Author: Sara Meyer

The 5 Best Link Building Companies of 2020

What are backlinks to search engine optimization? 

Short version: They’re signals Google uses to determine if your website is a reputable resource worthy of citation. 

The long and sweet version?

The more quality backlinks pointing to your website, the higher your chances of ranking for profitable keywords and competitive search queries that drive sales. 

You’ll generate more targeted traffic, leads, and customers. 

TThe SEO research tool, SEMrush, revealed backlinks account for as much as five SEO top 10 ranking factors: 

Due to how essential links are to rankings and traffic, you’ll find a host of companies promising to help you generate backlinks at the click of a button. 

If only it were that easy!

Acquiring top-quality backlinks isn’t a stroll in the park. 

Our team at Neil Patel Digital reviewed and listed the top companies for building links.

The 5 Top Link-Building Companies in the World

  1. Neil Patel Digital – Best for Linkable Content Marketing
  2. FATJOE – Best for Blogger Outreach
  3. Page One Power – Best for Strategic Links
  4. The HOTH – Best for Guest Posting
  5. RhinoRank – Best for Curated Link Building

1. Neil Patel Digital – Best For Linkable Content Marketing

The creation and distribution of linkable assets is the most reliable way to get people linking back to your website. 

Called editorial links, Google and other search engines prioritize such links. 

The reason for this? 

They’re natural, and indeed a vote of confidence other sites show for the content resources on your own website. 

Another name for this type of link-building strategy is linkable content marketing. 

And Neil Patel Digital excels at this. 

I’ve amassed millions of  backlinks to this blog: 

That’s over 3 million backlinks. 

And they came from organic keywords (over 1.7 million), generating more than 3.4 million monthly organic traffic in the process. 

The Neil Patel Digital experience spans over five decades to help you get similar results. 

And we leveraged this experience and vast expertise to develop a holistic, battle-tested content marketing program that helps our customers generate high-quality backlinks. 

It starts with auditing, optimizing, and creating new, high-quality content people would love to link to. 

Then, promotion, so even influencers can find and reference them.

This proven program powers us to create and distribute content marketing assets that get high-quality backlinks, higher rankings, and qualified traffic. 

In short, this is why our customers, from startup to grow-stage and enterprise companies, love working with Neil Patel Digital.

2. FATJOE – Best for Blogger Outreach

You may have linkable content resources on your site. What if other websites or bloggers don’t know those assets exist? No one would link to them, right?

Yup, that’s a problem.

To make people, especially bloggers, aware of your content, you need what SEOs call blogger outreach. 

And this is what FATJOE excels at doing. They’re a reliable blogger outreach service even other agencies rely on for generating backlinks: 

The experienced SEO expert, Joe Taylor, founded FATJOE. And they’ve been in business since 2012, helping over 5,000 clients worldwide get backlink placements via blogger outreach. 

About 97% of those 5k plus customers rate FATJOE a 4.5/5.

However, FATJOE is best for acquiring links from websites with domain authority between DA10 and DA50. And prices per link placement range from $45 to $465.

3. Page One Power – Best for Strategic Links

Getting backlinks from higher domain websites (DA60+) needs a combination of linkable assets, outreach, and high-level strategy. 

Page One Power, although more expensive and not a productized service like FATJOE, excels at this. 

Yearly, this company is behind the acquisition of more than 15,000 strategic backlinks on average to its clients from higher domain websites. 

And Page One Power achieves this, leveraging its 10 years of experience and 982 active partners: 

If you have the budget that starts at $550 per link, with more for a monthly retainer, you should turn to Page One Power for their consistent, strategic link-building expertise. 

And can you make this turn, knowing other businesses, such as QuickBooks, Healthline, BOTTSTICH, and several others, trust Page One Power’s strategic link acquisition services, too.

4. The HOTH – Best for Guest Posting 

What if you’ve done everything possible, yet people still won’t link to your site?

The HOTH, a company successful for its guest posting services, can help, and they come highly recommended:

The HOTH’s guest post, backlinking service covers everything from manual outreach, securing guest post slots, and creating the guest content piece with links to your site. 

Their industry experience and expertise have seen them work with or get mentioned on reputable websites such as Forbes, Inc. 5000 fastest-growing companies, Salesforce’s Dreamforce, and others.

The HOTH is a productized link-building service like FATJOE, allows you to purchase guest posts and backlinks with a few clicks.  

With this company, you can get backlinks from websites with domain authority ranging from DA10-DA50. And prices are between $100-$500, depending on the quality of website you want links from.

5. RhinoRank – Best for Curated Link-building

Sometimes, other websites already have published content pieces with info relevant to assets on your own site. 

In such a case, reach out to the webmasters of those sites and ask for a link, otherwise called curated link-building. 

Based on our review, RhinoRank is the go-to company for this type of link acquisition tactic. They do all the hard labor, reaching out to several webmasters to secure backlinks for its clients in existing content on those webmasters’ domains:

Not only will RhinoRank reach out to webmasters, they’ll take it a step further by ensuring those links are weaved naturally with the right anchor text.  

RhinoRank serves over 200 companies and SEO agencies globally. 

The price of each curated link generated for customers by RhinoRank starts from $35.

5 Characteristics that Make a Great Link-Building Company 

For each link-building strategy and company recommended above, you’ll find hundreds, if not thousands, of others promising the same things. 

So, what characteristics make a great link-building company if you wanted to find an ideal company to work with and do your own due diligence?

Let’s look at the most significant ones. 

1. A Holistic SEO Implementation Process that Includes Link-Building

Link-building is a crucial part of SEO, but it is not a silver bullet. On its own, it won’t drive traffic and help you generate leads. 

You can amass links, but if the search engines don’t trust those links or the content being linked to, those efforts amount to nothing. 

Thus, an essential characteristic of great link-building companies is to have a holistic SEO program with all the bolts and nuts, including content creation, promotion, and link acquisition.

2. An Impressive Client Portfolio

An excellent way to judge the processes and expertise of a company is via its client portfolio.

Thus, as other companies with hands-on experience would do, the top link-building companies have the characteristic of displaying their ability to generate backlinks by showing off a portfolio of clients they’ve helped to get backlinks.

3. Thought leadership

The best link-building companies aren’t just great at acquiring backlinks. 

They also have the characteristic of sharing all their learnings on their way to helping themselves and other companies generate high-quality backlinks. 

You want a team that knows the best strategies and tactics that work today.

For example, if you Google “link-building Neil Patel,” you’ll find my in-depth guides. 

4. Real Life Testimonials

A good criterion for determining if a link-building company is among the very best is to look at their customer testimonials. 

Thus, a characteristic you’ll find with the top link-building companies in the world are real-life testimonials, highlighting what customers say about working with them.

