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“We’re expecting engagement without creating an environment people actually want to engage in.” MOVE Like This With Bonnie Buol Ruszczyk For CPA Trendlines Research Go PRO for members-only access to more Bonnie Buol Ruszczyk. View the full article

“We’re expecting engagement without creating an environment people actually want to engage in.” MOVE Like This With Bonnie Buol Ruszczyk For CPA Trendlines Research Go PRO for members-only access to more Bonnie Buol Ruszczyk. View the full article

We’ve been flooded with generative engine optimization (GEO) advice over the last couple of years – from checklists for AI citations to signal frameworks and technical guides explaining how to structure content for large language models. Most GEO advice converges around the same idea: If you want to be visible in AI-generated answers, you need to be structured, authoritative, and easy to extract. In my opinion, even though this information is extremely valuable and valid, it’s still incomplete if your brand is already positioning itself for a future where AI-generated answers dominate search. What this entire layer of advice assumes is that your brand is already eligible for consideration if it ticks those three boxes. But what most brands ignore is that they’re not even eligible to be considered in the first place. The invisible layer most GEO advice skips Traditional SEO has conditioned us to think of visibility as a function of ranking, where the objective is to position a page as high as possible for a given query, under the assumption that higher visibility leads to more clicks and, ultimately, better business outcomes. As AI-driven search experiences have evolved, many have adopted this thinking, replacing “ranking” with “being cited” or “being included in answers,” without questioning whether the underlying system still operates the same way. AI systems do much more than ranking and summarizing information: They filter, reduce, and select entities based on four basic signals. Before any comparison of options takes place, the system first determines which entities are eligible for consideration. That layer is almost entirely missing from GEO discussions, and it’s where many brands risk exclusion. The result is a false optimization sequence: brands invest in extractability before clarity and build credibility signals while their entity identity remains ambiguous. For instance, they write FAQ content for a stage they haven’t qualified for yet. In practice, this creates two distinct thresholds. Qualification, where an entity becomes eligible to enter a candidate set. Selection, where only a subset of those entities is actually included in the final answer. Your customers search everywhere. Make sure your brand shows up. The SEO toolkit you know, plus the AI visibility data you need. Start Free Trial Get started with From pages to entities: The measurement of competition has changed While traditional SEO optimizes pages for ranking, AI systems select entities for inclusion. Entities are the named products, ideas, concepts, and brands that form the underpinning for Google’s Knowledge Graph, or the way its search understands the relationships between things. Once we accept that entities outweigh pages in AI’s final decision, we can see this is a structural shift, not an incremental one. It changes the unit — or “metric” — of competition. A page can rank well in search results and still fail to represent a clearly defined, consistently understood entity. From a search engine’s perspective, the page meets the criteria for visibility. From an AI system’s perspective, the entity behind that page may still be ambiguous, weakly associated with a topic, or insufficiently confirmed across the web. This is why it’s increasingly common to see companies that perform well in Google fail to appear in AI-generated answers for the same queries. Let’s look closer at qualification vs. selection and what each threshold requires. Qualification: Can the system identify and associate you? At the qualification stage, an AI system is effectively asking two questions: Can this entity be clearly identified? Is this entity strongly associated with the topic? If a brand is inconsistently defined — using different descriptions across platforms, appearing under slightly different name variants, or only loosely connected to a subject area — it will struggle to pass this first threshold. The system may “know” it exists in some form, but that knowledge is too ambiguous or poorly defined to include in a candidate set. Clarity: Are you identified as a distinct entity? Clarity means that any machine — be it a search engine or an LLM — can look at your name and clearly establish a relationship between you/your brand and the business/topic you are associated with. It’s actually an easy problem to fix, but one many brands overlook. Let me use my own case as an example: I have a common name, shared by hundreds, if not thousands, of other women, most of whom have some online presence and some of whom are relevant in their fields. As an SEO and GEO consultant, this was an issue for my brand’s visibility. My issue was never a lack of presence online, but a lack of distinction. With so many people named Mariana Franco, both search engines and AI systems were repeatedly mixing signals from different individuals, making it difficult to consolidate a single, coherent entity. I noticed, however, that the “Maryanna” spelling variant of my name was uncommon. Thus, changing my professional spelling from Mariana to Maryanna became an unavoidable disambiguation strategy so that my brand could be understood by search engines and LLMs. The change created a clearer, more distinctive identity that could be consistently recognized across systems. But apart from changing the spelling of my name, I also had to apply that spelling consistently across my website, profiles, and external references, so that all signals pointed to the same entity rather than competing variations. The results became visible in seven days for search engines and 10 days for LLMs. The system no longer had to reconcile multiple similar identities, making it easier to associate the correct signals with a single person. Me! In this case, the limiting factor was clarity. Not content volume, links, or a lack of activity, but the fact that the entity itself was too easy to confuse with others. Once that ambiguity was reduced and the signals became consistent, the system could process and reinforce the entity more effectively. Relevance: Are you associated with your topic? Relevance asks whether the system associates your brand with the topic being queried: not whether you have a page about it (typical ranking for keywords), but whether the broader web connects you to it consistently. This comes from topic clustering — what entities and subjects is your brand mentioned alongside on the web — content depth — does your brand demonstrate deep knowledge of your topic through specialized articles and web mentions, or are you scattering your content thinly across several sources — and context signals — whether your brand appears consistently alongside recognized names in your field that then transfer relevance to you. Selection: Can the system confidently recommend you? Once qualified, a brand enters the candidate set for search engines and LLMs. This is where the GEO advice most people are already following finally applies. Credibility: Do other sources corroborate you? Having a powerful About page is the first great asset that can help you to get your brand properly positioned, but how can Google or ChatGPT be certain that you are telling the truth? The answer: credibility. Credibility asks whether sources beyond your own website confirm what you say about yourself. Any brand can write a compelling About page and make claims about itself, but AI systems need corroboration. They look for multiple independent sources that say consistent things about you. This is where PR strategy, social media, and SEO converge to produce your brand’s AI visibility. Press coverage, podcast appearances, industry reports, award listings, and analyst mentions became corroboration signals that move you from the recognition set to the selection set. I’ve found that podcast appearances seem particularly undervalued here. That’s because most podcasts are transcribed and published. That transcript becomes indexed content that mentions your name, your company, and your specialization in a context that signals expertise, independent of anything you published yourself. Extractability: Can your content be used to generate an answer? Extractability determines whether you get cited once you’re in the candidate set, or whether a competitor does instead. It basically asks: Can an AI system isolate a piece of your content and produce a confident, useful answer from it? A lot of brand content is optimized for human engagement with long intros, buried answers, hedged claims, and dense paragraphs that rely on surrounding context. That type of content is hard for AI to contextualize, so AI will instead use non-branded content, which you have much less control over. The fix for this problem is reformatting your branded content to be more AI-friendly: Put the answer first, not after a three-paragraph introduction. Use proper heading hierarchy to make the structure easy and apparent. Write short, self-contained paragraphs that make sense when lifted out of context. If a sentence could appear word-for-word in an AI response and still make sense, that is extractable. If it only makes sense within the full article, it won’t travel. Get the newsletter search marketers rely on. See terms. Testing a query in Google and AI When testing a query containing the word “best” such as “best ecommerce PPC agency UK,” we can clearly see the gap between search and AI-generated replies. In Google, the results typically include a mix of agencies, directories, and editorial content, meaning that a company like Lever Digital can rank high if it has strong landing pages and relevant supporting content. However, when testing the same query in an AI tool like Perplexity, the answer is much narrower and only a handful of agencies are mentioned, such as Impression, Genie Goals, or Brainlabs, while Lever Digital, despite its visibility in search, isn’t included. Google typically distributes visibility across pages that match the query and intent. When the query or intent is ambiguous, Google will explore the topic with the user, showing different brands and types of pages that fulfill different intents. Google distributes visibility and has space for everyone as long as they are indexed and somehow match the search. LLMs, on the other hand, select entities that not only match the topic but also match the intent and are verified. An AI system will not evaluate the entire web and every page that appears in Google’s indexed pages. Their “thought process” starts with a smaller set of entities that have already passed a threshold of clarity and relevance, and only then applies additional signals before deciding what to include in the final answer. If an entity doesn’t make it into that initial group, it’s never part of the comparison at all. Recognition isn’t a recommendation. Our job is to close the gap. There is a useful distinction that clarifies where most brands currently stand: Does AI simply know what your brand does? Or does it trust you enough to confidently suggest you on its answers? AI systems can recognize far more entities than they are willing to recommend. If you ask a system directly about a specific brand, it may provide a reasonable description if it has some level of knowledge (whether this is through its learned data or live search). But when asked a broader question, such as “best ecommerce PPC agency UK,” that requires selecting a set of options, that same brand may not appear at all . So, while recognition (clarity + relevance) gets you into the system, recommendation (credibility + extractibility) gets you into the answer. It’s simple to test whether your brand is being recommended. Simply ask the AI, “What is [your brand]?” Then, follow up with, “What is the best [your category] for [your ideal customer]?” If the first question returns a reasonable answer and the second doesn’t include your brand, you’re recognized but not recommended. The LLM can understand the relationship between your brand and what it does, but you haven’t passed the selection threshold. The gap between these two states isn’t bridged by producing more content. This is where many brands make a critical mistake that unintentionally decreases their clarity and relevance. They try to tackle too many topics in an attempt to “rank for everything,” which ends up thinning their content. Instead of writing more content, brands should align how they are defined, referenced, and structured across the entire web so that when a system asks not just what exists, but what should be recommended, the answer is already clear. The right optimization sequence from recognition to selection Most GEO advice treats entity clarity as an afterthought, if it considers it at all. Often, one of the most important clarity resources is handled by the HR of the management team: the About page. And then it’s usually treated as if it’s just a glorified PR press release. When SEO does take it into consideration, it’s usually a low-priority task with little effort behind it. The typical sequence goes: fix technical foundations, restructure content for extractability, add schema, and build external mentions. This process just assumes that the system can already clearly identify your brand as a distinct entity. However, for many brands, that assumption is false, and no amount of FAQ schema or press coverage fixes it. The problem is that selection tactics compound on top of a qualified entity. They do very little if the entity itself is ambiguous or inconsistently defined. The correct sequence is: Clarity → Relevance → Credibility → Extractability Clarity and relevance are qualification signals: They determine whether you enter the candidate set at all. If you fail here, you will be filtered out before any comparison happens. Credibility and extractability are selection signals: They determine how likely you are to be chosen once you’re in the candidate set. Fix qualification first. After that, every PR effort, schema, and FAQ you add compounds faster once the system can clearly identify and associate your entity. LLM responseQualificationSelectionPriority fix“Never heard” FailN/AClarity, Relevance“Describes you vaguely” Pass FailCredibility/Extractability“Recommends you” Pass PassMaintain The three questions to use to audit your brand visibility Before investing further in selection tactics, you can run this test across ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Claude. Note, this test is useful for both personal and corporate brands: “Who/What is [your brand]?” → This tests for brand clarity. “What does [your brand] do?” → This tests for brand relevance. “Best [your category] for [your ideal customer]?” → This tests for AI selection and extractibility. If the first two questions return vague or hedged answers (typically including “possibly,” “might be,” “could refer to”), you have a qualification problem. In this case, start with fixing clarity and relevance before anything else. If the first two return confident answers but the third doesn’t include you, your qualification is working, but your selection signals need strengthening, which means your brand needs to work on its credibility and extractability. If all three return strong results, you understand what’s working. Protect it, and track it regularly. How to start getting into the selection pool If you’re not appearing in AI recommendations for your category, the highest-leverage starting points are almost always the same: name consistency, definition, and your About page. Step 1: Brand name consistency Audit how your brand name appears across every platform you control: your website, LinkedIn, Google Business Profile, directories, and press mentions. Choose one canonical version and use it consistently everywhere, with both a short and long version. This may sound trivial, but name inconsistency is the most common clarity failure I encounter — and the easiest to fix. Step 2: An About page that answers basic questions Once you choose the canonical version of your name and description, write your About Page as a fact sheet. Answer these five questions in plain, structured language: Who you are, what you do, who you serve, where you’re based, and what makes you distinct. Make it the clearest, most machine-readable description of your entity that exists anywhere on the web. Tip: You can then run your About page text through a natural language processing (NLP) tool to get the best version possible. Step 3: Make sure you add schema for proper structure Add Organization schema with sameAs properties linking to your canonical profiles elsewhere. This formally introduces your entity to AI systems and reduces ambiguity across sources. These three steps are the basis of clarity and the foundation for your brand qualification. Once this is done, everything else just builds up. See the complete picture of your search visibility. Track, optimize, and win in Google and AI search from one platform. Start Free Trial Get started with The future of AI visibility belongs to qualified entities As AI systems improve, the gap between qualification and selection will likely grow. These systems are getting better at filtering noise, more conservative about what they include, and more dependent on consistent, corroborated signals when generating responses. Producing content in bulk on your own website may have been — and may still be — important for topical authority, but it won’t succeed in this AI environment, especially without clarity. Success in this environment will come first from aligning how a brand is understood across the web: clearly defined, consistently referenced, externally confirmed, and structured in a way LLMs can use. View the full article

