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Tag: seo

  • How to Control the Search Results For Your Name | Entrepreneur

    How to Control the Search Results For Your Name | Entrepreneur

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    A study by Pew Research shows that 56% of Americans search their own name to see what comes up in the results. For some, this is about vanity, but for entrepreneurs, what shows up can mean the difference between success and failure.

    When someone searches your name, what do they find? Do the search results present a powerful impression of you and your expertise? Do you look like a ghost, or do the results present a negative impression?

    Taking control of the search results for your name is critical in today’s digital landscape because potential clients, JV partners and journalists are absolutely going to look you up before getting involved with you.

    In this article, we are going to unpack the tactics you can use to dominate search results for your name.

    1. Optimize your personal brand website

    This is your online headquarters and it’s a great way to control at least one listing in the search results. However, it’s essential to make sure your website is optimized for search engines so that it actually ranks highly for your name.

    The first step is to use your name, first and last, in the domain. Ideally, it should be exactly that, but if that’s unavailable, you can either add something to it or use a non-dot-com extension to find an available domain. If you do add something to the domain name, you should add that to the end rather than the beginning.

    It’s also critical to incorporate your name in the title tags, headings, image names, image alt text and text throughout your website.

    Schema markup provides search engines with additional information about your website, such as your profession, social media profiles and contact information. In addition to helping to improve ranking, it also alters how your site displays in the search results — making it more likely that people will click through.

    You should also create a concise and enticing meta description that includes your name and value proposition. This won’t affect ranking, but it can help to increase clickthrough rates.

    Related: 5 Simple Steps to Build a Personal Brand

    2. Optimize your images for SEO

    Humans are visual creatures, so utilizing images and video can be a powerful way to control what’s in the search results for your name.

    This media, if optimized properly, will typically show up somewhere on the first page, taking up a significant portion of the search results. While it’s important that it conveys the impression you want to make, it’s also important to make sure it meets the criteria search engines are looking for.

    Your images should be large, high-quality and named appropriately based on your name (e.g. jeremy-knauff-speaking-rec-2023.jpg).

    When it comes to size, the bigger the better, and if you’re using srcset, which you absolutely should be using, you can easily upload extremely large images with no degradation in website performance, because a user’s browser will only load the one that’s most appropriate for their screen resolution.

    These images could be just about anything you can come up with, such as:

    • Images with quotes from you.
    • Book covers from books you’ve published.
    • You speaking on stage or virtually.

    When you publish these images to your website, you’ll use the appropriate alt attributes to help search engines understand what they are about. If your website is built on WordPress, you’ll have an opportunity to add the appropriate alt text when you upload them through the media uploader. Then, when you place them into your content, they will already have the appropriate alt text in the code.

    In some cases, you can also set the alt text when uploading images to some social media platforms as well. If you have the ability to do that, you should.

    And then finally, we should point links to these images. Especially if they’re on your own websites or other authoritative websites.

    3. Optimize your videos for SEO

    Your videos should also be large and high quality, but the name doesn’t really matter. I generally aim for at least 1280 pixels wide, but ideally 1920 pixels, which is considered HD. It’s worth noting that while 1920×1080 is still considered HD today, 4K resolution at 3840×2160 will soon become the new standard.

    Unlike with images, you’ll want to upload these videos to YouTube since the platform has a superior tech stack for delivering videos. Also, Google loves to rank its own properties in the search results, and YouTube is a Google property.

    You’ll also want to embed these videos using YouTube’s embed code on your own website where relevant because that will help them earn more views. And if someone happens to stumble across your videos in the search results, more views create a stronger impression.

    I also recommend properly implementing schema markup where you’ve embedded these videos to help search engines better understand what they are about. It’s pretty easy to get deep into the technical weeds on this, but it’s well worth the effort.

    Related: Personal Branding: The Key to Success in the Digital Age

    4. Build and optimize your social profiles

    You need to own your name on all of the major social networks, but two in particular — Twitter and YouTube — are especially useful because they tend to take up significantly more real estate on screen than others.

    We’ve already discussed the role video plays, so there’s no need to reiterate that benefit.

    As for Twitter, if you’re active, Google will display your recent tweets directly in the search results. This takes over a significant portion of the screen, very close to the top of the page.

    You also want to make sure that your social profiles are consistently branded, so you should use the same headshot and cover photo on each platform. Dimensions will vary slightly from platform to platform because each has different size and positioning requirements, but the general layout should be the same.

    It’s also important to properly use schema on your website and link to your social profiles from your website to help search engines connect the dots between you and your social profiles.

    5. Public relations and guest posting

    Part of controlling the search results depends on building new digital assets, but we can also leverage existing digital assets as well.

    Getting featured in the media and guest posting can be powerful tools because we’re leveraging existing, authoritative digital assets like news outlets, trade publications and high-traffic blogs to get an authoritative article to rank for your name.

    Getting featured in the media comes down to pitching journalists in a way that demonstrates how your insight and story will benefit their audience. But keep in mind: This is a busy and noisy industry, so most of your pitches will go unanswered no matter how awesome they might be.

    This means you need to focus on the long game, which means investing time into building and nurturing relationships with the journalists who cover your industry.

    Guest posting can be a bit easier, especially when it comes to smaller outlets such as trade publications and blogs. You’ll start by pitching the editor, in some cases, with a summary of the article, and in other cases, with a complete article. That depends on the outlet, and most list exactly what they want.

    This is a great strategy because most outlets are starving for quality content. The more articles you contribute, the more likely your author page at that outlet is to rank for your name. Plus, each article gives you an opportunity to demonstrate your expertise — which helps to improve your image with both prospects and journalists.

    Related: 6 Steps to Improve Your Personal Brand on Google

    6. Build high-quality backlinks

    Links from other websites pointing to your own website, social media profiles, articles and media coverage will significantly improve where they rank in the search results.

    You can do this by creating quality content that’s informative and engaging. Then, reach out to industry influencers, other content creators and website owners to ask them to link to it. The concept is simple, but execution is more difficult because most requests will go unanswered. In many cases, they will ask for payment in exchange for a link.

    When it comes to paying for links, it’s important to properly evaluate the website first. The quality of the website will determine the impact it will have on helping another website rank higher. It’s also worth noting that buying links is considered a violation of Google’s webmaster guidelines, so there may be some risk involved.

    You can also guest post on reputable websites where you’ll have an opportunity to contribute high-quality content. This typically includes a link back to your personal site within your author bio. In some cases, you may be able to include one or more links in the body of your article as well. And of course, you can link to anything from your own website.

    Use these tips to take the power back of your own personal name and personal branding. Owning your name’s image on Google will pay dividends in the long term.

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    Jeremy Knauff

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  • YouTube vs. Facebook Ads: Which Is Better? Here’s Your Answer | Entrepreneur

    YouTube vs. Facebook Ads: Which Is Better? Here’s Your Answer | Entrepreneur

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    You can get a much better return on YouTube ads compared to what you can get through Facebook ads in today’s environment. While both of these platforms can still get you a positive return, the return you get on YouTube ads is much bigger overall.

    Both platforms still give advertisers the same fundamental returns as always by offering insights into who is interested in buying products and services in your market in real time. In my experience, YouTube has gotten significantly better at offering these opportunities for their advertisers, while Facebook has gotten much worse during the same three-year period.

    Here are five reasons that YouTube’s ads now greatly excel in offering these buyer opportunities to your business so that you can increase the overall return from your ad budget in 2023.

    Related: Why YouTube Ads Should Be in Your Advertising Budget

    Reason 1: Facebook’s data is not as good as it used to be and certainly not as good as Google’s (who owns YouTube now)

    Facebook’s great marketing results of the past were largely built on customer data that they previously collected/purchased from Apple users, which tracked what they typed into their devices in real time. Unless you are in a niche where it’s plausible to target users without having this preexisting knowledge about your users, your returns will not be as good as they were back in 2020 and earlier.

    To that end, YouTube ads now give you a better opportunity to get in front of prospects who are looking to buy what you sell in real time.

    Users who have recently made “purchase” related searches on Google in the recent past (for example, searching: “Amish furniture stores”) can now be targeted on YouTube using video ads. There is a very high probability that these users would buy from you if you were to get in front of them while on Google’s YouTube.

    YouTube also gives you the ability to get in front of lists of people who have made specific searches on YouTube before as well (for example, searching: “Best toolboxes to buy under $3,000”). This gives you even more opportunities to advertise to people who are likely to buy from you in real time using YouTube’s platform.

    Reason 2: You can’t target customers who are researching your competitors on Facebook anymore

    It used to be that you could target most of your competitors’ fans or prospects while on Facebook, but not since the privacy policy changes in 2021. On the flip side, YouTube directly provides a way to get in front of your competitors’ prospects while on YouTube who:

    1. Have recently watched one of your competitors’ YouTube channels (signaling future purchase probability), and
    2. Are currently watching a video about your competitors anywhere on YouTube (by having an ad appear during the video in question).

    Both of these methods can be very profitable for your business.

    While your competitors have paid big money to collect an audience in your niche, you can easily swoop in and steal these prospects by making a more compelling pitch during or after one of their videos. No fluff: This is the most profitable way for you to make money in online advertising today.

    While Facebook allows you to target competitor audiences, this generally only works for competitors with more than $100 million in yearly revenue.

    Reason 3: You can’t target people who are actively seeking to solve problems on Facebook like you can on YouTube

    YouTube has the second biggest search engine aside from Google itself. People visit daily to search for recommendations on whom to buy from in your niche. The question is if they will buy from you or somebody else who shows up for all your keywords in your space (for example, searching: “Who has the lowest interest rates on VA loans in 2023?”). Finding customers on YouTube is similar to Google search, but cheaper because YouTube advertising is less competitive, with fewer companies investing in producing videos that run ads there.

    Meta still does have some digital equivalent of knowing who’s in the market for products/services in your niche as they collect data on what their logged-in users do after leaving Facebook. However, it’s nothing like Google’s level of data, where they have all their users’ previous Google and YouTube search histories. According to Kinsta, Google Chrome also holds 77% of the web browser market users in 2023, adding to your advantage of using YouTube ads.

    Reason 4: YouTube’s lead/purchase tracking is now much better than Facebook’s

    Facebook scaled back how many days they let you track users after clicking on one of your ads with changes to their attribution settings in January 2021. You can only track a user after clicking on one of your ads in Facebook for up to seven days, whereas it used to be up to 30 days.

    On the other hand, YouTube allows you to track users for up to 90 days after the user clicks on an ad and up to 30 days after just seeing your ad. More than 50% of people do not make a purchase in your market upon first making it to your site.

    Based on the Pareto Principle, you must find the 20% of your advertising that generates 80% of your results if you expect a good return from online advertising, and YouTube’s extra bit of tracking data makes the difference.

    Reason 5: For niche businesses, YouTube scales much more than Facebook

    It is hard to build a campaign that scales on Facebook nowadays for niche businesses. Whereas Facebook’s ad platform had been previously great at finding customers for niche businesses using their customer lookalikes matching algorithm, the results with this feature now are far less effective.

    For example, our company generated great results through Facebook ads for the Nolah Mattress company using their customer matching algorithm in 2017, however, when using the same exact algorithm to advertise a different mattress company The Spinery in 2023, the results were not nearly as effective.

    Knowing the exact 1,000 people that are considering a purchase in your space at any given time is far more important than the ability to get in front of random users on Facebook.

    Summary

    YouTube gives you the perfect opportunity to get in front of savvy consumers to steer them in your direction while they research before making a purchase. Experienced marketers know this, which is why Wyzowl’s 2021 video marketing survey showed a clear increase in the number of people creating YouTube ads. Therefore, in 2023, YouTube is considered a must-have tool to scale up any niche business.

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    Corey Zieman

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  • 5 SEO Tips for Lawyers | Entrepreneur

    5 SEO Tips for Lawyers | Entrepreneur

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    The legal space can be ultra-competitive. It would help if you had an innovative and unified marketing effort to build organic, consistent traffic that can convert to quality leads. One of the most tried and true ways to find those quality leads that every firm needs is through optimizing your site’s search engine optimization (SEO).

    SEO should be thought of as a long-term investment in your business. It may take time to move the needle, but if done right, it can provide a lasting pipeline of high-quality leads and help build brand recognition in your community. But the question is, how do you go about doing this?

    Related: How AI is Changing Marketing in the Legal Industry

    1. Start with the basics

    When beginning a thorough SEO review, you’ll want to start by auditing existing content.
    Your content strategy will primarily be based on specific keywords you aim to rank for. Understanding how your content is written and optimized for specific key terms is crucial in improving your digital footprint.

    You must start your content analysis by focusing on your priority key terms by conducting market research. Google is a fantastic resource in helping with this.

    Google’s Trends tool is a fantastic way to check search data for key terms you may be interested in while showing you historical and demographic data about the term. For example, if you are a personal injury firm, it may be critical to know the trends in search data between car accidents and car crashes. Although similar, your local clientele will likely favor one term over another. To capture your local audience, you need to think like them, not necessarily as a lawyer.

    In addition to this, are adjacent vital terms to your focused term. If a potential client is doing searches for a car accident lawyer, they’ll also likely include terms like “near me” or will consist of the local city name before or following the focused key term. Identifying these relevant key terms is essential in creating your digital marketing plan.

    Optimizing your site for specific local terms will help rank on page one. Aim to use these keywords throughout your title, subheadings and content. Be very careful, though not negatively impacting your content.

    Overusing specific keywords may have a negative effect, known as “keyword stuffing.” When drafting content, be careful to avoid this easy problem to fall into. Generally, aim for your keyword to account for 1-2% of the content.

    Local service pages are a strong example of how to avoid keyword stuffing. Attorneys will want to feature the name of the city and likely a mix of keywords specific to their branch of law. Many law firms do this successfully and can feature a range of content on the page.

    2. Look at your competitors

    For every key term, a competitor in your space currently ranks number 1 on Google. If you still need to conduct a competitive analysis, this should be done with your content audit.

    If your competitor is already ranking for a key term you want, it’s likely because they’re doing something right. Learning from them is an excellent step in competing in the space you’re aiming for.

    If you are being outranked consistently by another firm, you’ll need to know why in your effort to draft content and edit your webpage.

    Using tools like Ahrefs or SEMRush can be highly beneficial in your competitive analysis, helping you to decipher what content or backlinks are an asset to your current SEO strategy and what needs to be retooled.

    3. Don’t ignore reviews, Google My Business and Apple Maps

    If you still need to activate your Google My Business (GMB) account and get verified on both GMB and Apple Maps, you should do so immediately. Getting your business listing is crucial in growing the authority needed with Google to rank on page one.

    You need more than just creating your profile; you’ll need to update it regularly with posts. Ensure all the information is consistent between your GMB listing and Apple Map profile. Your business’s name, phone number, address and description should match.

    In addition to your listings, you should encourage as many clients as possible to leave you a positive review. Your number of positive reviews for your business is connected to your ranking on Google and the local map rankings. The more, the better is the name of the game here.

    Related: Struggling in Local Search? Here’s What Your Local SEO Strategy Needs to Compete in 2022

    4. Target niche-relevant links

    As mentioned above, concerning your GMB listings or Apple Maps, your off-site SEO efforts are essential to establishing authority with Google. For lawyers, highly niche sites with high authority with Google are an excellent option for improving your chances of ranking on page one.

    FindLaw, Super Lawyers, and Avvo are just a few examples of highly authoritative websites. They display not only your information and act as a way to advertise your business but are potent backlinks for your site.

    Again, like with your GMB profile or Apple Maps listing, ensure your legal listing is consistent with all your other online profiles. Uniformity is key across your many platforms/listings to gain authority with Google or other search engines.

    5. Use Google’s available tools

    Expanding on the idea previously presented with Google Trends, the search engine giant offers a variety of invaluable developer/marketing tools to help you make informed decisions. This web application allows users to check page health statistics across mobile and desktop. It also will show you suggestions for improving your site’s health.

    This data is precious in your efforts to optimize your website. A better user experience on your site will likely lead to a higher conversion rate. Google offers extensive guides and classes on understanding the more technical aspects of what goes into web design and maintaining a healthy website.

    With these efforts, digital marketers can help drive your firm into an aggressive SEO strategy. Innovative firms will continue to challenge themselves with new campaigns to continue backlink growth and publish fresh content regularly.

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    Hank Stout

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  • How to Boost Your Business’ Visibility and Beat the Competition | Entrepreneur

    How to Boost Your Business’ Visibility and Beat the Competition | Entrepreneur

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    Boosting recognition in your local community is crucial for businesses, regardless of their size — after all, 46% of all searches on Google include local intent, according to one report. It not only helps build a loyal customer base but also presents an opportunity to tap into the immense value of nurturing a local audience.

    Over the years, there has been a significant surge — 500% — in local Google searches with keywords like “near me” and “buy now,” the same report said, and the popularity of “shop local” messaging during the pandemic indicates a strong desire among people to engage with businesses in their community.

    Let’s explore proven techniques and actionable tips to enhance business visibility in your community. By implementing these strategies, you will not only boost your brand recognition but also foster a loyal customer base that values your contributions to the community.

    Related: Struggling in Local Search? Here’s What Your Local SEO Strategy Needs to Compete

    Importance of boosting recognition in the community

    As a local business owner, boosting your visibility within the community is essential for long-term success. It goes beyond mere visibility; it establishes a strong foundation for long-term success. By actively engaging with the local community, businesses can build a loyal customer base and tap into the immense value of nurturing a local audience.

    When businesses actively collaborate with other local organizations and participate in community events, they create impactful partnerships and demonstrate their support for the neighborhood’s well-being. This not only strengthens their brand’s presence but also directly connects them with potential customers who value local businesses.

    Furthermore, fostering interactions through localized content on social media builds bonds among residents and encourages their patronage. By positioning your brand as deeply rooted in communal values, you enhance recognition and loyalty from those who matter most: locals.

    Focus on localized efforts

    Build relationships with local institutions and organizations to enhance your visibility within the community. This can involve sponsoring a youth sports team or volunteering at a charity event. By actively participating in these initiatives, you portray your business as invested in the well-being of its surrounding area.

    Sharing these engagements on social media also piques interest and fosters trust among members of the same community. Earning their loyalty through genuine involvement facilitates word-of-mouth marketing, increasing visibility while showcasing a commitment to communal welfare.

    Local searches result in purchases 28% of the time, highlighting the significant impact of boosting recognition in the community.

    Incorporate local SEO strategies to further enhance your visibility within the community. When you sponsor a youth sports team or volunteer at a charity event, it not only portrays your business as invested in the well-being of the surrounding area but also contributes to your local SEO efforts.

    Related: How Local SEO Works and Why It Matters for Small Businesses

    Improve Google ranking

    Improving your Google ranking directly boosts business visibility in your community. It increases online presence, establishes trust, aligns with local search intent, enhances community engagement and provides a competitive advantage. Prioritizing local SEO strategies helps connect with more local customers and establish your business as a top choice in the community.

    To accomplish this, businesses can leverage the power of AI SEO and AI-driven search engines. These advanced solutions allow businesses to tailor their website content and structure to enhance visibility both for search engines and users. Notably, AI-powered search engines such as Google Bard and Bing AI have emerged, capable of understanding user intent and delivering highly relevant search outcomes.

