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For ordinary consumers, paying bills with a credit card can be a great way to rack up rewards points, build credit, and get more flexibility with payments. But can businesses get similar benefits by paying their expenses, vendors, and suppliers with a credit card?\nThe answer is yes, but with some caveats. The first is that not all vendors and suppliers (or mortgage companies, utility companies, internet providers, etc.) even \naccept\n credit cards. Roughly half of American businesses still need to pay at least 50% of their bills using paper checks. (More on this later.)\nAnother “gotcha” with using your business credit card to pay expenses and bills is that you have to be very careful to pay it off on time each month, otherwise you end up paying significantly more for your expenses, due to credit card interest charges (or heaven forbid, late payment fees).\nAlso, though using a credit card to pay business bills can help \nimprove cash flow\n, you have to resist the temptation to pay bills with a credit card if you don’t have the cash to pay the bill—or won’t have by the time the credit card statement is due. Never use a credit card to pay a bill if you don’t know how you’re going to come up with the money.\nBenefits of using a credit card to pay business expenses\nNow let’s go over some of the benefits of using a credit card to pay your business bills and expenses.\nMiles, rewards, perks, cashback, discounts\nNearly all credit cards offer special member advantages and perks, and for small business owners this can be a huge asset. \nBusiness owners who rack up lots of points or airline miles using one of these cards can pay for a significant portion or even all of their business travel expenses, get discounts for business expos, enjoy free concierge service, get free car rental insurance and discounts, and much, much more.\nSome small business owners use their cashback bonuses to buy equipment, pay for employee team-building events, or even pay utilities. The uses for rewards points/cashback bonuses are almost limitless, and the more you spend, the more rewards you earn.\n\nPaying by card saves time and can improve cash flow\nMailing a check can take quite a few days—or even weeks—process the payment. When you pay your expenses, vendors, and suppliers using a credit card, you speed up the process and free up cash for other business expenses.\nNow, please note: “free up cash” does not mean you can simply put those bills on a credit card and then forget about them. You obviously need to pay them off. \nHowever, You get a grace period, or effectively a 0% interest loan, when you use a credit card… as long as you keep paying off your balance on time every month. Since you haven’t spend that cash or sent it out as a check, you can use it to run your business or whatever else you need until your credit card statement comes due.\nRegularly using your card improves your business credit\nYour business has a credit score (from 1 to 100) just like you as a consumer do. The better your business credit is, the lower your rates for business loans, financing on essential equipment, etc.\nIf your credit card company finds you regularly pay your credit card statement on time and use much of your available credit, you can typically ask them to increase the credit limit available to your business which can further improve your business credit rating (and allow you more flexibility and more purchasing power).\nAgain, you need to make very sure you’re paying your card balance off on time to keep these benefits coming.\nPutting all your bills on one card simplifies bookkeeping \nWhen you have to keep track of expenses and bills for your business in addition to running your business, simpler is better. If you can move all of your monthly business expenses, rent, utilities, supplier payments, etc. to a single card, it’s much easier to keep track of.\nSolo makes it easy to pay and get paid\nSolo is not a bank, but is a financial super-app for small businesses, freelancers, sole proprietors, contractors, and more. Solo is the easy way to pay and get paid. Your customers don't have to sign up to pay you, and can use several payment methods, including Apple Pay, Google Pay, and cards. QR codes make it easy to get paid, and you can easily cash out your Solo account balance for free, or spend it using your Solo Cash Card anywhere Visa is accepted. Learn more at \nSolo.co\n.

Is it smart to pay business bills using a credit card?

