Category: Strategies

With the increasing relevance of online shopping over the past few years, many businesses have moved online. Additionally, the onset of Covid-19 has also contributed to this rise in online shopping activities, making it necessary to safeguard your online business. Cyber threats are issues to be wary of as up to 60% of small businesses are projected to face some cyber-attack. To safeguard your business, you must know how to keep your money, data, and reputation safe. Here are some ways you can ensure that.

Use a secure hosting service

All successful online businesses have a website that is managed by a secure hosting service. Reliable hosting service providers are PCI compliant and ensure that transactions, including online payment processing, are safe from hackers and leaves no loopholes. Using a secure hosting service also means that you have control over the server space and speed. Before settling on a hosting service, check if your website will be provided with an SSL certificate that will mark your website as HTTPS, which will encrypt all communication between your users and your website.

Constantly update software

With hackers constantly finding ways to hack systems, software programmers are also kept on their toes, making sure they seal all loopholes. Constantly updating your software will play a crucial role in securing your online business. This will ensure that you have the latest security features and not be an easy target for cybercriminals. Get a cybersecurity expert to handle all such updates and install other security features that will keep all your information safe.

Protect your computer network

Buying a professional security package is worth it. However, only buy anti-virus and anti-malware products that are reliable. The best options usually include packages that offer website penetration testing and malware cleanup. With such packages, any malware that finds itself in your system will be swiftly handled.

Frequent back-ups

Often, the primary goal of cybercriminals is to steal data and hold you to ransom. Frequent backups can save you a lot of trouble in such a situation. Ensure that all important files are backed up and securely stored off-site. This makes it easy to restore them in the event of a cyber-attack, even when your servers are compromised. The best way is to have copies on the cloud and external hard drives.

Create secure firewalls

A firewall’s job is to monitor the network traffic that comes in or goes out to determine which data packets are to be blocked or permitted. You must have firewalls installed on your servers and all office devices to secure your internal networks from threats.

Use strong passwords

Passwords are security features that ensure that only authorized users access information. So, you should create and use strong passwords. A strong password often comprises upper and lower case letters, numbers, and other symbols. To improve security, make it a point to change passwords often and use two-factor authentication.

Online business is all the rave at the moment, making it a happy hunting ground for cybercriminals. Safeguard your online business today so that you do not fall victim. Once you know your business is secure, you can focus on completing transactions without fear of losing information or theft.

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, many people had to start working remotely – and unfortunately, not everyone liked it. Your workday just isn’t the same: inability to stay in touch with your colleagues, sitting in the same room all the time, and, of course, those constant distractions. Children, parents, long and lazy lunch breaks – all of these just don’t allow you to focus on the tasks.

But it doesn’t have to be like that. Yes, your surroundings significantly impact your productivity; however, you can change the way you act. Believe us – even changing from pajamas to a suit can make a difference, though mentoring apps such as MentorcliQ have been gaining popularity as well. Want to learn more about staying productive when working remotely? Here are 10 tips that can help you with that.

Get Up From Your Bed

Sleeping and working remotely have a lot in common: from the lack of motivation to the inability to concentrate. Thus, if you want to start your day with a bang, consider getting up from your bed/couch. Sit next to a desk – it will be easier for you to work. And apart from that, it will be also easy for you to take a break and go down for a snack.

Get Off Social Networks and Messengers

Social media platforms are terrible sources of distractions while working remotely because they force your brain to check for notifications, open new tabs, and read messages… And there are no limits to it. So, if social networks and messengers distract you while working remotely, turn off their notifications. You could also install an application that blocks them and all the distractions.

Eliminate All Distractions in One Place

If your workplace is full of distractions, there’s a way to eliminate all of them in one place: use an internet blocker. It’s a cool software that blocks websites of your choice based on the time of the day or when you’re using the computer. It prevents you from surfing the internet without any limit, so you won’t get distracted by Facebook, Twitter, news sites, etc.

Meet Deadlines Every Day

Deadlines are the best motivators for working remotely. Deadlines help you stay focused and prevent you from distractions. Sadly, some people tend to ignore deadlines when working remotely – for example, they might say ‘I’ll finish everything when I get back to work’ or ‘I don’t need to meet deadlines because I don’t have anybody to report to’. But it’s wrong: people who ignore deadlines aren’t reliable employees, and employers don’t need such people. Instead of putting it off until later, meet deadlines every day!

Stick to Strict Schedules

To improve your productivity while working remotely, consider sticking to strict schedules and organizing your days in advance. Writing down what you are going to do for the next day allows you to set your priorities and helps you focus on the task at hand. And if you follow your schedule, everything will be fine!

