Author: Jerry Boyland

Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP): The Definitive Guide for Marketers

When it comes to your website, speed matters. The longer your page takes to load, the more traffic you’ll lose.

A few years ago, Google launched its mobile-friendliness update and made page load speed one of its mobile search engine ranking factors. Today, load speed affects your position in the SERPs; so uses may not be able to see your page at all if it loads slowly.

What’s the solution? Accelerated Mobile Pages, or AMP. Well, maybe — there’s actually been pushback on AMP pages in recent years.

What is AMP? Is it still relevant? If you want to dig deeper into AMP and learn how to use it to grow your online marketing strategy, you are in the right place.

What Are Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP)?

The AMP plugin was born out of a collaboration between tech giants like Google and Twitter.

In simple terms, Accelerated Mobile Pages is an open-source project designed to optimize faster mobile pages. It’s like taking a page that’s already mobile-friendly and making it load quicker, by stripping it down to basics.

If AMP isn’t already part of your marketing strategy, you should consider it.

Webmasters, marketers, and SEOs have analyzed how AMP can affect mobile web pages. They found AMP can have a huge impact on mobile search engine rankings, though Google maintains this isn’t directly factual.

In a roundabout way, however, it might be true. According to Google, the AMP plugin increases page load speed, and site speed is a confirmed ranking factor.

Faster mobile pages + readable content = better user experience

In a nutshell, pages that are AMP-optimized load faster and therefore rank better than other mobile web pages.

what is accelerated mobile pages? why you need to think about it

You can visit the open source initiative platform here.

How Does The AMP Plugin Work?

Paul Shappiro, from Search Engine Land, lays out the three part structure of AMP:

how does AMP work

The AMP plugin renders mobile pages faster by cutting back on the HTML coding and rendering only those suitable for mobile users.

This diagram and explanation from Will Critchlow’s Whiteboard Friday make it pretty easy to understand:

what are accelerated mobile pages - diagram of http coding
how amp works from moz

AMP renders your pages using optimized HTML code. The pages are expected to load faster because certain HTML code tag manager aspects that would otherwise slow down the page are eliminated.

If JavaScript is included in your mobile pages, the script won’t be rendered for your Accelerated Mobile Pages.

Here are a few more things you should know:

  • With AMP, you have to use a streamlined version of CSS.
  • You are only permitted to use the JavaScript library that AMP provides. Since you’re not in control, you may experience lazy loading. This might be the only downside to AMP.
  • For AMP sites to work every time, they must be properly validated.
  • For a better experience, custom fonts have to be specially loaded.
  • To avoid quirky-looking images, make sure to declare height and width.
  • Use AMP-approved extensions if you want to have videos on your page.
  • There has been some controversy with AMP, with some experts reporting it lowers ad revenue and makes it harder to spot “fake news” articles.

When you integrate the AMP plugin and use it to improve your mobile pages, what should matter to you most is speed and readability, not share-ability. Your social share buttons may not even display properly since the majority of them are developed using JavaScript.

Benefits of Accelerated Mobile Pages

There’s a significant correlation between site speed, page views, and mobile search engine rankings.

One thing that you have to remember is that whenever a particular web page loads up quickly, mobile browser users will view more pages on the site, thereby reducing bounce rate.

When bounce rate is reduced and onsite experience increases, Google will reward the page.

Truth be told, there are many benefits to optimizing with the AMP plugin. Here’s the top four:

1. Insanely Fast-loading Web Pages That Users Love

Speed is the lifeblood of your mobile browser page. Great content is important, but unless your pages are accessible, users won’t read them.

AMP helps you to achieve that.

Remember the way and rate at which people consume content (e.g., articles, blog posts, videos, and podcasts) has changed dramatically. People browsing the internet want their content to load quickly as they jump from site to site, usually consuming many different kinds of content in quick succession or even at once.

If your mobile pages are as slow as a snail, you won’t get mobile browsers that land on your site to convert into customers. AMP gives you dramatic page speed increases that will help you keep users who click on your site from clicking away.

2. Improved Mobile Search Engine Rankings

There’s a strong relationship between site speed and conversion rate. If users are happy on a fast-loading site, they’re more likely to subscribe to a list or purchase a product.

Although a lot is still expected of AMP, Google hasn’t yet made it a ranking factor.

Since AMP works closely with mobile pages, it may never be used as an independent ranking factor; it has nothing to do with the desktop version of pages.

That said, since sites that are mobile-friendly are rewarded with higher rankings in organic mobile search results, pages developed with AMP tend to rank higher than non-AMP pages in the mobile results pages (MRPs).

3. Flexible Ad Support

Most people started a website or blog in order to make money and to possibly replace their day job.

Looking at the desktop and mobile browser versions of a site’s pages, it’s easy to conclude if there are too many distractions.

These distractions, such as the header image, navigational menu, sidebar, social share buttons, forms, popups, and other unnecessary elements, can lower your conversion rate.

With AMP, you can get rid of distractions on your mobile browser pages.

