Author: Rozella Weston

How to Use Instagram Ads

Instagram is one of the best social networks to advertise on. It has grown to be just as big of an advertising platform as its parent company, Facebook. In fact, by 2023, the site is likely to exceed one billion users, according to Statista.

Your best bet for Instagram success is to share stunning visuals and high-quality photos.

Add in a branded or targeted hashtag and you’ll be connecting with your ideal customers in no time.

If you want to increase your reach even further, Instagram ads are the way to go.

If you’re not quite sure how to use Instagram ads or you’re worried about how much they cost, read on to find out how you can run effective Instagram ads on any budget.

Why Advertise on Instagram?

Instagram is growing, and it’s growing fast.

There are more than 200 million business accounts on Instagram, and that number doesn’t seem to be decreasing any time soon.

The platform’s incredible growth is all for a good reason. Marketers know it’s worth it: Instagram’s ad revenues could reach $18.16 billion by 2021.

Instagram is not only growing considerably, but it’s also bringing in some serious cash for businesses. It’s attracting tons of big brands because it’s well worth it to advertise there. Even if you’re not a multimillion-dollar brand, Instagram ads are still just as important for you to use (if not more important).

Here’s why any size business should consider Instagram as a way to promote their brand, services, or products:

  1. Anyone can advertise on the platform.
  2. You can target audiences with Facebook data since Facebook owns Instagram.
  3. Audience engagement is limitless. Businesses can interact with users in the comments section of their photos.
  4. Post ads look just like any other shared post on Instagram, which makes them feel less conspicuous.
  5. There are multiple ways to advertise on Instagram, including in Stories, videos, IGTV, and Shopping ads.

Whether you want to increase brand awareness, get more clicks to your website, generate sales, or boost downloads of your latest e-book, Instagram can help you reach a huge audience.

What Are Instagram’s Ad Formats?

Instagram offers a range of Instagram ads for you to utilize, giving you the creative freedom to make something spectacular and reach your goals. Here are a few options to explore and a little bit about how to leverage each one effectively.

1. Photo Ads

Photo ads show up organically in your Instagram feed as you scroll through. An Instagram photo ad looks like a post from any of the accounts you are already following but will include a little “Sponsored” notation in the corner to let people know they are looking at an ad. These ads include a call-to-action button at the bottom to push people to a specific URL or your Instagram account.

These are useful if you have a really evocative photo to share your message. Instagram recommends using this type when you have a specific product or message you want to get the word out about. Keeping it simple can help you stand out and grab attention as people are scrolling through.

You can use this format to promote your past Instagram posts, so look for the most popular ones and click “Promote” to get started.

2. Carousel Ads

Carousel Instagram ads take photo ads to the next level. With this style, you can create a series of up to 10 photos or videos in a single ad.

Just like the photo ads, they exist in the Instagram news feed, but each photo or video can connect to a different URL or location.

This allows you to showcase a collection or group of products.

If you’re not sure whether to choose between photo ads and carousel ads, think about what you are trying to promote. Resist the urge to think about carousel ads as a way to just stuff more photos into an ad. They should function together and make sense as a unit.

Photo ads are like a one-page ad in a magazine or newspaper, while carousel ads are like lookbooks or mini catalogs themselves. When you’re announcing a new product line or a seasonal collection, these are a great option.

3. Video Ads

Video Instagram ads are just as they sound. Like carousel and photo ads, they appear in the Instagram feed. You can post an ad as short as a second or as long as sixty minutes, or anywhere in between.

When you create video ads for Instagram, you’ll want to think about your goals. You may choose to provide lots of information right there in the video to entertain or educate or you may use this ad as a teaser to get people to click through to learn more about your brand.

Again, this is where you’ll want to think about which is best for you in the news feed—the photos, the videos, or the carousel. Videos allow you to share more dynamic content, but people will have to stop scrolling to view it all. You need to catch their attention quickly and early in the video.

4. Instagram Shopping

Instagram shopping ads are an interactive option for showcasing your products, either in the Instagram feed or in the explore section of Instagram. With Instagram shopping ads, you can add shopping links on your photos for viewers to click and learn more about the product and even purchase directly from the Instagram app.

You will need to set up an Instagram shop to use this ad option. If your brand uses the Instagram shop feature, this is a smart next step to get the word out to a new audience about your products.

You can use flat lays, real-world images, or other detailed photos of your products, and create tags to point people to where they can purchase them directly. This is great if you have unique products, maybe with a seasonal or local twist.

5. Creators

Social media influencers play a big role in the content marketing world these days. Branded creator ads are a component of this game. They can consist of photos or videos that one Instagram account creates organically, and another shares as an ad.

To make this happen, an Instagram creator account needs to provide permission to a business partner or a brand they are working with, to share that particular post.

These types of ads are built on an existing relationship between creators and brands. If you are working with an influencer already, these are a great way to showcase organic content they have created with your products or your services.

6. Reels

Instagram reel ads are ads in between reel videos. They follow the same format as an Instagram reel video, allowing the ad to feel like a natural part of the reel video feed. Instagram reel ads can be up to 30 seconds long and play in a loop, in a full vertical screen. You can think of them as the TikTok format of Instagram.

