them all, including telephone, electric, gas, and even internet. Before you do this, be certain that all of these utilities are in your company name under your separate business contact information.

Handle Your Business: Make Payments on Time

Of course, the most important part of establishing business credit is making on-time payments. If this doesn’t happen, then you will not like the credit you establish. It’s equally important whether you are trying to establish business credit in a recession or in a strong economic climate. Admittedly, it can be much harder during a recession, especially one induced by a global pandemic. Be sure you take advantage of all the resources available to help you stay current.

Planning is an important part of this. Do not overspend, and try not to use credit that you cannot pay back in a timely manner. It doesn’t have to be paid off all at once. You need to make payments to build credit, but be sure you can actually make the payments.

Hit the jackpot and weather any recession with our best webinar and its trustworthy list of seven vendors who can help you build business credit.

You Can Establish Business Credit in a Recession

If you follow these steps, it is possible to establish business credit in a recession. For new businesses, it can fall into place easily in the normal course of creating a business. If you have been around a while, it may require some backtracking. A recession may mean it takes longer, but it is more than doable if you follow the steps and trust the process.

The post Survival of the Fittest: The Essential Guide to Establish Business Credit in a Recession appeared first on Credit Suite.

Survival of the Fittest: The Essential Guide to Establish Business Credit in a Recession

The 4 Ps of Marketing: A Step-by-Step Guide (With Examples)

The 4 Ps of marketing…

You’ve probably heard about them from a friend, a textbook, or even at school.

I know it sounds like a boring topic that’s common sense, but there is more to it than meets the eye.

And no, it’s not just for large companies… the smaller you are, the more important for you it is to leverage the 4 Ps.

So before we dive into it, let’s first break down what they are…

What are the 4 Ps of marketing?

The 4 Ps of marketing is a famous concept that summarizes the 4 basic pillars of any marketing strategy: product, price, place, and promotion.

It sounds simple and it really is (the harder part is implementing it, which we will get into later).

The idea behind the theory is that if you implement them, you will generate more sales. But sadly nothing is that easy. :/

The origin of the concept, also known as marketing mix, goes back to 1960 when McCarthy introduced it in his book Basic Marketing: A Managerial Approach.

I know that’s ages ago, but it is just as valid today.

Let’s dive into each P…

Product

The product is what the company sells.

It might be a product like a soft drink in the beverage industry or dresses in a clothing store. Or these days it may even be software like Ubersuggest.

It could also be services, such as consulting or a paid speaking gig or even a therapy session.

In short, the product is everything that is made available to the consumer.

In the 4 Ps strategy, defining this means understanding what your offer needs in order to stand apart from competitors and win over customers.

In other words, what makes your product so great or unique? Because if you don’t stand out it’s going to be hard to thrive.

For example, you may know about my product Ubersuggest, but you probably already know about a handful of my competitors?

So what’s the big thing that makes my product stand out from everyone else?

I don’t focus on features… I don’t have 100s of reports… instead, I focus on usability. My goal is to make Ubersuggest really easy to use, especially if you are new to marketing.

On the flip side, my competitors focus on ad agencies and really advanced marketers. I built something for a different target market, even though I am in a crowded market place.

How to create an amazing product that your customers love

I want you to do something simple… go to Hotjar, signup for a free account, and run a poll. Just like the one below.

I’ve been running polls for a while now, but if you are starting off I would ask open-ended questions like:

What’s the biggest problem I can help you solve? (This will give you an idea on what your product needs to do)
What’s your favorite marketing product and why? (You’ll want to replace the word “marketing” with whatever industry you are in… this question gives you an idea about who your competition is and what they are doing right)
Why did you come here today? (This will tell you why people come to your site and what they are looking for)
How can we make our product better? (This is great if you already have a product up as you will get real feedback)
What don’t you like about COMPETITOR ABC? (Replace competitor ABC with your competition’s name… this question tells you where there is an opportunity)

I want you to pay special attention to the last question. It really helps you identify how you can differentiate yourself from the competition.

Now, before you go and build a product (or make yours better if you already have one), don’t invest too much time and money without getting feedback.

For example, if I were to add a new feature to Ubersuggest, I wouldn’t just build it. I would get it designed, show you first, get feedback, and then adjust from there.

That way I won’t waste months’ worth of time building a product you don’t want to use.

Price

Price is simple, it refers to how much you charge for your product (or service).

And although it’s simple to understand, it’s really hard to come up with the “right” price. The one that doesn’t just drive the most amount of sales but also drives the most profit.

The real question is, how do you want to be perceived?

Amazon wants to be the place where you can get the best-valued products from A to Z. And of course, delivered at a fast pace so it’s convenient for you.

My buddies’ company, Imperia Caviar offers high-end caviar at low prices. He’s able to get the same caviar that big brands charge thousands of dollars.

