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Every company wants to be innovative. Most approach this by trying to hire highly creative specialists or by spinning up a new “innovation” team. But companies that consistently innovate do something different: They build company-wide systems focused on customer solutions and make innovation part of everyday business. Smart organizations focus on building reliable processes to understand customers, test assumptions, and scale what works. In my experience at Verra Mobility, the difference between companies that talk about innovation and companies that deliver it often comes down to a repeatable process that drives creativity. QUESTION EVERYTHING YOU “KNOW” The biggest innovation killer isn’t resistance to change; it’s the assumption that we already know the answer. When someone says they “know” what customers want, we dig deeper. Who did you talk to? How long ago did you talk to them? In our business reviews, we’ve made it mandatory for every business review to include not only operational performance, but also market updates and competitive intelligence. We want to push people to ask more questions, not just review more slides. This creates a culture where expertise is valued, assumptions are challenged, and customer insight drives decisions. When you force teams to back up their opinions with current data, they start questioning how they’ve worked and look for better solutions. UNDERSTAND WHAT CUSTOMERS WANT TO ACCOMPLISH Most innovation fails because we solve the wrong problems. Teams focus on how customers are using a product instead of understanding what they’re trying to achieve. Take time to sit with customers and understand their complete workflows—which teams they interact with, how they’d be impacted by process changes, and identifying opportunities to improve. Go deeper than marketing personas to understand the decision makers who will ultimately sign off on new programs. A few years ago, a car rental company client told us their biggest issue wasn’t reconciling $100 traffic violations, it was accounting for daily $10 tolls. We created a whole new business line for automated toll management. We started with one state, then expanded based on what worked. MAKE EXPERIMENTATION PART OF THE PROCESS Innovation requires observation, but success requires testing assumptions quickly and cheaply. We’ve built experimentation into our standard improvement process. When teams create solutions, I ask them to identify their biggest assumptions upfront, then look at the probability that assumption is correct. If we’re not sure, we test it quickly with a pilot or single customer trial. Take rough prototypes—even napkin drawings—directly to customers. The less finished it looks, the more honest the feedback you receive. When something looks polished, people don’t want to hurt your feelings. When it’s obviously a sketch, they’ll tell you exactly what’s wrong. Rather than funding only well-developed ideas in annual planning cycles, we create ways to test concepts early and build our business on what succeeds. MAKE INNOVATION EVERYONE’S JOB Innovation isn’t a special team’s responsibility. Everyone needs the mindset that there’s always room for improvement, and that they play an active role in identifying solutions. When innovation is part of everyone’s daily work, it becomes sustainable. This means regular forums where teams share customer insights and have clear processes for moving from hypothesis to experiment to implementation. It means bringing together product management, sales, and customer success to ensure new innovations don’t create support nightmares. Most experiments will fail—but they’ll fail fast and cheap, not slow and expensive. THE INNOVATION DISCIPLINE Here’s what most companies get wrong: They think innovation is about creativity and inspiration. While those are important, real success is driven by discipline and systems. Companies that succeed long-term create processes where good ideas surface, get tested quickly, and spread when they work. Any organization can do that if they’re willing to watch, question, and pilot solutions quickly. David Roberts is CEO of Verra Mobility. View the full article

President Donald The President said Sunday he will move to close Washington’s Kennedy Center performing arts center for two years starting in July for construction, his latest proposal to upturn the storied venue since returning to the White House. The President’s announcement on social media follows a wave of cancellations by leading performers, musicians and groups since the president ousted the previous leadership and added his name to the building. The President made no mention in his post of the recent cancellations. His proposal, announced days after the premiere of “Melania,” a documentary of the first lady was shown at the center, he said was subject to approval by the board of the Kennedy Center, which has been stocked with his hand-picked allies. The President himself chairs the center’s board of trustees. “This important decision, based on input from many Highly Respected Experts, will take a tired, broken, and dilapidated Center, one that has been in bad condition, both financially and structurally for many years, and turn it into a World Class Bastion of Arts, Music, and Entertainment,” The President wrote in his post. Neither The President nor Kennedy Center President Ric Grenell, a The President ally, have provided evidence to back up their claims about the building being in disrepair, and last October, The President had pledged the center would remain open during renovations. In Sunday’s announcement, The President said the center will close on July 4th, when he said the construction would begin. “Our goal has always been to not only save and permanently preserve the Center, but to make it the finest Arts Institution in the world,” Grenell said in a post, citing funds Congress approved for repairs. “This will be a brief closure,” Grenell said. “It desperately needs this renovation and temporarily closing the Center just makes sense — it will enable us to better invest our resources, think bigger and make the historic renovations more comprehensive. It also means we will be finished faster.” The sudden decision to shutter and reconstruct the Kennedy Center is sparking blowback as The President disrupts the popular venue, which began as a national cultural center but Congress renamed as a “living memorial” to President John F. Kennedy in 1964, in the aftermath of the slain president’s death. Opened in 1971, it is open year-round as a public showcase for the arts, including the National Symphony Orchestra. Since The President returned to the White House, the Kennedy Center is one of many Washington landmarks that he has sought to overhaul in his second term. He demolished the East Wing of the White House and launched a massive $400 million ballroom project, is actively pursuing building a triumphal arch on the other side the Arlington Bridge from the the Lincoln Memorial, and has plans for Washington Dulles International Airport. Leading performing arts groups have pulled out of appearances at the Kennedy Center, most recently, composer Philip Glass, who announced his decision to withdraw his Symphony No. 15 “Lincoln” because he said the values of the center today are in “direct conflict” with the message of the piece. Last month, the Washington National Opera announced that it will move performances away from the Kennedy Center in another high-profile departure following The President’s takeover of the U.S. capital’s leading performing arts venue. The head of artistic programming for the center abruptly left his post last week, less than two weeks after being named to the job. A spokesperson for the Kennedy Center could not immediately be reached and did not respond to an emailed request for comment. Late last year, as The President announced his plan to rename the building — erecting his name on the building’s main front ahead of that of Kennedy — he drew sharp opposition from members of Congress, and some Kennedy family members. Kerry Kennedy, a niece of John F. Kennedy, said in a social post on X at the time that she will remove The President’s name herself with a pickax when his term ends. Another family member, Maria Shriver, said at the time that it is “beyond comprehension that this sitting president has sought to rename this great memorial dedicated to President Kennedy,” her uncle. “It is beyond wild that he would think adding his name in front of President Kennedy’s name is acceptable. It is not.” Late Sunday evening, Shriver posted a new comment mimicking The President’s own voice and style, and suggesting the closure of the venue was meant to deflect from the cancellations. She said that “entertainers are canceling left and right” and the president has determined that “since the name change no one wants to perform there any longer.” The President has decided, she said, it’s best “to close this center down and rebuild a new center” that will bear his name. She asked, “right?” One lawmaker, Rep. Joyce Beatty, the Ohio Democrat and ex-officio trustee of the center’s board, sued in December, arguing that “only Congress has the authority to rename the Kennedy Center.” On Sunday, Beatty said that once again The President “has acted with total disregard for Congress,” which allocates funds to the center. She questioned what comes next for the artists — and the building itself. “Let’s be clear: remodeling the premises will not restore the Kennedy Center to what it was. A return to artistic independence will,” she said. “America’s artists are rejecting this attempted takeover, and the administration knows it.” Associated Press writer Darlene Superville contributed to this report. —Michelle L. Price and Lisa Mascaro, Associated Press View the full article

Small business owners seeking an edge in technology may want to pay attention to recent advancements in quantum computing announced by Microsoft. With the introduction of the latest version of the Quantum Development Kit (QDK), small firms now have access to powerful tools that could redefine their operational efficiencies and problem-solving capabilities. In a landscape where precision and speed can greatly influence business outcomes, the QDK offers developers a versatile arsenal for building and executing quantum applications. Gone are the days of grappling with error-prone qubits; Microsoft’s focus on reliable logical qubits signifies a move towards more stable computational environments. As outlined in their recent press release, this toolkit is designed not just for scientists and large enterprises but also aims to empower small businesses exploring AI and quantum technologies. The QDK is an open-source platform that integrates seamlessly with popular coding tools like Microsoft Visual Studio Code and GitHub Copilot. These integrations enable quicker coding, testing, and execution processes for quantum algorithms, making it more accessible for developers familiar with programming languages such as Python and Q#. By simplifying the coding workflow, businesses can focus on innovation rather than getting bogged down with technical details. “With GitHub Copilot and the QDK, programming tasks such as code generation, unit tests, and job submissions are faster and easier than ever before,” said Matthias Troyer, Microsoft’s Technical Fellow. Key benefits of the QDK include built-in libraries for specific applications like quantum chemistry and error correction. These tools can significantly reduce the amount of expertise required to tackle complex scientific issues. Small businesses in the tech or research sectors may find that the chemistry toolkit enhances their ability to perform tasks that were previously reserved for larger firms with extensive resources. Notably, the QDK offers advanced methods to optimize complex problems within quantum hardware constraints, enabling companies to derive actionable insights more swiftly. There’s also the matter of scalability. Microsoft’s QDK allows for plug-and-play integration with existing tools, minimizing configuration overhead—a critical factor for smaller enterprises often constrained by time and personnel. This adaptability is important, particularly as marketplaces increasingly demand rapid innovation and responsiveness. However, small business owners should remain aware that while the QDK presents considerable opportunities, challenges could arise. The shift towards quantum computing entails a steep learning curve, particularly for teams not already versed in this new frontier. Investing in training and skill development may be necessary to fully realize the benefits of quantum technologies. Additionally, keeping pace with the fast-evolving nature of quantum algorithms will require ongoing dedication to learning and adaptation in operational practices. Microsoft is not just launching these tools but is building a broader ecosystem. The QDK is part of a comprehensive quantum platform that integrates various elements including hardware, software, and AI, all powered by Azure. Collaborations with industry leaders, such as Atom Computing, highlight the level of investment Microsoft is making into the quantum space. As Troyer notes, “Empowering quantum development with familiar tools enhances capabilities and accelerates time to insight.” For small business owners, the arrival of the QDK represents a powerful opportunity to integrate cutting-edge quantum capabilities into their operations. With the potential for transformative applications in fields like quantum chemistry and error correction, early adopters could find themselves poised at the forefront of an evolving technological landscape. Accessing Microsoft’s resources may just be the catalyst needed for businesses to innovate more efficiently and effectively. For more detailed information on the Microsoft Quantum Development Kit and its features, visit the original post here. Image via Google Gemini This article, "Microsoft Unveils Quantum Development Kit to Revolutionize Chemistry and Error Correction" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

It's been more than a year since the Galaxy S25, Galaxy S25 Plus, and Galaxy S25 Ultra were unveiled, which means we're overdue some new flagship phones from Samsung. While nothing has been officially revealed about the Galaxy S26, a number of leaks and rumors that have appeared online, providing a pretty good idea of what to expect. With the caveat that none of this is confirmed (though this information all comes from well-known tipsters with decent track records when it comes to future Samsung products), here's everything the rumors are telling us right now. We'll know how much of it is spot-on once the devices are announced—perhaps as soon as the end of this month. What rumors say about the Samsung Galaxy S26 series' launch date and pricing Samsung unveiled the Galaxy S25 phones on Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025, and they then went on sale on Friday, Feb. 7. We're already into February 2026, and there's still no word about the Galaxy S26 series, so for whatever reason, Samsung hasn't been able to stick to the same schedule that it used last year for its flagship phones' launch. Still, we should see these handsets appear before we're too much further into 2026. According to information obtained by the team at Dealabs, Samsung is planning to hold a launch event on Wednesday, Feb. 25—which would align with the day of the week that Samsung usually likes to hold its Unpacked events. This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed. That date has been repeated by veteran leaker Evan Blass, so it looks as certain as anything can be without any official confirmation. There will then be a short preorder period before the phones actually go on sale, as usual, and the Galaxy S26 series is being tipped to start shipping on Wednesday, March 11. As for pricing, it would seem that these Galaxy S26 handsets are going to cost you as much as their Galaxy S25 counterparts did when they first came out. Several sources, including reports from South Korean media, predict the following starting prices: $799 for the Galaxy S26, $999 for the Galaxy S26 Plus, and $1,299 for the Galaxy S26 Ultra. What rumors say about the Samsung Galaxy S26 series' designThe three models we're expecting—the standard model, the Plus model, and the Ultra model—match up with what Samsung has done in previous years, including 2025. It's possible that we'll see a more affordable FE (Fan Edition) version of the Galaxy S26 later in the year—the Samsung Galaxy S25 FE launched in September 2025. What we're probably not going to see is a Samsung Galaxy S26 Edge. The Galaxy S25 Edge, the thinnest Galaxy phone to date, broke cover in May 2025, measuring just 5.8mm front to back. However, multiple sources (including the well-respected Jukan) suggest that sluggish sales have led to the model being dropped this year. (It seems demand is weak for the iPhone Air as well.) The rear camera design from the Galaxy Z Fold 7 is set to be used on the Galaxy S26. Credit: Samsung When it comes to the designs of these phones, we're not expecting much to change at all. Android Headlines has posted renders for the 6.3-inch Galaxy S26, the 6.7-inch Galaxy S26 Plus, and the 6.9-inch Galaxy S26 Ultra: That's a slight increase in screen size (from 6.2 inches) for the standard model compared to the Galaxy S25, but the other two look like they'll have the same sized displays as their predecessors. The only real change in terms of aesthetics is a pill-shaped camera island on the back. This was missing on the Galaxy S25 series, but did show up on the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 7. Multiple colors have been rumored, in part through wallpaper leaks: They include gray, peach, purple, light blue, black, and silver for the standard model, and black, white, silver shadow, sky blue, cobalt violet, and pink gold for the Ultra model. What rumors say about the Samsung Galaxy S26 series' specs and featuresThe Samsung Galaxy S26 phones will come with the standard processor speed bump: As reported by SamMobile, it looks as though the handsets are going to be fitted with a mix of the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 from Qualcomm, and Samsung's own Exynos 2600 processor, depending on region. If previous years are any indication, all the handsets sold in the US will have Snapdragon CPUs inside. Don't expect massive leaps forward in terms of cameras: According to The Elec in South Korea, the Galaxy S26 cameras will match those on the Galaxy S25 (50MP main, 12MP ultrawide, and 10MP 3x telephoto), as Samsung tries to keep costs down. However, the Ultra model may get treated to a new 10MP telephoto camera. The Galaxy S25 series launch. Credit: Samsung There may be better news when it comes to battery capacity, though this is only one of the contributors to battery life. As Wccftech reports, the Galaxy S26 is rumored to be getting a 4,300mAh battery, compared to the 4,000mAh battery of its predecessor—and the other two models are apparently getting similar bumps as well. It seems as though this will be the year that Samsung adds MagSafe-style accessory snapping on top of wireless charging to its flagship Galaxy phones. WinFuture has managed to obtain details of some of the official magnetic cases that are apparently coming our way, together with the phones themselves. The Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra. Credit: Lifehacker There is one feature that Samsung has officially teased, and that's a "new layer of privacy" for Galaxy phone screens. When this privacy feature is enabled, it will be much harder for anyone but you to see what's on your display—cutting down the risks of 'shoulder surfers' getting a glance at passwords, PIN codes, or other sensitive information. Overall then, it seems we'll be getting rather modest upgrades from Samsung this time around, in terms of both the hardware design and the internal specs. On the software side there are several new features to look forward to with One UI 8.5, including improved security and sharing tools, and yet more AI functionality. View the full article

