The 7 Most Effective Ways to Increase your Conversion Rate

Set Logical Goals for Your Business

Marketing executives may have you believe that in order for your business to make money, you need to get your message across. While that is true, it only represents one half of the equation. Even if people hear about your products, how many will visit your website, and of those who do visit, what percentage actually ends up making a purchase? Obviously, getting people interested in your product is a great start, but the second half of the puzzle is getting them to act. Let's look at the 7 most effective ways to increase your conversion rate and your bottom line.

What are conversions?

Before we dive deeper, it might be best if we get our definitions straight. Your rate of conversions represents the number of users who perform a desired action after arriving on your website. This can be clicking on a button, filling out a form, or making a purchase. You'll need to find ways to get users to perform the action you want them to, rather than just leave the website as soon as they arrive.

Here are the 7 most effective ways to increase your conversion rate

Optimize through testing

One of the best ways to get things to work is to keep testing and experimenting until you find a solution that works. If you ever run into a situation where you are unsure which headline to use, you can simply run an A/B split test to see which works better. Create several alternative pages and divide the traffic equally among them. Afterward, you can track the results to see which page gives you more conversions. When it comes to marketing effectiveness, perfection is hard to achieve, and some would even say it's impossible. Therefore, you'll need to experiment to find the most effective ways to increase your conversion rate and optimize through several iterations until you find something that gives you the desired results.

/Try several different layouts to see which one will increase your conversion rate.
Alt-tag: Login screen on a phone.

Have a strong Call to Action

No one is going to be impressed by an unoriginal CTA. Try to come up with something better than a generic "Sign up" for your landing page. A much better copy for your CTA is something that sounds positive and inspires people to act. "Yes, I'm interested in getting a discount" is much better since it is written from the perspective of your customers and it frames your offer in a positive light. As with many other items on this list, you can test several options to see which one gets more clicks. You could also experiment with different uses of colors. This will let you draw attention to certain parts of the screen and visually guide your users to where you want them to click.

Declutter your website

If your site is a mess of complicated menus, odd design choices, and far too many ads - users can quickly get confused. Even if they came to your website intending to sign up for your services, they might not know how to proceed. You should improve the visual aspect of your website by removing all of the noise and distractions. Anything that can draw your user away from what they initially came to your website for probably shouldn't be there in the first place. Sometimes less is more, and a clean design will help the essential elements of your website's design stand out.

Make user onboarding simple and easy.

Streamline your forms

Complicated forms can drive your users away before they have filled out and submitted the information in the form. You should simplify the forms and remove all unnecessary fields. When designing forms, you need to ask yourself: do you really need all of the information you are asking from your users. One of the most effective ways to increase your conversion rate is to make it easy for website visitors to subscribe, fill out orders and make a purchase. Those visitors who have expressed an interest and opened a form are some of your most precious leads, and it would be a shame to drive them away when they are so close to completing a form.

Offer valuable content

Content can represent the initial hook some people need to visit your site. Not everyone who sees your website or the ads leading to it will immediately want to make a purchase. Of course, some people will be enticed by your offers and will want to check out your site for more details. On the other hand, you can try to persuade some online users to visit your website by hosting interesting content and informative articles. Try to create educational content that will cover how your products are used and the benefits they can provide. Your content should also answer common user questions and reinforce your products and services as the solutions to the problems users may be facing.

Have reviews and testimonials on your website

If you have numerous satisfied customers, you should be proud to let others know about it. Have testimonials visible on your site. People love seeing proof that something is effective, and positive reviews can go a long way to increasing your conversion rate. Users will be much more likely to take the plunge and make a purchase if they see that they aren't the only one who is doing business with you.

Simple percentual discounts don't have a sense of urgency.

Incentivize immediate action

Having your users make an immediate purchase can save you a lot of time and money that you would otherwise spend following up on that lead and trying to make a conversion at a later date. However, most people aren't inclined to make impulse purchases. That's where basic marketing psychology can step in to help you. You'll need to understand how scarcity and exclusivity function. Evaluate your business strategy, and see how you can best put to use the fear of missing out to get more users to act when they visit your site. People hate missing out on great offers, but you can't just call something exclusive and hope people buy it. For your customers to feel like they are making an exclusive purchase, you need to offer great deals but only at a limited time or in a limited quantity.

