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eToro Group Ltd has announced that it plans to take itself public in an initial public offering. The company made the announcement in a press release today, in which it confirmed that it had filed its Form F-1 registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). However, there are still many unknowns about eToro’s IPO. Here’s what we do know—and what still needs to be revealed. What is eToro Group Ltd? eToro Group Ltd is the name of the company that operates the eToro trading platform. Like other trading platforms, eToro allows investors to buy and sell a number of assets, including stocks and cryptocurrencies. But eToro is slightly different than your more traditional trading platforms like Charles Schwab or Vanguard. That’s because eToro is what is known as a “social trading” platform. The phrase signifies a platform that allows its users to see and, if they choose to, mimic the trades of other investors on the platform. This allows more novice investors to piggyback on the expertise of other investors whose decisions they trust. eToro Group was founded back in 2007. It is based in Tel Aviv, Israel with offices around the world. eToro by the numbers According to the company’s Form F-1 registration statement, eToro has the following metrics as of December 31, 2024: A global footprint that spreads across 75 countries. Approximately 3.5 million Funded Accounts across those countries. Net Contribution of $787 million (up 41% from $557 million in 2023). Total Commission of $931 million (up 46% from $639 million in 2023). Net income of $192 million (up 1,161% from $15 million in 2023). Adjusted EBITDA of $304 million (up 159% from $187 million in 2023). eToro’s F-1 also lists a number of its growth strategies, which the company says focuses on acquiring more users in existing markets, increasing its share of users’ assets, and moving into new markets. Among the risks the company cites are uncertain legal and regulatory landscapes as well as operating in a highly competitive industry. When is eToro’s IPO? That’s unknown. As of this writing, eToro has not divulged when its IPO may take place. In its press release about its intention to go public, eToro stated that “the offering is subject to market conditions, and there can be no assurance as to whether or when the offering may be completed.” What is eToro’s stock ticker? eToro’s stock ticker will be “ETOR.” What market will ETOR trade on? eToro shares will trade on the Nasdaq Global Select Market. What is the IPO share price of ETOR? That is unknown. eToro says that “the price range for the proposed offering have not yet been determined.” How many ETOR shares are available in its IPO? That, too, is unknown. The company says that the number of shares it plans to offer has also not yet been determined. How much will eToro raise in its IPO? That is something else we do not know at this time. Until eToro announces the number of shares it will offer and the offering price, it cannot be known how much the company plans to raise in its IPO. View the full article

This post was written by Alison Green and published on Ask a Manager. A reader writes: In the past year or two, quite a few people (typically middle-aged men) have been reaching out to me via LinkedIn (I am a 20-something woman) trying to recruit me. While I do have a lot of experience, I’m wondering if it’s odd that some of these professionals are reaching out to me, as I am under the impression it should be the other way around. They are the ones with the experience and connections while I’m the one building my network. My settings are set to the “not seeking a job” setting, and it’s clear on my profile that I am currently employed, and yet I still receive these fairly regular messages. After connecting with them, they often message me with professional questions, like what I’m studying or what my career goals are, that turn into where I live, how old I am, what I like to do for fun, etc. While none have them have been outright creepy, many are definitely heading in that direction and my spider senses tell me to shut it down before it gets too far. I tend to respond to the messages I get because they often ask about my interest in a potential job or industry and I don’t want to turn down a future opportunity. But how can I tell when someone is generally interested in my experience or just in the fact that I am young and a woman? This is a problem many of my friends have also experienced, too. I answer this question over at Inc. today, where I’m revisiting letters that have been buried in the archives here from years ago (and sometimes updating/expanding my answers to them). You can read it here. View the full article