SEO has historically been an exercise in reverse-engineering algorithms. Keywords, links, technical compliance, repeat. But that model is being reimagined. Today, visibility is earned through trust, usefulness, and experience, not just relevance signals or crawlability. Search engines no longer evaluate pages in isolation. They observe how people interact with brands over time. That shift has given rise to human experience optimization (HXO): the practice of optimizing how humans experience, trust, and act on your brand across search, content, product, and conversion touchpoints. Rather than replacing SEO, HXO expands its scope to reflect how search now evaluates performance. Experience, engagement, and credibility have become difficult to separate from visibility itself. Below, we’ll look at how HXO shows up in modern search, why it matters now, and how it reshapes the boundaries between SEO, UX, and conversion. Why HXO matters now Modern search engines reward outcomes, not tactics. Ranking signals increasingly reflect what happens after the click, aligning with Google’s emphasis on user satisfaction over isolated page signals. In practice, that means signals tied to questions like: Do users engage or bounce? Do they return? Do they recognize the brand later? Do they trust the information enough to act on it? Visibility today is influenced by three overlapping forces: User behavior signals: Engagement, satisfaction, repeat visits, and downstream actions all indicate whether content actually delivers value. Brand signals: Recognition, authority, and trust – built over time, across channels – shape how search engines interpret credibility. Content authenticity and experience: Pages that feel generic, automated, or disconnected from real expertise increasingly struggle to perform. HXO emerges as a response to two compounding pressures: AI-generated content saturation, which has made “good enough” content abundant and undifferentiated. Declining marginal returns from traditional SEO tactics, especially when they aren’t supported by strong experience and brand coherence. In short, optimization that ignores human experience is no longer competitive. Dig deeper: From searching to delegating: Adapting to AI-first search behavior The convergence: SEO, UX, and CRO are no longer separate For a long time, SEO, UX, and CRO operated as separate disciplines: SEO focused on traffic acquisition. UX focused on usability and design. CRO focused on conversion efficiency. But that separation no longer works. Traffic alone doesn’t mean much if users don’t engage. Engagement without a clear path to action limits impact. And conversion is difficult to scale when trust hasn’t been established. HXO now acts as the unifying layer: SEO still determines how people arrive. UX shapes whether they understand what they have found. CRO influences whether that understanding turns into action. That convergence is increasingly visible in how search-driven experiences perform. Page experience affects both visibility and post-click behavior. Search intent informs page structure and UX decisions alongside keyword targeting. Content clarity and credibility influence whether users engage once or return through search again. In this environment, optimization is less about securing a single click. It’s about supporting attention and trust over time. E-E-A-T is a business system, not content guidelines One of the most persistent misconceptions in search is that E-E-A-T – or, experience, expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness – can just be “added” to content. Add an author bio. Add citations. Add credentials. Those elements do matter. They help provide context and communicate expertise. But treating E-E-A-T primarily as a set of small, on-page additions doesn’t fully capture how search systems evaluate expertise and trust. In practice, E-E-A-T isn’t just about how one page is formatted. It’s a broader, more holistic view of how a business demonstrates credibility to users over time. That tends to be an output of: Real expertise embedded in products and services. Transparent operations and clearly stated values. A consistent brand voice with visible accountability. Clear ownership over ideas, opinions, and outcomes. Search engines aren’t evaluating content in isolation. They’re evaluating the context around it, too. Per Google’s Search Quality Rater Guidelines, that includes: Who is responsible for creating the content and whether that responsibility is clearly disclosed. The demonstrated experience and reputation of the creator or organization behind it. Consistency in expertise and accuracy across related content on the site. Evidence of ongoing trust, including transparency, content updates, and accountability for accuracy. Viewed this way, E-E-A-T is reinforced through consistent systems and patterns, not isolated page-level changes. First-hand experience signals are the new differentiator Today’s search landscape is flooded with competent, well-structured content that meets a similar baseline of accuracy and readability. “Good” content is no longer a meaningful bar. Because of that, first-hand experience is becoming an increasingly important content differentiator. That can look like: Original data, testing, or research generated by the creator. Lived experience paired with a clear point of view. Named creators with reputational stakes in what they publish. Insight that reflects direct involvement, not secondhand synthesis. There’s a meaningful difference between: Information aggregation (what anyone could compile). Experience-based insight (what only operators, practitioners, and creators can provide). For example, a guide to subscription pricing that summarizes common models may be factually sound. But a piece written by someone who’s priced, tested, and revised subscription tiers over time is more likely to surface tradeoffs, edge cases, and decision logic. That’s something aggregation can’t replicate. This is why we’re seeing creators and operators increasingly outperform faceless brands. Within the world of human experience optimization, the “human” part is key. Dig deeper: 4 SEO tips to elevate the user experience Get the newsletter search marketers rely on. See terms. Helpful content is a brand problem, not an SEO problem “Helpful content updates” are often discussed as if performance issues stem from technical gaps or tactical mistakes. In practice, when content fails to be helpful, the underlying causes tend to sit elsewhere. Common patterns include: A brand that lacks clarity about what it stands for or who it serves. A business that avoids taking clear positions or making decisions visible. An experience that feels fragmented across pages, channels, or touchpoints. In contrast, content that users consistently find helpful usually reflects deeper alignment. It tends to emerge from: A clear understanding of audience needs and decision contexts. Real-world problem solving informed by actual experience. Consistent intent across messaging, products, and interactions. SEO can improve discoverability and structure, but it can’t compensate for unclear positioning or disconnected experiences. When helpfulness is missing, the issue is rarely confined to the page itself. That view lines up with how Google described its helpful content system, which looks at broader site-level patterns and long-term value rather than isolated pages or tactics. Closing these gaps requires a broader view of how people experience, trust, and engage with a brand beyond any single page. HXO provides a framework for that shift. How to start practicing human experience optimization Human experience optimization doesn’t begin with keywords. It begins with people and the situations that lead them to search in the first place. In practice, adopting HXO usually involves a few shifts in focus: 1. Move from keyword strategy to audience strategy Keyword research remains useful, but it’s rarely sufficient on its own. Teams need a clearer understanding of motivations, anxieties, and decision contexts, not just what terms people type into a search bar. 2. Audit experience, not just pages Page-level audits often miss the broader experience users actually encounter. A more useful lens looks at: Trust signals and credibility cues. Clarity of message and intent. Friction in user journeys. Consistency across touchpoints and channels. 3. Align teams around experience outcomes HXO tends to surface gaps between functions that operate independently. Addressing those gaps requires coordination across: Marketing. Product. Content. Design. The goal isn’t alignment for its own sake, but shared responsibility for how users experience the brand. 4. Measure what actually matters Traditional metrics still have a place, but they don’t tell the full story. Teams practicing HXO often expand measurement to include: Engagement quality rather than raw volume. Brand recall and recognition. Return users over time. Conversions driven by confidence and trust rather than pressure. Optimize for humans, earn the algorithms HXO isn’t a tactic to deploy or a framework to layer on. It reflects a longer-term advantage rooted in how consistently a brand shows up for users. In modern search, the brands that perform most reliably tend to share a few traits: They’re grounded in real experience. They’re consistently useful. They demonstrate expertise through action, not just explanation. As a result, search visibility can’t be engineered through isolated optimizations. It’s shaped by the cumulative experiences people have with a brand before, during, and after a search interaction. View the full article

Natural language is quickly becoming the default way people interact with online tools. Instead of typing a few keywords, users now ask full questions, give detailed instructions, and are starting to expect clear, conversational answers. So, how can you make sure your content provides the answer to their question? Or better yet, how can you make it possible for them to interact with your website in a similar way? That’s where Microsoft’s NLWeb comes in. Meet NLWeb, Microsoft’s new open project NLWeb, short for Natural Language Web, is an open project recently launched by Microsoft. The aim of this project is to bring conversational interfaces directly to websites, rather than users having to use an external chatbot that’s in control of what’s shown. Instead of relying on traditional navigation or search bars, NLWeb is designed to allow users to ask questions and explore content in a more personal, conversational way. At its core, NLWeb connects website content to AI-powered tools. It enables AI to understand what a website is about, what information it contains, and how that information should be interpreted for the purpose of returning personalized results. With this project, Microsoft is moving toward a more interoperable, standards-based, and open web that allows everyone to prepare their website for the future of search. This project was initiated and realized by R.V. Guha, CVP and Technical Fellow at Microsoft. Guha is one of the creators of widely used web standards such as RSS and Schema.org. How NLWeb works NLWeb works by combining structured data, standardized APIs and AI models capable of understanding natural language. Every NLWeb instance acts as a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server, which makes your content discoverable for all the agents operating in the MCP ecosystem. This makes it easy for these agents to find your website. Using structured data, website owners then present their content in a machine-readable way. AI applications can then consume this data and answer user questions accurately by matching them to the most relevant information. The result is a conversational experience powered by existing content, either directly on a website or through using an online search tool. A conversational interface for both human users and AI agents collecting information. An important thing to note is that NLWeb is an open project. It’s not a closed ecosystem, meaning that Microsoft wants to make it accessible to everyone. The idea is to make it easy for any website owner to create an intelligent, natural language experience for their site, while also preparing their content to interact with and be discovered by other online agents, such as AI tools and search engines. How does natural language work? Natural language simply refers to the way we speak and write. This means using full sentences that allow room for intent, context and nuance. More than keywords or short commands, natural language reflects how people think and what they are looking for exactly. To give you an example: a focus keyphrase might be running shoes trail. But using natural language, the request would look more like this: What are the best running shoes for trail running in wet conditions? Natural language in AI tools Modern AI tools are designed to understand this kind of input. The large language models behind these tools can analyze intent and context to generate responses that fulfill the given request. This is why conversational interfaces feel more intuitive than traditional search or forms. Tools like AI chat assistants, voice search, and even traditional search engines rely heavily on natural language understanding and users have quickly adapted to it. The current state of search The way people find information online is changing fast. A change that is heavily influenced by the use of AI-powered tools. We now expect personalized answers instead of a list of results to sort through ourselves. AI chatbots also give us the option to follow up on our original search query, which turns search into a conversation instead of a series of clicks. Research from McKinsey & Company shows that AI adoption and natural language interfaces are becoming mainstream, with 50% of consumers already using AI-driven tools for information discovery. The majority even say it’s the top digital source they use to make buying decisions. As these habits continue to grow, websites that aren’t optimized for natural language risk becoming invisible in AI-generated answers. Why this is interesting for you The shift to natural language isn’t just a technical trend. As discussed above, it directly impacts your online visibility and competitive position. If users ask an AI system for information, only a handful of sources will be referenced in the response. This is because, like search engines, AI platforms also need to be able to read the information on your website. Being one of those sources can be the difference between being discovered or being overlooked. NLWeb collaborates with Yoast With NLWeb, you are communicating your website’s content clearly and in a standardized way. That means your brand, products, or expertise can appear in AI-powered answers instead of your competitors. To help as many website owners as possible benefit from this shift, Yoast is collaborating with NLWeb. The best part? If you’re a user of any of our Yoast plans designed for WordPress, you’re well ahead here. Yoast’s integration with NLWeb will roll out in phases, starting with functionality that helps our users using WordPress express their content in ways AI systems can interpret accurately, without any additional setup required. So sit tight and let us help you prepare your website for the new world of search! NLWeb aims to make your content understandable not just for people, but for the AI systems that are increasingly relevant to your website’s discovery. Read more: Yoast collaborates with Microsoft to help AI understand Open Web » The post What is NLWeb (Natural Language Web)? appeared first on Yoast. View the full article

