How to Inoculate Your Business from the Next Virus Outbreak

As businesses continue to struggle from the aftereffects of the COVID-19 outbreak and the economic impact thereof, we must aim to use this experience to learn and better prepare our companies from future disasters or worse yet, another outbreak. One of the biggest lessons to learn is realizing the benefits of remote staffing. Many companies would have had to shut down completely or would have filed for bankruptcy without it. I offer advice on this topic from a unique perspective as I have spent over 15 years in the BPO industry setting up and managing thousands of remote employees for hundreds of customers worldwide.

When the pandemic initially broke out, people worldwide made arrangements to work from home. Our company, ClarkStaff.com worked around the clock, in shifts, to get over 400 people added to our work-from-home network and fully operational in just over 48 hours. Based on our experience as a mid-sized firm, it’s safe to say that around the world, many millions more mobilized and got set up to work remotely as well.

Let’s look at some of the actual statistics of people who work remotely during this time and the predictions of what that will look like in the years to come. According to Gallup data and organizations like Workplace Analytics, around 56% of Americans worked remotely at least part-time during the shutdown.  Further data collected in that same report predicted that an estimated 20-30% of the US workforce will continue to work from home and that number will continue to increase in the years to come. This is a staggering development from the pre-COVID-19 estimates of only 3% of the US population working from home as reported in the 2018 American Community Service (ACS) survey. In a nutshell, this means more and more business will be conducted virtually and at a faster rate than previously predicted.

Remote Staffing Software

We are already starting to see this trend taking shape by looking at the increased demand for cloud-based business management tools like SalesForce.com, Trello, Jira, TimeDoctor and more. These tools help to improve collaboration, reporting, and more effective business management when working with remote staff, no matter if they are working from home or in an office halfway around the world. These companies have seen exponential growth and their stock prices even performed well at a time when the rest of the market was crashing.

Managing Remote Employees

It’s not only the new technologies that you will need to learn but the way you manage your teams remotely will also have to change. The psychology and management techniques are different when dealing with someone remotely versus someone working alongside you in the same office. Some differences are handing out tasks to be fulfilled, collaborating on tasks together, time tracking and keeping up that company spirit and company culture.

Remote Staffing Agencies

In addition to the new technologies and new management styles, must come new recruitment and HR practices and with that, new types of recruitment agencies. Remote staffing companies not only help with the recruitment process but will need to go even further to also provide consulting and assistance in getting the systems in place to effectively manage remote teams. Making the transition for many business owners will seem daunting and scary without the right guidance.

As these changes seem to be permanent, we are entering a new era in the way businesses will be operated. That being said, lots of good will likely come out of it. Employing remote workers saves companies on infrastructure and office expenses and the technology that enables it all, helps to increase collaboration and productivity. In this new post pandemic business environment, the companies who can adopt, adapt and overcome these challenges will be the winners, while those who fail to embrace the changes will likely have a harder time moving forward.

The New Normal

To wrap things up, as bad as the pandemic was, we can expect new positive changes in the way business is conducted. If you try to fight the changes and fail to act, your business could suffer but if you embrace these new tides of change by employing remote workers and investing in the new technology, you can come out of this better off than before. Sometimes it takes a major disaster to realize the weaknesses in your foundation. As the old saying goes, disasters can be divine intervention in disguise. I urge all business owners to take this opportunity to to reanalyze their operations and try to find out where the “division of labor”, as Adam Smith put it, can help optimize their business while at the same help to inoculate their company from the next major disaster. In many cases, you can save money but also mitigate risk by not keeping your biggest asset, which is your employees, in one basket.

woman working from home -DepositPhotos

The post How to Inoculate Your Business from the Next Virus Outbreak appeared first on Tweak Your Biz.

source https://tweakyourbiz.com/business/strategy/virus-outbreak-remote-staffing

5 Tips for Hiring Great Employees in a Tight Labor Market

Smart business leaders know that hiring outstanding workers and keeping them happy is foundational for building a successful enterprise. BairesDev, a custom software development firm, is a perfect example of this strategy. As a result of its strong employee focus, the company has won multiple awards, including Inc. 5000’s list of California’s fastest-growing companies.

While keeping employees happy is always important, it becomes even more so when unemployment is low. Businesses must work harder to attract the best candidates from a smaller pool of applicants. Here we discuss ways to provide a better working experience and some other methods for attracting quality workers in a tight labor market.

Improve Wages and Benefits

One of the best ways to get better candidates is to offer a better compensation package. Find out what your competitors are offering and, if you can, offer more. If you can’t increase salaries, can you make up for it with better benefits, like robust insurance? What about less common perks like training programs or professional organization memberships that can provide extra opportunities for team members to upgrade their skills?

If you’re not sure what kinds of things potential employees want, ask your current employees, especially those whose services you value most. Send out a survey or interview these workers individually. Maybe you’ll be surprised by the responses which could be anything from more opportunities for advancement to childcare to flexible work schedules.

Consider Different Candidates

If you’re having trouble finding good candidates, you’ll have to cast a wider net. You can do it in several ways. First, eliminate or reduce certain requirements such as strict rules about educational background. For example, if you typically require a bachelor’s degree, consider making an associate’s degree the condition. Or consider training for certain skills rather than requiring them in advance.

Turn your local search into a national or even international one and be prepared to offer moving expenses or telecommuting options. And consider employees who have retired from your company – or from any company. Older workers have valuable knowledge, experience, and professionalism that can be a real asset.

Invest in Technology

In a tight labor market, you might also need to consider candidates with less experience than you prefer, including those from Generations Y and Z. These workers expect to be immersed in technology to help them do their jobs. Now might be the time to invest in a new data management system, CRM, or customer care application.

Another benefit of such upgrades is that they will help employees be more efficient. You may find that you don’t have to hire as many of them to get the same amount of work accomplished. These improvements will also serve you well when the market shifts. You’ll be more likely to hold onto existing employees, which is much more cost-effective than hiring new ones.

Think Relational, Not Transactional

Remember that, in a tight job market, candidates are evaluating you as much as you’re evaluating them. They may have several offers to choose from and companies that make them feel valued and respected are likely to get high marks. Focus not just on “finding the right worker for the job,” but building relationships with candidates and getting to know them as people. Here are a few specific tips:

When you initiate contact, tell them why you’re interested in them and what you feel sets them apart from other applicants.

As part of the interview process, show them around the workplace, and introduce them to current employees.

During the interview, ask them what they value in an employer and in a work environment. Do your best to meet those needs.

When making an offer, tell them what stood out for you during the interview process.

After the offer, reach out every couple of days until they give their response.

If they decline your offer but seem to like your company, continue to keep in touch in case future opportunities come up.

Get Employees to Help

If you like your current team members, there’s a good chance you’ll like their friends too. Enlist employees to put the word out about any openings and encourage them to include what they like about working for your company. Ask them to use social media to share these impressions and to distribute your posts about job openings.

You can also interview employees and write stories about them on your blog. Describe what they do, what they were looking for when you hired them, why they chose you as an employer, how they’ve advanced in the company, and what they like best about working there.

In Summary

Hiring is a challenge under any circumstance and even tougher when candidates have the upper hand. But, instead of thinking of the situation as a problem, consider it an opportunity to strengthen what your company has to offer and attract new hires who will contribute to your ongoing success.

man viewing applicant resume -DepositPhotos

The post 5 Tips for Hiring Great Employees in a Tight Labor Market appeared first on Tweak Your Biz.

source https://tweakyourbiz.com/management/hr-and-recruitment/hiring-tips

How Your Logo Influences Purchasing Decisions

Your logo is the face of your business. It’s the first interaction potential customers will have with your brand and it may determine how they will interact with you, as well as your products.

One of the main objectives for a logo is to influence customer purchasing decisions. You want your logo to immediately evoke a positive reaction, leading customers to subconsciously want to interact with your brand. Hopefully this will be the start of a positive relationship between your customers and your business.