5. A Diversified Team

One person can write a guest post and send you a few links. But you’ll need a diversified team of experts to execute more strategic and extensive link-building campaigns. 

As we’ve shown you, the best link-building companies excel at planning and executing these bigger, more effective link acquisition strategies. 

And to do that, they usually work with a team of diversified experts, which you can look up to as one of their characteristics: 

What to Expect from a Great Link-Building Company 

If you take on the services of a link-building company, you judge them by their ability to get you links. It’s that simple. 

However, there’s a wide gap between contacting a company and getting those juicy links. 

So, what should you expect if you decide to work with any of the link-building companies reviewed above?

1. A discovery session

Your business needs are different from those of others, and so would your link-building needs. Thus, the link acquisition strategies that worked for one site won’t work for yours automatically.

The best link-building companies have experience generating links for different organizations. Thus, they don’t jump straight into sending you proposals.

Instead, they start the process of helping to customize a strategy for your business by allowing you to share your exact business needs over  a discovery session.

2. Research & strategic recommendations

Once you’ve booked and discussed your business needs with a link-building company, the best ones take what you tell them and leverage their experience to conduct in-depth research. 

After this research, you should receive a host of strategic link-building recommendations most suited to your business. Most companies would share this with you via email or over another discovery call.

3. A contract with project deliverables

Once everyone decides that the project is a good fit, it’s time to get a contract in place.

Deliverables, deadlines, resources required, and budget should all clearly be outlined in detail.

4. Client onboarding

The next thing to expect from a top link-building is an onboarding process. It sets the stage for working with you to achieve your link acquisition and related business goals. 

Depending on your work scope, you’ll need to bring on your in-house staff and share your website, blog, analytics, etc. with the company. 

This onboarding process also establishes an understanding of how the company would manage your project. 

Link-Building Isn’t a One-Time Activity

Unfortunately, link building isn’t a one-off project. I wish it was.

But links decay, pages decay, and Google’s always looking for freshness.

You’ll need ongoing links to keep your site at the top of the rankings.

This is the main reason why companies try to get help. It’s exhausting trying to do it yourself all the time.

However you decide to do it, treat link-building as an ongoing, long-term activity that’s a core part of your  SEO strategy.

Doing this is how you’ll get maximum results.

The post The 5 Best Link Building Companies of 2020 appeared first on Neil Patel.

Separate Commercial and Consumer Credit in a Recession Phase

It’s a recession phase. You may have a new small business, or are now connected because you invested in one. Or maybe you have suddenly become an owner or a manager. No matter what, here is why you need to separate your commercial and consumer credit. This is especially vital during any recession phase. And yes, that includes during the coronavirus pandemic.

Separate Your Commercial and Consumer Credit and Protect Your Personal Assets During a Recession Phase

Small business credit is credit in a small business’s name. It doesn’t link to an owner’s personal credit, not even if the owner is a sole proprietor and the sole employee of the small business. 

Consequently, an entrepreneur’s business and personal credit scores can be very different.

The Advantages When You Separate Your Commercial and Consumer Credit

Given that business credit is distinct from personal, it helps to secure a small business owner’s personal assets, in case of litigation or business insolvency. This truly matters most during a recession phase.

Also, with two distinct credit scores, a small business owner can get two different cards from the same vendor. This effectively doubles buying power.

Another benefit is that even new ventures can do this. Going to a bank for a business loan can be a recipe for disappointment. But building business credit, when done properly, is a plan for success.

Consumer credit scores depend on payments but also various other factors like credit use percentages. 

But for business credit, the scores truly merely hinge on if a small business pays its debts on time.

Separate Your Commercial and Consumer Credit: The Recession Phase Process

Building small business credit is a process. It does not occur without effort. A company has to proactively work to build business credit. 

However, it can be done readily and quickly, and it is much faster than developing personal credit scores. 

Vendors are a big component of this process.

Undertaking the steps out of sequence leads to repetitive denials. No one can start at the top with company credit. For instance, you can’t start with retail or cash credit from your bank. If you do, you’ll get a denial 100% of the time.

Separate Your Commercial and Consumer Credit and Build Small Business Fundability Even in a Recession Phase

A company needs to be fundable to lending institutions and vendors. 

Therefore, a small business needs a professional-looking website and email address. And it needs to have website hosting from a supplier such as GoDaddy. 

In addition, company telephone and fax numbers must have a listing on 411. You can do that here: http://www.listyourself.net. 

Additionally, the company phone number should be toll-free (800 exchange or similar).

A company also needs a bank account dedicated purely to it, and it has to have all of the licenses essential for operating. 

Licenses

These licenses all have to be in the particular, appropriate name of the small business. And they must have the same small business address and phone numbers. 

So keep in mind, that this means not just state licenses, but possibly also city licenses.

Recession Phase Credit Suite

Learn more here and get started with building small business credit with your company’s EIN and not your SSN. Get money even in a recession!

Separate Your Commercial and Consumer Credit  by Dealing with the Internal Revenue Service During a Recession Phase

Visit the Internal Revenue Service web site and get an EIN for the small business. They’re free of charge. Pick a business entity like corporation, LLC, etc.

A small business may begin as a sole proprietor. But they absolutely need to switch to a type of corporation or an LLC.

This is to decrease risk. And it will maximize tax benefits.

A business entity matters when it involves taxes and liability in case of litigation. A sole proprietorship means the business owner is it when it comes to liability and taxes. No one else is responsible.

The best thing to do is to incorporate. You should only look at a DBA as an interim step on the way to incorporation.

Economic Downturn Separate Biz and Personal Credit Suite

Separate Your Commercial and Consumer Credit and Start Off the Business Credit Reporting Process During a Recession Phase

Begin at the D&B web site and get a cost-free D-U-N-S number. A D-U-N-S number is how D&B gets a business in their system, to produce a PAYDEX score. If there is no D-U-N-S number, then there is no record and no PAYDEX score.

Once in D&B’s system, search Equifax and Experian’s websites for the small business. You can do this at www.creditsuite.com/reports. If there is a record with them, check it for accuracy and completeness. If there are no records with them, go to the next step in the process. 

In this way, Experian and Equifax have something to report on.

Starter Vendor Credit

First you need to build tradelines that report. Then you’ll have an established credit profile, and you’ll get a business credit score.

And with an established business credit profile and score you can start to get credit for numerous purposes, and from all sorts of places.

These sorts of accounts have the tendency to be for things bought all the time, like marketing materials, shipping boxes, outdoor workwear, ink and toner, and office furniture.

But first off, what is trade credit? These trade lines are credit issuers who give you starter credit when you have none now. Terms are in most cases Net 30, versus revolving.