Bad Bunny won album of the year at the 2026 Grammy Awards for his critically-acclaimed “Debí Tirar Más Fotos,” closing out a surprising and history-making night. It is the first time a Spanish-language album has taken home the top prize. “Puerto Rico, believe me when I tell you that we are much bigger than 100 by 35,” he said in his acceptance speech in Spanish, referring to a Puerto Rican colloquialism about the island’s small size. “And there is nothing we can’t achieve. Thank God, thank you to the Academy, thank you to all the people who have believed in me throughout my career. “To all the people who worked on this album, thank you mami for giving birth to me in Puerto Rico, I love you,” he continued. Then he switched to English: “I want to dedicate this award to all the people who had to leave their homeland to follow their dreams.” Harry Styles presented the award — the English singer previously took home the top prize in 2023 for “Harry’s House.” He beat Bad Bunny that year, who was nominated for “Un Verano Sin Ti” — the first Spanish-language album to be up in the category. Anti-ICE messages from the stage Billie Eilish won song of the year for “Wildflower” and used the moment to add her voice to the chorus of musicians criticizing immigration authorities Sunday. “No one is illegal on stolen land,” she said while accepting the award for the song from her 2024 album “Hit Me Hard and Soft.” “(Expletive) ICE is all I want to say.” Immigration was a central theme of the night. The first time Bad Bunny was on stage — after winning the award for música urbana album — he used his speech to share an anti-ICE message, highlighting the humanity of all people. “Before I say thanks to God, I’m going to say ICE out,” he said, starting out his speech in English to huge applause. “We’re not savage, we’re not animals, we’re not aliens. We are humans and we are Americans.” Before that, Olivia Dean was named best new artist. “I never really imagined that I would be up here,” she said, receiving her first Grammy while wiping away tears. “I’m up here as a granddaughter of an immigrant. I wouldn’t be here … I am a product of bravery, and I think that those people deserve to be celebrated.” Those statements all aired live on the CBS telecast. Earlier in the day, at the Premiere Ceremony where 86 Grammys are handed out, artists were equally as pointed about ICE and immigration enforcement. Shaboozey accepted the award for country duo/group performance with tears in his eyes. “I want to thank my mother, who as of today, has retired from her job of 30 years … working as a registered nurse in a psych ward … as an immigrant in this country. Thank you, mom. “Immigrants built this country, literally, actually. So, this for them,” he concluded. “Thank you for bring your culture, your music and your stories.” Kehlani, after winning her first Grammy, ended her acceptance speech with “Imma leave this and say, (expletive) ICE.” “I’m scared,” Gloria Estefan said of the current political moment backstage at the Grammys. “There are hundreds of children in detention centers. … I don’t recognize my country in this moment right now.” Kendrick Lamar, Lady Gaga, Jelly Roll and more win big Kendrick Lamar and SZA won record of the year at an electric 2026 Grammy Awards Sunday night for “Luther.” Cher presented the award and mistakenly said it goes to “Luther Vandross” instead of Kendrick Lamar and SZA. One of the song’s producers, Sounwave, began the acceptance speech by saying, “Let’s give a shoutout to the late and great Luther Vandross.” Lamar also won the first televised award of the night, rap album for “GNX,” accepting the trophy from Queen Latifah and Doechii. “It’s an honor to be here,” he said in his acceptance speech. “Hip-hop is always going to be right here … We’re gonna be having the culture with us.” The victory means Lamar broke Jay-Z’s record to become the rapper with the most career Grammys. Jay-Z has 25; after he took home rap album and record of the year, Lamar’s total is 27. Pop vocal album went to Lady Gaga for “Mayhem,” while pop solo performance went to Lola Young for “Messy,” whose speech playfully lived up to the song’s spirit. “I don’t know what to say,” she joked about “obviously” not having a speech prepared. “I’m very, very grateful for this.” The inaugural contemporary country album category went to Jelly Roll for “Beautifully Broken.” This year, the Grammys renamed country album to contemporary country album and added a traditional country album category, a distinction that exists in other genres. But the news arrived right after Beyoncé’s “Cowboy Carter” won best country album, inspiring backlash online. “I believe music had the power to change my life,” Jelly Roll said in his acceptance speech, which he spent the majority of thanking God. Pharrell Williams received the Dr. Dre Global Impact Award. “To everyone in this room who believes in the power of Black music,” he said, “thank you so much.” A live concert experience A powerful Grammy Awards in memoriam segment celebrated the legacies of the late D’Angelo and Roberta Flack at the 68th annual ceremony Sunday night. Ms. Lauryn Hill appeared on the Grammy stage for the first time since 1999, when she became the first hip-hop artist to win album of the year for her “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.” The D’Angelo tribute was first: A medley of several songs, among them “Brown Sugar” with Lucky Daye, “Lady” with Raphael Saadiq and Anthony Hamilton and “Devil’s Pie” with Leon Thomas. Then, Hill focused her attention on Roberta Flack: “First Time Ever I Saw Your Face” with Jon Batiste, “Where Is The Love” with John Legend and Chaka Khan, and a mesh of “Feel Like Makin’ Love” and “Killing Me Softly with His Song” with her Fugees bandmate Wyclef Jean. If there was one set that felt like an avant-garde artistic performance piece on Sunday night, it was Tyler, the Creator’s medley of “Thought I Was Dead,” “Like Him,” (in which he was joined by Regina King) and “Sugar On My Tongue.” It played out like theater: others would be wise to take note. All eight nominees in the best new artist category participated in a medley at the award show across multiple stages, the back halls of the arena and even the venue’s loading dock. It was an interesting and impressive mod-podge of different styles, from the British soul of Young and Dean to Addison Rae and Katseye’s hypnotic pop. The Marías kicked things off with their dreamy indie rock; sombr and Alex Warren offered their radio hits — “12 to 12” and “Ordinary” respectively. Leon Thomas reminded the audience why he’s the only nominee also up for album of the year with his fully formed R&B. The hits arrived fast and furious in the show’s first hour. Rosé and Bruno Mars’ opened Grammys with an electric rendition of their multicultural pop smash, “APT.”; the Blackpink singer channeled a pop-punk Gwen Stefani in her tie and platinum blond hair. Sabrina Carpenter with her “Manchild” kiss-off. Justin Bieber slowed things down with “Yukon” from his comeback record “Swag.” Lady Gaga reimagined her hit “Abracadabra” as an electro-rock song. First-time winners were abundant — even before the show started During the Premiere Ceremony, the Dalai Lama won his first Grammy for audio book, narration and storytelling recording, beating out Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. You read that correctly. “Golden” from “KPop Demon Hunters” won song written for visual media at the Premiere Ceremony, marking the first time a K-pop act has won a Grammy. Songwriters delivered their acceptance speech in both English and Korean, highlighting the song’s bilingual appeal. Music film went to “Music for John Williams,” which means director Steven Spielberg has officially won his first Grammy. That makes him an EGOT winner — an artist with an Emmy, Grammy, Tony and Oscar. Associated Press Writer Berenice Bautista contributed to this report. For more coverage of this year’s Grammy Awards, visit: www.apnews.com/GrammyAwards —Maria Sherman, AP Music Writer View the full article

Short staffing and the transition from paper checks to digital refunds are among the biggest challenges facing the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) this tax season. That’s according to the National Taxpayer Advocate’s expansive Annual Report to Congress, the latest version of which was recently posted online. The annual report aims to “help Congress strengthen taxpayer rights, reduce taxpayer burden, and improve IRS performance.” The Taxpayer Advocate Service, or TAS, is an independent office within the IRS that’s meant to look after the interests of taxpayers. Erin M. Collins, who submitted and signed off on the latest report, has served as the National Taxpayer Advocate since 2020. Here are some highlights of the report: Transition away from paper checks could impact refunds for some Specifically, the report notes that while the majority of refunds were issued electronically last year, “taxpayers who do not provide direct deposit information may experience significant refund delays, as the IRS will generally hold refunds for up to six weeks while requesting banking information or determining whether an exception applies, with paper checks only issued afterward.” As a result, some taxpayers will be disproportionately affected by the agency’s phasing out of paper checks. That includes taxpayers without bank accounts, or who are disabled, elderly, or underbanked, and “other vulnerable taxpayers for whom paper checks have often been the only practical means of receiving refunds needed to cover basic living expenses.” Average refunds last year tallied $3,167, the report says—a significant amount for many households. Filing your tax return online should result in a refund being issued within a few weeks—but, again, the report is warning that may not be the case for some. Only 6% of taxpayers filed their returns last year on paper. And only 7% received their refund via paper check. The IRS is significantly smaller this year Staffing issues at the IRS could be an even bigger issue. The IRS last year had a relatively large workforce, due in part to an influx of funding from the Biden-era Inflation Reduction Act. Over the past year, however, the IRS has had its workforce reduced by 27%, according to Collins’s report. That’s in addition to “leadership turnover, and the implementation of extensive and complex tax law changes mandated by the [One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025], many of which apply retroactively and require significant IRS programming, guidance, changes to tax forms and instructions, and taxpayer education.” The number of customer service agents was also cut by 22%, meaning it will likely be more difficult to get help if you’re trying to work out any issues with or get an update on your refund. In all, the agency’s manpower stood at around 74,000 in December, down from 102,000 a year ago. That could mean a more turbulent experience for taxpayers trying to keep track of their refunds. Even so, taxpayers expecting a refund can use the Where’s My Refund online tool to check their status 24 hours after filing electronically. They can also try using the IRS2Go app or log in to their IRS Individual Online Account for updates. View the full article

Your social media feed is probably showing you something totally different, but this week, young people are fleeing TikTok (or at least posting about fleeing TikTok), AI and humanity are locked in a high-stakes dance battle, AI food is yelling at everyone, and we're learning a lot about "young hos." TikTok refugees head to UpscrolledSince it was released in 2017, social media platform TikTok has been the way young people communicate, but that could be changing. Alarm over recent changes in the app's privacy policy and accusations that its new, American owners are messing up the algorithm have some users deleting their accounts and leaving. Or at least saying they're leaving. But where will they go? The last time this kind of thing happened, TikTokers headed to another Chinese social media app called RedNote, but this time, a lot of people say they're migrating to Upscrolled. The app, which briefly hit number one on the app store charts, was created by Palestinian-Jordanian-Australian entrepreneur Issam Hijazi. Upscrolled promises an antidote to the "Double standards, algorithmic bias, selective censorship, and profit over principle" of other social media platforms. The app doesn't allow "hate speech" but promises less censorship of ideas, no shadow-banning, no data-sharing, and "No black-box AI" for curation, all delivered in a form-factor that's familiar to users. So, what's the downside? Well, it's a small team and it seems to be having some issues with the number of downloads. More troubling are reports of a flood of antisemitic material appearing on the site. In a statement to The Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Upscrolled spokeperson Gabriella Bord wrote, “Our content moderation hasn’t been able to keep up with the massive rise of users this week,” and “We’re working with digital rights experts to grow our Trust & Safety team and are beefing up our content moderation to prevent this," so maybe the moderation team is just having some growing pains. Viral video of the week: human vs. AI baby dancingThis week's viral video is more of a viral video trend, and it involves a battle of dancing babies. It starts with the post below, from @mindalchemy0236, which I apologize for in advance. An ad for the "Baby Dance" app, this video has been viewed over 100 million times. It became so overplayed on TiKTok that users fought back in the only way they could: Through dance. In a modern re-enactment of the American myth of John Henry vs. the Steam Engine, users on TikTok are locked in dance battle with AI. People responded to the annoying ad with videos of their human children doing the same dance for real, joking that it was to save $1.98, the app's price. Kids got into it, throwing shade at AI at the same time. Then grown-ups got in on it, Grannies started doing it, and celebrities like Lisa Rinna got into the act. So it turned into a whole thing, and according to some users, human users ended up winning because TikTok's algorithm is showing more human remakes than the original ad that annoyed everyone. What does it all mean? Is this how the robot-human war will be decided? How does it relate to the original dancing baby, one of our first internet memes? Is history turning back on itself and should we invest in Ally McBeal reruns? I just don't know, but for what it's worth, John Henry won the battle with the steam shovel, but the effort exhausted him and he died. AI food yelling videos: brain rot that's good for youI'm always trying to find good things about artificial intelligence. So far I got: Helping to cure cancer Finding Waldo But I'm adding videos of food yelling at people. For real though. This growing meme format involves asking AI to make videos of food angrily telling you how to properly and safely prepare and store it. They're entertaining, educational, and if one person remembers to throw away rice that's left out, it could save a life and be worth all that cooling water. Kids need to know all this junk and for some reason they like brain rot. Check out these meaty boys: And these angry fellas: I can't vouch for the accuracy of every food tip on the hashtag, but I watched a bunch of these videos and so far, they're solid. What does "young ho" mean?I'm sure you know what both "ho" and "young" mean, but put them together and it becomes something else, both a reclamation of the word "ho" and an expression of youth-based solidarity. The trend started with mildly insulting, older-people-bag-on-youngins posts on X like this one: This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed. But over on TikTok, @kensdremgurl went viral by laying down a mini-manifesto for young hos: Summing up the list with, "all a young ho is is someone who's freed themself from being inconvenienced." Other TikTokers started listing which young ho traits they share and making their own observations, adding these traits to the list: Getting up at 7:50 to be at work at 8. Throwing away the containers from Chinese food, even if their mom wants to save them. Airfrying chicken nuggets. Eschewing fitted sheets. Removing snow from car windows with a fork. View the full article