Creating a great logo may sound complicated, especially if you’re not a designer. But it doesn’t have to be. Services like Wix Logo Maker can help you put together a logo that fits your business perfectly, without any necessary design skills.

With the actual designing out of the way, we can discuss what makes a logo stand out.

Your Logo Should Fit Your Niche

A great logo is much more than cool artwork. You want it to communicate your message in a fraction of a second, without requiring further explanation. So, the first thing you want to make sure of, is that your logo fits within your niche. This means it should help first-time viewers understand what it is you provide. For example, if you’re a freelance photographer, you want your logo to convey that message.

But it’s not all about fitting into your industry. Your niche also includes your business’ vibe. Perhaps you’re a photographer, but not the type that does happy colorful weddings. Nope, your business specializes in documenting dark music events… Cool! Make sure your logo makes this as clear as possible. Differentiating yourself is a major part of branding and your logo has a lot to do with it.

Once you’ve covered your side of the logo, consider the customer’s side. If you haven’t already, you should get to know who your target audience is and what makes them tick. You want your logo to represent them, as well as your brand. Give them a flag they can be proud to fly.

Creating a Professional Logo is Simple

Tools like Logo Maker make designing professional logos pretty simple. You start off with your business name and industry, which automatically points you in the right direction.

To get the ball rolling further, you can provide some of your own input. You will be asked to provide a few keywords that represent your brand as well as the “feel” you’re shooting for. These should provide the basics to a logo that fits your niche and will likely grab the attention of your target customers. To get more precise with the style and vibe of the logo, you can choose your favorites between a few different options, so the algorithm can pick up on the nuances you’re looking for.

After the process is complete, you will be presented with numerous options generated specifically for your business. From here, you can pick one and go with it, or use it as a starting point with endless tweaking options.

Influencing Purchasing Decisions

When it comes to influencing customers, logos have a lot of psychology behind them. Most people can intuitively gauge the effect of different elements. Though it’s not always simple to articulate, it can often be felt.

A complete logo will be a mesh of different elements, so before you settle on a final design, consider how these may affect a customer viewing your logo.

Fonts

The first thing to make sure with a typeface, in most cases, is that it’s readable. But fonts can emit more than a written message, they give off an energy.

Classic fonts like “Times New Roman” are timeless, providing a sense of establishment and seriousness. But these can also come off as boring and uninspired. On the other hand, fonts such as “Comic Sans” are lighter, but can be characterized as childish.

As with any element, keep your audience in mind and provide what they are most likely to connect with.

Lines

Even an element as simple as a line can have a psychological effect and should be used accordingly.

Bold lines convey strength, masculinity and rigidness, while thin lines are associated with femininity and elegance. Horizontal lines feel comfortable, in contrast to vertical lines which emit a sense of risk and excitement. Likewise, smooth lines are calming and associated with ease, while jagged lines convey tension, anxiety or excitement.

The lines your logo contains can determine the type of customer you attract as well as your overall brand perception. But there is also a cultural element. Certain aesthetics can be seen as trendy or outdated in different areas or with different audiences. Make sure you’re aware of the culture within your business operates.

Shapes

Shapes can include anything from circles to trees, and they all have an impact on the viewer.

Geometric shapes such as squares and triangles provide a sense of order. More abstract shapes are open to interpretation, meaning your message can be misunderstood. Keep in mind that sharp and curved shapes act similarly to jagged and smooth lines.

Symbols and natural shapes are often more specific. A natural shape such as a leaf or mountain can emit a soothing effect, making them great for businesses that deal in wellness or sports, for example. Symbols are more straightforward and easier to understand. For example, hearts are loving, stars are glamorous, and arrows convey direction.

Take note of what other businesses in your niche are using for their logos to get a better idea of what you should convey with your shape selection.

Colors

Your color palette can have a major effect on the viewers’ emotional reaction. It is likely to be the first thing a potential customer will notice.

Similar to fonts, colors can go in two opposite directions. Black and white usually appear more sophisticated and mature, while bright colors are vibrant, energetic and youthful.

You should experiment with different color schemes and see how they change viewer reactions. If you can, try to survey several options with your target audience.

Structure

The different design elements you use can say a lot about your brand. But the layout in which they come together to form one unified logo also has a major impact.

The size determines importance. Bigger elements will draw more focus, so make sure you prioritize correctly. Additionally, you can use spacing to convey a message. Negative space, meaning blank segments between elements, can seem restful. But too much negative space can cause a logo to lack in coherence. Placement can also affect the energy of your logo. Scattering your elements can cause a sense of chaos, which in small doses can come off as playful. An ordered arrangement can project stability or formality.

Conclusion

Your business logo plays a huge part in branding, appearing on social media, ads, merch, and more. You want it to be immediately recognizable and memorable over time. To be unique, yet familiar.

The goal is not only to get potential customers to notice your brand but also to associate it with positive emotions. A good logo, above all else, will stimulate your customers to purchase your products or services, simply by appearing in their field of view.

Designing a logo is simpler than ever. Once you’ve understood these underlying principles, you should be able to use Logo Maker to get the logo that best suits your business in no time.

team logo design -DepositPhotos

The post How Your Logo Influences Purchasing Decisions appeared first on Tweak Your Biz.

source https://tweakyourbiz.com/marketing/branding/logo-influences-buyer-decisions

How to Ensure the Quality of Newsletter Subscribers Using Email Verification API

Despite the emergence of social media and messaging platforms, email remains the preferred means of business communication with current and potential customers and users. Not surprisingly so, 82% of business-to-business (B2B) marketers use email newsletters for content marketing. Also, email marketing is as strong as ever in terms of attracting returns on investment (ROIs). Case in point, the Data and Marketing Association (DMA) revealed that for every pound spent on email marketing, companies could expect a return of more than £42.

But to get this much return requires businesses to streamline their marketing campaigns. The primary way to do that is by cleaning email lists and ensuring the “quality” of newsletter subscribers, notably with an Email Verification API. Let’s explore this point further in this post.

Quality over Quantity

Some marketers and business owners focus on growing their subscriber list, and that’s certainly a good practice. However, not having a quality standard check could mean that low-quality email subscribers make their way into your inventory. Generally, these subscribers may have signed up for your newsletter with the following:

• Disposable email addresses: Thousands of disposable email address providers abound on the Internet, and it takes just a few minutes to create such an address. People who use disposable email addresses want to hide their identities and could be abusers of free trials or, worse, malicious actors.
• Wrong or misspelled email addresses: Mistyping an email address even when it’s your own sometimes happens. Instead of typing myemail@gmail[.]com, for instance, anyone can accidentally type in myemail@gmall[.]com since the letters “l” and “i” are quite close to each other on a keyboard.
• Nonexistent or fake email addresses: People who want to avail of a company’s services but don’t want to give their real email addresses could enter non-existent ones.

Having disposable, misspelled, and fake email addresses on your subscriber list can negatively impact essential email metrics. Your bounce rate, for one, would be higher while your click-through and open rates, along with other parameters, would be inaccurate, too.

Bluntly, businesses won’t be able to reach as many of their target audiences as they would like. And ultimately, the promising ROI that email marketing could bring becomes elusive.

Using Email Verification API for Quality Checks

Consider a company that has 500 email subscribers. If 150 of the emails sent end up bouncing because these subscribers’ addresses are not able to receive messages, that would translate to a bounce rate of 30%. That’s way too high compared to the average of 5-13%, depending on your industry. Such a high bounce rate indeed tells marketers that they need to clean their email lists using tools such as an email verifier API. 

Moving forward, it would also make sense for them to perform a quality check at the onset of the subscribers’ registration process. How so?

Marketers can integrate Email Verification API into their subscription form pages. That would prompt subscribers to enter existing and correct email addresses. For example, when a user accidentally types gmall[.]com instead of gmail[.]com, the system wouldn’t allow him or her to proceed to the next step. The same is true when the user types in a disposable or fake email address.