You may want to use this format of Instagram ads if you have eye-catching and intriguing short video content people are likely to engage with and share. Consider the features necessary for a viral video.

7. Stories

Over 500 million people use Instagram Stories every day, so why not pop in there with your own Instagram ads? Just like other Instagram ad types, stories ads are placed natively within the stories environment so your target audience sees the content right there, as they are scrolling through the stories of the accounts they follow.

To make the most of these types of ads, Instagram recommends using motion-focused content, with the message upfront, to fit well with the fast-paced nature of stories.

8. IGTV

IGTV is one of the newest models of Instagram ads available to creators. These ads play at the beginning of ads an Instagram user clicks on, much like video ads on YouTube or another video platform. IGTV ads can be up to 15 seconds long so you should follow much of the same recommendations as above, getting to your message upfront.

Examples of Great Instagram Ads

Let’s take a look at real-world examples of Instagram ads that hit the mark.

1. MUD/WTR

Examples of Great Instagram Ads - MUD_WTR

MUD\WTR does a lot of things right with their Instagram ads. This is an example of a Stories ad they ran. The content looks very organic, from a content creator on Instagram, including the text captioning at the bottom. They also included a series of Stories, rather than just one. The story is set up in a narrative fashion, grabbing your attention from the start. In addition, they run regular photo and video ads as well so they tend to show up everywhere as you’re scrolling around on Instagram.

2. Wool&

Examples of Great Instagram Ads - Wool

When you’re casually scrolling Instagram and a video ad stops you with a challenge. Wool& uses their Instagram ads to promote their 100-day challenge, where they invite users to wear their products for 100 days and get $100. It’s a simple challenge that grabs your attention. Just another dress picture may be overlooked.

3. Nailboo

Examples of Great Instagram Ads - Nailboo

The starting image just makes you cringe, doesn’t it? It’s effective because you can almost feel it. Red nail polish on white carpet. Eek. The video ad from there moves fast, almost frantically, through the information about their product promising to keep that from happening. It fits the dynamic of a fast-moving platform and hits a pain point from the start.

4. Dechoker

Examples of Great Instagram Ads - Dechoker

Another example of Instagram ads that hit on the emotions from the start, with a bit of a gross factor. Sometimes you can’t look away. This one uses the warmth of the child’s photo with the narrative of what their product prevents. It’s also a very simple product and message, another important feature. If people have to wonder what you’re about, they will keep scrolling.

5. Send a Cake Now

Examples of Great Instagram Ads - Send a Cake Now

From Candid Camera to America’s Funniest Home Videos, there’s a long line of entertainment proof that we love to watch a good prank. Send a Cake Now plays on this by showing videos of people opening their product, which launches birthday and celebratory surprises their way. It’s ideal for Instagram, with homemade, fast-moving videos. You definitely want to stop and watch who gets surprised next.

Instagram Ad FAQs

Should I run my ads on both Facebook and Instagram?

Choosing to run Facebook or Instagram ads depends on your target market and which platform they use the most often. You can also run on both platforms.

Can I create Instagram ads without an Instagram account?

You can use your Facebook business page to set up your Instagram ads.

How much do Instagram ads cost?

The cost of Instagram ads varies depending on impression or click-through. They can cost on average between $0.20 and $2 per click or $6.70 per impression.

Are Instagram Promotions worth it?

Instagram Promotions can help you reach more people on Instagram. If you have a popular photo or video post, it may be worthwhile to promote it to a wider audience.

Instagram Ads Conclusion

Instagram ads can help you up your social media marketing game by increasing the number of people who see a certain post or broaden the audience you organically reach with your posts.

Through a range of different photo and video formats, you can choose the one to suit your content and your target audience the best and share your brand’s narrative.

If you find your customers are hanging out on Instagram, and you may want to look into Instagram ads to get the message out to even more of them.

What’s the best Instagram ad you’ve ever seen?

Business Tax Returns And Fundability

Fundability is like a puzzle. There are many different pieces that make up the complete picture. Financial statements are part of that, both business and personal. Business tax returns are just one piece of the puzzle. 

The Basics of business Tax Returns and How They Affect Fundability

According to the IRS, except for partnerships, all businesses have to file an income tax return. There are different forms.  The one you need to use depends on the business structure you choose. In addition to partnerships, there are sole proprietorships, corporations, S-corps, and LLCs. 

Business Tax Returns for Beginners

If you are a new business owner, there are some things about paying business income taxes you need to know. They are not exactly the same as paying personal income tax. One of the major differences is that you may have to pay estimated tax.

Estimated Tax

Federal business income tax is pay-as-you-go.  You have to pay the tax as you earn or receive income.  

Sole proprietors and S-corps that expect to owe tax of $1,000 or more when they file their business tax return, will generally need to make estimated payments. For corporations, those that expect to owe $500 or will need to pay estimated taxes. 

Documentation

You are going to have to track expenses, asset purchases, income and more. The absolute best way to do this is to implement an excellent bookkeeping system from day one.  HIring a bookkeeper or bookkeeping agency is best.  If you cannot do this, at least choose one of the many great accounting software options available. 

With these options, you can print  reports at the end of each tax period.  Then just hand them over to your tax preparer. 