From tech titans to Wall Street power brokers and foreign dignitaries, a who’s who of powerful men make appearances in the huge trove of documents released by the Justice Department in connection with its investigations of Jeffrey Epstein. All have denied having anything to do with his sexual abuse of girls and young women. Yet some of them maintained friendships with Epstein, or developed them anew, even after news stories made him widely known as an alleged abuser of young girls. None have been charged with a crime connected to the investigation. Epstein killed himself in a Manhattan jail cell in 2019. Here’s a primer on some of the notable names in the Epstein files: Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor The man formerly known as Britain’s Prince Andrew has long been dogged by questions about his relationship with Epstein, including allegations from the late Virginia Roberts Giuffre that she was trafficked by Epstein and instructed to have sex with Mountbatten-Windsor when she was 17. The former prince has repeatedly denied that it happened, but his brother, King Charles III, still stripped him of his royal titles late last year, including the right to be called a prince and the Duke of York. Mountbatten-Windsor’s name appears at least several hundred times in Friday’s document release, including in Epstein’s private emails. Among the correspondence is an invitation for Epstein to dine at Buckingham Palace, Epstein’s offer to introduce Mountbatten-Windsor to a 26-year-old Russian woman, and photos that appear to show Mountbatten-Windsor kneeling over an unidentified woman lying on the floor. Sarah Ferguson In March of 2011, Sarah Ferguson, then the Duchess of York, made a public apology for letting Jeffrey Epstein pay off some of her debts. Both she and her ex-husband, the former Prince Andrew, had come under tremendous public scrutiny for continuing a friendly relationship with Epstein after he pleaded guilty to soliciting prostitution from an underage girl. She told London’s Evening Standard newspaper she would have “nothing ever to do with Jeffrey Epstein ever again.” But just two months later, she emailed Epstein to say she was going on Oprah Winfrey’s TV show and wanted his advice on how she should answer questions about their relationship. “I just want to make sure you are aware of this and seek your advice on how you would like me to answer,” Ferguson wrote. Epstein replied, “Jeffrey was unfairly characterized as a pedophile by the tabloid press. Many years ago jeffrey pleaded guilty to soliciting underage prostitutes. He paid his debt to society and has sought forgiveness. I have nothing more to say.” Elon Musk The billionaire Tesla founder turns up at least a few times in Friday’s document release, notably in email exchanges in 2012 and 2013 in which he discussed visiting Epstein’s infamous Caribbean island compound. But it’s not immediately clear if the island visits took place. Spokespersons for Musk’s companies, Tesla and X, didn’t respond to emails seeking comment Friday or Saturday. Musk has maintained that he repeatedly turned down the disgraced financier’s overtures. “Epstein tried to get me to go to his island and I REFUSED,” he posted on X in 2025. Richard Branson The billionaire founder of the Virgin Group, a global conglomerate, exchanged numerous emails with Epstein. In a 2013 exchange, Branson invited Epstein to his own private Caribbean island, which regularly hosts large conferences, charity events and business meetings. “Any time you’re in the area would love to see you,” he wrote. “As long as you bring your harem!” In another message that year, he suggested Epstein rehabilitate his image by convincing Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates to tell the public how Epstein had “been a brilliant adviser to him” and had “more than learnt your lesson and have done nothing that’s against the law since.” The company stressed in a statement Saturday that there was no wrongdoing on Branson’s part and that any dealings with Epstein were “limited to group or business settings” more than a decade ago. Branson also declined a charitable donation and decided not to meet or speak with him again after his team “uncovered serious allegations,” the company said. “Had they had the full picture and information, there would have been no contact whatsoever,” the statement reads. “Richard believes that Epstein’s actions were abhorrent and supports the right to justice for his many victims.” Donald The President It’s long been known that Epstein was friends with The President before the two had a falling out. The new trove of documents contain thousands of references to The President, much of which sheds little additional light on the men’s relationship. They included emails in which Epstein and others shared news articles about The President, commented on his policies or his politics, or gossiped about him and his family. The Justice Department also disclosed a spreadsheet created last August that summarized calls made to law enforcement tip lines from people claiming to have some knowledge of wrongdoing by The President. That document included a range of uncorroborated stories involving many different celebrities, and somewhat fantastical scenarios, occasionally with notations indicating what follow-up, if any, was done by agents. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said Sunday that the FBI fielded “hundreds of calls” about prominent individuals that were “quickly determined to not be credible.” Bill Clinton Like The President, Clinton spent time with Epstein more than two decades ago, including flying occasionally on his private jet and seeing him at the White House. Clinton also denied any knowledge of Epstein’s wrongdoing. Clinton’s representatives say the former president broke off relations with Epstein after the first round of criminal charges in 2006. The investigative file includes snapshots of Clinton and other famous people that Epstein kept in his home in New York. It also contains messages investigators received from members of the general public, demanding to know why Clinton wasn’t being investigated. None of Epstein’s victims have publicly accused Clinton of being involved in Epstein’s crimes. Steven Tisch The New York Giants co-owner is mentioned more than 400 times in the files released Friday. Correspondence between the two shows Epstein offered to connect Tisch to numerous women over the years. In one 2013 email exchange with the subject line “Ukrainian girl,” Epstein encouraged Tisch to contact a particular woman, whose physical beauty he praised in crude terms. “Pro or civilian?” Tisch asked in reply. Tisch, a scion of a powerful New York family that founded the Loews Corporation, has acknowledged knowing Epstein but denied ever going to his infamous Caribbean island. “We had a brief association where we exchanged emails about adult women, and in addition, we discussed movies, philanthropy and investments,” said Tisch, who also won an Academy Award in 1994 for producing “Forrest Gump.” “As we all know now, he was a terrible person and someone I deeply regret associating with.” Brett Ratner The film director who made the recently released Melania The President documentary appears in several photographs included in the government’s files. One, first released in December, shows him with his arms wrapped around the shirtless torso of Jean Luc Brunel, a French modeling agent who killed himself in jail in 2022 while awaiting trial on rape charges. The more recent document release has a sequence of other photos apparently taken around the same time. Some show Ratner sitting on a couch with Epstein, Brunel and at least two young women. In the photos, Rattner has his arms wrapped around one of the women, whose faces are blacked out. Ratner and a spokesperson for his film company didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment. Casey Wasserman The president of the committee for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles exchanged flirty emails with Epstein confidant Ghislaine Maxwell, Friday’s document release shows. In a 2003 exchange, Wasserman wrote to Maxwell: “I think of you all the time. So, what do I have to do to see you in a tight leather outfit?” In another, Maxwell asks whether it will be foggy enough during an upcoming visit “so that you can float naked down the beach and no one can see you unless they are close up?” Wasserman released a statement Saturday saying he never had a personal or business relationship with Epstein and that he regretted the correspondence with Maxwell, which he said came “long before her horrific crimes came to light.” Maxwell is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence for sex trafficking. Ehud Barak The former Israeli prime minister and his wife turn up frequently in the documents released Friday, showing they stayed in regular contact with Epstein for years, including well after his 2008 guilty plea for sex crimes in Florida. Among the correspondence are plans for a 2017 stay at Epstein’s New York residence. Other missives discuss mundane logistics for other visits, meetings and phone calls with Epstein. Barak has acknowledged regularly visiting Epstein on his trips to New York and flying on his private plane, but maintains he never observed any inappropriate behavior or parties. Barak served as Israel’s prime minister from 1999 to 2001 and later served as its defense minister. Larry Summers Clinton’s former Secretary of the Treasury and the onetime president of Harvard University is another of Epstein’s well-known longtime acquaintances. The new documents are full of references to meetings and dinners between the two men. A previously-released trove of documents show Summers emailing Epstein in 2019, after the financier had been charged with sexual abuse of minors, to discuss his interactions with a woman, writing he’d told her “awfully coy u are.” Epstein replied: “you reacted well.” Summers has called his interactions with Epstein “a major error of judgment.” Howard Lutnick President Donald The President’s commerce secretary visited Epstein’s private Caribbean island with his family on at least one occasion, records released Friday show. That appears to contradict prior statements he’s made claiming he cut ties with the disgraced financier, who he’s called “gross,” decades ago. But emails show Lutnick and his wife accepted an invitation to Little St. James in the U.S. Virgin Islands in December 2012 and planned to arrive by yacht with their children. The former chairman of Newmark, a major commercial real estate firm, also had drinks on another occasion in 2011 with Epstein and corresponded with him about the construction of a building across the street from both of their homes. The Commerce Department, in a statement, said Lutnick had “limited interactions with Mr. Epstein in the presence of his wife and has never been accused of wrongdoing.” Sergey Brin The billionaire Google co-founder made plans to meet with Epstein and Maxwell at his townhouse in New York years before he was publicly accused of sexually abusing underage girls, emails show. In one exchange in 2003, Maxwell invited him to join her at a screening of the Renee Zellweger film “Down with Love” in New York. She followed up a few weeks later to invite him to a “happily casual and relaxed” dinner at Epstein’s house. Brin offered to bring along Google’s then-CEO Eric Schmidt. Spokespersons for Google didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment Saturday. Steve Bannon The one-time adviser to The President exchanged hundreds of friendly texts with Epstein, some sent months before the financier’s 2019 arrest and jailhouse suicide. The two discussed politics, travel and a documentary Bannon was said to be planning that would help salvage Epstein’s reputation. One 2018 exchange, for example, focused on The President’s threats at the time to oust Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. In a 2019 message, Bannon asked Epstein if he could supply his plane to pick him up in Rome. Epstein and Bannon also exchanged gossipy messages about The President and his politics. Bannon hasn’t responded to emails seeking comment. Miroslav Lajcak A national security adviser to the Slovakian prime minister, Lajcak resigned Saturday after his past communications with Epstein appeared in Friday’s document release. Opposition parties and a nationalist partner in Fico’s governing coalition had called for him to step down. Lajcak, a former Slovak foreign minister and a onetime president of the U.N. General Assembly, has not been accused of any wrongdoing, but was photographed meeting with Epstein in the years between his initial release from jail and his subsequent indictment in 2019 on sex trafficking charges. He said his correspondence with Epstein were part of his diplomatic duties. Associated Press journalists from around the world contributed to this report. The AP is reviewing the documents released by the Justice Department in collaboration with journalists from Versant, CBS and NBC. Journalists from each newsroom are working together to examine the files and share information about what is in them. Each outlet is responsible for its own independent news coverage of the documents. —Philip Marcelo and Nicholas Riccardi, Associated Press View the full article

Former Barclays chief has insisted he had no recollection of what Disney character reference was aboutView the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. Mini LED tech has finally filtered down to more mainstream big-screen TVs, but the pricing jumps fast once you start looking at premium brands and larger screen sizes—that’s why the current price on Sony’s 85-inch Bravia 5 stands out. It’s selling for $1,698 on Amazon (down from $2,399.99) which is the lowest it’s been so far, according to price trackers. At this size, that discount meaningfully shifts the math, especially if you’re after a large screen from a brand known for dependable processing and a polished smart TV experience, rather than chasing raw specs alone. Sony Bravia 5 $1,698.00 at Amazon $2,399.99 Save $701.99 Get Deal Get Deal $1,698.00 at Amazon $2,399.99 Save $701.99 The Bravia 5 steps is the successor to Sony’s X90L, swapping full-array local dimming for Mini LED backlighting and adding a higher number of dimming zones. It runs Google TV (version 12), supports Dolby Vision, and handles DTS audio passthrough. There’s also a practical perk for Sony soundbar owners: the TV’s built-in speakers can function as a center channel. On the gaming side, two HDMI 2.1 ports support 4K at 120Hz, along with variable refresh rate and G-sync compatibility. That said, Game Mode isn’t flawless. Pixel response times are on the slower side, which can introduce noticeable motion blur, particularly in fast-paced titles. SDR brightness is strong enough for daytime viewing, but HDR output doesn’t deliver the kind of punch you might expect from a Mini LED panel at this size and price. Where the Bravia 5 struggles most is contrast consistency and viewing flexibility. Despite the upgraded backlight, black levels and overall contrast don’t represent a major leap over the older X90L, and reflections can still be distracting in brighter rooms. The narrow viewing angle also limits its appeal for wide seating layouts. If pure picture performance is the priority, competing Mini LED models from TCL or Hisense, or even some OLED options, offer stronger contrast for similar money. Still, for buyers who value Sony’s processing, Google TV’s clean interface, and long-term brand reliability, this price drop makes the 85-inch Bravia 5 a far more compelling option than it usually is. View the full article

Ads are now being tested in ChatGPT in the U.S., appearing for some users across different account types. For the first time, advertising is entering an AI answer environment – and that changes the rules for marketers. We’ve used AI as part of ad creation or planning for years across Google, LinkedIn, and paid social. But placing ads inside an AI system that people trust to help them think, decide, and act is fundamentally different. This is not just another channel to plug into an existing media plan. The biggest question is not targeting. It’s psychology. If advertisers simply replicate what works in search or social, performance will disappoint, and trust may suffer. To succeed, brands need to understand how and why people use ChatGPT in the first place and what that means for attention, relevance, and the customer journey. ChatGPT is a task environment, not a feed People open ChatGPT to do something. That might be: Solving a specific problem. Refining a shortlist. Planning a trip. Writing something. Making sense of a complex decision. This is very different from feed-based platforms, where people expect to scroll, be interrupted, and discover content passively. In task-based environments like ChatGPT, behavior changes: Goal shielding: Attention narrows to completing the task, filtering out anything that does not help progress. Interruption aversion: Unexpected distractions feel more irritating when someone is focused. Tunnel focus: Users prioritize clarity, speed, and momentum over exploration. This is why clicks are likely to be harder to earn than many advertisers expect. If an ad does not help the user move forward with what they are trying to achieve, it will feel irrelevant, even if it is topically related. Add to this the fact that trust in AI environments is still forming, and the tolerance for poor or interruptive advertising becomes even lower. Dig deeper: OpenAI moves on ChatGPT ads with impression-based launch When there are no search volumes, behavior becomes the strategy For years, search volume has shaped how we plan. Keywords told us what people wanted, how often they wanted it, and how competitive demand was. That logic underpinned both SEO and paid media strategy. ChatGPT changes that. People are not searching for keywords. They are outsourcing thinking. They describe situations, ask layered questions, and seek outcomes rather than information alone. There is no query data to optimize against. Instead, success depends on understanding: What job the user is trying to get done. Which part of the journey they are choosing to outsource to AI. What kind of help they need in that moment. This is where behavioral insight replaces keyword demand as the strategic foundation. From keyword intent to behavior mode targeting Rather than planning around queries, advertisers need to plan around behavior modes, the mindset a user is in when they turn to ChatGPT. A useful way to think about this is: Explore mode: The user is shaping a perspective or seeking inspiration. Ads that work here help people start, offering ideas, options, or reframing the problem. Reduce mode: The user is simplifying and narrowing choices. Effective ads reduce effort by clarifying differences and highlighting relevant trade-offs. Confirm mode: The user is looking for reassurance. This is where trust matters most: proof, reviews, guarantees, and credible signals. Act mode: The user wants to complete the task. Ads that remove friction perform best, clear pricing, availability, delivery, and next steps. These modes closely mirror the human drivers we already recognize in search behavior: shaping perspective, informing, reassuring, and simplifying. The difference is that ChatGPT compresses these moments into a single interface. Dig deeper: What AI means for paid media, user behavior, and brand visibility Get the newsletter search marketers rely on. See terms. In ChatGPT, relevance is functional, not topical A key shift advertisers need to internalize is that relevance in ChatGPT is not about being related. It is about being useful. An ad can be perfectly aligned to a category and still fail if it does not help the user complete their task. In a task environment, anything that creates extra work or pulls attention away from the goal feels like friction. This means the creative rules change. High-performing ads are likely to behave less like traditional advertising and more like: Tools. Templates. Guides. Checklists. Shortcuts. Decision aids. They fit into the flow of what the user is doing. Generic brand ads, pure awareness messaging, and content that feels like a detour are likely to underperform. Dig deeper: Your ads are dying: How to spot and stop creative fatigue before it tanks performance Helpful content becomes the bridge across channels The same assets that make a strong ChatGPT ad – practical guides, frameworks, calculators, explainers, and reassurance-led content – also do much more than support paid performance. They build authority for SEO and generative optimization, earn coverage and credibility through digital PR, and reinforce brand trust across social and owned channels. This is where silos start to break performance. Paid media teams cannot create “helpful ads” in isolation if SEO teams are working on authority, PR teams are building trust signals, and brand teams are shaping voice independently. In AI-led discovery, these signals converge. The most effective ads may borrow from: Brand voice for clarity and consistency. Trusted voice through reviews, experts, or third-party validation. Amplified voice via media coverage and recognizable authority. The line between advertising, content, and credibility becomes increasingly blurred. Measurement needs a reset Judging ChatGPT ads purely on click-through rate risks missing their real impact. In many cases, these ads may influence decisions without triggering an immediate click. They may help a brand enter a shortlist, feel safer, or be remembered when the user returns later through another channel. More meaningful indicators may include: Shortlist inclusion. Brand recall. Assisted conversions. Branded search uplift. Direct traffic uplift. Downstream conversion lift. This reinforces the need for teams to work more closely together. If performance is distributed across the journey, measurement and accountability must be too. Dig deeper: AI tools for PPC, AI search, and social campaigns: What’s worth using now The brands that win will understand behavior best This is not simply a new ad format. We are looking at a behavioral shift. The brands most likely to succeed will not be the ones that move fastest or spend the most. They will be the ones who understand: What people actually use ChatGPT for. Which moments of the journey are being outsourced to AI. How to support those moments without breaking trust. A practical starting point is returning to jobs-to-be-done thinking. Map the actions that happen before someone buys, inquires, or commits and identify where AI reduces effort, uncertainty, or complexity. From there, the question becomes more powerful than “how do we advertise here?”: How can we be genuinely helpful at the moment it matters? That mindset will not only shape performance in ChatGPT, but across the wider future of AI-led discovery. And in that world, behavioral intent will matter far more than keywords ever did. View the full article

Master project estimation techniques, like parametric, analogous, and bottom-up methods, with examples and tips to help you choose the right approach. The post 6 Proven Project Estimation Techniques, Examples, & Best Practices appeared first on project-management.com. View the full article

Claimants hail ‘a decisive victory’ over corrosion and other faults at exclusive developmentView the full article