So, if you get an approval for $1,000 in vendor credit and use all of it, you must pay that money back in a set term, like within 30 days on a Net 30 account.

Details

Net 30 accounts have to be paid in full within 30 days. 60 accounts must be paid completely within 60 days. Compared to revolving accounts, you have a set time when you have to pay back what you borrowed or the credit you used.

To begin your business credit profile properly, you ought to get approval for vendor accounts that report to the business credit reporting bureaus. As soon as that’s done, you can then use the credit.

Then pay back what you used, and the account is on report to Dun & Bradstreet, Experian, or Equifax.

Vendor Credit – It Helps

Not every vendor can help in the same way true starter credit can. These are vendors that grant approval with marginal effort. You also need them to be reporting to one or more of the big three CRAs: Dun & Bradstreet, Equifax, and Experian.

As you get starter credit, you can also start to get credit from retailers. This is to continue to confirm you are trustworthy and pay on time. Here are some stellar choices from us: https://www.creditsuite.com/blog/5-vendor-accounts-that-build-your-business-credit/

Uline

Uline is a true starter vendor. You can find them online at www.uline.com. They offer shipping, packing, and industrial supplies, and they report to Dun & Bradstreet and Experian. You MUST have a D-U-N-S number and an EIN before starting with them. They will ask for your company bank information. Your business address must be uniform everywhere. You need for an order to be $50 or more before they’ll report it. Your first few orders may need to be prepaid initially so your business can get approval for Net 30 terms.

  • How to apply with them:
  • Add an item to your shopping cart
  • Go to checkout
  • Select to Open an Account
  • Select to be invoiced

Crown Office Supplies

Crown Office Supplies is an additional true starter vendor. You can find them online at https://crownofficesupplies.com. They sell a variety of office supplies and take helping clients seriously. They state, “just starting your business, or maybe have an existing business, but you have a question regarding office supplies… we are here to help!” And they report to Dun and Bradstreet, Experian, and Equifax.

There is a $99.00 yearly fee, though they do report that fee to the business credit reporting bureaus. For other purchases to report, the purchase needs to be at least $30.00. Terms are Net 30.

  • Here’s how to qualify:
  • Your business entity must be in good standing with the applicable Secretary of State
  • You must have an EIN and a D-U-N-S number
  • Business address (it has to match everywhere)
  • Business license (if applicable)
  • A corporate bank account
  • Business must be at least 60 days old
  • Membership fee is $99 per year upon approval

Apply online.

Grainger Industrial Supply

Grainger Industrial Supply is also a true starter vendor. You can find them online at www.grainger.com. They sell hardware, power tools, pumps and more. They also do fleet maintenance. And they report to D&B. You must have a business license, EIN, and a D-U-N-S number.

  • To qualify, you need the following:
  • A business license (if applicable)
  • An EIN number
  • A company address matching everywhere
  • A company bank account
  • A D-U-N-S number from Dun & Bradstreet

Your corporate entity must be in good standing with the applicable Secretary of State. If your business doesn’t have established credit, they will require additional documents. So, these are items like accounts payable, income statement, balance sheets, and the like.

Apply online or over the phone.

Accounts That Don’t Report

Non-reporting trade accounts can also be helpful, even in a recession phase. While you do want trade accounts to report to at least one of the CRAs, a trade account which does not report can still be of some value.

You can always ask non-reporting accounts for trade references. And also credit accounts of any sort ought to help you to better even out business expenses, thus making budgeting easier. These are providers like PayPal Credit, T-Mobile, and Best Buy.

Store Credit

Store credit comes from a variety of retail companies.

You must use your Social Security Number and date of birth on these applications for verification purposes. For credit checks and guarantees, use the business’s EIN on these credit applications.

Fleet Credit

Fleet credit is from companies where you can purchase fuel, and repair and take care of vehicles. You must use your SSN and date of birth on these applications for verification purposes. For credit checks and guarantees, make sure to apply using the small business’s EIN.

Recession Phase Credit Suite

Learn more here and get started with building small business credit with your company’s EIN and not your SSN. Get money even in a recession!

Cash Credit

These are businesses like Visa and MasterCard. You must use your Social Security Number and date of birth on these applications for verification purposes. For credit checks and guarantees, use your EIN instead.

These are often MasterCard credit cards.

Separate Your Commercial and Consumer Credit and Monitor Your Business Credit

Know what is happening with your credit. Make certain it is being reported and take care of any errors ASAP. Get in the practice of taking a look at credit reports. Dig into the particulars, not just the scores.

We can help you monitor business credit at Experian and D&B for 90% less than it would cost you at the business credit reporting agencies. See: www.creditsuite.com/monitoring.

At Equifax, you can monitor your account at: www.equifax.com/business/business-credit-monitor-small-business.

Update Your Record

Update the information if there are errors or the information is incomplete. At D&B, you can do this at: https://iupdate.dnb.com/iUpdate/viewiUpdateHome.htm . For Experian, go here: www.experian.com/small-business/business-credit-information.jsp . So for Equifax, go here: www.equifax.com/business/small-business.

Recession Phase Credit Suite

Learn more here and get started with building small business credit with your company’s EIN and not your SSN. Get money even in a recession!

Separate Your Commercial and Consumer Credit and Fix Your Business Credit During a Recession Phase

So, what’s all this monitoring for? It’s to contest any mistakes in your records. Mistakes in your credit report(s) can be fixed. But the CRAs often want you to dispute in a particular way.

Get your company’s PAYDEX report at: www.dnb.com/about-us/our-data.html. Get your company’s Experian report at: www.businesscreditfacts.com/pdp.aspx?pg=SearchForm. And get your Equifax business credit report at: www.equifax.com/business/credit-information.

Disputes

Disputing credit report inaccuracies typically means you send a paper letter with duplicates of any proof of payment with it. These are documents like receipts and cancelled checks. Never send the originals. Always send copies and keep the originals.

Fixing credit report errors also means you specifically detail any charges you challenge. Make your dispute letter as clear as possible. Be specific about the issues with your report. Use certified mail to have proof that you mailed in your dispute.

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

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

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

A Word about How to Separate Your Commercial and Consumer Credit During a Recession Phase

Always use credit smartly! Don’t borrow beyond what you can pay off. Keep track of balances and deadlines for repayments. Paying punctually and in full does more to raise business credit scores than pretty much anything else.

Growing company credit pays off. Good business credit scores help a business get loans. Your loan provider knows the business can pay its debts. They understand the business is authentic.

The business’s EIN attaches to high scores and lenders won’t feel the need to ask for a personal guarantee. This is particularly helpful during a recession phase.