Learn more here and get started with building business credit with your company’s EIN and not your SSN.

Tax Preparation

Do not try to prepare tax returns for your business on your own.   Just hire a tax professional.  The cost will be well worth the time and money you save.  You reduce the chances of a mistake, and you have back up if your business has to undergo an audit. 

Note that your tax preparer should not be the same person as your bookkeeper or accountant. Whoever keeps the books should not do the tax returns. Larger corporations are not even allowed to have the same firm handle bookkeeping and taxes. With smaller businesses the same firm is ok, but it is not wise for the same person to do both. This helps deter and detect fraud.

This means, even if you have an in-house bookkeeper or accountant, they can prepare everything the tax preparer needs.  However, they should not complete the tax forms themselves.

Other Choices You Have to Make Before Filing Your First Business Tax Return

When it comes to filing tax returns for your business, you have some choices to make.  Discuss these with your tax professional thoroughly before making any decisions. 

Cash vs. Accrual

You will need to choose your method of accounting. You can choose either cash or accrual basis. With the cash basis, you count income as revenue when it is collected.  In the same way, you count expenses when you pay them. With accrual basis accounting, you record income when you earn it.  You count expenses when they are incurred. 

For example, using cash basis accounting, you don’t necessarily count revenue as soon as an item sells.  You count it when you get the cash.  That means, unless the buyer pays cash on the spot, you do not record revenue until the customer pays the invoice. You do not carry receivables on your books.  

business tax returns Credit Suite

Using accrual basis accounting, you will record revenue when the item sells.  A receivable for the invoice will go on the books.. 

If your business is new, you may have more unpaid expenses and more uncollected income at the end of the year.  Then, it looks best for you to take those outstanding expenses as a deduction.  That’s accrual basis accounting. 

Yet, later on when your business is profitable, your outstanding receivables will likely be higher than outstanding expenses or payables.  If you are using the accrual method, you will be recording more net income and thus paying more in taxes under the accrual method. Consider this when making your decision.

Learn more here and get started with building business credit with your company’s EIN and not your SSN.

Once you decide which method to use, you will have to stick with it through the life of your business.  Although, there are exceptions that allow for changes to be permitted.  Also, certain businesses, like those with larger revenues or that carry inventory, do not have a choice.  They must use the accrual method. 

Depreciation

There are a few different options about depreciation.  Discuss this thoroughly with your tax preparer to ensure you are doing what is best for your business. The first choice will be about first year depreciation.  Typically depreciation on assets is written off over the course of 5 to 7 year. However, the IRS allows a first year deduction of up to $100,000 for equipment and most furniture instead.   This is an election most business owners take.

However, if you do not make a profit you cannot take the $100,000 deduction.  You can carry it forward to a year that you do make a profit.  

Early on, you might want to think about using the slower depreciation method.  Then, you can use the deductions later.  At that time,  there will likely be more income. You may be in a higher tax bracket than the startup phase.  The depreciation deductions may come in handy. 

The most important thing in making any tax decision is to discuss it with your tax professional. 

Business Tax Returns and Fundability Crossover

Fundability is, in the most simple terms, the ability of your business to get funding. For a business to be fundable, it needs to be fully recognizable as an entity separate from its owner.  There is a lot of crossover between fundability and business taxes.

business tax returns Credit Suite

Fundability, Business Tax Returns, and Entity Type

Take the business entity choice for example. You can choose whichever you want for you taxes, but you do have to choose one. Generally, that choice will depend on your budget and needs for liability protection.  Your tax advisor will be able to help you decide.  However, the decision you make affects fundability as well.  

For fundability purposes, you do not need to operate as a sole proprietorship.  Your business needs to operate as a completely separate entity from you as the owner. To do that, you need to choose to operate as either an S-corp, LLC, or corporation. 

Fundability, Business Tax Returns, and the EIN vs. SSN Saga

If you are operating as a sole proprietor, it is possible to use your SSN to file your business tax return. For fundability, you should not file a business tax return using your social security number. This is also a vital part of setting your business up to be fundable. You need an EIN. You can get one for free at IRS.gov. 

Learn more here and get started with building business credit with your company’s EIN and not your SSN.

Business Bank Account

To fully separate your business from yourself as the owner, you need to have a separate, dedicated business bank account. This is also helpful for tax purposes.  It makes tracking business expenses much easier. 

What Lenders are Looking for in Business Tax Returns

Why and how do business tax returns affect fundability? There are many factors that affect the overall fundability of a business.  Credit Suite identifies 23 core principles of fundability.  We  break these down further into 125 fundability factors.  Business financials is one of the core principles of fundability.   Business tax returns are one of the factors included in this principle.

Lenders want to see that you pay your taxes, and that you are reporting things accurately to the IRS.  They may not always request business tax returns.  Still, if they do and you do not have things in order, it will definitely cause a problem.

Even if they do not request tax returns, they may do various background checks on your company.  If they turn up that you aren’t handling your taxes responsibly, it won’t bode well for your ability to get funding. 