Don’t Put Off Tasks Until Later

If you don’t meet deadlines and allow yourself to put off tasks until later, you will never be productive while working remotely. If you don’t schedule your tasks, they will pile on top of each other – and then you will get stressed out because of it. To avoid this, write down what you are going to do for the next day and stick to the schedule!

Stay Offline Outside of Work Hours

When working remotely, your life revolves around the internet – but it doesn’t have to be like that when you get off. You can stay offline outside of work hours if you want to be more productive. What can you do offline? Read a book or play a board game with friends – anything that involves communication and/or interaction with other people! Communication is very important when working remotely; hence, if you want to increase your productivity while working remotely, don’t overuse the same tool you’re using for work during your off hours.

Relax Before Going to Sleep at Night

Getting distracted by thoughts and worries will destroy your night sleep – and there goes your next day productivity! So if you want to get a good sleep before going back to work tomorrow, try to relax before going to sleep at night – play a game with a colleague or read something funny/interesting on the Internet (not work-related!). These activities can help you relax before going to sleep at night!

Use Headphones While Working Remotely

Working remotely in silence is one of the best ways to get rid of distractions: it makes you stay focused on the task at hand, and it helps to eliminate unnecessary distractions in the long run (for example, one can easily concentrate on work when listening to favorite music). We recommend using headphones while working remotely because they allow you to listen to music or podcasts without disturbing other people!

Stick to a Schedule

You should follow a schedule while working remotely – not only to stay focused on the task at hand and get a good night sleep, but also to be more productive in general. It’s because scheduling your tasks allows you to prioritize them and get things done without any additional effort. It’s like planning dinner: if you have everything ready, you can spend less time cooking, eating, and cleaning up – and spend time with your friends and family instead!

Conclusion

Though when faced with the reality of remote work, most people were extremely happy at first, it turned out that it might not be one-sidedly good idea. A limited amount of time spent with our friends, no one to talk to during your lunch breaks, or the endless monotony – all of these have made it more difficult for us to stay focused.

However, it doesn’t mean that there is no way to combat this state of affairs. That’s why we have prepared this article, to help you find the inner strength so that you might find a way to focus, even in those trying times.

You’ve undoubtedly read many articles on SEO and link building in particular, both on this website and elsewhere. You may have noted down the ‘best’ methods to use so you can drive quality targeted traffic to your website. You’ve probably even read Google’s SEO guide.

But, what you may not have done is researched the link-building mistakes you need to avoid all the time! The trouble with the Web is people can sometimes find it challenging to sort helpful content from stuff that’s likely to get you in trouble somehow.

With that in mind, how can you avoid making catastrophic mistakes with your SEO link-building campaigns? Here’s a list of the worst offenders and why you must avoid them at all costs:

1. Curating Content for the Sake of Curating Content

It’s no secret that pages with just a couple of paragraphs of text aren’t going to do your search engine optimization any favors. Any reputable link building SEO agency or professional will tell you that it’s crucial to create high-quality long-form content.

However, you shouldn’t be churning out hundreds or even thousands of pages of content on your website for the sake of SEO. The only legitimate reason for doing that would be if you were building a Wikipedia rival!

2. Forgetting About Formatting

What do you think might happen if someone visited a page on your website via a Google search and they ended up looking at a massive block of text. Are they going to feel compelled to read all that text, or will they simply hit the back button on their browser?

Of course, the latter is most likely to happen. When you create content on your site as part of your link-building strategies, you need to break up the text. Here are some tips to illustrate what you should be doing:

• Limit paragraphs to two or three sentences;
• Limit each sentence to a maximum of thirty words;
• Use headings and sub-headings to break up chunks of text;
• Use bullet points to illustrate essential points or facts.

3. Gaining Links From Unscrupulous Sources

Many website and blog owners know they can make money by offering to host “sponsored content” and provide a backlink to a specific web page on an external host. The trouble is, some link builders ask for backlinks from sites without researching them first.

Do you really want your website and your brand to get associated with some shady sites? If the answer’s no, you must carry out due diligence on the websites and blogs you want to approach.

4. Copying Your Competitors

Doing the same thing as your competitors from a link-building perspective is something of a double-edged sword. Sure, you want to reach the same audiences like them, so you could target the sites they used in their previous outreach campaigns.

However, copying your competitors is also bad for several reasons:

• You could be reaching out to websites and blogs owned by them or affiliated with them;
• Some sites may refuse to work with you due to an exclusivity agreement;
• You might end up creating the same link-building mistakes as them.

Instead, it makes sense to forge a unique link-building campaign that targets your specific audience rather than someone else’s audience.

Why Ranking High On Google Search Results Is Good For You?

Every business today wants to be on the top of Google search results. Ranking high means you will be able to sell more of your product or service. Also, research shows that people are likely to trust the top results more and hence end up buying from you. But you are not alone in this thinking. Your competitors too are constantly striving to get that top spot on the first page.