That’s because not all HTML code tags are executed, you use a streamlined version of CSS, and JavaScript is out of the question (mostly).

That means that you can make money more easily from your ads.

When you click on an Accelerated Mobile Page, it’ll load nearly instantaneously, even before you’re done clicking.

When displaying ads from a third party on your Accelerated Mobile Pages, make sure that you deliver ads that load quickly but also grab the user’s attention and deliver immense value.

As you already know, this content marketing approach is the easiest way to increase your influence, help users get answers to their questions, and improve ROI on ad spend.

If you’re ready to monetize your AMP-optimized pages, here are some of the most popular ad networks that are currently using the AMP-ads functionality:

  • Amazon A9
  • AdReactor
  • Google Doubleclick
  • Flite
  • Adform
  • Google AdSense
  • AOL AdTech
  • Taboola
  • plista
  • Smart AdServer
  • Yieldmo
  • DotAndAds

4. User Tracking is Simplified

It’s not enough to send traffic to your mobile browser pages. You also have to know how they arrived at your site.

Tracking helps you determine where people came from, which pages they viewed and so on.

Tracking users and site performance is pretty easy on AMP because there are analytical tools in place, where you can study your AMP versions in greater detail.

User behavior can only be influenced when you track it. With AMP, publishers can utilize such tag manager analytics to choose from two tags.

These tags help to automatically track essential data, such as clicks/conversions, video and link tracking, visitor counts, new vs. returning visitors and more.

Other technology solutions companies, such as WordPress, Parse.ly, Chartbeat, LinkedIn, Adobe Analytics, Pinterest and, of course, Twitter, are also already supporting AMP.

How to Set Up Accelerated Mobile Pages

There are several options when you’re looking to optimize your web pages for AMP. If you’re a beginner, the first step is to maintain at least two versions of your content page.

Your original content page would be the mobile browser friendly version that users will see, but you’ll also have the AMP version of that specific page, which will definitely speed things up.

Remember that AMP versions contain basic HTML code, which doesn’t allow form elements and third-party JavaScript.

As marketers, we all want to build our email list. The downside to AMP is that it won’t allow you to easily achieve that.

Moreover, user comments and other activities that users participate in when viewing your content on a mobile page may not be possible with AMP.

Again, the focus is on speed and readability.

To get started with AMP right now, if you’re a WordPress user, then you just need to download and install the WordPress plugin at GitHub.

Simply click on the “Download Zip” button.

how to download accelerated mobile pages

Note that you can install the AMP plugin through your WordPress dashboard, just as you would any other plugin. It’s pretty straightforward.

Once you’ve successfully installed and activated the plugin, all that you have to do is append “/amp/” to your blog post pages. Here’s how it looks on a mobile browser:

example of amp URL

Here’s the AMP version of this page on The Guardian:

example of accelerated mobile pages page

If you don’t have a friendly permalink, then you can append this “?amp=1” instead.

Don’t forget to validate and tweak at Google Search Console. That way, you can help Google pick up your AMP versions faster.

Accelerated Mobile Pages FAQ

How do AMP pages work?

AMP pages strip down pages to their essentials, which helps improve page load time. They do this using a three step configuration.

When should I use AMP pages?

When most of your site traffic comes from mobile devices or you want to lower your bounce rate.

Are AMP pages still relevant in 2021?

AMP doesn’t appear to be going away, but there has been some controversy. Google recently announced it will not AMP pages for news sites to show up in top stories, so it does seem to be less important.

Are AMP pages good for SEO?

They can be helpful, but are not essential for SEO. Optimizing for page speed and mobile experience can be done in several ways.

Accelerated Mobile Pages Conclusion

AMP is powerful, but some marketers say it is losing steam. As an upgrade to mobile-friendly pages, it can help you meet Google’s expectations for site speed.

While there is still a focus on AMP, don’t forget to use proven mobile marketing strategies. That’s the best way to attract mobile customers and grow your business.

Before you leave, I have a question for you: Have you accelerated your mobile pages for speed and readability? If not, what’s stopping you?

How to Block Bots From Coming to Your Website: Tools & Tips

If you have a website, you need to know what bots are and how they can find your site, as well as what they can do (either intentionally or indirectly) to cause frustration to your online marketing efforts. Blocking bots may be a necessity to protect your site’s speed, users, and security.

Let’s talk about what bots are and how you can put up some defenses to start protecting your website.

What Are Bots, and How Can They Be Bad?

Before we dive into the details of what they can do and how you can stop them, we need to take a step back and explore what a bot is.

A bot is a software script that performs a data task over and over again. It’s that repetition and data interaction that makes them a fellow member of the online world we interact with.

Some of the other names you hear bots associated with help explain what bots are and how they work. Think of terms like spiders, crawlers, or web bots.

Are They All Bad?

There are a couple of misconceptions we can set aside right away.

Even though the term is short for robots, bots are not robots in the form of metal, gears, and computers. They are bits of script, as we discussed, that run continuously over the data of websites or other online platforms.