In conclusion

Now that we've gone over the 7 most effective ways to increase your conversion rate, it's time to do some tweaking on your website. Don't be afraid to try something new to see if it will work. The results might surprise you, and you could end up with a higher rate of conversions.

What Aspiring Entrepreneurs Need to Know About Cybersecurity

Have a strategy for dealing with a cyber-attack

Photo by Amol Tyagi on Unsplash

What Aspiring Entrepreneurs Need to Know About Cybersecurity

Cybercrime is not something most entrepreneurs account for when starting a new business - a serious lapse that often bites them in the back later. 43 percent of cyber-attacks target small businesses, according to Fundera, costing a staggering $2.2 million in damages each year. Only 40 percent of them manage to recover from the loss, with the rest shutting shop within 6 months.

If you're a newly-minted or aspiring business owner, you need to care about cybersecurity just to survive. In this mini-guide, Cryan offers insight into cybersecurity, with some tips on protecting your business:

Know what's at stake

Cyber-attacks can affect you on several levels, not just financially. You must know what's at stake. That way, you know what to safeguard, not to mention be aware of the price of potential failure.

• Data: Hackers may steal intellectual property, product designs, employee information, customer information, financial reports, sales data, and more.
• Money: Hackers may attempt to swipe company funds directly, acquire customer or employee payment information, or even hold your data for ransom.
• Identity: Identity theft is where hackers use you or your stakeholder's information to commit financial fraud.
• Infrastructure: Some hackers will attempt to take over your hardware and business resources for their own use or financial gain.

Protect your business

Next, implement some security safeguards for your operation. You should be able to do this yourself with some research and, possibly, advice from an expert. If your small business handles a lot of money or sensitive information, you may want to consider hiring an expert. Below are some suggestions on what to do:

• Eliminate the human weak-link: Humans are the weakest link in cybersecurity, according to the ACT. Their mistakes - like leaving passwords lying around or installing unsafe files - allow hackers to worm their way through your defenses. Educate your employees and yourself on cyber-safety best practices to minimize this vulnerability.
• Shore up your security: Make sure your security is airtight. Some suggestions are using a VPN, limiting access to sensitive information, using anti-virus and monitoring software, enabling firewalls, downloading from trusted sources only, and backing up your information.
• Identify avenues of approach: By learning how hackers operate, you can avoid falling prey to their tricks. Learn about common hacking techniques like phishing, keylogging, and click-baiting to avoid being taken in by attempts.
• Update your software: Every software item you use, from your operating system to productivity tool, receives regular security updates. Failing to update regularly allows hackers to exploit known vulnerabilities.
• Password-protect PDFs: Password-locking your PDFs is a great way to protect your sensitive data. PDF files are convenient to use, not to mention easy to encrypt. Adobe Acrobat offers free online tools to easily manage, edit, compress, password-lock, and combine PDFs.
• Get insurance: You won't catch all hacking attempts. That's why insurance may be a good fallback. It will help you get back on your feet faster.

Have a strategy for dealing with a cyber-attack

Last, but not least, you must have a strategy for dealing with a cyber-attack. No security setup is perfect and, despite your best efforts, you may end up being hacked. It pays to be prepared for the possibility (or eventuality).

Most large, successful businesses have a strategy to deal with the consequences of a cyber-attack. As a new operation, you will have to cobble together a semi-formal strategy from scratch. You likely can't afford to hire a team, but you can still learn and implement threat-response best practices. Some suggestions, courtesy of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, are below:

• Check what happened: Have a threat-analysis audit. Check the systems affected, determine the type of threat, and potential damages caused.
• Take care of the problem: Take affected systems offline to curtail the threat. Quarantine, scan, and clean your systems, as necessary. Use backups, if available, to stay operational.
• Update your security: Needless to say, you need to up your security game. Update your systems, put new safeguards in place, and document known weaknesses.
• Protect your reputation: Unless you respond to the threat transparently and reassure your customers, your reputation could take a hit. PR efforts are necessary to bounce back effectively.

Conclusion

For maximum safety, focus on presenting a hard target for hackers. Essentially, if the reward for targeting you doesn't seem worth it to the hacker, they will likely leave you be and go in search of easier prey. Some preparation now will save you a great deal of trouble down the road.