A savvy website with a lot of effects and a calligraphic font is not enough to rank you high. Even the most beautiful websites which do not show up on the first 20 to 30 results are unlikely to be seen by their target markets. With people now not only buying online frequently but are also researching online before buying from a physical location, businesses cannot afford not to be seen.

It’s time to take matters into your hand and build a game plan to prosper your business online.

Top Tips To Rank Rank High On Google Search Results

When you search for improving online presence tips for your business, there comes up a tonne of courses, books, blogs, videos, and whatnot, giving you the best advice. Although paid advertising is mentioned quite often for ranking high, we decided to scratch the surface for you and help you develop a long-term plan for your online authority through SEO or Search Engine Optimization.

Start with SEO

SEO or search engine optimization is an organic process of bringing your website to the top results. Though it may incur a cost to implement it, it leads to free traffic in the future. To begin with, hire an SEO expert who can help you understand the importance and process. Specialists from the Los Angeles SEO company Zero Limit Web help improve SEO by improving the usage of the right keywords. Using the right keywords ensures that your customer can find you when they search for you online.

Observe SEO of Your Competitors Closely

Yes, this is important too! By analyzing your competitor’s SEO activities you can compete with them. You can then map out a strategy to beat them in their own game. Analyzing their websites, keywords, backlinks, and social media will help you set goals to surpass your competitors. Remember this is a continuous activity as business competition will never cease to stop. They too might try to overstep you and vice versa. It is important to monitor it on an ongoing basis.

Create Unique Content

Be it blogs or website content, Google loves content that is unique. Making sure that the title is SEO-friendly will bring much more value. Creating good content through blogs can help drive more traffic to your website. Other factors to keep in mind are the length of the blog as longer reads are deemed to be more valuable to consumers and Google recognizes that. To get consistent attention to your blogs might take some time but with continuous effort, you are ensured to see good results reflecting in your lead generation and sales.

Don’t Ignore On-Page SEO

Before starting with social sharing and blogging it is important to have your On-Page SEO set right. It includes correct titles, meta descriptions, image names, anchor text, headers, and good content. A right and precise on-page SEO ensures your website and content are connected and can be identified when a consumer searches for it. Google algorithms are constantly changing so it can better understand the search results the consumers need. Small and big businesses must take On-page SEO with priority.

Start Ranking High!

As much as you have heard of paid traffic and SEO, the bottom line remains that if you want to rank your website high on Google, there’s a lot of work to be done. So, start with building a good strategy, implement it with full persistence and keep updating as changes seem necessary. With time, your business will surely reap long-term rewards.

Being the owner and proprietor of your very own business is a good way to kick the typical 9-5 and become the controller of your own destiny. It definitely takes a lot of work, but when you figure it out, you start to understand why so many people choose to go the entrepreneurial route instead of working for a salary.

The advantages of owning a small business are more apparent now that we have so much digital technology to help out. This includes web design, which allows for anyone to become a business owner from anywhere. In fact, there are plenty of ways web design can improve a small business, and here are some important ones.

Help Create a Signature Brand

Branding is one of the single most important aspects of owning any kind of business. Even social media influencers need to focus on what is known as a brand. Before it used to be about the products of a company, but now it’s about name recognition more than ever. Brand awareness is facilitated much easier through web design as a logo and a unique design can be crafted that is instantly recognizable. If you look at the folks from Kitching Ltd, you can see that web design is so important that people outsource this work. The need to create a recognizable image is crucial to building up a small business into an established icon or household name, and web design can facilitate it.

Provide More Reliable Service

The reason why so many people prefer to shop online or use a website is because of convenience. The act of getting in your car or getting on public transit, then heading down to a shop, then finding out the product you wanted isn’t there is all too frustrating for so many people. This problem persists in many ways, but the best part of good web design is that you can easily provide information to customers online about your product stock. Informing people in just a handful of clicks of their mouse makes it easier for them to place something on backorder and contact you much faster.

Focus on Contemporary Marketing Tactics

Advertising on billboards and on the radio is going the way of the dinosaur. The need to expand marketing tactics in the modern age is more important than ever, and when you consider how important branding is, you can understand why it’s so necessary to create a strong presence online. PPC (pay-per-click) ads, SEO (search engine optimization), SEM (search engine marketing), are all examples of ways that web design can incorporate marketing in a contemporary way without coming across as cheap. Peppering ads across a web page isn’t as common as it used to be and as the game evolves, web design is right there to help make digital marketing better for small business owners.

Future of Commerce is Online

As mentioned, the future of commerce is online because people don’t want to go down to a store and have to buy things in real interaction. People want to be able to order a new pair of shoes while lounging on their couch watching their favorite show. This is becoming a huge revelation as small and huge businesses alike realize they don’t even need to have a storefront or physical building to sell products because people do most of their shopping online. This helps a business focus on web design as their storefront, and saves them money instead of creating a real retail space.