Also, they are not necessarily maliciously driven by a hacker or person with ill intent. Sometimes they’re neutral or even useful, such as bots used by search engines to index websites.

How Do Bots Work?

As we mentioned above, bots are generally bits of software script that repeat a task over and over again. An outside person, either friend or foe, may deploy these to accomplish a specific task.

However, bots are getting “smarter,” so to speak, and some are created with artificial intelligence (AI) or machine learning technology. Some examples of these are chatbots for e-commerce that brands can use to learn from human interaction and deliver a better customer

service experience for their audience.

Here’s an example of an e-commerce chatbot on the ModCloth website:

block bots - modcloth chatbot example

What Do Bots Do?

As we’ve said, bots can be useful, such as indexing for a search engine or improving customer experiences.

They can also be malicious and cause trouble for your website or other web presence. Some bots are intended to crawl websites and steal data like passwords, identifiable information, or personal data. They can also deploy malicious attacks on websites, computers, and other places. Some get sophisticated, unfurling a series of steps to cause chaos for another user or organization.

They can also be used to surge interactions online. This may come in the form of flooding a page or forum with comments, driving up purchases or popularity of something to stir up interest, bumping up social media interaction to improve views, or other ways to “game the system.”

These are often the ways you may start to see bot activity on your website.

How Can You Tell If Your Website Has Bot Traffic?

Do you need to block bots on your website? Here are some signs and how to check.

Red Flags You May Need to Block Bots

There are some signs that bots have been to your website, and those may be the first place to start. Here are a few to look for:

  • excess commenting in your blog or other pages
  • comments that don’t seem readable or human-generated
  • comments with excessive linking or obvious spam
  • excessively or suddenly high bounce rates on a particular page
  • a sudden surge of sign-ups for your newsletter or other forms
  • email sign-ups that don’t seem human-generated
  • log-in attempts from unknown sources
  • any other activity that appears fishy

Where Can You Check to Block Bots?

If you have a gut reaction that you need a bot blocker, you can do a deeper dive to determine whether bots are a problem for your website and whether it’s worth investing time to block bots.

Here are a few places to explore:

  • Google Analytics to investigate traffic on your site
  • A service like Copyscape to check if your content was plagiarized somewhere else
  • your web server logs to learn more about where people are coming from

10 Steps to Block Bots From Coming to Your Website

Trying to block bots from coming to your website can feel a little like trying to put up an invisible shield around your site to ward off invaders.

While it’s not quite so fanciful, taking steps to keep bots from invading and causing chaos on your website is about being proactive and putting processes into place ahead of any problems.

It starts with understanding the enemy, removing any current problems, and then preparing for future attacks. Here are some steps you can take:

1. Identify the Weight of the Problem

If you’re reading this far, you probably have some concerns about bots and want to know more about how to block website bots. Before jumping in, though, it’s always good to consider what’s happening on your website.

Are you having a significant problem with bots, or are you just noticing some increased activity?

Further, consider what the impact has been or could be on your online marketing efforts. As we mentioned above, some bots are good, and some are bad. Some are just neutral.

For instance, you might have a bump in activity on your website on a given day or a given page for no apparent reason. You can’t link them to a specific marketing campaign that promoted that page and caused a spike. The surge in activity may have come from a bot.

If the surge was short-lived and you haven’t seen any other issues, it may be worth looking into but may not warrant extreme or rushed reactions.

On the other hand, if you’ve found your e-commerce site was hacked, or if parts of your website have been infected and are no longer functioning properly, you probably want to act quickly to batten up the hatches and clean up your website. If that’s the case, you may want to jump to the later steps here and start taking immediate action.

2. Understand the Source

Once you realize that web bots have been bothering your website, you’ll need to go on a bit of an investigation to find out where they’re coming from.

I listed above some places that can help you explore whether bots are attacking your website. They can also help you figure out the origin of those bots.

For example, in Google Analytics, your web server access logs, or any log-in attempt emails, you may be able to see data related to those visiting your site. You can check for a pattern or a series of the same IP address repeatedly.

3. Make a Plan

Now it’s time to decide what to do.

If you’ve already suffered an attack, you’ll need to take steps to clean up the problem and patch any vulnerabilities in your site to avoid further problems.

If you’ve been seeing bot activity but haven’t been attacked, you should focus your plan on looking for vulnerabilities that could be exploited in the future and tighten them up now.

4. Stay Up to Date

Keep your website and all its integrations up to date with the latest releases. Whichever website CRM provider you use, ensure you’re staying current with that platform’s releases. For instance, if you use WordPress, you need to ensure that your theme and plugins have the latest updates.

Staying up to date has its advantages. First, bots may use older versions to gain access. Further, platforms are motivated to provide secure products to their customers. The latest updates may come with increased security features and bot blocker options.

5. Add CAPTCHA Tools

One way to block bots from interacting with parts of your websites (such as sign-ups, contact pages, and purchase options) is to ensure that only humans can perform those actions.

