Blog

About

Careers

Contact

Solo's blog provides the resources that microbusinesses, solopreneurs, freelancers, and other super-small businesses need to start, operate, and grow.

Blog for starting, running, and growing your business | Solo.co

Blog - All Posts

In this article:\nWhat things affect credit card processing fees?\nWhat types of fees and rates are available to small businesses?\nWhat are some add-on fees you need to be aware of?\nAs a small business owner, you obviously need to get paid for your offerings, whether you own a small retail business, hair salon, pet services business, or something else entirely. Credit cards have grown to become and will continue to be (in some form) the most common form of payment from your customers, so it’s important to have the right tools to be able to accept credit cards. \nWith credit card processing providers and platforms, you can offer this payment method to your customers and use it to your advantage in gaining new customers. But credit card processing can be complex (and expensive), and there are many little things that you should know and understand before committing to one processor or payments provider over another. \nWe want to walk you through the complexities of credit card processing fees, including what you should be paying, and some things you should watch out for. \nWhat are credit card processing fees?\nCredit card processing fees generally refer to the transaction fees associated with accepting a credit card or debit for payment. Many popular processing companies that cater to smaller businesses charged a fixed dollar amount plus a small percentage of the total transaction each time a credit card is processed. \nThis fee will typically vary depending on how the card is processed (in person, swiped, hand entered, online, via the phone, etc.) and other factors, which we’ll discuss below.\nThere are other fees that come into play when you decide to start processing credit cards too. We’ll go over each of these fees so that you know what to expect as you start shopping for the best credit card processing solution for your business. \nLearn more: \nSmall business guide: What is credit card processing?\nWhat things impact credit card processing fees and rates?\nBefore we dive into each type of processing fee, we want to cover some of the basic things that can impact your fees. Be thinking about these as you try to determine which platform to use. \nMethod of processing\nThe processing method of the credit card can impact your fees. Swiping or inserting a chipped credit card in-person has a lower risk of fraud and chargebacks, which allows your process or or payments provider to offer you lower processing fees. \nWhen a card isn’t physically processed—like if your customer enters their information online or pays over the phone, or if the magnetic strip or EMV chip isn’t working correctly with your point of sale (POS) hardware and the cashier has to enter the number manually—there is a higher risk for fraud since it is more difficult to protect the information, resulting in higher fees. \n(Image)\nSize of your average transaction\nMost credit card processors require a small fee to be paid with each purchase, on top of the percentage that they require. If your average purchase size is low, then you might be paying a lot more in transaction fees. \nFor example: Let’s say you have 100 $5 transactions and 5 $100 transactions and your service provider charges $0.10 for every transaction. You’d pay that $0.10 fee 100 times for the smaller transaction, but only and five times for the larger transaction. This is one reason some retailers have a minimum purchase amount required for credit card purchases. For very small purchases, it might actually cost you money to sell those items! \nConsider what your average transaction size is as you look at fees from different companies. \nBusiness type\nEvery business has a Standard Industrial Classification Code and a Merchant Category Code. These codes help card providers and processors see what kind of business their customers are involved with. Riskier businesses generally have higher fees associated with their transactions. \nThere can also be a certain amount of social pressure for processing companies to charge higher fees (or avoid providing service altogether) for some types of businesses. Firearms-related companies or shooting ranges, adult entertainment companies, and cannabis businesses are only some that have had issues getting credit card processing services at various times.\nWhat types of fees are associated with credit card processing?\nWhen it comes to credit card processing, the fees can really start to add up, which is why we encourage you to shop around and look at several different options before signing a contract. It’s important to understand what types of fees exist and how your individual business can be impacted by them. \nRemember the things that can impact your fees as you explore what types of fees generally come with credit card processing. \nMerchant account fees\nIf you are using a merchant account, there are generally two types of fees you’ll have to pay in order to process credit cards. \nInterchange fees\nInterchange fees are non-negotiable fees determined by the issuing bank and card network (like Visa or Mastercard). Whenever a customer uses their credit card, an interchange fee is charged. It’s usually a fixed dollar amount plus a small percentage, like 2% + $0.15. So, on a $10 transaction, the interchange fee would be $0.35. \nMarkup fees\nMarkup fees are the negotiable fees that your provider adds on