In this article:\nAre free website hosting and domain services really free?\nAdvantages to free web hosting and domain\nDisadvantages to free domain and website hosting\nThe “almost free” option for web hosting\nThe importance of building a solid online presence\nIf you’re reading this article, you are likely aware of the importance of creating and maintaining a \nsmall business website\n. Every small business needs a website, even super-small one-person concerns, if for no other reason than to attract more local customers and \nimprove your local SEO\n. But a good, \nsimple website\n site can be a robust marketing, customer relationship management, and sales tool, rather than be merely informative. \nSmall business owners are almost always on a tight budget, so you may be tempted to use any of the thousands of “free web hosting” or “free domain” options available. Several of the major website builder platforms offer a free option, as Wix does.\nNaturally, like the man once said, there is no free lunch. Everything that’s “free” actually costs you something, whether in time, convenience, features, control, bandwidth, advertising space, or any number of other ways.\nLet’s go over some of the pros and cons, and some of the advantages and features, of some of the “free” domain and web hosting options, so you can make a more informed decision.\n(Please note: we have made an effort to provide accurate information as of the time of the publication of this article, but of course prices and features may change without notice.)\nAdvantages (or “pros”) to free website hosting and domain\nThere are dozens, even hundreds, of free web hosting and free domain services, so obviously there are significant upsides or “pros” to going this route.\nIt’s, well… free!\nIf cost is your primary concern when getting your website up and running, then you can’t do better than free. There are tradeoffs (see below) but you absolutely can get your domain and your web hosting for free.\nUsually quick to get set up\nMany free hosting and domain providers can get your site “on the web” almost instantly. If you want to redirect your own, previously purchased domain, that can take a little while (and most don’t allow it; see below), but if all you need is “a website for your business,” then you can get yours built and functional in almost no time.\nSimple to use\nSimple is often best for busy small business owners, and nearly every free web hosting and domain provider makes it very simple to get your website built and online. You don’t have to know any HTML or code or, really, any design principles. If you can drag/drop items around a computer screen, and maybe select/highlight/copy/replace text, you pretty much have all the skills you need.\nMany offer templatized website builders, pre-built pages, and tutorials\nWith some of the free sites, you get access to pretty impressive array of website building tools, templates, free stock images, and tutorials. Wix is a very popular choice here.\nDisadvantages (or “cons”) to free website hosting and domain\nNow that we’ve covered some of the benefits to using a free hosting and domain service, let’s talk about some of the tradeoffs.\nOn-page advertisements\nIn the digital realm, “free” always comes with a cost, and one of the primary ways you pay for free web hosting and domain is with ads that will appear on your website, pretty much on every page. \nDepending on the site you use, these can be either pretty unobtrusive or pretty obnoxious. Some sites put their ads in a banner along the bottom of each page, while some keep them prominently at the top, and make them “sticky” so they move down as you scroll through your pages.\nThese ads may be a simple pitch to visitors of your site that they should use the same free site builder you used (Wix.com does this, for example), and they may be for products and services that are related to your business’s products and services. Or, they might be completely random banner or pop-up ads, some of which might be for things you don’t want to be associated with. \n(Image)\nIf you want to get rid of the ads, many of these service providers will remove them for a monthly fee… but then your free hosting and domain isn’t free anymore, is it?\nYou generally can’t use your own custom domain name\nMost free domain and hosting options don’t allow you to specify a custom domain (i.e., www.yourbusinessname.com). Your business website will be hosted on the “cloud” via their servers and on their domain, which means your website address will typically be something like [yourusername].[thefreehostingsite].com/[yourbusinessname] or at best [yourbusinessname].[thefreehostingsite].com. This doesn’t exactly roll trippingly off the tongue and isn’t easy to remember or market.\nSome companies allow you to upgrade to a custom domain (or redirect one you already own) for a small cost, but then, it’s not actually free anymore. Are you starting to see how this works?\nBandwidth throttling and limited or no storage\nBandwidth is basically like the utilities company of your site. Data is the “water” that makes your site run, and you pay for what you use. If you have a lot of visitors/traffic to your site, you use a lot of bandwidth, which your hosting company has to pay for.\nFor free hosting and domain providers, it’s common to limit your “free” bandwidth severely, because, after all, you’re not paying for it. And if you have images or videos hosted on your webpages, they can eat up a ton of bandwidth whenever they’re streamed or downloaded.