An email validation API also checks whether the entered address is supplied by a disposable email address provider such as 10MinuteMail, GuerillaMail, and Mailinator. While there are legitimate reasons for using disposable email addresses, marketers should discourage their prospective customers from using these.

Furthermore, an email verifier API checks an email address’s syntax and if it resolves to an existing mailbox and mail server. The API uses the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) connection and email-sending emulation techniques to do this.

Email validation should be an inherent part of a company’s email marketing efforts. After all, email marketing success relies on the target audience’s actions upon receipt of the message. If recipients don’t open the email and click links, then the campaign fails. 

Also, what happens to those messages that never get to intended recipients because they used fake, disposable, or incorrect email addresses, which Email Verification API could have detected? Unfortunately, these wasted efforts become part of the statistics that bring your email marketing campaigns down. As such, it’s worthwhile to remember that quality is more important than quantity.

email signup screen -DepositPhotos

The post How to Ensure the Quality of Newsletter Subscribers Using Email Verification API appeared first on Tweak Your Biz.

source https://tweakyourbiz.com/marketing/e-mail-marketing/subscriber-verification-api

The Latest Trends in Software Testing

Did you know that the worldwide software development spending in said to grow by 8.2% in 2020, and reach a total of $466 billion? 

Well, it is no surprise that software development is going to bounce multiple strides in 2020. The revolution in various software engineering domains, including software testing solutions has undergone noteworthy development. For the same reason, software testing processes are expected to be more advanced and sophisticated by the end of the year.

There was a point when businesses were more about revenue and less about quality, but the times have changed now. Organizations have now realized the true potential of quality in their services, and that different domain can co-exist with each other.

But, before we get into the impressive software testing trends for 2020, it is important to note what it is about, why it is needed in today’s work space evolution, and how an apt software testing company can take advantage of it.

What Is Software Testing?

Software testing involves the scrutinization, evaluation, revision of the actual results from the demanded results right from the start of the development process. It includes the administration of the software components to assess its performance, and assure that it is operating in the required manner.

In simple words, software testing is the execution of a program to find any software bugs in it. It is an important step before the software deployment since it validates and verifies if the software program is compatible and qualified enough to be launched in the user market. The design and development of software have to meet the business needs and technical requirements.

Why Is Software Testing An Important Consideration

A new year is welcomed with new resolutions and commitments. That is not just applicable on the personal front but the professional door as well. According to a report, 63% of users report quality as a blocker in the production processs, and 29 times the quality of an application is hampered in the DevOps cycle.

Moreover, only 1 in 3 organizations includes quality in their planning phase, and only 1 in 5 businesses test every code before it is deployed in the system.

Considering factors like the value of a project from a quality engineering perspective, such issues can lessen the visibility across the functions, not receive the required investments, and create a negative image for the fraternity at large. That is why the required software procedures must be assessed before their deployment.

So, What Does Quality Driven Engineering Effort Mean?

For any business function, what matters the most is the quality of the process. After reading ample literature on the top software testing trends, it gets confusing on how to get to the desired state.
The ladder to exceptional quality-driven engineering is to include every personnel accomplishing their set of goals. A tester should check through the status quo, see through the quality of the process, how fast can it be done, how can it translate into the long-term vision of a product, and provide a common thinking ground to the organization and users.

The Top Software Testing Trends To Consider

The Amalgamation of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning in Testing Procedures

Intelligent systems will occupy the top position on the software testing radar in 2020. AI and ML make software testing smarter and more reliable. Teams can use applications of artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) to optimize automation strategies, indulge in the efficient operation, and execute the codes faster.

For example, quality assurance technicians employed AI/ML methods to predict the test quality, prioritize test cases, detect test methods, classify errors, and interact with test applications.

Therefore, AI tech will find its role in the ubiquitous segments of software testing methodologies with various organizations. With the escalating importance of AI in software testing, it will be relevant in studying the log analytics, test suite optimization, ensure test requirements coverage, predictive analytics, and defect analytics.

Test Automation in Agile Systems

According to a report, 44% of IT companies automated 50% or more of the testing operation in 2019. Indeed, test automation in no longer an offshore concept in the pool of software testing. in 2020, automated testing will be adopted by many organizations, to fulfill the demand for Quality at Speed.

Test automation aids teams in faster detection of bugs, performing repetitive tasks, providing continuous feedback, and ensuring test coverage. Organizations using test automation in software testing phenomena will save a significant amount of cost, time and resources.

As for the test automation developers, they need to be versatile with these processes. They need to easily adapt and use it at testing level, provide smarter frameworks, ensure full test coverage and quality bug detection, enable cross-platform testing for web, API, mobile, and desktop automation, integrate with AI/CD tools and intelligent dashboards for continuous testing and quality analytics insights.

Big Data

Big Data has truly transformed various business sectors like technology, healthcare, banking, retail, telecom, media, and so many other segments. With the increasing amount of data, Big Data helps in optimizing decision making processes.

For industries that have huge volumes of data to deal with, they can indulge in better data validations and testing using Big Data. It also helps in enhancing the developing market strategies. Since more and more industries are including Big Data in their workspace realms, Big Data testing is no longer a new undertaking. In 2020, testing Big Data applications will witness a rise due to reasons like wide adoption and robust processes.

QAOps Changes in the Light of DevOps

Did you know what DevOps is all about?

It is a set of software practices that combines development (Dev) and information technology operations (Ops). The ultimate goal of DevOps is to shorten the SDLC cycle while focussing on building features, fixing bugs faster, and frequent updates in the process. In simple words, DevOps aids in better collaboration between the tech operationalists and developers.

QAOps might be a new concept to you, but it functions in the same directive as DevOps. QAOps helps in improving the communication flow between the testing engineers and developers.

How?

By integrating software testing into the CI/CD pipeline. This improves the process as a whole and helps in alignment of the same goals between QA engineers and developers, instead of letting the QA team work in complete isolation.

IoT Testing

Internet of Things has truly transformed the way humans used to interact with their devices and how devices interacted with each other. IoT is everywhere, right from security processes, to programming, education, healthcare, manufacturing, etc. IoT testing will help in improving the security, ease of use, versatility, trustworthiness, compatibility of devices, monitoring connection delay, scalability, data integrity evaluation, device authenticity, and much more.

The IoT testers need to work a lot in this domain, right from communication protocols to operating systems and multiple combinations of the different elements of an IoT system. Therefore, the IoT engineers need to enhance their skills regarding the security and performance of of devices in IoT testing.

Cybersecurity and Risk Compliance

The Digital revolution is great for the tech world, but it also raises questions pertaining to security threats and loss of data. Across all the enterprises, the CIOs and CTOs must understand the importance of security testing of their software, applications, network, and systems. Also, software development teams need to partner with other departments to make the system more resilient to security threats and improve cybersecurity as well.

Final Words

These are the top emerging trends of software testing that enterprises need to look out for in 2020. Furthermore, organizations need to remain aware of the recent developments taking place in the industry and keep up with them. Remember, there is some transformation taking place in the tech world every day and to stay ahead of the competition, you need to equipped and versatile about it.

software developer -DepositPhotos

The post The Latest Trends in Software Testing appeared first on Tweak Your Biz.

source https://tweakyourbiz.com/technology/software-testing-trends

Creating a Sound Business Plan: All you Need to Know

Some business gurus will tell you that without a good business plan, your chances of success are minimal at best, and with that in mind, it is obviously essential that you have a solid plan of action that outlines how you will manage to carve out your share of the market.

Giving your Enterprise Direction

One purpose of creating a business plan is to have a firm direction, to know where you are going, with information about marketing strategies and long-term forecasts, and while you are able to divert from the plan, should circumstances change, once the plan is set, it gives you, the business owner, firm direction.

Market Research 

Whatever the products or services you choose, it is vital that you do some thorough market research, as you need to be certain that there is a demand, and that the future of your chosen industry is promising. It is very easy to adopt a positive approach, as you do want your business succeed, so it is a good idea to ask other people to play devil’s advocate and try to find weaknesses in your marketing strategies.