Americans paid more for their groceries last month, but high gasoline prices resulting from the Iran war were only one of the reasons why. Prices for food eaten at home rose 2.9% in April compared to the same month a year earlier, according to government figures released Tuesday. That was the highest year-over-year inflation rate for the category since August 2023. Prices at restaurants, fast-food chains and other places to get prepared meals also increased, putting overall food prices up 3.2% in the last year, the Labor Department’s consumer price index showed. Fuel prices have soared while the Iran war prevents cargo ships from passing through the Strait of Hormuz, a vital corridor for global oil supplies. Diesel fuel powers fishing boats, tractors and the trucks that ship 83% of U.S. agricultural products. As of Tuesday, the average price per gallon was up 61% from a year ago, according to AAA. The meat, produce and dry goods vendors that supply Sparrow Market, a small independent grocer in Ann Arbor, Michigan, all added fuel surcharges to their deliveries in recent weeks, owner Raymond Campise said. Wholesale prices for meat, produce and some other products also have gone up, he said. “For independent markets operating on narrow margins, even small increases can have a major impact,” Campise said. The full impact of rising energy costs on food likely has not hit retail grocery prices yet in the U.S., according to Purdue University economists Ken Foster and Bernhard Dalheimer. Higher costs to produce, process, store and transport food can take three to six months to show up on supermarket shelves, where prices typically fall slowly once increased, they said. “Most of what we’re seeing now in the food price chain probably predates the conflict,” Foster, a professor of agricultural economics, said. “We’re cautiously waiting to see what the June numbers and the May numbers might show as they come out in terms of … the extent to which energy shocks in the Strait of Hormuz and shipping blockades and so forth are going to impact food prices.” The consumer price index measures changes in what people in U.S. cities paid at retail stores for meat, bread, milk, produce and other grocery staples. Over the last 20 years, grocery prices increased an average of 2.6%, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Prices for perishable and refrigerated products tend to increase faster than prices for packaged goods when energy is an issue. Consumers paid 6.5% more for fresh fruit and vegetables in U.S. cities last month than they did in April 2025, and 8.8% more for meat, the Labor Department reported. But U.S. trade policies and extreme weather also have weighed on U.S. food prices in the last year. In July 2025, the The President administration imposed a 17% duty on fresh tomatoes imported from Mexico; consumer prices rose 40% in the 12 months before April. Dry weather in the Western U.S. has been one of many factors pushing up beef prices, which in April were 15% higher year-over-year. Coffee prices were up 18.5%, partly due to drought and other weather conditions that have hurt global coffee production in recent years. “Today’s CPI showed that food prices have been rising 3.2 percent in the past year, but the story behind that number is more complicated than just an energy shock,” said Dalheimer, an assistant professor of macroeconomics and trade in Purdue’s Department of Agricultural Economics. Prices for some foods remained more or less flat or declined over 12 months. Milk and chicken dipped slightly. Butter cost 5.8% less in April than it did a year earlier. Egg prices fell 39% as farmers rebuilt flocks that were decimated by an ongoing bird flu outbreak. Food prices and broader inflation are likely to feature prominently in November’s midterm elections. During his 2024 campaign, President Donald The President often cited the prices of bacon, cereal, crackers and other groceries as reasons why voters should return him to the White House. Some food producers say they’re struggling now because of higher fuel costs. The Southern Shrimp Alliance, which represents shrimpers in eight states, said some boats haven’t left the dock this spring because they can’t catch enough shrimp to compensate for the cost of diesel. Fuel typically makes up 30% to 50% of the costs for U.S. shrimpers, but because they supply only 6% of the shrimp that Americans consume, they have limited ability to raise prices or add surcharges for fuel, the organization said. Higher fuel prices may also be impacting food costs in other ways. Part of April’s 5% annual increase in prices for nonalcoholic beverages may be due to the petroleum derivative that goes into making plastic bottles, Foster said. “It’s possible some of that’s starting to seep down the supply chain and get into those prices,” he said. Over the next year or more, Americans could also see higher food prices due to spiking fertilizer costs, since around 30% of the world’s fertilizer travels through the Strait of Hormuz. Fertilizer costs are less of an issue for U.S. farmers this year, since many already had fertilizer supplies in place before the war began, according to Foster. But the effects could become more noticeable next year if the war drags on, he said. “I expect the Iran conflict to impact the coming years’ food prices through a couple of channels. One, the energy costs and transportation handling. The other would be through packaging costs,” Foster said. “If the conflict were to last longer, then we might see more coming online as fertilizer prices start to impact longer-term planting decisions and cropping decisions.” —Dee-Ann Durbin, AP Business Writer View the full article

The Wendy’s Company could go private if billionaire Nelson Peltz has anything to say about it. The Trian Fund Management cofounder is looking for outside investors to help with a takeover of Wendy’s, the Financial Times reports. The news isn’t exactly surprising—in February, Trian used its regulatory filing to announce it might sell its stake or attempt a takeover of Wendy’s. Peltz and Trian currently own a 16% stake in Wendy’s, along with the Peltz family’s minority stake in a New York-area Wendy’s franchise owner. Peltz’s son, Bradley Peltz, and Trian cofounder and president Peter May are also on the board of Wendy’s. Fast Company reached out to Trian and Wendy’s for comment. Shares of The Wendy’s Company (Nasdaq: WEN) rose almost 17% yesterday on the news but the stock was essentially flat in premarket trading on Wednesday. Accounting for yesterday’s boost, the stock is down roughly 33% over the past 12 months. Taking major retail chains private is not a new strategy. In recent years, Denny’s, Walgreens, and Barnes & Noble have all gone private. What’s going on at Wendy’s? Like many fast-food restaurants, Wendy’s has been struggling. On May 8, the company released first-quarter results that beat analysts’ estimates but saw disappointments like a 7.8% drop in U.S. same-restaurant sales. It also reported a net loss of 174 U.S. restaurants over the last two quarters. Wendy’s did see 3.3% revenue growth year-over-year (YOY), with its international stores (1,446 locations compared to 5,805 in the U.S.) seeing more success. The fast food company announced that it will launch up to 1,000 locations across China in the next decade. In October, Wendy’s announced Project Fresh, a turnaround plan that includes brand revitalization, system optimization, and capital allocation, among other changes to drive growth and profits. On an investor call the following month, Wendy’s further elaborated on a plan that would also include the closure of hundreds of U.S. locations. In its most recent report, Wendy’s interim CEO Ken Cook expressed confidence in the plan, stating, “While our first quarter results reflect a business in the early stages of a turnaround, we are making progress to improve our U.S. business and are confident in the direction we are heading.” Wendy’s has yet to comment on Trian’s potential bid, but it said in February that it would “carefully evaluate” one if it appeared. View the full article