\n(Image)\nStorage is almost always capped as well, because every image and video and music file and .pdf on your website, and every item in your online store has to be stored on the free host’s server, which you’re not paying for. So if you have a good amount of content and images to store, you’ll probably bump up against your limit pretty quickly.\nOnce you know what level of bandwidth/usage and storage your website will require, you can generally upgrade to a paid plan that fits your needs.\nLimited design and template options\nThis is an issue with all templatized online website builders, but particularly for free options which sometimes can be even more limited than the basic “pay” versions. While they make things easier for novices and you can create a great-looking site using some of them, there is necessarily a limitation on the design and template choices you can choose from.\nSome, like WordPress, allow pretty robust plugin and customization options, particularly if you know a bit of code, but with most free options you’ll be selecting from a few pre-designed layouts, within which you can usually make certain customizations.\nAgain, if all you want is “a website” that looks good enough to make your business seem professional and provide contact information and current hours (which is indeed valuable), then this may not be a concern for you.\nPoor on-site performance, questionable SEO, and spam\nAll pre-built, templatized webpages can potentially suffer from website performance issues like slow page loading, poor image loading, and other problems. The fewer options you have for on-site optimization, the less control you have over page load speed and other performance of your pages.\nIn addition, Google and other search engines might not “see” your free site and recommend it in search results as often as you think they should, if you are using a free site hosting service. This is because free site hosting companies might be tempted to stuff too many websites on a server than it can safely handle, which can cause lag and other performance issues. Since page load speed is one of the key factors in Google’s algorithm, this in turn can induce Google to remove your site from search results.\nAnother issue is that the host company itself may be engaging in practices that search engines consider “spammy” and this will trickle down to you if you’re hosted there. Depending on what ads they run, you might be inadvertently advertising questionable products and services or even including links to malicious software or malware on your site (this is somewhat unlikely but it is possible depending on how reputable your free site host is).\n(Image)\nPotentially lower-tier support \nSince you’re not paying the company anything, they may not prioritize fixing any issues that may come up. \nOn the other hand, if you pay for “VIP” customer support on some website hosting sites, you can skip the line and get higher levels of personalized service in case of service outages, downed websites, and other broken functionality. If you are not paying them anything, you may just be subject to the luck of the draw, or even get no response at all.\nIf getting someone on the phone/chat/email quickly in the case of trouble is valuable to you, then you should make that a priority and pay for the full-service site.\nFree websites can seem “iffy”/not legitimate\nA basic webpage with a bunch of unrelated banner ads plastered all over it doesn’t exactly paint your business in the best light. If you’re trying to capture local searches and give out basic information about your business, this may be sufficient. But to truly help support your brand, your website should ideally be an extension of your physical space. \nWith some of the free options out there, this may or may not be a possibility. \nThe “almost free” hosting and domain option\nI think we can all agree that $2.95 a month for web hosting is pretty much a steal. Well, that’s what you will currently pay for a WordPress website when you sign up via \nBlueHost\n. ($2.95 for hosting, or $4.95/mo for building a website using their drag-and-drop Wordpress builder.)\nTruth be known, it’s really not that expensive to get your own custom domain registered (usually around $15 a year or so), and web hosting can be as little as $8 a month, with no ads and enough bandwidth and storage to meet the needs of some small businesses.\nIf you want to \nsell\n things via your website, you’re going to want the ecommerce functionality and shopping carts, along with the increased bandwidth and storage that go with it, and in that case we’re talking (ballpark) about $30/month for hosting (BlueHost's online stores start at $15.95/mo), and more if you need additional storage, bandwidth or features, so usually the truly free option is not the right choice for you in that case.\nWhen you consider \nhow important a website is for small businesses\n, the fairly low cost of building and maintaining a professional-looking, highly functional website seems like the biggest bargain in the world.\nWork to strengthen your online reputation\nGetting your small business website up and running is a key part of building your online presence, but it’s not the only thing you need to do. Online review sites like Google My Business, Yelp, and TripAdvisor are extremely important for local businesses.\nWhen you get regular online reviews and engage with your customers online, everything about your business performs better online, including how your website and \nonline listings\n show up in local search results.