top of their interchange fees. This is the “markup” they get for providing you this service. Again, this is generally a small percentage and fixed dollar amount on top of the interchange fee. \nOne-time fees\nSome fees are unavoidable, like transaction fees and equipment fees. But if you read the fine print, you can make sure you don’t have any hefty termination fees to pay later down the road. \nSetup fees\nSome providers charge fees for a technician to help you get set up on their payment processing software and equipment. These vary by provider, and some providers don’t require any setup fees. \nTermination fees\nTermination fees come when you cancel a contract or end your service with a provider. This is one where you’ll want to read the fine print. Make sure you understand the terms of your contract and termination fees before committing to anything. \nEquipment fees\nEquipment fees come into play when you need a terminal, phone add-on, or tablet for running credit cards in-person. Sometimes you can buy the equipment outright, and sometimes you may need to finance or lease the equipment, depending on the cost. \nRecurring fees\nBe aware of the different recurring fees you may see on your statements from credit card processing providers. Some of these may be completely unnecessary for your desired level of service, so make sure you understand exactly what you need to be paying for. \nMonthly subscription fees\nMany service providers require a monthly subscription fee for customer support and PCI compliance. If you don’t see this fee on your bill, make sure that you’ll still have access to some kind of customer support in case you run into problems. \nMonthly minimum fees\nSome providers require monthly minimum fees to ensure that they get their “cut” even when you are having a slow sales month. \nStatement fees\nIf you receive paper or online statements, your provider may require a service fee for each statement you receive. It may be called a “processing fee” or “miscellaneous fee.” Sometimes you can save this fee by opting out of mailed, paper statements.\nIRS fees\nSome providers might charge an “IRS reporting fee,” where they charge a fee to report your transactions to the IRS and provide you with the necessary documentation. This is a spammy practice that should be disputed. Most providers should do this for you at no cost. \nPCI fees\nIf your provider offers PCI compliance and support, then they may require a fee to help with this. This may be included in your monthly subscription fees. But sometimes this fee is charged when there is no benefit to the customer, so make sure you’re getting what you pay for. \nPayment gateway provider fee \nWhen you sell products/services online, those payments go through a payment gateway provider to ensure the information is encrypted and secure. Some of these providers may require fees, but several don’t have fees. Your payment processor may even have a preferred payment gateway provider that comes with their service.\nBe sure to ask if there are any additional fees for this service.\nProcessing fees\nThese fees are the general “credit card processing fees” that you may be somewhat familiar with, and they can encompass some of the fees we’ve already discussed. \nTransaction fees\nTransaction fees are the fees that occur each time a credit card is processed. They generally have a fixed dollar amount and a small percentage, similar to interchange and markup fees. Depending on the type of provider you are using, your transaction fees may be the interchange and markup fees. Some providers only charge one fixed rate per transaction.\nFlat fees\nFlat fees will vary between each type of payment processor. These are your monthly fees, equipment costs, and any other recurring fees that have the same rate each time you pay it. \nIncidental fees\nIncidental fees happen on a case-by-case basis. Generally, you’ll have an incidental fee if there is a chargeback or insufficient funds to cover the transaction. Card not present (CNP) fees may be considered incidental fees as well, if your processor charges an additional fee or a special rate for this type of transaction. \nBe sure to discuss the fee structure with your merchant services provider or processor representative so you have a very good idea of what to expect for all fees related to accepting credit cards so there are no surprises.\n(Image)\nTraditional vs. “new age” credit card processors\nTraditionally, every brick and mortar business would need to work through a merchant account and their bank to have the ability to process credit cards. It was a time-consuming and often expensive proposition to get a card reader hard-wired into the system, terminals set up at your place of business, approvals, etc. \nThis is where a lot of the fine-print (and potentially unnecessary) fees we’ve referred to can sometimes come into play. \nMerchant accounts generally have an interchange fee that is required with each transaction, and then on top of that you are required to pay the markup from your provider. \nYou can often negotiate with your merchant services provider to get preferred or lower rates, and sometimes salespeople will offer very low rates in order to sign your business. This can be to your advantage, so be sure to ask around and talk to several companies, and be sure to get the full details and read the fine print for whatever company you’re considering.\nSources:\n
\nhttps://www.creditdonkey.com/credit-card-processing-fees.html\n
\nhttps://www.fundera.com/blog/credit-card-processing-fees\n
\nhttps://www.merchantmaverick.com/clover-pos-cost\n