Executive Summary 

This short section is found at the front of the plan, which outlines what the business is about and also gives a detailed description of the organization. This could be a few paragraphs that is an overview of the organisation and summarizes the overall scope of the business. If your business has a concept then this should be described in this section

Organization Flowchart 

It is important to outline the structure of the company, showing who is running the business, along with details of management and other potential roles within the organisation. This might include sales & marketing, manufacturing, logistics and customer support, and any other departments, and by creating the flowchart, you are very aware of what the business needs in order to help be successful.

Marketing & Sales

You could enroll an Adwords agency in Bristol, which would provide you with qualified leads and an extra source of revenue, and your digital marketing partner would compile a comprehensive plan that outlines the various strategies you will use to create a revenue. Your marketing plan would contain information about how you intend to enter specific markets, plus details of contractual liabilities. You might, for example, be planning to present your products at trade shows and the details would be included in your marketing plan.

Start-Up & Capital

Your business plan should include a section about initial funding, with a detailed account of items purchased to set up the business, along with running costs and a list of assets. If you have made acquisitions for the business, they would be listed, and in another column, leasing and rental costs, plus a document that details the current and projected running costs. Again, this would be another area of interest to potential investors, who would like to know where the investment capital is used.

Profit Forecasts

This section would forecast your expected gross revenue, along with the predicted profit, for at least the first 5 years and maybe up to 10 years. This section would be particularly interesting for potential investors, who would like some idea of the expected revenues over a period of years. Doing this would enable you get a realistic idea of how well your business will do, and as time passes, you can use these forecasts as a benchmark, making sure that you are on track.

Flexibility

As every business is dynamic and situations can quickly change, your business plan needs to be flexible, and should you feel the need to make changes, you should consult with your managers and see if you can adapt your plan to better meet the company’s needs.

Revision

Once you feel your business plan is complete, you should then hand it to at least one business expert and ask them to look the plan over, specifically looking for weaknesses or potential issues. More often than not, they will find things and you and your team need to review these areas, looking to make improvements, and once this is done, your plan should be something you can refer to at every step of the process.

Investment

In the event that you are looking for investors, your business plan would be critical, and a potential investor might base their decision solely on the merits of the plan, and you should be able to answer any questions the investor might have. If you are looking for funding, it is a good idea to have some professional help with your business plan, as this will ensure that your concept is clearly represented, and hopefully, you will receive the investment and go on to make a success of your business over the short, medium and long term. Planning is always the key area, with careful planning you should sail through any meeting.

 

The post Creating a Sound Business Plan: All you Need to Know appeared first on Tweak Your Biz.

source https://tweakyourbiz.com/business/business-plans/create-business-plan

How to Build an Innovative App for Sports Industry

Sports is a game of unity and sentiments. And it is emerging every day. People want to get access to see their favorite sports while being in their comfort zone and app development has heard them. Sports sectors are collaborating with sports app development companies to build apps that can cater to the need of every individual and include features that can enhance their experience even more. The agenda is to fill the gap between what is the demand and how companies can supply to them effortlessly. 

The Major Question: Why Should One Invest Into Building a Sports App?

The sports industry has been ruling since the time of Ancient Greece as the first Olympics happened there. Since then there is no looking back for this sector as it is worshipped by millions of sports lovers in every possible way. Nowadays technology has changed the whole dynamic of people seeing sports. 

Sports app is a good investment plan as the Dallas Cowboys sports team value was ranked as the most expensive one in 2018 which amounted to $4.8 billion. Similarly, the North America sports market keeps expanding and its estimated net worth so far is $76.05 billion.

People now have their smartphones which can be taken out at any point in time and used. Sports apps are a haven for people who cannot take out time to go and watch sports or sit in front of their televisions to watch an entire match. This sector can yield a lot of profit if you know what features can make your app capable of getting millions of downloads.

Enough statistics have already been put forward and now you exactly know why you should invest in this sector. But before thinking about getting your app developed you should know what users are inclined to in the sports field nowadays, what features can make your app a delight and how to find a right sports app development company that looks after your need, use the latest technologies to compete with other apps in this sector. Let’s decipher every said point one by one and get you going.

What Are Users Looking for in the Sports App?

According to Google statistics, users spend 50 minutes each day on sports apps and 60% of smartphone users utilize gaming, entertainment, news, and sports apps. Users are devoting a lot of their time on using apps because they are handy, less time consuming and gives you a whole gist of the game. Here is a list of features that sport apps users are looking forward to:

• Social media integration is a must for everyone, people can easily send scores to each other by hitting that sharing button and making it a point of discussion.
• Offline access will get you a bonus as the user will easily be able to build their trust around your app to get real-time scores and whatnot.
• Chat Rooms are interesting and give users a sense of importance as everyone is coming together and sharing their views. This will increase the usage time of your app which is a good thing.
• A simple User interface that can guide users and they don’t have to waste a lot of time to understand the app.

There are a lot of expectations and most of them are very basic which you can easily fulfill but there have to be additional features that users can use and may end up liking them. Now let’s explore features that you can have in your app to make it exceptional.

Essential Features That Sports App Must Include

• Player Catalog

While users are on your app to watch their favorite sports and enjoy, they are also looking for something that can add to the almirah of information and that is getting to know their preferred player a little personally. You can add their history which includes education, the place they belonged, their hard work and struggles etcetera. Apart from this, you can also add changing room secrets, team bonding and more. 

• Live Stream

This feature can be a cherry on the cake and allow your users to watch sports live from any corner of the world. Apart from this, you can also add live comments, live cheering through emojis and allow users to record games that they can watch later at any point in time. 

• Enhanced Technologies

An amazing app development company can guard you in this but it is you that can get your app developed with the latest technologies getting  into play. Using AR (Augmented reality) and VR (Virtual Reality) can add strong weightage to your app. This technology is costly but can ensure a good downloading rate without having to spend on advertising much.

• Play Your Favorite Sport Professionally

Currently, people are not only watching sports games but are also participating in these games with their virtual forms or that of their favorite sportsperson. This is why Sports organizations and mobile app developers are looking ahead to understand how to get started in the world of fantasy sports apps.

• Allow Users to Change the Face of Your App

This stage is only possible after users have downloaded your app, which they surely will. You can give users the ability to change the interface of the app and tailor it to their own liking, being able to add whatever they want related to the sports they enjoy for example the sports team, favorite players, and so forth. This will allow users to navigate easily and watch what they want briskly.

These suggested features can make your app strong and provide a suitable idea for your app developer to understand what you need on the app. Deciding features beforehand will allow you to get into more intricate details without spending too much time on brainstorming later.

Choosing Right Sports App Development Company

It is understood that you want to invest in a company that understands your project and treats it like their own. Here is joined-up thinking on what a wise sports app development company must consist of before you introduce your project to them:

• Try to look for companies that have trusted user ratings and reviews. Also, look at the fact that how many apps they have developed so far and what is the base size of the company. Here’s a tip, look at their website wisely, a website can say a lot about the company.
• Look what segments of sports they have worked on. It can be sports streaming solutions, IoT apps, event booking apps, sports betting apps etcetera. Look for the variety they have to offer.
• Look at what technologies they are equipped with and try to see if they are the latest ones, like AI, blockchain, IoT, AR/VR. If a company encompasses these technologies then you are at a benefit.
• Your app development company should be well aware of cross-platform apps which enable you to gain a wide range of audiences.
• See if the communication channels given by the company are responsive enough and your app developer is coherent enough to understand your needs.

If you are looking for a professional app development company that provides results just as you expect it to, then you need to research them and know their qualities. If you have found the right sports app development company for yourself then you don’t need to worry while giving them their project to look upon.