CAPTCHA forces the user to perform a challenge or other action to prove they’re not a bot. Unless a bot has the correct action written into their script, they won’t finish this task and move on.

Here is an example of a CAPTCHA you’ve probably seen before:

Block Bots From Coming to Your Website - Add CAPTCHA Tools

6. Check Your APIs and Other Connections

Especially if your website is a few years old, you may have installed many API integrations and other connections to other web platforms. If you’ve permitted that integration to connect with and share data with your website, APIs could be an area of vulnerability.

Conduct an audit of every API, plugin, connection, or other integration:

  • Do you use them all? Remove the obsolete ones.
  • Are you using the latest versions? If not, update them.
  • Are you using quality products? If they don’t have security measures in place, consider replacing them.

If you have questions, reach out to the platform owner and make sure they are secure.

7. Block Older Browser Versions

This is not foolproof, but another way to close up some ways bots can access your website is by blocking older versions of browsers from accessing your website. You might achieve this by requiring users to use new versions of browsers to view your website.

TechRepublic encourages using this method as most human users will be forced to update to a newer browser version.

This requires accessing and updating the .htaccess file of your website, so unless you are experienced with coding, we recommend engaging with a web developer for this.

8. Patch It

If you’re struggling to stay up to date with the bots coming to your website or feel like the problem may be bigger than you want to control, you can turn to a professional to start digging deeper into bots that may be heading to your website.

If you notice a specific bot that keeps arriving at your website and causing problems, such as offensive comments or attempts to gain unauthorized access, you can block that IP address from gaining access to your website in the future.

Many web hosts, such as GoDaddy, provide detailed information about how to accomplish this task. However, you should know that this is only a patch. It can stop a rather insidious attack in its tracks, but many hackers or malicious bot launchers have ways of coming in from other IP addresses, so the solution may not hold long-term.

Also, Hubspot reminds us that blocking an IP address means blocking all access from any person or bot from that IP address, so weigh the pros and cons before making a decision.

9. Keep Up With It

For a long-term solution, you may choose to pay for a bot blocker service. Although there are many different options, they all promise you a bit of peace of mind as their integrated solution stays on your website, comparing visitors with their information to watch for and alert you of any problems. A few options include:

  • DataDome
  • Cloudflare
  • Radware Bot Manager
  • ClickGUARD
  • Google ReCAPTCHA

10. Ongoing Monitoring

Bot blocking isn’t a one-and-done situation. You will need to continue to monitor your website for any problems.

You can watch for any of the problems discussed above and take steps to close up any holes. You may want to add this to your calendar to check in monthly or quarterly.

You can also keep an ear out for public data breaches. If you hear of any wide-scale attacks, take a look at your website and look for signs of any bot activity.

Conclusion

As AI in marketing continues to grow, our discussion of blocking bots, as well as adding them to our marketing stack, will likely increase as well. Bots can be helpful in our digital work and can support our digital marketing strategy.

They can also be malicious and attack your website at any time. The best way to block bots is to stay vigilant and keep your web presence up to date and cleaned up.

Don’t let vulnerabilities like outdated plugins or open access ports linger, inviting opportunistic bots. Monitor as you go and consider hiring an outside third party if the problem or the risks start getting bigger than you want to handle.

What’s the first step you’re going to take to block bots?

A Starter Guide to Google Ads Manager Accounts

If your business has complex advertising needs, there’s a good chance Google Ads Manager can help.

Rather than having your PPC spread out across several separate Google Ads accounts, Google Ads Manager brings all of your paid ads together in one place. This makes managing your campaigns much more efficient and allows you to maximize return on ad spend.

Setting up a Google Ads Manager account is simple and can quickly change the way you run your paid ads. Ready to give it a try? Here’s how to get started.

What Are Google Ads Manager Accounts?

Google Ads Manager accounts are dashboards that allow you to manage multiple Google Ad accounts all in one place.

Rather than logging in to lots of different ad accounts with separate usernames and passwords, Google Ads Manager puts everything in one place, making it more convenient to manage your ads.

google ad manager dashboard

Originally called My Client Center, Google Ads Manager provides many benefits to organizations with complex marketing needs. You can:

  • Manage all your ads in one place
  • Access campaigns across different accounts
  • Control who has access to different accounts
  • Quickly monitor and compare performance across separate accounts
  • Consolidate billing to better understand your costs

If your business needs to access many different Google Ad accounts, then a Manager account might save you a ton of time and allow you to work far more efficiently.

Why You Should Use Google Ads Manager Accounts

If your business requires access to multiple Google Ad accounts, then a Google Ads Manager account can significantly boost your efficiency. Here’s a few benefits of using this tool:

Save Time

Logging in and out of accounts takes time and it also means you don’t get a complete picture of the data. The more information you have at your disposal, the easier it is to optimize your ads, and with a Google Ads Manager account, you bring all of this data together in one central place.