The internet is full of recycled lists claiming to reveal the “most profitable blog niche ideas.” But most lack any actual data to back up their recommendations. That’s why we decided to do something different. We analyzed 100 blog niches using a comprehensive methodology to identify the top 25 opportunities based on cold, hard numbers. This included: Search volume data Keyword difficulty scores Average cost per click (CPC) Search intent Short- and long-term growth trends For each winning niche, we created a detailed scorecard that ranks its performance across three critical dimensions: Growth, monetization, and ranking potential. These metrics are presented on a five-point scale to help you quickly assess each niche’s strengths and challenges. Whether you’re launching your first blog or your fifth, these insights will help you make smarter decisions about where to invest your time and energy. Check out our methodology below, or skip right to the “top blog niches of 2025. Methodology: How We Rated the Blog Niche Ideas To identify the most promising blog niches of 2025, we developed a scoring system that evaluated 100 niches across three key performance metrics: Growth Trend (35% of Total Score) We analyzed historical growth patterns in the U.S. by combining: Year-over-year growth (40% weight) 5-year growth trend (30% weight) 10-year growth trajectory (30% weight) This weighted average was then converted to a 1-5 scale, with five circles indicating exceptional growth potential. All growth trend data was sourced from Exploding Topics. Monetization Potential (35% of Total Score) We evaluated earning potential by combining: Search volume relative to top niches (40% weight) Average cost-per-click rates (40% weight) User intent (20% weight)—with commercial intent receiving higher scores Higher scores (more filled circles) indicate stronger monetization opportunities. U.S. search volume, intent, and CPC data were all gathered from Semrush data. Ranking Potential (30% of Total Score) We assessed competition levels based on keyword difficulty: 0-20% difficulty = 5 circles (easiest to rank) 21-40% difficulty = 4 circles 41-60% difficulty = 3 circles 61-80% difficulty = 2 circles 81-100% difficulty = 1 circle (most competitive) Keyword difficulty data was sourced from Semrush. Each niche received a total score based on these weighted metrics, allowing us to identify the top 25 blog niche ideas. Now that you see how we evaluated these niches, let’s find the right one for YOU with our Three Ps framework. How to Choose and Validate Your Blog Niche Want to know the secret to long-term blogging success? It all comes down to the three Ps: Passion, Potential, and Profitability. The most successful blogs hit this trifecta. They’re built around topics you genuinely care about, have substantial audience interest, and offer clear paths to revenue. Here’s how to find your perfect match. Step 1: Consider Your Passions Passion for your blog niche isn’t just a nice-to-have—it’s a competitive advantage. Why does this first “P” matter so much? When you genuinely care about your topic, you’ll: Stick with it when growth is slow (and trust me, every blogger faces plateaus) Develop deeper insights that casual researchers miss Create high-quality content that naturally displays E-E-A-T (expertise, experience, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness) signals that Google rewards Create authentic content that resonates with fellow enthusiasts Think about what topics you find yourself researching for fun, discussing with friends, or already have experience with. These are your passion indicators. Pro tip: You’ll be creating hundreds—if not thousands—of articles on this topic. Make sure it’s something that won’t feel like a chore six months from now. Step 2: Research the Niche’s Long-Term Potential Found a topic you love? Great. Now let’s evaluate the second “P”—Potential—to make sure this niche has staying power. First, verify there’s an actual audience for your niche. Here’s how: Visit online communities where your potential readers hang out: Facebook Groups: Check member count and weekly post volume Quora: Analyze question frequency and follower counts Reddit: Look for subreddits with at least 10,000 members For example, when I searched “gardening” on Reddit, I found this active subreddit with 7.8 million members. Pay attention to: Common questions people ask Problems they’re trying to solve Language they use to describe their challenges Products or solutions they’re already using Now, let’s look at whether your niche is growing or declining. Open Google Trends and enter your blog niche idea. Change the time frame dropdown to “Past 5 years” (or a custom timeframe). For example, “gardening” has stayed fairly steady—and even seen frequent spikes in interest—over the past five years. This is an encouraging sign that this niche will remain popular over time. As you review niches, look for the following: Upward trend (or fairly steady interest) over time Seasonal patterns you can plan content around Related topics showing rapid growth Step 3: Analyze Profitability Moderate to strong interest in your blog niche is a fantastic start. But the third “P”—profitability—determines if your blog can actually make money. Here’s where you validate if people are actively searching for content