In a Nutshell

The sports app industry is growing at a vast pace and covering millions of audiences. If you are able to incorporate these features into your app then you will surely be trending. Developing an app that is user friendly and well accomplished with every user expectation will result in a lot of profit, good reviews, and trust from the users.

soccer app -DepositPhotos

The post How to Build an Innovative App for Sports Industry appeared first on Tweak Your Biz.

source https://tweakyourbiz.com/business/mobile-apps/developing-sports-app

Crucial Hosting Server Metrics You Should Keep Monitoring

A fast website needs a good server – as a webmaster, this is something I reckon you’ve heard time and again while working to improve your sites. But hey, what exactly does make a hosting server “better” in terms of performance? Well, it can mean a lot of things – and therein the problem lies. So to better understand ways to boost your websites, you need first to grasp what server metrics you should be decoding, why, and how exactly you can learn from them & use them to give your sites a quick push up the stairs.

Don’t forget; there’s nothing more detrimental to a website’s success than a poor hosting performance level. So in this post, I’ve put together a list of all the key metrics you should monitor every day for a nicer web-experience.

Well, what are we waiting for?

Let’s get cracking!

But Wait, Why Is Web Server Monitoring Important?

Fueling the inner workings of a site, a web server provides a slew of important functions, meaning there is so much to keep track of.

They include;

• Connections to clients and other servers on the network
• Requests that facilitates hosting resources such as CPU, RAM and disk/memory accesses
• Traffic levels between to and from the servers at any given time
• Availability rendered to other servers for proxy requests and other needs

As the brain behind a website, a spruced up, well-monitored hosting server can deliver an immediate & noticeable boost your websites user experience. And, of course, it can readily alert you of bothersome errors that may lead to downtimes. Secondly, it helps with automation, which is the Holy Grail for websites. And lastly, (yup, there’s more) monitoring can also help you track the popularity & growth of your sites in real-time – giving a more in-depth insight into your site’s total activities, including active users, session lengths, etc…

In other words, monitoring your site’s hosting server metrics is the ultimate way to redefine and refresh them for the better, entirely. Find answers to your complex hosting related terms.

Monitoring Hosting Server Metrics to Look out for Today!

Requests Per Second (RPS)

Also known as the “throughput,” RPS is just like it sounds – it the total number of requests your server receives every second. The more the requests, the harder your server hast to work to keep them in check.

Usually, the RPS is tabulated as a total count of all the requests received during a certain measurement period, where the period is correlated as seconds. Ideally, the period should fall under 1 – 5 minutes – the shorter, the better.

Remember: given enough load, any server can fall – and keeping an eye on RPS is one of the better ways to help avoid that.

Error Rates

No matter how good a server is, errors are unavoidable, especially when processing requests and are under a heavier load. This includes HTTP errors, internal errors, and of course, the infamous timed out fails.

Normally, it’s not really possible to define the exact tolerance for error rate as its mostly temperamental, and changes per sites & applications. That said, some consider an error rate of less than 1% good. that said, normally you must try & minimize their levels further to avoid issues of performance & reliability.

And of course, this is exactly where keeping an eye on this particular hosting metric can come in tremendously handy!

Average Response Times (ART)

Again, Average Response Time or ART is exactly as it sounds like – the perfect, average time it takes for a server to respond to all the requests given to it. the lower the ART, the better, with 1 second being the sweet spot.

In laymen terms, this metric is a reflection of the speed a website/application carries – a top indicator to their performance, offered from a user’s perspective. That said, it still an average, meaning that its changes per basis.

What does it mean for you? Well, keeping a closer look at this metric, you can fine-tune your website/apps content and speeds so that it can deliver the perfect experiences your users want and deserve – a performance boost, really.

Peak Response Time (PRT)

Similar to ART, the PRT also measures the overall round trip length of request/response cycles, however, the Peak Response Time is instead designed to tell us what the longest cycle is at that point in the testing scenario.

In general, both ART and PRT needs to be sub-average. But when they start becoming more comparable, that’s where the problem happens, indicating an anomaly within the server. In General, the PRT helps pinpoint the bother in question. In any case, the standard measure of PRT is considered in milliseconds.

The Uptime

In simple words, uptime refers to the time that a server has been “alive” & running properly. On average, it reflects the reliability and availability of the server, and obviously, the overall time should be as long as possible.

I’m not getting into the math here. But the time range can mostly be calculated as ab absolute value or as a certain percentage between actual server uptime & ideal server uptime – the lower the difference, the better.

In our opinion, your hosting server should offer a minimum of 99% of uptime for everyday needs & anything less than 95% is very bad.

CPU Utilization

For those who don’t know, CPU utilization refers to the amount of CPU time used by the website or application while rendering a request. It’s often calculated in percentage, with most having a graphical interface to boot.

Under this metric, it should never max out at 100%. If it happens, additional actions may need to be taken as it points to either a problem in your apps or website or to a capacity inequality on the hosting machine – the lower it is, the better.

Note; the above criteria holds true for Memory utilization levels too.

Thread Counting

On average, a website or application can generate a ton of threads to process all the requests it receives every second. Usually limited by the system itself, this is an important metric to consider as it directly correlates to the stability of a system, with too many threads indicating bothers in the applications or websites.

Obviously, the total count of existing threads must be proportional to the load & inversely also the same with the P-time to the requests.

Hardware Utilization

Put simply, any application or server running is limited by the resources allocated to it. being so, keeping an eye on this metric is very important, especially when it comes to determining if a resource bottleneck exists.

On average, there are three major aspects to consider:

• The processor
• The Memory (RAM available)
• The disk space

By keeping an eye over these, you can easily pinpoint bottlenecks, if any, and can also tell what parts need to be updated to help fix it.

Crucial Hosting Server Metrics – the Final Say So

Don’t forget: good performance is only as strong as its weakest link. And by keeping these metrics in check, you can definitely improve your site’s performance for the better, that too for longer stretches.

That said, don’t try to measure all these metrics at once, as it can be overwhelming and may get you addicted to trying & improve the numbers on your Google-analytics dashboard, which don’t necessarily translate to a better outcome.

Instead, try and focus on producing real insights from the metrics you’re trying to decode – insights that you can convert to real actionable knowledge that can actually make a difference as far as reader experience goes.

So yeah, which metrics are YOU tracking now on your servers? We’d like to know. Throw us a shout below &we’ll get back to you ASAP

Well then, until next time,

Ciao!

server room concept -DepositPhotos

The post Crucial Hosting Server Metrics You Should Keep Monitoring appeared first on Tweak Your Biz.

source https://tweakyourbiz.com/technology/hosting-server-monitoring

6 Tips You Need to Follow to Run a Successful Rental Trailer Business

There are certain rules that you have to follow to make sure that your rental business turns out to be a success. If you are thinking about starting a rental trailer business or if you have already started it and looking for the ways to make it successful, then make sure that you follow all the golden rules.
Here are some of the very important tips that will help your rental trailer business to grow and become a success.

Study Your Market Thoroughly

Studying your market and audience is one of the most important things that you need to do before you plan to set up a business of your own. It is important because it gives you a fair idea of the dynamics of the locations. Above all, you are able to know the market trends and requirements. This way, you can custom your services and make sure that they fit the requirements of your clients.

Buying Smarter is the Key

Whenever it comes to starting a business, most people end up making a mistake of buying a lot of things that will not return the value. Therefore, you don’t need to buy more, you need to buy smart. For example, you should buy more of the types of trailers that have increased in rental demand. If your clients are looking for a lowboy trailer rental then, you must have enough lowboy trailers to meet the requirements of your clients.

Find the Best Deal for Your Trailers

Starting a business is a huge step. More often than not, you are a little tight on money, and therefore, every penny counts as long as you haven’t won the lottery. So make sure that you get the right deals for your business. Look around for the stuff that is cost-effective. You can also get used items and give them an upgrade to make them useful again.

Treat Your Trailers Right

Old or new, you need to take care of your trailers. Make sure that they are clean and don’t require any maintenance. A dirty or non-maintained trailer can be a turnoff for your client, and it’ll affect the overall reputation of your trailer company. So, make sure that you treat your trailers right if you don’t want to break the flow of regular and satisfied clients.