Are “free” website hosting and domains really free? Pros and cons

In this article:\nWhat is Facebook Marketplace?\nWays to use Facebook Marketplace for business\nHow to list your inventory\nHow to sell individual items\nHow to set up a shop on Facebook\nFacebook isn’t just for funny memes and old-time friends anymore. It is a powerful marketing tool that businesses, sole proprietors, solopreneurs, microbusinesses, and all types of side-hustlers can and should take full advantage of. And a large part of that includes the Facebook Marketplace. \nWhat is Facebook Marketplace?\nFacebook Marketplace is a platform where individuals and businesses can buy and sell items via Messenger. Users can look to the Marketplace for specific items they are in search of (like a new vehicle, furniture, or clothing item) using filters and selecting categories, or they can browse the entire Marketplace. \nSellers have the ability to add the price and details of each product so that they are placed in front of those who are searching for it.   \nWays your business can use Facebook Marketplace\nUsing Facebook Marketplace is just another avenue to get your products and inventory out in front of customers in a place that they are spending a lot of time. With almost 2 billion daily active users, it’s worth the effort. \nThere are a few ways that businesses can use Facebook Marketplace to list their products or inventory:\nSpecific types of businesses, like auto dealerships, event venues, and real estate agents, can list their inventory on Facebook Marketplace by working with a Marketplace listing partner\nYou can advertise your store or specific items in the Marketplace, even if you aren’t directly posting there\nEligible sellers can also display items on their Facebook Page shop and add them to the Marketplace for free. If you’re not able to share your shop items in the Marketplace, you’ll need to contact Facebook’s support team to see if you are eligible\nHow to list your inventory in Facebook Marketplace\nIf you have an online retail store, it may already have the ability to integrate with the Facebook Marketplace. A number of ecommerce solutions can help you add the products from your online store to the Marketplace. \nHere’s the list of ecommerce listing partners that Facebook currently works with:\nadMixt\nBigCommerce\nCedCommerce\nChannelAdvisor\nCommerceHub\nDataCaciques\nFeedonomics\nProductsup\nQuipt\nShipStation\nShopify\nZentail\nIf you use any of these solutions, find out what their capabilities are for integrating your products with the Marketplace. \nNote, as of September 13, 2021, Facebook Marketplace has discontinued the distribution of vehicle, home rentals, and homes for sale listings from partner catalog feeds. Listings provided to Facebook via partner catalogs will not be displayed on Marketplace, including the homepage, category pages, browse experience or in search results. \nRead more\n.\nHow to set up a shop on your Facebook page\nYou can set up a shop on your Facebook page and then share those items to the Marketplace (if your business is eligible). \nWe’ll walk you through setting up your shop first. \nStep 1: Go to your Facebook page and click “Manage Shop” and move on to Step 3. If you don’t have the “Manage Shop” option, then go to “Settings” and follow Step 2. \n(Image)\n\nStep 2: After clicking on “Settings,” click on “Templates and Tabs” in the left menu bar. Make sure that the “Shop” option is toggled on. Go back to your page and click “Manage Shop.”\n(Image)\n\nStep 3: Click “Start Shop Setup”.\n(Image)\n\nStep 4: Choose where you want customers to complete their purchases: your website, Facebook or Instagram, or direct message. You also have the option to use a partner platform (like Shopify or BigCommerce) or an API. Click “Get Started.”\n(Image)\n\n \nStep 5: Create your shop. Go through Facebook’s shop creator. Choose the business page you want your shop to be on, choose or create a business manager account that will connect to the shop, choose the visibility you want your shop to have, and add your items. \n(Image)\n\n \nHow to sell an individual item on Facebook Marketplace\nIf your business isn’t eligible for adding a shop or you can’t connect with an inventory partner, you can always share products from your individual Facebook page. \nEvery Facebook user has the ability to add items to the Marketplace. Just make sure that you are following Facebook’s \ncommerce guidelines\n if you want your products to show up. \nStep 1: Log in to Facebook and go to Marketplace. \n(Image)\n\nStep 2: Click on “Create New Listing.”\n(Image)\n\nStep 3: Choose your listing type: item for sale, vehicle for sale, or home for sale or rent.\n(Image)\n\nStep 4: Add your photos and product details, including title, price, category, condition, description, and tags. \n(Image)\n\nStep 5: Choose your delivery method. Some items may be eligible for shipping. But you can also just have the customer pick up the product at your store. \n(Image)\n\nStep 6: Choose the groups that you want to list your item in and publish it! You can share your product to any buy/sell/trade groups that you are a member of. \nNow you can sit back and wait for someone to reach out about that product! 