Improve ROI

Running paid ads is all about return on investment. If you’re not getting the right return, then there are other digital marketing strategies you could be focusing on. According to WebFX, the average small and medium-sized business spends between $108,000 and $120,000 per year on PPC. Google Ads Manager can ensure you’re making the most of your ad dollars.

Who Should Use Google Ads Manager Accounts?

Google Ads Manager accounts are ideal for businesses that run multiple ad accounts. The most obvious example is advertising agencies, but this also applies to businesses of all sizes that do a lot of PPC.

Ads Manager Accounts are particularly useful for marketing agencies because you can seamlessly integrate with client’s accounts.

For example, my agency works with clients from all over the world, so it’s just not feasible to log in to each client’s account with a separate username and password. Instead, through Google Ads Manager Accounts, we can manage up to 85,000 accounts (depending on ad spend) all in one place.

This makes life easier, but it also makes the data much more powerful. If you have all the insights from 100 clients in the same industry all together in one place, it’s much easier to identify where campaigns are going well or where there’s room for improvement.

Plus, this type of account enables clients to share access to their Ad accounts securely. The client doesn’t have to share their passwords or bank details, and they’re still able to make changes to the account or unlink from the manager account if they wish.

While marketing agencies are most likely to be running paid ads on a scale where they benefit from Google Ads Manager Accounts, there are also plenty of other companies that run multiple ad accounts.

Large companies with multiple departments may have separate marketing teams running their own Google Ad Accounts. Although it’s important to make your marketing specific and targeted, which the multiple ad accounts allow for, you also need to have a clear view of the big picture.

Bringing your accounts together under Google Ads Manager allows you to combine the individuality of segmented marketing with the benefits of greater oversight and analysis.

How Many Ad Campaigns Can Be Used in Google Ads Manager Accounts?

The more Google Ad accounts you need to manage, the more Google Ads Manager becomes beneficial. While you can have up to 20 Ad accounts on one email, Google Ads Manager makes them much easier to manage, and beyond 20 accounts is almost a necessity.

No matter what type of campaigns you’re running, you need to have oversight, so Google Ads Manager can be beneficial.

Here are some campaigns where Google Ads Manager can make a difference:

Google Ad Campaigns With Multiple Collaborators

Large paid advertising campaigns often have multiple collaborators, including managers, paid ad experts, and team leads. All of these people need access to the account, but you don’t want to share passwords and grant unlimited access.

If you’ve got hundreds of campaigns, you want people to have easy access to the parts they need without having to share sensitive non-essential details.

While a regular Google Ads account allows you to do this, it’s very time-consuming to update permissions on multiple accounts constantly. Instead, Google Ad Manager will enable you to share access securely from a central point.

When you manage multiple ad campaigns and have multiple stakeholders, Google Ads Manager is a great way to smooth out the process.

Google Ad Campaigns Targeting People at Different Points in the Sales Funnel

One of the main benefits of paid ads is the ability to target very specific groups of people. When you run an ad on Google, you’re not just putting it out there and hoping the right people find it; you set specific parameters that ensure your message reaches the right people.

For example, you might segment your audience based on where they are in the sales funnel. When you do this, though, you’ve got to be highly organized to optimize each stage of the funnel.

When data is spread out across lots of different accounts, it’s almost impossible to keep track of performance across segments. You need to quickly access all your campaign data and make changes based on specific insights. To do this, you need everything to be in one place.

This offers a huge opportunity to stand out as 76% of marketers aren’t using behavioral data to target customers with relevant ads.

Google Ad Campaigns Where Analytics Overlap

The key to optimization is in the analytics, and when you have the data from hundreds of campaigns all in one place, you’re much more likely to get those crucial insights you need.

Most of your ad campaigns will have some similarities. Maybe they target the same audience, they’re in the same niche, or they target the same point in the sales funnel.

While every campaign should be unique, there’s also a lot you can learn from comparing similar campaigns.

When you have all your analytics in one place, you can use them to spot trends you otherwise wouldn’t be able to see.

For example, you might have 20 different campaigns all targeting people at the decision stage of the sales funnel, and one is performing particularly well. Even if your campaigns are in completely different industries, you can use the data to isolate why that one campaign is doing so well and find ways to implement it in other markets.

The more data you have, the more useful it becomes, and Google Ads Manager allows you to bring all your analytics together in one place.

Google Retargeting Ad Campaigns

Retargeting is an incredibly useful tool for marketers, and Google Ads Manager makes retargeting even more powerful.

When people click on your ads and visit your website, they’re added to your remarketing audience through browser cookies, allowing you to target them with very precise ads. People who have already visited your site are more likely to become customers, which might be a great way of boosting your ROAS (return on ad spend).

Need help setting up retargeting ads? Here’s my A to Z on setting up your retargeting with Google.

Google Ads Manager helps you better use retargeting data by allowing you to piggyback off all the hard work you’ve done on other campaigns. For example, if one specific type of audience or ad works well in one vertical, you can test it in others.