Have an Effective Online Presence

We are living in a digital age, and everything that we are doing is technology-related in one way or another. Therefore, it only makes sense that you make sure that your trailer company has an online presence. Get a functional and effective website for your company to make sure that people have all of your current information and can contact you easily. Above all, your online presence will add legitimacy to your business, and your clients will find it easy to trust your company with the job.

Fund the Right Tools for Your Business

Lastly, it is important that you know the use of the right tool, both tangible and intangible. There are many tools that can ensure an easy and simple workflow of your business. All you have to do is make yourself familiar with them and then equip your company with the tools. For example, you can get an app where you and your clients can track the trailers throughout their journey. Similarly, there are online tools that help you in managing your business in a smooth and glitch-free manner.

semi truck trailer -DepositPhotos

The post 6 Tips You Need to Follow to Run a Successful Rental Trailer Business appeared first on Tweak Your Biz.

source https://tweakyourbiz.com/business/strategy/trailer-rental-company

Why Should Startups Outsource Software Development?

In his book The E-Myth, Michael Gerber describes the three faces of any small business owner: entrepreneur, manager, and technician. Although most startups have more than one person in their team, doing everything in-house, especially software development, boils down to the danger of turning an entrepreneur into a technician.

Outsourcing development means that entrepreneurs spend less time thinking about the technical details but instead can focus all their energy on implementing the vision, bringing the product to market, and attracting more funding. If there was a job description for a startup founder, it wouldn’t necessarily include coding but would have all the above is mandatory.

How Do You Know You Are Making the Right Decision?

Hiring a team in-house or outsourcing software development is a fundamental decision that should be taken, ideally, at the moment of writing the business plan. There are pros and cons to each solution, but success stories tend to favor the outsourcing option.

Ask yourself if software development is part of your core proposition, or it is something just helping to bring your business idea to life. If your startup is focusing on creating a SaaS, for example, you might need your own team to design and develop the product. However, if you are trying to provide a service such as a rideshare, education, or rentals, you might be better off with an outsourced solution.

Take a look at your business plan and identify the customer categories. Is your product dedicated to the general public, or you have a niche audience that is highly tech-savvy? Then you might be better off with an in-house team in the latter case.

Most importantly, is the technology so specific that you need to build if from scratch, or can you reuse and adapt exiting software?

To sum up, you only need to hire your own team of developers if you want to create an entirely new solution aimed at high-tech users, and this is part of your core proposition. In all other cases, your business is a great candidate for outsourcing.

Top Advantages of Outsourcing Software Development

Even if you decide to outsource, it still comes with questions and fears. Here are a few reasons why outsourcing might be a good idea.

Less Hassle With Hiring and Training

Real talents are hard to find, and the best ones are sometimes hesitant to work for companies that have not been validated on the market yet. It’s more likely to find top talent in well-established companies that have both the procedures and resources to select and retain them.

By working with a specialized development company, you also cut the associated HR costs. These are not negligible, as they include recruiting, hiring, training, and payroll. As a startup, you don’t want this kind of overhead on your list.

Effective Collaboration Instead of Emerging Chaos

Even if you can get top developers to work for your company, there is no guarantee that they will function well together as a team. It’s not a new phenomenon; it also happens to sports teams when they get an infusion of new players. It takes time for people to start working well together.

When you outsource software development to an established company, they already have things figured out, as well as their operating procedures and even inside jokes. They will start working on your tasks immediately instead of spending time on getting to know one another.

Experts at MBicycle estimate that you will be saving at least one month of paid work per team member, and you don’t need to spend extra time instilling your corporate culture into people who need to get productive so that you can actually run the company successfully. You also save thousands of dollars on qualifications and training in the long run; you only pay for what you get to use.

No Administrative Costs and Idle Time

When outsourcing, you don’t have to pay for your team’s workstations, equipment, sick leaves, or vacations. You don’t have to cover maternity leaves or endure a disruption when a team member wants to go on a sabbatical. It’s your outsourcing vendor’s duty, set in the contract, to find a suitable replacement as soon as possible.

A Reliable Pool of Talent

Once you realize you want to outsource your development activities, only your budget dictates who you can afford to work with. What’s more, working with a dedicated company means that you get access to the experience the members have gathered working on various past projects. They are agile and will have timely solutions in place for most of your problems. Furthermore, they will not leave you in the middle of the project because they got a better offer.

It’s Cheaper

When you first hear the price tag a software development company tells you, sometimes you can consider it unreasonable. However, when you start breaking it down following the steps we’ve mentioned earlier, it will appear to you that the price covers a lot of the risks which could otherwise destabilize your startup.

More Time to Focus on Core Business

If software development is not the centerpiece of your business but something you need to get it running, by having someone else deal with the implementation, you can save hundreds of hours. You can invest these in market research, product development, marketing, sales, or pitching to investors.

Every responsible software development company will also give you a dedicated product manager to supervise the team that is working on your project. This person will serve as the liaison between you and the programmers and will save you some additional hours of communicating with each team member individually.

Final Thoughts

For many companies, the top reasons for outsourcing are cost-cutting, as well as the ability to focus on the core business and solve capacity issues. Instead of thinking about what technology to use, as an entrepreneur, you should be focusing on how to make money to reach breakeven, how to grow your customer base, and eventually, get a commercially sustainable market share.

software developer headache -DepositPhotos

The post Why Should Startups Outsource Software Development? appeared first on Tweak Your Biz.

source https://tweakyourbiz.com/business/software/startup-developer-outsourcing

How to Optimize for Google’s Featured Snippets to Boost Traffic Organically

Today, every business owner wants to improve the ranking of their website at the top number #1 in Google search engine result pages to get more customer engagement to boost traffic and business sales more effectively. 

There are thousands of businesses across the world adopting the latest trends and best tips for ranking in Google rich snippets. Google rich snippets are one of the most important ways to improve the ranking of your website in SERPs pages significantly.

If you are looking to boost the ranking of your website to increase traffic and high conversions, Google rich snippets can help rank your website at the top #1 position apart from your competitors in the global market. 

Many of you must be thinking of what are the Google rich snippets and how you can optimize your website with Google rich snippets to improve the ranking of your website in Google rich snippets. No worries. We have come up with a comprehensive guide where I will tell you everything you need to know about Google rich snippets.

Let’s get started!

What Are Google Featured Snippets?

Featured snippets are the most selected search results that are displayed on top of Google’s search engine results responding to the user’s queries in a box just below the ads. They are easy to read and understand and provide the most unique answers to your queries in a well-defined way to get more customer engagement to boost organic reach effectively.

Types of Featured Snippets

There are four types of featured snippets mentioned as below:

1. Paragraph snippets

Paragraph snippets are the most popular and most recommended type of snippets mainly displayed just below the ads in a text block form with images answering to queries in a short paragraph. These types of featured snippets mostly answer the questions like how, what, who, when, and why.

2. List snippets

List snippets are displayed in a step by step format answering to questions in the form of bullet listing or numbered listing. List snippets mostly apply to those content that is written step by step guides and recipes.

3. Table Snippets

Table snippets are often displayed for those blog posts that include comparison charts including rates, prices, years, and other numeric data answering the related queries.

These types of content are generally displayed in a table form with the well-structured and great readability. 

4. Video snippets

Video snippets are often displayed when someone searches for something over the internet and a video shown in your search results responding to your queries with a step by step guide. The most common example of video snippets is youtube videos that are displayed at the top of search results when users search for information on Google.

Tips To Optimize For Google’s Featured Snippets

Before optimizing Google’s featured snippets, it is very important to know the best tips and tricks to optimize for Google’s featured snippets to boost traffic to your website more effectively. Focus the compelling words and most targeted keywords to improve the ranking of web pages into the top of the search result pages so it could be easier to get featured. 