Facebook API Errors

Solution to the Missing Permission Error

If your a developer using Facebook's API you may have encountered some of these errors:

• Error validating access token: The session has been invalidated because the user changed their password or Facebook has changed the session for security reasons.
• Error Downloading Account: ('(#100) Missing permissions',

  Response:
    {
      "error": {
        "message": "(#100) Missing permissions",
        "type": "OAuthException",
        "code": 100,
        "fbtrace_id": "AIxe3azfOU99dz1pMuLlN-A"
      }
    }

Easy Solution

The reason for these errors is that the user hasn't fully validated themself to Facebook. They have to prove to Facebook that they are a real person.

This is done by going to the users Facebook Settings page, https://www.facebook.com/settings/ and selecting the "Identiy Confirmation."

You'll Have to Wait!

Part of the process involves Facebook sending you a postcard to verify your address. Once you get the card, you enter the code and Facebook will enable all the Ad feeatures. This should eliminate the "Missing Permissions" error message.

8 Surprising Things You Did not Know About Christmas Trees

Learn Something new about Christmas Trees

What do you know about Christmas Trees? Are you a Christmas Tree Trivia expert?

The people at Tree Triage put together a very informative page on the "8 Surprising Things You Didn't Know About Christmas Trees."

In the article, they will answer the following:

• What is its history?
• How can you keep it from becoming a fire hazard?
• How do you make the tree last longer?
• What do they symbolize?
• How do you dispose of it responsibly?

Check out the article - who knows you make learn something that will help you win the next holiday contest at work

https://www.treetriage.com/tree-removal/christmas-trees/

Mental Training for QA

Putting Your Mind in a Position to Think Confidently and Compete Well

This is a spin-off of a Mental Training Plan that I found many years ago. I thought I had posted this before but was surprised to find that I hadn't.

Mental Training for QA

Putting Your Mind in a Position to Think Confidently and Compete Well

Motivation and Commitment

• Personal Meaning and Incentives (what drives you to reach your goals)
• The Psychology of Personal Excellence (Terry Orlick, 2000, "In Pursuit of Excellence")
• Knowing where you want to go (having a vision)
• How much you really want to get there (commitment)
• How strongly you believe in your ability to arrive at your desired destination (belief)
• Connecting with each step in front of you (focused connection)
• Ask yourself "what type of qa engineer do I want to become here at {Company Name}, and what is it going to take for me to get there" (vision and commitment)

Mission to Excellence

• The pursuit of excellence starts with getting to know your own patterns (awareness)
• What is it like when performing at peak? How do you respond to pressure? What situations cause you to get frustrated and lose focus? What goes on in your head when you are performing well vs struggling?
• With this awareness, you can better establish priorities, and develop strategies to gain control.

Connecting with your Goals: Creating a road map for success

• Challenge yourself to work on areas that need improvement
• Goals should be challenging, measurable, self-referenced, and within your control
• Technique goals, practice goals, competition goals, mental training goals, strength/conditioning goals, etc.
• Goal Planning (begin with the end in mind, develop specific action plans and strategies for achievement)
• Set short term goals (daily/weekly, monthly) in relation to long term objectives (Career)
• Balance outcome goals with performance goals
• Outcome goals (Bonuses)
• Performance goals (In order to win the big accounts, we need to commit ourselves to .....)
• Write your goals down and specify timetables for achievement
• Monitor, evaluate, and adjust your goals based on the progress you are making (adapt and persist)
• Get in habit of using weekly journals
• Think of creative ways to quantify and measure your goals
• Take Pride and Ownership over your goals - be accountable to yourself and to your teammates
• Finally, have a passion for you are doing - challenge yourself to raise the bar in your pursuit of excellence

Mental Preparation for Peak Performance

• Develop your own mental plan for competing effectively (thoughts, emotions, attitude, intensity, focus)
• Top performers consistently prepare themselves for peak performance (have/adhere to very systematic competition focusing plans and pre-performance routines)
• Think Like a Champion (expect to do well, believe in yourself, trust yourself and be confident)
• Approach competition with proper mindset (mentally and emotionally ready to give it your best effort)
• Positive Expectations and Positive Thoughts (think and act confidently)
• Visualization Training: Program your mind, muscles, and emotions for success
• Develop your Imagination - make your imagery as vivid, realistic, and detailed as possible ("Feelization")
• Script Success - Imagine how you will achieve your goals (action plans for achievement)
• Focus on what you want to occur
• See yourself performing well in a variety of different competitive situations
• See/Feel yourself Performing Great - with confidence, full focus, competitive intensity, and trust
• Positive energizing cues help create vivid imaging ("quick hands", "see it and drive it hard")
• Mentally prepare yourself for coping with adversity and/or distractions effectively