    Key optimization tactics include optimizing website speed, ensuring mobile-friendliness and optimizing Google Business Profiles. Incorporating relevant keywords, meta descriptions and alt text further augments search engine visibility. Data analysis drives informed decision-making and facilitates ongoing SEO enhancements.

    Leverage print marketing

    Harness the power of local newspapers, magazines and direct mail campaigns to reach potential customers offline. Print materials like flyers or brochures can effectively showcase your products or services while drawing attention at community events.

    Collaborate with other neighborhood businesses for joint promotional efforts that benefit all parties involved. Thoughtfully designed print advertisements highlight brand identity and complement online strategies in a comprehensive approach to building familiarity within your target market locally, fostering loyalty and trust among prospective clients residing nearby.

    Run geo-targeted digital ads

    Geo-targeted digital ads focus on local consumers by displaying your advertisements within a specific geographic area. Utilize platforms like Facebook and Google Ads to create hyper-localized content that appeals to individuals nearby.

    This targeted approach will enable you to connect with potential customers in the vicinity who are more likely to engage with your business, driving greater foot traffic and increasing overall brand awareness among those residing or working close to you.

    Related: 5 Ways to Optimize Local Search Results and Compete With the Big Guys

    Gather reviews from local customers

    Encourage reviews on popular platforms like Google, Yelp and Facebook. Positive testimonials from local clientele build trust with potential clients in your community. To garner more feedback, try offering incentives such as discounts or contest entries for submitting a review.

    Remember to respond: Thank reviewers for their thoughts and address any negative experiences constructively. Showcasing genuine appreciation towards customer opinions strengthens relationships and can improve your overall reputation within the area you serve, propelling business growth through word-of-mouth referrals.

    Boosting your business visibility in the community requires a comprehensive approach that incorporates both online and offline strategies. By prioritizing localized efforts, improving your Google ranking, leveraging print marketing, ensuring consistent branding, running geo-targeted digital ads and gathering reviews from local customers, you can enhance your visibility within your target community. Additionally, taking advantage of Google Maps and other local services can be beneficial.

    Investing time in creating a reputation worthy of recognition by people browsing online and those within the physical area itself sets the foundation for long-term success. By implementing these strategies and actively engaging with your local community, you’ll strengthen your brand’s presence and foster a loyal customer base that values your business’s contributions to the community.

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    Sonu Yadav

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  • Why Using AI to Write Content Won’t Help You Rank on Google | Entrepreneur

    Why Using AI to Write Content Won’t Help You Rank on Google | Entrepreneur

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    When it comes to navigating times of recent upheaval, few industries have had to navigate change as much as the world of search engine optimization. It’s been chaotic, to put it mildly.

    After surviving the seismic shifts of Google’s Helpful Content Update, rolled out in the fall of 2022, SEO professionals were caught up in the uproar ignited by OpenAI’s ChatGPT program in early 2023. By February, Google was issuing guidance regarding artificial intelligence-created content. Then, in March, it released its first core algorithm update of 2023, followed by a page experience adjustment in April and a significant reviews system update.

    May then arrived, and with it, the annual Google I/O developer conference; it was here that the Alphabet Co. announced the gradual rollout of a new update for its helpful content system. The update is designed to help the company take into account personal and expert points of view, integrating a high value placed on experience when it comes to its search results and rankings system.

    Suppose we step back and consider the myriad changes throughout 2022 and 2023; we sift through the haze of the “AI vs. Human” content creation debate. Clearing out all the confusion, we can hone in on core principles of “people-first content creation” moving forward.

    For a truly impactful user experience, designers must prioritize every part of Google’s E-E-A-T guidance: Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness and Trustworthiness. When paired with an effective page experience, quality content will satisfy the algorithm and, most importantly, the visitors.

    Related: Small Businesses Can and Should Consider Investing in AI Technology — With a Cautious Approach

    Google’s Helpful Content Update and the emphasis on people-first content

    In late 2022, Google completed its Helpful Content Update rollout, a major course adjustment designed to be a haymaker punch against a glut of SEO-first content. The goal was to better recognize and reward websites that prioritize people-first content.

    The company fights a relentless battle against content with little-to-no value, the meaningless content that clutters up the internet and endlessly frustrates web users searching for — you guessed it — truly helpful content. Google has long been committed to ensuring a quality user experience for everyone that uses its search engine, and rightly so. Website visitors deserve not just high-quality content but easy-to-find resources.

    The company’s Q2 2023 core update in March carried intentions similar to the initial Helpful Content Update. The company explained, “The changes are about improving how our systems assess content overall.”

    First announced in May, the new wave of changes is driven by the same motivation. In addition to a new “Perspectives” filter designed to highlight the relevant experiences of others in search results, the gradual update also aims to find the “hidden gems” often lost in “unexpected or hard-to-find places.”

    Quality content matters, whether from AI or human effort

    In February 2023, Google clarified its position on AI-generated content, clearing up the confusion that had been brewing. The company prioritizes high-quality content, regardless of whether humans or machines generate it.

    On the Google Search Central Blog, the company wrote, “It’s important to recognize that not all use of automation, including AI generation, is spam. Automation has long been used to generate helpful content.” More so, it continued, “AI can power new levels of expression and creativity, and serve as a critical tool to help people create great content for the web.”

    This is the heart of the matter: AI is a tool, not a comprehensive replacement. It is one tool among many in the creator’s toolbox.

    However, it is abundantly clear using automation or AI strictly to manipulate rankings in search results is viewed as a violation of the company’s spam policies. The company has a long track record of prioritizing the integrity and trustworthiness of high-quality content.

    Related: How to Make Great Content — And Get More Views

    Intention is key to Google’s algorithm

    When creating content, it’s important to begin by clarifying your intention. What is the purpose of a website’s content? The search algorithm is finely tuned to identify the markers of generic content designed only to snag the attention of the crawlers that scout the nooks and crannies.

    Operate with the intent to provide “original, valuable content that offers a satisfying experience,” and you’ll set yourself up for success, with the caveat for content creators that any final product “adheres closely to their area of expertise.” In 2023, experience may be a finalist for the SEO industry’s themes of the year.

    Three questions can serve as effective guardrails during the creative process; Google recommends asking: Who? How? Why?

    • Who authored it? Is the byline easy to find? Is further information about the author(s) accessible or evident?
    • Is it clear how a piece of content was created? Is there evidence to substantiate the information given? Was automation or artificial intelligence used in the creative process? If so, why?
    • Why was the content created? Specifically, how is it helpful or useful for visitors?

    Adding an E to E-A-T: the importance of evident experience

    Above all, Google’s ranking systems aim to identify content demonstrating expertise, experience, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness (E-E-A-T). In December 2022, Google added the second E for experience.

    They’ve recognized the importance visitors place on the validity of the information. They want to see evidence of relevant experience that an author possesses. The more the visitor believes in the author’s experience and knowledge, the more they are likely to trust the authority and trustworthiness of the content, and the better their overall experience.

    Related: How to Outrank AI-Generated Content With Expertise, Authoritativeness and Trustworthiness

    Focus on quality content to boost user experience, regardless of how you attain it

    One constant throughout the evolution of Google’s search algorithm is the importance of the user’s experience. Ensuring quality websites populate for any query is the foundation of retaining visitors. A positive user experience encompasses many elements outside of content quality, like a site’s page performance — but ultimately, content is king.

    However you decide to integrate AI technology into your creative process, the quality of and intention behind the content and the level of expertise made evident should serve as your guideposts to the sustained success of your website.

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    Summit Ghimire

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  • 5 Critical Marketing Tools for Fast-Growing Companies | Entrepreneur

    5 Critical Marketing Tools for Fast-Growing Companies | Entrepreneur

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    As I can personally attest, working for a company that is quickly expanding has its perks and is an exhilarating experience. The environment is fast-paced, always changing and employees at all levels have opportunities to stretch the boundaries of their current roles to grow professionally. At the same time, setbacks are inevitable for any business — but for fast-growing companies in particular, scaling and resources can be some of the biggest challenges, which is why choosing the right marketing tools is crucial for long-term success.

    Here are the five most indispensable marketing tools that will take your business to the next level.

    Related: 10 Marketing Strategies to Fuel Your Business Growth

    1. Marketing automation software

    What if you had a tool that could help you stay in front of your prospects and customers with content that is both timely and relevant? That is the power of marketing automation, making marketers more efficient and their communications more personalized. A recent survey we conducted found that email marketing was the most common area where B2B marketing leaders utilize marketing automation, though more are beginning to use it in other channels.

    The same survey also found that 87% of respondents now have some or all of their customer journeys fully automated, with many respondents reporting plans to continue to optimize this piece of their marketing strategy. This isn’t surprising due to the host of benefits that can accompany the use of marketing automation — notably, it can help to eliminate mundane, time-consuming tasks for your marketing team, which in turn allows them to focus on the larger strategic initiatives to drive business growth.

    As a fast-growing company, you likely don’t have the time or the resources to get it all done. Marketing automation is essentially an extra hand (or two) that can be a tremendous help. Plus, customers have no idea if something is automated or not because you can still personalize your content as though it was sent especially for them based on their preferences and behaviors.

    2. SEO intelligence applications

    You could be writing amazing blog posts and webpages, but if you’re not hitting on the right keywords, you’re missing the mark. Effective, optimized content continues to be the most long-term, high-value strategy that companies rely on. Without an SEO tool, your team is merely guessing and possibly flying blind. There are many choices available and some have ultra-low and even free entry points, so the message is clear: Pick one and act on it. These tools will help you choose the right keywords and phrases to use and help you monitor the competition to see where you can improve.

    Related: 3 Marketing Tactics Entrepreneurs Should Implement to Improve Their Return on Investment

    3. Middleware/app connectors

    This is about leveraging the application programming interface (API) economy to connect and optimize all of your software tools. In 2022, organizations worldwide reported that they were using an average of 130 SaaS applications. That is a lot of software! It also means that integration is one of the keys to success for fast-growing companies, especially when it comes to applications. If your platforms aren’t “talking to each other,” your customer relationships will likely suffer as a result.

    If you have a sales software program and a separate billing app and they aren’t synced, your customer isn’t going to be too happy when you reach out about a new feature if they were overcharged for something. But you won’t know this if your sales and billing software don’t integrate. By utilizing an app connector, you can create workflows across IT, marketing, HR, finance, sales and customer support to leverage your tech stack to its fullest potential. When the process is seamless, your growing customer relationships and profits will flourish as a result.

    4. A project and task management tool

    Your marketing team is an interconnected group of experts who rely on each other to achieve their goals. For example, when your digital marketers run an ad, they need the content team to write copy, the graphics team to design ads and the marketing operations team to schedule follow-up emails when people engage with ads. These things must happen in a sequence so that everyone meets their deadlines; e.g. the design team can’t design the ad without the copy coming first.

    In short, communication and hand-offs among these team members are vital, and therefore a project management tool is a must. If your team is two or three people, perhaps a spreadsheet and a Slack channel will do. Any more than that, and you’ve got to up your game.

    Related: 3 Marketing Trends to Adopt in 2023

    5. A CRM that scales as you grow

    Customer relationship management (CRM) is one of the most important tools that all companies, especially fast-growing ones, need to invest in. That’s because CRM enables a heightened customer experience by showcasing the status of each relationship in real time, which is critical. When utilized, you have a 360-degree view of each customer at all times across all of your internal teams. One important factor that fast-growing companies need to factor in when choosing a CRM is that it must be able to scale with you as you grow. Legacy CRMs can be limited in their scope as your business grows, but a modern CRM tool will do the opposite — they were built for businesses of all sizes, and the platform is flexible and scalable, which is key.

    Being part of a fast-growing company is exciting and terrifying at the same time, but if you implement these strategic marketing tools into your plan (and budget), you can scale successfully to grow and flourish with the right marketing systems in place.

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    Chip House

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  • Why SEO Is Critical for Small Businesses | Entrepreneur

    Why SEO Is Critical for Small Businesses | Entrepreneur

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    Search engine optimization (SEO) helps increase website traffic by improving search engine ranking. If you’ve wondered whether your small business really needs to focus on SEO, you aren’t alone.

    Over 50% of small businesses don’t have an SEO strategy, and 22% have no plans to create or implement one in the coming year. Considering that SEO can help businesses establish authority within an industry and build brand awareness, neglecting to explore the world of SEO can severely limit growth.

    Further, it’s a great way to organically promote a business for free. Organizations of all sizes can benefit from SEO, whether it is an online shop or a brick-and-mortar business.

    Related: 5 Essential SEO Strategies For Entrepreneurs

    Benefits of SEO for small businesses

    As stated, good SEO practice for small businesses is a must. Here are just a few reasons why:

    • Cost-effective: When compared to paid advertising, SEO is a cost-effective strategy for small businesses. You may choose to invest in paid software to help you measure your results, but the benefits will far outweigh the costs.

    • Improves the user experience: By focusing on SEO, you’ll improve the user experience for your website visitors. This will improve engagement and likely result in higher conversion rates.

    • Competitive advantage: By investing in SEO, you’ll gain a competitive advantage over other businesses in your industry. For instance, let’s say you run a service-based business and target local customers. Focusing on SEO means your business will show up higher in search results when customers look for local businesses in the same category.

    • Long-term results: SEO is a long-term strategy that will continue to benefit your business for years to come. Paid ads stop generating traffic once you stop paying, but SEO will continue to deliver results over time.

    How to develop an SEO strategy

    Without a proper strategy, it will be impossible to capitalize on SEO. Here are four strategies small businesses can use to create a strong SEO strategy that will carry a business into the future and pay dividends in the long term.

    1. Keyword research:

    Google’s algorithm is always changing, but one SEO strategy that has remained fairly consistent over the years is keyword research. When you do keyword research, look for words and phrases that your target audience will be searching for on Google.

    As your business begins to rank for those keywords, you’ll start to get more traffic to the company website. When you’re just getting started, it’s a good idea to look for high-volume, low-competition keywords.

    That means a lot of people are searching for that keyword, but it’s still pretty easy to rank highly for it. The easiest way to find this information is by using a keyword planner. This software can be expensive, but you can find free tools to use.

    Related: 7 Ways Small Businesses Can Use SEO to Boost Customer Service

    2. Optimize your website:

    Once you know what keywords you’re trying to rank for, you’re going to strategically place them throughout your website. For example, you can use certain keywords in the alt tags of images, the titles of your posts and page descriptions.

    Simply adding keywords to your website won’t be enough on its own — you also need to consider how well the website functions overall. For example, your page speed is a significant ranking factor because a fast-loading website improves the user experience.

    Since most people use phones to access the internet, you also need to make sure your website is mobile-optimized. If not, you’ll probably have a high bounce rate since the website won’t format correctly on mobile devices.

    3. Get backlinks from high-authority websites:

    Google gives more weight to credible sources, so another SEO strategy is to get backlinks from high-authority sites. One way to obtain backlinks is by becoming an expert source for journalists and bloggers.

    If you join a free site called Help a Reporter Out (HARO), you’ll see requests from journalists looking for sources to use in articles they’re writing. You can monitor these requests daily and send pitches when you have something valuable to contribute.

    This strategy isn’t easy, and it’s important to always send high-value pitches. Still, if you stick with it, you’ll start to receive backlinks and build your domain authority over time.

    4. Regularly create new content:

    Consistently creating new content is another way to improve SEO ranking since Google rewards sites that create high-quality content. However, you need to publish new content on a regular basis, not just every once in a while.

    The easiest way to do this is by coming up with a content calendar and publishing schedule. Brainstorm 12-15 potential blog posts you could write, and figure out how often you can realistically write new articles. You can also start incorporating relevant keywords into your blog posts.

    If you’re wondering whether SEO matters for small businesses, the answer is a resounding yes. As a small business owner, SEO can help you increase your online visibility, build credibility and attract the right audience to your website.

    It’s a cost-effective marketing solution that delivers long-term results. You won’t see results immediately, but with time and effort, you’ll continue to improve your Google ranking.

    Related: A Basic Guide to SEO and Its Impact on Online Businesses

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    Joseph Camberato

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  • SEO Companies Helping Nonprofits With PR Work | Entrepreneur

    SEO Companies Helping Nonprofits With PR Work | Entrepreneur

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    Search Engine Optimization (SEO) companies are no longer just focused on helping businesses increase their online visibility and traffic.

    Many SEO companies are now embracing the idea of public relations work for nonprofits. This is a significant shift in the industry. Now, SEO companies are using their skills and expertise to support causes that they believe in. Why are SEO companies embracing the idea of public relations work for nonprofit organizations? What are the benefits?

    Related: 5 Essential SEO Strategies For Entrepreneurs to Boost Their Traffic

    Goals

    One of the main reasons why SEO companies are embracing the idea of public relations work for nonprofit organizations is because it aligns with their corporate social responsibility (CSR) goals. Many SEO companies recognize that they have a social responsibility to give back to the community. By providing public relations work for non-profit organizations, they can use their skills and resources to support causes that they believe in. This is an effective way for SEO companies to demonstrate their commitment to social responsibility and build a positive brand image.

    Community relations

    Another reason why SEO companies are embracing the idea of public relations work for nonprofit organizations is because it helps to build strong relationships with the community. By supporting nonprofit organizations, SEO companies can establish themselves as a trusted partner and supporter of the community. This can help to build brand loyalty and increase customer retention rates. Additionally, it can help SEO companies to attract new customers who share their values and beliefs.

    Related: 5 Ways to Build Highly Valuable Brand Loyalty

    One example of an SEO company that has embraced the idea of public relations work for nonprofit organizations is Search Manipulator.

    Other benefits

    The benefits of public relations work for nonprofit organizations are not just limited to the organizations themselves. SEO companies that provide these services also benefit from the experience. So, by working with nonprofit organizations, SEO companies can gain valuable experience in public relations, media outreach and content creation. This experience can help SEO companies to become more effective at providing digital marketing services to businesses of all sizes.

    SEO companies also benefit from the positive publicity that comes with this type of work. This can help to build their brand and establish them as a leader in the industry. Additionally, it can help SEO companies to attract new clients. Those looking for a digital marketing partner that shares their values and beliefs.

    Final Thoughts

    The trend of SEO companies embracing the idea of public relations work for non-profit organizations is not limited to a few companies. Many SEO companies have recognized the importance of giving back to the community. This trend is likely to continue in 2023 and beyond.

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    Under30CEO

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  • Off-Page SEO Checklist: Here Are 7 Tactics to Rank Higher | Entrepreneur

    Off-Page SEO Checklist: Here Are 7 Tactics to Rank Higher | Entrepreneur

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    Most SEO experts will say that off-page SEO is the most challenging aspect of SEO and content marketing as a whole. But why? Why are websites struggling so much with off-page SEO?

    The answer to these questions lies in the very name — off-page SEO. Essentially, off-page SEO is a list of practices employed to boost your SERPs rankings that are done outside the scope of your own website.

    This means that, more often than not, you don’t have a whole lot of direct influence on the success of those practices. Often, the most you can hope for is to put the best practice into place and let it run its course, hoping it will result in favorable results.

    Related: 5 Essential SEO Strategies For Entrepreneurs to Boost Their Traffic

    However, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try off-page SEO at all. On the contrary, off-page SEO can be an incredibly powerful tool, but only if you pay attention and implement these seven tactics to rank higher in SERPs.