Separate Your Commercial and Consumer Credit in a Recession Phase: Takeaways

Business credit is an asset which can help your company for many years to come. Learn more here and get started toward building company credit. The COVID-19 situation will not last forever!

The post Separate Commercial and Consumer Credit in a Recession Phase appeared first on Credit Suite.

3 Ways to Fix Business Credit in a Recession

Learn How to Fix Business Credit

Do you need to repair your business credit? Is your business credit score nothing to write home about? Was it good once but now, not so much? Here are three easy and effective ways to fix business credit and get back on track.

Recession Period Funding

The number of American financial institutions as well as thrifts has been decreasing progressively for 25 years. This is coming from consolidation in the marketplace in addition to deregulation in the 1990s, decreasing obstacles to interstate banking. See: https://www.fundera.com/blog/happened-americas-small-businesses-financial-crisis-six-years-start-crisis-look-back-10-charts

Assets concentrated in ever‐larger financial institutions is problematic for small business proprietors. Big financial institutions are much less likely to make small loans. Economic recessions mean financial institutions come to be a lot more mindful with financing. Thankfully, business credit does not rely on financial institutions.

Fix Business Credit: 1 – Make Sure Your Credit Scores Are Accurate

Perhaps the easiest way to repair business credit is to assure that all of the reporting on it is correct and complete. This can help you locate feasible issues and stay informed on your business credit profile. So the first thing you want to do is, request your reports.

Business Credit Reporting Agencies

FICO SBSS

FICO’s SBSS (Small Business Scoring Service) Score will be generated when you apply for a loan. The lender will send your company’s documents and information to FICO. Then FICO will collect more data from the credit reporting agencies (Equifax, Dun & Bradstreet, and Experian).

Dun & Bradstreet’s PAYDEX

A PAYDEX Score works as Dun & Bradstreet’s dollar-weighted numerical rating of how your company has paid the bills during the last 12 months. Get your PAYDEX report here and you can contact their Customer Service department here.

Equifax

Order your business’s Equifax report here.

Experian

Order your company’s Experian report here.

Monitor Your Business Credit

Know what is happening with your credit. Make certain it is being reported and attend to any errors as soon as possible. Get in the habit of checking credit reports and digging into the details, and not just the scores.

We can help you monitor business credit at Experian and D&B for 90% less.

At Equifax, you can monitor your account at: www.equifax.com/business/business-credit-monitor-small-business.

Update Your Information

Update the data if there are inaccuracies or the info is incomplete. At D&B, you can do this at: https://iupdate.dnb.com/iUpdate/viewiUpdateHome.htm. For Experian, go here: www.experian.com/small-business/business-credit-information.jsp. So for Equifax, go here: www.equifax.com/business/small-business.

Fix Business Credit

So, what’s all this monitoring for? It’s to dispute any mistakes in your records. Errors in your credit report(s) can be taken care of. But the CRAs normally want you to dispute in a particular way.

Get your small business’s PAYDEX report at: www.dnb.com/about-us/our-data.html. Get your company’s Experian report at: www.businesscreditfacts.com/pdp.aspx?pg=SearchForm. And get your Equifax business credit report at: www.equifax.com/business/credit-information.

Disputes

Disputing credit report errors generally means you send a paper letter with copies of any proofs of payment with it. These are documents like receipts and cancelled checks. Never mail the originals. Always mail copies and retain the originals.

Fixing credit report mistakes also means you specifically spell out any charges you challenge. Make your dispute letter as crystal clear as possible. Be specific about the problems with your report. Use certified mail so that you will have proof that you mailed in your dispute.

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

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

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

Disputing Charges with Your Creditors

Much like you disputed the charges to the reporting agency, you may also need to dispute them to the creditor itself. Again, you will need to make your case in writing and enclose copies of any proof of payment. Be specific about what you are disputing.

Fix Business Credit: 2- Understand Your Scores

Understanding your scores is a great way to start to fix business credit. This way, you spend your time on activities which are most likely to help you. That is, you can get the best bang for your buck. Even in a recession, fixing business credit scores is easier if you understand your scores in the first place.

Dun & Bradstreet’s PAYDEX Business Credit Score

A PAYDEX Score from Dun & Bradstreet ranges from 0 to 100. This score has a basis in payment information which is on report to the agency. Or it is on report to data-gathering firms partnering with the CRA. https://creditreports.dnb.com/m/business-glossary/paydex-score.html

D & B uses this data, along with a credit score and Financial Stress Score, so as to advise just how much credit a lending institution should extend to your company.

Getting a PAYDEX Score

To get a PAYDEX score, you must file for a D-U-N-S number by using Dun & Bradstreet’s site. The number is at no cost. Plus the CRA will need to have reports of your payments with four or more merchants.

Your firm’s PAYDEX score reveals if your payments are usually made promptly or in advance of schedule. As you might expect, a higher number is better.

PAYDEX Score Details

The scores break down as follows:

  • 80 – 100: A low risk of late payments
  • 50 – 79: A medium risk of late payments
  • 0 – 49: A high risk of late payments

D&B Business Credit Scores

Your company’s credit score ranges from 1 to 5. 1 is the best score. This matches your firm with other companies with similar payment histories. The score demonstrates just how usually those business often tend to pay immediately.

This information can actually assist loan providers to acknowledge your business’s standing. But it does not really reflect all of the payment documents from your business.

Financial Stress Score

The Financial Stress Score also runs from 1 to 5. It matches your company with various other business sharing comparable financial and business characteristics.

These resemblances are in areas such as size or amount of time in business. This score shows how often those businesses have a tendency to pay on schedule. As before, 1 is the very best score. This score is a more thorough examination of the business landscape, versus an evaluation of your company’s actual payment history.

An awesome PAYDEX score for your business is 80 – 100.

Experian Credit Scores

Experian’s scoring system is called Intelliscore Plus. http://www.experian.com/business-information/credit-risk-management.html

What is the Intelliscore Plus Credit Score?

The Intelliscore Plus credit score is a statistically based credit-risk analysis. The key function of Intelliscore Plus is to aid companies, investors, and possible future loan providers make wise judgments about who they should or should not do business with.

Like an auto dealer uses a consumer’s FICO score to quickly figure out just how much of a credit risk a potential customer might be, the Intelliscore Plus credit score can provide understanding on just how much of a credit risk a company or business owner may be.

Intelliscore Plus Credit Score Range

The Intelliscore ratings vary from 1 to 100. So the higher your rating, the lower your risk class. The chart below details each Intelliscore Plus credit score range as well as its associated meaning.