Starting a sole proprietorship can be a straightforward process if you follow the right steps. First, you need to understand what a sole proprietorship is and how it affects your business. Next, you’ll choose a unique business name and check its availability. Don’t forget to file an Assumed Name Certificate if you’re using a trade name. As you progress, you’ll need to research specific licenses and permits required for your business type. This is just the beginning—let’s explore the crucial steps further. Key Takeaways Choose a unique business name or trade name and ensure it reflects your services. File an Assumed Name Certificate with your county clerk if using a trade name. Research and apply for relevant licenses and permits based on your business type and location. Obtain an Employer Identification Number (EIN) from the IRS for tax purposes. Open a dedicated business bank account to separate your personal and business finances. Understand What a Sole Proprietorship Is A sole proprietorship is the most straightforward and prevalent type of business ownership, often forming automatically when you start a business without any formal registration in Texas. As the sole proprietor, you’re personally liable for all business debts, meaning your personal assets are at risk if the business incurs liabilities. There’s no legal distinction between you and your business entity, holding you directly responsible for all actions. Although you might wonder, “Does a sole proprietor need a business license?” the answer varies by location and industry. Typically, you should check local regulations. If you want to register a sole proprietorship, it’s often a simple process, but you should confirm compliance with any necessary permits or licenses, including a sole proprietorship business license if required. Choose a Unique Business Name Choosing a unique business name is a fundamental step in establishing your sole proprietorship. You can opt for your legal name or a distinctive trade name (DBA) that reflects your values and services. Make sure the name is memorable and clear, avoiding any that imply false governmental affiliation. Conduct thorough searches in government databases to confirm its uniqueness and check for existing trademarks. Tips for Choosing a Business Name Considerations Use your legal name Make sure it reflects your services Make it memorable Avoid confusing similar names Check for trademarks Confirm it’s not government-related File an Assumed Name Certificate Required if different from legal name Understanding these steps will aid you in doing business as Illinois and help you navigate how to start an LLC in Illinois for free. File an Assumed Name Certificate Filing an Assumed Name Certificate is a vital step for anyone looking to operate their business under a name that differs from their legal name. In Texas, you’ll need to complete the application form available from your county clerk’s office. Make sure your chosen name is unique and not misleading. The filing fee usually costs under $20, but it can vary, so check your local requirements for the exact amount. Processing times can also vary; in McLennan County, for example, you may finish the process in as little as two minutes. Keep a copy of your Assumed Name Certificate on file, as it’s critical for compliance and can improve your business’s credibility. Research Necessary Licenses and Permits Before starting your sole proprietorship, it’s crucial to research the necessary licenses and permits required for your specific business type. These can vary considerably based on your industry and location, so start by contacting your local government or relevant agencies. In Texas, for instance, there’s no general state business license, but you might need industry-specific licenses. Furthermore, check zoning laws to make certain your chosen business location complies with local regulations. Keep thorough documentation of all licenses and permits for compliance purposes, and remember to update and renew them as required. Depending on your activities, you may likewise need health permits, environmental permits, or professional licenses specific to your industry, so be proactive in your research. Apply for an Employer Identification Number (EIN) After ensuring you have the necessary licenses and permits for your sole proprietorship, the next step is to apply for an Employer Identification Number (EIN). This unique nine-digit number, issued by the IRS, identifies your business for tax purposes. You’ll need an EIN if you plan to hire employees, but even though you don’t, obtaining one is wise. It helps protect your personal Social Security number while establishing your business identity. You can apply online through the IRS website and receive your EIN immediately during business hours. On the other hand, if you choose to apply by mail or fax using Form SS-4, expect a processing time of four to six weeks. Best of all, applying for an EIN is free. Register for State Taxes Registering for state taxes is an essential step in guaranteeing your sole proprietorship operates legally and efficiently. In Texas, if your business sells taxable goods or services, you’ll need a sales tax permit from the Texas Comptroller’s office. You can complete this registration online by providing basic details like your business name and address. If you plan to hire employees, you may additionally need to register for employer taxes, which include unemployment and withholding taxes. Although Texas doesn’t require a general business license, certain activities may subject you to specific tax obligations, such as franchise taxes. Stay compliant by regularly reviewing your tax responsibilities and submitting necessary filings to avoid potential penalties and guarantee smooth operations. Open a Business Bank Account Once you’ve registered for state taxes, the next step is to open a business bank account. This account helps you keep your personal and business finances separate, which is essential for effective financial management and tax preparation. In Texas, you’ll typically need to provide your assumed name certificate, EIN, and personal identification to open an account. Many banks offer specialized business accounts that feature lower fees, access to business loans, and customized services for small businesses. A dedicated business Business Bank account improves your sole proprietorship’s credibility, making it easier for clients and vendors to view your business as professional. Regularly monitoring this account will help you track income and expenses, ensuring compliance with tax obligations and maintaining accurate financial records. Obtain Business Insurance When you start a sole proprietorship, obtaining business insurance is essential for protecting yourself and your assets. General liability insurance safeguards you from financial losses because of claims related to client injuries or property damage, whereas additional policies may be necessary depending on your specific business risks. Types of Business Insurance Comprehending the various types of business insurance is vital for sole proprietors, as it helps protect both personal and business assets from unforeseen risks. General liability insurance is important, covering claims of bodily injury, property damage, and personal injury. Depending on your business type, you may require industry-specific insurance, like professional liability for consultants or product liability for manufacturers. Commercial property insurance safeguards physical assets, such as office equipment and inventory, whereas commercial auto insurance is necessary for business-related vehicle use, as personal policies typically don’t cover this. If you hire employees, workers’ compensation insurance is mandatory, providing coverage for medical expenses and lost wages in case of on-the-job injuries, ensuring compliance with state regulations. Importance of Coverage Obtaining business insurance is crucial for sole proprietors, as it protects you from potential financial setbacks caused by unforeseen events. Without coverage, you risk losing personal assets because of business-related liabilities. General liability insurance is fundamental, shielding you from claims related to client injuries or property damage. Costs typically range from $300 to $1,000 annually, depending on your industry and coverage needs. Additional options like professional liability or property insurance may likewise be necessary based on your business’s nature. Many providers offer customized policies that align with your specific risks. Insurance Type Coverage Focus Estimated Cost General Liability Client injuries, property damage $300 – $1,000 annually Professional Liability Errors in services provided Varies by profession Property Insurance Physical assets like equipment Varies by business size Maintain Compliance With Local Regulations Maintaining compliance with local regulations is crucial for the success of your sole proprietorship, especially since noncompliance can lead to fines or even business closure. Start by researching local zoning laws to guarantee your business location meets area-specific requirements. You’ll likely need to apply for certain local business licenses or permits, which can vary by city or county, so make certain to renew them as needed. Keep accurate records of all licenses and permits to showcase compliance during inspections or audits. Stay updated on any changes to local regulations, as municipalities may revise laws periodically. For clarity on compliance requirements, consider consulting local government offices or a business attorney to ascertain you meet all necessary legal obligations. Consult a Small Business Attorney Once you’ve assured compliance with local regulations, consulting a small business attorney can be a valuable next step in establishing your sole proprietorship. An attorney can provide customized legal advice that helps you navigate potential liabilities and compliance issues effectively. Here are some key benefits of consulting one: Confirm your business name complies with Texas regulations and doesn’t infringe on trademarks. Get guidance on necessary licenses and permits for your specific business type. Understand the implications of operating as a sole proprietorship versus other structures like LLCs. Facilitate the drafting of contracts and agreements for legal protection in your dealings. Engaging a small business attorney can greatly streamline the process of setting up your business and protecting your interests. Frequently Asked Questions What Are the Steps to Starting a Sole Proprietorship? To start a sole proprietorship, first, choose a unique business name that meets state regulations. If this name differs from your legal name, file an Assumed Name Certificate at your county clerk’s office. Next, research and obtain any necessary licenses or permits. If you plan to hire, apply for an Employer Identification Number (EIN) from the IRS. Finally, keep accurate financial records and report your income on your personal tax return. How Much Does It Cost to Register a Sole Proprietorship in Texas? Registering a sole proprietorship in Texas typically costs between $20 and $200. You’ll mainly pay for a DBA (Doing Business As), which usually costs under $20, depending on your county. Furthermore, general business licenses may range from $50 to $100, whereas industry-specific permits can vary widely, costing anywhere from $25 to several hundred dollars, based on local regulations. Local registration might likewise incur extra fees, depending on municipal requirements. Do I Need an EIN as a Sole Proprietor? As a sole proprietor, you don’t need an Employer Identification Number (EIN) except if you plan to hire employees. Nevertheless, obtaining one is highly recommended for protecting your identity and separating personal from business finances. An EIN can be easily applied for online through the IRS website, and you’ll receive it immediately. Even without employees, having an EIN can improve your business credibility and help you open a business bank account. Conclusion By following these ten steps, you can efficiently register your sole proprietorship and establish a solid foundation for your business. Start with a unique name and guarantee you comply with local regulations, securing necessary licenses and permits. Obtaining an EIN and opening a dedicated bank account will help streamline your financial management. Don’t forget to take into account insurance to protect your assets. Finally, keep detailed records to maintain compliance and support your business’s growth. Image via Google Gemini This article, "10 Easy Steps to Register Your Sole Proprietorship" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

Starting a sole proprietorship can be a straightforward process if you follow the right steps. First, you need to understand what a sole proprietorship is and how it affects your business. Next, you’ll choose a unique business name and check its availability. Don’t forget to file an Assumed Name Certificate if you’re using a trade name. As you progress, you’ll need to research specific licenses and permits required for your business type. This is just the beginning—let’s explore the crucial steps further. Key Takeaways Choose a unique business name or trade name and ensure it reflects your services. File an Assumed Name Certificate with your county clerk if using a trade name. Research and apply for relevant licenses and permits based on your business type and location. Obtain an Employer Identification Number (EIN) from the IRS for tax purposes. Open a dedicated business bank account to separate your personal and business finances. Understand What a Sole Proprietorship Is A sole proprietorship is the most straightforward and prevalent type of business ownership, often forming automatically when you start a business without any formal registration in Texas. As the sole proprietor, you’re personally liable for all business debts, meaning your personal assets are at risk if the business incurs liabilities. There’s no legal distinction between you and your business entity, holding you directly responsible for all actions. Although you might wonder, “Does a sole proprietor need a business license?” the answer varies by location and industry. Typically, you should check local regulations. If you want to register a sole proprietorship, it’s often a simple process, but you should confirm compliance with any necessary permits or licenses, including a sole proprietorship business license if required. Choose a Unique Business Name Choosing a unique business name is a fundamental step in establishing your sole proprietorship. You can opt for your legal name or a distinctive trade name (DBA) that reflects your values and services. Make sure the name is memorable and clear, avoiding any that imply false governmental affiliation. Conduct thorough searches in government databases to confirm its uniqueness and check for existing trademarks. Tips for Choosing a Business Name Considerations Use your legal name Make sure it reflects your services Make it memorable Avoid confusing similar names Check for trademarks Confirm it’s not government-related File an Assumed Name Certificate Required if different from legal name Understanding these steps will aid you in doing business as Illinois and help you navigate how to start an LLC in Illinois for free. File an Assumed Name Certificate Filing an Assumed Name Certificate is a vital step for anyone looking to operate their business under a name that differs from their legal name. In Texas, you’ll need to complete the application form available from your county clerk’s office. Make sure your chosen name is unique and not misleading. The filing fee usually costs under $20, but it can vary, so check your local requirements for the exact amount. Processing times can also vary; in McLennan County, for example, you may finish the process in as little as two minutes. Keep a copy of your Assumed Name Certificate on file, as it’s critical for compliance and can improve your business’s credibility. Research Necessary Licenses and Permits Before starting your sole proprietorship, it’s crucial to research the necessary licenses and permits required for your specific business type. These can vary considerably based on your industry and location, so start by contacting your local government or relevant agencies. In Texas, for instance, there’s no general state business license, but you might need industry-specific licenses. Furthermore, check zoning laws to make certain your chosen business location complies with local regulations. Keep thorough documentation of all licenses and permits for compliance purposes, and remember to update and renew them as required. Depending on your activities, you may likewise need health permits, environmental permits, or professional licenses specific to your industry, so be proactive in your research. Apply for an Employer Identification Number (EIN) After ensuring you have the necessary licenses and permits for your sole proprietorship, the next step is to apply for an Employer Identification Number (EIN). This unique nine-digit number, issued by the IRS, identifies your business for tax purposes. You’ll need an EIN if you plan to hire employees, but even though you don’t, obtaining one is wise. It helps protect your personal Social Security number while establishing your business identity. You can apply online through the IRS website and receive your EIN immediately during business hours. On the other hand, if you choose to apply by mail or fax using Form SS-4, expect a processing time of four to six weeks. Best of all, applying for an EIN is free. Register for State Taxes Registering for state taxes is an essential step in guaranteeing your sole proprietorship operates legally and efficiently. In Texas, if your business sells taxable goods or services, you’ll need a sales tax permit from the Texas Comptroller’s office. You can complete this registration online by providing basic details like your business name and address. If you plan to hire employees, you may additionally need to register for employer taxes, which include unemployment and withholding taxes. Although Texas doesn’t require a general business license, certain activities may subject you to specific tax obligations, such as franchise taxes. Stay compliant by regularly reviewing your tax responsibilities and submitting necessary filings to avoid potential penalties and guarantee smooth operations. Open a Business Bank Account Once you’ve registered for state taxes, the next step is to open a business bank account. This account helps you keep your personal and business finances separate, which is essential for effective financial management and tax preparation. In Texas, you’ll typically need to provide your assumed name certificate, EIN, and personal identification to open an account. Many banks offer specialized business accounts that feature lower fees, access to business loans, and customized services for small businesses. A dedicated business Business Bank account improves your sole proprietorship’s credibility, making it easier for clients and vendors to view your business as professional. Regularly monitoring this account will help you track income and expenses, ensuring compliance with tax obligations and maintaining accurate financial records. Obtain Business Insurance When you start a sole proprietorship, obtaining business insurance is essential for protecting yourself and your assets. General liability insurance safeguards you from financial losses because of claims related to client injuries or property damage, whereas additional policies may be necessary depending on your specific business risks. Types of Business Insurance Comprehending the various types of business insurance is vital for sole proprietors, as it helps protect both personal and business assets from unforeseen risks. General liability insurance is important, covering claims of bodily injury, property damage, and personal injury. Depending on your business type, you may require industry-specific insurance, like professional liability for consultants or product liability for manufacturers. Commercial property insurance safeguards physical assets, such as office equipment and inventory, whereas commercial auto insurance is necessary for business-related vehicle use, as personal policies typically don’t cover this. If you hire employees, workers’ compensation insurance is mandatory, providing coverage for medical expenses and lost wages in case of on-the-job injuries, ensuring compliance with state regulations. Importance of Coverage Obtaining business insurance is crucial for sole proprietors, as it protects you from potential financial setbacks caused by unforeseen events. Without coverage, you risk losing personal assets because of business-related liabilities. General liability insurance is fundamental, shielding you from claims related to client injuries or property damage. Costs typically range from $300 to $1,000 annually, depending on your industry and coverage needs. Additional options like professional liability or property insurance may likewise be necessary based on your business’s nature. Many providers offer customized policies that align with your specific risks. Insurance Type Coverage Focus Estimated Cost General Liability Client injuries, property damage $300 – $1,000 annually Professional Liability Errors in services provided Varies by profession Property Insurance Physical assets like equipment Varies by business size Maintain Compliance With Local Regulations Maintaining compliance with local regulations is crucial for the success of your sole proprietorship, especially since noncompliance can lead to fines or even business closure. Start by researching local zoning laws to guarantee your business location meets area-specific requirements. You’ll likely need to apply for certain local business licenses or permits, which can vary by city or county, so make certain to renew them as needed. Keep accurate records of all licenses and permits to showcase compliance during inspections or audits. Stay updated on any changes to local regulations, as municipalities may revise laws periodically. For clarity on compliance requirements, consider consulting local government offices or a business attorney to ascertain you meet all necessary legal obligations. Consult a Small Business Attorney Once you’ve assured compliance with local regulations, consulting a small business attorney can be a valuable next step in establishing your sole proprietorship. An attorney can provide customized legal advice that helps you navigate potential liabilities and compliance issues effectively. Here are some key benefits of consulting one: Confirm your business name complies with Texas regulations and doesn’t infringe on trademarks. Get guidance on necessary licenses and permits for your specific business type. Understand the implications of operating as a sole proprietorship versus other structures like LLCs. Facilitate the drafting of contracts and agreements for legal protection in your dealings. Engaging a small business attorney can greatly streamline the process of setting up your business and protecting your interests. Frequently Asked Questions What Are the Steps to Starting a Sole Proprietorship? To start a sole proprietorship, first, choose a unique business name that meets state regulations. If this name differs from your legal name, file an Assumed Name Certificate at your county clerk’s office. Next, research and obtain any necessary licenses or permits. If you plan to hire, apply for an Employer Identification Number (EIN) from the IRS. Finally, keep accurate financial records and report your income on your personal tax return. How Much Does It Cost to Register a Sole Proprietorship in Texas? Registering a sole proprietorship in Texas typically costs between $20 and $200. You’ll mainly pay for a DBA (Doing Business As), which usually costs under $20, depending on your county. Furthermore, general business licenses may range from $50 to $100, whereas industry-specific permits can vary widely, costing anywhere from $25 to several hundred dollars, based on local regulations. Local registration might likewise incur extra fees, depending on municipal requirements. Do I Need an EIN as a Sole Proprietor? As a sole proprietor, you don’t need an Employer Identification Number (EIN) except if you plan to hire employees. Nevertheless, obtaining one is highly recommended for protecting your identity and separating personal from business finances. An EIN can be easily applied for online through the IRS website, and you’ll receive it immediately. Even without employees, having an EIN can improve your business credibility and help you open a business bank account. Conclusion By following these ten steps, you can efficiently register your sole proprietorship and establish a solid foundation for your business. Start with a unique name and guarantee you comply with local regulations, securing necessary licenses and permits. Obtaining an EIN and opening a dedicated bank account will help streamline your financial management. Don’t forget to take into account insurance to protect your assets. Finally, keep detailed records to maintain compliance and support your business’s growth. Image via Google Gemini This article, "10 Easy Steps to Register Your Sole Proprietorship" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