An online loyalty program is a digital strategy designed to reward customers for their continued engagement with a brand. Typically, you earn points for purchases, referrals, or social media interactions, and these points can be exchanged for discounts or exclusive offers. By creating an account, you enable brands to track your behavior, which helps tailor promotions to your preferences. Comprehending how these programs operate can provide valuable insights into their effectiveness and impact on your shopping experience. Key Takeaways An online loyalty program rewards customers for repeat purchases or brand engagement, often through points, discounts, or exclusive offers. Customers create accounts to accumulate points based on their spending, referrals, or social media interactions. Rewards can be redeemed for discounts, free products, or special offers, enhancing the shopping experience. Businesses gain insights into customer behavior, allowing for tailored marketing strategies and personalized promotions. Successful programs improve customer retention and spending, fostering brand loyalty and emotional connections with customers. Understanding Online Loyalty Programs As you navigate the domain of online shopping, grasping online loyalty programs can improve your experience and savings. Digital loyalty programs reward you for repeat purchases or engagement with a brand, typically offering points, discounts, or exclusive online offers. To join an online loyalty program, you usually provide some personal information and receive a unique identifier that tracks your purchases and accumulated rewards. These programs are designed to integrate seamlessly into your shopping experience, encouraging frequent purchases as well as nurturing brand loyalty. The points you earn can often be easily redeemed for rewards directly through the brand’s website or app, enhancing convenience. Furthermore, brands gain valuable insights into your behavior and preferences through these programs, which can inform their marketing strategies and product offerings. Grasping how these online loyalty programs work can help you make the most of your shopping experience and maximize your savings. How Online Loyalty Programs Operate Online loyalty programs operate by allowing you to create an account where you can accumulate points or rewards for various activities, such as making purchases, referring friends, or engaging on social media. As you spend, you typically earn points based on a point-per-dollar spent model. Once you reach a specific threshold, these points can be redeemed for discounts, free products, or exclusive offers. Most programs utilize digital platforms, enabling you to track your points, view available rewards, and receive personalized offers through emails or app notifications. Moreover, many online loyalty programs integrate seamlessly with e-commerce platforms and customer relationship management (CRM) systems, helping businesses analyze your behavior and preferences for targeted marketing. Successful programs often emphasize user-friendly interfaces and gamification elements, enhancing engagement and making the process of earning and redeeming rewards enjoyable and straightforward for you. Benefits of Online Loyalty Programs Online loyalty programs offer significant benefits that can improve your shopping experience. By encouraging repeat purchases and increasing brand engagement, these programs help you feel more connected to your favorite brands. Furthermore, they provide businesses with valuable insights into consumer behavior, allowing for more personalized promotions that can further boost your satisfaction and loyalty. Increased Repeat Purchases Loyalty programs play a crucial role in encouraging repeat purchases by providing customers with tangible rewards for their loyalty. When you participate in these programs, you’re more likely to return and make additional purchases. Here are some key benefits: Increased Spending: Customers enrolled in loyalty programs typically spend 12-18% more per transaction than non-members. Higher Retention Rates: Loyalty program members are 60% more likely to return for repeat purchases, enhancing customer retention. Profitability Boost: A 5% increase in customer retention can lead to up to a 95% increase in profitability over time. Enhanced Brand Engagement When you participate in a loyalty program, you’re not just earning rewards; you’re furthermore deepening your connection with the brand. These programs improve brand engagement by offering personalized rewards that cater to your preferences, considerably increasing customer retention rates. By allowing you to earn points through various interactions, like engaging on social media, you become more invested in the brand. The gamification aspect, where you accumulate points for purchases and activities, makes your shopping experience more enjoyable and encourages you to interact more frequently. Research indicates that 85% of consumers feel loyalty programs increase their shopping likelihood, highlighting their importance in cultivating a strong connection between you and the brand, ultimately improving your overall experience. Valuable Consumer Insights Grasping consumer behavior is essential for businesses aiming to thrive in a competitive market, and online loyalty programs provide a wealth of insights that can drive strategic decisions. By tracking customer behavior and preferences, these programs allow you to tailor your marketing strategies effectively. Here are three key insights you can gain: Segmentation: Data analytics helps you segment customers, enabling personalized offers that resonate with individual interests. Motivations: Research shows 85% of consumers feel loyalty programs improve their likelihood of shopping with a brand, revealing important customer motivations. Trends: Analyzing participation helps identify spending trends, informing product development and promotional strategies. Boosting Customer Retention With Loyalty Programs Loyalty programs are key to boosting customer retention by encouraging repeat purchases and enhancing brand loyalty. When you offer attainable rewards, customers aren’t just more likely to return but furthermore spend considerably more than new customers. Moreover, these programs provide valuable insights into consumer preferences, allowing you to tailor your offerings and improve overall satisfaction. Increased Repeat Purchases Implementing an online loyalty program can greatly improve your business’s ability to encourage repeat purchases, as customers respond positively to incentives that reward their loyalty. By creating an effective program, you can see a significant increase in your sales. Here are three ways to boost repeat purchases: Offer Points for Every Purchase: Reward customers with points for each transaction, making it easy for them to accumulate rewards. Ensure Easy Redemption: Provide rewards that can be redeemed within 30 days, encouraging quicker action and repeat buying behavior. Engage with Regular Promotions: Keep at least 80% of transactions eligible for points, maintaining high engagement and retention rates. These strategies can lead to increased customer spending and loyalty, in the end driving your business growth. Enhanced Brand Loyalty Building on the strategies for increasing repeat purchases, enhancing brand loyalty through online loyalty programs is a crucial aspect of customer retention. By offering rewards and personalized offers, you create stronger emotional connections with your customers. Research shows that 85% of consumers prefer brands with loyalty programs, and a mere 5% increase in retention can lead to a staggering 95% boost in profitability. Key Elements Benefits Importance Rewards Structure Encourages repeat purchases Drives customer loyalty User Experience Easy engagement and redemption Improves shopping satisfaction Data Analytics Optimizes rewards Guarantees relevance to customers These elements work together to solidify brand loyalty, ultimately enhancing customer lifetime value. Valuable Consumer Insights Grasping consumer behavior is essential for any business looking to improve customer retention, and online loyalty programs can provide invaluable insights into this area. By tracking customer behavior, preferences, and spending patterns, you can develop customized marketing strategies. Here are three key benefits of these insights: Identify Key Segments: Analyzing loyalty program data helps you pinpoint specific customer segments, allowing for customized rewards that resonate with their interests. Enhance Engagement: Recognizing purchasing trends enables you to adjust your inventory and marketing strategies to better meet customer demands. Boost Retention Rates: Companies effectively using loyalty programs can see customer retention rates increase by 5% to 95%, greatly improving profitability. Utilizing these insights can create stronger connections with your customers. Enhancing Customer Relationships Through Rewards Online loyalty programs serve as a potent tool for enhancing customer relationships, particularly when they offer personalized rewards that resonate with individual purchasing habits. By providing customized incentives, you can greatly boost customer retention rates—up to 95% with just a 5% increase in loyalty. When customers receive rewards aligned with their interests, they feel valued, which can lead to increased customer lifetime value. Engaging customers through meaningful rewards cultivates emotional connections, encouraging them to advocate for your brand through word-of-mouth marketing. In addition, utilizing data-driven insights from loyalty programs allows you to better understand customer preferences, enabling targeted marketing strategies that heighten satisfaction. Providing accessible and easy-to-redeem rewards creates a seamless experience, encouraging customers to return and solidifying their loyalty to your brand. Differentiating Your Brand With Loyalty Programs Though many brands compete for customer loyalty, implementing a well-structured loyalty program can set you apart from the competition. By offering customized rewards that resonate with your customers, you cultivate deeper emotional connections and brand affinity. Here are three effective strategies to differentiate your brand: Tiered Loyalty Systems: By incentivizing higher spending, you can boost customer retention by up to 20%, encouraging customers to engage more with your brand. Gamification Elements: Incorporating game-like experiences can improve engagement considerably, with studies showing participation rates can increase by as much as 50%. Personalized Offers: Leveraging data analytics guarantees that 80% of transactions qualify for points, maintaining customer engagement and satisfaction. Effectively communicating the benefits of your loyalty program through social media and email marketing can likewise increase sign-ups by over 30%, further solidifying your brand’s unique position in the market. Types of Online Loyalty Programs A well-structured loyalty program can take many forms, each designed to promote customer retention and drive sales. For instance, tiered loyalty programs reward customers based on their spending, allowing them to access various levels of perks, which encourages them to spend more. Subscription-based programs, like Amazon Prime, offer immediate benefits for a monthly or annual fee, motivating customers to shop more often to get the most out of their investment. Moreover, value-based loyalty programs connect rewards to charitable causes, appealing to customers who want their purchases to contribute to social impact, as demonstrated by brands like Ben & Jerry’s. Finally, coalition loyalty programs let customers accumulate points across multiple brands, enhancing their experience by providing a wider range of redemption options and nurturing loyalty across different companies. Each type of program has unique features that cater to various customer preferences and purchasing behaviors. Points-Based Loyalty Programs How do points-based loyalty programs work to improve customer engagement? These programs reward you for each purchase or action, like sharing on social media, allowing you to earn points that can be redeemed for discounts and exclusive offers. This system not only improves your shopping experience but also encourages you to return to the brand. Easy Accumulation: You typically earn points at a consistent rate, such as one point per dollar spent, making it straightforward to track your rewards. Incentives for Higher Spending: Many programs offer bonus points during promotional periods or on specific products, motivating you to shop more frequently. Brand Loyalty: Research indicates that 85% of consumers prefer shopping with brands offering loyalty programs, underscoring their effectiveness in promoting repeat business. Starbucks Rewards is a successful example, allowing customers to earn stars that can be exchanged for free drinks and food items. Tiered Loyalty Programs Tiered loyalty programs structure rewards into different levels, encouraging you to spend more to reveal better benefits. As you climb the tiers, you gain access to exclusive perks like special discounts and early sale access, which can improve your overall shopping experience. Comprehending how these tiers work can help you maximize your rewards and engagement with the brand. Structure of Tiers When customers engage in a tiered loyalty program, they find themselves categorized into different levels based on their spending habits or overall engagement with the brand. This structure typically includes three to five tiers, each with specific requirements to access greater benefits. Here are some common elements of tier structures: Point Thresholds: Each tier requires a certain number of points or spending amount to advance, encouraging increased purchases. Exclusive Perks: Higher tiers offer better rewards, such as exclusive discounts, faster point accumulation, or early access to products. Motivation to Engage: As customers progress through tiers, they experience a sense of achievement, driving them to maintain or improve their engagement with the brand. Benefits of Tier Levels One of the key advantages of tier levels in loyalty programs is the structured way they incentivize customer engagement and spending. By offering various levels of rewards based on your spending, these programs motivate you to increase your purchases to reach higher tiers. Research shows that this approach can boost customer engagement by 20%. As you ascend tiers, you often gain access to exclusive perks like personalized offers, priority service, and special event invitations, enhancing your overall experience. Furthermore, tiered systems can increase customer retention by up to 30%, as you feel a sense of achievement when reaching higher status levels. Effective tiered programs reward not just spending but in addition encourage engagement, motivating you to interact with the brand in diverse ways. Subscription-Based Loyalty Programs Subscription-based loyalty programs have gained popularity as businesses recognize their potential to improve customer engagement and drive revenue. These programs require you to pay a recurring fee for immediate benefits, which often leads to higher spending and increased engagement compared to traditional free programs. Here are three key aspects of subscription-based loyalty programs: Immediate Access: You gain instant rewards, creating a sense of value that encourages you to renew your subscription. Predictable Revenue: Businesses benefit from a steady income stream, as seen with companies like Netflix and Spotify. Higher Lifetime Value: Data shows that members of these programs typically exhibit increased lifetime value, making them a smart investment for brands aiming to build long-term relationships with customers. Successful Examples of Online Loyalty Programs Successful online loyalty programs have become essential tools for businesses aiming to improve customer retention and boost sales. Here are some successful examples that illustrate their effectiveness: Brand Program Features Unique Benefits Starbucks Earn stars for purchases via app Redeem for free drinks and food items Sephora Tiered rewards based on spending Exclusive access to events and birthday gifts Amazon Prime Paid membership with various benefits Free two-day shipping and exclusive deals The North Face Rewards for purchases and outdoor activities Earn points for adventures and gear discounts Chipotle Points earned on purchases Free food during supporting sustainability These programs not only improve customer loyalty but create a more engaging shopping experience, eventually leading to increased sales and brand loyalty. Tips for Creating an Effective Online Loyalty Program Creating an effective online loyalty program requires careful planning and execution to guarantee it resonates with your customers. To achieve this, consider the following tips: Simplicity is Key: Make sure your program is straightforward and intuitive. Customers should easily understand how to earn and redeem points, as complexity can discourage participation. Utilize a Tiered Structure: Implement a tiered rewards system that incentivizes higher spending. As customers reach different spending levels, they reveal greater benefits, driving engagement and loyalty. Personalize Offers: Use customer data to create personalized rewards and offers. Tailoring experiences based on individual preferences cultivates emotional connections and improves the program’s appeal. Additionally, promote your loyalty program through various channels, such as social media and email marketing, to maximize visibility and encourage sign-ups. Regularly evaluate your program’s performance using relevant metrics and be ready to adjust based on customer feedback. Measuring the Success of Your Loyalty Program Measuring the success of your loyalty program is vital for grasping its impact on customer behavior and overall business profitability. You can analyze various metrics to gauge effectiveness, such as customer retention rates. A mere 5% increase in retention can lead to a 95% boost in profitability. Moreover, compare total loyalty visits against non-loyalty visits to see how well your program drives repeat business. Tracking repeat purchases and monitoring customer churn rates are likewise fundamental for grasping ongoing engagement. Tools like the Square Dashboard provide detailed reports on spending patterns between loyalty members and non-members. Lastly, studying successful programs, like Craft + Carry, reveals the significance of meaningful rewards and customer feedback in refining your offerings. Metric Importance Customer Retention Rate Direct impact on profitability Loyalty vs. Non-Loyalty Visits Insight into repeat business Repeat Purchases Engagement measurement Customer Churn Rate Retention comprehension Spending Patterns Comparison of member value Frequently Asked Questions What Is an Online Loyalty Program? An online loyalty program rewards you for your repeat purchases, often through points, discounts, or exclusive offers. By creating an account on a business’s website or app, you can track your points and redeem rewards easily. Many programs feature tiered rewards, enhancing benefits as you accumulate points. They may additionally include gamification elements, like challenges and badges, to make your shopping experience more engaging and enjoyable as well as encouraging repeat visits. Are Loyalty Programs Just a Marketing Ploy? Loyalty programs often get labeled as marketing ploys, but they can offer real value. When designed effectively, these programs improve customer experiences through personalized rewards and discounts. Research shows that most consumers see increased shopping likelihood with brands that have loyalty programs. Nevertheless, if a program fails to deliver meaningful rewards, it risks losing customer trust. In the end, the success of these programs relies on genuine engagement rather than superficial tactics. How Does a Loyalty Program Work? A loyalty program works by allowing you to earn points or rewards for your purchases. You typically register and receive a unique identifier to track your rewards. As you spend more or engage in activities like referrals, you access better rewards. Different types of programs exist, including points-based systems and tiered rewards. The redemption process is designed to be straightforward, ensuring you can use your rewards easily, enhancing your overall satisfaction with the program. What Are the Cons of a Loyalty Program? Loyalty programs have several drawbacks. They can be expensive to set up and maintain, often without guaranteeing a return on investment. Complex rules and strict redemption processes can frustrate customers, leading to disengagement. Moreover, if customers develop a sense of entitlement, they might feel disappointed when rewards aren’t met. Focusing solely on purchase-based rewards can limit broader engagement opportunities, potentially alienating non-loyal customers and undermining overall brand loyalty. Conclusion In conclusion, online loyalty programs are effective tools for businesses to engage customers and encourage repeat purchases. By rewarding customers with points that can be redeemed for discounts and exclusive offers, these programs cultivate long-term relationships. They not only improve customer retention but additionally provide valuable insights into consumer behavior. To maximize their impact, businesses should focus on creating customized experiences and regularly measuring the success of their loyalty initiatives. Implementing these strategies can lead to sustained growth and customer satisfaction. Image via Google Gemini This article, "What Is an Online Loyalty Program and How Does It Work?" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

Starting your sole trader business requires careful planning and execution. First, you’ll need to choose a unique business name that stands out and check its availability. After that, filing the necessary paperwork, like an Assumed Name Certificate, is vital. Then, you must obtain an Employer Identification Number for tax purposes. Acquiring the right licenses and permits is fundamental too. Finally, securing a Tax Identification Number guarantees your finances are separate. Comprehending these steps can help streamline your path. What’s next on your list? Key Takeaways Choose a unique business name that reflects your brand and check for availability to avoid legal issues. File an Assumed Name Certificate (DBA) with the county clerk if operating under a different name. Obtain an Employer Identification Number (EIN) for tax purposes to separate personal and business finances. Register for necessary local licenses and permits based on your business type and location. Register for state taxes, including sales tax permits if selling taxable goods or services. Choose a Unique Business Name Choosing a unique business name is essential for establishing your identity as a sole trader. Your business name reflects your values and helps build a solid brand presence in the market. Make sure it doesn’t imply any false governmental affiliation or mislead customers about your operations. Start by conducting a name availability search to confirm your desired name isn’t already in use or trademarked by another entity. This step can prevent potential legal disputes later on. If you plan to operate under a name different from your legal name, you’ll need to file an Assumed Name Certificate (DBA) with your county clerk’s office to comply with local regulations. A clear and memorable name can improve your marketing efforts, boost customer recognition, and greatly contribute to your success. File Necessary Paperwork Before you start operating your sole trader business, it’s important to file the necessary paperwork to guarantee compliance with local regulations. If you plan to operate under a different name than your legal name, you’ll need to file an Assumed Name Certificate (DBA) with the county clerk’s office. This process usually requires a small fee and can often be completed either online or in person, though processing times may vary by county. Additionally, applying for an Employer Identification Number (EIN) through the IRS is recommended for tax purposes, especially if you intend to hire employees or wish to separate your personal and business finances. Don’t forget to register for state taxes, such as sales tax and employer taxes, which can be done through the Texas Comptroller’s website by providing your business details. Completing these steps guarantees you’re compliant and ready to focus on your business. Obtain Required Licenses and Permits Obtaining the required licenses and permits is a crucial step in establishing your sole trader business, as it guarantees you’re operating within the legal framework set by local and state authorities. In Texas, although a state-level business license isn’t typically necessary, you might need local licenses based on your city or county regulations. If you’re selling taxable goods or services, don’t forget to obtain a sales and use tax permit from the Texas Comptroller’s office. Certain professions, like electricians or healthcare providers, require specific state licenses. Always check with local authorities, such as your city hall or county clerk’s office, for any municipal or environmental permits that may apply to your business type. Here’s a quick reference table for your convenience: License/Permit Type Notes State Business License Not typically required in Texas Sales and Use Tax Permit Mandatory for taxable goods/services Professional Licenses Required for specific fields Local Permits Check with city or county authorities Secure a Tax Identification Number Securing a Tax Identification Number (TIN), likewise known as an Employer Identification Number (EIN), is vital for every sole trader business. This number helps you report taxes and identifies your business to the IRS. You can apply for an EIN online for free through the IRS website, and you’ll receive it immediately upon completing the application. Even though you don’t hire employees, having an EIN is recommended, as it separates your personal and business finances, establishing business credit. When applying, you may need to provide your Social Security Number (SSN), especially if you’re not hiring. Maintaining your EIN is important for tax reporting and compliance; you must keep accurate records of your business income and expenses associated with your TIN for tax filings. This step is fundamental for staying organized and ensuring your business operates within legal guidelines. Register for State Taxes Once you’ve secured your Tax Identification Number (TIN), the next step is to register for state taxes, which is an important aspect of operating your sole trader business. In Texas, if you sell taxable goods or services, you’ll need to obtain a sales tax permit from the Texas Comptroller’s office. During registration, provide vital business details like your business name, address, and the nature of your activities. Texas doesn’t impose a state income tax, making your tax obligations simpler, but you still have to report your business income on your federal tax return. If your revenue exceeds $1.23 million, be aware of the franchise tax requirement. Furthermore, if you hire employees, you must understand potential employer taxes to guarantee compliance with state regulations. Familiarizing yourself with these tax obligations is critical for running your business smoothly and legally. Frequently Asked Questions What Do I Need to Do to Start as a Sole Trader? To start as a sole trader, you need to choose a unique business name and file an Assumed Name Certificate if it differs from your own. Next, obtain necessary local permits and licenses for your industry. If you plan to hire employees, apply for an Employer Identification Number (EIN) through the IRS. Don’t forget to register for state taxes, maintain accurate financial records, and file your taxes annually, including business income on Schedule C. How Do I Set Myself up as a Sole Proprietor? To set yourself up as a sole proprietor, start by choosing a unique business name. If it differs from your own, file an Assumed Name Certificate with your county clerk. It’s wise to get an Employer Identification Number (EIN) from the IRS, especially if you hire employees. Check for local permits or licenses specific to your business type. Finally, register for state taxes and maintain accurate records for annual tax filing. What’s the Difference Between Self-Employed and Sole Trader? The main difference between being self-employed and a sole trader lies in the scope of the definitions. Although all sole traders are self-employed individuals operating their own businesses, self-employed encompasses a wider range of structures, including freelancers and partnerships. As a sole trader, you maintain full control over your business and its profits, but you’re likewise personally liable for any debts incurred. This contrasts with some self-employed arrangements, which might offer varying levels of autonomy. Conclusion In summary, registering your sole trader business is a straightforward process that requires careful attention to detail. By following these five fundamental steps—choosing a unique name, filing the necessary paperwork, obtaining licenses, securing a TIN, and registering for state taxes—you can establish a solid foundation for your business. Each step is vital for compliance and helps separate your personal and business finances, ensuring you’re well-prepared to operate legally and efficiently in your chosen market. Image via Google Gemini and ArtSmart This article, "5 Simple Steps for Registering Your Sole Trader Business" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