    1. Evaluate your backlink profile

    One of the key elements of having an authoritative website is having plenty of high-quality backlinks. Backlinks are links on other websites leading to a relevant piece of content of your own.

    Related: What Are Backlinks and Why Do You Need Them for Your SEO?

    With that said, evaluating the quality and quantity of backlinks leading to your website is the first step toward getting ranked higher in SERPs. Using tools like Google Search Console, Moz Link Explorer, or Ahrefs Backlink Checker, you can quickly assess the quality of your links.

    Some of the most useful pieces of information about your backlinks are the number of links leading to your website, the number of domains doing the same, the number of pages that have the most links (meaning, this is your most relevant content), and the anchor text used for those backlinks.

    When analyzed, all these elements will tell you how useful the information on your website is to both the readers and the websites themselves wishing to educate their readers further.

    2. Check your competitor’s links

    Competition for the top five positions on SERPs is always fierce. That’s why evaluating your competitor’s backlink profiles is also highly encouraged.

    Related: SEM, SERPs and Other Online Marketing Terms Explained

    By evaluating their profiles, you will not only gain an insight into how you’re doing compared to your competition, but you’ll also gain an insight into which websites are the most trusted in your market/industry niche.

    From there, you can then concentrate your efforts on gaining backlinks on those websites, as they have the most authority – authority that will then rub off on your own website and boost your rankings.

    3. Engage in link building

    Now that you know which websites are the most impactful and the most useful for boosting your own, it’s time to start securing backlinks. This is what we call link building.

    Link building is not easy; in fact, it is one of the hardest aspects of SEO. It will often involve you reaching out to authoritative websites with your content, hoping they will find it useful enough to feature it with a backlink.

    Luckily, there are plenty of avenues you can explore when securing backlinks. You can try the most obvious outreach strategy, but you may also try paid advertising if you have the funds. Social sharing is one the most cost-effective ways of securing backlinks and promoting your content, while guest blogging is one of the most popular but time-consuming.

    Naturally, there are many more ways you can engage in link-building. If you’d like to learn more, you can always check out the top advertising agencies’ strategies. The important thing to know, however, is to not rely on a single strategy but to be open and engage with multiple to ensure you get the most out of them.

    4. Optimize your internal links

    Just like you’d like other people to promote your content, you should work on promoting your own content on your website.

    This is most often done with internal linking — the goal is to link relevant content on your website together so your visitors can have a constant stream of useful information that will educate them further and help push them further down your marketing funnel.

    Technically speaking, creating a network of internal links is on-page SEO, but it also has a massive impact on off-page SEO. Google’s web crawlers always scan websites, trying to index pages as best they can to present the most relevant results for any query. Creating a clean network of links will help Google better understand your content and rank it higher for particular queries.

    5. Fix 404s

    Broken links can be a major pain in a website’s butt when trying to rank high in SERPs. Though 404 pages can help redirect customers to more content and increase their engagement with your website, they’re also a target for your competition.

    You see, just like you’re using outreach as one of your link-building strategies, so are your competitors, and if you have a backlink that no longer has any content attached to it, your competitors can easily jump in and swoop that backlink from under you, and have it now redirect to their own website.

    Needless to say, this is organic traffic loss that you could have kept, making fixing 404s and broken links a necessity and even a priority.

    6. Update your local citation and directory profiles

    If you’re operating a business, your customer must know where to find you and how to contact you. This is even more important if you’ve got a brick-and-mortar location and you’re looking to nab even more local customers.

    One of the best ways is to use local citations and directories. Local citations are mentions of your business on other websites and can usually be found on directories, social media platforms, and review sites.

    In addition (and especially if you’ve got a brick-and-mortar location), you should also consider creating and optimizing your Google Business Profile, as it will contain the most pertinent information about your business, like your address, phone number, and working hours. Also, it will give you a massive boost when it comes to local SEO and local rankings.

    7. Leverage social media

    As mentioned, social media is one of the most cost-effective ways to promote content.

    Whether it’s in the form of Facebook posts, TikToks, Instagram Stories, or articles on LinkedIn, if you’re able to promote your content on any social media platform, you should definitely consider doing it. And, if you aren’t, you should start looking into ways to start a social media marketing campaign.

    You should leverage social media for reach, community, and branding. Social media platforms allow you to reach tens of thousands of people in a matter of days, and chances are, with good content direction, you’ll be reaching a lot of interested parties.

    From there, you will also spread your brand message, creating a unifying idea around your product and services that will make you unique and recognizable. And, around that brand, a community will form that will spread your content further, making it reach even further with all the likes and shares, and establishing it as the ultimate authority in your niche, thus massively boosting your rankings.

    Overall, off-page SEO is not easy to leverage, even for the most adept and experienced SEO professionals. However, with these few tactics, you will stand a much better chance of leveraging the many elements of the online environment to favor your content and your website, thus improving your rankings by a very large margin.

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    ReadWrite.com

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  • Why Social Media Agencies are Still Worth It | Entrepreneur

    Why Social Media Agencies are Still Worth It | Entrepreneur

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    Social media is a part of our everyday lives. In the past decade, it has taken over much of our time, from scrolling through the posts of family and friends to meeting new people and engaging with the world around us. But as we all know, social media is also the crux of the evolving online business world. As a business owner and operator, you know that marketing is essential for keeping your business afloat. Combining the two and staying up to date with where social media is going is critical.

    Why is social media marketing so important?

    Social media marketing is all about imparting your business’s influence on the consumer world. Content sharing, whether through photo, microblogging or video, is paramount to engaging with your current and potential clients. Social media provides a unique opportunity for clients to share your content with others, drawing more people towards your goods and services organically and through targeted advertising. Customer data reports are easier to collect online, meaning you can get more insight into your target audience, purchasing trends in your business and consumer activity at large so your business can stay relevant.

    Related: 8 Must-Have Social Media Marketing Tools For 2023

    Why do you need a social media marketing agency?

    Running social media takes a lot of time, energy and a specific set of skills that might not apply to every business owner. Rather than devote the time you could spend on your own craft set to social media, you can let a social media marketing (SMM) agency handle that for you. This means you and your company will have a more productive and profitable time in the day to work on what you love rather than what needs to be done to promote your business. Social media can also be unwieldy, so getting a professional in the field can help you and your business keep up with the best practices and get the biggest bang for your buck.

    What makes a good social media marketing agency?

    The baseline of hiring a social media marketing agency is having someone who will manage and post on your company/business’s social media accounts. This already sounds great, but this should not be where their aid ends. It should be where it starts. After all, literally, anyone can post anything online. What is important is catering to their strategy and combining it with other strategies to your business’s unique social media needs to bolster the purchase of your goods and services.

    1. Search engine optimization

    The social media marketing agency should post your photos, tweets and videos and include keywords to optimize consumer engagement. Agencies prioritizing SEO will be much more effective in getting people to see your content, no matter the social media platform.

    Related: 5 Ways to Change SEO Strategies in an AI Search Engine World

    2. Content-based engagement

    An excellent social media marketing agency should prioritize creating good content that targets a specific audience. SMM (social media marketing) presents the unique opportunity to engage with and create a community around your goods and services in real-time. This means that you need content that engages customers and community members who already follow your business, as well as potential new clients. Your SMM agency should be able to create or collaborate with you to create content that will draw your intended audience in again and again.

    3. A great production team

    Not every SMM agency will provide you with a production team for graphic and video content. This is inherently troubling, as visual content is the crux of most social media, including TikTok, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and Facebook. If an SMM agency is meant to save you time and money, leaving the creation of visuals up to you or a third party feels entirely unhelpful.

    Keeping the ethos of your company in mind while choosing an agency is important. You want to feel like you are seen and appreciated by the agency you choose. Your agency is there to help you and work as a collaborator to further your business, not an entity with complete control over how your business is perceived. Social media marketing should be an extension of your business and, subsequently, your mission!

    We hope this has inspired you to take the social media plunge. With the right team behind you, there is nothing you can’t accomplish!

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    Morissa Schwartz

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  • 9 Healthcare Marketing Strategies to Attract and Engage Patients | Entrepreneur

    9 Healthcare Marketing Strategies to Attract and Engage Patients | Entrepreneur

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    If you’re a healthcare provider looking for new and effective ways to find and engage potential patients, there are many strategies you can adopt. Here are nine healthcare marketing strategies that can help you attract more patients and increase patient engagement. From leveraging social media to investing in search engine optimization, these healthcare marketing strategies will give you the tools to reach out to and build relationships with potential patients.

    1. Define your audience

    Identifying the target audience for your healthcare marketing efforts is an essential first step in any marketing strategy. You need to determine who your ideal patient is so you can craft effective messaging and use the right tactics to reach them.

    Related: How to Find Your Purpose, Your Audience and Your Voice

    Start by considering the demographics of your current patients and those most likely to be interested in your services. Take into account age, gender, income level, location, and other factors that might be relevant.

    Then, think about the pain points or needs your services can address. It will help you identify potential customers who could benefit from your offer. For example, if you specialize in sports medicine, you’ll want to target athletes and active individuals who are likely looking for solutions to common injuries or health issues.

    2. Foster relationships with referring physicians

    Building relationships with referring physicians is great for your healthcare marketing strategy. Physicians are well-respected and highly trusted in the healthcare industry, so building meaningful relationships with them is important. Doing so will help you gain access to their patient referral networks and increase your visibility in the community.

    Start by introducing yourself and your practice to referring physicians. Ask for their contact information and make sure to keep it up-to-date. Connect with them on social media, if appropriate. Offer to attend conferences and meetings they are attending, or invite them to yours. Offer them patient education materials, service discounts, or other incentives that show your appreciation.

    Related: Challenges Faced by Marketers in the Healthcare Sector

    You can also offer referring physicians helpful resources and advice, such as regular updates on medical advances or educational materials related to their specialties. Make sure that your content is always accurate and up-to-date. Finally, be sure to follow up with referring physicians regularly. It will show them you value their relationship and help maintain positive working relationships.

    3. Research your competition

    Understanding your competitors is essential when it comes to healthcare marketing. Knowing what strategies they use and how successful they are can help you improve your tactics and stay ahead of the game.

    Start by researching the demographics of your target market – who are they, what do they need, and how can you reach them? Analyze their services and offerings and evaluate their marketing tactics. Ask yourself how you can differentiate your services from theirs, what makes your product better, and how you can beat them in terms of quality, cost, or convenience.

    Look for trends in their marketing campaigns and see what works for them. Analyze their approach and create a plan that capitalizes on their weaknesses and maximizes your strengths. Discover what makes them unique and use this knowledge to inform your marketing strategy.

    4. Incorporate SEO into your website

    Search engine optimization (SEO) is essential for healthcare marketing and can help increase organic traffic to your website. It involves optimizing keywords, phrases, titles, headings, images, and other elements on web pages to appear higher in search engine results.

    Optimize your website for search engines to ensure that it ranks high when users search for topics related to your practice. The higher your site appears in the search results, the more traffic it will get –more opportunities to convert leads into appointments.

    SEO helps you get found by potential patients and keep existing patients coming back. As an essential part of your healthcare marketing plan, it’s important to understand how to incorporate SEO into your website.

    Related: How to Establish a Viable Long-Term SEO Strategy

    First, you’ll need to create content that is both informative and optimized for search engines. Research relevant keywords related to your practice and target audience, then use those keywords in your website content. Ensure you don’t overuse the keywords, which can negatively affect your rankings.

    It’s also important to ensure your site is easy to navigate and contains fresh, unique content. It will improve user experience and encourage visitors to stay longer on your site. Additionally, ensure that your website works on all devices and browsers. It will maximize the number of people who can access your site, increasing your ranking in search engine results.

    5. Use social media

    Social media is another powerful tool when it comes to healthcare marketing. Not only does it allow you to interact with potential patients directly, but it also builds relationships with current and potential referral sources. Utilizing social media channels allows you to share valuable information about your practice and create content that engages with patients and drives new leads.

    Regarding healthcare marketing, social media is important to your overall plan. With a well-executed social media strategy, you can reach a wide audience quickly and easily. It’s essential to have an active presence on major platforms like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube, as they provide excellent opportunities for reaching a wide range of audiences.

    The key to success is to create content that resonates with your target audience and can convert leads into actual customers. Post relevant information about your services and helpful health tips, and answer questions from potential patients.

    Ensure to include visuals whenever possible, as this will help grab your audience’s attention. Also, use hashtags to make your posts more visible and encourage user engagement. Responding quickly to comments and questions is important to foster relationships with potential patients. Finally, measure and track the results of your efforts through analytics software like Google Analytics or Facebook Insights.

    6. Develop a strong brand

    When it comes to healthcare marketing, creating a strong and unique brand is essential. It is your opportunity to stand out from the competition. Crafting an eye-catching logo and website and utilizing high-quality visuals can help you make a powerful impression on potential patients.

    Another great way to build your brand is by creating custom content. Leveraging educational materials like blog posts and videos can help showcase your expertise. Sharing success stories and patient testimonials can also be effective in building trust with potential patients. Look for opportunities to get your name out in the local community. Attending events and partnering with other organizations are great ways to boost your visibility.

    Participating in local events is a great way to interact with potential patients and show them why your services are superior. It also allows you to network with local healthcare professionals and gain referrals.

    You can also host educational webinars or live chats to educate your patients and generate leads. Tools like Zoom or YouTube Live will allow you to stream the content and engage with people who aren’t physically present in the room. It can also help you reach a wider audience since many patients won’t be able to attend in person and may not have access to your event unless they know it beforehand.

    You can ask questions during the webinar or chat and collect data from those who participate through their answers before ending the session with an action plan for following up with those who respond positively. It allows for better follow-up than just sending automated emails out afterward — you’ll get actual feedback from real people.

    7. Invest in content marketing

    Healthcare content marketing is a powerful tool for providers to attract and engage new patients. It involves creating and distributing content related to your business’s services or products. It aims to educate and inform potential patients about your practice, services, and how you can help them.

    Content marketing can take the form of articles, blog posts, infographics, videos, podcasts, social media posts, and other forms of media. This type of content provides value to potential patients and can help establish you as an authority figure in the industry. By creating high-quality content that is informative and engaging, you can help potential patients learn more about your practice and its offerings. You can also use content marketing to build trust with current and prospective patients.

    Content marketing can be done in-house or outsourced to a content creation agency. If you choose to outsource, select an agency with expertise in the healthcare industry that can create accurate, relevant, and up-to-date content.

    No matter your approach, content marketing can be an effective strategy for reaching new patients and building relationships with them. By investing in content marketing, you’ll be able to keep your website updated, attract more organic traffic from search engines, and give your current and prospective patients the information they need to make an informed decision about their healthcare.

    8. Advertise online

    Online advertising can be a great way to reach potential patients and those in your care. You can use platforms like Google Ads and Facebook Ads to target potential patients based on location, age, gender, interests, and more.

    Online advertising can help you promote awareness of your practice and services, increase brand visibility, and even drive conversions. You can also ensure your messages reach the right people with the right targeting. Just do your research and understand the different types of ad formats available.

    For example, some formats are better suited to creating brand awareness, while others may be better for lead generation. Additionally, have clear, concise messaging with strong call-to-action (CTA). It will help ensure that your online ads are effective in driving conversions.

    Paid advertising on social media channels or platforms like Google Ads is another great way to reach potential patients. Setting up ads allows you to target specific population segments, which increases the likelihood of getting clicks and converting leads into customers.

    9. Implement lead capture forms

    Lead capture forms are essential in any successful healthcare marketing strategy. They allow you to collect information from potential patients, such as name, email address, phone number, and other contact information. This data allows you to track your leads and nurture them into becoming paying customers.

    To get the most out of lead capture forms, design them for maximum conversion. It means providing an easy-to-use interface with a clear call to action that encourages users to take action. You should also include a field for additional comments or questions so that you can gather more detailed information about your leads.

    Your lead capture forms should also be strategically placed throughout your website. Place them prominently on your homepage, or add them to key service and contact pages. Additionally, consider offering incentives to encourage people to fill out the forms, such as discounts or free consultations.

    By investing in lead capture forms, you can track your leads and nurture them into becoming loyal customers. The right combination of design, placement, and incentives can make all the difference in finding and engaging patients.

    Conclusion

    Healthcare marketing is a unique opportunity to build relationships and connections with your audience. These people will benefit from your products and services to be incredibly loyal customers. By putting yourself out there in a way that resonates best with your target demographic — and by keeping an eye on what makes them tick — you’ll find that you have a much easier time engaging them on social media or in person at events like conferences or expositions.

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    ReadWrite.com

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  • How to Improve Link Building to Rank Higher on Google | Entrepreneur

    How to Improve Link Building to Rank Higher on Google | Entrepreneur

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    When it comes to getting your business to succeed online, SEO (search engine optimization) is everything — but link building can often fall through the cracks when it comes to website optimization. Adding hyperlinks to your website is one of the many ways to improve your Google rankings and ensure potential customers see your offerings.

    However, it’s not just about the quantity of the links on your website, but the quality — i.e., the source you’re linking to, the link’s position on the page and more. Understanding the reasoning behind Google’s link ranking will help you optimize your website for increased traffic and awareness.

    Luckily, Google just released an updated guide on its best practices for link building. As a marketing expert and business leader, I’ve sorted through these new guidelines and shared my expertise on optimizing content and link-building best practices, so your online business can thrive.

    Related: 7 Ways to Use Google Trends for SEO

    Google’s latest release

    The Google Search best practices documentation has existed for several years, with tips and tricks on improving your SEO for Google Search. It gives straightforward advice on optimization for numerous categories, from SEO fundamentals to monitoring and debugging.

    In February 2023, Google updated the online document to reflect new best practices pertaining to link building. Whereas before, the information about links was only about how to build crawlable links, it now includes several essential tips on creating links that will help your website perform well in Google Search results.

    Related: 7 SEO Copywriting Tips to Get Your Business Ranking on Google

    Making your links crawlable

    Creating crawlable links was a vital component of the earlier version of this Google Search best practices document. It remains a crucial tip for ensuring that links on your website are top quality. Essentially, for Google’s algorithm to be able to crawl (automatically comb through your site), the links need to be written in readable code.

    Google gives specific examples of what types of code are crawlable and what types are not. Look at the examples and code recommendations and ensure that your website coding follows these suggestions so that Google can understand your links and rank your page.

    Related: Learning Google SEO Can Help You Grow Your Business on a Budget

    Placing anchor text correctly…

    What is anchor text? Anchor text is the visible text of a link or what you, as a user, would click on. Google provides several tips about anchor text (most importantly, make sure you use it!). It’s also good to note that in the case of images used as links, Google suggests adding descriptive alt text because this will be attributed as anchor text.

    Related: Five Red Flags That Can Destroy Your Google Ranking

    …and writing better anchor text

    Besides knowing where and how to place your anchor text, writing clear and descriptive anchor text is essential. Strong writing will help Google categorize the relevancy of your links and will also, of course, help users better understand what they’re about to click on.

    For instance, if you’re hyperlinking to another page on your site and use the anchor text “Learn More,” Google (and users!) won’t find this satisfactory. Where does this link lead? If you were to read just the anchor text out of context, it would not make much sense.