in your niche. And what the average CPC for your niche is. You’ll need a keyword research tool for this step. I’ll be using Semrush’s Keyword Overview tool for this example. Note: A free Semrush account gives you 10 searches in Keyword Overview per day. Or you can use this link to access a 14-day trial on a Semrush Pro subscription. Enter your main niche topic, such as “garden design.” The “Overview” report tells you everything you need to know to assess this niche’s monetization potential: Monthly search volume Search intent CPC Keyword difficulty For example, “garden design” gets 6.6K searches per month in the United States. While not as high as some, niching down from the broad category of “gardening” has clear benefits. This includes much lower difficulty (65% vs. 90%). Next, look at the “CPC” report. (The higher the CPC, the more advertisers are willing to pay for clicks, signaling stronger monetization opportunities.) “Garden design” has a CPC of $1.78, which shows monetization potential. Pro tip: What’s a “good” CPC? After analyzing CPC data across 100 blog niches, I found the average was $2.09. While this benchmark is useful, don’t chase high CPCs alone—weigh them against competition levels and search volume to find your ideal niche. With the three Ps as your guide, you can confidently identify a blog niche that’s personally fulfilling and financially rewarding. Now, let’s explore the top 25 blog niche ideas for 2025. 1. Artificial Intelligence (AI) In a surprise to no one, “AI” is the #1 blog niche for 2025. Despite the relatively modest $1.24 CPC, the off-the-charts search volume (1M) makes this an incredibly lucrative opportunity. But you’ll need to bring your A-game. This means expert content that demonstrates a deep understanding of the topic. This is true whether you focus on breaking artificial intelligence news and trends before others do. Or providing in-depth tutorials and tool reviews to help the everyday person understand and use AI. Or you could niche down further. Like the successful AI blog Machine Learning Mastery. This blog teaches developers “how to get better results, faster” with practical AI tutorials. Machine Learning Mastery is a great example of how to monetize in this space. They use display advertising and sell multiple machine learning ebooks and tutorials. Monetization paths: AI tool affiliate partnerships, display ads, online courses, consulting services, paid newsletters with industry insights Success requirements: Tech fluency, talent for simplifying complex topics, constant learning mindset, firsthand experience with emerging tools 2. Digital Marketing Digital marketing is a high-potential niche. With 426% growth over the past decade and a substantial 165,000 monthly searches, this space offers clear potential to turn your blog into a reliable revenue stream. But the competition is no joke. Even the subniches like SEO and content marketing have 100% keyword difficulty. To stand out in this highly competitive space, you’ll need to create content competitors can’t easily replicate. Think case studies, original research, firsthand insights, and expert interviews. For example, Search Engine Journal (SEJ) has found success in the SEO and search marketing subniches with data-backed content written by industry experts. While there are many ways to monetize a digital marketing blog, SEJ’s strategy includes syndicated content opportunities and banner ads. Monetization paths: Premium courses, consulting services, display ads, SaaS affiliate programs, members-only communities Success requirements: Proven campaign experience, analytical mindset, established industry network 3. Cybersecurity This high-profit niche commands an impressive $11.51 CPC—the second highest on our list. This makes cybersecurity one of the most profitable blog categories if you can crack the code to ranking. The 809% growth over the past decade tells you there is serious long-term potential here. But the 100% keyword difficulty? It means breaking into this space requires genuine expertise that can’t be faked. Consider specializing in subniches where competition is slightly less intense. Like network security, privacy protection, or ethical hacking, Take the blog Krebs on Security, for example. The creator of this blog, Brian Krebs, is a former Washington Post journalist. Krebs has built authority by breaking major security news stories through investigative journalism. Krebs on Security also has a strong monetization strategy that involves both on- and offline tactics. This includes display ads, affiliate marketing, and speaking engagements. Monetization paths: Security tool affiliates, corporate training programs, display ads, consulting, premium newsletters Success requirements: Verifiable security credentials, ability to explain technical concepts clearly, commitment to staying current with evolving threats 4. Meal Prep Meal prep has seen remarkable growth (457%) over the past decade. And it has no signs of slowing down. It’s also slightly more accessible than some