Facebook Marketplace step by step: how to get set up and list items

In this article:\nWhy add your business to the BBB\nHow to create and claim your BBB listing\nWhat to do next\nThe Better Business Bureau (BBB) aims to provide consumers and businesses with a directory that promotes the trustworthiness of businesses. \nAdding your business to BBB will help convey to consumers and other shops that they can trust you and your business. \nWhy add your business to the Better Business Bureau\nBBB’s mission is to be a source of trust for consumers and businesses. \nBeyond the huge trust signals that BBB sends to consumers and other businesses, BBB is another online directory that helps improve your business’s online visibility. \nIt’s important to add your business to as many reputable online directories as possible in order to show up better in the local search engine results. \nGo deeper: \n25 free business listing websites every small or local business should be on\nHow to create and claim your BBB listing\nLet’s get your business listed on Better Business Bureau!\nStep 1: Create a BBB account\nGo to \nbbb.org\n and click “Login.” \nYou can add your business to BBB without a login, but you won’t be able to claim it unless you have an account. \n(Image)\n\nNext, go to the box on the right where it says “Create My BBB Login Account.”\n(Image)\n\nEnter your email and click “Email me Now.” If your email is not in BBB’s records, you will need to fill out your Name, Title, Email, Business name, and Zip code. Click “Register with BBB”. It will take up to 2 days for BBB to email you your password and instructions to finish setting up your account. \n(Image)\n\nWatch for an email from BBB, be sure to check your junk folder. When your email arrives, follow the instructions to set up your password and go to bbb.org and log in. \n(Image)\n\nIn the meantime, proceed to the following steps to see if your business is in BBB’s directory or if you need to add it. \nStep 2: Search for your business\nSearch to see if your business already exists in BBB’s directory. \n(Image)\n\nIf you see your business listed, proceed to Step 3 (Option 1). \nIf you can’t find your business, proceed to Step 3 (Option 2). \nStep 3 (Option 1): Claim your existing BBB business listing\nIf your business does show up on BBB’s directory, click on it. And then scroll down to the section that allows you to “Claim your listing.”\n(Image)\n\nThis is where you will need to be able to log in, so if you are still waiting for an email from the BBB you may need to wait a day or two to finish claiming your listing. \nAfter clicking “Claim your listing” when you are logged in, you will be brought to a page where you can verify your association with your business. \n(Image)\n\nYou can verify your business by phone or email. Choose the option you wish to use and click “Verify.”\nOn the new screen, you’ll have a place to enter your verification code that you received via phone or email. Enter your verification code and click “Claim.”\n(Image)\n\nNow you have successfully claimed your listing on BBB and will have full access to edit and make changes to it. \nStep 3 (Option 2): Add your business to BBB\nIf your business does not show up in BBB’s directory, click “Submit a request to add it to our directory.”\n(Image)\n\nYou’ll then be redirected to a form to add in all of your business information, including:\nBusiness name\nType of business\nBusiness start date\nAddress\nBusiness phone number\nWebsite\nBusiness email\nAny notes you have\nYour name\nYour contact email\nYour phone number\nClick “Submit your request.” It may take up to a week for BBB to approve your request. At that point, you will be able to go through the process of claiming your business. Go back to Step 3 (Option 1) to claim your business listing. \n(Image)\nAnd you're done!