    Instead, write anchor text that would still make sense out of context from the rest of the sentence — without being too long. Updating the anchor text to “our company’s mission statement” would better serve your purpose and meet Google’s requirements.

    Google also reminds users not to overdo it. Adding too many keywords can be considered spam, and adding too many different links right next to each other can confuse readers. In short: Space out your links, make your anchor text clear and descriptive, and don’t keyword stuff.

    Related: 6 Elements Your Link-Building Campaign Must Include

    The correct ways to use internal and external links

    The final section of the best practices for SEO links pertains to internal and external links. What’s the difference? Internal links refer to links that drive to a page within the same web domain (i.e., you’re pointing the user to another part of your website). External links take the user to an entirely new domain.

    Google recommends paying particular attention to internal links, as this is an often-overlooked area. The search giant also recommends including at least one internal link on every page of your website, primarily to provide clarity to any given section. Unsure how to incorporate more internal links? Imagine a user’s journey on your site and how other pages on your domain could be useful to a specific section.

    When it comes to external links, don’t be afraid! Just ensure that you’re linking to valid, trustworthy sources. Established news sources can be a great way to provide context and statistics to your website and prove to Google that your website can also be trusted.

    Finally, Google provides code-specific advice for sponsored and user-generated content and a way to ensure Google doesn’t crawl certain external links. Read up on these tips as well since they pertain to specific situations you may encounter.

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    Adam Petrilli

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  • How You Can Actually Use AI To Benefit Your Business | Entrepreneur

    How You Can Actually Use AI To Benefit Your Business | Entrepreneur

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    Everyone is talking about AI right now. No longer just a futuristic concept saved for Hollywood sci-fi movies, artificial intelligence has become a red-hot topic with extensive real-world applications in recent years.

    You might have seen stories about the ChatGPT bot writing song lyrics in the style of your favorite bands or holding realistic conversations, along with AI-generated art platforms like Dall-E making weird and wacky creations. But as new conversations about the future of AI are happening every day, it’s easy to overlook how AI can actually benefit your business on a smaller scale.

    The goal at any company is to continue finding areas where you can remove yourself from mundane tasks to focus on the more important things. Think of it as the progression from the employee, to the contractor, to the AI: greater efficiency, streamlined day-to-day tasks and bigger-picture thinking. What commitment is required of you as a business owner, and where can AI help you?

    What is AI?

    Artificial intelligence, by definition, is “the theory and development of computer systems able to perform tasks normally requiring human intelligence.” There are varying degrees of sophistication, ranging from the ability to perform basic admin tasks, to making informed conclusions on complex concepts.

    A branch of AI includes machine learning, which refers to specifically programmed computers that can continue to learn with the more data it processes without the assistance of humans. My own company has integrated this in the healthcare space, which has been integral in ensuring the most bespoke service possible to meet individual needs — AI for the purpose of greater human impact.

    Aside from industry-specific applications, most of us are already utilizing some form of AI in our daily lives, from Google searches and predictive text to recommended playlists on our music streaming services. But AI is also increasingly steering the conversation around more advanced applications, like self-driving cars and facial recognition. What many of us don’t realize, however, is that AI is far more accessible in the workplace than you’d think — and not in a creepy apocalyptic movie kind of way.

    Related: What Is Artificial Intelligence (AI)? Here Are Its Benefits, Uses and More

    Customer service and success

    It’s an evergreen fact that customer service always has and will always remain king. The need for a hands-on, human touch cannot be overstated, but AI can be extremely effective in helping to improve the overall customer service experience.

    Primarily, it can help staff handle fewer inquiries and reduce workflow. Many businesses will use a chatbot as the first port of call for any questions, an automated message service that can help with things like shipping updates, order times and product details. It can be integrated into numerous industries and programmed to answer basic queries or personalize user information. These can also even respond in different languages, broadening your customer service offerings on a global scale.

    Regarding customer success — proactively working with customers to ensure their satisfaction and retention of services — AI can also be beneficial. However, rather than replacing a customer service rep, AI can compile key information that helps to make the consumer’s experience more personalized. By offering 360-degree insight, AI can use data to make predictions, identify areas for improvement and even point toward potential expansions or developed services. It’s all to keep the customer happy and satisfied.

    Related: How Can Marketers Use ChatGPT? Here Are the Top 11 Uses.

    Replacing email interactions

    Receiving customer emails en masse — where you’re required to keep track of orders, inquiries, tracking numbers and many other things — can quickly break even the most organized of teams. Not only is it logistically challenging to effectively and quickly manage so many micro-tasks, but responses can also be frustratingly slow for the customer.

    On the other hand, an email bot can automate end-to-end customer service. It might be a case of it responding to pricing queries, updates on order progress, or passing on more complex matters to your team. Some bots can even pick up tone and language to prevent making matters worse with an overly cheery reply. This helps save customer support time on repetitive queries that can be resolved by the automatic retrieval of information.

    Related: What AI Can Do To Engage With Customers

    Outreach and sales

    Have you ever wondered just where your business could be if you weren’t spending so much time on the admin? AI has many applications within the marketing space — a job role primed for creativity but often gets bogged down in emails.

    The key benefit is that AI decision-making and correspondence are based on hard data, such as previous usage, past orders, and surveys, whereby programs can acquire sales insights that a human never could. This can assist with lead generation and lead scoring before determining the appropriate marketing campaign. One survey found that 61% of sales teams exceeded revenue goals when leveraging automation in the sales process.

    Related: Artificial Intelligence May Add More Value to Marketing Than Human Brains

    Blog writing and SEO

    We know by now that there is a science to SEO optimizing web pages and blog posts — and it’s constantly changing. If you want clean, factually accurate and lively copy for your business, AI resources are becoming increasingly sophisticated and capable of doing so.

    Consistency can be one of the hardest aspects for blog posts, but AI can help increase your output by drastically decreasing writing and editing time. By entering keywords and a simple brief, AI can form strong copy frameworks for the marketing team to refine, supplement, and polish off, from ads and marketing emails to social media copy and explainers.

    AI is not a means to completely replace jobs (yet), but it can make our roles at work a lot easier. By freeing up more time for creativity, strategy, and long-term thinking, it provides the means for companies to stop looking at emails and start looking ahead.

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    Patrick Frank

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  • How to Create a Winning B2B SEO Campaign | Entrepreneur

    How to Create a Winning B2B SEO Campaign | Entrepreneur

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    Every business that operates online needs a comprehensive and effective SEO strategy to boost organic traffic and visibility. People generally think of SEO in terms of ranking high for popular keyword searches, but for business-to-business (B2B) companies, the strategy moves from a broad audience to a specific one.

    The consumer in a B2B exchange is the end user of a product or service, not a general consumer looking for a regular product. The marketing content with B2B needs to appeal to not one person, but a whole group of decision-makers, including managers, directors, C-suite executives and shareholders.

    Appealing to this group and selling effectively requires a nuanced understanding of how approval and buy-in happens across each decision-maker and channel. The sales cycle for B2B is typically longer, more involved and much deeper than a B2C campaign, so the SEO strategy has to adjust to that.

    What’s the difference? A general consumer tends to make decisions on their own and buy whatever they find that solves their problem. While some purchases may be higher involvement and may need buy-in from others, many consumer products and services require less research and fewer decision-makers than any B2B product or service.

    The campaign has to be adjusted to this understanding to get the payoff in the end. Here’s how to go about it.

    Related: The Secret to Super Successful SEO

    Why is B2B SEO unique?

    Knowing the differences between B2C and B2B SEO is just one part of the equation. Understanding how to manage these differences in planning and execution is key.

    B2B keyword strategies:

    B2B keyword strategies are very different from B2C keyword strategies. With B2B, you’re aiming to target not just the end user, but the collective decision-makers. The line-level employee who may mention the idea to management to improve the organization and processes is helpful, but they’re not the ones making the decision in the end.

    Ultimately, it will be an owner, founder, director or executive who’s searching for a solution that solves a pain point for the company, not someone looking to make work more streamlined at entry level. Their approach will be more precise and focused, which may include low-volume keywords and phrases.

    Understanding the industry language that these decision-makers will use will help you discover the best keywords for your SEO strategy. If they’re lower in search volume, that’s actually better for a B2B strategy. You’ll have less competition and create a place for your brand to stand out and capture attention.

    Bigger effort for conversions:

    Selling to a consumer is often simple and straightforward. A lot of purchases rely on impulsivity, so all you have to do is catch their attention at the right time. They’re scrolling, shopping and buying regularly, so being the one who comes up in their search or feed is not as challenging.

    And in return for that ease, most B2C companies may sell to one-time purchasers, but they make it up in high volumes.

    In contrast, B2B customers typically buy once or once every few years. The purchases are usually much bigger, both in cost and potential impact, so there’s a lot more for them to consider in saying “yes.” These relationships are meant to be long-term, so no one is jumping in impulsively.

    What does this mean for you? You will have to invest more work and research into the content and marketing channels to nurture and earn the trust of a B2B consumer. It’s essential that you communicate your EAT: Expertise, Authority and Trustworthiness.

    • Expertise: Expertise is your knowledge of the industry and product on a deep, practical and relatable level. You have to establish yourself as an expert and show that you can do it better, faster and more easily than others.

    • Authority: Authority is your credibility — your position as a respected source of information in the industry. You not only need to know what you’re talking about but how your products and services impact the industry in its entirety. It’s about knowing what you do and how it affects what your customers do in context.

    • Trustworthiness: A B2B customer has to believe that you can deliver what you say you will. They’re ending their long research process and sales meetings by choosing a brand and shelling out a lot of money for a business investment in hopes that it will pay off and solve their problems. They have to trust you for that to happen, and it’s up to you to make your company and your offerings seem as trustworthy and reliable as possible.

    Focus is shifted to B2B content:

    Authority and trust are paramount to closing the sale in a B2B market. Your website and off-page content should be designed to prove that you’re an authority in the niche and that your company, products and teams are trusted by others to deliver solutions no one else can.

    According to a Demand Gen Report survey of over 200 senior-level B2B marketers, 41% of respondents report consuming between three and five pieces of content before making a connection with a sales representative. That’s a lot of upfront effort for the lead payoff.

    Those same industry experts also said that 68% of them want to see B2B content organized by the pain point or problem it can solve, and they want in-depth, specific content like case studies.

    Leveraging case studies isn’t directly promotional, but they can make your company stand out. You’re showing off some of the process to make them feel at ease with your approach and how you performed with other business customers.

    You can also use customer testimonials, which go a long way toward showing potential customers how you run your business. Choose testimonials that demonstrate real results, such as a customer who had an X% increase in productivity after implementing your software solution.

    Content like this uses hard facts and real-world customers to give your prospects confidence, which is the key to getting them to reach out to a sales representative. Educate your target customers to help them see your value, and more importantly, offer value to them.

    B2B SEO numbers:

    A survey in 2019 with SEO professionals from across the globe revealed that the number one most important element of search engine results page rankings was on-page elements like meta titles and descriptions. The next priority is the depth and accuracy of the content in the results.

    Furthermore, a consumer insights article by Google indicated that:

    • 89% of B2B researchers find information online

    • The majority of decision-makers are C-suite executives, but almost a quarter of the decision-makers are not executives

    • 49% of B2B product research is conducted on a mobile device while at work

    Related: 5 Content-Marketing Tactics for B2B Ecommerce

    B2B SEO campaign strategies

    There are three basic elements to any SEO strategy, and here’s how they apply to B2B brands:

    1. On-page SEO:

    On-page SEO encompasses the actual words and phrases you use on the website and how they correlate with your target keywords. This includes your blog posts, articles, page content, FAQ page and other on-page content.

    Think of this as your first opportunity to leverage your creativity to include keywords in your website content. This not only helps when visitors browse your page, but it shows the search engine site crawlers what your website is and what you do, which impacts the ranking and relevance of your content in the search results pages.

    It’s not enough to just plug in keywords, however. You have to provide high-quality content and accurate information that has value for the customer, which keeps them reading and looking for more information.

    Here’s an outline to optimize your content for rankings:

    • Keyword research: Do your own research based on rankings and low competition. Determine what your B2B customers are searching for and how you can use those keywords to direct them to your website.

    • Competitor research: Look for search terms that aren’t sponsored, then plug them into your search engine. Check out the top few results for those search terms and see what makes them better or more unique, earning that high ranking. Let that guide your strategy.

    • Create better content: You saw what competitors have to offer, and you know what keywords are most important, so now it’s time to put it into action. Create content that’s better than your competitors — offer more value, use keyword variations, include engaging graphics, and refine until you get it right.

    2. Off-page SEO:

    Off-page SEO is where you boost your credibility and authority. Take advantage of your industry connections to build links, collaborate on groundbreaking content, establish thought leadership and promote your content.

    Backlinks tell the search engine algorithm that other authoritative sources find your content reliable and accurate. The AI bots are more likely to rank your content and website higher if you have approval from another website that they already view as credible.

    Your networking skills can also build strong relationships with other brands to enhance your authority. Consider it a mutually beneficial relationship that serves both of you, not a chance to boost your own company.

    Consider opportunities to guest post on each other’s sites, collaborate on research, start a podcast together, build an online community, or host a virtual summit. These are all powerful off-page SEO boosters.

    3. Technical SEO:

    Technical SEO may seem boring because it’s the code-driven, behind-the-scenes, introverted part of SEO — but it’s essential to your success. Think of technical SEO as facilitating the communication between your content and the search engines, giving the bots all the information they need to put your content in front of relevant searchers.

    Google and other search engines want to provide high-quality results to searchers with a seamless process. For that to apply to your site, you need to get it functioning beautifully and ensure that the content is as good as it can be.

    If you have site issues that impact the experience, such as slow page load times, broken links, excessive or obstructive pop-ups, or a non-mobile-friendly interface, you will lose some of your ranking. The best content in the world can’t make up for a poor website and vice versa.

    Here are a few precautions you can take:

    • Audit page load times: Long page load times make visitors click away. It should only take a few seconds for a page to fully load — otherwise, you’re losing a potential customer.

    • Optimize for mobile: Many B2B customers are searching for business solutions on their mobile devices. Make sure your site is not only fast but optimized to be easy to use on mobile phones and tablets.

    • Test navigation: Is it easy to move around your site and find what you need? If not, consider how you can fix it to make the experience seamless for your visitors.

    • Create a schema or site map: A schema is for the bots and helps them map out your page to learn what you do, what you have to offer and what relevance you have for searchers.

    • Check all links: Check every link on your site, both internal and external, to make sure everything is functioning as it should. If links are broken or changed, replace or remove them.

    This guide gives you everything you need to get started with B2B SEO campaigns. Get started to create a winning B2B campaign that gets you tons of valuable organic traffic.

    Related: Top B2B Marketing Strategies for SaaS Businesses

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    Jason Khoo

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  • Robinhood Review 2023: Pros and Cons

    Robinhood Review 2023: Pros and Cons

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    Did the movie “The Big Short” go right over your head? Does Nasdaq sound more like a foreign country than a stock market index? When you hear about bear markets and bull markets, do you envision adorable cartoon mammals browsing for fresh produce at a local farmers market?

    You’re not alone.

    The stock market can be confusing, and if you’re not a financial wizard in the Wall Street inner circle, you might be tempted not to bother with stock and options trading at all. But you’d be missing out.

    That’s where apps like Robinhood come in. In this Robinhood review, we’ll discuss how Penny Hoarders can go from novice traders to expert stock market gurus, no matter how much or how little they have to invest.

    What Is Robinhood?

    Robinhood offers a unique brokerage account with commission-free investing from your smartphone. Robinhood has been around for the better part of a decade — the company launched April 18, 2013. Its two founders, Vladimir Tenev and Baiju Bhatt, met at Stanford University as roommates and eventually moved to New York City to build finance companies. 

    Upon seeing firsthand how Wall Street insiders and powerhouse firms paid almost nothing when trading stocks while average Americans had to pay a commission fee for every trade, they instead headed to California to develop a financial product that allowed everyone to trade easily and affordably.

    The resulting financial product, of course, was Robinhood. The company today is headquartered in Menlo Park, California.

    Robinhood has not been without its challenges. It’s famous for serious outages during market surges in 2020 and its role in the early 2021 market chaos related to the Reddit forum called r/wallstreetbets, where it restricted member access to securities like GameStop, Nokia and AMC. More recently, Robinhood laid off 23% of its staff, just one example of the massive tech industry layoffs in 2022, and also has been in the news for questionable trades. 

    However, Robinhood’s overall mission to make stock market trading accessible for everyone is admirable, and it is one of many investment and trading tools that seeks to put power back in consumers’ hands to elevate the financial status of the average American.

    That’s a product that, even with its flaws, we can get behind.

     

    What Tradable Securities Does Robinhood Offer?

    The Robinhood platform is a great solution for free(!) trading of stocks, options, ETFs (exchange-traded funds) and ADRs (American Depositary Receipts), as well as cryptocurrency trading. The trading platform requires no minimum balance, offers fractional shares and includes plenty of educational resources. While Robinhood is most known for trading stocks and crypto, you can also use it for cash management. 

    Robinhood does not, however, offer access to mutual funds and bonds..

    In 2021, Robinhood began to offer IPO access, meaning investors could purchase shares of stock in new companies at the IPO price before they go public. And in 2022, it introduced individual retirement accounts, or IRAs.

    What Can You Trade on Robinhood?

    • U.S. exchange-listed stocks
    • U.S. exchange-listed ETFs
    • Options contracts for U.S. exchange-listed stocks and ETFs
    • ADRs for more than 650 globally listed companies
    • Cryptocurrency

    What Can’t You Trade on Robinhood?

    • Foreign-domiciled stocks
    • Select OTC equities
    • Preferred stocks
    • Tracking stocks
    • Stocks that trade on foreign exchanges
    • Royalty trusts
    • Units
    • Closed-end funds
    • Mutual funds
    • Bonds
    • Fixed-income trading
    • New York registry shares
    • Limited partnerships
    • Chinese securities affected by the Nov. 2020 executive order
    • Spanish ADRs

    How to Get Started with Robinhood

    To sign up with a Robinhood brokerage account, simply visit the website and press the black “sign up” button.

    Hot Tip: Robinhood is currently offering one free fractional share upon signup. There are 20 fractional shares available to choose from. To generate its 20 offers, Robinhood chose the two largest S&P 500 companies within each of the top 10 sectors based on market cap.

    To open an account with Robinhood, you have to meet a few individual requirements:

    • You must be 18 or older.
    • You need a valid Social Security Number (Note: You may not use a Taxpayer Identification Number).
    • You must be a legal U.S. citizen, U.S. permanent resident or have a valid U.S. visa and have an address in the 50 states or Puerto Rico (exceptions made for members of the U.S. military stationed outside the country).

    The Robinhood trading platform is accessible via the web or app (iOS and Android).

    The process of activating your account can take some time. You’ll start by submitting an application. While Robinhood reviews the application, you can queue one deposit to fund your account, but you won’t be able to use that money to make trades until account approval.

    Typically, Robinhood will take a few days to either approve your application or request more information. If they request more information or documentation, be prepared to allow five to seven days for review.

    How Much Does Robinhood Cost?

    Trading with Robinhood is free. That’s the whole reason its founders launched the company: free stock trading for regular people. That means you won’t pay commissions on equity trades or options trades. However, you could wind up having to pay account transfer fees, wire fees, check fees and live broker fees, among others.