You would think that by having a cheap price he is cheapening his brand, but instead, he is bringing transparency to the market and educating people on how caviar isn’t really expensive… it’s actually just a marketing ploy.

I take a similar approach to Ubersuggest. I don’t think marketing software and education should be so expensive. So I give a lot away for free or super cheap.

Do you think that has cheapened my brand or hurt it? Well, let’s look at the data:

I guess not. 🙂

But on the flip side, would Ferrari be Ferrari if their cars were selling for $10,000? Probably not.

How to pick the right price for your product

By no means am I a pricing expert so I don’t want to tell you what to price your product at. But I will tell you to read the Price Intelligently blog. Those guys know to price like the back of their hand and they have dozens of articles that will teach you exactly how to price your product.

It’s important to think about pricing, especially if you are in a crowded space. My rule of thumb is: If you are in a new space or already a leader, you can charge a premium amount.

On the flip side, if your space is saturated and you are late to the market, you’ll want to consider having a cheaper price (if not the cheapest price).

Some questions you should ask yourself are:

What would be the lowest price you are willing to sell your product?
What would be the highest price that consumers would be willing to pay?
How sensitive to price are your customers?
What prices do current leaders in your niche charge?
How does your price compare to the competition?

Place

“Place” is another word for location.

As they say in marketing, it’s all about the… location, location, location.

I once ran a tech conference in Los Angeles called Twiistup.

It was a cool event with LA vibes and celebrities. I didn’t create the event, I bought it out years ago.

But you know what? It failed.

It wasn’t because the event wasn’t good, it was more so that I moved it to a terrible location.

I moved it from Santa Monica, which is the heart of the Los Angeles tech scene, to the valley, which is an hour drive from where all the tech companies are located.

In other words… location, location, location.

You have to pick a location where your customers are. Don’t expect them to come to you, you have to go to them.

How to pick the right place

The web is this virtual world. And although the location (place) may seem irrelevant, it really isn’t.

Just think of it this way… if I put my company all over Tiktok, what do you think would happen?

Well, I wouldn’t generate any new clients for my ad agency because none of my ideal customers are on Tiktok.

Do you think a bunch of 16 to 24-year-olds are looking for marketing services? If we offered services where we helped you get more social followers, sure… but we don’t offer that.

Think of the platforms and places your ideal customers are and be there.

That could be a specific site like Google or even an offline venue like conferences. Don’t try to bring your customers to you, go to where your customers are… it’s much easier.

Here are some simple questions to ask yourself so you can find the right place.

Where is your customer?
Which outlets (online and offline) sell your product?
Which distribution channels are currently working for you?
Do you sell directly to businesses or consumers?
Do you sell directly to your end customer or do you have to go through middlemen?
Where are your competitors?

The customer should always be at the center of your decision, but it’s important to also include aspects of the other Ps that we discussed.

Promotion

My favorite P… and the one I tend to blog about the most.

Promotion!

Once you’ve optimized the previous 3 Ps, it’s time to promote your offer.

And to be clear, when I talk about promotion I am not just talking about getting your brand out there… I am talking about generating revenue.

What’s the point of promotion if you can’t drive sales?

But with all of the channels out there on the web, which ones do you start with first?

Well, I want you to go here and put in your competitor’s URL.

If they are big, you’ll see data on how much traffic they are generating… which keywords they rank for on Google… the sites that link to them and talk about them… and even how many social shares they are generating.

If they are small, you won’t see any data. You’ll have to put in a bigger competitor.

Another site that you should use is Similar Web. Put in your competitor’s URL and you’ll see tons of data on how they promote themselves.

What’s cool about the web today, versus when I first got into online marketing, is that there are tons of tools that make your life easy. So use them to your advantage. 😉

How do you promote well?

I want you to start off by asking yourself the following questions:

Which channels does your audience use the most to consume information?
What kind of message tends to be more effective when promoting your solutions?
What is the ideal period for promoting your product?
Is there any concern about seasonality?
How do your competitors plan and carry out their promotion?

Again, you can use the tools I mentioned above to get a jump start. Another thing I would highly recommend is that you look at Facebook’s ad library.

It will show you the ads that your competition runs and, more importantly, the messaging that they use.

Now, I won’t bore you to death about promotion tips as I already have tons of blog posts on that. But I would start off with these:

Conclusion

The 4 Ps of marketing may seem boring, but they are essential.

Without them, how are you going to differentiate yourself from the competition? It really is important to stand out.

No one cares for another me-too company. We all want something unique, special… something we resonate with.

And how do you get that? You leverage the 4 Ps.

How are you leveraging the 4 Ps of marketing?

The post The 4 Ps of Marketing: A Step-by-Step Guide (With Examples) appeared first on Neil Patel.