How to get your business listed with the BBB

In this article:\nWhy use Crunchbase\nHow to create and claim your Crunchbase business listing\nWhat to do next\nCrunchbase is a platform where professionals can discover new technologies and innovative companies, connect with other like-minded professionals, and pursue new opportunities.  \nThey have a free online directory which you should add your business to. \nWhy add your business to Crunchbase\nFirst, adding your business to multiple online directories is super helpful for improving your online visibility and local SEO. \nGo deeper: \n15 free tips to improve your local SEO\nSecond, once you’ve added your business to Crunchbase, they have some awesome features that you can take advantage of:\nCrunchbase Pro to access company, investor, and funding data\nTools to identify new prospects and improve lead generation\nAccess to their market research to stay on top of the latest market trends in your industry\nThese additional features aren’t free, but they definitely have their appeal. \nHow to create and claim your Crunchbase listing\nLet’s get started!\nStep 1: Create a Crunchbase account \nThe first thing you need to do is set up a new account on Crunchbase. Go to crunchbase.com and click “Log in” in the header. \n(Image)\n\nThen click “Register” on the new window that opens and fill in your email address, first and last name, and password. \n(Image)\n\nClick “Register” and you’re done! Crunchbase will take you to a new page that helps you fill out your profile more in-depth, so you can continue that process or go back to crunchbase.com. \nStep 2: Authenticate your Crunchbase account\nWhen you are logged into Crunchbase, go to the top right corner and click your profile icon, then select “My Account.” \n(Image)\n\nThis will take you to your account where you will then click on “Social Authentication.” Crunchbase just wants to verify that you are a real person before allowing you to create a company profile. \n(Image)\n\nChoose at least one social network that you are on in order to authenticate yourself. When you click the profile you choose to use, Crunchbase will open a window for you to log in to that social account and allow them to access your information. Click “Allow” and then click “Done.”\n(Image)\n\nStep 3: Check to see if your company exists on Crunchbase\nSometimes online directories like this pull information from other databases or someone else created a profile for your company without your knowledge. \nSo it’s always a good idea to check to see if your company exists in any online directory before adding it. \nSimply go to the search bar in the top navigation and type in your company’s name. \n(Image)\n\nIf your company shows up in the list, proceed to Step 4 (Option 1). If your company is not in the Crunchbase directory, proceed to Step 4 (Option 2). \nStep 4 (Option 1): Edit your Crunchbase listing\nIf your company does exist in Crunchbase’s directory, click on it and select “Edit.” This will allow you to update all of your company’s information. \n(Image)\n\nA form like will appear that has some of your information already filled out. If anything is incorrect, be sure to update it, and also add any missing information like your website or customer contact information. \n(Image)\n\nWhen done, click “Save All Edits.”\n(Image)\n\nAfter that, you’ll see the following message: “Your edits have been submitted. They may take a few minutes to appear.” And your edits will be live. \n(Image)\n\nStep 4 (Option 2): Add your company profile to Crunchbase\nIf your company is not on Crunchbase, click on the menu icon in the top left of your screen and then click “Add New Profile.”\n(Image)\n\nSelect the type of profile you are adding to Crunchbase (this will likely be a “company” if you are doing this for your small business.)\n(Image)\n\nGo through the form on the next page and fill out all of the following information for your business:\nBusiness name\nDescription\nAlso known as (other names that your business goes by)\nLegal name\nFounded date\nNumber of employees\nCompany type\nWebsite\nSocial profiles\nContact email\nPhone number\nDetailed description\n(Image)\n\nAfter the form there are several additional types of information you can add to better complete your company profile. Fill out any that apply to you. At the very least, be sure to add your “Categories.”\n(Image)\n\nClick “Save all edits” and your profile will be added to Crunchbase. \n(Image)\n\nCrunchbase will make all of your information live after a few minutes, and there are no additional steps to claim or verify your business profile. \nNow that you claimed your Crunchbase business listing, what’s next?\nWhen you’ve completed your Crunchbase company profile, be sure to continue adding your business to other online directories. This will help improve your business’s online visibility and provide you with more opportunities to get found by customers. \nCheck out our list of \n25 free sites that every small business should be listed on\n. 