Air Force One touched down in China today as a hastily convened U.S.-China summit begins this week. Alongside President Donald The President on the flight to Beijing is a cavalcade of Silicon Valley executives. Elon Musk, Tim Cook, Dina Powell McCormick, and representatives from Qualcomm, Micron, and Cisco are among those who’ve been eating the insignia-emblazoned M&Ms on the presidential plane. But one name stood out for almost not making the trip: Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, the company whose chips have become foundational to the AI race. Huang was only confirmed as part of the delegation hours before departure, a notable last-minute addition given Nvidia’s increasingly central role in the technological standoff between Washington and Beijing. “Jensen’s absence reflected a disconnect between Washington’s confidence in Nvidia as leverage and China’s willingness to endure pain for semiconductor self-reliance,” says Rui Ma, a China tech analyst and creator of Tech Buzz China. China, meanwhile, is showing signs that its domestic semiconductor industry is gaining momentum despite U.S. restrictions. The country’s integrated circuit export data for April showed shipments doubling year over year in value to $31.1 billion. “Chinese semis are more confident now they can figure out [how to catch up to the U.S.] in a reasonable amount of time,” says Ma. The initial executive list excluding Huang may itself have been intended as a signal to China. Ryan Fedasiuk, a fellow at the American Enterprise Institute specializing in China, says the The President administration views access to computing power as too strategically important to compromise, particularly as AI systems become more capable. “Better to keep American industry out of the CCP’s crosshairs, and leave the substance of policy negotiations to the governments,” Fedasiuk says. Personal politics likely played a role as well. Huang has been an outspoken critic of The President’s approach to U.S. chip export restrictions, arguing that cutting off Chinese access to Nvidia chips will only accelerate China’s efforts to develop a competing hardware stack, potentially backfiring on the United States. Huang even borrowed The Presidentian language, calling it a “loser mentality” that jeopardized U.S. supremacy. Huang’s last-minute inclusion in the delegation could signal that Nvidia’s relationship with China is becoming part of a broader geopolitical negotiation. “It might be that The President sees Nvidia’s access to China and China’s access to Nvidia’s chips as something he can bring to the table in relation to other issues like Chinese help on Iran,” says William Matthews, senior research fellow for China and the world in the Asia-Pacific Programme at Chatham House. View the full article

SEO fails when it can’t compete for resources. Learn how to win above the “IT line of death.” The post Why Your SEO Work Isn’t Getting Implemented (The IT Line Of Death) appeared first on Search Engine Journal. View the full article

When Luis von Ahn, Duolingo’s CEO, sent an internal memo about AI last year, he didn’t expect it to go viral—or to ignite a firestorm about the future of work. Now he unpacks what he got right, what he got wrong, and what the backlash taught him about the real limitations of AI. It’s a candid reckoning with hype, growth, and the surprisingly complicated promise of technology in education. This is an abridged transcript of an interview from Rapid Response, hosted by the former editor-in-chief of Fast Company, Bob Safian. From the team behind the Masters of Scale podcast, Rapid Response features candid conversations with today’s top business leaders navigating real-time challenges. Subscribe to Rapid Response wherever you get your podcasts to ensure you never miss an episode. Right now, a lot of the learning that business people are being forced to do is technological and is about AI. I know that that’s not been the focus of what the learning is on Duolingo, but are there things about the way we should be approaching learning about this new technology that you would take away from what you do with Duolingo? It certainly isn’t often framed to us as being fun. I think the most important thing I would say for learning anything: It doesn’t have to be fun. It just has to be that it keeps people motivated. There are multiple ways to keep people motivated. With Duolingo, we’ve chosen mainly fun. That’s the main thing we’ve chosen, but you don’t have to do that. For example, seeing results keeps people motivated. In the case of learning AI, I would say that’s probably a better motivator of the form. I’m going to learn AI, but the first thing that I’m going to do is make myself a dashboard or a mini-dashboard or something. But I think if you find the right motivation, that helps a lot. I have to ask you, because last year at this time you sent out this all-hands email about AI that rattled things a bit. No new hires unless teams showed that AI couldn’t do the job and existing employees [to be] assessed on their AI use. It really sparked this blowback on social and the stock price. You’re not unfamiliar with taking risks. Was this a bigger risk than you realized at the time? Absolutely. I did not think this was going to be controversial, because internally, inside Duolingo, this was not controversial. We started as a technology company. I used to be a computer science professor that actually taught the AI class at Carnegie Mellon University. We’ve always used AI inasmuch as we can. So internally, this was not controversial at all. Externally, I think I was not very clear, and given how I wrote it and without giving it more context, I opened it up to people thinking that what I was trying to do was to fire a lot of our employees. But that was never the intention. We’ve never done a layoff. We still have never done a layoff. In fact, last year when I sent that memo, we increased our number of employees, not decreased our number of employees. There was that misunderstanding because I think there’s a lot of fear that AI is going to substitute jobs, et cetera, et cetera. The way I see it here is our employees are just way more productive if they use AI. And so, I actually want to hire more people because they can do more. It also seemed a little bit like you were sort of forcing people. You weren’t making it playful to learn how to use AI. It was almost like a bludgeon, which I guess wasn’t the intent necessarily either. But I do think it’s something a lot of folks are struggling with. How do you get the people on your team who are more resistant to this new technology to get on board? Yeah. The good news here is, at Duolingo, we hire a lot of people who are pretty young. We hire a lot of people who are straight out of college. We have just not found a lot of resistance here. Internally, we have this thing we call the golden rule of AI usage, which is you have to use AI for the benefit of our learners. Everything we do with AI should be for the benefit of our learners. For example, if it helps you be more efficient at putting out more features, that’s for the benefit of our learners. If we put out a feature that helps our learners learn better because they’re now, for example, interacting with an AI to practice conversation, that’s for the benefit of our learners. Sometimes when we use AI, we’re able to save costs, but that is not the goal of our usage of AI. That is an okay thing, but it is not the primary goal. It has to be about helping our learners versus we’re going to use AI to save $10 million. That’s just not all that motivating. There’ve been some reports about you kind of walking back some of the things you said in that memo. But you’re clearly still a believer in AI. There’s no doubt from you that sort of this is the direction the business has to continue to go. I’m a big believer in AI, but it definitely comes with asterisks and learnings. For example, my initial memo said that we were going to evaluate every employee on their usage of AI. I don’t think that was right. Many people came to me and said, “Look, for the job that I’m doing, I’m finding that I’m just using AI for AI’s sake because you’re going to evaluate me on that, but it’s not because I actually think that for this particular thing, we can do it better.” I think, ultimately, in the case of performance reviews, what you should evaluate is how much that particular employee is contributing to the company. It turns out for most of our employees, using AI helps them contribute more to the company. That is true. However, there may be cases, projects or particular roles where it may just not help all that much. And so saying blanket statement, “We’re going to evaluate you on the usage of AI” was not needed, and so we’ve removed that. The other important thing that I think is important to mention when it comes to AI is that we’re trying to use AI as much as possible, but we really don’t want to decrease quality. For some things, AI is quite ready to do high-quality stuff. For some things it’s just not. And so, we’re not going to decrease quality just for the sake of using AI. So where are you seeing AI not able to deliver that kind of quality? In a lot of places, for example, we hire a lot of artists and designers and our app is very high craft on design, et cetera. We’re just not seeing AI get to the level of creativity or the level of polish that our top people have by any means. The other place where I think it’s just not the highest quality, one of the biggest problems I think with AI is that it demos really well. What do I mean by that? It’s just like, “Look, it can write a story,” and if you see one story, you probably wrote a really good story, like the one story they showed you. And my God, it wrote a story. But … in our case, we may need to write 1,000 different stories for people to learn a language. Then, you’ll find that, I don’t know, 20% of the things were just pure slop. Whenever we scale a lot [of] things with AI, we have to really be careful that slop doesn’t get through. And if the quality’s just not high enough, even though AI is really nice and that it can do it pretty fast, we just don’t go for it. View the full article

While a lot of folks embrace the futuristic vibe of autonomous cars, two veteran mobility entrepreneurs quickly spotted a looming chokepoint in their scaling efforts. The robotaxi industry desperately needs a faster, more streamlined way to service its fleets if it hopes to become profitable. George Kalligeros, a Greek car enthusiast and former Tesla engineer, and the British business strategist Dan Keene were all too aware of new mobility infrastructure. They’d navigated similar logistics with their London startup Pushme Bikes, a massive battery-swapping network for shared e-scooters & e-bikes that raised $600 million before selling to Germany’s Tier Mobility in 2020. (The global platform now serves 5,000 locations across 40 cities.) Now they’re applying that experience to autonomous driving. When they noticed robotaxi expansion goals outpacing its earning ability, Kalligeros and Keene set about reimagining an operations structure that wouldn’t consume the majority of fleet costs. Their solution—a connected network of automated, localized service pods—is the basis for Aseon Labs, a Redwood City, CA startup backed by Y Combinator and publicly unveiled today. “I’ve been following self-driving cars for many years, and I’m a huge believer that it can bring about transformational welfare as long as the economics are right,” Kalligeros tells Fast Company. “Self-driving cars don’t make [economic] sense today. They’re burning through $2 billion or $3 billion a year, so what we have today is not fit for scale.” Logistical logjamLed by Waymo, autonomous driving is already live in San Francisco, Phoenix, Los Angeles, Austin, Atlanta, and Miami, with expansion plans for another 20 cities. By 2035, Goldman Sachs predicts a $48 billion domestic market as robotaxi numbers grow from the current 3,000 to 3 million, and a $415 billion global market expanding from 7,000 to 6 million vehicles. George KalligerosThat expansion, however, is threatened by operating costs. Autonomous fleets drive up to 44% of their miles empty, with a third of their vehicles offline at any given time, notes Kalligeros. Multiple times a day, these cars leave their service areas for centralized depots some 10-15 miles away for human-operated charging, cleaning, and inspection, which keeps the vehicles offline for nearly two hours each time. Most ride revenue is spent on recharging and maintenance—and that’s before taking into account items like insurance and teleoperations. “It’s significantly unprofitable, so I started looking into the economics and costs,” he adds. Aseon—which in Greek phonetically translates to “auspicious”—plans to design and build a connected grid of service pods within fleet operation zones that autonomously charge, inspect, and clean vehicles. The systems fit within a single parking space and integrate with existing charging networks. Because they don’t require permanent construction, pods can deploy in a day across parking lots, gas stations, office buildings, roadside infrastructure, and charging hubs. Aseon estimates that eliminating travel time to distant service depots and costly human labor can reduce reset costs by 50% and downtime by 65%, while increasing per-vehicle revenue by more than $50,000 annually. The arrangement also guarantees increased revenue for owners and operators of charging stations through continuous use, particularly for previously underused stations. “The industry solved the driving problem faster than expected,” Kalligeros says in a company statement. “What it’s running into now is the reality that operating these fleets is far more complex. Vehicles are autonomous on the road, but the moment they need servicing, everything becomes manual again—and that’s where scale breaks.” How it worksAs the vehicle autonomously pulls into the pod, robotic arms plug it into the charging kiosk, wash the car, calibrate sensors, transmit data back to the fleet company, throw out trash, and search for and retrieve lost items. Machine vision, trained on thousands of images, enables the robotic arms to detect and differentiate among the types of items left in the cars, akin to an advanced version of a mobile phone photo library search bar. “We have a very advanced perception grid that not only determines what is inside, but also grades the cleanliness of the vehicle,” says Kalligeros. That includes items reported missing. “If we find a wallet, let’s say we have a little parcel box in our station. The robot takes it, puts it inside, and the human can enter a pin and retrieve their item. We’ve also built a system where we can wash the self-driving car and reclaim 95% of that water to reuse.” The company is already working with AV operators and infrastructure partners, aiming for a “really significant” funding round in June. Keeping manufacturing in the U.S., it plans to deploy domestically before expanding to Europe and possibly broadening applications to car shares, rental operations, and even individuals. Aseon certainly has its work cut out. Given the mounting industry concern about AV fleet logistics, the topic earned a panel at last month’s RideAI 2026 conference, where mobility executives discussed Dante-esque layers of challenges. “Operations is the number one bottleneck,” noted Ming Maa, CEO of the fleet management firm Moove. “The key to thinking through [revenue-generating] uptime is, `How do you orchestrate this entire footprint of infrastructure to act as one true mesh network? How do you minimize the dead miles?’” “Charging, inspection and cleaning … if we can do those three things and make them autonomous, we create significant efficiencies,” said Brett Hauser, CEO of Voltera Power, which designs EV charging hubs. But given jurisdiction-specific permits and codes, “it’s very much a city-by-city approach.” “Building departments have not dealt with this before,” he added. “They don’t know how to zone and permit these things. So, there’s a lot of education that has to happen, a lot of handholding.” Another complication—a dearth of AV technicians with preventive maintenance expertise—has something of a silver lining amid concerns about automation replacing manual laborers and a potential reduction in public charging facilities. “There’s a public debate to be had,” while rising to meet the changing urban mobility landscape, acknowledges Kalligeros. “People are going to rely on self-driving cars when they become cheaper than cabs and Ubers,” he says. “We need to think of this, not like Alphabet [Waymo’s owner] taking over land in the city, but a shared service for everybody that delivers value to everybody.” View the full article