Mental Focusing: Concentration, Confidence, and Composure

• Control the Controllables: Stay Focused on You
• What do you need from yourself at each situation, each project to compete w/confidence, intensity, full focus?
• Self-Regulation Skills (mental and emotional readiness, emotion/energy management, positive self-talk)
• Embrace the Pressure (harness the high energy of competition and make it work for you)
• Connect with your Competition Goals (game plan, purposeful intentions, sense of being on a mission)
• Confidence (tied to the way you think, feel, act)
• Condition your mind to think confidently (believe in yourself, expect the best from yourself, trust)
• Success breeds confidence, hence, build on past accomplishments, find your rhythm and flow
• Concentration and Attentional Focusing (immerse yourself in the moment, connect with your performance)
• Develop a systematic pre-performance routine and adhere to these routines while competing
• Improves consistency and focus, enables you to take it one pitch at a time
• Immerse yourself in the moment, quiet your mind, put everything on autopilot, trust your preparation and ability, and let your competitive instincts take over
• Poise and Composure while competing
• Breathing: Your most versatile mental skill (clears tension and clears clutter in the mind)
• Patience - let the game come to you (respond to each situation with confidence, poise, and full focus)
• Refocusing: Let go of mistakes quickly and learn how to take it one project at a time
• Don't allow frustration to undermine your confidence or focus
• Be Persistent and Mentally Tough - never give in or give up

Tips for Becoming a Tech-Savvy Senior

9 Helpful tips for Seniors

Americans 50 and older are embracing more tech with 81% of adults 60 to 69 owning a smartphone and three-quarters of Americans 50 and older regularly using social media, according to an AARP survey. If you're ready to embrace technology, use these tips to learn more.

Choose the Right Device

Test different devices to find one that's intuitive and easy for you to use, especially if you have limited mobility. Tablets are often ideal because they have larger screens than smartphones, but they aren't bulky like laptops. Some devices, like the GrandPad tablet, are designed for seniors, delivering only the features they need.

Ask for a Demo

If you buy your device in a store, as for a demo before you leave. For example, if you want an iPad, you can take a short drive from Framingham to the Natick Apple Store to have them set up your new device and show you how to use it.

Attend a Class

Tech classes for seniors focus on the basics to help older people learn how to video chat, navigate devices, and do other basic tasks. Senior centers or community colleges might offer these classes locally.

Learn Online

If you already have a basic understanding of navigating the internet, online tech classes for seniors can help you learn more. GetSetUp is designed for older adults and offers tech classes. Another resource for tech and other classes for seniors is Senior Planet from AARP.

Practice With Family

If you have family members visit, do a test run with video chatting or other programs you plan to use. That way, they can help if you have difficulty, and you can get pointers from them to improve your comfort with technology. You can also practice with a neighbor or friend who's comfortable with technology.

Get Extra Gear

If you plan to video chat with your family often, having a quality pair of headphones can help. Noise-canceling headphones block out background noise and concentrate the sound, so you can better focus on the conversation. Decide on your budget, and choose headphones with good reviews at that price point.

Keep your headphones at a reasonable level. Anything over 70 decibels can damage your hearing over prolonged periods,according to the CDC. Normal conversation or the sound of an air conditioner is about 60 decibels while your washing machine is about 70 decibels.

Trial and Error

Improving your tech skills often happens with trial and error. The more you use your technology devices, the more you'll become comfortable with them. Start with what you know and expand from there to learn more.

Practice Online Safety

Create strong passwords for all devices, apps, and websites. Install antivirus software on your devices, updating the programs frequently to protect yourself from cyberattacks. Do updates on your device when they become available. Never click links from people you don't know or links from unsolicited emails, as they could lead to viruses or cyberattacks.