How to create and claim your free Crunchbase business listing

In this article:\nWhat is Nextdoor and why should your business get listed?\nBest practices for your business when using Nextdoor\nDon’ts for using Nextdoor as a business\nAs technology continues to develop and the internet gets more innovative, it’s important that businesses take advantage of as many avenues that could be beneficial to them. Beyond your website and Google, there are tons of general and industry-specific platforms online that can help bring your business leads. One of these is Nextdoor.\nWhat is Nextdoor?\nNextdoor, simply put, is a social network for neighborhoods. Users can join groups for their neighborhoods to learn information about it and get helpful tips from their not-so-distant neighbors. Neighbors share things like the best contractor to use for your kitchen redesign, news about crime, lost and found items, news about upcoming events, and just about any goings-on in your neighborhood. \nNextdoor’s mission is to help neighbors build stronger and safer neighborhoods through technology.\nIt’s also good to note that over 25% of the conversations on Nextdoor revolve around businesses, and 67% of Nextdoor members share business recommendations with their neighbors. \nDos for using Nextdoor as a business\nThere are tons of things your business can take advantage of on Nextdoor. Pay attention to these tips and give them a try to see if you can start to generate some positive talk in the community about your business. \nUpdate and complete your business page\nFirst, you absolutely need to make sure you have a complete business page. Make sure your page is verified so you can create posts and offer local deals. \nFollow our guide to set up your business page: \nHow to claim your listing on Nextdoor (step-by-step walkthrough!)\n \nTips to complete your business page:\nUpload your logo and a cover image\nAdd more photos of your business, products, services\nInclude all of your contact information: address, phone number, website, email, and hours of operation\nAdd as many relevant categories to your business as possible\nJoin your neighborhood and nearby neighborhoods\nBy creating your business profile on Nextdoor, you are automatically placed in your neighborhood’s network. You’ll be able to view the conversations and posts that come up and contribute to them. \nYou can start showing up in nearby neighborhoods by getting recommendations from people in those communities. \nGet Nextdoor recommendations\nGetting recommendations on Nextdoor is kind of like getting a review on Google. Plus, you need to have recommendations from specific neighborhoods to show up in their business directories and searches. \nSide note: to be eligible to show up in a neighborhood, it does have to be within a 50-mile radius of your business. \nTo get recommendations on your Nextdoor business page, you can share it on your social profiles. \nLog into your Nextdoor business account\nGo to “Your Reputation” \nScroll down to your recommendations and click the place that you want to share your business profile (email, Facebook, Twitter, or just copy the link)\nPost your profile and ask for recommendations\n(Image)\n\nThe post generated by Nextdoor doesn’t ask for recommendations, so you’ll want to craft a message that encourages users to visit your profile and recommend you. You may even send the link to current customers to ask them to recommend your business on Nextdoor. \nCreate regular posts from your business\nStart creating posts on Nextdoor. Keep your neighborhood informed by sharing updates about your business: \nNew products that have come in \nNew services you’re offering\nNew menu items\nClosures\nEvents\nSpecial offers you have\nRecommendations for other businesses (maybe you have some community partners that you send referrals to)\nBe sure to follow the \nCommunity Guidelines\n as well as the \nbusiness guidelines for posting\n (more on this in our don’ts section). \nTake advantage of the categories on Nextdoor\nTo see all of the conversations in your neighborhood on Nextdoor, you’ll need to set up a personal profile. Businesses can only see and contribute to the conversations that specifically mention them or that they start. \nFrom your personal account, you can look through the neighborhood categories to see if there is a meaningful way your business can contribute to the neighborhood. Here