How to Set Up and Use Google Ads Manager Accounts

Setting up a Google Ads Manager account and linking all your ad accounts is simple, and it might make your life a lot easier.

Google Ads Manager Account - front page
  • head to the main Google Ads Manager page and click “Get Started”
  • answer a couple of quick questions about the number of page views your website gets and whether or not you have an AdSense account

If your website has more than one million page views per month, you’ll be directed to get in touch.

Google Ads Manager Account contact form for websites with more than 1 million views
  • Fill out the contact form with information about your business.
  • A Google representative will contact you and help you with your setup.

If your website has less than one million page views per month:

  • Create a new AdSense account or sign in to your existing one
  • Name your account
  • Select what you’re using your account for
  • Choose a timezone
  • Select the currency you want to use for your campaigns
  • Accept the terms and conditions
  • Click on save, and you’re ready to go

Once your Google Ads Manager account is ready, you can start to link your ad accounts or those of your clients:

  1. Click link existing account (next to create an account).
  2. Enter the client account’s Google Ads ID (this is the ten-digit number in the top-right corner).
  3. The client account will receive a request to link to the Ads Manager in its account.
  4. The client account needs to accept the request.
  5. The client account chooses the level of access it grants: administrative, edit, or view.
  6. Once the client accepts the request and grants you administrative access, you can manage that Google Ad account.

It only takes a few minutes to set up a Google Ads Manager account and link as many Google Ad accounts as you wish, but it can save you a whole lot of time when it comes to managing your paid ads.

Conclusion

If you have complex PPC campaigns spread out over several Google Ads accounts, then Google Ads Manager could make a huge difference to your operations.

To maximize your return, all your campaigns should work in unison, allowing you to target particular groups and make use of all the data available to you. This is very difficult to do if you’re running campaigns through different accounts.

When you create a Google Ads Manager, you bring all your pay-per-click advertising together in one place, improving efficiency. Rather than logging into multiple different accounts and trying to piece together lots of different analytics, set up your Ads Manager account and get more out of your PPC.

Are you set up with Google Ads Manager yet?

New comment by madsvj in "Ask HN: Who is hiring? (March 2021)"

PatentRenewal.com | Copenhagen or Remote | Full-Time, Remote-OK | https://patentrenewal.com

We are a 3 year old scale-up renewing patents globally for companies in over 35 countries across Europe, Asia, North and South America, the Pacific. Our goal is to make patent renewals fully automated. By doing this, we believe there are at least 6 Billion USD a year and a lot of time to save for small and innovative companies around the world.

Our CTO and Co-founder has recently taken a more commercial role in the company and we need someone to be our new main back-end developer. Your main challenge is to help scale a rapidly growing product and accommodate new challenges.

Read more here: https://thehub.io/jobs/60337dac23978d060b6d823b

The post New comment by madsvj in “Ask HN: Who is hiring? (March 2021)” appeared first on ROI Credit Builders.

New comment by bonsai80 in "Ask HN: Who is hiring? (March 2021)"

Medic | Sr. Software Engineer | Full-time | Global/Remote | https://medic.org/

We’re a non-profit organization working to provide tooling for community health projects. Our team focuses on development of the Community Health Toolkit, which is a suite of open source components, but primarily an offline-first web application.

Here’s a quick list of some of the interesting aspects of our work:

– An offline-first mobile-first webapp. A lot of healthcare workers we serve may go multiple weeks without a network connection.

– Our software needs to be usable on underpowered hardware, which is common for those using it. Client-side performance improvements can make a big impact.

– We provide a platform that locally-customizable apps are built with. Backwards compatibility is critical as is careful thought for new capabilities.

As for the technical parts, almost all development is done in JavaScript and TypeScript. We’re using Angular 10 on the client and node on the server with Pouch/CouchDB for data storage and syncing.

If that all sounds like fun stuff to you, please read the full job description and apply!
https://medic.pinpointhq.com/en/jobs/10055

Episode #407 (Originally aired 10/14/16)

Episode #407 (Originally aired 10/14/16) – Bill’s guests are Ann Coulter, Bernie Sanders, Bob Kerrey, Andrew Sullivan and Rebecca Traister.

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New comment by urlDev in "Ask HN: Who wants to be hired? (April 2020)"

Location: Turkey

Remote: Only remote, please

Willing to relocate: No

Technologies: HTML5, CSS3, SASS/SCSS, Bootstrap/React, Bootstrap, JavaScript/ES6, React, Gatsby, Styled-Components, Git/Github, Adobe XD

Résumé/CV: https://canural-resume.netlify.app/

Email: can.ural@outlook.com

Hi, I am Can. I am a career changer Front-End Developer, previously team leader, and Helicopter Pilot. I am looking for my first developer job.

Before scrolling down, check my projects on GitHub and portfolio website. If you are interested, do drop me a line!