    In addition, Robinhood Gold allows you to trade on margin at a 7.25% annual rate. It also allows you to make bigger deposits with faster fund access. This fee for the margin account is $5 per month.

    Robinhood Gold, Explained

    Margin trading means trading with borrowed money. If you invest in a bad stock and lose money on the investment, you’ll owe that money back.

    For example, say you borrow $500 to invest in a stock worth $500. But that stock plummets to $100. You will still owe the remaining $400 back to Robinhood. That’s what makes margin trading a little too risky for novice traders.

    Not only that, but if you borrow more than $1,000 to trade on margin, you’ll owe 2.5% yearly interest on that borrowed money above that $1,000.

    Because Robinhood is targeted at new investors — and margin trading is a risky practice that can break even the savviest stock market gurus — we recommend that you invest with your own money, and make sure it’s money that, if lost, will not financially ruin you.

    In fact, one of our biggest stock trading tips for beginners is to stay away from margin trading.

    So How Else Does Robinhood Make Money?

    If Robinhood is commission-free and not everyone uses Robinhood Gold, how does Robinhood make money off you? Robinhood spells this out transparently on its website:

    • Rebates from market makers and trading venues: Robinhood has developed relationships with market makers and trading venues that pay Robinhood rebates for directing orders to those makers and venues. In the industry, this is known as payment for order flow (PFOF).
    • Stock loans: Robinhood can loan stocks held in your account to traders and hedge funds for short selling. Robinhood gets to keep the money it makes from this; you as the investor do not share in the wealth.
    • Income from cash: If you have idle cash sitting uninvested but haven’t moved it into a cash management account, Robinhood earns interest on that cash.
    • Cash management account: Every time you use the debit card for your cash management account, Sutton Bank (the card issuer) earns a fee, which it shares with Robinhood.
    • Robinhood Gold: Robinhood makes money off every Gold subscription, both from the monthly fee and from margin interest.

    Robinhood Review: Key Features

    In this section, we will break down some of the hallmark features of Robinhood.

    Robinhood: At a Glance

    Feature Details More Details
    Trading fees $0 n/a
    Account minimum $0 n/a
    Tradable securities Stock options ETFs ADRs; crypto
    Mobile app rating 4.2 on App Store 4 on Google Play
    Customer support Talk to a live agent 24 hours a day, 7 days a week 30-minute guarantee
    Other key features Fractional shares IPO access
    Beginner perks Educational resources Free stock at sign-up

    Commission-Free

    Robinhood’s schtick has long been that it offers commission-free trading. That means you will spend $0 for stock trading and $0 for options trading. ETFs also are commission-free.

    This was the original mission of the founders, but in the time since launching their revolutionary idea, some of the bigger, traditional players, like Fidelity and Charles Schwab, have latched onto the same idea — and are backed by a better customer support system and a better-supported platform.

    That has meant the Robinhood trading platform has had to find new ways to differentiate, like cryptocurrency and fractional shares. More on these below.

    No Account Minimum

    Of course, you will need to put money in your account to invest, but Robinhood does not have an account minimum, nor does it charge you for having a low or zero balance. And with fractional shares being an option, you can get started investing with as little as a dollar in your account.

    Note: To purchase a security on margin (through Robinhood Gold), you need to have at least $2,000 in your account. This is not a Robinhood requirement but rather a regulation set by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).

    Cryptocurrency Trading

    Cryptocurrency is still a foreign concept to many investors, but just because something is new and scary (also, it’s been around since 2009, so it’s hardly new anymore) doesn’t mean you shouldn’t invest. Not all brokers allow you to buy and sell cryptocurrency, but Robinhood offers support for multiple cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Dogecoin and Ethereum, with Robinhood Crypto (open 24/7).

    In keeping with the whole “Robinhood is free” theme, Robinhood charges 0% for crypto exchanges. Some competitors charge up to 4%.

    Fees

    Not only does Robinhood offer free trades on stocks, options, ETFs and ADRs, it also has no account fees, inactivity fees or ACH transfer fees. Robinhood Gold, as mentioned, currently costs $5 a month.

    Mobile App

    Robinhood was created in the heart of Silicon Valley in Menlo Park, so, unsurprisingly, its mobile app is streamlined and easy to use. At the time of writing, the Robinhood app had 4.2 stars in the App Store based on more than 4 million reviews.

    Its website, too, is streamlined. It doesn’t have a lot of extras, which is great if you are a novice trader. A more senior investor may find the site lacking, however.

    Customer Support

    While Robinhood offers customer support, this seems to be the biggest issue raised by members. Customer review sites often are littered with complaints that customer service is virtually nonexistent, especially pre- and post-market.

    In an effort to improve its relatively low-rated customer support options, Robinhood rolled out a new customer service feature in 2021. This allows customers to request a call back, 24/7. Robinhood promises an agent should call within 30 minutes.

    No Mutual Funds and Bonds

    While commission-free stocks, options, ETFs and even crypto are a big pro of Robinhood, its lack of mutual funds and bonds can be frustrating for traders who want to diversify. As far as retirement accounts go, mutual funds are a key part of a retirement investment strategy.

    Fractional Shares

    True to its goal of making growing financial wealth more accessible to average Americans, Robinhood released fractional share options in late 2019. This means, if you can’t afford an expensive stock valued at, say, $1,000, you could instead buy a fraction of the stock, maybe $100 worth of it, or even just $10.

    Right now, Robinhood allows you to buy as small as one-millionth of a share. Just like full shares, trading of fractional shares can be done in real time and is commission-free.

    Recurring Investments

    Another tool that Robinhood has introduced in recent years is recurring investments, which is a nice pairing with a fractional share investment strategy. For example, if Company X’s stock hovers around $200, you can set up a recurring investment in a fractional share at $25/week. Within roughly eight weeks, you could own a full share.

    Most brokers structure recurring investments as buying by the share, which typically leaves your account funded with some uninvested cash. But Robinhood’s recurring investments are structured as buying by a dollar amount, which makes the best use of all your invested cash.

    IPO Access

    New in 2021, Robinhood gave customers access to purchase stocks in upcoming IPOs (initial public offerings) at the IPO price. No minimum account balances or special status requirements are necessary.

    Cash Management Account

    Another cool feature of Robinhood is the associated cash management account. You can have your paycheck deposited here, use it to pay bills and deposit checks, and, of course, fund your account. Like a proper bank account, this account gives you access to more than 75,000 fee-free ATMs (pretty much everywhere Mastercard is accepted) and comes with a debit card. And the best part: It earns 1.5% APY. For reference, the FDIC says the average interest rate for a savings account is 0.33% APY. And because the account is operated through a network of banks, you’ll get more than the typical $250,000 FDIC insurance; instead, the account is insured up to $1.25 million.

    Educational Resources

    A lot of now-outdated Robinhood reviews mention the lack of educational resources. We couldn’t find anything to be less true of Robinhood. Perhaps in response to some of those reviews, Robinhood has stepped up its game, with plenty of online resources on the website as well as a daily financial newsletter called Robinhood Snacks. Robinhood markets it as a “3-minute newsletter with fresh takes on the financial news.”

    Pro Tip

    Serious investors keep up with this kinds of news. It may not have the same appeal as celebrity gossip, but it will help you make wise decisions investments decisions.

    Robinhood makes it easy to access news from Reuters, Cheddar, WSJ Markets, etc. Upgrading to Robinhood Gold gets you access to Morningstar, Nasdaq and Nasdaq Totalview Level 2 Market Data.

    What Customers Are Saying About Robinhood

    Because of Robinhood’s role in the recent GameStop market chaos and following layoffs in 2022, many angry investors and emboldened Redditors spoke their minds online, meaning Robinhood’s current ranking on sites like the Better Business Bureau (BBB) and Google Play is suffering. This is more a reflection of reviewers’ overall criticisms of capitalism, hedge fund managers and the 1% than it is on Robinhood, which, if you take a step back, is really trying to help the average investor.

    Pros and Cons of Robinhood

    There’s a lot to love about Robinhood, especially if you are a new trader. More experienced traders may prefer a different approach to trading, however. Weigh these pros and cons before deciding on a Robinhood brokerage account.


    Pros

    • The educational content is great if you are new to the stock market and want to learn the language.
    • The cash management account makes it easy to fund your investments and earns a decent APY.
    • You can strategize by combining fractional shares and recurring investments to diversify your assets and minimize uninvested cash, no matter how much you have to invest.
    • The commission-free trading and no account minimum truly make this accessible to anyone who wants to invest.
    • Robinhood gives you the option of investing in cryptocurrency and access to IPOs.
    • The mobile app and online trading platform are known for their ease of use.
    • There are no account or trading fees, nor are there account inactivity or ACH transfer fees
    • Robinhood is running a promotion wherein you get free fractional share upon signing up.


    Cons

    • The role Robinhood played in limiting investments in squeeze stocks (like GameStop) in early 2021 brought the original mission of the company into question. The 2022 layoffs didn’t help.
    • Customer support is lacking, especially compared to larger brokers. Robinhood customers complain that customer service is especially challenging pre- and post-market.
    • Robinhood lacks mutual funds and bonds.
    • By not charging investors commission, Robinhood instead makes money through the payment for order flow, a common standard among online brokers. Some critics say this is a conflict of interest.

    Are There Alternatives to Robinhood?

    If you want to stay away from major players like TD Ameritrade and Charles Schwab, Robinhood is arguably the most popular trading tool.

    Its most notable competitor is Webull. Both Robinhood and Webull have their advantages; it truly comes down to your personal preferences. But Robinhood and Webull aren’t your only options. In fact, we’ve rounded up the best investment apps currently offered; choosing the right app depends on your own specific needs and investment strategy.

    Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About Robinhood

    Still have questions about opening a Robinhood account? We’ve provided answers to some of the questions our readers are most commonly asking.

    Yes, Robinhood is a safe platform for investing. Robinhood is a member of the SIPC (Securities Investor Protection Corporation), meaning your funds are insured up to $500,000. Robinhood also is regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

    Is Robinhood a Brokerage Account?

    Yes, Robinhood offers a brokerage account as its key offering, but you can also open a cash management account with Robinhood.

    Does Robinhood Pay Dividends?

    Robinhood processes your dividends automatically, crediting cash to your account by default.

    Is Robinhood Gold Worth It?

    Most investors will be fine with Robinhood’s free investing accounts. Being a Robinhood Gold member is ideal for margin trading, but we don’t recommend this unless you are a more seasoned investor.

    Timothy Moore covers banking and investing for The Penny Hoarder from his home base in Cincinnati. He has worked in editing and graphic design for a marketing agency, a global research firm and a major print publication. He covers a variety of other topics, including insurance, taxes, retirement and budgeting and has worked in the field since 2012. Freelancer Lauren Richardson contributed to this post. 


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    tmoorefreelance@gmail.com (Timothy Moore)

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  • You Shouldn’t Pay One Lousy Cent to File Your Taxes

    You Shouldn’t Pay One Lousy Cent to File Your Taxes

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    Filing taxes in the United States could be free and simple for everyone — if only tax prep companies weren’t lobbying to keep it so complicated.

    The Internal Revenue Service and your state tax collectors already have access to most of the information you painstakingly report in a tax return because your employers and banks are required to provide it.

    We could, in theory, have a return-free system, where the IRS sends you that information and how much it believes you owe, and you don’t have to file anything unless you disagree with it.

    But we like a challenge, don’t we?

    Instead of this straightforward public service, we have the next best thing: A private system that helps the majority of Americans file a federal tax return for free.

    Except most of us don’t use it … because we don’t know it exists.

    The Free File Alliance MUST Let You File Taxes for Free

    The Free File Alliance is a public-private partnership between a group of tax software companies and the IRS. Seven companies are part of this agreement as of January 2023, according to its recent press release.

    The agreement says these companies have to provide the majority of Americans with a free way to prepare and file their taxes online. It also bars the IRS from providing its own free filing system — like that dreamy no-return scenario mentioned above.

    The problem, predictably, is that no one advertises the free services.

    The government has no budget to market it, and the for-profit tax preparers have no incentive to let you know about their free options — and every incentive to funnel you toward a paid option. And they use every opportunity, as ProPublica has reported repeatedly.

    The result is that most filers have no idea the option exists, and hardly anyone takes advantage of it.

    (BTW, we are happy to tell you all about those free tax filing services.)

    In 2020, the Alliance touted “soaring” participation — a 28% “jump” from 2.3 million filers in 2019 to 2.9 million in 2020. Sounds great, except more than 130 million taxpayers qualified for free filing through the program. That’s a participation rate of about 2% of eligible filers.

    How to Get Free Tax Filing Through the Free File Alliance

    This part is, in fact, easy once you know about it.

    To qualify, you have to earn below a certain income limit, which changes each year.

    For tax year 2022 (what you’ll file starting in 2023), anyone with an adjusted gross income of $73,000 or less qualifies for free filing through an IRS partner.

    The most popular services, TurboTax and H&R Block, have left the Alliance in recent years, and this year’s participating companies are a collection of mostly lesser-known online tax preparers:

    • 1040Now Corp.
    • ezTaxReturn.com (English and Spanish)
    • FileYourTaxes.com
    • OnLine Taxes
    • TaxAct
    • TaxHawk Inc.
    • TaxSlayer (English and Spanish)

    Choose a filing service through the IRS browsing tool to make sure you access the actually free versions of these services and avoid upsells to paid services. It’ll ask you some questions to help you determine which service is a good fit for your tax situation.

    Before you choose a service, read through the requirements for free filing. Some of them cap incomes as low as $39,000, or tack on an age requirement or state limitations. A few, but not many, throw in free state filing so you can avoid that surprise charge at the end of the process.

    Most importantly: Assume you can find a way to file for free. The agreement aims to make free filing available to 70% of Americans, so the odds are in your favor.

    Tax companies will make plenty of offers that tempt you to upgrade to a paid option — or make you believe you have no choice. But you do. They’ve barred our government from offering us that choice, and in return, they’re required to provide it themselves.

    We just have to make sure we can find it.

    Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) About the Free File Alliance

    Here are our answers to some common questions about the Free File Alliance.

    Is Free File Alliance Legit?

    Yes, the Free File Alliance is a legitimate partnership between private tax prep companies and the IRS to provide free federal tax filing. It can be accessed through the IRS Free File Options page to ensure you get a tax preparer’s free version and can see any additional fees upfront.

    Which Companies Are Part of the Free File Alliance?

    Companies participating in the Free File Alliance change from year to year. In 2023, seven companies are participating: 1040Now, ezTaxReturn.com, FileYourTaxes.com, OnLine Taxes, TaxAct, TaxHawk Inc. and TaxSlayer.

    Is IRS Free File Really Free?

    Yes. If you qualify, you’ll pay nothing to file your federal tax return through a participating Free File company. For tax season 2022, you must have earned $73,000 or less to qualify, and you might face additional requirements or restrictions from individual tax companies. You’ll likely pay a fee to file a state return. Companies are required to list all non-qualifying fees on the landing page you access through the IRS Free File browsing tool.

    Is TurboTax Part of the Free File Alliance?

    As of 2021, TurboTax is no longer a member of the Free File Alliance. The company offers a free edition for filing simple returns, but read the details of TurboTax’s offers to see what’s included for free before filling out your return and facing surprise fees.

    What Is the Best Free Tax Filing Online?

    Most free online tax software companies are comparable in their offerings and requirements. Few of them offer only free filing, so you might not qualify for their free services. United Way’s MyFreeTaxes service lets anyone file online for free as long as you earned $73,000 or less (for tax year 2022), and you don’t have income from rental property or a farm. Cash App Taxes offers only free filing, so you can file through the app without worrying about being upsold.

    Dana Sitar (@danasitar) has been writing and editing since 2011, covering personal finance, careers and digital media. She was ticked off she didn’t know about the Free File Alliance and wants to make sure you don’t face the same fate. Freelancer Lauren Richardson contributed to this post. 


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    dana@danamedia.co (Dana Miranda, CEPF®)

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  • Is This Untapped Market the Key to Your Business Growth?

    Is This Untapped Market the Key to Your Business Growth?

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    Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

    Voice search use is on the rise globally. Back in 2019, there were 2.45 billion voice assistants in the world. This number is expected to reach 8 billion by the end of 2023, which will be roughly equivalent to the global population. This rapid global increase in the number of voice assistants has created a new ecosystem that businesses can leverage to reach and connect with their ideal customers.

    And don’t forget the alarming number of smartphone users, search engine users and IoT devices — we are already living in the voice search era.

    But what does it mean for your business? How can your business leverage voice search for growth?

    Related: Why (and How) You Should Optimize Your Website for Voice Search

    What is voice search?

    Voice search lets users do a search via voice instead of text. Major search engines like Google and Bing allow users to run a search query through a voice command. This feature is available across devices and isn’t limited to smartphones.

    Search engines use automatic speech recognition (ASR) technology that converts voice signals into text, and then search engines find relevant search results from their databases. The text is then converted into voice, and the most relevant result is transmitted verbally to the user. So essentially, at the backend of every voice search, there is a text-based search query that search engines use to return.

    Why people are using it

    One study reported that 21% of people use voice search weekly, while other research from SEO Tribunal shows 53% use voice search while driving. This makes it convenience-driven as it is much easier and safer to search via voice while driving.

    Voice search is also easier than traditional search, making it ideal for people to use voice search when their hands aren’t free. SEO Tribunal’s research shows that 61% of people use voice search when their hands or vision is already occupied, 30% use it due to faster results and 24% use it because it is challenging to type on certain devices.

    Speaking of faster results, it takes 4.6 seconds for a voice search result page to load compared to the average search result page, which takes 8.8 seconds. It isn’t just fast but extremely accurate. The Google voice search accuracy rate for the English language is 95%. This means a user is expected to get accurate search results for a voice search 95 times out of 100 attempts.

    Voice search also helps people with disabilities use search without typing or looking at a device. A study shows that people with motor, linguistic, and cognitive impairments can easily and effectively interact with voice assistants leading to improved accessibility. Another study interviewed 16 Amazon Echo users with disabilities and found that people with disabilities can easily interact with voice assistants as well.

    The benefits of using voice search outperform text search, and this is a reason why people from all walks of life love using it.

    Related: Voice Search Is Exploding and Digital Strategy Will Never Be the Same

    Why your business needs to leverage voice search

    Voice search optimization connects you with your target audience, makes your website accessible and improves the user experience. With an increase in the number of voice assistants, a rise in the number of smartphone users and a shift from text to voice search, a lot of opportunities await businesses that optimize their websites and content for voice search.

    Think of voice search as an additional channel to interact with your target audience. Though search engines like Google and voice assistants use existing content to serve voice queries, businesses that optimize their content for voice will always have a competitive advantage.

    Adding schema markup to your content is one of the primary voice search optimization techniques. Websites that use schema markup for voice search are more likely to perform better in voice search. Google, for instance, has a dedicated version of the schema for voice search (known as speakable) that helps Google Assistant understand and convert text to speech.

    Surprisingly, 27.4% of all websites don’t use any type of structured data. Businesses aren’t using regular schema markup, but schema for voice search is a different story. If your competitors aren’t doing it, you should do it — now.

    The same goes for conversational keywords that play a major role in voice search ranking. Most businesses focus on search intent and are geared towards commercial intent keywords, which are rarely conversational.