Score Range/Risk Class

  • 76 – 100 Low
  • 51 – 752 Low – Medium
  • 26 – 503 Medium
  • 11 – 254 High – Medium
  • 1 – 105 High

Computing an Intelliscore Plus Credit Score

In the credit world, Intelliscore Plus is considered one of the most trusted tools in successfully forecasting risk. Among the ways Intelliscore Plus maintains this claim to fame is by acknowledging the major variables that reveal if a firm is likely to pay their debts.

Though there are over 800 industrial and owner variables constituting an Intelliscore Plus credit score, the variables can be broken down into these essential factors:

Payment History

The bureaus call this recency yet in the real world, it’s nothing more than your current payment status. This includes the number of times your accounts become delinquent, the number of accounts that are currently overdue, and your overall trade balance.

Frequency

Just like payment history, frequency accounts for the quantity of times your accounts have been sent out to collections, the amount of liens as well as judgments you may have, and any bankruptcies connecting with your business or personal accounts.

Frequency can likewise consist of information associating with your payment patterns. Were you regularly slow or late with payment? Did you start paying expenses late, yet over time, quit doing so? These elements will certainly all be considered.

Monetary

This particular aspect focuses on exactly how you use credit. As an example, just how much of your readily available credit is presently in operation? Do you have a high ratio of overdue balance in contrast with your credit limits?

If you will start a company or are fairly new to this game, the listing above may seem a bit overwhelming. If you haven’t begun or do not have a lengthy history of business-based deals, exactly how will Intelliscore Plus rate you?

Intelliscore Plus handles these scenarios by using a blended model to develop your score. This suggests that they consider your personal credit score when determining your business’s credit score.

Fix Business Credit in a Recession Credit Suite

Find out why so many companies are using our proven methods to improve their business credit scores, even during a recession.

Equifax Business Credit Scores

The Equifax Credit Risk Score comes from a model which they use to place specific risks. Equifax uses these information in its computations, consisting of the depth of the credit information Experian can get the length of your small business’s credit history, as well as your business’s payment delinquency history. http://www.equifax.com/business/equifax-risk-score

http://www.equifax.com/assets/USCIS/efx-00178_efx_risk_score.pdf

http://www.equifax.com/assets/USCIS/efx-00164-9-13_efx_bni.pdf

Equifax then segments some 5 different scorecards with each other, by using statistical analysis. In order to improve their accuracy, Equifax recommends combining their Credit Risk Score with their proprietary Equifax Bankruptcy Navigator Index.

The Bankruptcy Navigator Index helps forecast the likelihood of your company going bankrupt in the next 24 months. Equifax bases its predictive model on over 270 million separate accounts.

Equifax shows three separate business determinations on its commercial credit reports. These are the Equifax Payment Index, your company’s Credit Risk Score, and its Business Failure Score.

Equifax Payment Index

Comparable to the PAYDEX rating, Equifax’s Payment Index, which has its measurement on a range of 100, demonstrates how many of your company’s payments were made punctually. These consist of both data from credit companies and vendors.

However it’s not implied to anticipate future behavior. That is what the other two ratings are for.

Equifax Credit Risk Score

Equifax’s Credit Risk Score assesses how likely it is your business will come to be drastically delinquent on payments. Scores range from 101 to 992, and they review:

  • Available credit limit on revolving credit accounts, e. g. credit cards
  • Your business’s size
  • Evidence of any type of non-financial transactions (e. g. vendor billings) which are delinquent or were on charge off for two or more billing cycles
  • Length of time since the opening of the earliest financial account

Fix Business Credit in a Recession Credit Suite

Find out why so many companies are using our proven methods to improve their business credit scores, even during a recession.

Equifax Business Failure Score

Finally, Equifax’s Business Failure Score takes a look at the risk of your small business closing. It ranges from 1,000 to 1,600, reviewing these aspects:

  • Total balance to total current credit limit average utilization in the previous three months
  • How much time since the opening of the oldest financial account
  • Your company’s worst payment status on all trades in the previous 24 months
  • Documentation of any non-financial transactions (e. g. vendor billings) which are overdue or have gotten on cost off for two or more billing cycles.

Equifax Scoring Analysis

For the credit risk as well as business failure scores, a rating of 0 means bankruptcy.

An outstanding Equifax score for your firm is as follows:

  • Payment Index 0 – 10
  • Credit Score 892 – 992
  • Business Failure Score 1400 – 1600

FICO Business Credit Scores

FICO uses its SBSS (Small Business Scoring Service) Score to incorporate consumer bureau, monetary, application, and business bureau information. FICO then validates their SBSS models for purchases such as Credit line transactions, Term Loans, and Commercial Card obligations which go up to $1 million. Their idea is to evaluate how your business repays all kinds of loans. http://www.fico.com/en/node/8140?file=6045

Business credit providers make use of the FICO SBSS score as a device to make a decision whether they should authorize a loan to your small business at all.

The SBA employs this score as well, to authorize or approve company loans. It has a basis in your company and consumer credit history and not simply your company’s financial health.

The score factors in the examination of the risks inherent in your company’s credit applications. With SBSS, lending institutions make their determinations in a matter of hours, as opposed to days. Lenders are more confident in their lending judgments, and your business gets swifter decisions on your loan applications.

The SBA’s Participation

The FICO Small Business Score or SBSS score is the main figure that the SBA considers while establishing to approve a loan, especially when it involves the SBA’s 7(a) loans.

Computing a FICO SBSS Score

The FICO SBSS Score reveals the likelihood or possibility of you, the candidate, covering your month-to-month bills promptly. The score runs from 0 to 300. A higher score means reduced risks and typically creates more favorable credit terms. The score comes from your company and personal history of credit use along with your business’s financial data. Variables also involve your company’s age, as well as its years or complete time in business.

As of 2014, all SBA 7(a) loans must go through a business credit score pre-screen, as well as for SBA loans, you might perhaps not get an approval if you had a score less than 140. However the cutoff was generally set to 160, and frequently, a score under 160 meant a rejection. A lot of lending institutions will only approve scores above 160 or 180, to lend as much as $1 million. However a score lower than 160 or 180 can still qualify you for a smaller sized loan.

The formula for the FICO SBSS Score is as follows:

  • The last year of PAYDEX scores from Dun & Bradstreet
  • Amounts and types of any judgements against your firm
  • The amounts and kinds of any liens against your business’s real or personal property.
  • Your company’s available resources
  • Your company’s profit
  • And other, less distinct monetary information

If you have no record of company credit and had a small or quick time in your business, then the possible highest FICO SBSS score you can perhaps expect is 140.

Fix Biz Credit novel coronavirus Credit Suite

Find out why so many companies are using our proven methods to improve their business credit scores, even during a recession.