Create helpful, high-quality content, and you’ll rank. That’s been the prevailing wisdom in search for over a decade. But “create great content” was always an incomplete recommendation. It treated one input in a multi-layer ranking system as the entire strategy. Content can be well researched, technically accurate, and aligned with search intent, and still struggle to rank. The issue is usually positioning. When good content fails to rank, there’s often a barrier underneath it — technical limitations, authority gaps, weak entity recognition, or misaligned competition. Until you identify which barrier is holding your content back, rewriting is usually wasted effort. But first, make sure it’s actually good Before blaming positioning, an honest assessment: Sometimes the content genuinely isn’t good enough. I see this regularly. Teams publish thin, undifferentiated pages, often AI-generated without meaningful editorial input, and wonder why they don’t rank. Google’s helpful content guidance and E-E-A-T framework exist for a reason. Experience, expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness are the baseline signals that separate credible content from noise. Here’s the filter I use: Does your content offer original insight, match the format Google rewards for that query, and give the reader something they can’t find in the current top three results? If the answer is “yes,” you likely have a positioning problem. Your content is good, but it still isn’t ranking. However, if your content could have been written by anyone with access to the same Google search and an AI tool, you have a quality problem. Fix that first. Your customers search everywhere. Make sure your brand shows up. The SEO toolkit you know, plus the AI visibility data you need. Start Free Trial Get started with The 2026 SERP: What your content is actually competing against Even when your content is strong, the 2026 SERP has added structural competition that didn’t exist two years ago. Before diagnosing content-specific barriers, understand what your page is up against the moment it gets indexed. SERP elementImpact on organic contentAI OverviewsAnswers the query before the user scrolls; reduces CTR across query typesSponsored resultsIncreased ad density on Page 1, with subtler visual separation from organic results, pushes organic content further downReddit / UGC resultsGoogle increasingly surfaces user-generated discussion across product, troubleshooting, comparison, and opinion queries The shift has been gradual but significant. AI Overviews now appear on several searches, answering queries before users ever reach organic results. Google also increased the volume of ads on Page 1, and the October 2025 ad label redesign made the visual distinction between paid and organic results subtler than before. Add Reddit threads and other user-generated content that Google now surfaces across a wide range of query types, and the traditional organic listing is competing for a shrinking share of the page. Sponsored listings and AI Overviews now dominate the top half of the search results page The practical implication: Ranking on Page 1 no longer guarantees the visibility or click-through rate it once did. Your content isn’t just competing against other articles. It’s competing against an entire page layout designed to answer the query before the user reaches you. That context matters for everything that follows. Dig deeper: Why content that ranks can still fail AI retrieval The diagnostic framework When a client asks why their objectively good content isn’t ranking, this is the diagnostic sequence I use. Start at the top and work down. Diagnostic factorWhat to checkThe red flag1. Technical barriersIndexing, JavaScript rendering, canonicals, internal linksPage isn’t indexed or core content is hidden behind unrendered JavaScript2. Intent mismatchSearch the keyword and compare SERP format to your pageSERPs show listicles and tools; you published a 3,000-word narrative essay3. Authority gapDomain strength, trust signals, brand mentions, industry citationsTop results are established players with 2–3x your domain authority4. Topical depth gapWhether you cover the broader topic or just an isolated articleCompetitors have 20+ clustered pages on this topic; you have one5. User engagement signalsCheck whether top-ranking pages hold position because users find them adequate, not because they’re the best result availableAn established page ranks, users click it, the content is good enough that they don’t bounce, and that satisfaction loop keeps it ranked. Your better content never gets the clicks to prove itself.6. Content differentiationDoes your page offer something the current top results don’t?Your content is well-written but says the same thing as the top five results7. Brand/entity recognitionCheck whether Google recognizes your brand as a known entity in your space (branded searches, Knowledge Panel, mentions on authoritative sites)Nobody searches for your brand by name; Google has no entity-level trust signal to associate with your content The order matters. Technical barriers come first because they’re the fastest to check and the most commonly overlooked. If your page isn’t indexed, none of the other six factors are relevant. Intent mismatch comes second because it’s the gate: Google evaluates format fit before it evaluates quality. Here’s what working through the framework actually looks like: Intent mismatch Search your target keyword in an incognito window and compare what Google is showing against what you published. If the SERP is dominated by comparison tables and you wrote a narrative guide, your content quality is irrelevant. The format is wrong. Authority gap Check the domain ratings of the pages currently ranking. If every result on Page 1 has a domain rating two to three times higher than yours, you’re not losing on content. You’re losing on trust signals, and the fix is repositioning to keywords where you can realistically compete. Engagement loop Look at how long the current top results have held their positions. If the same pages have ranked for 12 or more months despite being mediocre, they’ve built a satisfaction feedback loop that new content can’t break without a different distribution strategy. Website types and their most common barriers Which barriers matter most depends on your site type. The framework is the same, but the entry point changes. SaaS: Primary bottleneck is usually topical depth and authority. You need clustered content and trust signals to compete. Ecommerce: Primary bottleneck is usually technical (crawl budget, faceted navigation, JavaScript rendering). Content quality rarely matters if Googlebot can’t process your pages. Local business: Primary bottleneck is usually entity recognition and Google Business Profile signals. Your blog content won’t rank locally if Google doesn’t recognize your brand as a local entity. If your content passes all seven checks and still isn’t ranking, you likely do have a content quality issue. But in my experience, we rarely get past the third check before finding the bottleneck. Get the newsletter search marketers rely on. See terms. How this plays out in practice The framework is more useful as a diagnostic sequence than as a checklist. To envision what that looks like in practice, here’s an example from when I worked with a B2B SaaS company selling contact center software. Their content was well-researched, technically accurate, and clearly written. It should have ranked. It didn’t. When I ran the website through the diagnostic framework, I was quickly able to identify the bottleneck. Technical check: Pages were indexed and rendering was clean. I verified this in Google Search Console’s Page Indexing report within the first 15 minutes. Not the bottleneck. Intent check: The content format matched the ranking content for their target keywords. They had guides where guides dominated the SERP, and comparison pages where comparisons ranked. Not the issue. Authority check: This is where the diagnosis landed. Their domain had a modest backlink profile. Their competitors, all established players with domain ratings two to three times higher, had been accumulating trust signals for years. Every non-branded keyword in their space was dominated by these players. On top of that, paid ads and AI Overviews were pushing organic results further down the page, making it even harder for a smaller domain to gain visibility. No amount of content improvement was going to close that authority gap on head terms.The problem was competitive positioning. Instead of competing where they couldn’t win, we repositioned. We analyzed their product’s strongest differentiators, pulled data on the questions prospects were actually asking, and identified an underserved niche: small- and mid-size-business buyers. The larger competitors were serving both segments, but their content skewed heavily toward enterprise use cases, leaving the SMB angle underrepresented. We built a topic cluster targeting that segment. We also built a pillar page connected to detailed subtopic pages via intentional internal linking, each addressing specific questions SMB buyers asked. This addressed multiple barriers simultaneously: The authority gap (competing at their weight class). Topical depth (a cluster rather than isolated pages). Content differentiation (an SMB-specific angle that nobody else covered). The pillar page ranked within weeks and still holds a top position today. The content quality didn’t change but the competitive positioning did. This is the point of the framework. The answer wasn’t “Make better content.” It was “Identify which barrier is actually holding this content back, then solve for that.” Most content teams skip the diagnosis and go straight to rewriting. That’s almost always wasted effort. The framework becomes more than a one-time diagnostic. As those SMB-focused pages gain traction, they start earning backlinks and brand mentions from the mid-market community. The domain’s overall authority grows. Topics that were out of reach six months earlier become realistic targets. You run the framework again: Check intent alignment, reassess the authority gap on slightly broader terms, and find that the gap has narrowed enough to compete. The same sequence that identified the original bottleneck now guides the expansion. Win where you can, build from there, and reassess. Most content teams try to skip straight to the competitive keywords and wonder why nothing moves. The framework gives you a diagnosis and a sequence. Dig deeper: Content alone isn’t enough: Why SEO now requires distribution See the complete picture of your search visibility. Track, optimize, and win in Google and AI search from one platform. Start Free Trial Get started with ‘Good’ is the floor, not the ceiling In 2026, AI-generated content has made “good enough” trivially easy to produce at scale. Any tool can synthesize a competent article on almost any topic. The bar for baseline quality has been obliterated. That’s exactly why positioning matters more than ever. When everyone’s content is “good,” the differentiator is rarely the writing itself. It’s the strategic advantages underneath it. Think about the difference between “How to reduce SaaS churn,” which is a topic any AI tool can cover, and “We reduced churn by 34% in 6 months: Here’s the exact playbook.” The second article contains data and insight that only exists because someone did the work. That’s the kind of content that’s increasingly difficult for AI to replicate and increasingly rewarded across every discovery channel. Experience is the most defensible differentiator in the current landscape. Content that shares original data, first-hand testing, or genuine practitioner insight has something that well-synthesized AI content never will: something that didn’t exist before the author created it. Key takeaways Stop diagnosing ranking failures as content quality problems: If your content passes the honest filter (original, intent-matched, differentiated), the bottleneck is one of seven positioning barriers. Identify which one before rewriting. Check the technical foundation first: Just 15 minutes in Google Search Console can reveal whether your content is even indexed. This is the starting point of any ranking diagnosis. Match your keyword targets to your actual authority level: Win at your weight class, build topical clusters where you can realistically compete, then expand into more competitive spaces. Invest in experience and entity recognition: These are the signals that increasingly matter across traditional search, AI Overviews, and LLM citations simultaneously. Brand recognition isn’t separate from SEO. It’s a direct input into the ranking system. The uncomfortable truth is that content quality has been commoditized. Your most strategic question is no longer “How do I create good content?”, but “Given that good content is the baseline, what else needs to be true for this content to rank?” Answer that honestly, for your specific site, in your specific competitive landscape, and you’ll know exactly what to fix. 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Producer price index rises at fastest rate since Russia’s full-scale invasion of UkraineView the full article