Create a Better Experience

Finally, good web design should elicit positive emotions. You might not notice it, but when you go to your favorite site, you probably aren’t annoyed at how long it takes to load, or how hard it is to find the right drop-down menus or any kind of inconvenience. You see and understand where everything is and it just makes sense. This kind of experience is good because it brings people back for more, which is necessary for a small business to stay afloat. A good experience on a business website and greatly increase the chances of customers sticking around and eventually buying something.

You might picture a small business not needing good web design, but the truth of the matter is that good web design is a necessity for a small business to thrive. This is the way the future of commerce is going, so it should be a priority to make sure that a website is functional but also attractive.

Truth be told, creativity is the core of any entrepreneurial venture. As a matter of fact, it is through creativity that thousands if not millions of businesses have been established. However, it is also one of the entrepreneurial aspects that require ultimate keenness. It tends to be even more important among creative businesses, especially for sensitive processes such as drafting contracts for employees, clients, and partners.

A clearly drafted contract essentially ensures you are “on the same page” with the parties you are working for or with. It also helps to make sure that your creative business expectations are met efficiently. Most importantly, it helps keep things legal in the running of your business. On the flip side, a poorly drafted creative business contract can be a source of disappointment, losses, and eventual failure.

So, do you run or are you thinking of starting your own creative business but having no idea how to draft quality contracts? If yes is your answer, this piece is for you. 

Here are some tips you could use to avoid poorly drafted contracts.

1. Define the Scope of Your Work Clearly

As a creative business owner, you need to state clearly and specifically every vital element surrounding the creative project you will be undertaking. For instance, it should include the project timelines, deliverables, and so on. Otherwise, wise you may get frustrated when your clients keep requesting frequent project adjustments. In such a scenario, you will just waste your significant chunks of time which could otherwise be used in other productive creative activities. With a clearly defined project scope, once the contract is signed, any additional changes should go along with additional cost implications.  

2. Utilize Disclaimers to Prevent Liability 

Like businesses in many other industries, creative businesses could attract certain liabilities. If you are promoting someone else’s work or product, for instance, you could easily attract lawsuits if it turns out that they are not the original owners of the work or product. As explained at BerkleySweetApple.com, disclaimers can help protect your business from civil liability in various ways. Some of these ways include:

• Providing notice of ownership for your intellectual property
• When promoting free products or at a fee
• Working in industries that need a practicing license
• When running advisory services on a website

3. Ensure You Are Clear On Who Will Own Your Creative Work

When it comes to contracts involving creative work, never forget to include a statement on the particular creative work ownership. For example, as a graphic designer, you may create logos, and as a writer, you may be requested to write a paid guest blog post. In such scenarios, it may be unclear who owns the particular creative work and the rights associated with the work. So, you may decide to assign ownership to the client or grant them a license with terms of usage. The license dictates terms such as how, where, and for how long a client should use your creative work, whether you will be receiving royalty payments upon use or sale of your creative work, etc.

4. Describe the Project Changes and the Associated Cost Implications

Most often, no matter how clear the project scope is, some clients will still want to do some changes here and there to the original project requirements. In fact, some will expect you to do additional work without any extra payments. In this kind of situation, clearly written and signed agreements come in handy. It should clearly stipulate what happens in case of added work or project changes, including costs and obligations.

5. Nail down Everything Concerning Money Matters

Let’s face it; most contracts related clashes are due to money matters. Therefore, it is essential to clearly specify all the details about your payments. In fact, just quoting your price isn’t enough, and invoices are not contracts either. You need to go ahead and clarify the terms of payments. For example, you may decide to either receive some portion of your fees upfront or get paid some set amounts after achieving specified project milestones. Other terms may include outlining how to get compensated in case a client cancels a project after you have already started working on it. Also, elaborate on whether you will be reimbursed for your incurred expenses. In a nutshell, you are just trying to establish a solid agreement with your client on money matters to avoid future money-related conflicts.

6. Specify the Process to Be Followed When Changing the Agreement 

While a written contract is the final agreement with your clients, the reality of the matter is that the contract may still require some unavoidable changes. However, there should be a specified procedure to follow when undertaking this process. The process should be on fairgrounds for both parties. Most people may ask for the changes orally via phone calls, which is rarely a reliable approach. It may lead to arguments since there is no written record to validate the process.

Finally, you will also want to make it clear that the written agreement is final. When putting down a contract agreement, the goal is to identify things that could cause unnecessary misunderstanding and confusion with your client or the parties you work with. It also established laid-down guidelines to address disagreements that could crop up in the process of conducting business. This means that it should be professionally drafted. The above tips can help when running a creative business.