Usage and Sorts of SBSS Model Lenders

A FICO SBSS rating includes the choice to opt for particular models which are market-specific for enhanced and much better decision making. For instance, one model is an agricultural leasing and lending model. Another model was made especially for Canada. Additionally, the insights of the SBSS score provide support for the SBRI (Small Business Risk Insight, from Dun & Bradstreet) and the SBFE (Small Business Financial Exchange) data databases.

Confirming the SBSS models is necessary for credit lines, commercial cards, as well as term loans of as much as one million dollars. If you are requesting one million dollars or less from bank financing, then there are chances that your SBSS score will be under review.

The Kind of Information in the Score

The SBSS offers the credit issuers of businesses various information blends to guarantee that they can evaluate your company’s credit risks. For instance, a particular issuer of credit can choose only to examine a principle proprietor’s application information, or the credit provider can select to include one or multiple business bureaus’ data.

Or the credit issuer can only decide to prioritize one aspect over another. This intelligent score originates from various business bureaus on an automated basis, in any type of order or whatever priority the issuer of the credit likes. For that reason, if the loan provider selects the score of Dun & Bradstreet’s PAYDEX as its default, the SBSS will pull that set of information.

SBSS Credit Offer Index: Exactly How It Works and Why It Is Important

The Credit Index is an element of the FICO SBSS Credit Score for your business, made to help credit issuers understand your capacity. It works as the standards against all the businesses with similar profiles.

The SBSS Credit Offer Index includes economic application info, business credit bureau documents, and credit bureau information for consumer. It gives a percentile ranking of the present versus other smaller sized businesses with identical or comparable attributes and total requested money from all those companies.

The Updated SBSS

Reporting agencies like D&B power the newer FICO SBSS Score model. The SBFE information may be used to anticipate charge-offs, bankruptcy, or three plus cycles overdue or delinquency over a duration of two years.

SBA Credit Scoring

The SBA’s tool has a basis in FICO. Their idea is to accelerate their credit choices for loan approvals. The tool uses several data sources and over one hundred combinations of business and consumer analytical models. They use a designated cutoff. https://www.sba.gov/offices/district/mo/st-louis/resources/small-business-loan-credit-scoring

Their total stats on their over $60 billion profile show that companies with scores at, or over the assigned cut-off will have very good payment history. So when you fix business credit, you might just want to fix your personal credit as well.

Fix Business Credit: 3 – Improve Your Payment History

Fixing credit issues means you need to fix bad habits and not repeat them. Mostly importantly, this means paying your bills on time and as completely as possible. A bonus to paying on time and in full means you pay considerably less interest on your debts.

Your payment patterns and history are a driving force in your overall credit score. Over time, paying your invoices on schedule will help establish your company as one that pays their financial obligations. This will inevitably help push your score up as well as show other firms you are a low risk.

Fix Business Credit: Bonus – Keep Your Debt-to-Income Ratio in Check

The more debt you have on your plate, the more invoices you have, and the less disposable income you have. If your total debt approaches or surpasses your income level, then you’re probably to be seen as high-risk.

Keep your financial obligations in check and consistently pay them off to keep a healthy balance between what you make and what you owe.

Fix Business Credit: Bonus – Use Your Credit

Keeping your financial obligations low remains sound recommendations. Still, opening and sensibly capitalizing on business credit accounts can help you increase your available credit and fix business credit.

Bonus – Improve Your Personal Credit Score, Too

Why is your personal credit score important to your business credit score? Your personal credit is fair game when it pertains to your Intelliscore Plus score.

Running a company is difficult work, but don’t let your individual finances suffer. Stay on top of your personal monthly bills. Also, stay clear of unnecessary credit inquiries. And avoid compromising your personal credit for company demands.

Fix Business Credit: Takeaways

Check your business credit scores and stay on top of your bills. Dispute errors and monitor your profiles so you’re never caught unawares.

The post 3 Ways to Fix Business Credit in a Recession appeared first on Credit Suite.

Index Funds Explained

Index Funds Explained We have actually all become aware of the acquainted indices such as the Dow Jones Industrials or the S&P 500, yet we do not always understand just how they connect to us as capitalists. An index in a publication aids us locate a certain subject or topic within a large publication, and …

Drew Bledsoe, 'wine guy': Inside the former Pat's life after football

Opening a winery helped ease Drew Bledsoe into retirement. That winery’s unequivocal success, critically and commercially, has helped him put his playing career — and all its unfinished business — in the past.

The post Drew Bledsoe, 'wine guy': Inside the former Pat's life after football appeared first on Buy It At A Bargain – Deals And Reviews.

Instantaneous Approval Bad Credit Cards – 3 Ways To Improve Credit Rating

Instantaneous Approval Bad Credit Cards – 3 Ways To Improve Credit Rating

If so, you can obtain authorized for a credit report card. Having poor credit scores might make is difficult to get very reduced prices when funding goods, you have the power to alter your debt circumstance. If you are having a challenging time developing credit rating, poor credit rating debt cards can place you on the appropriate course.

What misbehave Credit Cards?

Negative credit rating debt cards are made for individuals that are incapable to certify for a normal credit scores card. There are numerous factors why an individual is refuted for a credit scores card. If you have no credit scores background, as well as you are wishing to develop debt, several credit scores card business position you in the exact same classification as an individual with poor credit rating.

There are 2 kinds of negative credit score debt cards. Guaranteed credit report cards ask candidates to send an application with a down settlement.

Usage Bad Credit Cards to Your Advantage

Utilize the credit score card sensibly if getting a negative credit score debt card to increase your credit score score. Keeping great credit report is not difficult. You have to be disciplined as well as make clever credit rating choices.

For beginners, keep reduced equilibriums. Credit report cards are not cost-free cash. If feasible, pay off the equilibrium each month.

In addition, send credit report card settlements on time. If you do not keep a great settlement background, the debt card firm might reduce your debt restriction.

When you have actually developed an excellent background with your present credit report card business, you will certainly certify for much better credit rating card provides in the future. Using for numerous lines of credit report will certainly reduce your credit history rating.

If you are having a hard time developing credit history, poor debt cards can place you on the appropriate course.

Negative credit report debt cards are created for individuals that are not able to certify for a routine debt card. If you have no credit rating background, as well as you are wishing to develop credit scores, several credit scores card business position you in the very same classification as an individual with negative credit rating. If getting a negative credit score debt card to increase your credit score score, utilize the credit history card sensibly. When you have actually developed an excellent background with your present credit report card business, you will certainly certify for far better credit scores card supplies in the future.

The post Instantaneous Approval Bad Credit Cards – 3 Ways To Improve Credit Rating appeared first on ROI Credit Builders.