Credit card processing fees: what small businesses need to know

In this article:\nOnline appointment scheduling benefits\nIncrease web traffic\nImproved customer retention\nSave company time\nAnd more!\nThe more information and access to your business that you can provide online, the better opportunities you’ll have to gain new customers. \nOne way to help your salon really improve online sales and gain new customers is to include a platform for online scheduling on your website or app. We’ve outlined several ways that an online booking system can help your salon. \n1. Increase web traffic and customer loyalty for your salon\nThe ability to schedule salon appointments online is appealing to customers and may just help you get more traffic to your website over your competitors’ sites. \nHaving a website and a platform to book appointments will attract more customers to your website and help your existing customers to engage with your business easier. \nWhen someone lands on your website and sees that they can book an appointment online, they are more likely to stay on your site and schedule an appointment right then and there, rather than looking through other options. \n2. Provide a clear call to action\nAn online booking platform will help you to provide a clear call to action on your salon’s website. Rather than encouraging customers to call your business, you can direct them to schedule an appointment on your website. \nSometimes people land on a website and aren’t sure exactly what they are looking for, but if you provide a clear CTA for them to book an appointment, they don’t need to know because you already have the answer right in front of them. \n3. Give your salon customers instant results when they schedule online\nPeople don’t like waiting for things. So the thought of having to call a business to schedule an appointment and being placed on hold while the salon tries to figure out the best openings for that customer can deter people from calling you. \nOnline scheduling allows your customers to see the openings your employees have available and instantly get their appointment set up. This is much more gratifying and takes less time for the customer. \n4. Provide more information about your salon business\nOnline booking forms can provide more information about your services, which makes choosing your salon a lot more appealing. When a customer is in research mode, they want all of the information they can get upfront. \nThey are looking for availability, prices, and the services you offer. Most online booking platforms will have places for you to show all of these types of information and more. \nThis also provides a place for your clients to see their scheduled appointments, update their contact information, access purchase histories, and check loyalty point balances. \n5. Accept online payments\nWith online scheduling, you can often collect payments from your customers online before they even show up to their appointment. This helps improve your salon’s cash flow and ensures that customers will keep their appointments because they’ve already paid for it. \nYou don’t have to accept payments at the time that customers book their appointments, but you can encourage it by offering a discount for those that do pay for their appointments at the time of booking. \n6. Fewer missed salon appointments\nAs we’ve mentioned, if customers pay online when they book their appointment, they are less likely to miss it. \nOnline scheduling for your salon can also help remind customers of upcoming appointments so they don’t forget if they booked it months ago. \nEven if a customer doesn’t have an appointment scheduled, you can set up reminders to go out at the time when they will need a trim or touch-up on their coloring. This will encourage more appointments and increase customer retention. \n7. Manage employee schedules\nWith online scheduling, your employees’ (if you have any) schedules are more easily managed. Their time slots get filled automatically as customers go online to book appointments. \nYou can enter each employee’s availability into your online booking system so it will manage their schedules for you. You can even let the system show each individual employee’s schedule on your website so customers can select which stylist they want to have for their appointment. \n8. Save time for your hair or nail salon business\nAll of the reasons mentioned above help save time for your business. The more you can do to automate some of the tedious tasks like scheduling appointments and managing employee schedules, to more time you can save and revenue you can gain for your salon.\nHere are a few well-known online booking solutions that you can try for your salon:\n\nDaySmart Salon\n\n\nPhorest\n\n\nRosy\n\n