YouTube's CEO Neal Mohan shares the platform's 2026 priorities, spanning creator-led entertainment, youth safety, diversified monetization, and responsible AI. The post YouTube CEO Reveals Your Video Marketing Strategy For 2026 appeared first on Search Engine Journal. 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. Adding outdoor security cameras to your home setup can get expensive fast, especially once you factor in subscriptions and extra hardware. This deal on a Eufy SoloCam E30 four-pack makes that math a little more palatable. It’s currently $299.99 on Amazon, down from its usual $549.99 price, which is the lowest price it's ever been, according to price-tracking tools. That brings each camera to about $75, which still isn’t cheap, of course—but unlike many other camera brands, these don't require a monthly subscription, which is a great perk. eufy Security SoloCam E30, 4-Cam Pack Kit $299.99 at Amazon $549.99 Save $250.00 Get Deal Get Deal $299.99 at Amazon $549.99 Save $250.00 Each of these IP65-rated cameras runs on internal batteries that last about three months between charges, depending on how often motion is detected. Solar support helps extend that. Eufy says around two hours of direct sunlight per day is enough to keep them topped up. You can also hardwire the cameras if you want continuous recording, including short pre-roll clips, though the power cables are sold separately. You also get 360-degree pan and 70-degree tilt coverage per unit, which helps cut down on blind spots around driveways or yards. Video is captured in enhanced 2K resolution with an f/1.6 aperture, making nighttime footage via infrared night vision fairly crisp. There’s no built-in spotlight, so there's no color night vision here, but for general monitoring, black-and-white is often enough. Footage can be stored locally on the included HomeBase S280, which has 16GB built in, or on a microSD card up to 128GB (sold separately) if you want more space. Smart home support includes Alexa and Google Assistant, but Apple HomeKit is not supported. Two-way audio is included, and the HomeBase can support up to 16 cameras, so expanding later is an option. This setup is not for people who want cloud storage or advanced smart home integrations. It makes more sense for those who want local control, predictable costs, and broad coverage without wiring the entire house. View the full article

Customer retention is essential for business success, as it costs considerably less to retain existing customers than to acquire new ones. Implementing effective strategies can greatly improve retention rates, ensuring long-term loyalty. For instance, creating a strong onboarding experience sets the tone for customer relationships, as personalized interactions can make clients feel valued. Comprehending key metrics will help you identify at-risk customers. Exploring these strategies can lead to enhanced customer satisfaction and reduced churn. Key Takeaways Implement personalized onboarding experiences to enhance customer engagement and reduce cancellations by up to 50%. Monitor engagement metrics to identify at-risk customers and proactively address churn warning signs. Utilize data analytics to tailor customer interactions, fostering deeper connections and improving satisfaction. Actively seek customer feedback to build trust and quickly address concerns, reducing churn rates by up to 15%. Establish structured loyalty programs with exclusive benefits to encourage repeat purchases and enhance customer loyalty. Understanding Customer Retention Comprehending customer retention is crucial for any business looking to thrive in a competitive market. Customer retention strategies focus on building long-term relationships with clients, which can be more cost-effective than acquiring new customers. In fact, retaining existing customers can reduce costs by up to 25%. A high retention rate not only promotes predictable revenue growth but also encourages upselling and cross-selling opportunities, with retained customers spending, on average, 67% more than new ones. To measure retention success, key metrics like Customer Retention Rate (CRR) and Customer Churn Rate are critical. Effective customer strategies, such as personalized experiences and strong onboarding processes, improve customer satisfaction, with 71% of consumers preferring customized interactions that cater to their specific needs and preferences. Importance of Customer Retention Comprehending the significance of customer retention is vital for businesses aiming to achieve sustainable growth. Implementing a strong customer focus strategy can lead to cost-effective retention methods that ultimately benefit your bottom line. Retained customers typically spend more over time, ensuring predictable revenue growth and a stable foundation for expansion. Additionally, high retention rates improve your company’s reputation, driving organic growth through customer advocacy and word-of-mouth referrals. By prioritizing customer retention, you cultivate a unified customer experience, increasing satisfaction and loyalty through personalized interactions. This approach also greatly reduces churn rates, which can be effectively measured using the Customer Retention Rate (CRR). To conclude, focusing on retention isn’t just beneficial; it’s fundamental for long-term success. Key Metrics for Measuring Retention To effectively measure retention, you need to focus on several key metrics that provide valuable insights into your customer relationships. Calculating your retention rate helps you understand how many customers you keep over time, whereas analyzing churn rates reveals potential issues affecting satisfaction. Furthermore, examining customer lifetime value gives you a clearer picture of the revenue your customers generate, guiding your retention strategies and marketing efforts. Retention Rate Calculation Comprehending how to calculate retention rates is essential for any business aiming to improve customer loyalty and maximize revenue. You can determine your Customer Retention Rate (CRR) by taking the number of customers at the end of a period, subtracting new customers acquired during that time, and dividing by the number of customers at the beginning of the period. Multiply this result by 100 for a percentage. Furthermore, consider tracking metrics like Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) and Net Revenue Retention (NRR), as these offer deeper insights into the long-term value of your customer strategy. Monitoring the Repeat Customer Rate also helps gauge loyalty, providing a clearer picture of customer satisfaction and engagement over time. Churn Rate Insights Even though grasping your churn rate is vital, knowing how to interpret its implications can greatly improve your customer retention strategies. The churn rate measures the percentage of customers lost within a specific period, and high rates often indicate ineffective retention strategies or declining customer satisfaction. For example, an average churn rate is around 5%, but this can vary markedly across industries. Monitoring this metric allows you to identify trends and potential issues early, helping you implement targeted strategies to retain customers. Reducing churn by just 5% can boost profits considerably, highlighting the financial impact of effective retention efforts. Analyzing customer behavior and feedback is critical for uncovering the main causes of churn, enabling you to address specific pain points. Lifetime Value Analysis Grasping customer lifetime value (CLV) is vital for measuring retention effectiveness and guiding strategic decisions. By comprehending CLV, you can assess how much revenue you can expect from a customer throughout their relationship with your brand. Here are key metrics to take into account: Customer Retention Rate (CRR): This percentage shows how many customers you retain over a specific period and reflects your retention strategies’ effectiveness. Net Revenue Retention (NRR): This metric accounts for upgrades, downgrades, and cancellations, giving you insight into recurring revenue from existing customers. Customer Churn Rate: By monitoring this rate, you can identify how many customers you lose over time, helping you pinpoint areas needing improvement. Focusing on these metrics will improve your customer lifetime value and strengthen retention efforts. Create a Strong Onboarding Experience Creating a strong onboarding experience is crucial for nurturing positive customer relationships, as it sets the foundation for their overall satisfaction and retention. A well-structured onboarding process can greatly reduce buyer regret and cancellations by addressing common complaints like hidden costs and slow implementation. When you provide a seamless experience, you can improve retention rates by up to 50%. Personalizing onboarding to cater to individual customer needs boosts engagement, making them more likely to return. Implementing a streamlined process not only enhances comprehension of your product or service but also builds trust. This aligns with the customer focus definition, emphasizing the importance of first impressions in cultivating long-term loyalty and deeper customer relationships. Identify Warning Signs of Churn To effectively identify warning signs of churn, you should start by monitoring engagement metrics like product usage and login frequency. Analyzing purchase patterns can reveal shifts in customer behavior, signaling potential dissatisfaction. Furthermore, pinpointing at-risk segments within your customer base allows for targeted interventions that can help retain those who might otherwise leave. Monitor Engagement Metrics Monitoring engagement metrics is vital for identifying warning signs of customer churn, and it can greatly impact your business’s long-term success. By tracking key indicators, you can take proactive steps to retain customers before it’s too late. Here are some important engagement metrics to monitor: Customer Churn Rate: Indicates the percentage of customers lost over time. Net Revenue Retention (NRR): Measures recurring revenue retained from existing customers. Product Usage: Analyzes feature utilization and active user counts. Analyze Purchase Patterns Identifying warning signs of churn becomes crucial when you analyze purchase patterns, as shifts in buying behavior can indicate dissatisfaction or disengagement. For example, if you notice a decrease in purchase frequency or average order value, it could signal that a customer is losing interest. Monitoring customer engagement examples, like the time spent on your website or app, can likewise reveal declining interest. Moreover, a significant change from regular purchases to sporadic buying may suggest that the customer is exploring alternatives. Utilizing data analytics to segment customers based on these purchasing habits allows you to tailor retention strategies. By implementing predictive analytics, you can forecast potential churn risks, enabling proactive outreach to re-engage at-risk customers before they decide to leave. Identify At-Risk Segments Recognizing at-risk segments within your customer base is essential for mitigating churn effectively. By focusing on key indicators, you can identify customers who may be disengaging. Here are some warning signs to monitor: Decreased Engagement: Track login frequency and transaction history to spot those showing reduced interaction. Negative Feedback: Pay attention to increases in customer complaints or regrets; these often correlate with churn. Inquiries About Cancellations: An uptick in questions regarding cancellations or downgrades can signal a need for timely outreach. Utilizing predictive analytics to assess this historical data helps in comprehending patterns indicative of churn. Personalize Customer Interactions Personalizing customer interactions is essential for improving retention rates, as a noteworthy 71% of consumers expect customized experiences from the brands they engage with. When you personalize customer interactions, you reduce friction in the customer experience, encouraging repeat visits and loyalty. Using Salesforce systems allows you to deliver relevant recommendations based on individual preferences, during personalized marketing messages help build deeper connections. With 84% of loyalty program members more likely to make repeat purchases, tailoring your approach can greatly boost retention. Key Aspect Benefit Example Customer Preferences Increases engagement Customized product suggestions CRM Utilization Streamlines communication Targeted email campaigns AI Tools Improves personalization One-to-one customer experiences Use Data to Enhance Customer Experience To improve the customer experience effectively, businesses should leverage data analytics to gain insights into customer behavior and preferences. By utilizing these insights, you can tailor your retention strategies to meet individual needs. Here are some effective ways to use data: Identify at-risk customers through trends like decreased purchase frequency, allowing timely interventions. Track metrics such as Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) and Customer Churn Rate to measure retention strategy effectiveness. Use Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems to personalize interactions and boost satisfaction. Incorporating customer service training ideas focused on data interpretation can empower your team to deliver exceptional service, ultimately encouraging loyalty and increasing retention rates. Regularly monitoring feedback further improves this personalized experience. Frequently Ask for Feedback Though many companies focus on improving products and services, actively seeking customer feedback is equally essential for enhancing retention rates. By gathering feedback through online surveys, social media, and direct outreach, you can identify pain points and areas for improvement. Companies that regularly solicit feedback can reduce churn rates by up to 15%, showcasing the importance of comprehending customer experiences. Implementing diverse channels for feedback guarantees you capture varied insights into customer preferences. Furthermore, addressing feedback swiftly builds trust and increases satisfaction, as 88% of customers expect brands to act on their opinions. Regularly asking for feedback likewise nurtures a sense of involvement and loyalty, with 62% of consumers willing to provide input if they feel valued, strengthening your client engagement strategies. Reward Customer Loyalty To effectively reward customer loyalty, consider implementing a well-structured loyalty program that offers tangible benefits. Exclusive member discounts not just encourage repeat purchases but likewise improve customers’ perception of value, making them feel appreciated. Furthermore, referral incentives can motivate satisfied customers to share their positive experiences, further promoting your brand through word-of-mouth. Loyalty Program Benefits Implementing a loyalty program can greatly improve your customer retention efforts, as it directly influences repeat purchase behavior. When you provide customized rewards and exclusive benefits, you incentivize engagement and encourage repeat purchases. Here are some key benefits of loyalty programs: Increased Repeat Purchases: 84% of loyalty program members are more likely to buy again, enhancing customer lifetime value. Emotional Connection: Gamification elements in your loyalty programs can nurture deeper connections, making customers feel valued. Customer Advocacy: Referral rewards can amplify positive word-of-mouth, as satisfied customers share their experiences, attracting new clients. Exclusive Member Discounts Exclusive member discounts serve as a strong tool for rewarding customer loyalty, directly influencing repeat purchasing behavior. Research shows that 84% of loyalty program members are more likely to make repeat purchases when offered exclusive discounts. By tailoring these offers to align with customer preferences, you can improve engagement and make them feel valued. Implementing a tiered loyalty program with escalating discounts motivates customers to increase their spending, boosting overall lifetime value. Moreover, 71% of consumers expect personalized experiences, making exclusive member discounts a crucial touchpoint in deepening relationships. Discount Tier Discount Percentage Bronze 10% Silver 15% Gold 20% Platinum 25% Referral Incentives Referral incentives are a potent strategy for improving customer loyalty and retention rates. By implementing a structured referral program, you can greatly increase client engagement. Satisfied customers are likely to refer others, leading to higher retention rates and overall growth. Here are some key benefits to evaluate: Offering discounts or exclusive rewards encourages both the referrer and the new customer to engage with your brand. Personalized incentives based on customer preferences can improve satisfaction, as 70% of consumers prefer customized rewards. Companies with effective referral programs see an average of 86% more revenue growth, highlighting their financial benefits. Incorporating referral incentives into your client engagement plan can create a win-win scenario, cultivating loyalty and boosting retention. Build a Strong Customer Community Creating a strong customer community is essential for nurturing brand loyalty and ensuring long-term retention. Engaging customers in these communities helps promote deeper connections, as 41% of consumers expect increased involvement by 2024. Successful client focus examples, like LEGO’s IDEAS platform, show how active participation can influence product designs, cultivating loyalty. To build a strong customer community, consider the following strategies: Strategy Benefits Online Forums Encourages dialogue and sharing Social Media Groups Connects like-minded individuals Loyalty Programs Rewards engagement and feedback Customer Feedback Platforms Guides product development Frequently Asked Questions Which Strategy Is Most Effective for Customer Retention? The most effective strategy for customer retention often involves personalization. When you tailor experiences to individual preferences, you meet customers’ expectations and improve their loyalty. Furthermore, implementing a robust loyalty program can incentivize repeat purchases, as members are more likely to buy again. Proactive communication, like regular check-ins, likewise builds stronger relationships. Finally, leveraging data analytics helps identify at-risk customers, allowing you to intervene before churn occurs, keeping your customer base stable. What Are the 8 C’s of Customer Retention? The 8 C’s of customer retention are Connection, Communication, Clarity, Convenience, Consistency, Care, Customization, and Community. Connection involves forming emotional bonds with customers. Communication guarantees transparent interactions. Clarity helps customers understand your offerings. Convenience provides easy access to products. Consistency assures reliable experiences. Care shows genuine interest in customer needs. Customization personalizes experiences, and Community promotes brand loyalty through shared interests. Implementing these elements can considerably improve customer retention efforts. What Are the Three R’s of Customer Retention? The three R’s of customer retention are Retention, Related Sales, and Referrals. Retention focuses on keeping your existing customers loyal, which is vital since it’s often cheaper than acquiring new ones. Related Sales involve upselling or cross-selling to those customers, leveraging their trust to increase their spending. Referrals encourage satisfied customers to recommend your business, helping you attract new clients through trusted word-of-mouth, eventually enhancing your customer base and boosting revenue. What Are the 4 C’s of Customer Loyalty? The 4 C’s of customer loyalty are Clarity, Consistency, Connection, and Community. Clarity means you communicate your products and policies clearly, so customers know what to expect. Consistency involves providing a uniform experience across all interactions, which builds trust. Connection focuses on creating emotional ties through personalized experiences. Finally, Community encourages customer engagement, nurturing a sense of belonging. Together, these elements improve customer relationships and enhance loyalty, ultimately benefiting your business. Conclusion Incorporating these ten customer retention strategies can greatly improve your business’s long-term success. By focusing on effective onboarding, personalizing interactions, and actively seeking feedback, you create a more engaged customer base. Monitoring metrics and utilizing data analytics helps you identify at-risk customers, allowing for timely interventions. Furthermore, rewarding loyalty and cultivating a strong community can deepen relationships. Implementing these practical approaches will eventually lead to improved customer satisfaction and reduced churn rates, ensuring sustained growth for your organization. Image via Google Gemini This article, "10 Powerful Customer Strategies to Boost Retention Rates" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