Business Tax Returns Are Only One Piece of Fundability

Some factors affect fundability more than others.  For example, consider if your business taxes are in order, but your business credit score stinks.  You may struggle to get the funding you need to run your business. The same is true for how your business is set up. Say you have your taxes completely handled, but you are operating as a sole proprietorship.  You are not separating your business from yourself.  You use your SSN and personal contact information to file your taxes. This will cause issues with your business credit profile.  That in turn causes fundability issues.  

business tax returns Credit Suite

You need a tax expert to help you with your business tax return.  You need a business credit expert to help you with overall fundability.  Our experts can ensure you’re hitting all the core principles of fundability, and help you figure out what to do to ensure all the factors of fundability are met as closely as possible.  This will give you your best shot at funding your business now, and in the future. Get a free consultation now to find out how Credit Suite can help you.

The post Business Tax Returns And Fundability appeared first on Credit Suite.

How to Use Events to Optimize Your Facebook And Google Ads

Your website is bustling with activity. Visitors are constantly interacting with it. But are you taking full advantage of everything that’s happening on your website for your paid marketing?  Every interaction a visitor has with your website… a pageview, a click… can be used to better understand your audience.  And when you understand your audience … Continue reading How to Use Events to Optimize Your Facebook And Google Ads

New comment by AdamRecruit in "Ask HN: Who is hiring? (June 2020)"

FLUXERGY | IRVINE, CA | ONSITE | FT | www.fluxergy.com

Fluxergy is on the cutting edge of laboratory testing. We’re developing a true multi-mode point of care device, the kinds of which has never been conceived, and we’d love to have you as part of the team.

We are working on a multi-modal test card that perform DNA amplification and antibody detection in one. You’ll be responsible for developing the algorithm framework to analyze the images captured on those test cards.

You’ll have the following education and experience:
Master’s degree- 6 years of experience
PhD- 3 years of experience

To learn more about the position and to apply, please visit the link below or send your resume to adam@fluxergy.com.
https://www.indeed.com/job/sr-algorithm-engineer-d8ea9b370e6…

New comment by tpotanski in "Ask HN: Freelancer? Seeking freelancer? (March 2020)"

SEEKING WORK | Remote

I’m a software developer who enjoys working with my clients to help them achieve their dreams and goals using technology. So far, I have built numerous web & mobile solutions for large and small businesses as well as for individuals. My expertise is to provide the most customized web solutions for your business needs that you can use for years to come!

I will build your MVP.
I will help you plan ahead in STRATEGIC DETAIL and BUSINESS UNDERSTANDING to make sure you get it right the FIRST time. UPFRONT SCOPING and PLANNING will save you thousands of dollars down the road, and eliminate multiple costly iterations.

Experienced in working with startups from SF.
————————————-

Technologies:
Javascript, TypeScript, Python, Vue.js, React, Redux, MobX, WebPack, Babel, Gulp, Node, Express, HTML/CSS, Bootstrap, Meteor, Ionic, MongoDB, PostgreSQL, Sql, NoSql, Java, Go Lang, Swift, Ansible, Kubernetes, Terraform, Prometheus, Kibana, Grafana, Nginx, Apache server, RabbitMQ, Redis, Gunicorn, Swagger, OpenAPI, Okta, Twilio, Flutter, Linux, Git, ElasticSearch, Logstash, SCSS.
————————————-

Experience:
* Integrated multiple external APIs like SendBird, SendGrid, MailChimp, Mandrill, Stripe, PayPal, Rapid API and much more
* Been head of Node.js on two major and very dynamic projects
* DevOps – Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Google Cloud/Firebase, Netlify, Zeit Now, Heroku, including the development of CI/CD with Jenkins/GitLab and custom bash scripting. Also – orchestration with Ansible, Kubernetes and Terraform. Nginx / Apache server
* Full project contenerization for portability using Docker and Docker Compose
* Advanced web scraping
————————————-

CV can send upon request

https://devsdata.com/files/TESTIMONIALS.png

Email: tpotanski@devsdata.com

New comment by dbraga in "Ask HN: Who is hiring? (January 2020)"

Solv Health | San Francisco | Sr. Software Engineer (Javascript / React) – https://www.solvhealth.com/careers At Solv, we’re bringing convenience, control, and delight to the complex world of healthcare. We pride ourselves on eliminating the confusion and frustration of “where”, “when”, and “how much” for millions of people seeking care. For our customers in convenient care … Continue reading New comment by dbraga in "Ask HN: Who is hiring? (January 2020)"

How I Beat Google’s Core Update by Changing the Game

Google released a major update. They typically don’t announce their updates, but you know when they do, it is going to be big.

And that’s what happened with the most recent update that they announced.

A lot of people saw their traffic drop. And of course, at the same time, people saw their traffic increase because when one site goes down in rankings another site moves up to take its spot.

Can you guess what happened to my traffic?

Well, based on the title of the post you are probably going
to guess that it went up.

Now, let’s see what happened to my search traffic.

My overall traffic has already dipped by roughly 6%. When you look at my organic traffic, you can see that it has dropped by 13.39%.

I know what you are thinking… how did you beat Google’s core update when your traffic went down?

What if I told you that I saw this coming and I came up with a solution and contingency strategy in case my organic search traffic would ever drop?

But before I go into that, let me first break down how it all started and then I will get into how I beat Google’s core update.