8 reasons why your hair or nail salon needs online scheduling

As a small business owner or operator, there are endless initiatives you could be focusing on to market your goods and services. \nSocial media, blogging, search engine marketing, billboards, influencer marketing, event marketing — the list goes on and on. In today’s hectic business environment, how do you know what you should prioritize? \nOur proposition: email marketing is hands-down the most powerful, effective, and efficient marketing tool for small businesses\nIf you’re not leveraging small business email marketing, you’re missing out on enormous opportunities to reach, delight, and serve your customers. And bring in a boatload of sales.\nYou might be thinking: what about social media? And it’s true — social media gets a lot of attention. Facebook boasts 2.2 billion users. Instagram grew over 13% last year. And over 500 million tweets are sent on Twitter \nper day\n.\nBut these social networks are dwarfed by email. There are over 3.8 \nbillion\n email users worldwide. And unlike a social network, which is owned and managed by one company (we’ll let you decide if that’s a positive or a negative), email is decentralized in an open market. You can use any email client you want — you don’t have to be subjugated to one provider. \nConsider this: 281 billion emails are sent per day. That’s 562 times the number of Tweets per day.\nWhy email marketing is king for local businesses\nWhat do we make of this? \nYour business is built on email\n. Social networks come and go, but email is not going anywhere and therefore it’s worth investing in.\nBut emails get ignored, deleted, and filtered out by customers, right? \nWrong. It depends on the email. \nBad\n emails get blocked and tossed, yes, but high-value emails that deliver insights, interesting stories, and good information are not only opened and clicked-through, they’re eagerly awaited by your customers. \nFor example, news media startup Axios opened its doors with a purely email-based business model. They refused the typical revenue model of content companies (programmatic advertising) and entrusted whole-hog their business’s success to… email newsletters. And it’s worked marvelously. Axios touts a 45% average open rate and charges anywhere from $8,000 to $150,000 depending on the newsletter, according to \nan article by Adweek\n.\nAnother successful business started from a mere email chain: Product Hunt, the online product discovery and community platform with now over 8 million users and multiple millions in venture backing, started with the founder simply sending emails to friends about interesting products he had found. \nThe ROI of email marketing is astounding. For every $1 spent on email marketing, it returns $42 in revenue, according to one study. VentureBeat wrote a post about how successful email marketing works: \n“In a survey of companies regarding email use, enterprise companies saw 117 percent return on investment, SMB firms indicated their return was 183 percent, and midsized companies reported a whopping 246 percent ROI.”\nStill not convinced? Keep reading.\nThe story of how Benjamin Hardy used small business email marketing to make $21,000 in one week\nBenjamin Hardy, an Inc. contributor, author, and Medium’s number one writer of all time, built an email list of 300,000 subscribers in two years. \nOne of his mentors told him: “Email your subscribers and tell them you’re offering coaching. Then get those who are interested on the phone for a 15 minute strategy call to determine fit.”\nHardy spent the next week on the phone with 150 people for 15 minutes each. Out of this group, seven people signed up for coaching at a price of $1,000 a month for a minimum commitment of three months. Doing the math, Hardy sold $21,000 of business in a week! And it all started with one email.\nOkay\n, you might be thinking, \ngood for them\n. Axios, Product Hunt, and Benjamin Hardy can all be successful, but what about me, a super-small business in a town NOT located in or around Silicon Valley?\nFollow these strategies and tactics to make an email strategy that works (well!) for you.\n4 tips to make small business email marketing work for you\nSet up a routine that makes email marketing easier for you. If the idea of sitting down and writing an email to your subscribers opens your mouth in a yawn like the Cave of Wonders, or you just have too much on your plate, make it easier on yourself by setting up a routine. Pick a consistent day of the week and a time (studies show subscribers prefer weekly regularity!), establish an outline and a template for the email, and let it flow. A weekly practice like this will reap massive financial rewards down the road.\nMake your email about the story, not the click. Provide value in every email. Avoid over-selling or promoting your products or services. Make it personal, relevant to the times, or interesting, not salesy. Our brains our wired for stories, so tell a story in your email. Don’t just focus on getting subscribers to click through—this is a short-term mindset that won’t last in the long run.\nAvoid common email formatting mistakes. Triple-check your links to make sure they work! Keep your emails short (~150 words) and avoid huge walls of text that are tough to read on a mobile device. Make sure everything is spelled right and correct all typos. Test your emails with a few teammates and get their feedback before sending to your main list.\nAutomate your email marketing. There are two sides of the spectrum you want to avoid: one, sending \nzero\n emails and two, sending \ntoo many\n bulk and generic emails. The key is to land in the middle—sending well-timed, personalized emails. \nLastly, one of the most powerful emails you can send your customer is a well-written thank you email after a customer shops at your store. \nOne final thought to leave you with: happy customers often don’t come back to your store. According to a Bain & Company study, 60-80% of customers who describe themselves as satisfied do not go back to do more business with the company that initially satisfied them. Why? \nOne Forbes writer says\n it’s because there is a lack of connection. \nCustomers forget. It’s natural. \nFor small business owners, email marketing is the best way to create a lasting connection that keeps customers coming back with smiles on their faces and cash in their hands. 