Customer retention is essential for business success, as it costs considerably less to retain existing customers than to acquire new ones. Implementing effective strategies can greatly improve retention rates, ensuring long-term loyalty. For instance, creating a strong onboarding experience sets the tone for customer relationships, as personalized interactions can make clients feel valued. Comprehending key metrics will help you identify at-risk customers. Exploring these strategies can lead to enhanced customer satisfaction and reduced churn. Key Takeaways Implement personalized onboarding experiences to enhance customer engagement and reduce cancellations by up to 50%. Monitor engagement metrics to identify at-risk customers and proactively address churn warning signs. Utilize data analytics to tailor customer interactions, fostering deeper connections and improving satisfaction. Actively seek customer feedback to build trust and quickly address concerns, reducing churn rates by up to 15%. Establish structured loyalty programs with exclusive benefits to encourage repeat purchases and enhance customer loyalty. Understanding Customer Retention Comprehending customer retention is crucial for any business looking to thrive in a competitive market. Customer retention strategies focus on building long-term relationships with clients, which can be more cost-effective than acquiring new customers. In fact, retaining existing customers can reduce costs by up to 25%. A high retention rate not only promotes predictable revenue growth but also encourages upselling and cross-selling opportunities, with retained customers spending, on average, 67% more than new ones. To measure retention success, key metrics like Customer Retention Rate (CRR) and Customer Churn Rate are critical. Effective customer strategies, such as personalized experiences and strong onboarding processes, improve customer satisfaction, with 71% of consumers preferring customized interactions that cater to their specific needs and preferences. Importance of Customer Retention Comprehending the significance of customer retention is vital for businesses aiming to achieve sustainable growth. Implementing a strong customer focus strategy can lead to cost-effective retention methods that ultimately benefit your bottom line. Retained customers typically spend more over time, ensuring predictable revenue growth and a stable foundation for expansion. Additionally, high retention rates improve your company’s reputation, driving organic growth through customer advocacy and word-of-mouth referrals. By prioritizing customer retention, you cultivate a unified customer experience, increasing satisfaction and loyalty through personalized interactions. This approach also greatly reduces churn rates, which can be effectively measured using the Customer Retention Rate (CRR). To conclude, focusing on retention isn’t just beneficial; it’s fundamental for long-term success. Key Metrics for Measuring Retention To effectively measure retention, you need to focus on several key metrics that provide valuable insights into your customer relationships. Calculating your retention rate helps you understand how many customers you keep over time, whereas analyzing churn rates reveals potential issues affecting satisfaction. Furthermore, examining customer lifetime value gives you a clearer picture of the revenue your customers generate, guiding your retention strategies and marketing efforts. Retention Rate Calculation Comprehending how to calculate retention rates is essential for any business aiming to improve customer loyalty and maximize revenue. You can determine your Customer Retention Rate (CRR) by taking the number of customers at the end of a period, subtracting new customers acquired during that time, and dividing by the number of customers at the beginning of the period. Multiply this result by 100 for a percentage. Furthermore, consider tracking metrics like Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) and Net Revenue Retention (NRR), as these offer deeper insights into the long-term value of your customer strategy. Monitoring the Repeat Customer Rate also helps gauge loyalty, providing a clearer picture of customer satisfaction and engagement over time. Churn Rate Insights Even though grasping your churn rate is vital, knowing how to interpret its implications can greatly improve your customer retention strategies. The churn rate measures the percentage of customers lost within a specific period, and high rates often indicate ineffective retention strategies or declining customer satisfaction. For example, an average churn rate is around 5%, but this can vary markedly across industries. Monitoring this metric allows you to identify trends and potential issues early, helping you implement targeted strategies to retain customers. Reducing churn by just 5% can boost profits considerably, highlighting the financial impact of effective retention efforts. Analyzing customer behavior and feedback is critical for uncovering the main causes of churn, enabling you to address specific pain points. Lifetime Value Analysis Grasping customer lifetime value (CLV) is vital for measuring retention effectiveness and guiding strategic decisions. By comprehending CLV, you can assess how much revenue you can expect from a customer throughout their relationship with your brand. Here are key metrics to take into account: Customer Retention Rate (CRR): This percentage shows how many customers you retain over a specific period and reflects your retention strategies’ effectiveness. Net Revenue Retention (NRR): This metric accounts for upgrades, downgrades, and cancellations, giving you insight into recurring revenue from existing customers. Customer Churn Rate: By monitoring this rate, you can identify how many customers you lose over time, helping you pinpoint areas needing improvement. Focusing on these metrics will improve your customer lifetime value and strengthen retention efforts. Create a Strong Onboarding Experience Creating a strong onboarding experience is crucial for nurturing positive customer relationships, as it sets the foundation for their overall satisfaction and retention. A well-structured onboarding process can greatly reduce buyer regret and cancellations by addressing common complaints like hidden costs and slow implementation. When you provide a seamless experience, you can improve retention rates by up to 50%. Personalizing onboarding to cater to individual customer needs boosts engagement, making them more likely to return. Implementing a streamlined process not only enhances comprehension of your product or service but also builds trust. This aligns with the customer focus definition, emphasizing the importance of first impressions in cultivating long-term loyalty and deeper customer relationships. Identify Warning Signs of Churn To effectively identify warning signs of churn, you should start by monitoring engagement metrics like product usage and login frequency. Analyzing purchase patterns can reveal shifts in customer behavior, signaling potential dissatisfaction. Furthermore, pinpointing at-risk segments within your customer base allows for targeted interventions that can help retain those who might otherwise leave. Monitor Engagement Metrics Monitoring engagement metrics is vital for identifying warning signs of customer churn, and it can greatly impact your business’s long-term success. By tracking key indicators, you can take proactive steps to retain customers before it’s too late. Here are some important engagement metrics to monitor: Customer Churn Rate: Indicates the percentage of customers lost over time. Net Revenue Retention (NRR): Measures recurring revenue retained from existing customers. Product Usage: Analyzes feature utilization and active user counts. Analyze Purchase Patterns Identifying warning signs of churn becomes crucial when you analyze purchase patterns, as shifts in buying behavior can indicate dissatisfaction or disengagement. For example, if you notice a decrease in purchase frequency or average order value, it could signal that a customer is losing interest. Monitoring customer engagement examples, like the time spent on your website or app, can likewise reveal declining interest. Moreover, a significant change from regular purchases to sporadic buying may suggest that the customer is exploring alternatives. Utilizing data analytics to segment customers based on these purchasing habits allows you to tailor retention strategies. By implementing predictive analytics, you can forecast potential churn risks, enabling proactive outreach to re-engage at-risk customers before they decide to leave. Identify At-Risk Segments Recognizing at-risk segments within your customer base is essential for mitigating churn effectively. By focusing on key indicators, you can identify customers who may be disengaging. Here are some warning signs to monitor: Decreased Engagement: Track login frequency and transaction history to spot those showing reduced interaction. Negative Feedback: Pay attention to increases in customer complaints or regrets; these often correlate with churn. Inquiries About Cancellations: An uptick in questions regarding cancellations or downgrades can signal a need for timely outreach. Utilizing predictive analytics to assess this historical data helps in comprehending patterns indicative of churn. Personalize Customer Interactions Personalizing customer interactions is essential for improving retention rates, as a noteworthy 71% of consumers expect customized experiences from the brands they engage with. When you personalize customer interactions, you reduce friction in the customer experience, encouraging repeat visits and loyalty. Using Salesforce systems allows you to deliver relevant recommendations based on individual preferences, during personalized marketing messages help build deeper connections. With 84% of loyalty program members more likely to make repeat purchases, tailoring your approach can greatly boost retention. Key Aspect Benefit Example Customer Preferences Increases engagement Customized product suggestions CRM Utilization Streamlines communication Targeted email campaigns AI Tools Improves personalization One-to-one customer experiences Use Data to Enhance Customer Experience To improve the customer experience effectively, businesses should leverage data analytics to gain insights into customer behavior and preferences. By utilizing these insights, you can tailor your retention strategies to meet individual needs. Here are some effective ways to use data: Identify at-risk customers through trends like decreased purchase frequency, allowing timely interventions. Track metrics such as Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) and Customer Churn Rate to measure retention strategy effectiveness. Use Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems to personalize interactions and boost satisfaction. Incorporating customer service training ideas focused on data interpretation can empower your team to deliver exceptional service, ultimately encouraging loyalty and increasing retention rates. Regularly monitoring feedback further improves this personalized experience. Frequently Ask for Feedback Though many companies focus on improving products and services, actively seeking customer feedback is equally essential for enhancing retention rates. By gathering feedback through online surveys, social media, and direct outreach, you can identify pain points and areas for improvement. Companies that regularly solicit feedback can reduce churn rates by up to 15%, showcasing the importance of comprehending customer experiences. Implementing diverse channels for feedback guarantees you capture varied insights into customer preferences. Furthermore, addressing feedback swiftly builds trust and increases satisfaction, as 88% of customers expect brands to act on their opinions. Regularly asking for feedback likewise nurtures a sense of involvement and loyalty, with 62% of consumers willing to provide input if they feel valued, strengthening your client engagement strategies. Reward Customer Loyalty To effectively reward customer loyalty, consider implementing a well-structured loyalty program that offers tangible benefits. Exclusive member discounts not just encourage repeat purchases but likewise improve customers’ perception of value, making them feel appreciated. Furthermore, referral incentives can motivate satisfied customers to share their positive experiences, further promoting your brand through word-of-mouth. Loyalty Program Benefits Implementing a loyalty program can greatly improve your customer retention efforts, as it directly influences repeat purchase behavior. When you provide customized rewards and exclusive benefits, you incentivize engagement and encourage repeat purchases. Here are some key benefits of loyalty programs: Increased Repeat Purchases: 84% of loyalty program members are more likely to buy again, enhancing customer lifetime value. Emotional Connection: Gamification elements in your loyalty programs can nurture deeper connections, making customers feel valued. Customer Advocacy: Referral rewards can amplify positive word-of-mouth, as satisfied customers share their experiences, attracting new clients. Exclusive Member Discounts Exclusive member discounts serve as a strong tool for rewarding customer loyalty, directly influencing repeat purchasing behavior. Research shows that 84% of loyalty program members are more likely to make repeat purchases when offered exclusive discounts. By tailoring these offers to align with customer preferences, you can improve engagement and make them feel valued. Implementing a tiered loyalty program with escalating discounts motivates customers to increase their spending, boosting overall lifetime value. Moreover, 71% of consumers expect personalized experiences, making exclusive member discounts a crucial touchpoint in deepening relationships. Discount Tier Discount Percentage Bronze 10% Silver 15% Gold 20% Platinum 25% Referral Incentives Referral incentives are a potent strategy for improving customer loyalty and retention rates. By implementing a structured referral program, you can greatly increase client engagement. Satisfied customers are likely to refer others, leading to higher retention rates and overall growth. Here are some key benefits to evaluate: Offering discounts or exclusive rewards encourages both the referrer and the new customer to engage with your brand. Personalized incentives based on customer preferences can improve satisfaction, as 70% of consumers prefer customized rewards. Companies with effective referral programs see an average of 86% more revenue growth, highlighting their financial benefits. Incorporating referral incentives into your client engagement plan can create a win-win scenario, cultivating loyalty and boosting retention. Build a Strong Customer Community Creating a strong customer community is essential for nurturing brand loyalty and ensuring long-term retention. Engaging customers in these communities helps promote deeper connections, as 41% of consumers expect increased involvement by 2024. Successful client focus examples, like LEGO’s IDEAS platform, show how active participation can influence product designs, cultivating loyalty. To build a strong customer community, consider the following strategies: Strategy Benefits Online Forums Encourages dialogue and sharing Social Media Groups Connects like-minded individuals Loyalty Programs Rewards engagement and feedback Customer Feedback Platforms Guides product development Frequently Asked Questions Which Strategy Is Most Effective for Customer Retention? The most effective strategy for customer retention often involves personalization. When you tailor experiences to individual preferences, you meet customers’ expectations and improve their loyalty. Furthermore, implementing a robust loyalty program can incentivize repeat purchases, as members are more likely to buy again. Proactive communication, like regular check-ins, likewise builds stronger relationships. Finally, leveraging data analytics helps identify at-risk customers, allowing you to intervene before churn occurs, keeping your customer base stable. What Are the 8 C’s of Customer Retention? The 8 C’s of customer retention are Connection, Communication, Clarity, Convenience, Consistency, Care, Customization, and Community. Connection involves forming emotional bonds with customers. Communication guarantees transparent interactions. Clarity helps customers understand your offerings. Convenience provides easy access to products. Consistency assures reliable experiences. Care shows genuine interest in customer needs. Customization personalizes experiences, and Community promotes brand loyalty through shared interests. Implementing these elements can considerably improve customer retention efforts. What Are the Three R’s of Customer Retention? The three R’s of customer retention are Retention, Related Sales, and Referrals. Retention focuses on keeping your existing customers loyal, which is vital since it’s often cheaper than acquiring new ones. Related Sales involve upselling or cross-selling to those customers, leveraging their trust to increase their spending. Referrals encourage satisfied customers to recommend your business, helping you attract new clients through trusted word-of-mouth, eventually enhancing your customer base and boosting revenue. What Are the 4 C’s of Customer Loyalty? The 4 C’s of customer loyalty are Clarity, Consistency, Connection, and Community. Clarity means you communicate your products and policies clearly, so customers know what to expect. Consistency involves providing a uniform experience across all interactions, which builds trust. Connection focuses on creating emotional ties through personalized experiences. Finally, Community encourages customer engagement, nurturing a sense of belonging. Together, these elements improve customer relationships and enhance loyalty, ultimately benefiting your business. Conclusion Incorporating these ten customer retention strategies can greatly improve your business’s long-term success. By focusing on effective onboarding, personalizing interactions, and actively seeking feedback, you create a more engaged customer base. Monitoring metrics and utilizing data analytics helps you identify at-risk customers, allowing for timely interventions. Furthermore, rewarding loyalty and cultivating a strong community can deepen relationships. Implementing these practical approaches will eventually lead to improved customer satisfaction and reduced churn rates, ensuring sustained growth for your organization. Image via Google Gemini This article, "10 Powerful Customer Strategies to Boost Retention Rates" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