Become Tech Savvy

You don't have to become a tech expert, but finding the right equipment and jumping in can help you become more comfortable with technology. Visit the Cryan's tech blog for more useful tips.

Image via Pexels

How to Get the Most Out of Your Social Media Strategy

Tips and Tricks to get you moving

No matter what kind of business you have, you're probably using some social networks for it. They're great tools to connect with your current customers and reach new people. However, if you just create an account and post from time to time, it will get you nowhere. Instead, you need to create a plan and stick to it. But how to get the most out of your social media strategy?

You might think that this is a big job, and you wouldn't be wrong. Of course, you can't dedicate all your time to it. But at the same time, it doesn't make sense to do it if it won't bring you any results. Hence, the trick is in finding the right balance.

In other words, you should focus only on the things that could make a difference for your company and bring you closer to your goals. For example, if you want to modernize your moving business, social media is a great tool to use.

It all sounds like common sense, we know. And it can be easy, but only if you do it correctly from the start. So, let's see what steps you need to take to get there.

Set Logical Goals for Your Business

For your social media strategy to work, it must have realistic goals. A good place to start is to ask yourself what you want from social platforms.

Now, the accent here is on ''realistic''. It's always a good idea to tackle the smaller objectives first and then scale things up when the time is right. You'll learn how to do things properly, and it'll make the whole process a lot easier.

Here are some sample goals that you might find interesting to use for your strategy. You can combine any of them, but be sure not to push it too far. Keep things simple and stick to one or two objectives to get the best results.

• Increase brand awareness
• Get leads and sales
• Grow your audience
• Boost engagement
• Drive traffic to your site

Make your strategy logical if you want it to work.

Research Your Target Audience

Try not to make assumptions about your followers. It's crucial that you understand your target audience as well as possible, so you know how to sell them whatever you're selling.

It pays off to take the long route and research them as much as possible. Knowing a lot about your social media audience means that you'll understand how they behave online. You'll also know when they're active, so you can consider automating your business's posting. And automation is excellent as it allows you to do the majority of work whenever you can, and the posts will publish themselves when you tell them to do so.

To point you in the right direction, we'll give you a glimpse of what you can expect on the most popular platforms out there.

• Facebook and YouTube are great for ads. Most of their users have high earnings, so if you want to sell, this is where you should be.
• If you want to get to Millenials and Gen Z, look no further than Instagram. Here, bold, eye-catching content will get you noticed.
• Pinterest is used a lot more by women than by men. So, if this is your target audience, you know what you need to do.
• If you're looking for a well-educated user base, LinkedIn is as good as it gets. Here, you post that in-depth niche content that you couldn't post on Facebook.

One of the main takeaways from how to get the most out of your social media strategy is that you don't spread yourself too thin. Instead, focus on platforms that your audience already uses.

Find Out What Metrics are Important for You

Regardless of your industry or specific goals, you should rely on data when shaping your strategy. Of course, this doesn't mean that you should track every metric out there. On the contrary, keep an eye on the things that matter for your goals.

For instance, if you want to get your home-based business off the ground, you need to keep track of how many people you reach. And if you're trying to get your community active, high engagements are what you need.

There are other things like clicks, hashtag performance, likes, and sentiment. Each of them will play a big part in a specific scenario. So, take your time and learn about the numbers. If you know what they're all about, you'll know how to look at them and use them.

Keep track only of metrics that matter to you.

Work on Your Content

You can't have a good strategy without good content. Consider your goals, audience, and brand to figure out what kind of content you need to post and where. Use this information to create a content strategy that will help you get closer to your followers.

Here, you want to develop a content theme and stick to it. Find a way to communicate to your audience that will set you apart. You want them to recognize your posts as soon as they see them. If you manage to do that, you'll create a long-lasting impression that will help your brand.

Don't be afraid to show your human side on social media. As a matter of fact, we recommend you do this. Your followers will be glad to know that there are real people behind the company. It will make them feel closer to you, which can't be a bad thing.

Pay Attention to Timing

If you want to use social media to move your business forward, you have to think about timing. Research and find out when is the best time to post on the platforms you're using. If you post at the right moment, you'll get plenty of engagement, and your content will find its way to more people.

Now, you can automate the process and tell the software when you want things to be published. However, it's a good idea that someone from your team is active when your posts go live. When your followers start writing comments and asking questions, you need to respond as soon as possible.