A new trend

I’ve been doing SEO for a long time… roughly 18 years now.

When I first started, Google algorithm updates still sucked but they were much more simple. For example, you could get hit hard if you built spammy links or if your content was super thin and provided no value.

Over the years, their algorithm has gotten much more complex. Nowadays, it isn’t about if you are breaking the rules or not. Today, it is about optimizing for user experience and doing what’s best for your visitors.

But that in and of itself is never very clear. How do you know that what you are doing is better for a visitor than your competition?

Honestly, you can never be 100% sure. The only one who actually knows is Google. And it is based on whoever it is they decide to work on coding or adjusting their algorithm.

Years ago, I started to notice a new trend with my search
traffic.

Look at the graph above, do you see the trend?

And no, my traffic doesn’t just climb up and to the right. There are a lot of dips in there. But, of course, my rankings eventually started to continually climb because I figured out how to adapt to algorithm updates.

On a side note, if you aren’t sure how to adapt to the latest algorithm update, read this. It will teach you how to recover your traffic… assuming you saw a dip. Or if you need extra help, check out my ad agency.

In many cases after an algorithm update, Google continues to fine-tune and tweak the algorithm. And if you saw a dip when you shouldn’t have, you’ll eventually start recovering.

But even then, there was one big issue. Compared to all of the previous years, I started to feel like I didn’t have control as an SEO anymore back in 2017. I could no longer guarantee my success, even if I did everything correctly.

Now, I am not trying to blame Google… they didn’t do anything wrong. Overall, their algorithm is great and relevant. If it wasn’t, I wouldn’t be using them.

And just like you and me, Google isn’t perfect. They continually adjust and aim to improve. That’s why they do over 3,200 algorithm updates in a year.

But still, even though I love Google, I didn’t like the
feeling of being helpless. Because I knew if my traffic took a drastic dip, I
would lose a ton of money.

I need that traffic, not only to drive new revenue but, more importantly, to pay my team members. The concept of not being able to pay my team on any given month is scary, especially when your business is bootstrapped.

So what did I do?

I took matters into my own hands

Although I love SEO, and I think I’m pretty decent at it
based on my traffic and my track record, I knew I had to come up with another
solution that could provide me with sustainable traffic that could still
generate leads for my business.

In addition to that, I wanted to find something that wasn’t “paid,” as I was bootstrapping. Just like how SEO was starting to have more ups and downs compared to what I’ve seen in my 18-year career, I knew the cost at paid ads would continually rise.

Just look at Google’s ad revenue. They have some ups and downs every quarter but the overall trend is up and to the right.

In other words, advertising will continually get more expensive over time.

And it’s not just Google either. Facebook Ads keep getting more expensive as well.

I didn’t want to rely on a channel that would cost me more next year and the year after because it could get so expensive that I may not be able to profitably leverage it in the future.

So, what did I do?

I went on a hunt to figure out a way to get direct, referral, and organic traffic that didn’t rely on any algorithm updates. (I will explain what I mean by organic traffic in a bit.)

I went on my mission

With the help of my buddy, Andrew Dumont, I went searching for websites that continually received good traffic even after algorithm updates.

Here were the criteria that we were looking for:

  • Sites that weren’t reliant on Google traffic
  • Sites that didn’t need to continually produce
    more content to get more traffic
  • Sites that weren’t popular due to social media traffic
    (we both saw social traffic dying)
  • Sites that didn’t leverage paid ads in the past
    or present
  • Sites that didn’t leverage marketing

In essence, we were looking for sites that were popular because people naturally liked them. Our intentions at first weren’t to necessarily buy any of these sites. Instead, we were trying to figure out how to naturally become popular so we could replicate it.

Do you know what we figured out?

I’ll give you a hint.

Think of it this way: Google doesn’t get the majority of their traffic from SEO. And Facebook doesn’t get their traffic because they rank everywhere on Google or that people share Facebook.com on the social web.

Do you know how they are naturally popular?

It comes down to building a good product.

That was my aha! moment. Why continually crank out thousands of pieces of content, which isn’t scalable and is a pain as you eventually have to update your old content, when I could just build a product?

That’s when Andrew and I stumbled
upon Ubersuggest.

Now the Ubersuggest you see today
isn’t what it looked like in February 2017 when I bought
it.

It used to be a simple tool that
just showed you Google Suggest results based on any query.

Before I took it over, it was generating 117,425 unique
visitors per month and had 38,700 backlinks from 8,490 referring domains.

All of this was natural. The original founder didn’t do any
marketing. He just built a product and it naturally spread.

The tool did, however, have roughly 43% of its traffic coming from organic search. Now, can you guess what keyword it was?

The term was “Ubersuggest”.

In other words, its organic traffic mainly came from its own brand, which isn’t really reliant on SEO or affected by Google algorithm updates. That’s also what I meant when I talked about organic traffic that wasn’t reliant on Google.

Now since then I’ve gone a bit crazy with Ubersuggest and released loads of new features… from daily rank tracking to a domain analysis and site audit report to a content ideas report and backlinks report.

In other words, I’ve been making it a robust SEO tool that has everything you need and is easy to use.