Why small business email marketing should be your top priority in 2022

In this article:\nBefore you start: what do you need to know about designing a website?\nHow to build your website\nBest practices for designing an effective business website\nAdditional resources for your online marketing strategy\nDesigning and building a website is an essential part of marketing your business online, even for super-small, one-person concerns. Think of your business website as an extension of your business or a 24/7 sales representative that is constantly feeding your information to potential customers. \nIf you don’t have a business website yet or want to create a new one, you’re in luck. We’re going to walk you through the basic steps of planning and designing your website. We’ll also provide additional resources to help along the way. \nBefore you start designing your website\nThe planning process is almost more important than actually building the website. Before you ever start designing your site, you should have a good idea of what you want it to look like, how you want your pages laid out, and what kind of content your site will have. \nWhat pages do you want on your website?\nContent is king. You can’t have a good or useful website if you don’t have relevant content that helps guide your visitors down the sales funnel. So what kind of content do you need? What pages will you have?\nThe kind of content that you have can really help guide the design of your site, too.\nCommon pages for a basic business website might include the following:\nHome \nAbout\nServices or products\nFAQ\nContact\nLocations\nBlog\nDetermine what kind of content you want on your website and start writing it up before you start designing your site. This will make the design process go much smoother if you have content to actually place on your site as you build it. \nYou may also like: \nImportant market research questions to ask your customers\nAs you think about the pages that you want, also be thinking about how to organize your site. What pages will you place in the main navigation? Will you have interlinking between pages for customers to have multiple ways to access a page?\nIf you’re not sure what to put on your website, check out other websites for businesses within your industry. \nWhat do you want your website to look like? \nIt’s always a good idea to think about what you want for the layout of your website before you start building it. This will guide you in the process and make it easier, rather than testing out every different option that your website builder has available (there are likely tens if not hundreds of different configurations to choose from). \nLook at other websites to see what elements you like. Do you want a big home page banner with a large image or video background? Do you like the accordion layout for an FAQ page? Do you want a contact form on your contact page? Do you prefer rounded pictures or straight edges? All of this will play into the look of your website. \nOne key thing to consider here: always keep your brand at the forefront of your design. Your website should feel like an extension of your business, so make sure it looks that way too. \nThink about the color scheme that you want that matches your brand. \nWhat materials/assets should you gather before putting your site together?\nBesides your written content, there are several other assets you may need to get together before you start building your website. \nThese include:\nLogo\nHigh-quality images\nProduct information\nVideos\nPDFs and other resource-type documents\nForms\nInfographics\nCharts\nAny other media you might want\nPick out your domain name\nIt’s always a good idea to at least have some domain names picked out for your website before you get started, even if you haven’t purchased them yet. \nSome website builders will let your purchase a domain through their platform with a subscription to their hosting fees. Or you may want to go through a third-party domain registrar like GoDaddy or BlueHost. \nTo see what domains are available, visit one of these third-party registrars or the website builder you intend to use and search for the domains that you want. They will show you what is available and provide alternatives if your first pick is not available. \nHow to design your simple business website\nOnce you have your site planned out, it’s time to start the design process. \nFirst, you’ll want to find a website builder that fits the needs of your business. There are several different options available here, but some of the easier (and cheaper) options are \nSquarespace\n and Wix. \nWant more options? Check this out: \n5 best DIY websites for small businesses on a budget\nA website