top niches, with 75% keyword difficulty. (Plus, check out that healthy $5.24 CPC). But what makes this niche particularly attractive is its evergreen appeal. People will always need convenient, healthy eating solutions that save time and money. Success here hinges on authenticity. Thoroughly test your recipes, document each step visually, and provide specific troubleshooting tips from your own kitchen experiences. Combine high-quality photography with practical, real-world advice that readers can’t find in generic recipe collections. Note: “Food” is one of the most profitable blog niches, averaging $9,169 per month in revenue, according to a RankIQ study. For example, Sweet Peas and Saffron, a popular meal prep blog, features step-by-step directions and storage and reheating instructions for each recipe. They also monetize their blog in a few tasty ways: Display ads Amazon’s affiliate marketing program Downloadable meal plans Monetization paths: Recipe ebooks, meal planning subscriptions, display ads, cooking equipment affiliates, sponsored content from food brands Success requirements: Culinary knowledge, food photography skills, process documentation abilities 5. Wellness Wellness has doubled in popularity over the last decade, showing steady 100% growth. With 77% keyword difficulty, this niche offers a somewhat more accessible entry point. Another bonus? Strong audience interest (49,500 monthly searches). Rather than covering the entire field, consider focusing on subniches where you can establish deep expertise. Like sleep, stress management, or mindfulness practices Balance science-backed information with relatable personal experiences. Readers want evidence that wellness practices actually work, preferably from someone who’s implemented them in real life. For example, Wellness Mama has built a devoted blog following. The family-focused natural living content is tested and reviewed by researchers and medical advisors, which builds trust and credibility. As for monetization? Wellness Mama has a podcast and multiple cookbooks. They’re also in various affiliate marketing programs. Monetization paths: Wellness product affiliates, online courses, digital journals/planners, brand partnerships Success requirements: Relevant credentials or personal transformation story, ability to cite research accurately, consistent content that builds trust 6. Home Remodeling Love to DIY home projects? The home remodeling blog niche offers enticing numbers: 60% keyword difficulty (lower than many of our top niches) $5.22 CPC Consistent growth: 41% YoY; 65% 5Y; 39% 10Y To shine in this niche, demonstrate real expertise, whether you focus on home decor or kitchen redesigns. Readers want detailed cost breakdowns, material recommendations, and step-by-step instructions that result in successful outcomes. High-quality before/after photos and video tutorials will separate your blog from competitors. Young House Love is a prime example of home remodeling niche mastery. They document real renovation projects with detailed cost breakdowns and process photos that show every step. They’ve also monetized through multiple book deals. And have their own lighting line at a major retailer, showing the diverse money-making potential of this niche. Monetization paths: Tool/material affiliates, online courses/tutorials, digital downloads, sponsored content Success requirements: Construction/remodeling experience, step-by-step tutorial ability, video production capabilities Pro tip: Diversify your blog monetization strategy. Multiple income streams not only help you earn more overall, but they also provide crucial protection if one revenue source slows down. 7. Debt Management Talk about the sleeper hit of blog niches. Debt management has an eye-popping $15.50 CPC—the highest on our list. Despite a relatively modest search volume (2,900 monthly searches), this niche presents a golden opportunity for monetization. Plus, the 63% keyword difficulty makes it more accessible than many top niches. But here’s the catch: As a Your Money, Your Life (YMYL) topic, Google holds financial content to much higher standards. You’ll need to demonstrate legitimate expertise to rank. Success requires establishing E-E-A-T signals through author credentials (financial certifications help), expert contributions, and comprehensive, accurate advice backed by authoritative sources. Trust is everything here. Focus on transparency, avoid get-rich-quick promises, and show readers a clear path to financial improvement. Personal stories (with receipts) will be a differentiator in this niche. Note: Finance blogs are popular and profitable. According to RankIQ, bloggers in this niche earn an impressive average of $9,100 per month, making it one of the most lucrative blogging categories. While there are plenty of smaller blogs in this niche (with low traffic) many of the major players are blogs run by financial institutions. Like this one: But with a solid SEO strategy and high-quality content, you’ll have a good shot at breaking through