GitHub: https://github.com/urlDev

Website: https://www.can-ural.com/

5 Outstanding Business Loans for Women with Bad Credit

And Other Options for When Business Loans for Women with Bad Credit Aren’t Enough

Bad credit can feel like a death sentence for your business.  It can make it seem as though you have reached a dead end before you ever get started.  This is especially true of women owned businesses as it is already more difficult for females to get business funding.  The truth is, there are ways to move past a bad credit hump.  It takes getting creative with funding and a lot of hard work, but it is possible.  Not only are there options like crowdfunding and grants that are not dependent on credit at all, but there are even business loans for women with bad credit.

Most lending institutions are not going to be looking to extend a business loan to those without a good credit score.  This is because they genuinely have no clue if your company will be able to repay the loan.

Some non-traditional lenders, however, will take a look at other factors to help them determine risk, meaning even if you don’t have the best credit, you can still get a business loan. These factors may include length of time in business, annual revenue, or any number of things.

Others simply work on a different model than traditional lenders.  Following are our top examples of each.

Top Outstanding Business Loans for Women with Bad Credit

Of course, this isn’t an exhaustive list, but it is a list of the 5 best loans for women with bad credit that we have found.

Business Loans for Women with Bad Credit: Lending Club

LendingClub functions as a peer-to-peer lender that offers mostly fixed-term small business loans. Borrowers that get loans from LendingClub generally use loans funds to buy equipment, finance growth or expansion projects, consolidate other debt, hire new employees.

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

One benefit LendingClub offers with their small business loans than many others do not is access to a client advisor. This is someone to help you figure out how to best use your business loan funds, as well as how to budget loan payments.

The minimum loan amount at LendingClub is $5,000 and the maximum is $300,000.  You must have been in business for 12 months or more and have at least $50,000 in annual sales to qualify.  There can be no tax liens or bankruptcies, and you must have at least 20% ownership.  They will work with a credit score that is fair or higher.  A fair credit score ranges from 620 to 659.

Business Loans for Women with Bad Credit: Lendio

Lendio offers a loan-connection service that dramatically cuts the time it takes for small business owners to find the perfect loan.  They do the legwork by vetting a network of competing small business lenders. Funding is fast, sometimes in as little as 24 hours.

Potential borrowers submit one application and then see offers from lenders in the network.  The minimum loan amount is $500 while the maximum is $5,000,000.  The business must be U.S. or Canada based and must have a business bank account.  The minimum personal credit score applicable is 560.

Business Loans for Women with Bad Credit: Blue Vine

BlueVine offers two options for small business financing.  They include lines of credit and invoice factoring.  They also offer the ability to talk with a financing advisor, and their application process takes place exclusively online.  Their minimum loan amount is $5,000 and their maximum is $100,000.  To be eligible you must be in business for at least 6 months, have revenue of $120,000 per year or more, and have a credit score of at least 600.

Business Loans for Women with Bad Credit: Kiva

Kiva has a unique lending model. They offer loans to businesses, but their platform is far different from than that of traditional or even other non-traditional lenders.  It is sort of a cross between crowdfunding and lending.  They offer loans with a 0% interest rate, so even though you have to pay it back, it is actually free money. In addition, they do not run a credit check at all. The only requirement is that you have to get at least 5 family members or friends to donate money for your business, and you have to give at least a $25 loan to another business on the platform yourself.

business loans for women with bad credit Credit Suite2

Business Loans for Women with Bad Credit: Grameen

Microloans are a great option when it comes to business loans for women with bad credit.  Grameen is one of the few lenders that offers microloans specifically for women.  The loan amounts range from $2,000 to $15,000, and they also offer financial training and support.

As a bonus, they report payments to Equifax and Experian.  Consequently, these loans help borrowers build credit.

Other Options

Sometimes, even if you can find business loans for women with bad credit, it just isn’t enough.  There are other options that can help you bridge the gap between what you are able to borrower and the amount of funds your business actually needs to survive.

Merchant Cash Advance

If you own an existing business that takes credit card payments, a merchant cash advance can be a legitimate option. It works like this.  The lender takes a look at your daily credit card sales and extends a cash advance based on that average.  While they may check your credit, it rarely makes a lot of difference because the security for the loan is payments from future credit card sales.

The main difference that a low credit score might make is related to terms and interest rate. For example, a low score could result in a higher interest rate, or in payment drafts from credit card sales bi-monthly rather than monthly.  Sometimes with a merchant cash advance, payments drafts are weekly or even daily.

Grants

There are a number of grant opportunities available for women business owners as well.  While they are all competitive programs, they are definitely worth applying for to help support and grow your business.

SBA Women’s Business Centers

In addition to helping with loans, the SBA Women’s Business Centers also help women entrepreneurs get access to funding. Some lend money or award grants directly, while others help connect women entrepreneurs with financial institutions.

Eileen Fisher Women-Owned Business Grant

The clothing brand Eileen Fisher hands out $100,000 per year to 10 women-owned businesses. To qualify, a woman must have at least 51% ownership, and the business must be in operation for at least three years. Also, it must bring in less than $1 million per year in revenue and have a focus on environmental or social change.