are the categories that make the most sense for you to post in on behalf of your business. \nSafety: This might include local crime updates about suspicious persons in the area or news about power outages and natural disasters \nLost and found: if something was left at your business, like a wallet or phone, post about it in the lost and found section\nGeneral: Monitor the general section to see if people are asking for recommendations. Introduce yourself to the neighborhood too\nJoin relevant groups\nGroups is another area you can only join with a personal profile, or you could start your own group. See if there are any groups that are relevant to your business or area of expertise. \nIt is important to note that it is against Nextdoor’s policies to promote your business in personal posts, but you can share your advice and build up your personal name in the community, particularly if your name is your brand. \nContribute to popular topics\nThis is the last one that you have to use from your personal account. Look through and follow topics that are relevant to your business and knowledge. Monitor the conversations to see if there are meaningful ways that you can contribute and opportunities to share your advice and maybe even your business (without full-on promoting it). \nMonitor and respond to comments about your business\nAs users recommend and mention your business, you’ll have the opportunity to view and respond to these posts. Be sure to thank those that recommend you and pay attention to the conversations to make sure you are in good standing in your neighborhood. \nRun Local Deal ads or become a Neighborhood Sponsor\nNextdoor allows businesses to run Local Deals or become Neighborhood Sponsors to help get more reach in their neighborhoods and share ads about their businesses. These are both great options for increasing your brand awareness in your immediate community, especially if you’re new to the area. \nTo create a Local Deal, go to “Content” on your business account and select “Create Post or Local Deal.”\n(Image)\n\nTo become a Neighborhood Sponsor, go to “Manage Plan” and search for the zip code that you want to sponsor. You’ll be charged a monthly fee to become a sponsor (this varies by neighborhood).\n(Image)\n\nDon’ts for using Nextdoor as a business\nAs with most platforms, there are guidelines and general best practices that you should adhere to in order to keep your business in good standing. \nDon’t post negatively about competitors\nIt is strictly against Nextdoor’s business guidelines to create negative posts about your competitors. Don’t do it. \nInstead, focus on your business, the awesome service that you provide and share news about your deals and offerings. \nDon’t suggest that Nextdoor endorses your business\nIn your business posts (and personal ones if you have a personal account), do not state that your business is endorsed by Nextdoor. You may be subject to account deletion if you suggest this to your neighborhood on or off of Nextdoor. \nYou can instead share your recommendations to show that users on Nextdoor like your business. \nDon’t promote prohibited goods and services\nNextdoor has a list of goods and services that are prohibited from their platform. Pay attention to this so you don’t unknowingly penalize your account. \nThere is the general no drugs, alcohol, gambling, and adult content rule. That being said, businesses may post references to alcohol (i.e. if it’s in their menu or part of an event), but the posts cannot be solely focused on alcohol. \nOther items that are prohibited:\nLive animal sales (re-homing pets with a small fee is allowed)\nStud services\nItems obtained through government assistance\nFirearms, firearm components, and firearm accessories\nAirsoft, BB/pellet guns\nPepper spray\nChemical weapons\nNon-culinary knives\nCertain items related to COVID preparedness are not allowed to be sold on Nextdoor\nCommercial/medical-grade masks and surgical masks and gloves (homemade and non-medical grade masks are allowed)\nHand sanitizers \nDisinfecting wipes and other cleaning supplies\nKeep track of your activity and reputation on Nextdoor\nWith Nextdoor, as well as all other business-related online platforms, it’s important to be aware of your standing. Stay on top of your reviews and be sure to check in regularly to make sure you're up to date. 

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