on the SERPs. Monetization paths: Financial product affiliates, debt management courses, one-on-one coaching, financial planning templates Success requirements: Financial credentials, ethical marketing approach, ability to simplify complex concepts 8. Pet Health Pet parents take the health of their fur babies seriously, which is evident by the 72% growth of this niche over the past decade. It also has moderate keyword difficulty (64%). And an impressive $5.15 CPC. Of course, the lower search volume (1,300) isn’t ideal. But it’s offset by this niche’s commercial intent. To succeed in this space, create detailed guides on specific health conditions, prevention strategies, and nutrition advice. Remember, this is another YMYL niche where Google demands expertise. Veterinary credentials or partnerships with pet health professionals will boost your credibility and ranking potential. A pet health blog that exemplifies all of this is Preventive Vet. The blog’s content is written and reviewed by veterinarians, pet behavioral consultants, and pet trainers. They’ve also monetized in multiple ways, with products and services tailored to their ideal customer: Pet parents (and pets, of course). This includes books, dog toys, and virtual and in-person dog training courses. Monetization paths: Pet insurance affiliates, health supplement partnerships, premium care guides, telemedicine referrals Success requirements: Animal health knowledge, ability to research medical topics thoroughly, genuine passion for animal welfare 9. B2B Sales Interest in B2B sales has exploded with 191% growth over the past decade. Yet it remains surprisingly accessible with just 50% keyword difficulty. This rising star niche sits in a sweet spot. There’s enough search volume (14,800 monthly searches) to drive traffic. But it doesn’t have the cutthroat competition of broader business categories. What works here? Real results. Share actual sales frameworks you’ve used, document real client acquisition processes, and provide email and cold-calling templates. Focus on specific industries, sales challenges, or buyer journey stages to carve out your unique positioning. The Close Blog is a great example of this. The content is tailored to startups and small business owners. And it’s written by industry experts. While Close uses its blog to generate leads for its CRM, it’s not the only way they monetize. They also run an affiliate program, offering 30% commission on each referred paying customer. Monetization paths: SaaS affiliate programs, sales training courses, consulting services, lead generation tools Success requirements: B2B sales experience, strategic thinking, ability to demonstrate ROI clearly Further reading: 16 Proven B2B Marketing Strategies That Get Results 10. Weight Loss “Weight loss” is a powerhouse blog niche with awesome monthly search volume (165,000). And undeniably strong monetization potential ($5.99 CPC). Despite minimal year-over-year growth, the five-year trend is positive, with an increase of 78%. (This isn’t surprising, considering the weight loss medicine “Ozempic” gets 1.5 million searches alone.) The issue? 100% keyword difficulty means you’re competing against established health authorities and major publications. This YMYL niche requires genuine expertise and trustworthiness. Consider specializing in targeted subniches to find less competitive angles. Like weight management for specific health conditions or demographic groups. Personal stories of success—with real before and after photos—will be especially impactful. For example, the weight loss blog Runs for Cookies features the creator’s personal story of losing 125 pounds. This establishes trust and credibility with readers (and search engines). Runs for Cookies’ monetization strategy includes Amazon’s affiliate program and display ads. As an avid runner, Runs for Cookies recommends their favorite clothes and accessories based on personal experience. This gives their suggestions authenticity and trustworthiness, helping to encourage sales. Monetization paths: Nutrition program affiliates, fitness equipment partnerships, meal planning subscriptions, fitness products, coaching services Success requirements: Health/nutrition credentials, ability to interpret scientific studies accurately, responsible content approach 11. Skincare Skincare has seen long-term growth of 400% over the last decade. (Though the recent 13% year-over-year dip suggests potential market saturation.) With 90,500 monthly searches and a keyword difficulty of 91%, this is a challenging but potentially rewarding space. But if you’re going the affiliate or sponsored content route, be warned: Readers want genuine product recommendations and advice. They can see through endless glowing reviews just to push affiliate links. Take the popular blog Lab Muffin Beauty Science, for example. Its creator holds a PhD in chemistry. And uses their expertise to break down the science behind beauty products. This helps readers separate fact from marketing hype. To monetize, Lab