Retail giant Walmart Inc has confirmed that it will eliminate some jobs. However, the affected positions will not impact the company’s retail staff, which makes up the overwhelming majority of its 1.6 million-strong U.S. workforce. Here’s what you need to know about Walmart’s latest round of layoffs. What’s happened? On Tuesday, the Wall Street Journal reported that Walmart would lay off or relocate around 1,000 members of its corporate workforce, citing people familiar with the situation. Walmart has now confirmed to Fast Company that it is eliminating some roles, without specifying the exact number of positions to be cut. A company spokesperson provided the memo that Suresh Kumar, Walmart’s global CTO and chief development officer, and Daniel Danker, its executive vice president of AI acceleration, product and design, sent to employees on Tuesday, May 12. In the memo, Kumar and Danker announced that Walmart was simplifying its digital operations by reducing its layers of organizational structure. “That includes updating some roles to better match the work being done, bringing teams together where it makes sense, and aligning some roles to key locations where related work is already happening,” the memo stated. Unfortunately, that consolidation of operations means Walmart will also commence with layoffs. The memo states that “Some work has been consolidated, and some roles have been eliminated,” adding that the company was helping those affected “explore other opportunities within Walmart where possible.” Fast Company understands that Walmart considers these changes “conversations,” which the company takes to mean that, while around 1,000 roles are affected, it won’t necessarily mean 1,000 workers are laid off. The company is giving some workers the option to keep their jobs, provided they relocate. The WSJ says the relocation options include the company’s offices in Bentonville, Arkansas, and Northern California. AI not to blame? Despite the changes affecting its digital operations, AI isn’t being used as a scapegoat for the layoffs. Kumar and Danker did not even touch on the topic of artificial intelligence in their memo, and the Wall Street Journal cited a Walmart spokesperson as saying the job cuts are related to operational restructuring rather than AI taking over duties that human workers once performed. That makes these tech-related job layoffs notable; many companies that have cut tech staff in recent months have cited AI adoption as a direct driver. They include Cloudflare, Upwork, and Coinbase—all of which announced job cuts in just the first part of May, as Fast Company previously reported. Walmart’s stock price shrugs off the job cuts Often, when a company cuts jobs, its stock price gets a boost. This is because job cuts are the fastest way to reduce overhead costs and thus boost the bottom line. However, investors seem to have taken the news of the layoffs in stride. The company’s share price closed up around 2% yesterday, which is within the normal range that most stocks move in any given day. In premarket trading this morning, the company’s stock price (NYSE: WMT) is currently down less than 1%. As of yesterday’s close, WMT stock was up 17% year to date, reaching $130.35. Over the past 12 months, WMT stock has risen more than 34%. Walmart’s most recent job cuts come roughly one year after the company cut 1,500 corporate workers last May. View the full article

At my latest networking “meeting” with my bro Alex — also known as a free lunch with a marketing executive who still has a job and a corporate card — we talked about freelance opportunities that might be coming up. We talked about who was hiring, who claimed they were hiring, and which companies were pretending that “lean teams” were somehow a point of pride instead of a warning sign. As we were wrapping up, Alex asked about my runway. “How much longer do you have on unemployment?” he asked, while signing the check. “I never filed for unemployment,” I said. Alex looked at me the way people look at you when you say you’re Team Aubrey. “What do you mean you never filed?” I tried to explain it, but halfway through talking I realized how ridiculous I sounded. I had somehow turned unemployment into this mythical government charity dungeon in my mind. In my head, getting unemployment meant going to someplace with flickering fluorescent lights where desperate people sat in molded plastic chairs waiting for a number to be called. It felt like something other people did. Not me. When I first wrote publicly about losing my job, I joked about “funemployment.” At the time, I still had severance money coming in, savings, and enough confidence to believe another role would appear quickly. And as we now know…you could end up dealing with the five stages of grief every time you see an e-mail that starts with: “Thank you for taking the time…” I am drained and have been for quite some time. The idea of applying for…money with no attachment except that I’m entitled to it just didn’t connect. The truth is, I didn’t understand unemployment at all. I didn’t know whether severance disqualified you. (It does not) I didn’t know if high earners could even receive it. (Yes, they can.) I didn’t know if freelancers were treated differently. (Yes, they are. But you can often still collect.) Most embarrassingly, I didn’t understand that unemployment insurance isn’t charity. I knew, in theory but not in practice. Since my very first job as a teenager, employers have been paying into unemployment insurance systems tied to my labor. Decade after decade. Every paycheck. Every W-2. Every promotion. Every “exciting opportunity.” Every year-end review where someone called me “valuable to the organization” right before letting me go. “You’ve probably generated like 30K into unemployment systems over your career,” Alex said. “Why are you acting like you’re asking somebody for a favor?” That was the part that snapped something into place for me. Because I realized my resistance wasn’t financial. It was psychological. I had attached filing for unemployment to failure. I thought filing meant I had somehow crossed into another category of person. The kind of person waiting for help instead of being the one taking the lunch meetings and giving career advice. But unemployment isn’t a character judgment. It’s literally insurance. Your labor helps fund a system that exists for moments exactly like this No matter how much or how little I’ve paid to insure my car over the years, I’d never feel some type of way for getting the funds for a repair. And here’s the truly humbling part: once I finally filed, the process was almost aggressively normal. I definitely didn’t know that I could file online in under an hour. (Since the pandemic, every state in the US has online registration.) No endless lines. No humiliating interviews under buzzing fluorescent lights. No one asked me to explain how a former executive ended up unemployed in a collapsing marketing economy. Just forms. Verification. Processing time. Then one morning the money showed up. And I was genuinely shocked by both the amount and the duration. Not because it replaced my old salary — it absolutely did not — but because I had expected something symbolic. A couple hundred dollars and a pat on the head. Instead, it was enough to materially slow the bleeding while I continued to figure out my next move. Enough to breathe. Enough to stop making panic decisions. Enough to remember that after decades of work, maybe I didn’t need to feel ashamed for using a system designed specifically for workers who find themselves without work. Maybe I can stop grieving, clear my head and treat someone else to a meal who might need it. View the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. The Google Nest Wifi Pro three-pack is down to $229.99 on Woot, a steep drop from its usual $399.99 price and the lowest price tracked so far, according to price trackers. The same bundle currently sells for around $344.95 on Amazon, so this deal undercuts most major retailers by a wide margin. You also get free shipping if you’re a Prime member, while everyone else pays an extra $6. Woot says the deal will stay live for three days or until stock runs out. Google Nest Wifi Pro (Three-Pack) Wi-Fi 6E mesh router with coverage up to 6600 sq. ft. $229.99 at Woot $399.99 Save $170.00 Get Deal Get Deal $229.99 at Woot $399.99 Save $170.00 This Wi-Fi 6 system is designed to cover up to 6,000 square feet using three mesh nodes that work together automatically. Setup happens entirely through the Google Home app—you plug in the units, follow the app prompts, and the network largely manages itself afterward—including switching devices between the 2.4GHz, 5GHz, and 6GHz bands. In practice, that mostly helps when a lot of connected devices are running at once, making activities like 4K streaming, online gaming, large downloads, and video calls feel smoother and more stable than they do on older Wi-Fi 5 routers. The hardware itself is minimal—each unit has two Ethernet ports on the back for wired connections, and you can also connect the nodes with Ethernet cables for a more stable connection throughout the house. Google also includes newer networking and smart home standards designed to improve security, help devices handle crowded networks more efficiently, and make smart home products from different brands work together more smoothly, notes this PCMag review. The downside to that easy setup is that you don’t get many advanced controls. You can’t manually create a separate 6GHz Wi-Fi network, there are no USB ports for plugging in storage devices, no built-in anti-malware tools, and only limited traffic prioritization controls compared to systems like the TP-Link Deco XE75 Pro. And while family wifi parental controls are included, allowing parents to group devices and block adult content, it’s via Google SafeSearch filters. Still, for households that mostly want stable coverage, fast setup, and fewer dead zones without constantly managing router settings, the Nest Wifi Pro makes a stronger case at this price than it did at launch. Our Best Editor-Vetted Tech Deals Right Now Apple AirPods Pro 3 Noise Cancelling Heart Rate Wireless Earbuds — $229.00 (List Price $249.00) Apple Watch Series 11 [GPS 46mm] Smartwatch with Jet Black Aluminum Case with Black Sport Band - M/L. Sleep Score, Fitness Tracker, Health Monitoring, Always-On Display, Water Resistant — $329.00 (List Price $429.00) Apple iPad 11" A16 128GB Wi-Fi Tablet (Silver, 2025) — $319.99 (List Price $349.00) Shark AV2501AE AI XL Hepa- Safe Self-Emptying Base Robot Vacuum — $299.99 (List Price $649.99) Dell 15 DC15250 (Intel Core i7 13th Gen, 512GB SSD, 8GB RAM, Touch Display) — $599.99 (List Price $839.99) Deals are selected by our commerce team View the full article

Leaders to hold two-day summit clouded by geopolitical tensions and conflict over trade and techView the full article

Since 1946, the Festival de Cannes (a.k.a. the Cannes Film Festival) in France has been a beacon of cinematic excellence and cultural exchange. For those who love the Academy Awards, films such as Parasite and Anora debuted here first before taking home an Oscar. This year promises to continue this worthy legacy despite fewer American entries than normal. Here’s everything you need to know as the festivities kick off this week. How did the Cannes Film Festival begin? In July 1938, a Nazi propaganda film helped inspire Philippe Erlanger to create a new film festival. He was one of many who were displeased that Leni Riefenstahl’s Olympia and Goffredo Alessandrini’s Luciano Serra, Pilot took home the Mussolini Cup at the Venice Mostra due to pressure from Hitler. Erlanger endeavored to create a fair competition based on merit, not politics. The first event was supposed to happen on September 1, 1939, but Germany invaded Poland and World War II was officially declared two days later. The Cannes Film Festival was put on the back burner until peace could be obtained. The first festival would have included films such as The Wizard of Oz by Victor Fleming and Union Pacific by Cecil B. DeMille. Six years later, in 1946, 19 countries finally participated, and Georges Huisman led the international jury. Every nation was awarded a Grand Prix as the world continued to heal from war. America’s entry was Billy Wilder’s The Lost Weekend. Which films should you keep your eye on? Fast-forward to 2026, and 2,541 feature films were submitted for consideration. Twenty-two will be up for the coveted Palme d’Or. South Korean filmmaker Park Chan-wook will preside over the jury that will decide the victor. Other members include director Chloé Zhao, actress Demi Moore, and actor Stellan Skarsgård. There are only two American entries in the competition category of films this year. James Gray’s Paper Tiger was added after the initial announcement. This crime drama tells the story of the Pearl brothers in 1980s Queens. While trying to pursue the American dream, these men get involved with the Russian mafia instead. The film will bring the Hollywood A-listers to the French Riviera as its stars Scarlett Johansson, Adam Driver, and Miles Teller. The other American entry is Ira Sachs’s The Man I Love, starring Rami Malek. It is also set in 1980s New York. The plot centers around Jimmy George, an actor with a life-threatening illness, as he tackles his final role. Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s All of a Sudden is the Japanese filmmaker’s first French movie. Fans are thrilled to see what this exciting voice has to say after his 2021 critically acclaimed flick Drive My Car. This was the first Japanese movie to be nominated for a Best Picture Academy Award. You can find a full list of official sections on the festival’s website. Who is being honored at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival? Beyond films, individuals will also receive awards. Both director and writer Peter Jackson and multi-hyphenate Barbra Streisand will take home Honorary Palme d’Ors. This is essentially a lifetime achievement award for their impressive resumes. Jackson is best known for his work on The Lord of the Rings and Hobbit trilogies. Streisand’s career covers everything from Hello, Dolly! to Meet the Fockers, and that’s not counting her time behind the camera directing and producing. The Cannes Film Festival runs May 12 through 23. View the full article

It’s time to stop calling Gen Z the youngest generation in the workforce. Gen Alpha has entered the chat. Although the oldest Gen Alphas have only just hit their teen years, they are deeply financially motivated and ready to be put to work. If you happen to be living with a Gen Alpha who seems strangely fixated on earning their own money—or who is obsessed with brands and products—you know that we’re raising a generation of hustlers (even if they’re just hustling us). But new data from public relations and marketing firm DKC is shedding even more light on the financial intrigue behind Gen Alpha. The firm surveyed 1,000 parents of 8- to 15-year-olds about their children’s financial interest and conduct. The results build on previous research, which found that Gen Alphas, while mostly still in middle school, are massively savvy financially. According to the new survey, a staggering number of Gen Alphas are already earning an income. In total, 95% are making money. But the ways they’re lining their pockets differ. The bank of mom and dad For now, the earnings mostly come from their parents. Some 85% percent receive an allowance, though most of the parents surveyed (55%) said their kids have to earn it. Good behavior and grades earn money for 67% of Gen Alphas; 78% get paid for doing chores. However, Gen Alphas aren’t just earning inside their homes. More than half (57%) earn money through babysitting, lawn care, and other jobs, while another 14% use the internet to sell or resell items. The earnings are more than pocket change. On average, Gen Alphas have $52 per week of their own money, up from $45 two years ago. That comes out to a whopping $2,704 per year. A wild time to be coming of age The world of Gen Alpha—largely happening online—is made up of influencers doing fascinating and sometimes ridiculous things to earn a buck (or millions of them). Whether it’s platforms based on doing good deeds for others, embarrassing themselves for clicks, or taking on inventive tasks like power-washing neighbors’ trash cans, the options to start earning are regularly in their faces. Likewise, so are brands and products, which is probably why they’re such an influential part of the household when it comes to how money is spent. Per the new research, parents said about half of household spending decisions come from their Gen Alpha child. Some 69% of the parents surveyed said they learn about brands from their Gen Alpha kids; 71% said they’ve even changed their own consumer choices after learning about brands from their child. Sixty-one percent of Gen Alpha parents shop frequently with their children. But they also pay attention to what their kids are looking at online: 54% pay specific attention to influencers their child likes, and nearly half (49%) buy products from ads their child enjoys. And what is Gen Alpha into? No big surprises here. The top categories where the big spenders are shelling out are food (75%), gaming (71%), entertainment (62%), and clothing (62%). It’s not always easy raising a generation of kids who are already so interested in earning and spending money. For starters, they’re constantly ambling for the newest game, pair of shoes, squishy, or viral beverage. However, parents in DKC’s survey said that kids today aren’t just interested in making money; they’re money-smart, too. A decisive 98% of parents of Gen Alpha kids said they’re teaching their kids about budgeting, or are planning to. We know from DKC’s previous research that not only are Gen Alphas attentive to brands (87%), but they also care about a brand’s values (69%). Of course, when millennial parents were kids, issues like how a company treats their employees or whether they were environmentally conscious simply weren’t on our radar. But today, everything about brands is findable online. As with most things, Gen Alphas are usually the first ones to find it. View the full article