Amber Grant

The Amber Grant awards $500 to $1,000 per month to a woman-owned business. One of the recipients also receives an additional $10,000 grant at the end of the year. Applicants only need to tell their story and turn it in with a $15 application fee.

#GIRLBOSS Foundation Grant

Specifically for woman-owned businesses in fashion, music, and art, the #GIRLBOSS small business grant awards $15,000.  They also offer exposure via the Girlboss website and social media platforms. Judges rate those applying on creativity, business acumen, planning, innovation in the field, financial need, and where they plan to work.

Cartier Women’s Initiative Award

 The Cartier Women’s Initiative Award is $100,000 for first place and $30,000 for second place.  They award the grant to 18 women entrepreneurs from around the world each year.  Women business owners who are just getting started may qualify.  Go here for the complete application information for this small business grant.

All of the finalists get to attend the INSEAD Social Entrepreneurship 6-Day Executive Program (ISEP). They will also have the opportunity to participate in workshops on entrepreneurship, business coaching seminars, and be exposed to networking opportunities.

How to Keep Bad Credit from Being a Problem in the Future

If you are looking for business loans for women with bad credit, it is unlikely that you have a strong credit score.  While this option will work for the present, it is important to ensure that going forward, bad credit is not an issue.  There is no reason to stay stuck in a bad credit hole. There are ways to dig yourself out.

Credit Monitoring

Monitor your credit reports.  Request a free personal credit report each year from Experian, Equifax, and Transunion. Look at what is being reported, and deal with any mistakes as soon as you can. You also need to keep an eye on your business credit.  We can help you monitor that at Experian and Dun & Bradstreet, the two most common reporting agencies, for only $24/month. See: www.creditsuite.com/monitoring.

You can monitor your business credit at the reporting agencies directly, but it is more expensive to do so.  For example, Experian and Equifax cost about $19.99 each, and D&B ranges from $49.99 to $99.99.

What’s are you looking for? You are looking for mistakes on your report.  Errors on your personal credit report(s) can be corrected, but you have to dispute in a certain way.  Generally, this means you mail a paper letter with copies of any proof of payment. These are documents like receipts and cancelled checks. Never send the originals.  Always mail copies.

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

Itemize any charges you challenge, and make your letter as clear as possible. Be specific about the concerns with your report, and use certified mail so that you will have proof that you mailed in your dispute.

Business credit disputes can be handled as follows.

Dispute your or your business’s Equifax report by following the directions here: www.equifax.com/small-business-faqs/#Dispute-FAQs

You can dispute inaccuracies on your or your company’s Experian report by following the directions here: www.experian.com/small-business/business-credit-information.jsp.

D&B’s PAYDEX Customer Service telephone number is here: www.dandb.com/glossary/paydex.

Fund Your Business Without Using Your Personal Credit Score

This is also an option for those seeking business loans for women with bad credit. You do not actually have to use your personal credit score at all.  Your business can have a credit score all on its own. If you are not sure you have a business credit score, then you likely don’t.  You kind of have to be intentional with how you set up your business for that to happen.

For example, you need and EIN, a D-U-N-S number, and a few other things before you can have business credit.  Your business has to appear as a separate entity from yourself.

What Does Your Business Need to Be a Separate Entity?

  • A professional-looking website and email address. The website address needs to be bought from a supplier such as GoDaddy. In addition, the email address needs to have the same URL.  It shouldn’t be a from a free email platform like Yahoo or Gmail.
  • A company telephone and fax numbers that is different from your personal numbers, and they need to have a listing on ListYourself.net.
  • Additionally, the company phone number should be toll-free (800 exchange or comparable).
  • A business bank account devoted strictly to the company is always a must.
  • To be a formal corporation. This means organizing as an LLC, S-corp, or corporation. You cannot operate as a sole proprietorship or partnership and build business credit properly.  Base the option you choose the level of protection and the tax benefits that you need.  For company credit report purposes, they all work the same.

Once you have these things in play, any payments you make on accounts in your business name using your EIN will be reported to the business credit reporting agencies in your business name.  This is how business credit starts to grow, and you can eventually leave your personal credit out of the mix.

You Have Options: Business Loans for Women with Bad Credit Really Do Exist

Business loans for women with bad credit are out there.  We gave five outstanding places to get started.  However, there is more to the business funding process than just finding a loan despite bad credit.  You have to have a plan to overcome the bad credit in the long term.

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

The best way to do that is to ensure you pay all accounts on time, consistently.  In addition, work on building your business credit so that you do not have to depend on your personal credit for business funding.

Do not underestimate the importance of this.  By using your business credit to fund your business, you keep large business expenses, or business issues, from affecting your personal credit score.  This means despite what is going on business-wise, you can still maintain the credit you need to buy a home, a car, do home improvement, etc.

Consequently, if you run in to personal credit issues, your business credit can remain unaffected.  This means your business can continue to run successfully despite a poor personal credit score.

 

 

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