    For example, “I am looking for a pharmacy that is open 24 hours and delivers to ABC Street” is a conversational search query. On the other hand, businesses usually optimize their content for search queries like “pharmacies near me,” “pharmacy in XYZ city,” “best online pharmacies,” etc.

    Gaps like these need to be filled, and businesses that take the leap will definitely have a competitive advantage.

    Related: 3 Ways to Get New Customers by Optimizing for Voice Search

    Voice search SEO vs. traditional SEO

    If you’re ready to leverage voice search for your business, you have to optimize your website and content for voice search.

    There are a few major differences between SEO for voice search and traditional SEO:

    1. Voice search is focused on conversational long-tail keywords. As mentioned earlier, this is because people speak in their normal tone when they are searching for something via voice. For example, “What is the best route I should take to the nearest coffee shop?” On the other hand, traditional SEO is geared towards general keywords, including short-tail keywords with or without a conversational approach.
    2. Google uses featured snippets as the voice search result and the assistant reads it to the users. This means two things for businesses. First, you need a further reduction in organic click-through rate. Second, you need more focus on schema markup. You need to target featured snippets and you must use relevant schema markup to do so by answering direct and accurate answers for voice search users.
    3. Voice search is more local than traditional search. This is because more than 50% of people use voice search during driving, and they are more likely to search for a store or a restaurant than ways to lose belly fat during driving. This makes voice search SEO different from traditional SEO. With voice SEO, you need to focus on local search queries more than anything else.

    Related: Intelligent Search Drives More Customers to Your Business Than Your Website

    How to optimize for voice search and add it to your SEO strategy

    Optimizing your website for voice search requires much more than keyword research and targeting. It needs to be part of your business’s SEO strategy.

    Here is how to do it:

    1. Update buyer personas

    Understanding your target audience and how they use voice search is the first step. For example, millennials are more likely to use voice search than Gen X and baby boomers. Similarly, more than half of all voice searches are for sales and deals.

    There is, however, no general rule of thumb. You need to do surveys and interviews to get a step closer to your target audience. Figure out how they use voice search and incorporate the same in buyer personas.

    For example, if your target audience includes cab drivers, they are more likely to use voice search as they are mostly on the road. On the other hand, if you own an ecommerce store, a small proportion of your audience might be using voice assistants or even voice search, as online shopping is rarely done via voice search.

    You need to understand your target audience and how it uses voice search. Here are a few questions that will give you a nice idea of how to proceed:

    • What percentage of your target audience uses voice search and voice assistants?
    • How often do your potential customers use voice search?
    • What smart devices and voice assistants do they use?
    • When they are more likely and least likely to seek help from voice search?
    • Why do they prefer voice search over text search?

    Getting answers to these (and similar questions) from your target audience is the first step towards optimizing your website for voice search.

    Related: All About Buyer Personas: What They Are, Why You Need Them and How to Make Them Effective

    2. Keyword targeting

    Conversational and long-tail keywords are a norm with voice search. If you want to optimize your content for it, start targeting conversational keywords.

    You need to find conversational keywords and target them for optimizing content for voice search. One simple way to target conversational keywords is to switch to a conversational writing style. Write content as if you are talking to someone. This might make your content a bit informal, but it works.

    For example, use “I” and “me” in your content and add long-tail questions and answers to make it conversational.

    You don’t necessarily have to change your brand voice and style to do this. You can create a FAQs section where you answer common questions and publish each question and its answer as a single blog post. Do this alongside conventional blogging to avoid deviating too far from your brand voice.

    3. Optimize content for voice

    Create content that’s niche-based and highly targeted. Don’t try to target all the buyer personas with a single piece of content. You need to get specific and personalized with content.

    Follow these best practices to optimize content for voice search:

    • Distribute your content into different sections. Add a heading to each section and make sure you have two or three sentences per section (that’s equivalent to 20-30 seconds of content).
    • Create a short summary of your article with bullet points of short sections. Add voice structured data (speakable) to the summary only. This significantly improves your chances of being picked up for voice search.
    • Optimize your website, blog and content for mobile since voice search is more associated with mobile than desktop.
    • Optimize content for local search queries that target a specific market.
    • Focus on getting the featured snippets, FAQs and rich results, as these are the building blocks of voice search.
    • Make content scannable with headlines, sub-headlines, bullets, short paragraphs and accurate information. Avoid fluff and get to the point right away.

    When you are creating amazing content, don’t forget backlink acquisition. Backlinks still play their role in the voice search. Research shows that blog posts with 2,500 words are more likely to acquire backlinks naturally and organic shares.

    Related: 3 Ways Entrepreneurs Can Position Their Brand to Dominate Voice Search

    Final thoughts

    The best thing about voice search is that it works like text search. The voice command is converted into text and vice versa. This means you don’t have to create a separate SEO strategy for voice and text. A better approach is to integrate voice search into your existing SEO strategy. Voice search optimization should be a part of your SEO strategy and both should be aligned.

    Consider voice search as an additional marketing channel that has a lot of potential for businesses.

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    Jeanna Barrett

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  • Best Checking Accounts – Our 10 Recommendations

    Best Checking Accounts – Our 10 Recommendations

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    Do you remember why you chose your current checking account?

    If you got started early, your parents might have helped you open a kids’ checking or savings account at their bank’s branch. Or maybe you went with the credit union down the street from your work after getting your first W2 job.

    Whatever the reason, location likely played a big part. Thankfully, you’re no longer confined to a financial institution for a checking account because of its proximity to you — or a brick-and-mortar site altogether, for that matter.

    From higher interest rates to better benefits, it pays to expand your search beyond your local bank or credit union these days. Here’s how to choose the right checking account for you.

    10 Best Checking Accounts for February 2023

    Is it Time to Change Checking Accounts?

    Account APY ATM Access Fees
    Chime Checking Account None 60K+ fee-free ATMs No monthly fees GET DETAILS
    Varo Bank Account None 55,000+ Allpoint ATMs Out-of-network ATM GET DETAILS
    Chase Total Checking None 16,000 ATMs Yes, but may be waived GET DETAILS
    Chase College checking None 16,000 ATMs None GET DETAILS
    TD Bank Convenience Checking None 700 ATMs Yes, but may be waived GET DETAILS
    Axos Bank Essential Checking None Fee reimbursements None GET DETAILS
    Ally Interest Checking Up to 0.25% 55,000+ Allpoint ATMs None GET DETAILS
    Consumers Credit Union Free Rewards 2.09% Over 30,000 ATMs Overdraft fees GET DETAILS
    Schwab Bank High Yield Investor Checking 0.45% Unlimited ATM fee-reimbursements None GET DETAILS
    Montgomery Bank New Start Checking None Bank & MoneyPass ATMs None GET DETAILS

    Chime Checking Account

    Best for Digital Features

    Key Features

    • No monthly maintenance fees
    • Free access to in-network ATMs
    • A “Pay Friends” feature to give money to friends

    Chime is an online checking account that truly embraces the digital banking space* — consider that its app has over 550,000 positive reviews. The company’s tagline is “banking that has your back” and it aims to do that through its Early Payday function (where you get access to direct deposit funds up to two days early), fee-free overdraft services and more.

    Chime Checking Account

    Fees

    No monthly fees

    APY

    None

    ATM access

    60K+ fee-free ATMs*

    Promotions

    None

    Prime perk

    “Pay friends” feature

    More information About Chime Checking Account

    Chime doesn’t charge overdraft fees or for overdraft protection, a monthly maintenance fee, foreign transaction fees or minimum balance fees. You can also open an easy-to-access connected savings account — it allows you to automate your savings with features like the round-up tool, which will round up your transactions to the nearest dollar and dump the change into savings. Bonus: Chime has a “Pay Friends” feature, so you don’t have to mess with cash, math or other apps to split the bill.

    For a full run down of fees and services, check out our complete Chime Bank review.

    Varo Bank Account

    Best for Cash Back

    Key Features

    • No hidden fees
    • Early access to your paycheck
    • Tool to project your cash flow

    Varo has combined traditional banking tools with modern technology to help its customers become financially healthy. Its big selling points include Varo Perks — get up to 15% cash back with in-app purchases — no hidden fees and early access to your paycheck. You can also earn up to a whopping 5.00% APY with a Varo high-yield savings account.

    Varo Bank Account

    Fees

    Out-of-network ATM and cash deposit fees

    APY

    None

    ATM access

    More than 55,000 Allpoint ATMs

    Promotions

    Earn money by referring friends

    Prime perk

    Up to 15% cash back

    More information About Varo Bank Account

    With Varo, you’ll pay no monthly service fees, no extra fees for minimum balance requirements, no foreign transaction fees and no cash replacement fees. For money transfers, Varo Bank works with Zelle® so you can send money to folks who user other banks for free. You’ll just pay out-of-network ATM fees and cash deposit fees if you deposit cash in-store through Green Dot®. Varo keeps tabs on how much you spend across all your accounts, too, so you can better analyze and project your cash flow. It also allows you to set spending caps so you have a better handle on your money.

    For a full run down of fees and services, check out our complete Varo Bank review.

    Chase Total Checking Account

    Best for Promotional Offers

    Key Features

    • A hefty sign-on bonus for new customers
    • Offers online, mobile and text banking
    • Lots of branch locations in the U.S.

    Chase Bank is a well-known entity in the financial world, and we had to include its Total Checking Account on our list. The account comes with a $12 monthly service fee, but it’ll be waived if you have monthly direct deposits of at least $500. If you don’t have direct deposit, you can also have the fee waived with a minimum daily balance of $1,500 (or $5,000 across multiple Chase accounts).

    Chase Total Checking Account

    Fees

    Yes, but may be waived

    APY

    None

    ATM access

    16,000 ATMs

    Promotions

    Yes

    Prime perk

    Branches in 33 states to avoid fees

    More information About Chase Total Checking

    This Chase account has other fees. For example, you can use a Chase ATM for free, but you’ll pay a $3 fee for non-Chase ATMs in the U.S., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands and $5 outside of those locations — so, this account isn’t the best for frequent international travelers. Thankfully, the bank has branches and 16,000 fee-free ATMs in 33 states around the U.S., so you can avoid the fees if you’ve got one nearby.

    Bonus (literally): You can get $200 when you open a new checking account. Getting it is pretty simple, too, compared with similar offers — open a new Chase Total Checking account* with $0, and set up direct deposit within 90 days of opening. Keep your account open for at least six months, or you’ll lose the bonus at closing.

    For a full run down of fees and services, check out our complete Chase Bank review.

    Chase College Checking Account

    Best for Responsible Students

    Key Features

    • New applicants can qualify for a bonus
    • Lots of branches and ATMs in the U.S.
    • No monthly service fee

    The Chase College Checking Account is designed with the college student in mind. For anyone ages 17 to 24 with proof of college enrollment, there is no monthly service fee. However, it does come with some hefty insufficient-funds fees and fees for using non-Chase ATMs.

    Chase College Checking Account

    Fees

    None

    APY

    None

    ATM access

    16,000 ATMs

    Promotions

    Yes

    Prime perk

    $100 for signing up

    More Information About Chase College Checking Account

    New applicants can get a $100 bonus in their account just for signing up for paperless statements and making 10 qualifying transactions within the first 60 days. Debit card transactions count, so that should be easy.

    No other rewards are a part of this account, but that’s typical with a student checking account. Beyond that, the account comes with the accessibility of one of the nation’s largest financial institutions, so ATMs are plentiful and online and mobile banking is available.

    For a full run down of fees and services, check out our complete Chase Bank review.

    TD Bank Convenience Checking

    Best for Mobile Banking

    Key Features

    • Free online and mobile banking
    • No maintenance fee for students 17-23 years old
    • Monthly fee that can be waived easily

    TTD Bank is another big name on our list. All TD accounts include free online and mobile banking, including mobile check deposit. The $15 monthly maintenance fee on this account sounds hefty at first, but it’s waived if you maintain a $100 minimum daily balance. However, if you tend to keep a low account balance, that fee — and the account’s $35 overdraft fee — could pinch your wallet.

    TD Bank Convenience Checking

    Fees

    Yes, but may be waived

    APY

    None

    ATM access

    700 ATMs

    Promotions

    Yes

    Prime perk

    No monthly maintenance fees for students

    More Information About TD Bank Convenience Checking

    Anyone can open an online checking account, but TD’s brick-and-mortar banks (and ATMs) are mostly located on the East Coast. With a $3 fee for using an out-of-network ATM, you might want to have a physical location nearby.
    The best thing about this financial institution is it’ll pay you — just for opening an account. For a $300 bonus and an interest-yielding account, consider TD Bank’s higher-tier Beyond Checking account. You must meet certain criteria (and be a new customer) to earn this bonus. (And double-check when the offer ends.)

    Axos Bank Essential Checking

    Best for Online Customers

    Key Features

    • Up to 1.00% APY on certain accounts
    • Requires balance of only $1
    • Unlimited ATM-fee reimbursement in the U.S.

    Axos’ Essential Checking account comes with no monthly, annual or overdraft fees. An Axos representative told TPH all its checking accounts require a $100 minimum opening deposit — but, after that, you only need a minimum balance of $1. Despite the low minimum balance, this bank rewards its customers with up to 1.25% APY on their balance (though Essential Checking accounts are not eligible).

    Axos Bank Essential Checking Account

    Fees

    None

    APY

    Up to 1.25% on certain accounts

    ATM access

    Unlimited domestic ATM reimbursements

    Promotions

    $150 welcome bonus

    Prime perk

    Online bankers valued

    More Information about Axos Bank Essential Checking

    Axos offers a lot if you’re in the market for an online-only checking account. On top of no fees, Axos will also reimburse you by the end of the next business day for unlimited ATM fees within the U.S.
    Regarding spending abroad — per a rep via live chat, you’ll pay a 1% service transaction charge on purchases made in other countries. So, even though this online bank account is flexible, it isn’t ideal for international travelers.

    For a full run down of fees and services, check out our complete .

    Ally Interest Checking Account

    Best for No Fee Perks

    Key Features

    • Use any Allpoint ATM in the U.S. free of charge
    • No overdraft fees
    • Up to 0.25% APY

    With Ally’s online Interest Checking account, you can take advantage of no minimum required deposit and use any Allpoint ATMs in the U.S. for free. Plus, Ally will reimburse you up to $10 per statement cycle for other ATM fees within the U.S. As for no fees, there’s more good news: Last year, Ally permanently suspended overdraft fees for checking accounts and all others.

    Ally Interest Checking Account

    Fees

    None

    APY

    Up to 0.25%

    ATM access

    More than 55,000 Allpoint ATMs

    Promotions

    None

    Prime perk

    Account accessible online or through app

    More Information About Ally Interest Checking

    With a daily balance of $15,000 or more, this checking account yields 0.25% interest. Below $15,000, it’s 0.10%. That tops a lot of bank accounts, but it’s not as impressive as we’d expect for an account with “interest” in the name — and that balance requirement is a beast. We expect more when checking accounts earn interest.

    You can access Ally Interest Checking online or through the Ally app, so it’s an accessible choice for anyone within the U.S.

    For a full run down of fees and services, check out our complete Ally Bank review.

    Consumers Credit Free Rewards

    Best for High Balance Benefits

    Key Features

    • Earn 2.09% interest
    • All ATM fees in the U.S. are reimbursed
    • Branches in IL; anyone in U.S. can bank online

    Prefer to bank at a credit union? Check out the Consumers Credit Union Free Rewards Checking Account. The interest is solid and the rewards are pretty sweet — no monthly maintenance fees, good APY, early direct deposit and more — but the requirements are a bit hefty.

    Consumers Credit Union Free Rewards

    Fees

    Overdraft fees

    APY

    2.09% (but up to 4.09% for all accounts)

    ATM access

    Over 30,000 ATMs

    Promotions

    None

    Prime perk

    Solid interest offers

    More Information About Consumers Credit Union Free Rewards Checking

    With this Consumers Credit Union plant, account holders will earn 2.09% interest on your balance up to $10,000. You’ll also have all ATM fees reimbursed, as long as you:

    • Make 12 debit card purchases each month without using the PIN (as a credit transaction).
    • Have at least one direct deposit or ACH credit of $500 or more each month.
    • Enroll in e-documents.

    In addition to that, you can earn 3.09% or 4.09% APY (annual percentage yield) on balances up to $10,000 if you meet CCU Visa credit card spending requirements: $500 and $1,000, respectively.
    All CCU branches are in Illinois, but anyone can open and manage an account online and through the mobile app.

    Schwab Bank High Yield Investor

    Best for International Travelers

    Key Features

    • Easy-to-use app
    • ATM-fee reimbursements around the world
    • No fees or minimum deposit required

    Schwab Bank is loved by international travelers. The account offers unlimited ATM fee rebates for cash withdrawals at ATMs anywhere in the world. You can manage your account online or through the Schwab app for iPhone, and make deposits through the app, so this account keeps up with jet-setters.

    Schwab Bank High Yield Investor Checking

    Fees

    None

    APY

    0.45%

    ATM access

    Unlimited ATM-fee reimbursements

    Promotions

    None

    Prime perk

    Free ATM rebates worldwide

    More Information About Schwab Bank High Yield Investor Checking

    The downside? Schwab’s online-only High Yield Investor Checking account must be linked to a Schwab One brokerage account. Luckily, there are no fees or minimum deposits to open either account, as long as you open them together.
    Neither account comes with monthly fees or a minimum balance, but “other account fees, fund expenses and brokerage commissions may apply” to the brokerage account once you begin investing, according to the Schwab site.
    The checking account offers a variable interest rate. If you want to grow your savings through Schwab, you’ll want to invest through the brokerage account.

    Montgomery Bank New Start

    Best for No-Frills Banking

    Key Features

    • Low minimum deposit to open an account
    • No service fees or required monthly balance
    • Free debit card

    The Montgomery Bank New Start Checking account is what you want in a second chance banking account. No frills, but no unnecessary fees, either. All it takes is a $20 minimum deposit to open the account. While this is a no-frills account, it offers a lot of benefits for those who are looking to get back on their financial feet again.

    Montgomery Bank New Start Checking

    Fees

    $20 to open, and then none

    APY

    None

    ATM access

    Montgomery Bank & MoneyPass ATMs

    Promotions

    None

    Prime perk

    Lots of freebies

    More Information About Montgomery Bank New Start Checking Account

    This account is loaded with freebies and other extras, such as free direct deposit, unlimited check writing and a free debit card. You can also open interest-bearing accounts with the bank if you’re interested in other options. Additionally, Montgomery Bank offers a business checking account, too.

    Pro Tip

    Check out our current list of bank promotions for a chance to gain a monetary bonus when signing up for a new bank account.

    What Is a Checking Account?

    A checking account is a place to store money at a bank, credit union or other financial institution. The money in a checking account is typically reserved for regular, everyday expenses, as opposed to a savings account. Checking accounts usually distribute paper checks and a debit card to members as well.

    How to Choose a Checking Account

    You probably already know that you need a checking account and if it comes with a free debit card, that’s even better. A checking plan serves as the primary hub for your money. It’s where your paychecks and direct deposits land, and, from there, you use the money to pay bills, buy the stuff you need and hopefully slide some of it into a savings account. Maintaining a savings account is a smart personal finance decision.