Keep a Competitive Small Business and More –10 Brilliant Business Tips of the Week

The Hottest and Most Brilliant Business Tips for YOU – Keep Up and Be a Competitive Small Business and More

Our research ninjas at Credit Suite smuggled out ten amazing business tips for you! Be fierce and score in business with the best tips around the web. You can use them today and see fast results. You can take that to the bank – these are foolproof! Become a more competitive small business and succeed today!

Stop making stupid decisions and start powering up your business. Demolish your business nightmares and start celebrating as your business fulfills its promise.

And these brilliant business tips are all here for free! So settle in and scoop up these tantalizing goodies before your competition does!

#10. Map Your Way to More Sales

Our first jaw-dropping tip is all about building a sales process map. Mail Shake says “a sales process map outlines how your organization interacts with your buyer from attraction, engagement, selling, closing, and retaining.”

So the concept is to have a blueprint for dealing with your sales and your buyer. It is not the details or the ‘how’. It is the ‘what’. So if your organization has a step for a demonstration, that should be listed. 

In fact, per the article, a lot of prospects get the demonstration too early within the process. How come? Because a lot of demonstrations are long and just plain not that interesting. So know when to make the demonstration. And then your buyer will actually be primed and ready. And interested. Talk about being a competitive small business!

But it all comes down to one thing. The bottom line is to have the process understood and written down. Because the last thing you want is for only one person to know it, and for that person to leave your company.

#9. Take Your Sales Efficiency to the Max

The next awesome tip is about achieving maximum sales efficiency. LinkedIn notes this comes down to two separate questions. In what way can you be more productive? And how can you make your time spent selling more efficient?

Essentially, the idea is not to work late – or at least, no later than you must. Rather, you need to spend the time you set aside as well as you can. Make it effective!

Say No and Own Your Time

This is perhaps the best takeaway from this article.  What’s sapping your time and strength and energy? Is it doing anything good for you?

If it isn’t, then jettison it from your life. 

And more importantly, learn how to recognize such piles of temporal quicksand, and steer around them in the first place.

We recommend checking out the last third or so of the article – the rest is more of an ad for a part of LinkedIn. You want to zero in on the quotes at the bottom.

Competitive Small Business Credit Suite

If you are as passionate about succeeding in business as we are, please help us spread the word about how to take the plunge and save time and money – and your sanity! Stay a competitive small business!

#8. Oops! These Digital Marketing Errors Are Costing You Money

Our following life-changing tip concerns avoiding digital marketing mistakes that are costing you sales. G2 lays it all out for us. There are any number of mistakes but we’re only going to concentrate on one in this blog post. We’ve covered a lot of the others before and fairly recently. So we’ll just look at one.

The Absence of a Mobile Marketing Strategy

We cannot emphasize enough just how vital a mobile marketing strategy is! Consider this. How many times have you gone to a website while on your phone and been frustrated with how hard it was to get around and find things? And how many times have you wondered why there’s no app for whatever it is that you’re looking for?

Plus, how many times have you downloaded an app and then suddenly everything is so much easier? And while that’s great and all, it ignores one basic issue. And that is that the website should still be responsive to mobile. Yes, even in the presence of an app.

Plus a responsive website design makes it so much easier to accommodate all of the new tech that’s coming our way in the future. What, you thought your version of an iPhone or Android was the last one ever going to be made?

Think again.

#7. Get to the Point!

For our next sensational tip, we looked at building a profitable audience with specificity. Copy Blogger says that ultra-specificity in copy will help you sell more. Kind of hard to argue with that.

In particular, specifics rock headlines. How? Consider some of the more exceptionally memorable news headlines of all time:

  • Ford to City: Drop Dead! (New York Post, 1975)
  • The Filth and the Fury! (The Daily Mirror, 1978, talking about the punk group, the Sex Pistols)
  • Ali Stings Joe, Wins Decision (New York Daily News, 1974)
  • War Over! (The Dayton Herald, 1945)

Every single one of these gets to the point fast. Although you can argue the one from the Daily Mirror is a touch tangential. But paired with an image, it’s obvious what they mean. All of these headlines do it in 5 words or less.

That’s an incredible economy of words. 

Four U’s

This section of the article is worth the price of admission all by itself. 

“The Four U’s of headline writing, as outlined by American Writers and Artists Inc. (AWAI), are a helpful guide when evaluating any piece of sales copy or content:

  1. Useful
  2. Ultra-specific
  3. Unique
  4. Urgent”

Without urgency, you have nothing. After all, if you don’t have an interest in the local news in Dubuque, then who cares how awesome my headline is? And the corollary is also true. If the local news in Dubuque is the thing you want to read about, then I had better get that across in my headline. Otherwise, you just might miss it.

And that doesn’t do either of us any good, now, does it?

So check out the article in its entirety. It is well worth it!

#6. You’re Hired! Or, Rather, You’re Hiring!

This tip is so cool, and it works! All Business tells us all about hiring. 

We highly recommend reading this article in its entirety as it makes some excellent points about, among other things, how good hiring can save your business a ton of money. So instead we’re going to concentrate on a point that they don’t quite make.

True Story Time

15 years ago (egad, it was that long ago?), your intrepid blog writer worked for a voice recognition company. The work was … okay. But the boss was terrific. And one day I asked her: how do you decide who to hire? And how did you decide to hire me? Keep in mind, I had absolutely no experience in voice recognition whatsoever when I was hired.

She said, “If all other things are equal, I hire the person who I feel is the most curious. Because they will learn new things and they will be diligent about finding mistakes and better ways of doing things.”

And so I leave you with this bit of wisdom. Hire the curious.

Thanks, Amy.

#5. Become and Stay a More Competitive Small BusinessCompeting Biz Credit Suite

Grab this mind-blowing tip while it’s hot! 

It’s all about being a competitive small business. So, can your business compete with the bigger companies out there? Or are you being left in the dust?

The Business Backer says a smaller business has some advantages, simply by virtual of its size. So use them!

Business Be Nimble, Business Be Quick!

It’s a great way to be a more competitive small business – and even a competitive small business versus a larger business. 

Very large businesses can be entrenched in bureaucracies and layers of management. With all of these cushions, these businesses can end up with a lot of hands touching even some of the smaller decisions. 

Committees can end up deciding on everything from the official company font to whether they’re going to start offering muffins for sale in the cafeteria. And that means they are also deciding on things such as how to change an approach to a prospect. It can be a hard, slow process for a large business to alter its advertising and marketing strategies.

You don’t have to do any of that. Rather, you’re quite possibly a committee of one. Your entire company can possibly meet in one room. 

True story – your intrepid blog writer once worked for a company which could and did meet in a compact car.

So you can be faster. This also means flexibility. With fewer stakeholders, people might not be so married to your color or advertising campaign choices. If something is better, there are a lot fewer people to convince of that fact.