Trevor Noah once again roamed through the audience during his monologue to open the Grammy Awards, taking pokes at the stars while standing right next to them, but he saved his most pointed jokes for absentees, and elicited an angry post from the president. “Nicki Minaj is not here,” Noah said, to big cheers from the audience at Crypto.com Arena. “She is still at the White House with Donald The President discussing very important issues.” Minaj this week visited and praised the president, the culmination of a move toward MAGA that she’s made in recent months. Noah broke into a The President impression. “Actually Nicki, I have the biggest ass, everybody’s saying it Nicki.” In his sixth time hosting the show—and what he says will be his last—Noah mostly played it safe during his monologue, not delving too much into politics or controversy, at least during his monologue. There was no mention of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (on a night when many attendees were wearing “ICE OUT” buttons). But Noah got more pointed later in the show, after Billie Eilish won song of the year. “Wow. That is a Grammy that every artist wants,” Noah said, “almost as much as The President wants Greenland. Which makes sense. I mean, because Epstein’s island is gone, he needs a new island to hang out with Bill Clinton.” After the show in a Truth Social post, The President reacted. “Noah said, INCORRECTLY about me, that Donald The President and Bill Clinton spent time on Epstein Island. WRONG!!! I can’t speak for Bill, but I have never been to Epstein Island, nor anywhere close, and until tonight’s false and defamatory, statement, have never been accused being there, not even by the Fake News Media,” the post said. “Noah, a total loser, better get his facts straight, and get them straight fast. It looks like I’ll be sending my lawyers to sue this poor, pathetic, talentless, dope of an M.C.” After the crowd’s reaction to the joke during the show, Noah said, “Oh, I told you, it’s my last year. What are you going to do about it?” At a different point in the show, Noah joked about the president’s penchant for suing TV networks when he said the Grammys were airing “completely live” because “if we edited any of the show, the president would sue CBS for $16 billion,” referring to The President’s recent history with CBS News and a settlement he got from Paramount last summer. It had seemed at first like he wasn’t going to go very far into such material. He said during the monologue Lauryn Hill was performing on the show for the first time since 1999. “Do you understand how long ago that is?” he said. “Back in 1999, the president had had a sex scandal, people thought computers were about to destroy the world, and Diddy was arrested.” Later in the show, Noah cozied up to the night’s biggest nominee, Kendrick Lamar, and only congratulated him. “I actually thought about writing a few jokes roasting you, but then I remembered what you can do to light-skinned dudes from other countries,” Noah, who is from South Africa, said in a reference to Lamar’s beef with the Canadian rapper Drake that culminated in last year’s big Grammy winner “Not Like Us.” Later, he sat with Bad Bunny, and asked if he could come live with him in his native Puerto Rico if things got too bad in the U.S. “Trevor I have some news for you,” Bad Bunny said. “Puerto Rico is part of America.” The Recording Academy announced less than three weeks ago that Noah was returning “one final time.” “I believe in term limits,” Noah said during the show. Only singer Andy Williams, who hosted the Grammys seven times in the 1970s, has hosted more often. Noah himself is a four-time Grammy nominee, and was up this year in the best audio book recording category for Into The Uncut Grass, a children’s story. He lost to the Dalai Lama. This story has been updated to correct the spelling of Nicki Minaj in several places. For more coverage of the 2026 Grammy Awards, visit: https://apnews.com/hub/grammy-awards —Andrew Dalton, AP Entertainment Writer View the full article

To say it’s been a bad few days for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies would be an understatement. As of the time of this writing, Bitcoin is trading in the range of $77,000 per coin—a price point not seen since last March, when the world was thrown into economic uncertainty by President Donald The President’s tariffs. And Bitcoin isn’t the only crypto facing a bloodbath. Other major tokens, including Ethereum and BNB (Binance) are also in free-fall. XRP, the closely watched native token of the XRP Ledger from Ripple Labs, dipped below $1.60 earlier on Monday, a level it hasn’t seen since 2024. Here’s what you need to know. Cryptocurrencies plunged over the weekend Nearly all major cryptocurrencies plunged this weekend, with the tokens seeing drastic selloffs, particularly on Saturday. But things are even worse when you look back over the past five days. As of the time of this writing, during that period, many major cryptos have suffered double-digit percentage declines, including: Bitcoin: down nearly 13% over the past five days to $77,843 Ethereum: down nearly 24% over the past five days to $2,293 BNB: down more than 15% over the past five days to $764 XRP: down nearly 15% over the past five days to $1.62 And those aren’t the only cryptocurrencies getting hammered—most major coins are, including Solana (down almost 18% over the past 5 days to $102.88) and memecoin Dogecoin (down more than 15% over the past five days to $0.104.) The dramatic fall of major cryptocurrencies have led to fears of a new “crypto winter,” a period when cryptocurrencies across the board see steep selloffs and new investors tend to shy away from adding the coins to their asset portfolios. The last major crypto winter occurred around 2022. Why are cryptocurrency prices sinking? It’s not possible to attribute the exact reason why a volatile asset class like cryptocurrencies rises or falls, as so much of crypto investor activity is driven by greed and fear, which fuel buy-and-sell cycles. However, you can look back over the past five days to when the precipitous drops began and correlate the crypto price declines with external geopolitical and economic news, which is likely contributing to the outflow of investment in digital tokens. The first happened on Friday when President Donald The President announced that he would nominate former Federal Reserve governor Kevin Warsh as the next chair of the Federal Reserve. That news caused the dollar to surge—and safe-haven assets like gold and silver to crash. Since most cryptocurrencies are bought and sold against the dollar, when the dollar grows stronger, it takes fewer of them to buy the same amount of cryptocurrencies, and some investors may choose to sell their tokens before the dollar’s rising buying power makes their digital assets look any cheaper. Meanwhile, news on the geopolitical front may have also played a role in the crypto selloff. Over the weekend, the U.S. military began moving forces and equipment into the Middle East after President The President said he is considering a strike on Iran. The potential strike is in response to recent widespread demonstrations in the country, which could signal a strong enough appetite for regime change—something The President would likely consider very appealing, especially after the president ordered the attack on Venezuela at the beginning of the year to oust its leader. Any potential conflict can be good for the U.S. dollar, but it will also serve to raise geopolitical uncertainty. Investors generally hate uncertainty, and when such conditions arise, they typically dump their more volatile assets so they can park their profits in ones that are more stable. Where does crypto go from here? It is still too early to tell whether the recent cryptocurrency decline over the past five days is a temporary event or is indeed the beginning of another long crypto winter. The good news for investors is that many tokens are already showing signs of a slight recovery as of Monday morning, with Bitcoin up 1.21%, ETH up 1.41%, and XRP up 3.12% over the last 24 hours as of this writing. View the full article

Competitive research is a gold mine of insights in the world of organic discovery. Clients always love seeing insights about how they stack up against their rivals, and the insights are very easily translated into a multi-dimensional roadmap for getting traction on essential topics. If you haven’t already done this, 2026 needs to be the year when you add competitive research from answer engine optimization (AEO) (I’ll use this acronym interchangeably with AI search) into your organic strategy – and not just because your executives or clients are clamoring for it (although I’m guessing they are). This article breaks down the distinct roles of SEO and AEO competitive research, the tools used for each, and how to turn those insights into clear, actionable next steps. SEO competitive research benefits vs. AEO competitive research benefits Traditional SEO research is great for content planning and development that helps you address specific keywords, but that’s far from the whole organic picture in 2026. Combined, SEO and AI competitive research can give you a clear strategy for positioning and messaging, content development, content reformatting, and even product marketing roadmapping. Let’s start with the tried-and-true tools of traditional SEO research. They excel at: Demand capture. Keyword-driven intent mapping. Late-funnel and transactional discovery. A few years ago, pre-ChatGPT and the competitors that followed, SEO research was the foundation of your organic strategy. Today, those tools are a vital piece of organic strategy, but the emergence of AI search has shifted much of the focus away from traditional SEO. Now, SEO research should be used to: Support AI visibility strategies. Validate demand, not define strategy. Identify content gaps that feed AI systems, not just SERPs. AEO tools cover very different parts of the customer journey. These include: Demand shaping. Brand framing and recommendation bias. Early- and mid-funnel decision influence. AEO tools operate before the click, often replacing multiple SERP visits with a single synthesized answer. They offer a new type of research that’s a blend of voice-of-customer, competitive positioning, and market perception. That helps them deliver tremendous competitive insights into: Category leadership. Challenger brand visibility. Competitive positioning at the moment opinions are formed. Let’s break this down a little further. Organic search experts can use insights from AI search tools to: Identify feature expectations users assume are table stakes. Spot emerging alternatives before they show up in keyword tools. Understand where top products are or are not visible for relevant queries in key large language models (LLMs). Understand why users are advised not to choose certain products. Validate whether your product roadmap aligns with how the market is being explained to users. Dig deeper: How to use competitive audits for AI SERP optimization SEO vs. AEO research tools Aside from adding AEO functionality (leaders here are Semrush and Ahrefs), SEO research tools essentially function in much the way they did a few years ago. Those tools, and their uses, include: Ahrefs Ahrefs is a great source of info for, among other things: Search traffic. Paid traffic. Trends over time. Search engine ranking for keywords. Topics and categories your competitors are writing content for. Top pages. I also like to use Ahrefs for a couple of more advanced initiatives: High-level batch analysis provides a fast overview of backlinks for any list of URLs you enter. This can give you ideas about outreach – or content written strategically to appeal to these outlets – for your backlinks strategy. Reverse-engineering a competitor’s FAQs allows you to see potentially important topics to address with your brand’s differentiators in mind. To do this, go to Ahrefs’ Site Explorer, drop in a competitor domain, and then click on the Organic Keywords report. From here, you’ll want to filter out non-question keywords. The result is a good list of questions from actual users in your industry. You can then use these to tailor your content to meet potential customer needs. Dig deeper: Link intent: How to combine great content with strategic outreach BuzzSumo BuzzSumo sends you alerts about where your competitors receive links from their public relations and outreach efforts. This is the same idea as the batch analysis, but it’s more real-time and gives you good insights into your competitors’ current priorities. Semrush Semrush is a super-useful tool for competitive research. You can use the domain versus domain tool to see what keywords competitors rank for with associated metrics. You can get insights on competitor keywords, ad copy, organic and paid listings, etc. Armed with all of this research, a fun content maneuver I like to suggest to clients is “[Client] vs. [Competitor]” pieces of content, particularly once they have some differentiators fleshed out to play up in their content. With this angle, I’ve gotten some great first-page rankings and reached users with buying intent. Using their brand name might not always get you to rank above your competitor. Still, if you’re a challenger taking on bigger brands, it’s a good way to borrow their brand equity. On the AEO side, I love tools with a heavy measurement component, but I also make a point of digging into the actual LLMs themselves, like ChatGPT and Google AI Mode, to combine reporting tools with source data. This is similar to how my team has always approached traditional SEO research, which balances qualitative tools with extensive manual analysis of the actual SERPs. Get the newsletter search marketers rely on. See terms. The tools I recommend for heavy use are: Profound Profound is the most purpose-built AEO platform I’m using today. It focuses on how brands and competitors appear inside AI-generated answers, not just whether they rank in classic SERPs. Its insights help users: See which brands are cited or referenced in LLM answers for category-level and comparison queries. Identify patterns in how competitors’ content is framed (e.g., default recommendation, alternative, warning, etc.). Understand which sources LLMs trust (e.g., documentation, reviews, forums, owned content). Track share of voice within AI answers, not just blue links. All of these insights help to move competitive research from the simple question of “who ranks” to the more important answer of “who is recommended and why.” Ahrefs Ahrefs remains a foundational tool for traditional SEO research, but its insights primarily reflect what ranks, not what gets synthesized or cited by AI systems. They have, however, built in some new AI brand tracking tools worth exploring. ChatGPT ChatGPT is invaluable as a qualitative competitive research layer. I use it to: Simulate how users phrase early-stage and exploratory questions. Compare how different competitors are summarized when asked things like: “What’s the best alternative to X?” or “Who should use X vs. Y?” Identify language, positioning, and feature emphases that consistently show up across responses. Test messaging. Compare narratives with competitors. Identify where your brand’s positioning is unclear or has gaps. Google AI Mode This tool is the clearest signal we have today of how AI Overviews will impact demand capture. It provides insight into: Which competitors are surfaced before any traditional ranking is visible. What sources Google synthesizes to build its answers. How informational, commercial, and navigational queries blend. (This is especially important for mid-funnel queries where users previously clicked multiple results but now receive a single synthesized answer.) Reddit Pro This resource combines traditional community research with AI-era discovery. Because Reddit content is disproportionately represented in AI answers, this has become a first-class competitive intelligence source, not just a qualitative one. It helps to surface: High-signal conversations frequently referenced by LLMs. Common objections, alternatives, and feature gaps discussed by real users. Language that actually resonates with people – and insight which often differs from keyword-driven copy. Dig deeper: How to use advanced SEO competitor analysis to accelerate rankings & boost visibility How to take action on your organic competitive research insights Presenting competitive insights to clients or management teams in a digestible package is a good start (and may make its way up to the executive team for strategic planning). But where the rubber really meets the road is when you can make strong recommendations for how to use the insights you’ve gathered. Aim for takeaways like: “[Competitor] is great at [X], so I suggest we target [Yy.” “[Competitor] is less popular with [audience], which would likely engage with content on [topic].” “[Competitor] is dominating AI search on topics I should own, so I recommend developing or refining our positioning and building a specific content strategy.” “I’ve built a matrix showing the competitor product pages that draw more visibility in LLMs than our top-selling products. I recommend we focus on making those product pages more digestible for AI search and tracking progress. If we get traction, I recommend we identify the next tranche of product pages to optimize and proceed.” Ultimately, your clients or teammates should be able to use your insights to understand the market and align with you on priorities for initiatives to expand their footprint in both traditional and AI search. View the full article

Mortgage subsidiary Newrez expects to begin moving borrowers onto the platform by 2027, with the deal marking its second major tech investment this year. View the full article