Muffin Beauty Science uses multiple income streams: Display ads Affiliate links Ebooks Sponsored content This mix allows the blog to generate revenue while staying true to its mission of providing science-backed beauty insights. Monetization paths: Product affiliates, sponsored reviews, subscription content, ecommerce products Success requirements: Dermatological knowledge, consistent product testing, high-quality photography skills 12. Productivity Productivity has a surprisingly high CPC of $9.80—the third highest on our list. Even better? This blog niche has shown consistent growth across multiple timeframes: 17% YoY 58% over five years 44% over the last decade Clearly, our collective obsession with doing more in less time isn’t fading. But at 93% keyword difficulty, you’ll face stiff competition from established productivity giants. Success here demands more than rehashing the same time management tips everyone’s already heard. Develop and test original productivity systems, create custom tools your audience can’t find elsewhere, and share firsthand stories of how you maintain productivity. The Zen Habits blog is a stellar example of this. Its creator focuses on habit formation from their firsthand experiences. Like writing a novel, tripling their income, running marathons, and much more. While the blog’s design is minimal and doesn’t feature display ads, Zen Habits has multiple monetization paths. This includes books and a paid membership with workshops and video courses. Monetization paths: Productivity app affiliates, digital planners/templates, premium courses, coaching services Success requirements: Demonstrated personal productivity expertise, system development skills, ability to measure and communicate results 13. Real Estate Investment Real estate investment may have plateaued in growth this year (0% YoY). But its 10-year growth trend reveals the bigger picture: This niche has staying power. But this YMYL topic is heavily gated by Google’s quality standards. (Plus, it has a hefty 99% keyword difficulty score.) You’ll need more than theoretical knowledge to break through. Actual investing experience or genuine expertise is non-negotiable. Readers in this space are often willing to invest in premium content, tools, and services that deliver real value. Focus on creating content backed by data analysis, market research, and documented case studies of your own investments. Transparency about both successes and failures will help establish the authenticity this space demands. A great example in the real estate investing niche is BiggerPockets. This blog blends real estate news and educational content with personal success stories. BiggerPockets monetizes through multiple paid membership plans that provide added value to its target audience. This includes investing tools for property and rent analysis, forum access, and active deal listings. Monetization paths: Property management software affiliates, investment courses, membership communities, lead generation for services Success requirements: Real estate investing experience, market analysis skills, understanding of investment financing 14. Financial Management Financial management strikes the perfect balance as an evergreen niche: Healthy long-term growth: 16% YoY, 94% 5Y, 56% 10Y Lower keyword difficulty: 79% (while not technically “low,” it’s not insurmountable for a financial topic) Great revenue potential: $6.27 But it’s a YMYL topic, and you know what that means. While not as impenetrable as some finance niches, you’ll still need to demonstrate clear knowledge and authority to rank well. Niche down to specific audience segments rather than trying to cover all aspects of personal finance. Like young professionals, small business owners, or retirees, This will help you establish deeper expertise in a less competitive subset. Original case studies, data analysis, and practical tools like calculators or spreadsheets provide the value that readers and search engines reward. Mr. Money Mustache is a great example of a blog that makes financial advice accessible—and entertaining. Their slogan is “financial freedom through badassity,” after all. Its creator shares firsthand tips on living frugally and retiring young. Aside from a display ad or two, Mr. Money Mustache monetizes through affiliate marketing. On “MMM Recommends,” you’ll find various product recommendations from the blog’s creator. Including credit cards, financial trackers, and investment firms. Monetization paths: Financial product affiliates, budgeting tools, investment guides, financial planning services Success requirements: Financial literacy, data analysis skills, ability to explain complex concepts clearly 15. Self-Care Self-care has quietly transformed from buzzword to established niche, with impressive 250% growth over the past decade. Plus, at 73% keyword difficulty, it offers a more approachable entry point than many top niches on our list. The challenge? A lower $0.98 CPC means you’ll need volume or creative monetization strategies to