It’s been so effective that the traffic on Ubersuggest went from 117,425 unique visitors to a whopping 651,436 unique visitors that generates 2,357,927 visits and 13,582,999 pageviews per month.

Best of all, the users are sticky, meaning the average Ubersuggest user spends over 26 minutes on the application each month. This means that they are engaged and will likely to convert into customers.

As I get more aggressive with my Ubersuggest funnel and start collecting leads from it, I expect to receive many more emails like that.

And over the years, I expect the traffic to continually grow.

Best of all, do you know what happens to the traffic on Ubersuggest when my site gets hit by a Google algorithm update or when my content stops going viral on Facebook?

It continually goes up and to the right.

Now, unless you dump a ton of money and time into replicating
what I am doing with Ubersuggest, but for your industry, you won’t generate the
results I am generating.

As my mom says, I’m kind of crazy…

But that doesn’t mean you can’t do well on a budget.

Back in 2013, I did a test where I released a tool on my old blog Quick Sprout. It was an SEO tool that wasn’t too great and honestly, I probably spent too much money on it.

Here were the stats for the first 4 days of releasing the
tool:

  • Day #1: 8,462 people ran 10,766 URLs
  • Day #2: 5,685 people ran 7,241 URLs
  • Day #3: 1,758 people ran 2,264 URLs
  • Day #4: 1,842 people ran 2,291 URLs

Even after the launch traffic died down, still 1,000+ people per day used the tool. And, over time, it actually went up to over 2,000.

It was at that point in my career, I realized that people
love tools.

I know what you are thinking though… how do you do this on a budget, right?

How to build tools without hiring developers or spending
lots of money

What’s silly is, and I wish I knew this before I built my first tool on Quick Sprout back in the day, there are tools that already exist for every industry.

You don’t have to create something new or hire some expensive developers. You can just use an existing tool on the market.

And if you want to go crazy like me, you can start adding multiple tools to your site… just like how I have an A/B testing calculator.

So how do you add tools without breaking the bank?

You buy them from sites like Code Canyon. From $2 to $50, you can find tools on just about anything. For example, if I wanted an SEO tool, Code Canyon has a ton to choose from. Just look at this one.

Not a bad looking tool that you can have on your website for just $40. You don’t have to pay monthly fees and you don’t need a developer… it’s easy to install and it doesn’t cost much in the grand scheme of things.

And here is the crazy thing: The $40 SEO tool has more features than the Quick Sprout one I built, has a better overall design, and it is .1% the cost.

Only if I knew that before I built it years ago. :/

Look, there are tools out there for every industry. From mortgage calculators to calorie counters to a parking spot finder and even video games that you can add to your site and make your own.

In other words, you don’t have to build something from scratch. There are tools for every industry that already exists and you can buy them for pennies on the dollar.

Conclusion

I love SEO and always will. Heck, even though many SEOs hate
how Google does algorithm updates, that doesn’t bother me either… I love Google
and they have built a great product.

But if you want to continually do well, you can’t rely on one marketing channel. You need to take an omnichannel approach and leverage as many as possible.

That way, when one goes down, you are still generating traffic.

Now if you want to do really well, think about most of the
large companies out there. You don’t build a billion-dollar business from SEO,
paid ads, or any other form of marketing. You first need to build an amazing
product or service.

So, consider adding tools to your site, the data shows it is more effective than content marketing and it is more scalable.

Sure you probably won’t achieve the results I achieved with Ubersuggest, but you can achieve the results I had with Quick Sprout. And you can achieve better results than what you are currently getting from content marketing.

What do you think? Are you going to add tools to your site?

PS: If you aren’t sure what type of tool you should add to your site, leave a comment and I will see if I can give you any ideas. 🙂

The post How I Beat Google’s Core Update by Changing the Game appeared first on Neil Patel.

Are Unicorns Real? The Myth of Start Up Business Loans for Women

The True Story of Start Up Business Loans for Women and More Resources for Female Business Owners

Studies show that forty percent of new entrepreneurs in the United States are women. In addition, the number of businesses owned by women is growing at twice the rate of those owned by men, according to Kauffman. We dive deep into start up business loans for women.

You might think this means that there are more start up business loans for women.  That isn’t the case however.  In fact, according to research done by Fundera, 3 out of 4 female business owners do not even apply for business loans.  Those that do are asking for less money.  About $35,000 less to be exact.

Even more discouraging is this. While about half of all business owners who apply for loans are approved, only 30% of women business owners get approval.  This is from a study that Dun & Bradstreet did with Pepperdine University researchers.

More findings include that:

  • It is more likely that businesses owned by women will report a high credit risk. Studies show 41% of women-owned businesses report a medium to high credit risk. Only 33% of male-owned businesses report the same.
  • Women-owned businesses rely heavily on SBA products and credit cards. This means they are utilizing less equity and fewer types of debt than male owned firms.
  • Business owned by women are more often mismatched with funding sources. This causes them to experience funding gaps persistently, even if they have lower credit risk.

Learn business loan secrets with our free, sure-fire guide.

Start Up Business Loans for Women: Where Should Women Business Owners Look for Loans?

The truth is, unicorns do not exist. Neither to business loans specifically for women.  Despite the unsavory statistics, women can get regular business loans, and there are ways to increase your chances.