If your content is well-structured and written based on the facts and doesn’t contain your personal experience then there are more chances to get featured. It is experienced that content displays higher in search results pages mostly get featured due to content quality and uniqueness. So, understanding the best tips to optimize for Google’s featured snippets can help you improve the ranking of your content in Google featured snippets to boost traffic and high conversions. Let’s explore them!

Improve Overall SEO

SEO-friendly and engaging quality content is the most important way that helps you know how to optimize for Google’s Featured Snippets. It is very important to have high-quality and engaging content with higher ranking for getting featured. 

You need to know the best SEO practices to optimize your content to rank them in Google featured snippets. It’s very important to use the most relevant and targeted keywords when producing content and optimize them with SEO effectively.

Be sure that every piece of content is written in a professional way and is unique, informative, and helpful for you and your targeted audience and customers.

Search for Targeted Keywords

Target keywords are another way to improve the ranking of your content in search engines. 

It is also important to research keywords and so you can use the targeted keywords that are mostly searched by users in search engines effectively.

Targeted keywords are the basic and most important things to put value to your content and display them at the top of search engine results to get featured. Whether it is about listing snippets, video snippets, table snippets or paragraph snippets.

Targeted keywords help you understand the featured snippets and optimize your website for Google featured snippets. You will get an idea of what types of targeted keywords are being ranked at the top of search engines and then you can also use them to boost organic reach and ranking in Google featured snippets even more effectively. 

With proper research and work on targeted keywords, you can significantly improve the ranking of your content in search engines and know how to optimize for Google featured snippets like never before.

Modify Existing Content

It is a great idea to modify and optimize your existing content in place of writing new content and optimizing them. It is a cost-effective solution that would require a few seconds to edit and optimize old content to boost them in search engines effectively to get featured. 

Optimizing old content can help you grow your website organically and let you determine how to optimize for Google rich snippets to get more customer engagement to increase traffic and boost conversion rates to your website. 

We suggest you use targeted keywords mainly on the first paragraph of content so they could be easy to get featured to boost the ranking of your content more effectively. The more you edit the content the more effective they will be rank to rank in Google featured snippets.

Optimize Content for Voice Search

It is experienced that more than 60% of people are likely to search for information or related videos using voice searches instead of typing words in a container over the internet. Google Assistance is the most popular and widely used example of voice searches. There are also many other voice searches like Cortana, Siri, Amazon Alexa voice search, etc. 

Now you will be thinking about how to optimize the content for voice searches. Well, you need to find and understand what types of queries are often asked when searching for the information using voice searches over the internet so you can optimize the content according to these searches often searched on mobile devices.

Be sure that your website is fully optimized with mobile-version or else it will be a waste of your time and effort. If you are new and don’t know how to optimize your eCommerce website with the mobile version, you can hire Certified web developers to get your work accomplished in the most professional way. 

You can optimize the content for voice searches by knowing about the best SEO practices to create an effective content marketing strategy to improve the ranking in search results to get featured.

Optimal Word Count

It is another most important factor to get featured your content by keeping your section clear to the point and concise so it could be easier to display in Google’s featured snippets even more effectively.

Instead of writing everything all together, we suggest you write in a well-structured way so that Google can easily rank your content in search engine results to get featured quickly.

It is experienced that the most usual length of content generally gets featured as compared to longer length content. The normal length of content should be between 40 to 50 words and it should not be more than 55 words in order to get featured. So, keep these things in mind when creating content so that you can write your content in the most appealing way to get featured. 

Use of Headers

It is another important way to improve the ranking of your content in Google’s featured snippets. Be sure to separate each section in the paragraph while writing content to rank them in featured snippets. 

We suggest you use headers like h1, h2, h3, and h4 to make each section clear and separate by organizing the subheadings by size.

It is very important to write content in a well-structured and chronological way to get featured easily and effectively. Organizing content in a well-written format can help increase the ranking in Google’s featured snippets to boost traffic organically.

Develop New Content Strategically

It is experienced that Google helps you improve the ranking of those content that is fresh, easy to read, responds to user queries, and fully optimized with search engine optimization. It is very important to know the latest content strategy and trends in order to create an effective content marketing strategy more effectively. 

We advise you to write informative and quality content that users find valuable and draw more customer engagement to your website. Keeping all content marketing strategies in mind, you can create the most engaging and SEO-friendly quality content easier to get featured. 

You can find various content marketing strategies online to boost the ranking of your content in SERPs even more effectively.

Manage Queries Properly

Creating featured snippets content simply doesn’t fulfill all your business needs alone, you need to create valuable content that is responding to customers’ queries effectively. You can find various practices online to organize your content to get featured snippets effectively. 

We suggest you use compelling words and write them in such a way that customers feel like they are talking with them directly. Organize your content in proper format and make it easy to read and hassle-free and keep asking questions in between to make the customer feel personalized with great user experience.

Write Factual Content

Google likes factual content and ranks them easily in search engines to get featured. A content that is concerned with the facts instead of giving personal understanding or theories and is well-organized and clearly explains the series of activities in a historical way without any factual errors. 

Writing content based on true facts or events that are not influenced by your own personal experience or opinions is considered more effective and engaging to put a good impression on your customers’ eyes to boost the ranking in Google featured snippets.

You can find various tips and tricks that can help how to write factual content that is truly based on actual events or matters of concern to rank them in search engine results that are easier to get featured.

Answer Related Queries

Answering related queries or matters of concern can be another most important way to rank your content in search engines to get featured effectively. Writing content in a well-structured way that is responding to customers queries and makes them feel like they are speaking to you directly and gives a personalized experience. 

It’s a great way to rank your content in Google featured snippets by answering rated queries or questioning yourself like how to respond to customers’ queries, what are Google featured snippets and how to optimize for Google featured snippets to boost traffic on your website and so on. It increases the chances of getting featured for related queries easily and effectively to boost page reach organically.

Use of High-Quality Images

Using high-quality images with unique and quality content can be more effective and engaging to draw more customers’ attention to your website or blog posts and improve the chances of getting featured even more effectively. It is experienced that more than 70 % of people are likely to spend more time reading content that is fully optimized with eye-catching images. 

Google ranks those content that customers love to read them and are likely to spend more time. By using impressive and attractive images, you can optimize your content for images searches nicely to get more customer engagement.

Final Thoughts

Featured snippets are one of the most popular ways to increase traffic and boost conversions to your website. You can significantly rank your content in Google’s featured snippets by following the above tips and tricks to optimize for featured snippets effectively. 

Though it is not easy to get featured in search engines, you need to optimize the content for Google’s featured snippets with proper SEO guides and best practices to improve the ranking in Google’s featured snippets to grow your business organically.

Google search pixelated -DepositPhotos

The post How to Optimize for Google’s Featured Snippets to Boost Traffic Organically appeared first on Tweak Your Biz.

source https://tweakyourbiz.com/marketing/seo/featured-snippet-optimization

How Inbound Marketing Contributes to a Thriving eCommerce Business?

Do you know? Almost 8 of the 10 companies report that from their blog, they get a positive Return on Investment or ROI. Moreover, it costs 62% less for each of the leads than other traditional marketing.

This one is a classic example of inbound marketing. Most of the renowned brands are now rooting for such ways of marketing, as it indeed works!

In this digital era, traditional marketing seems a bit overwhelming to the customers. The psychological aspect of it is that it directly persuades a customer to buy a product.

Inbound marketing is a different concept from it. Here a company tries to gather insights from its customers and plans the tactics according to those insights. While doing this, a company strives to provide enough value in the life of a customer.

The role of inbound marketing for eCommerce is crucial. Getting success for an eCommerce business depends mostly on it.

How?

Hubspot says five core services fall into inbound marketing methodologies, like,

“Attract, Convert, Grow, Delight, and Analyze”

eCommerce businesses can implement these methodologies in their business to get a completely new momentum in the market.

What Is Inbound Marketing?

Inbound marketing precisely the opposite of the traditional or aggressive marketing approach. It is the process through which a business attracts the customers naturally rather than seeking them out.

It means inbound marketing provides information and value to the people through different content. Thus, it creates a more lasting impression in the minds of the people.