    Picking a bank account is a personal choice. What makes checking accounts “good” depends largely on your financial situation and goals. Checking accounts come in a lot of varieties these days, each with different features and benefits. You can pick from online-only banks to those with physical branches, and from those that pay interest to those that offer free checking accounts and no fees for out-of-network ATM use. It’s up to you to do the research and find the one that will benefit you and your lifestyle the most.

    But we can tell you a few things that make certain checking accounts worth opening. Here are a few important features to keep in mind when looking for the best checking accounts:

    • Fees: How much will it cost you to manage your money with this account? Make sure you know the monthly fee — or fees — to maintain the account. Also, understand the account’s overdraft fee protection.
    • Safety: If something happens to the institution where you hold your account, will your money be protected? Make sure your checking account is NCUA- or FDIC-insured.
    • Interest rates and APY: Does a particular checking account offer interest on your money to keep it in an account? (These types of accounts tend to offer no or low interest rates and APY, but there are high-interest checking accounts out there.)
    • Rewards: What do you earn in return for using the account? Are you rewarded for making regular direct deposits or keeping a high balance, for example?
    • Minimum balance:: Is there a minimum or average daily balance needed to maintain the account? Or to open the account? Minimum balance requirements can range for $1 to thousands of dollars (to earn a particular rate) and you’ll want to know this before you open an account, be it at a branch or through online banking.
    • Accessibility: What are the requirements to open this account (again, minimum balance requirements, and earn the rewards?
    • Mobility: Can this account travel and move with you? How are the online banking features? Do direct deposits make your banking life easier? How good is the financial institution’s app in making mobile check deposits easier? Are you considering online banks or only those with physical branches?

    Types of Checking Accounts

    There are a few varieties of checking accounts out there that offer different benefits. You just need to figure out which kind will work best for you. Some of your options for traditional and online checking accounts are:

    • Student Checking: These accounts usually feature minimal fees and no minimum balance. They also don’t offer a lot of perks. They’re bare-bones accounts designed for cash-strapped students who just need the basics.
    • Express Checking: This is the checking account for today’s digital person. If you don’t like going to the bank, this could be for you. These accounts are designed for use on computers, phone apps, ATMs or by telephone. You may actually get a fee for going to a live teller. The upside is fees are minimal as long as you keep banking digitally.
    • Joint Checking: Need to share a checking account with a spouse or another person? A joint account lets you both put money in and take money out as needed.
    • Fresh Start or Second Chance Checking: If you’ve run into financial trouble and have had your accounts closed, it can be tough to get a new account. These accounts are designed to minimize the bank’s risk, but they allow you to open a new account. If you maintain it well for an extended period of time, it may open opportunities for you to upgrade.
    • Rewards Checking: Rewards checking offers the highest perks, such as annual percentage yield (APY) interest on the account balance. Debit card purchases could also receive cashback bonuses or earn points for things like airline travel or gift cards. Some, however, will come with an annual fee.
    Pro Tip

    Check out our current list of bank promotions for a chance to gain a monetary bonus when signing up for a new bank account.

    Checking Account vs. Savings Account

    financial setup. You want to have one location for more regular, everyday expenses (checking) and one for longer-term savings and goals (savings).

    Checking Account Pros and Cons

    There are advantages and disadvantages to checking accounts and below are the most common.


    Pros

    • Relatively easy and quick to open
    • Low- or no-fee account options
    • Typically offer a free checkbook and debit card


    Cons

    • Usually don’t earn interest
    • Certain accounts have fees (like overdraft and minimum balance requirements) that can add up quickly if you’re not vigilant

    Savings Account Pros and Cons

    The following pros and cons of savings accounts can help you decide how to use them.


    Pros

    • Relatively easy and quick to open
    • Offers interest
    • Easy to access your money in times of need (versus a CD, for example)


    Cons

    • Interest rates can vary over time
    • Certain accounts have fees or requirements (like a particular monthly balance to earn a higher interest rate)

    When it comes to checking and savings accounts, don’t think of it as an either-or situation — it’s a good idea to have both. You can also mix and match. For instance, you might go for an online checking account and a local credit union for a savings account.

    You can have multiple checking accounts, too; perhaps one offers a new-member bonus for an influx of free cash, while another offers free overdraft protection for regular spending. Alternatively, when it comes to savings accounts, one might offer a higher annual percentage yield, while another offers other saving products like a money market account.

    Regardless of the checking account or savings account you choose, it’s a good move to keep your money in a secure place

    Choosing a Bank vs. a Credit Union vs. a FinTech Company for Your Checking Account

    Similarly, opening a checking account, period, is generally a good move, regardless of where you do it.

    Keep your own habits and preferences in mind, especially when it comes to choosing between a brick-and-mortar (bank or credit union) and online-only setup. Consider fees, from initial to ongoing, as well to make sure the account doesn’t end up costing you.

    Ultimately, though, don’t get hung up on too many details: When it comes to personal finance, it ultimately comes down to what works for you and your situation.

    Methodology

    We graded 10 of our favorite bank and credit union accounts on the factors that we like to see in any checking account — no fees, free ATMs, good rewards, easy setup and accessibility.

    If an account has a monthly fee or out-of-network ATM charges, we highlighted some more positive qualities (think: a low minimum balance requirement, interest checking account offering or a free debit card). With that said, we prioritized those checking accounts that nixed monthly maintenance fees, featured savings accounts and had no-charge or reimbursed out-of-network network ATM fees.

    Here are the best checking accounts we found across (online) banks, credit unions and other financial institutions.

    Recapping the 10 Best Checking Accounts of February 2023

    • Chime Checking Account: Best for Digital Features
    • Varo Bank Account: Best for cash back
    • Chase Total Checking Account: Best for Promotional Offers
    • TD Bank Convenience Checking Account: Best for Free Mobile Banking
    • Axos Bank Essential Checking Account: Best for Online Customers
    • Ally Interest Checking Account: Best for No Fee Perks
    • Consumers Credit Union Free Rewards Checking: Best for High Balance Benefits
    • Schwab Bank High Yield Investor Checking: Best for International Travelers
    • Chase College Checking Account: Best for Responsible Students
    • Montgomery Bank New Start Checking Account: Best for No-Frills Banking

    Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) About Checking Accounts

    When it comes to choosing the best checking accounts, there’s a lot of information out there. Here, we’re answering some of the most popular questions about checking accounts.

    What is a Checking Account?

    A checking account is where you hold money at a bank, credit union or other financial institution. You typically use this account to pay for everyday expenses or bills. Depending on where you have you bank, you can access your cash in person, or via an ATM or debit card. Unlike a savings account — which you use for an emergency fund or other financial goal — checking accounts should be fairly accessible for regular spending usually with a debit card. They don’t normally accrue interest.

    How Can I Open a Checking Account?

    Every checking account — whether it’s through a physical or online bank, credit union or other fintech setup — will have its own requirements. Generally, to open a checking account, you need to be at least 18 years old (though guardians can sometimes co-sign an account for a minor) and have a government ID (such as a passport or driver’s license). You’ll likely also need to supply contact information and possibly an opening deposit.

    Which is the Best Bank to Open an Account In?

    The best bank to open an account will depend on your needs. If you prioritize banking at a physical institution with plenty of locations where you can interact with staff in person, you might choose to go with a big-name chain. If you prefer a bank where you might qualify for higher interest rates in lieu of having access to brick-and-mortar locations, an online setup might work best for you. No matter your choice, it’s a good idea to evaluate it over time; if a bank ends up not being over time.

    What is the Best Free Checking Account?

    The best free checking account will vary based on your wants and needs in a banking account. You’ll want to look for an account that has no or a low monthly fee, a free debit card and easy access to your money — whether that is an ATM, a physical branch, an app or all of the above. Bonus: look for a free checking account that also offers a new-user bonus. Right now, Chime, Varo and Axos are overall solid free options for checking. Shop around and look for a checking account that’s best for you.

    Is Wells Fargo or Chase Better?

    Wells Fargo and Chase each offer online checking accounts, among other banking products. But they also have monthly fees, too. Good news: Well Fargo eliminated non-sufficient fees funds (NSF) fees in 2022 and started giving customers early access to eligible direct deposits.

    Each have online and in-person banking; so, one could be a better fit depending on branch locations in your area. Chase often offers significant new-user sign-on bonuses.

    What Bank is Good for a Checking Account?

    What makes a bank good for a checking account weighs largely on what you prioritize in both a bank and an account. As a whole, you want to consider fees (how much does it cost you to keep your money there?), rewards (do you earn anything for banking with them?), accessibility (what are the requirements to open and keep your account open?) and mobility (does the bank charge foreign transaction fees?). Bonus points if they give out a… bonus, too, for being a new account holder.

    How is Interest Taxed on a Checking Account?

    The interest earned on checking accounts is considered taxable income. So, your bank, credit union or financial institution will send you a 1099-INT form each year your account earns interest over $10. You file this paperwork along with your yearly taxes. And don’t let this income being  taxed deter you from saving money; a traditional or high-yield savings account is still a worthwhile tool for your money. 

    Contributor Kathleen Garvin (@itskgarvin) is a personal finance writer based in St. Petersburg, Florida, and former editor and marketer at The Penny Hoarder. She owns a content-writing business and her work has appeared in U.S. News, Clark.com and Well Kept Wallet.

    *Chime disclosure:
    Chime is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services provided by, and debit card issued by, The Bancorp Bank or Stride Bank, N.A.; Members FDIC.

    Out-of-network ATM withdrawal fees may apply except at MoneyPass ATMs in a 7-Eleven, or
    any Allpoint or Visa Plus Alliance ATM.

    *Chase fine print:

    “Checking offer is not available to existing Chase checking customers, those with fiduciary accounts, or those whose accounts have been closed within 90 days or closed with a negative balance. To receive the $200 checking bonus: 1) Open a new Chase Total Checking account, which is subject to approval AND 2) Have your direct deposit made to this account within 60 days of account opening. Your direct deposit needs to be an electronic deposit of your paycheck, pension or government benefits (such as Social Security) from your employer or the government. After you have completed all the above requirements, we’ll deposit the bonus in your new account within 10 business days. You can only receive one new checking account-related bonus per calendar year. Bonus is considered interest and will be reported on IRS Form 1099-INT.

    “Account Closing: If your checking account is closed within six months after opening, we will deduct the bonus amount at closing.”

    Editorial Disclosure

    This content is not provided by the bank advertiser. Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of the bank advertiser. This site may be compensated through the bank advertiser Affiliate Program.


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    kathleen@thepennyhoarder.com (Kathleen Garvin)

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  • 6 Best Banks and Credit Unions for Military in 2023

    6 Best Banks and Credit Unions for Military in 2023

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    6 Best Military Banks and Credit Unions

    Name Top Feature Best For
    Service Credit Union 10% savings APY High-yield savings SEE DETAILS
    America’s Credit Union 2.02% checking APY High-yield checking SEE DETAILS
    USAA 100,000 ATMs ATM access SEE DETAILS
    Pentagon Federal Credit Union 2% cash back debit card Cash back SEE DETAILS
    Navy Federal Credit Union 24/7 stateside reps Deployed military members SEE DETAILS
    Security Service Federal Credit Union ID theft protection Special features SEE DETAILS

    Members of our military, whether active duty or veterans, have access to unique bank accounts from both banks and credit unions.

    Such accounts are uniquely designed to suit the specific needs of active duty members (easy online bill pay, international branches on bases and 24/7 stateside assistance, for example) but also honor both active members and veterans for their service via a higher annual percentage yield (APY), better insurance rates, lower annual percentage rates (APRs, or interest rates) on loans and other great benefits.

    If you or your spouse currently serves or has previously served as a member of the US military and you are looking for a bank account that meets your needs, consider one of these six military banks and credit unions:

    • Service Credit Union
    • America’s Credit Union
    • USAA Bank
    • Pentagon Federal Credit Union (PenFed CU)
    • Navy Federal Credit Union
    • Security Service Federal Credit Union

    Below, we’ve explored each military bank in detail, focusing on their checking and savings accounts primarily, though we’ve also made note of other features, including credit cards, loans, insurance and investment accounts.

    In determining our list of the best military banks and credit unions, we considered:

    • Who was eligible
    • Savings and checking account APYs
    • Minimum deposit to open
    • ATM and branch access

    While these six are the elite (think of them as the best of the best banks for military personnel), some national financial institutions also offer special accounts for active duty military members, veterans and their families. These bank accounts include:

    We did not include the national financial institutions offering specific military accounts in our consideration, though they are certainly worth exploring for your banking needs if the actual military banks don’t seem to be the right fit.

    Service Credit Union

    Best Bank for High-Yield Savings

    Key Features

    • Deployed Warrior Savings (10% APY)
    • APR discounts on loans
    • Early direct deposit

    Service Credit Union offers Everyday Checking and Dividend Checking accounts, but it’s the Military Savings account that you’ll want if you’re active duty in a combat zone. This pays an APY of 10% on up to $10,000. Even if you don’t qualify, the regular savings option pays 5% APY on the first $500 and then 0.25% on additional funds. You can also open an account for your children.

    Service Credit Union

    Savings APY

    Up to 10%

    Checking APY

    Up to 0.15% in dividends

    Minimum opening deposit

    $5 for savings

    ATM access

    30,000 fee-free ATMs and no out-of-network ATM fees

    Branch access

    Branches in Europe, Northeast and N.D,

    More Information About Service Credit Union

    With up to 10% APY, Service Credit Union easily boasts the highest APY of any bank on our list thanks to the Deployed Warrior Savings. If you are an active duty member of the US military serving in a combat zone, there should be no question about it. This should be where you save all your money.

    But Service CU is ideal for military members for more than just offering amazing APYs on its savings account. It also boasts a free Everyday Checking account (and a Dividend account) with unique tiers that grant up to $30 a month in ATM surcharge reimbursement and up to a 0.75% APR discount on loans. These checking accounts also include online and mobile banking, early direct deposit and ID theft protection.

    Service CU is great for military members deployed in Europe thanks to its multitude of branches abroad. Back home, Service CU is mostly focused in the Northeast with a location in North Dakota, but with the ease of online banking, you can hold a Service CU account from anywhere.

    In addition to the savings and checking accounts, Service CU offers business banking, vehicle loans, home loans, credit cards, personal loans, student loans and military loans. You can also rely on Service CU for investment services, insurance certificates, trusts and money market accounts.

    Eligibility: Active duty military, veterans and their family members; Department of Defense employees; members of select employer groups; and other select groups

    America’s Credit Union

    Best for High-Yield Checking

    Key Features

    • Cash back on debit card
    • Cell phone insurance
    • Monthly fee on Plus account

    America’s Credit Union offers the best checking account of any military bank or credit union on our list. America’s CU also offers low-interest savings account options, no-fee credit cards, loans and investment accounts and easy access to brick-and-mortar banking through shared branches. Cell phone insurance and identity theft coverage through a checking account are unique features.

    America’s Credit Union

    Savings APY

    Up to 0.10%

    Checking APY

    Up to 2.02%

    Minimum opening deposit

    $25 for savings

    ATM access

    Nearly 30,000 fee-free ATMs

    Branch access

    Nearly 5,000 locations via shared branching

    More Information About America’s Credit Union

    Service CU may have the best of all the savings accounts on our list of the best military banks and credit unions, but then America’s Credit Union has the best checking account. In fact, America’s CU offers several great options for checking accounts.

    The headliner account is Affinity Basic, which pays 2.02% APY on up to $1,000 — then 0.10% on additional funds up to $15,000 and 0.25% on funds exceeding $15,000 (but you probably shouldn’t keep that much in a checking account). This high-yield checking account has no monthly maintenance fees or minimum balance requirements and offers online and mobile banking.

    The Affinity Premier account requires a $25,000 opening balance, pays a 0.75% APY on funds up to $34,999 and pays market rate on dividends.

    The only account with a monthly service fee is the Affinity Plus ($7 a month), but this account gets you 10 cents cash back for every swipe of your debit card, as long as you spend at least $5. (At most, that’s 2% cash back.) This account also pays 0.75% APY on any balance up to $25,000, which makes it better than a lot of standard savings accounts. The account even includes identity theft coverage, cell phone insurance and a $10 monthly ATM fee reimbursement.

    America’s Credit Union’s savings account is nothing to write home about: a meager 0.01% APY on balances below $2,500, and even then, just 0.10% APY on $2,500 and higher. The Guaranteed Money Market Ultra account has more appeal, with 1.76% APY on balances above $2,500.

    America’s CU does offer a variety of loans: home loans, personal loans, student loans and auto loans, as well as rewards credit cards. You can also use America’s CU for business banking and investment services.

    Eligibility: Members of the Armed Forces, civilian personnel and their relatives; members of the Association of the United States Army; members of the Pacific Northwest Consumer Council (or PNW residents willing to donate to the council — ACU will cover the cost!). Family members of current members may also join.

    USAA Federal Savings Bank

    Best for ATM Access

    Key Features

    • Stellar mobile app
    • Best military insurance
    • No monthly fees

    As the only bank on this list, USAA is lacking when it comes to competitive APYs for checking and savings accounts. But this is the most well-rounded financial institution on our list, offering a full-suite of offerings and what is highly regarded as the best home and auto insurance for members of the US military. It also has the most ATMs of any military bank on our list.

    USAA Federal Savings Bank

    Savings APY

    Up to 1.04%

    Checking APY

    Up to 0.01%

    Minimum opening deposit

    $25 for checking or savings

    ATM access

    60,000+ USAA-preferred ATMs nationwide

    Branch access

    5 physical branches

    More Information About USAA Federal Savings Bank

    Upon first glance, USAA might not seem like the best financial institution for members of the military. The checking account’s APY is almost nonexistent (and only kicks in if you have more than $1,000 in the account), and the APY for the basic savings account is just as low.

    You can earn more interest with the USAA Performance First, but the tiered account doesn’t start paying out competitive interest (0.50%) until you have $50,000 in the account and tops out at 1.04% — but you need at least $250,000 in savings.

    So why is USAA so popular among members of the military and one of the best military banks and credit unions overall?

    For starters, USAA is a household name for military members because of their impressive insurance offerings and super low rates. But in addition to insurance, you can use USAA for retirement accounts, investment accounts, certificates of deposit, credit cards, youth banking and all forms of loans, including home and auto; personal; and motorcycle, RV and boat.

    Access to ATMs is nothing to sneeze at with more than 100,000 nationwide (and a rebate of up to $10/month for out-of-network ATM surcharges). Physical branches are limited to just Colorado Springs, Colorado; Annapolis, Maryland; and San Antonio, Texas (two New York branches are temporarily closed).

    That said, USAA’s mobile and online banking make it so that your location does not matter. The bank’s app has a 4.8 star rating on the App Store (1.6 million reviews) and a 4.1 star rating on Google Play (nearly 200,000 reviews).

    Eligibility: Active Duty, National Guard, Reserves, Veterans who served honorably, Cadets and Midshipmen, plus military spouses and children of USAA members.

    Pentagon Federal Credit Union (PenFed)

    Best for Cash Back

    Key Features

    • Cash back debit card
    • Convenient ATM locations
    • Early direct deposit

    PenFed has a wide network of ATMs; they’re easy to find since many are located in stores such as Kroger, Walgreens, CVS, Target, Safeway, Circle K, Speedway, 7-Eleven and Winn Dixie. PenFed also carries respectable APYs for both checking and savings accounts and offers a 2% cash back debit card.