If you want to get to the bottom of how to get the most out of your social media strategy, always be on time with your posts.

Conclusion

So, how to get the most out of your social media strategy? As you can see, it only takes a bit of work to put together a tactic that will work. The tips we gave you today will make sure you don't spin in circles or shout to an empty room. Follow them, and you'll find your audience, and they'll love what you do.

Meta description: Find out how to get the most out of your social media strategy. Learn all the tricks and start growing your business from today.

Ways to modernize your moving business

Practical Tips for your business

The quick advancement of technology over the last couple of decades has been affecting several industries. And those changes didn't bypass the moving industry either. The digital evolution, accompanied by progressive software development, is making a serious impact on how many businesses operate today. More significance is given to the modernization of operations, communication, and relationship with customers. As a result, competition in the moving industry is continuously growing. And expanding the customer base is becoming more difficult by the day. Given these points, regardless of the size of your company,??you have to modernize your moving business to survive the harsh market conditions.

How tech can help you modernize your moving business

In a way, everything seems like switching from analog to digital. To adapt, a moving company has to??understand and follow the changes in its market. Most importantly, it has to understand its customers better. Because with technology, the expectations, perspectives, and behavior of potential customers are changing as well. While deciding to modernize your moving business is relatively easy, knowing where to start is the real challenge.

There are several ways to improve your operations and expand your customer base. Here, we'll discuss a few that can help you better adapt to the circumstances.

Embrace the technology

Generally,??one of the best ways to modernize your moving business is to embrace new technologies. While it may seem exceedingly overwhelming at first, the results are worth it.

Here are a few examples of technologies that a moving company should consider:

• Callback and automation software
• Chatbox on your website
• Better online estimates
• Upgrading the communication channels
• Improving the customer service system
• More effective scheduling
• Geotargeting and local advertising
• Vehicle tracking systems
• Solutions for monitoring deliveries and movement
• Route optimization solutions
• Analytics and reports of information

In the long run, using tech in your daily operations will lower operational costs and save resources. For this, there are different software solutions created specifically for the moving industry.

Both business owners and customers benefit from using advanced software solutions.

Modernize your business website

As one of the primary focuses of marketing efforts, a business website must follow the trends. It is??among the first places potential customers check??when looking for a suitable moving company. Depending on the quality and relevance of your website, they will evaluate you immediately. That's why it has to be modern, clean, functional, and useful, above all.

Second, your website needs to??represent your brand??among other competitors properly. Being that today's customers are more tech-literate than before, they will make their own comparisons. Failing to??provide them with a good user experience??will only drive them towards your competitors. To avoid this, make sure you are offering everything others do and even more. In other words, make your website:

• mobile-friendly
• fast and performing
• with advanced features like call scheduling and online estimates
• filled with helpful information like guides and instructions

Most importantly, ensure you have open lines of communication ready for your potential clients.

When in doubt, consult with professional designers and developers.

Master your marketing strategies

Today, marketing is much more complex than before. What used to be quite simple is now branching into numerous directions. *We have social media, communication apps and portals, and thousands of means of online communication*. Everything that an average moving company can use to better advertise its business.

Social media for advertising

Contact with numerous social media networks like Facebook and Instagram seems inevitable nowadays. Everyone is using them for various purposes, and the amount of shared information is simply incredible. However, many moving business owners underestimate this aspect. It's a free??pool of potential customers??that would be a waste not to use.

Not only that, but it's a sure way to??adequately promote your moving business??and make a recognizable brand. You can create a company profile and share content. It's a great way to establish valid relationships with your current and potential customers. On the other side, other experts and??influencers can help??by reviewing your service. And ordinary people can share their own positive experiences about your business with others.

Improve your connections with potential customers with social media networks.

Include a blog to your website

A blog is a great place to share information about relocations in general. Considering this is the subject you know best, you will have a lot to write about. Everything from simple guides and innovations to previous experiences can be transformed into quality content. For example, packing instructions, storage options, vehicles and additional equipment, and many more.

First, it will??establish you as an expert in the industry. People will appreciate the information and familiarize themselves with relocation. Not to mention, it automatically means more potential customers.