builder is a platform that generally has prebuilt templates that you can choose from to build your website. Most templates are easy to customize to fit the design that you are looking to create. \nFor most website building platforms, you don’t even have to call anyone to get started. You just sign up on the platform you want, choose your template, and start designing. You’ll be able to easily add the sections that you want into your website and create new pages. \nWant a deeper look? Go here: \nHow to build your own business website (step-by-step walkthrough)\n  \nWhen you are done putting together your website on the platform that you choose, you may need to sign up for a subscription or pay for the web hosting and domain fees. So be sure to have your credit card handy in order to get your site launched quickly. \nBest practices for designing your own website\nWe have a few best practices to help guide you along your web design journey.\nKeep your domain name simple\nA long and hard-to-spell domain name is not going to provide a very friendly experience for your customers. Try to find something simple and easy to remember. This will also be useful for your business emails. \nMake sure your brand is prominent\nYou want your customers to recognize this new website as your business, your brand. Make sure your logo is loud and proud on your home page (it doesn’t have to be huge, but keep it prominent). \nAlso make sure that the colors, fonts, and other styles on your website are reminiscent of your brand. If you don’t have branding guidelines, now might be a good time to implement some. \nWrite unique content\nDon’t copy and paste content from other websites. You wouldn’t think we should have to say this, but you’d be surprised how often this happens. Unique content will help you develop the tone that you want to set with your customers. \nGoogle can also detect when you have content copied from other websites, and that could hurt your search engine visibility. If you’re not comfortable writing your own content, find a freelance writer or employee to help you out. \nUse high-quality images (and other media)\nMedia will help diversify your website and keep your audience engaged with your content. Images to click through and videos to watch help increase the engagement on your site. \nThat being said, make sure that you are using high-quality images. Blurry images and slow-loading videos are a sure way to lose some credibility with potential customers. You might want to make sure to have your site reviewed by a competent web developer to make sure it’s loading as quickly as possible.\nIf you can’t afford a professional photographer, that’s okay. Most phones can take images that have good quality for websites. And you can also look through free stock photo sites like \nUnsplash\n to find beautiful images. \nCheck these articles out for more info:\n7 free stock image sites for small businesses\n3 ways to get (and use) professional photos for your business\nKeep it clean and simple\nRemember that less is more. A busy website with too much information, or flashy images and videos, or—Zeus forbid—\nsounds\n on one page can quickly become overwhelming for your visitors. \nKeep your website well-organized so that your visitors can quickly find the information they are looking for. \nPay close attention to how you set up your navigation bar. Ask several people to try to find a particular part of your site during the design process. Pay attention to any hiccups or anything people find counterintuitive. \nMany times, website designers create great-looking sites but the user experience is so confusing as to make the entire website pointless from a business perspective.\nInclude a prominent CTA (call to action)\nWhy do you have a website in the first place? To provide more information for your customers, sure, but also to get more sales!\nMake sure that you have call-to-action prominently placed on your home page and contact page (at the very least) to help guide new customers down the sales funnel. \nThis could be a phone number in your header, a “call now” button, or a “book appointment” link that points to the contact page or your online scheduling app, or even “order now” if you have taken the time to \nset up your online store\n.\nAdditional resources for your online marketing strategy\nA website is just the first step (and a very important step at that) towards improving your online visibility. \nThere are several other things that you can and should be doing to help grow your reputation online and show up in the search engines. \nHere are a few resources that can help you get started:\n\nLocal SEO: 15 free tips for better search rankings\n\n\nHow to get more reviews\n\n