Small businesses have flexibility that larger ones just plain do not have.

Scratch That Niche!

Here’s another place where being small helps you. You are a competitive small business when it comes to niche marketing. 

Being a small company means you can relate pretty directly to a small group of people. And that means a niche audience, almost by definition. If, say, you’re Marvel Comics, you pump out tons of comics and films all the time, to appeal to a myriad of tastes. But if you’re Mom and Pop Startup Comics, maybe you concentrate on just superheroes from Milwaukee.

If you can corner the market on people interested in your niche, your marketing, sales, and advertising will be easier and quite probably cheaper.

Don’t spray your shots!

Competitive Small Business Credit Suite

If you are as passionate about succeeding in business as we are, please help us spread the word about how to take the plunge and save time and money – and your sanity! Stay a competitive small business!

#4. Bring Order Out of Chaos

Check out this spectacular tip, all about keeping order in your office. EO Network notes that a messy work environment will often negatively impact your performance.

Preach.

Our favorite part of this is that it can work for a home office or if you actually – shudder – leave the building.

Reduce Your Stuff and Find Homes For All of It

It all really comes down to those two things. What needs to stay? And what needs to go? In addition, what needs to move or be transformed? 

Do you keep old drafts of writing? Do you have to? Consider this – you can probably get rid of nearly all of that or at least convert it to an electronic format. Even if you have to somehow prove you drafted a document or two or twelve, there can be ways of proving that without having to hang onto a ton of outdated drafts. Electronic signatures, anyone?

Photograph or scan anything which you know you’re going to need in an electronic format and recycle the rest of it. Good bye, chaos. Hello, space.

More space means you’ll find everything more quickly. And it also means you’re more likely to have the latest version of whatever you need – after all, you’ve stored or discarded the older versions, right?

Save your sanity and tame your office clutter!

#3. Brick By Brick, Build a Brand Strategy

It’s not your imagination: this winning tip can help you build a strategy from scratch. Young Upstarts tells us a brand strategy is a long-term plan to help you make your clearly defined goals and objectives. So this is, in a way, an expansion of our tip #10, going beyond a sales strategy and looking at everything in your business, from soup to nuts.

Discovering Your Business

As in, why does your business exist in the first place?

If you can’t answer that one easily, and explain it to others readily, then why should they trust you? Why should they do business with you? And why should they listen to anything you have to say.

Ouch.

Who Are You, Anyway?

What makes your brand and your business different from any other? Why should your customers and prospects choose you over any other business? What makes you a competitive small business?

So let’s consider an example from, of all things, the movies.

Moscow on the Hudson and the Confusing, Frightening World of Too Many Choices

This is a 1984 Robin Williams film, so if you have never seen it, don’t worry. The premise is that Williams plays a Soviet circus musician who defects. And life in the country where the streets are paved with gold is not so easy, he finds.

Here’s the only scene you need to worry about: 

It’s less than a minute long. I’ll wait.

In this scene, Williams’s character goes to a small supermarket to get coffee. And, he’s confronted with a rich array of choices. Now, keep in mind that people for real who lived during the Soviet Era were often lucky to get coffee at all if they went shopping for it. Most of the time, there was just one form of coffee and you either took it, or you left it.

Two things happen here. One is that he reads off the names of several brands and types of coffee – espresso, decaf, etc. And the other half is how overwhelmed he is by the embarrassment of choices.

Both parts of the scene work for our purposes.

Brand Strategy and Identity

In the first part, did you notice how much you know about each of the brands he mentions? You may even think of their tastes and aromas. Or you might consider their prices or whether they feel ‘premium’ or ‘basic’. 

All of these feelings and associations showcase the success of these various brands’ strategies. Their identities are well-known. But then there’s the other half of the scene.

It’s All the Same When You Don’t Know Anything About a Brand

And, that’s the character’s problem in a nutshell. For the character, no such associations have been made yet. And since that’s the case, unless it’s a generalized, obvious piece of information – such as price or caffeine amount – he knows absolutely nothing about any of the brands on display. 

What you want is for your customers and prospects to make those associations from the first half, rather than become confused and frustrated by the overwhelming pressure to decide on something, anything.

A lot of that comes from how you execute your brand strategy. If you’re Sanka, you emphasize how having little to no caffeine is relaxing. If you make espresso, you emphasize the elegance and associations with Italy and bolder flavors.

So, what flavor of business have you got?

#2. Get Your Startup Out of Your Dreams and into Reality

Our second to last unbeatable tip can give you a new perspective on moving from inspiration to business reality. Startup Professionals reveals all about how to avoid being one of the over 75% of all startups which fail.  

We’ll concentrate on three points.

Test and Test. Then Test Some More.

People aren’t just going to buy your stuff because of your good looks and charm. And testing with your family and friends is only going to get you a bunch of false positives. Instead, test with people with money to spend! 

Because otherwise, they can’t buy your stuff.

Get Ready to Tell Your Marketing Story to Anyone and Everything

The article talks about what is essentially an elevator pitch. This is a bit like our tips #3 and #10 – you need to be prepared. And in particular, you need to be ready to talk to just about anyone about your product or service. How’s the easiest way to do this? Build a strategy. Don’t just try to wing it. That never works out like it does in the movies.

Put Together a Strategy for Growth and Improvement

That is, plan for success! And just as importantly, get ready for change. For if there’s one constant these days, it’s change. Embrace it before it knocks you over.

#1. Leverage Your Website and Improve Your SEO

We saved the best for last. For our favorite remarkable tip, we focused on an SEO audit checklist. Main Street ROI says there are a number of basic mistakes they see over and over again.

Don’t let your website be one of those error-riddled sites.

Clarity FTW

A clear and easy to follow website will do you a lot of good. It doesn’t just make your readers happy. It also makes search engines happy. 

A well-organized website where the pages are easy to read and load fast will help out tremendously! 

Another tip we loved is to essentially use as much of the free real estate you’ve got that you can. What do we mean by that? Basically, the idea is to put your keyword phrase or at least your website name in all of the places where you can.

We do not mean keyword stuffing. Rather, there are places such as the alt tags for your images.  You know, the place where you tell a search engine what an image is about, to make it easier to index.

Are you using yours? Or did you not know what they were until this very moment? Or worse, had you never even heard the phrase until just now?

Organize your website and use the free spaces you’ve got to the max. 

So which one of our brilliant business tips was your favorite? And which one will you be implementing now? 

Competitive Small Business Credit Suite

If you are as passionate about succeeding in business as we are, please help us spread the word about how to take the plunge and save time and money – and your sanity! Stay a competitive small business!

The post Keep a Competitive Small Business and More –10 Brilliant Business Tips of the Week appeared first on Credit Suite.