    Pentagon Federal Credit Union (PenFed)

    Savings APY

    Up to 2.30%

    Checking APY

    Up to 0.35%

    Minimum opening deposit

    $5 for savings

    ATM access

    85,000+ ATMs

    Branch access

    DC branches + some international bases

    More Information About Pentagon Federal Credit Union (PenFed)

    You can choose from multiple savings accounts at PenFed CU, including the Regular Savings (0.05% APY and easy ATM access with an ATM card) or Premium Online (2.30% APY, no monthly maintenance fees and free online transfers). You can also open a Money Market Savings account that pays a 0.15% APY on balances over $100,000, but that money would be better invested in a high-yield savings account or, better yet, in a diversified brokerage account.

    You can choose from two checking accounts. The PendFed free Checking account has no monthly fees and no minimum balance requirements. You’ll get more perks with Access America Checking. There’s a $10 monthly fee, but you can easily have it waived by either earning a direct deposit totaling $500 or more each month OR just keeping an average daily balance of $500. This is a good idea for checking accounts anyway—to avoid overdraft fees.

    Access America Checking earns 0.15% APY on balances less than $20,000, but when you hit that $20K mark, you’ll start earning 0.35% APY.

    Some hallmarks of this account, aside from the super convenient ATM access, include a highly rated mobile app and early direct deposit. You can also open a Money Market Certificate, with terms ranging from six months to seven years; right now, it’s paying 4.70% APY on the 18-month term. You can invest as little as $1,000.

    In addition to the savings, checking and money market accounts and the certificate, you can utilize PenFed for credit cards, home and auto loans, student loans, personal loans and retirement accounts.

    Eligibility: This is the easiest bank or credit union to join on our list. Anyone can apply.

    Navy Federal Credit Union

    Best for Deployed Military Members

    Key Features

    • Cash back credit card
    • Great service wherever you’re stationed
    • Easy-to-use mobile banking

    With 350 branches globally, advanced mobile banking and 24/7 customer service, Navy Federal Credit Union is ideal for active duty members deployed outside the country. Checking account options are bountiful, but the Flagship Checking is the way to go. You can also open a credit card with 1.75% cash back.

    Navy Federal Credit Union

    Savings APY

    0.25%

    Checking APY

    Up to 0.45%

    Minimum opening deposit

    $5 for savings

    ATM access

    30,000+ ATMs

    Branch access

    350 worldwide

    More Information About Navy Federal Credit Union

    Navy Federal Credit Union offers the most checking account options of any financial institution on our list. This includes the Free Active Duty Checking (with $20 of monthly ATM fee reimbursements); Free Easy Checking (with Checking Protection Options to avoid the $20 overdraft fee); Free Campus Checking (ideal for students of deployed military members); Free EveryDay Checking (nominal APY but no monthly fees); and the Flagship Checking, which boasts up to 0.45% APY and a 0.45% dividend rate.

    There is a $10 monthly fee for the Flagship account, but you can get that waived by maintaining an average daily balance of $1,500 a month.

    This financial institution is a favorite of deployed military members who are constantly globe-trotting. The 24/7 customer service means you don’t need to worry about time zones when you call in for help, and the mobile banking (with mobile check deposit and online bill pay) is very convenient.

    Beyond checking and savings accounts, Navy Federal CU offers loans for motorcycles, boats and leisure vehicles; student loans, home and auto loans; credit cards; and money market and retirement accounts.

    Eligibility: Members of the Armed Forces, employees of the Department of Defense, veterans and the family members of all qualifying members.

    Security Service Federal Credit Union

    Best for Special Features

    Key Features

    • Social media monitoring
    • Identity theft protection
    • Limited eligibility

    Security Service Federal Credit Union may not seem like a top-tier bank for military families upon first glance thanks to its low savings APY, but its Power Protected Checking Account comes with a wide range of unique perks for a low fee of $6 a month that might just make the bank worth another consideration.

    Security Service Federal Credit Union

    Savings APY

    Up to 0.05%

    Checking APY

    Up to 0.79%

    Minimum opening deposit

    $5 for savings

    ATM access

    30,000 ATMs

    Branch access

    TX, CO and UT w/ shared branching

    More Information About Security Service Federal Credit Union

    Security Service Federal Credit Union offers a Basic Savings Account, but the APY is so low (0.05%) that it’s not worth much consideration. (Children may benefit from the Youth Savings Account with the same APY.)

    There’s also a basic free checking account (if you opt into eStatements), but you’d be better served by another free checking account elsewhere.

    But the paid Power Protected Checking account is worth a second glance. This unique account comes with a handful of extra features for a $6 monthly fee:

    • Social media monitoring
    • Identity theft protection
    • Mobile phone coverage
    • Credit monitoring

    The APY for this account varies widely depending on how much money you keep stored in the account. Balances below $10,000 earn just 0.05%, but if you have $250,000 or more in the checking account (yeah, right), you’ll earn up to 0.79% APY and 1.00% in dividends.

    Another plus: There is no minimum balance requirement for this account.

    While the accounts and branches are limited to Texas, Colorado and Utah, no worries if you are deployed elsewhere. With shared branching and online banking, you won’t have any problems.

    Security Service Federal also offers credit cards, certificates and money market accounts, investment services, IRAs, insurance, and plenty of loans: auto and other vehicles, student and home.

    Eligibility: Limited to three states (Texas, Colorado and Utah) and members of select military branches and Department of Defense employees.

    What Should Active Duty Military Members Consider When Considering Military Banks and Credit Unions

    Having trouble determining the right financial institution for your needs? We have found that service members should look for these hallmarks of the best military banks and credit unions:

    • Easy access to funds. Moving regularly means access to ATMs and branches nationwide (or even globally) is key.
    • An easy-to-use mobile app. Along those same lines, the busy and unpredictable schedule of a service member necessitates a great mobile banking experience.
    • Excellent customer service. Military members often don’t have time to deal with banking issues, especially when deployed. Fast and helpful customer service is key to the banking experience.
    • Great APYs. There is perhaps no job more challenging than serving one’s country. Military members want to ensure that the money they are making while keeping us safe is growing a respectable amount.
    • No hidden fees. Worrying about monthly service fees is going to be the last thing on a military member’s mind. Find an account that is upfront about fees and offers options like overdraft forgiveness.
    • Experience with VA loans. Find a financial institution that has a background in working with loans from the Department of Veterans Affairs.
    A veteran flexes his muscle.
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    Military Banking: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

    Here are some of the most frequently asked questions from service members when reviewing military banks and credit unions.

    Which Military Credit Union Is Best?

    Five out of six of the financial institutions on our list are military credit unions. While we can’t say one is the absolute best, this does tell us that credit unions seem to be the better option for service members. That said, USAA is a respectable bank option for full-suite needs while Pentagon Federal Credit Union offers great APY on checking and savings, plus a cash back debit card.

    What Banks Offer Military Discounts?

    Financial institutions frequently change the bonuses they offer, including military discounts. However, military members should prioritize a bank that has the features listed above. The six military financial institutions on our list, plus the four additional accounts from national banks, are a great place to start.

    Which Banks Waive Fees for Military Members?

    While most of the accounts on our list have no monthly service fees, most that do carry fees can be waived by meeting simple criteria. In addition, several banks now waive credit card fees for service members. We did not focus on credit cards in our analysis above, but these national credit card companies are noteworthy for waiving annual credit card fees for US military members and their spouses:

    • American Express
    • Capital One
    • Chase
    • Citi
    • US Bank

    Timothy Moore covers bank accounts for The Penny Hoarder from his home base in Cincinnati. He has worked in editing and graphic design for a marketing agency, a global research firm and a major print publication. He covers a variety of other topics, including insurance, taxes, retirement and budgeting and has worked in the field since 2012.


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    tmoorefreelance@gmail.com (Timothy Moore)

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  • Medicare Vision Coverage: How to Save Money on Eyeglasses and Exams

    Medicare Vision Coverage: How to Save Money on Eyeglasses and Exams

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    If you’re enrolled in Medicare, routine vision care isn’t guaranteed.

    Some privately administered Medicare Advantage plans cover eyeglasses and eye exams.

    But Original Medicare — which provides health insurance to about 36 million Americans — doesn’t pay for your new eyeglass frames or an annual vision exam.

    So how do you know, in your own case, what’s covered and what’s not?

    Whether you’re new to Medicare and wondering what to expect at your next eye exam, or you’re a long-time beneficiary trying to save money on glasses, our guide to Medicare vision coverage and affordable eye care is here to help.

    How Medicare Covers Vision

    If you have a serious eye disease like cataracts or glaucoma, Medicare Part B will generally pay for treatment.

    But that’s not the case for routine exams and eyeglasses.

    Most private Medicare Advantage plans provide some coverage for glasses and routine vision tests. Original Medicare does not.

    Here’s how it breaks down.

    Original Medicare

    Original Medicare does not cover routine vision exams, eyeglasses or contact lenses. Lasik surgery isn’t covered either.

    You’re on the hook for the full cost unless you have secondary insurance like Medicaid.

    Original Medicare does cover eye care related to illness or injury, including cataract surgery and glaucoma screenings. More on that shortly.

    Medicare Advantage

    Nearly all Medicare Advantage plans — which are administered by private insurance companies like United Healthcare and Cigna — include some routine vision coverage.

    However, vision benefits are pretty modest — plans offer about $160 worth of eyewear and eye exam coverage a year on average, according to an analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF).

    Medicare Advantage plans also restrict the vision benefits they offer, including:

    • how often you can replace glasses and/or contact lenses.
    • how often the plan will pay for eye exams.

    For example, 47% of Medicare Advantage plans limit beneficiaries to one pair of eyeglasses every two years, according to the KFF analysis.

    Finally, to get these vision benefits, you will need to use certain eye care professionals and services within your specific Medicare Advantage plan network.

    Need a refresher on how Medicare works? Check out answers to seven frequently asked questions. 

    Medicare Coverage for Other Eye Treatments and Conditions

    By law, both Original Medicare and Medicare Advantage must cover the same basic vision services for eye diseases and chronic conditions.

    If you have an eye disease that causes low vision, such as macular degeneration or glaucoma, Medicare Part B will cover screening tests and standard treatment.

    You’ll pay 20% of the Medicare-approved amount for these covered treatments and services after meeting your Part B deductible.

    Medicare Part B covers 80% of the cost for:

    • Certain treatments for serious eye conditions, including micro-invasive glaucoma surgery.
    • Cataract surgery. Medicare will pay to implant a conventional intraocular lens. It will also cover one pair of standard-frame eyeglasses or a set of contact lenses after cataract surgery.
    • Detached retina treatment.
    • Treatment for certain dry eye conditions.
    • Eye exam for people with diabetes to detect glaucoma and diabetic retinopathy.
    • Annual glaucoma test for people at high-risk of developing the disease or with a family history of glaucoma.
    • Some tests and treatments for age-related macular degeneration.
    • An eye prosthesis (artificial eye) for patients with absence or shrinkage of an eye due to birth defect, injury or surgical removal.
    Pro Tip

    The services above are covered whether you have Original Medicare or a Medicare Advantage plan. 

    Some diseases and conditions — such as lupus and shingles — can affect your vision even though they aren’t traditional eye diseases. Medicare Part B covers treatment for your eyes if you have one of the many conditions on this list from the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

    How to Save Money on Vision Care Costs

    Eyeglasses and routine vision exams are pricey for Original Medicare beneficiaries.

    Fortunately, several programs and organizations offer free or discounted eyeglasses and exams for older adults.

    Here are some of the best ways to reduce your out-of-pocket costs on routine vision care when you’re enrolled in Medicare.

    How to Save Money on Eye Exams

    The national average cost of a comprehensive eye exam is $150, but the figure can vary from $50 to $200 or more.

    Here are a few ways to keep more money in your pocket without forgoing important eye care.

    Discounts for AAA and AARP Members

    AAA and AARP members can receive discounts at participating LensCrafters and other retail locations nationwide.

    Members of AAA and AARP can get the following discounts at LensCrafters:

    • 30% off comprehensive eye exams.
    • 50% off lenses with the purchase of a frame for eyeglasses or prescription sunglasses. Valid in-store and online.
    • 10% off disposable contact lenses.
    • 30% off non-prescription sunglasses.

    AARP members also receive these discounts through other providers:

    • $55 comprehensive eye exam at participating independent eye doctors (Use this tool to find a location near you).
    • $10 off best in-store offer on a complete eyewear purchase at Target Optical.
    • 10% off contact lenses at Target Optical.
    • $10 off non-prescription sunglasses at Target Optical.
    • 30% off a complete pair of glasses at Glasses.com (Use code RP_30OFF_GL at check out).
    Pro Tip

    To receive your AAA or AARP member discount, make sure to present your membership card at participating locations. 

    Costco and Walmart

    Retailers like Costco and Walmart offer optical centers with affordable pricing on eye exams and glasses.

    At Walmart, eye exams average about $75, but prices vary by location.

    Like Walmart, Costco eye exam costs vary, but you can expect to pay anywhere from $50 to $100 for an exam.

    Both retailers also offer a wide selection of eyeglasses in the $35 to $75 range.

    EyeCare America

    EyeCare America is the public service arm of the American Academy of Ophthalmology.

    Its Seniors Program provides comprehensive eye exams and up to one year of followup care for any eye condition diagnosed during the initial exam.

    These services are free to qualifying older Americans. It’s one of the only national programs that offers free eye exams for people on Original Medicare.

    To qualify for the EyeCare America Senior Program, you must:

    • Be age 65 or older.
    • Be a U.S. citizen or legal resident.
    • Not belong to an HMO or have eye care benefits through the VA.
    • Not have seen an ophthalmologist in three or more years.

    Just a heads up: This program does not cover the cost of eyeglasses.

    You can see if you qualify and apply for the program by filling out this form.

    Lions Club International

    The Lions Club can pay for eye care and eye exams at local club locations and community events. Some locations also provide eyeglasses.

    For more information, reach out to your local Lions Club chapter.

    Optometry Schools and Senior Discounts

    Students at optometry schools sometimes provide free or discounted eye exams during clinics.

    These undergraduates are closely supervised by faculty members, so it can be a cheap way to score a routine vision test.

    You can use this tool to search for schools in your area — although the eye exams and care provided vary from school to school.

    Another option is asking local vision care providers if they offer any senior discounts or in-house financing plans. Make sure to call ahead and ask before scheduling an appointment.

    Older people with low incomes may also qualify for free or reduced eye exams at their local county health department.

    Finally, numerous local nonprofits offer free eye exams throughout the year. Call United Way’s 211 service to see if a program exists near you. Or Google “free eye exams near me.”

    Getty Images

    Where to Get Free or Cheap Eyeglasses

    Affordable eyeglass lenses and frames are easy to find online or at large retail stores like Walmart and Costco.

    There is also a program that provides free eyeglasses to those who qualify — but be prepared to jump through some hoops first.

    OneSight Vision Voucher Program

    The OneSight Vision Voucher program helps people in need receive free eyewear if they’re not able to cover the cost of eyeglasses with insurance.

    Here are the steps you need to take:

    1. Get a referral letter from a nonprofit organization verifying your visual and financial need for glasses. The letter must be written on company letterhead and include the Tax ID# of the nonprofit organization. Recommended nonprofits include churches, the Lions Club, Prevent Blindness, Red Cross and United Way.
    2. You’ll need a valid prescription from an eye doctor. If you don’t have a prescription that is less than two years old, you can ask the onsite doctors at a Luxottica Retail location if they can donate a free eye exam.
    3. Take your referral letter and prescription from an eye doctor to a participating Luxottica Retail location — which includes LensCrafters, Target Optical and Pearle Vision corporate stores — to get your free pair of eyeglasses.

    Check out OneSight’s website to learn more about its vision voucher program.

    Cheap Online Eyeglass Retailers

    Buying eyeglasses online is a cheap alternative to paying hundreds of dollars for a fancy pair at your optometrist’s office.

    People who bought glasses online paid a median of $91, while those who shopped in-store spent $234, according to a 2021 survey from Consumer Reports.

    Some online retailers, like Zenni Optical, offer single prescription glasses starting at just $7. You’ll pay more for special coatings, progressive lenses and other add-ons.

    Many of these sites offer virtual “try on” features and come with convenient return policies so you can find frames and lenses that work for you.

    Does It Make Sense to Buy Private Vision Insurance on Medicare?

    Medicare beneficiaries can purchase private vision insurance to help offset the cost of eyeglasses and routine eye exams. According to KFF, Medicare patients spent an average of $242 out of pocket on vision care in 2018.

    Plans are generally inexpensive — usually $10 to $15 a month — and premiums usually don’t increase with age like other types of health insurance.

    However, private insurance copayments and deductibles may not make it worthwhile.

    You should carefully examine any private vision insurance plan benefits and costs before signing up. Make sure the plan actually saves you money on eyeglasses and routine exams.

    Does the VA or Medicaid Cover Eyeglasses and Eye Exams?

    Medicare may not be your only form of insurance.

    If you are also enrolled in Medicaid or Veterans Affairs health benefits, you may qualify for free or low-cost vision care.

    Medicaid Vision Coverage

    Medicaid will cover eye exams for adults ages 21 and older in most states — but not all.

    Medicaid is a federally funded health insurance program for people with low incomes. It’s administered at the state-level, so each state determines its own vision benefits and limitations.

    According to KFF:

    • At least 42 states offer some coverage for optometrist services.
    • At least 33 states offer some coverage for eyeglasses.

    In states that do provide vision benefits, basic eye exams are covered. Prescription glasses with basic frames are also usually covered, but each state has specific caps.

    Copays for eye exams with Medicaid are affordable, usually $15 or less.

    Research your specific state’s Medicaid vision coverage or contact your local Medicaid office for more information. Speaking with a local Medicaid office and your individual plan provider is the best way to understand your specific vision benefits.

    Once you’re clear on your coverage, make sure your eye doctor accepts Medicaid before scheduling an eye exam.

    VA Vision Coverage

    If you have VA health care benefits, the program will cover your routine eye exams and preventive vision testing.

    Talk to your VA primary care provider or contact your nearest VA medical center or clinic for more information.

    Veterans can also qualify for free eyeglasses or contact lenses by meeting one of the following criteria:

    • Have a disability linked to your military service for which you’re receiving VA disability payments.
    • Are a former prisoner of war.
    • Were awarded a Purple Heart.
    • Receive benefits under Title 38 United States Code (U.S.C.) 1151.
    • Receive an increased pension because you’re permanently housebound and in need of regular aid.
    • Experience vision problems caused by another illness — such as stroke or diabetes — for which you’re receiving VA care.
    • Suffer from geriatric chronic illnesses (long-lasting illnesses that affect the elderly).

    The following groups can also qualify for free eyeglasses through the VA:

    • Veterans with significant functional or cognitive impairments.
    • Veterans with a vision impairment severe enough that it interferes with their ability to participate in their own medical treatment.
    • Veterans who have service-connected vision disabilities rated 0%.

    Rachel Christian is a Certified Educator in Personal Finance and a senior writer for The Penny Hoarder.


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    rachel.christian@thepennyhoarder.com (Rachel Christian, CEPF®)

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