How to design a simple website for your small business

In this article:\nOptimize your Google Business listing\nImprove your local ranking on Google search results \nGet more attention from customers\nRank higher on Google Maps\nNews flash: even if you haven’t created or claimed your Google My Business listing, you probably already have one. \nThis is because Google (and other business review sites like Yelp, TripAdvisor, Facebook, and Foursquare) allows customers to post reviews and info about your business \neven if no official profile exists\n. \nIn other words, until you officially claim your pages, \npeople other than you\n have 100% control over how your business appears online.\nYet, despite the increasing importance of a robust online presence for even small, local businesses, at last count only 44% of Google My Business listing pages had been claimed. Unbelievable.\nIf you want to know how to make sure more people find your Google My Business listing, we recommend you start with these 5 steps.\n1. Claim and update your Google Business listing with current, correct information\nThe critical first step in learning how to improve your local ranking on Google My Business results is to—you guessed it—actually \nown\n your Google Business listing. As noted above, \nless than half\n of businesses have officially claimed their pages. Plus, research shows that businesses that claim their listings on multiple online business reviews sites make 58% more money!\nThe good news is, it’s free and relatively straightforward to claim yours. Click to read our detailed article on \nhow to claim your Google My Business listing\n.\nAfter you’ve claimed your listing (and we recommend you \nclaim your business pages\n on \nall\n the relevant review sites), be sure to complete all of the basic business info, including an accurate physical address, phone number(s), email address, website, and hours of operation.\nAlso, set a daily or weekly reminder to keep your info up-to-date. This may sound like a no-brainer, but you’d be surprised how many times we’ve found that this basic, yet critical online customer touchpoint is outdated or missing—phone number out of service, website down, email bouncing, location listed incorrectly or not at all, outdated reviews, and more.\nThere are few things more frustrating than when customers search a business online, decide to purchase, and go out of their way to travel to the place of business, only to find it's moved across town or it's closed for the day due to out-of-date information on the Google Business listing. \nWe’ve all been there. It sucks. Some of our staff have vowed never to patronize a business again after suffering such an inconvenience. We know—first world problems, right? But customers are fickle. Don’t give them that chance.\nNot to mention, when your info is complete and you keep your listing up to date, you improve your local ranking on Google search results and rank higher on Google Maps.\nNote: we said “website.” Sorry, but yes, you need a website. Squarespace or Wix make it pretty easy. You don’t need to have an online shopping basket or checkout process (although “order online, pick up in store” is trending very high and a growing number of retail stores and restaurants now use it). \nAs long as your website has some (correct) basic info about your business, some pretty pictures, and valid contact information, that will do until you have some more time and money to spend on a more robust website. Basically, people just want to see that you HAVE a website to make double sure your company is “legit.”\n2. Edit your Google Business listing to include quality photos\nA good Google My Business listing will include several high-quality photos of the exterior and interior of your business (if applicable), as well as relevant product photos if possible. \nThink about businesses that stand out to you when you conduct local searches. They almost certainly have eye-catching photos included. \nIf you’re not a shutterbug and you don’t know any teenagers going through their “photography” phase, consider hiring a professional for half a day (this is also a good opportunity to get some quality photos for your website). \n\nHigh-quality images of your location, products, or services can help you stand out in online searches.\nAsk for clear, high-resolution photos with size, composition, and color optimized for online thumbnail display. In addition to interior and exterior shots of your physical location, these might include photos of customers getting a haircut, autos being serviced, mouth-watering photos of your restaurant’s food and beverage offerings, happy pets being groomed, a display of the large selection of products you offer… you get the idea.\nMost people respond well to catchy visuals, and a small investment here can pay off in more engagement and better search rankings for your business.\n3. To outrank your local competition on Google My Business, add “next level” info\nIf you want to stand out online against your local competition, you should add “next level business info” to your Google listing. What we mean by this is to go beyond the absolute necessities listed above.\nNext level info might involve \nadding a current menu for a restaurant\n, completing the “optional” fields/descriptors such as “casual atmosphere,” “lots of parking,” “free WiFi,” “family friendly,” and any others, as well as including links to any online or scheduling options for salons, auto shops, groomers, restaurants, etc.\nThe more details and info you can include, the more ways there are for the web search engines to find and rank your listing well. In general, Google business profiles with an abundance of info look more appealing than bare-bones listings, even if the bare-bones ones also have a solid star rating.\n4. Your Google Business listing should include a short, inviting business description\nCurrently, Google allows space below the displayed reviews for businesses to post a short message or boilerplate.\nThis is your chance to play marketing copywriter or VP of Business Development. Try to condense all of your business’s qualities into two or three very clean, descriptive sentences. \nYou might refer to your “elevator pitch,” or your business’s mission statement or company vision. Ask someone you trust to proofread it and give you feedback.\nAdding a well-crafted description of your business, products, or services is an effective way to introduce yourself to your potential customers looking for you online, and can help improve engagement and accurate search results.\n5. Add replies to customers’ Google Business listing reviews\nIf a potential customer searches your business, Google displays your basic business profile, including any information you (or your customers) have completed. Google also displays the top three or four relevant reviews for your business as part of the basic profile display.\nThis can be a good thing, if the displayed reviews are 4 or 5 stars, or it might not be so great if you haven’t gotten many excellent reviews yet.\nThis highlights the vital importance of taking control of your business’s online reputation, even for small, local businesses.\nThe “star rating” is almost the first thing anyone sees when searching for businesses like yours in your area, and that rating is calculated by your Google reviews. Click to read our primers on \nhow to get more reviews\n.\nHowever, this goes one level deeper: if you click on the Google map included in your basic profile, or if you click on any of the reviews displayed there, you get a more in-depth listing of the reviews, \nincluding any of your replies to those reviews. \nThis is a fantastic and little-used opportunity for you to show your current and potential customers that you take their feedback seriously and are actively engaged in maintaining a beneficial dialogue with customers online. (Click to read our in-depth article on \nhow to respond to reviews\n.)\nIf you take the 5 basic steps outlined above, you will be well on your way to improving your local ranking on Google, ranking higher on Google Maps, and attracting and retaining more happy customers. 