Inbound marketing is comparatively a newer term, though the implementation of it started way before that. It got this name after Brian Halligan, co-founder, and CEO at Hubspot named it in 2005. After that, this term is being used in various marketing books, blogs, and journals.

It is now the ultimate “buzzword” in the marketing world.

How Inbound Marketing Works

Inbound marketing concentrates on earning the audience organically by providing valuable content of different sorts. On the other hand, traditional or outbound marketing focuses on paid campaigns, mostly, which require a lot more money to invest.

Inbound marketing comes with different marketing strategies, but these are some of the popular ones that attract the audience;

• Blog posts
• E-books
• Vlogs or video blogs
• Podcasts
• Webinars
• Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
• White paper
• Infographics, etc.

Through all of these ways, businesses provide information that potential customers are looking for. This is how eCommerce businesses and other businesses can grab the attention of the customers by intriguing their minds to know even more.

Whereas outbound marketing requires a lot of money to invest, inbound marketing requires a comparatively lesser expenditure on it.

To evaluate if the marketing approaches are working as per planning, Return on Investment or ROI plays a very crucial role. Determining the ROI with traditional marketing is not very easy to do. But with inbound marketing, you can do it pretty easily.

You can determine the ROI, and based on it; you can understand if all your inbound marketing approaches are working well. According to the result, you can decide on your next marketing strategies to generate more qualified leads to make even more sales.

Is Inbound Marketing for eCommerce Business?

Marketing is an ever-evolving topic. Consumer behavior is always changing. So what is working now might be obsolete a few days later.

Let’s have a look at how this is happening,

• In the USA alone, 79% of Smartphone users have made a purchase online using their mobile devices in the last six months of the year 2018. Again, 40% of all the holiday eCommerce purchases happen on a Smartphone device.

These data show, most of the potential customers get to know and interact with a business mostly through mobile and tab sorts of devices. So, having a mobile and cross-browser friendly website is essential.

• Online purchases are made with different social media as well. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. are now a very prominent medium of huge shopping potential. An eCommerce business owner needs to utilize that for sure.
• Voice search is getting popular every day. With the up-gradation of Artificial Intelligence, people are getting more prone to it. The increasing demand for Amazon Echo and Google Home is the evidence of it.

What do you find out from these data?

It proves previously mentioned words. Ecommerce business is continuously growing and evolving. It is changing at a very first pace, and it doesn’t rely on a single platform.

So, inbound marketing works tremendously well for this evolving and ever-changing eCommerce business. It is more applicable when the marketing campaigns need to be done in a tight budget.

But to make a thriving inbound marketing strategic plan, thoughtful and valuable content needs to be created. So even though the cost is comparatively less, the creative team has to come up with brilliant ideas.

These creative minds are the ones who will make the content that would stand out among all those cluttered content. Without adequately optimizing the inbound marketing opportunities for an eCommerce business, it is quite challenging to achieve success.

These are some of the goals that can be achieved through implementing inbound marketing for your eCommerce business,

• Attracting and increasing visitors to your website,
• To provide genuine value through your content to the prospective customers,
• Making people more curious about your brand and what you offer to them,
• Increasing the conversion rate; that means converting the qualified leads,
• Increasing the amount of order,
• To Increase the lifetime value of your brand,
• Building a long-lasting relationship with the customers.

How Inbound Marketing Contributes to the Success of an eCommerce Business

As it is already previously mentioned that according to Hubspot, inbound marketing does five core services. Along with these core services, there are some supporting services. These supporting services also play a massive role in the success of an eCommerce business.

With the core inbound marketing services, you have to combine these three elements like optimizing the Content Management System or CMS based website, posting quality content, and leveraging social media.

Now let’s dive into the core services of inbound marketing,

Attract

Here in this core service of inbound marketing, you try to attract potential ideal customers. In doing so, you strive to provide them with the valuable information they need to know before making the final purchase decision.

This way, you start promoting your business to them.

In the process of it, you have to do some tasks.  For example, to identify the target audience, to do thorough keyword research, creating and posting valuable blogs to your content management system or CMS based website, last but not the least social media interaction with potential customers.

Inbound marketing is the first part of all marketing campaigns. So, to begin with, firstly, you have to identify your target audience. You have to know what do they want and what their journey is, and where you can bring an impact. This way, you will connect more with them emotionally.

So, take enough time to create an accurate buyer persona. It would make the works easier later.

Keyword research is a must for creating valuable blog posts. It would let you know what your target audience is currently looking for. You can create blog posts targeting those keywords with useful information. Through organic search results, your website will get those target customers.

It is prevalent to look for where the target audiences mostly hang out in social media. You can choose to be active on those mediums and share valuable content to get a notice from those potential customers. Trying to grow your eCommerce business followers on social media is always a good idea, I must say.

Convert

After you are successful in attracting potential clients to your website, it’s time to convert them into your leads. You can do it when you know them enough.

For continuing interaction with potential customers, the common practice is to collect their contact details. There are some ways that you can embrace, to manage those leads.

Creating lead magnets like e-book, whitepaper, guides, forms, etc. can help convert the website visitors into leads through the exchange of information.

Then, you can use CTAs or Call-to-Action to your website. These would help the minds of the visitors of your website to take action while being on there. These CTAs would also help to get information from those visitors.

Grow

Its time to nurture your leads. There are so many marketing automation platforms that would help you to create an effective marketing funnel for your eCommerce business.

You can do the task manually as well without getting the help of any marketing automation platform. But this will be a real challenge for you to do. To find out if you are doing it in the right way, you can ask yourself these following questions.

• Are you collecting the email address of the qualified visitors?
• Are you classifying those leads according to some criteria that serve your purpose well?
• Have you created an automated workflow targeting those leads?

Can you answer all of the previous questions positively? If not, then you are letting your customers go in vain. It is not healthy for your eCommerce business.

Having a solid plan for the growing list is crucial. It is found that the average online shopping cart abandonment rate is around 70%. Can you imagine what impact it would have brought to your business if you could lessen the number?

Delight

Now the leads are flowing in and impacting your sales significantly. It’s time to make them true friends or loyal customers to your brand. Make them so satisfied with your offer that they start promoting your business to other people. Word of mouth still works in the world of marketing.

Here you have to apply some differentiating factors of your business that would amuse the customers. It would have a longer impression in their minds. Again here you can use some automation platform that would  do some tasks on your behalf like;

• After the purchase is complete, it would send personalized messages with different alluring offers with the CTAs.
• It would send a reminder for the customers who purchase frequently.
• Re-engage with the former customers with special offers.
• It would design different incentives to retain customers.

These are some of the prominent ways you can increase a customer’s lifetime value. The activities mentioned above will make a customer satisfied with your eCommerce business services. It would ultimately help to create a good reputation and build a strong brand.

Analyze

You have implemented all the inbound marketing strategies. It needed money that you gladly invested in, expecting a positive outcome. Now, how would you know if all the tasks of inbound marketing for eCommerce business worked or not?

The answer is through analytics and measuring.

It can be a bit overwhelming at the beginning. After some studies, you will get used to it, and things will get clearer about the data and analytics. There are so many tools that are there to make your works a lot easier.

You would get the insight about the journey of a visitor to your website. According to it, you can optimize your website. This way, you can increase the likelihood of conversion.

Wrapping Up

With the change of consumer behaviors, marketing tactics are also changing with it. People now find the traditional ways of marketing very much distracting. They are choosing every possible way to avoid those distractions. So inbound marketing tactics are here to stay.

Ecommerce businesses need to implement inbound marketing tactics to achieve their goals. It costs very little, and the result of it remains for so long. Moreover, the return of investment also tends to be more than the rest.

So, it is quite impossible to ignore the need for inbound marketing for an eCommerce business to attain the ultimate success.

What are you waiting for?

Implement inbound marketing in your eCommerce business and witness the result without further delay.

inbound marketing concept -DepositPhotos

 

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