A lot of the variables are outside of the borrower’s control.  However, we can help you find the best places to look and the most likely sources of funding to help ensure your business does not become a statistic.

According to a survey by the Federal Reserve Bank, businesses owned by females are more likely to gain approval for loans at small banks.  In fact, 67% are approved at small banks.  This compares to only 50% at large banks.  Those that have loans with smaller banks also note a higher satisfaction level.

What’s that mean practically?  It’s probably best for women business owners to stick to smaller banks.  There are more ways to increase your chances of success in finding funding however.

Use All Available Resources

These are things that every small business owner should do to increase their chances of loan approval, but female business owners should be especially prudent. There are a host of resources out there geared toward helping women business owners get the funding they need to start and run a successful business.

Small Business Administration

While the SBA exists for all small business owners, their Office of Women’s Business Ownership exists to help women business owners specifically.  According to SBA.gov, “The Office of Women’s Business Ownership’s mission is to enable and empower women entrepreneurs through advocacy, outreach, education and support.”

They work with firms to ensure the best resources are available to women entrepreneurs at all stages.  Whether starting a business, applying for a business loan, improving an already established business, or looking for government contracts, their mission is to support female business owners.  If that’s you, this is definitely a good starting place.

National Women’s Business Council

The NWBC is a federal advisory council.  It serves as a source of advice to the government on women’s business issues. Its mission is to encourage initiatives, programs, and policies to support women in business at all stages.  This includes start up all the way through growth, expansion, and significance.

Other Resources for Female Business Owners

In addition to those agencies listed above, these organizations offer research and support to women owned business in many ways.

According to their website, the AWBC operates a network of women’s business centers that,  “help women succeed in business by providing training, mentoring, business development, and financing opportunities to over 145,000 women entrepreneurs each year.”

The NAWBO offers national events, training opportunities, and other resources for female business owners across the country.

NAFE offers training opportunities, events, and other resources to help women in business succeed.

“SCORE is the nation’s largest network of volunteer, expert business mentors, with more than 10,000 volunteers in 300 chapters.” Get matched with a mentor or take a workshop to help you learn what you need to know to achieve business success.

What Does this Have to Do with Start Up Business Loans for Women?

Here’s the thing.  Since we have established that unicorns and specific start up business loans for women are both myths, we know female business owners will always have to compete with male business owners for loans.  The more support and education you have behind you, the better.

Use these resources for support and education, but also to help you find other sources of funding besides start up business loans for women. There are grant resources available through various local industries and businesses as well as certain corporations and professional organizations.  These agencies can help you find those funding sources.  They can also help you prepare for the application process.

Learn business loan secrets with our free, sure-fire guide.

How to Get Start Up Business Loans for Women

Now, as for traditional business loans, the best thing to do is be prepared.  Most lenders need to see the following:

  • Business Financial Statements or tax returns for the past 3 years
  • Personal Tax returns for the past 3 years
  • A professional business plan
  • They will run a credit check, and the minimum credit score varies by lender.
  • Other information at the discretion of the lender
  • Always inquire about the application process on the front end so you can have any additional materials prepared.

The more of this you have prepped and ready to go, the faster and smoother the process should run.  This information is what is required of a typical, traditional lender. There are non-traditional lenders that may require more, or less, information.  You would be hard pressed to find a traditional loan that does not require a personal credit check, but there are other options.

Business Credit

If you are looking for start up business loans for women, you must need business funding. There are options for funding that rely on your business credit rather than your personal credit.  What is business credit?  It is exactly like your personal credit, except it is based only on the credit history of your business.  This means that it is not affected by your personal credit history.  Also, your personal history is not affected by anything that is on your business credit.

This is good for many reasons.  First, you can access funding for your business despite a poor credit history. That is an obvious benefit.  What some do not realize is, even if you pay on time, using your personal credit for business transactions can be detrimental.

That is because business transactions are, by nature, large. Personal credit limits are typically much lower than business credit limits.  Because of this, business transactions can max out personal credit quickly.  Consistently carrying balances near your limit negatively affects your debt to credit ratio. That, in turn, lowers your credit score even if you are making consistent on-time payments.

Business Loans for Women Credit Suite2

How to Get Business Credit

Every business needs business credit, even if you intend to apply for traditional loans.  Sometimes lenders will look at business credit along with personal credit if it is available. However, it also opens up doors to other options if the traditional route isn’t going to work for some reason.  If you have good business credit, your business is fundable.

The first step in establishing business credit is to ensure your business is recognizable as an entity separate from you personally.  It has to stand on its own.  This means that you must incorporate rather than operate as a sole proprietorship or partnership.  You can organize as an s-corp. LLC, or full-fledged corporation.  They each have their own benefits and costs, but for the purposes of establishing business credit they function equally.

The Rest of the Business Credit Story

Aside from incorporating, you will need to take a few other steps to lay the foundation for business credit.