The top 5 things every small business should include in their Google Business listing

In this article:\nIs listing services on Facebook Marketplace allowed?\nSelling products on Facebook Marketplace\nFacebook Marketplace is becoming a frequently visited platform and it allows individuals and businesses to browse, buy, and sell products to new audiences. Currently, more than 800 million people are using Facebook Marketplace each month.  \nThis makes it a great opportunity for businesses to sell their offerings and gain new business. But there are some caveats that business owners should be aware of. \nPlease note: this article is intended for informational purposes only. You should adhere to all terms of service for all online platforms you use. Please read and understand them.\nSelling services on Facebook Marketplace by boosting Facebook ads\nLet’s start with local services businesses. In an attempt to reach new audiences and gain brand awareness, many businesses may try putting together a Marketplace listing for one or all of their services. These will probably not be approved by Facebook. \nDespite what some articles out there may say about Facebook Marketplace allowing home services to be listed on its platform, Facebook has clearly stated that all services are against its commerce policies. \nAccording to the social media giant, “All listings on Marketplace must comply with our \nCommerce Policies\n (which list what you can sell on Facebook) and our \nCommunity Standards\n (such as images and descriptions).”\n(Image)\n\nSo, you’re not likely to make it far if you try listing your services on Facebook Marketplace. And we recommend that you don’t even try, because the more you try to do something against Facebook’s policies, the more you risk getting your privileges on Facebook revoked. \nHow to show your services on Facebook Marketplace\nAll that being said, there are still ways that you can advertise your local services business on Facebook Marketplace, even if you can’t place an actual listing there. (Of course, you should always conform to the rules of any platform.)\nFacebook has several different options for advertising your content on its platform, but one way that you can get placements for your ads in the Marketplace is by boosting a post from your Facebook page. \nBoosting a post is a quick way to set up an ad on Facebook without having to set up an Ads Manager account. You can do this right from your business’s Facebook page. \nFirst, create a post about your services that you can boost to new audiences. Video content has the opportunity to get more placements and it generally has higher engagement rates, but you can reach Marketplace with general images and text too. \nNext, publish your post on your Facebook page and click “Boost Post” on the bottom right corner of your published post. \n(Image)\n\nThen, fill out all of the settings for your boosted post. This includes:\nChoosing the button label that you want on your ad and the exact URL that you want the post to link to\nSetting up a special ad category (if applicable)\nChoosing your audience\nSetting the duration and budget\nSelecting your goal (this generally defaults to “Automatic” and that’s fine)\nSet your placements (this allows you to include your ads on Instagram and Messenger if you want to, and if you have an Instagram account linked to your Facebook page)\nPayment method\n(Image)\n\n(Image)\n\nAfter all of your settings are filled out, you can click the option to preview your ads in all of the different placements that Facebook allows. This will include:\nFacebook news feed on desktop and mobile\nInstant articles\nFacebook in-stream video on desktop and mobile (if you have video content)\nSuggested videos on desktop and mobile (if you have video content)\nFacebook Stories\nMarketplace on desktop and mobile (this is the entire goal, right?) \nMarketplace search results on mobile\nGeneral search results on desktop and mobile\nWhen you are satisfied, click “Boost Post Now” and monitor your post as it starts to show up for more and more potential customers. \nSelling products on Facebook Marketplace\nWhile selling products on Facebook Marketplace is allowed for businesses, there are some products that are not allowed that we want to bring your attention to. \nThere’s the general “no drugs, drug paraphernalia, alcohol, gambling, sexual content” rule, but there are some other items that Facebook has listed as prohibited in its Commerce Policies. \nOther items that you might not have known about that are against Facebook’s Commerce Policies:\nAnimals and animal parts (however products for animals like cages, toys, collars, etc. are fine)\nHazardous good and materials, including chemical pesticides and flammable/combustible substances\nIngestible supplements, including vitamins, protein bars, and protein powder\nMedical and healthcare products\nSubscriptions and digital products\nWeapons, ammunition, and explosives\nEvents or admissions tickets\nGift cards and vouchers\nThis is not a comprehensive list, it just includes items that are not generally frowned upon. For Facebook’s full Commerce Policies, \ngo here\n. \nIf you’ve determined your products are not against Facebook’s policies, then go forth and sell! \nWe have just the guide to get you started: \nFacebook Marketplace step by step: how to get set up and list items\nAnother quick note about Facebook Marketplace if you aren’t familiar with the ins and outs of it all: Facebook Marketplace is not an ecommerce platform. There is no exchange of currency or shipping options for general listings. A general listing allows you to display your product in Marketplace so that customers can then choose to come into your store to make the exchange. In order to have ecommerce capabilities, you’ll need to set up a shop on your Facebook page (this is also explained in our \nguide\n above.) \nTips and best practices for selling your products on Facebook Marketplace\nAs you set up your product listings, you’ll want to take special care to set them apart from the hundreds or thousands of other listings from individuals and businesses. \nUse these best practices to guide you along:\nUse professional photos on your listings. You can take good quality photos with your phone, or if you have professional product photos available, use those! Before posting, ask another person if the photos look professional\nInclude helpful descriptions of the products. Don’t just list the name of the product, list the details that people are looking for: size, dimensions, weight, color, etc. (depending on the product)\nList the actual price. Don’t just list $1 or $123 to get people’s attention. They want to know what the actual price of your products are\nAlways have a second person take a look at the listing before posting it. They can help check for spelling and grammar errors and give you a second opinion on how the post looks. \n

191 articles found in “Learning”

Credit card processing fees: what small businesses need to know

8 reasons why your hair or nail salon needs online scheduling

Why small business email marketing should be your top priority in 2022

How to design a simple website for your small business

The top 5 things every small business should include in their Google Business listing

Can I list services on Facebook Marketplace? (tips to get noticed)

Recommended

How to spot fake online reviews

25 free business listing websites every small or local business should be on (Updated for 2022!)

How much does it cost to rent space for a small business?

The 6 elements of an effective customer loyalty program

Important market research questions to ask before starting a new business