Marketing teams often operate with a hidden skepticism tax. Because they don’t fully trust their data, they spend enormous amounts of time cleaning spreadsheets, reconciling conflicting reports, and second-guessing both attribution models and AI outputs. The result is slower execution, weaker alignment across teams, and decisions built on uncertain foundations. Take branded search. It often gets credit for conversions that were likely to happen anyway, like a revolving door taking credit for everyone who enters a building. That gap between correlation and causation points to a much larger problem in modern marketing: too many teams operate on incomplete, fragmented, or low-confidence data. The solution isn’t simply collecting more information. It’s building data foundations marketers can actually trust — verified identities, unified reporting, cleaner pipelines, and measurement frameworks designed to separate signal from noise. Below is a breakdown of the core concepts behind those foundations and the types of data environments they create. Probabilistic vs. deterministic Let’s look at a simple example to illustrate probabilistic vs. deterministic: a coffee shop loyalty app. When a customer logs in and orders, you know it’s Sarah — that’s deterministic. But when someone on the same Wi-Fi network browses your menu without logging in, you might guess it’s Sarah based on device and location signals — which is probabilistic. Both are useful, but you wouldn’t send a “Happy Birthday, Sarah!” push notification based on a guess. It can be effective to show clients data-to-confidence mapping using the identity confidence thermometer: Identity confidence thermometer Deterministic is at the top (100% confidence), while the confidence level grades down through probabilistic levels as you get to the bottom of the thermometer (IP match, device fingerprint, behavioral inference, etc.). Your customers search everywhere. Make sure your brand shows up. The SEO toolkit you know, plus the AI visibility data you need. Start Free Trial Get started with Siloed vs. holistic Imagine three people describing the same elephant. Marketing touches the trunk and says, “It’s a hose.” Sales grabs the leg and says, “It’s a tree.” Finance feels the tail and says, “It’s a rope.” That’s what siloed data does to ROI reporting. A holistic data spine, by contrast, means everyone’s looking at the whole elephant. Here’s a more concrete example: A B2B SaaS company is running LinkedIn ads. Marketing counts 5,000 form fills. Sales only sees 2,000 in the CRM because duplicates and junk leads have been filtered out. Finance counts 1,200 closed-won and attributes them to organic because UTMs broke. That’s three different teams, each with a different “truth” — zero confidence. This illustration shows what this looks like in comparison: Siloed vs. holistic — the three-truths problem On the left side, we have three disconnected boxes: Marketing, Sales, and Finance. Notice that each shows a different number for the same campaign. Conversely, the right side shows all three boxes feeding into a single “Identity spine” bar that outputs a single agreed-upon number. Third, first, and zero-party data Consider the process of buying a house. Third-party data is a neighbor who says, “I think they’re looking to move” — it’s just gossip. First-party data is the realtor who sees them attend three open houses — it’s observed behavior. Zero-party data is the buyer filling out a form and saying, “I want a three-bedroom house in Oakland for under $900,000” — it’s stated intent. As cookies disappear, marketers are essentially moving from widely available gossip to less frequent but far more valuable direct conversation. In the three-layer pyramid or funnel below: Bottom layer (widest, lowest trust): Third-party / inferred data. Middle layer: First-party / observed data. Top layer (narrowest, highest trust): Zero-party / declared data. Data trust pyramid: third, first, and zero-party Get the newsletter search marketers rely on. See terms. Big data vs. correct data The analogy I like to use here is a kitchen where you never throw anything out. The fridge is packed, but half of what’s in it has expired. You often spend 20 minutes digging for the one ingredient you need, and occasionally you cook with something that’s gone bad. This mess of a kitchen represents “big data.” Lots of information is easily accessible, but it’s nearly impossible to make sense of or have confidence in its accuracy. “Correct data,” by comparison, is a curated pantry: Fewer items, all fresh, all labeled, and everything within reach is usable. Here’s a direct example for all of us marketers: Feeding an AI model 500,000 rows of CRM data sounds impressive until you realize 30% are duplicate contacts, 15% have outdated emails, and the revenue field uses three different currency formats. The worst part is that the model doesn’t get smarter — it confidently sends you in the wrong direction (or spinning in circles). Here’s a side-by-side comparison of two data pipelines. Big data vs. correct data pipeline The left is a firehose dumping raw data into a “swamp” (messy, murky, and opaque). On the right is the same firehose passing through a filter (validation, deduplication, formatting) into a clean reservoir. This filter is the “confidence layer.” Correlation vs. causation You’ve probably heard this juxtaposition a lot, both inside and outside the marketing context. In marketing, the classic example is that branded search always looks like the best-performing channel because people Google your name right before they buy. That’s like giving the revolving door credit for everyone who enters the building. Correlation says, “People who walked through the door became customers.” Causation asks, “Would they have come in regardless of the door?” Incrementality testing is the fix. At a high level, you hold out a group from seeing your ads and compare their conversion rate to the exposed group, which should be similar in size and composition (e.g., similar geos). If the holdout group converts at nearly the same rate as the exposed group, your ads were just taking credit, not creating demand. Here’s an example of a classic misleading view (branded search with sky-high ROAS) next to the incrementality-adjusted view (branded search deflated and prospecting channels elevated). Correlation vs. causation ROAS Essentially, this is a side-by-side comparison of what your dashboard says vs. what actually worked. See the complete picture of your search visibility. Track, optimize, and win in Google and AI search from one platform. Start Free Trial Get started with Building a stronger marketing confidence layer Those are the main data foundations used to build confidence across teams: Identity confidence thermometer: From probabilistic (low confidence) to deterministic (high confidence). Siloed vs. holistic: From siloed data (low confidence) to holistic (high confidence). Data trust pyramid: From third-party data (low confidence) to first- and potentially zero-party data (high confidence). Big data vs. correct data pipeline: A swamp producing “confidently wrong” AI outputs (low confidence) versus an added filter producing reliable outputs (high confidence). Correlation vs. causation ROAS: From identifying relationships (low confidence) to establishing cause using a scientific framework (high confidence). The confidence layer maturity spectrum AI can handle countless tasks. But strong decision-making still depends on experienced marketers with good judgment. These data foundations help you move closer to that. View the full article

Whether it’s giving you workout plans or summarizing your sleep, AI has hit fitness apps hard. In the race to add artificial intelligence features to everything from your music playlists to your weather app, the fitness world has also become flooded with new AI-powered services promising to take your workouts to the next level. Earlier this year, Strava launched Athlete Intelligence, which uses generative AI to create summaries of users’ activities, offering neat little roundups of things like heart rate and pace during runs, bike rides, or walks. Whoop AI, powered by none other than Sam Altman’s OpenAI, leverages biometric data to offer recommendations meant to optimize not just your gym session, but your entire day. Last October, Peloton released its own AI-powered workout planner, Peloton IQ, which offers workout recommendations and live performance feedback. And Apple Fitness+ also, shockingly, gives subscribers custom diet and exercise plans based on their Health data. It costs $9.99 per month. These services all focus on one thing: offering something tailor-made for users, whether that means recommendations to optimize a daily routine, summaries of what’s happening inside the body, or personalized workout plans designed to help people reach the next stage of their fitness journey. “The industry is moving towards the theme of integrated intelligence,” Nick Caldwell, Peloton’s Chief Product Officer, tells Fast Company via email. “Individuals are collecting far more data about themselves than they ever have before and now, they want to apply it to their entire wellness journey, not just to fitness.” It’s true: everyone is tracking everything, all the time. Fitness data collection once offered only a high-level snapshot of performance, but the rise of wearables and wellness apps has created countless new ways to peer into the body and attempt to assess the full picture. Wearing a pedometer now feels quaint. Today, people can track how many steps they take, how much sleep they get, how many calories and grams of protein they consume, and their average heart rate from dawn until dusk. With all of that data already being collected, the next frontier is personalization, which is why so many of these AI features are focused on delivering individualized experiences. Caldwell says the goal now is to build an ecosystem that acts as an all-encompassing operating system for a user’s overall health journey. “As people become more aware of how to harness the power of their health data, they don’t want a generic plan; they want something more tailored,” Caldwell says. “Your workout should adapt to your sleep, your stress, and your specific goals in that exact moment and with Peloton IQ we can be that intersection of data and action that is specific to you.” In the fervor for companies to churn out any and all AI-powered tools, skeptics naturally wonder which products users actually need in their pockets, and what we risk losing when personalization is handed over to the algorithm. Moreover, if users can become their own dietitian, personal trainer, life coach, and wellness guru, what does that spell for the rest of the industry? A Whoop spokesperson tells Fast Company that AI coaching represents the next phase of the industry: turning previously stagnant data into a more active layer of wellness products. “This approach reframes fitness tracking from passive measurement to active decision support, effectively creating a real-time health operating platform,” the spokesperson says. “WHOOP is helping lead this evolution by building one of the first continuous health records and applying AI to support longer-term health and performance outcomes.” David Swartz, a senior equity analyst at Morningstar who specializes in sportswear companies, says that many players across the fitness industry feel pressure to incorporate AI into their business models. “There’s a feeling that companies that don’t use AI may be left behind,” he says. “Companies want their employees to learn AI and to incorporate it into their daily work. Investors are also pushing companies to use AI as they believe that it will increase efficiency and raise valuations.” The growing focus on individual health and wellness has coincided with the arrival of a controversial federal Department of Health and Human Services leadership team. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a prominent vaccine skeptic, has frequently found himself at odds with medical professionals and public health experts, fueling confusion and concern among Americans who increasingly feel their health is in their own hands. At the same time, interest in private companies and apps that monitor personal health data has surged, whether through wearables like the Apple Watch or ŌURA Ring, or apps like Strava and Apple Fitness that help users track enormous amounts of personal data. And with interest in fitness tech growing among both consumers and political supporters like RFK Jr., some companies appear to be aiming far beyond a personalized AI coach. “WHOOP AI will continue to evolve, becoming more predictive, more personalized, and more powerful over time,” the Whoop spokesperson says. The quantified self, it seems, is no longer content just counting steps. Now it wants a coach, a strategist, and maybe even a second opinion. View the full article

Google had yet another Search Console reporting bug, this time with the Discover performance report. Between May 7, 2026 and May 8, 2026, Google confirmed a data logging issue that can result in the report showing fewer clicks and impressions. It is a reporting issue only and not a Discover ranking issue.View the full article

Google's ALDRIFT framework "opens exciting avenues" toward AI answers that do more than sound plausible. The post Google Research’s ALDRIFT: AI Answers That Do More Than Sound Plausible appeared first on Search Engine Journal. View the full article

Google posted a tease for Google Marketing Live where Google Ads will be announcing new dashboards powered by Gemini. Google wrote on X, "Tired of manual reporting? Introducing Dashboards built with Gemini capabilities."View the full article