  • Obtain a separate business address and phone number. Make sure the phone number is through a toll-free exchange.  List both in the directories under the business name.
  • Get an EIN. This is an identifying number for your business so you do not have to associate it with your Social Security Number. Get one for free at gov.
  • Apply for a DUNS number from Dun & Bradstreet. It’s free on their website, but beware.  They will try to sell you a bunch of stuff you don’t need.  Put on your blinders and power through.  All you need is the number and it is free.
  • Open a dedicated business checking account. Take care to run all business transactions through this account.
  • Set up a professional website and dedicated business email address. The email address should have the same URL as the website and should not be from a free email service.  Gmail and Yahoo will not work here.

What’s Next?

Once you have the foundation for business credit, you can start building.  This is done in layers, or tiers.  For example, the first tier is the vendor credit tier.  This is the starting point because they will extend net 30 terms on invoices without a credit check. Then they will report your payments to the business credit agencies.  This is how you begin to build business credit without involving your personal credit. By applying with your EIN rather than your social security number, you keep your personal name out of the equation altogether.

Who is in the vendor credit tier?  There are dozens of vendors that will work with you in this tier.  Some of the easiest to get started with include Quill, Uline, and Grainger.  They each offer products that pretty much any business can use on a regular basis, so it’s simple to open an account and begin doing business with them.

After you have 5 or so accounts reporting from the vendor credit tier, you can apply for business credit cards from the retail credit tier.  These are store cards from retailers such as Best Buy, Amazon, and Office Depot.

Learn business loan secrets with our free, sure-fire guide.

Get 10 or more of these reporting and you can apply to cards in the fleet credit tier. Cards from companies like Fuelman and Shell are in this tier.  They can be used for automobile maintenance and gasoline purchases.

After that comes the cash credit tier.  Once you have enough accounts reporting on time payments from these three tiers, you can apply for general business cards from companies like MasterCard, Visa, and American Express.  At this point, your business credit is pretty well established, and it is not attached to your personal credit in any way.

Other Options for Established Businesses

If you have accounts receivable, you can consider invoice factoring. This is a way of selling your open invoices for less than cash value, but you get the cash immediately.  If you have credit card sales, there is the option of a merchant cash advance.  With this option, you receive a cash advance for your average daily credit card sales. Payments are typically deducted from future credit card sales on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis.

While neither of these options are ideal, they are valid and can be exactly the push you need to get your business through a tough spot.

A Final Word About Start Up Business Loans for Women

So that’s it then.  Unicorns do not exist, and neither do specific start up business loans for women.  There are grants that are geared specifically toward women entrepreneurs, but for the most part funding is non-gender specific.  The challenges faced by female business owners can only be mitigated by solid preparation and education.

Having a solid business credit score is essential also.  This will open up a world of funding options that would not be available otherwise.  Business credit cards and products from non-traditional lenders are a valid option if you find yourself facing issues with start up business loans for women. That’s the important thing to remember.   Just because unicorns do not exist doesn’t mean dreams do not come true.  There are plenty of other options, and a white horse is almost a good as a unicorn.  Business credit can be your white horse.

 

 

The post Are Unicorns Real? The Myth of Start Up Business Loans for Women appeared first on Credit Suite.

Leave Debt – Ways To Solve Debt Problems

Leave Debt – Ways To Solve Debt Problems

If sinking in financial obligation, thankfully, there are very easy services to ending up being financial obligation totally free in a couple of years. Millions of individuals are living with thousands of bucks of credit rating card financial debt.

Develop a Realistic Debt Elimination Plan

If you have as well much financial debt, even more than most likely it collected over years. There are methods to remove financial debt over night such as financial debt negotiation, personal bankruptcy, and so on.

If you have $3000 well worth of credit scores card financial debt, identify just how much added you can pay for to pay on the cards each month. With a little sacrifice, it might be feasible to decrease and also eventually get rid of the financial debt.

Financial Debt Consolidation Loan

An additional method for getting rid of financial obligation includes using for a financial debt loan consolidation financing. Financial obligation combinations do not eliminate the financial debt, they will certainly remove credit history card financial debt.

Although a financial debt combination financing just moves financial obligation, as soon as your bank card are paid completely, you will likely discover a boost in your credit history. In choosing for a financial obligation loan consolidation, prevent making the exact same blunder two times. Building up brand-new financial obligation beats the objective of a loan consolidation.

Various other financial obligation loan consolidation alternatives entail getting a residence equity car loan, refinancing, bank card equilibrium transfer, or utilizing a financial debt loan consolidation company. You will certainly not get a swelling amount of cash if utilizing a financial debt administration firm. Instead, the company will certainly handle your financial obligations and also persuade financial institutions to decrease the rate of interest.

If sinking in financial debt, luckily, there are very easy services to coming to be financial obligation totally free in a couple of years. An additional method for getting rid of financial obligation includes using for a financial obligation combination finance. Financial debt loan consolidations do not remove the financial obligation, they will certainly remove credit score card financial debt. Also though a financial obligation loan consolidation lending just relocates about financial debt, as soon as your credit history cards are paid in complete, you will likely discover a rise in your debt rating. Various other financial debt combination choices entail acquiring a house equity financing, refinancing, credit score card equilibrium transfer, or making use of a financial obligation loan consolidation firm.

The post Leave Debt – Ways To Solve Debt Problems appeared first on Buy It At A Bargain – Deals And Reviews.