Second, it??gives you additional space for other marketing methods. With plenty of quality content come more keywords you want to rank for. More opportunities for links to and from other websites. And finally, with good optimization, your moving company will be easier to discover online.

Follow modern practices for search engine optimization

Speaking of optimization, a modern moving business takes care of SEO. It is what essentially makes it possible for your business name to rank high in search engines. High rank translates into better online visibility and more website traffic. And eventually, result in more clients.

However, digital marketing is constantly changing, including rules and guidelines you need to follow. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is not something you can do and forget about it. It will??*require continuous attention and effort to be effective*. Many competitors are already probably investing in optimization and don't plan to stop. Most importantly, search engines like Google also want to ensure their users are served with the best and most relevant information.

Invest in local SEO

Besides general, every business that serves a particular area should also focus its efforts on local SEO. For example, if you are in Washington, you first want to attract customers interested in this area. Whether they are moving from or to,??they will look for moving service with a location in mind. For this, you can benefit from GMB listings, online reviews, maps, and more. Everything that is included in local search engine optimization. The only effort, late on, is to keep all the information up to date.

Considering all the above, it's clear that relationship with your customers is growing in importance. If you wish to be a modern, influential, and recognizable company, don't forget that. If you want??to modernize your moving business, you need to invest in promotion and equipment but in communication as well.??After all, the internet is making it possible for both sides to benefit from it. Customers will have a better service, and all their issues appropriately solved. On the other side, reviews and ratings you will get from them will spread a good word about your business.

Meta description: Learn about different ways to modernize your moving business so you can stay in touch on what matters today the most.

Strengthening IoT Security In Your Smart Home

Time to lock down your IoT devices

65% of consumers say they???re excited??about the future of smart technology with 26%, in particular, currently interested in purchasing a smart home. Internet-connected devices like security systems, smart locks, medical alert systems, smart TVs, and smart thermostats can enhance comfort and convenience around your home, but they can also provide hackers with the opportunity to access your devices and data. If you???re creating a smart home, it???s??important to strengthen the security??of your IoT devices and eliminate poor security practices.

Secure your router

Your router links all your IoT devices together, which means it needs to be impenetrable to hackers. The manufacturer will have given your router a default name (typically its make or model). However, a generic name can be more easily guessed by cybercriminals and allow them access to your network. So, it???s important to change your router name to something unique unrelated to you or your home address. Setting a complex password is also essential; make it at least 15 characters and a combination of numbers, uppercase and lowercase letters, and special characters. It???s also useful to use??a strong encryption protocol????? namely WPA2 rather than WPA or WEP. WPA2 protects your Wi-Fi access points, offers stronger security, and requires stronger wireless encryption. These security protocols are particularly important for people with disabilities who are increasingly turning to smart home technology to help them??live more comfortable and independent lives. It???s important people with disabilities set protocols that keep their home secure while being manageable and within their capabilities.

Use a dedicated network for your IoT devices

Setting up a guest network solely for your IoT devices, separate to your primary network, allows you to maintain complete control over your smart home. With this security precaution, hackers are kept at bay and your local smart home network can only be accessed by you. Ofer Maor,?? cybersecurity thought leader, explains the importance of running your home on multiple networks: ???There is my ???office??? network with the laptops, NAS, and all the important sensitive parts of my home. There is my ???Home IoT??? network, which holds most of the IoT devices. This limits a breach ??? if one of my IoT devices gets hacked, the hacker may be able to propagate from it to other IoT devices but will not be able to reach my laptop or my sensitive data.???

Keep your devices up-to-date

It???s important to regularly update all your IoT devices, apps, and router as they may not do so automatically. Keeping your smart home network up-to-date further reinforces the security and protects against cybercriminals. Also be mindful to disable any unused or unwanted features, such as, the ability to control your smart devices remotely. This essentially helps you keep any potential entry points into your smart home to a minimum.

Working to improve comfort and convenience, smart homes can drastically increase the quality of life. By ensuring your IoT network is as secure as possible, you can ensure your home stays safe and out of the reach of cyber criminals.

Essential Types of Software Every Business Needs

Find out what are the essential types of software every business needs. Learn why they're so important and how they can be lifesavers.