If you’re thinking about buying a business, it’s essential to start by identifying what type aligns with your skills and interests. Research is key; explore various platforms and local listings for available opportunities. Comprehending why a business is for sale can reveal important insights. Next, you’ll need to evaluate your budget and resources, along with financing options, including seller financing. This process involves multiple steps that can greatly impact your success. What’s your next move? Key Takeaways Identify your interests and skills to choose a business that aligns with your goals and increases success potential. Research businesses for sale on websites, local publications, and through personal networks to find suitable opportunities. Conduct thorough due diligence to assess financial health, legal compliance, and operational risks before making a purchase. Explore various financing options, including seller financing, to secure the necessary capital for your business acquisition. Prepare all necessary documentation, such as asset acquisition statements and non-compete agreements, to ensure a smooth ownership transition. Figure Out What Type of Business You Want to Buy When you’re thinking about buying a business, how do you figure out what type aligns with your goals and expertise? Start by identifying your interests, skills, and experiences, as these factors increase your chances of success. Reflect on past roles in various industries; they can provide valuable insights into managing a new venture. Next, analyze market demand and trends to guarantee the business has growth potential. Evaluate the financial health of different options, focusing on aspects like existing debt and cash flow. Finally, narrow down your choices by creating a list of ideal business characteristics, such as size, location, and industry. This approach will guide you on how to find a small business to buy, highlighting the advantages of purchasing an existing business. Search for Businesses That Are for Sale As you begin your search for businesses that are for sale, it is crucial to explore various avenues to maximize your options. Start by visiting business-for-sale websites like BizBuySell and BizQuest to find a range of businesses for sale in FL. Don’t overlook local newspapers and industry publications, as they often feature listings not found online. Leverage your personal networks; friends and industry connections can lead you to hidden opportunities. Furthermore, attending industry meetups and conferences can help you build relationships that might open doors for potential acquisitions. Finally, consider engaging a business broker to assist you in steering through the acquisition process. Method Description Business-for-sale websites Explore listings across various industries Local newspapers Find ads that may not be online Personal networks Uncover hidden opportunities Industry events Build relationships for potential leads Business broker Get professional assistance in your search Understand Why an Existing Business Is up for Sale Why do business owners decide to sell their enterprises? Often, it’s due to their retiring, wanting to capitalize on years of investment before stepping away from the market. Changes in personal circumstances, like health issues or family commitments, can prompt owners to divest their businesses as well. Economic challenges, such as declining sales or increased competition, may drive them to sell to mitigate losses. Moreover, lifestyle changes, including pursuing new passions, can lead owners to seek buyers. When you understand why an existing business is up for sale, you can identify potential red flags, like unresolved debts or operational inefficiencies. These insights are vital for making informed decisions when considering a business for sale by owner retiring. Narrow in on a Business That Aligns With Your Budget, Goals and Resources Choosing a business that aligns with your budget, goals, and resources requires careful consideration and planning. When buying a business, focus on these key areas: Budget Evaluation: Assess your financial capabilities and estimate costs for any desired improvements post-purchase. Personal Alignment: Choose a business that matches your interests, skills, and experience, as familiarity with the industry increases your chances of success. Research: Utilize platforms like BizBuySell.com and local newspapers to find opportunities that fit your criteria, and consider engaging with a business broker for expert guidance. Do Your Due Diligence When you’re buying a business, doing your due diligence is essential to avoid future headaches. Start by identifying red flags in the financial statements, as these documents reveal the company’s economic health and any potential issues. Identify Red Flags As you commence on the voyage of buying a business, it’s crucial to identify potential red flags that could signal underlying issues. Conducting thorough due diligence will help you avoid costly mistakes. Here are three key areas to evaluate: Financial Statements: Look for inconsistencies or sudden changes in revenue and expenses, which may indicate hidden problems. Employee Turnover Rates: High turnover and low morale can reveal management issues and operational inefficiencies that might affect long-term stability. Pending Legal Issues: Investigate any ongoing litigation or legal troubles, as these could pose significant risks to the business’s future. Analyze Financial Statements Analyzing financial statements is a critical step in the due diligence process of buying a business. You’ll want to focus on the past three to five years of financial data, including income statements, balance sheets, and cash flow statements, to evaluate profitability and financial health. Look for consistent revenue growth, positive cash flow, and manageable debt levels, as these signal a stable business operation. Be cautious of irregularities, such as aggressive revenue recognition or unexplained expense fluctuations, which may indicate financial mismanagement. Review tax returns to verify reported income, ensuring compliance with tax obligations. Finally, analyze key financial ratios like the current ratio and debt-to-equity ratio to assess operational efficiency and financial stability relative to industry standards. Evaluate the Business With the Income, Assets or Market Approach When you’re evaluating a business, consider using the income, assets, or market approach to gain a clearer comprehension of its value. The income approach focuses on past and projected profits, whereas the assets approach looks at both tangible and intangible assets after liabilities are accounted for. Simultaneously, the market approach compares the business to similar ones in the industry, giving you insights into its competitive stance and overall market value. Income Approach Explained The Income Approach is a key method for valuing a business, especially when you want to understand its future earning potential. This approach focuses on the business’s historical, current, and projected profits, offering a clear view of what it can earn. Here are three key aspects to contemplate: Net Income Calculation: You’ll assess the net income to establish a baseline for value. Capitalization Rate: Apply a capitalization rate to determine the business’s worth based on expected future earnings. Financial Trends: Analyze financial statements from the past three to five years, focusing on cash flow trends, especially for cash flowing businesses for sale. Keep in mind market trends and economic factors that may impact future profitability when using the income approach for valuation. Assets Approach Overview Grasping the Assets Approach is crucial for accurately evaluating a business, especially if it has significant tangible and intangible assets. This method focuses on measuring the company’s assets and subtracting liabilities to determine its net worth. It’s particularly useful for asset-heavy businesses. Key Components Description Tangible Assets Inventory, equipment, and real estate Intangible Assets Brand value and intellectual property Liabilities Outstanding debts or obligations When you consider the assets approach to purchase a small business, you’re gaining a clearer picture of what you’re acquiring. This approach often aligns with the book value, providing a straightforward baseline for negotiations, especially when cash flow is inconsistent. Market Approach Insights Valuing a business accurately can be a complex process, and the market approach offers a practical way to establish fair market value by comparing it to similar businesses that have recently sold. When considering this method to buy a small business, keep these key points in mind: Industry Comparisons: Analyze businesses within the same industry to identify relevant multipliers and sale prices. Recent Transactions: Look for recent sales data to guarantee that your valuation reflects current market conditions. Professional Assistance: Hiring an independent valuation expert can provide an objective assessment, enhancing your comprehension of the business’s worth. Using the market approach helps you make informed decisions, guaranteeing you pay a fair price based on actual market trends. Secure Capital to Make the Purchase Securing capital for a business purchase is a vital step that requires careful consideration of various financing options. You should explore alternatives like SBA 7(a) loans, term loans, and asset-based lending to fund your acquisition. Furthermore, personal savings or support from friends and family can be viable sources of capital. To succeed, calculate the ideal purchase price and assess any costs for desired changes or improvements, ensuring they align with your financial capabilities. Documenting the business acquisition, including financial histories and cash flow analyses, can help reduce perceived risk for lenders. Comprehending the terms of different financing sources, such as interest rates and repayment terms, is essential for making informed financial decisions during the purchase process. Debt Financing Options for Your Business Acquisition When evaluating debt financing options for your business acquisition, you’ll encounter various avenues that can help you secure the necessary funds. Here are three key options to weigh: Senior Debt: Typically offers interest rates of 5-8% and often requires personal guarantees. Mezzanine Debt: Comes with higher rates ranging from 15-25%, sometimes including equity options for lenders. SBA Loans: The Small Business Administration provides loans, like the SBA 7(a), offering up to $5 million for eligible businesses. Understanding these debt financing options for business acquisitions is vital, especially if you’re exploring how to buy an existing business with no money. Assess your financial situation thoroughly to guarantee alignment with your operational strategies and repayment capabilities. Assess How Much Capital You Need for the Purchase Determining how much capital you need for a business purchase is a fundamental step in the acquisition process. Start by calculating the total purchase price, which includes not only the asking price but also extra costs like closing fees, legal expenses, and any necessary renovations. Next, assess your personal financial situation, factoring in your savings to see how much you can contribute upfront. Most lenders will expect a down payment between 10% and 30% of the business purchase price, influenced by your creditworthiness. Furthermore, consider operational costs for the first few months, such as employee salaries and utilities, to guarantee you have enough working capital. Exploring financing options like SBA loans can help minimize your capital requirement considerably. Explore Leasing the Business as a Financing Option Leasing a business can be a strategic way to enter the marketplace without the significant financial burden of an outright purchase. By choosing leasing, you can benefit from several advantages: Lower Initial Costs: Lease agreements typically demand less upfront capital, easing your cash flow concerns. Flexibility in Decision-Making: Many leases include options to buy later, letting you evaluate the business’s performance before committing to purchasing a business. Improved Creditworthiness: Timely lease payments can positively impact your credit score, making future financing for a purchase more accessible. Consider Partnering up for Shared Investment When you’re considering buying a business, partnering up can greatly ease the financial load by pooling resources. By combining your skills with a partner who’s complementary expertise, you improve your chances of success as you tackle operational challenges more effectively. Furthermore, shared investment opens the door to larger opportunities that may otherwise be inaccessible, making it a strategic move in your business acquisition expedition. Pooling Financial Resources Pooling financial resources with partners can be a strategic move when buying a business, as it amplifies your purchasing influence and opens the door to more lucrative opportunities. Consider the following benefits: Increased Purchasing Strength: You can acquire larger or more profitable businesses than you could alone, making buying an established business more feasible. Shared Financial Risk: Each partner shares the burden of potential losses and liabilities, reducing the financial strain on any one individual during a company purchase. Enhanced Access to Financing: Lenders often view partnerships favorably, seeing them as lower-risk propositions that may provide more favorable financing options. Creating a clear partnership agreement outlining contributions, roles, and profit-sharing can help avoid future misunderstandings and disputes. Combining Expertise and Skills Partnering with individuals who’ve complementary skills can greatly improve your chances of success when buying a business. By collaborating with partners who excel in areas like finance, marketing, or management, you can leverage their expertise to improve operational efficiency. Shared investment additionally lightens the financial load, making it easier to secure funding and manage costs, especially in capital-intensive industries. Furthermore, forming a partnership expands your network and access to valuable industry insights, boosting growth opportunities. This collaboration balances decision-making responsibilities, as diverse perspectives lead to more informed choices. Just make sure you establish a clear partnership agreement that outlines roles, responsibilities, and profit-sharing to prevent conflicts and guarantee smooth operations. Utilize Personal or Family Money to Finance Your Purchase Utilizing personal or family money to finance your business purchase offers distinct advantages that can simplify the acquisition process. When you decide to buy a cash flowing business, consider these benefits: Immediate Access to Capital: Personal savings or family loans provide quick funding without the lengthy approval from traditional lenders. Flexibility in Terms: You can negotiate repayment terms directly, avoiding the strict conditions often imposed by banks. Stronger Commitment: Investing personal or family money can boost your commitment to the venture, making you more invested in its success. Understand Seller Financing as a Payment Option When considering financing options for purchasing a business, seller financing can be an appealing alternative to traditional methods. This approach allows you to pay a portion of the purchase price over time, often through a promissory note, which is helpful if you lack sufficient cash or traditional financing. Seller financing typically covers 10% to 50% of the purchase price, depending on the seller’s willingness and your qualifications. Interest rates usually range from 5% to 9%, with flexible repayment terms that can align with your cash flow. Comprehending seller financing can strengthen your negotiating position, as it reflects the seller’s confidence in the business’s future. This option is essential in learning how to buy a corporation effectively. Complete the Deal With the Appropriate Documentation Completing the deal with the appropriate documentation is crucial for guaranteeing a smooth changeover of ownership when purchasing a business. To avoid complications, follow these steps to buying a business effectively: Prepare an asset acquisition statement (IRS Form 8594) for tax purposes during the closing process. Execute a bill of sale to officially transfer ownership of the business assets from the seller to you. Comply with local bulk sale laws to notify authorities and confirm that all legal obligations are met. Additionally, include non-compete agreements to protect your interests and verify all necessary licenses, permits, and paperwork are confirmed before finalizing any deal, especially if you’re exploring options like a business for sale no money down. Frequently Asked Questions What Do I Do if I Want to Buy a Business? If you want to buy a business, start by identifying your interests, skills, and experience to find a suitable match. Next, research available businesses using online platforms, newspapers, and your network. Conduct due diligence by reviewing financial documents and evaluating the business’s health. Assess its valuation through income, asset, and market approaches. Finally, consult with business brokers and legal advisors to effectively navigate negotiations and guarantee a successful deal closure. How Much Down Payment for a $500,000 Business Loan? When seeking a $500,000 business loan, you’ll typically need a down payment of 10% to 30%, which amounts to $50,000 to $150,000. A larger down payment, ideally around 20% or $100,000, can improve your chances of approval by reducing lender risk. Lenders likewise review your personal financial history, business plan, and cash flow. Don’t forget to account for additional costs like closing fees and working capital, which may require a higher initial investment. How Much Is a Business Worth With $100,000 in Sales? A business with $100,000 in sales typically values between $50,000 and $250,000. This range depends on factors like net profit margins, operational efficiencies, and market demand. Using an EBITDA multiple, you might see figures from 2.5 to 5 times earnings. For serious buyers, a net profit of $20,000 to $30,000 is ideal for a 20-30% return on investment. Furthermore, asset-based valuations can further influence the final worth. How Much Money Do You Need Down to Buy a Business? To buy a business, you typically need a down payment ranging from 10% to 30% of the purchase price. For SBA loans, a minimum of 10% is common, but it can vary based on the business’s financial health and your creditworthiness. Furthermore, consider extra costs like closing fees, legal expenses, and immediate operational needs, which may require an extra 5% to 15%. Prepare thorough financial documentation to support your financing efforts. Conclusion To summarize, buying a business requires careful planning and thorough research. By determining the type of business that suits your skills and interests, exploring available options, and conducting due diligence, you can make an informed decision. Consider your budget and financing methods, including seller financing, to facilitate your purchase. Ensuring all documentation is in order will help you complete the transaction smoothly. With the right approach, you can successfully navigate the business acquisition process. Image via Google Gemini and ArtSmart This article, "Want to Buy a Business?" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article