It’s a great time to be an entrepreneur. If you have a good idea and surround yourself with the right people, you can make your organization successful in no time. However, running a business is never easy. There will be many challenges on your way, and to overcome them, you must find the tools that will help you do it. Of course, we’re talking about software solutions. But with so many of them available, how can you decide what you should go for? To help you out, we prepared a list of essential types of software every business needs. So, let’s check them out.

Internal Communications

One of the first things you want to get is a place where all your employees can get together and talk or chat at any time. This piece of software is crucial if you want to get your home-based business off the ground. And one of the solutions lots of businesses use and love is Slack. With it, your workers can interact with each other easily, and you can create as many chat channels as you like.

On top of that, you can choose to connect your internal communication platforms with other business software solutions. If you go down this path, it’ll not be only for communication, but you’ll also be able to see what your team members have been working on.

Internal communication solutions are one of the essential types of software every business needs as they allow your employees to reach each other easily.

Social Media Management

In this day and age, if you want to set yourself apart from the competition and reach a new audience, you can’t do it without social media. That’s what we all know. But, when you’re busy, it can be hard to find time to manage all these accounts. At the end of the day, it’s a job as any other if you do it the old school way.

Luckily, you can use social media management tools to help you take care of it. They allow you to plan and schedule your posts ahead of time and analyze the results all in one place. You’ll know where you are with clicks and engagements at all times.

Combine these with social media monitoring tools, and you’ve got yourself a full set. These are a great way to see what people are saying about your brand anywhere on the internet. Tools like Hootsuite can pull in conversations from around the web and display them all in your dashboard. So, they’re a big help with staying informed.

Customer Relationship Management

CRM is one of the fastest-growing software markets that we have today. In 2019, it was valued at $49 billion, and by 2027, it’s projected to reach $96 billion. And that kind of increase can’t be a coincidence. So, what’s it all about?

Well, it starts from the idea that the more you know about your customers, the more successful you can be as a business. A CRM software lets you keep all of the insights and notes you collect in one, easy-to-reach place. So, CRM software, like the one from moverstech.com, collects, organizes, and manages all your customer information.

In essence, it’ll help you to:

• Improve communication with clients
• Enhance your customer support
• Manage your data in marketing, sales, and support teams

CRM will help all your teams to do a better job.

Contract Management

No matter what your business is all about, all the chances are that you have contracts with each client you work with. So, the next of the essential types of software every business needs is contract management.

If you have it, your employees won’t have to neglect their regular work to search for key data every time they need to do an audit. All your contracts will be in a single place, and the right people will be able to access them at any time. Hence, it’s a tool that makes the lives of your workers easier and saves you money.

Moreover, you can use it to review trends, analyze the data, and find risky areas that you overlooked before. No matter what niche you’re in, it’s always nice if you can improve your operations, and this software makes it easy.

Email Management

There’s no way around it - emails are vital for any type of business. It’s one of the effects of the digitalization of everyday life, and there’s nothing we can do about it. If you don’t open and respond to them in time, it can cost you a lot. It’s enough that you’re not careful for just a few days, and you might miss growth opportunities that you needed to stay in business or take your company to a whole other level.

Email management software will help you stay on top of everything, and that’s why you need it. It will resurface any messages that you or the sender didn’t follow up. On top of that, it will help you arrange the emails if you’re overloaded with them. It’ll make it easier to see the important things sooner so you can react in time.

Knowledge Management System

This is software that will be very helpful if you’re in the business of selling services. Its main purpose is to make it possible to share knowledge within your business.

So, you can use it to create guides, documents, and articles that your employees can share among themselves. Your customer support will have better knowledge of what you sell, and they’ll be able to help your clients a lot faster.

With KMS, your employees can teach one another things, so your business becomes a better-educated place.

Accounting

If you ever tried to manage a company’s financial system, you know how daunting of a task this can be. You have to think about the transaction history, auditing, and all sorts of reports. Taking care of all of these things manually can take days. So, why would you do it that way?

It’s a much better idea to invest in an accounting software solution and let it do things on its own. The app will do everything from supervising accounts to payrolls and taxes. It will save you time that you can spend doing something more productive, like creating great CTAs.

Conclusion

So, that was all of the essential types of software every business needs. If you’re running a small company, using the solutions that we talked about will make your life and the lives of your employees easier. All of your documents will be easily accessible, and you’ll be able to run your business more efficiently.