maximize revenue. Success in this space comes from authentic, practical content that goes beyond generic advice. Consider focusing on specific aspects of self-care where you can carve out your niche. Like morning routines, digital detox strategies, or stress management techniques. Take The Blissful Mind, a self-care blog designed for busy professionals seeking balance and mindfulness, for example. It offers practical self-care tips and routines tailored to hectic schedules. As for revenue streams? They monetize with products that naturally complement this niche: a planner, journal, and guide. These offerings provide readers with tangible tools to put self-care into practice, reinforcing the blog’s mission while generating income. Monetization paths: Wellness product affiliates, self-care planners/journals, guided meditation courses, digital downloads, subscription boxes Success requirements: Personal wellness experience, consistency in practice, ability to balance science with accessibility 16. Career Development Career development has emerged as a standout niche, with 107% growth over the past five years. The strong growth and relatively approachable competition (61% keyword difficulty) make it an attractive option, whether you’re a new or seasoned blogger. Specificity and actionable advice are the keys to success in this niche. Focus on particular industries, career stages, or workplace challenges where you have firsthand experience. Document real career transitions, share authentic workplace stories, and create practical resources. Like resume templates and interview scripts. For example, The Muse, a well-known career blog, shares advice on everything from skill development to team building. They also feature company profiles and job listings. When it comes to monetization, The Muse offers a variety of revenue streams designed to help readers land their dream jobs. This includes personalized resume reviews and career coaching services. Monetization paths: Resume services, career coaching, professional course affiliates, job board partnerships Success requirements: Professional experience, networking abilities, understanding of hiring processes 17. Green Technology Green technology offers a rare combination: moderate competition (58% keyword difficulty) and solid monetization potential ($5.01 CPC). But the relatively low search volume (1,900 monthly searches) means success hinges on attracting highly targeted, high-intent website traffic. To make the most of this niche, focus on content that aligns with user intent. Readers want the science behind green technology and actionable ways to reduce their carbon footprint in their own homes. This is why product reviews will be big in this niche. Stay ahead of emerging trends and policy changes to position your blog as a forward-thinking resource. For example, CleanTechnica covers energy efficiency, geothermal energy, Tesla products, and more. They also provide in-depth electric vehicle reviews. To monetize, CleanTechnica leverages multiple revenue streams, including display ads and an ecommerce store. So, they can generate income while continuing to champion sustainable tech. Monetization paths: Eco-friendly product affiliates, sustainable technology reviews, green living courses, consultation services Success requirements: Environmental knowledge, technical understanding, ability to make complex innovations accessible Pro tip: Interested in joining an ad network to monetize your blog? Pay special attention to niches with high monthly search volume. You’ll need 50,000 monthly sessions just to qualify for Mediavine, the ad platform used by 40% of bloggers earning $2K+/month (RankIQ). 18. B2C Sales Business-to-consumer (B2C) sales shows promising growth (+300% over the last 10 years). But it also has surprisingly low competition at just 32%. This provides an accessible entry point for bloggers with B2C sales experience. While the search volume is low (720 monthly searches), the ease of ranking makes this an attractive option. Share specific sales scripts, customer journey maps, and proven conversion optimization techniques backed by real-world experience. Consider specializing in particular sales channels (ecommerce, retail, subscription services) or customer segments where you have hands-on experience. With such minimal competition, you have a genuine opportunity to establish authority relatively quickly compared to more crowded niches. Now, let’s look at a successful blog in this niche. Sales Gravy helps sales professionals sharpen their skills, close more deals, and navigate sales slumps with confidence. To monetize, Sales Gravy offers virtual sales workshops and online courses. This lets them turn their expertise into valuable training resources for their audience. Monetization paths: Sales tool affiliates, sales templates/scripts, training courses, consulting services Success requirements: Consumer sales experience, customer psychology understanding, testing and optimization skills 19. Consumer Tech Surprised to find a tech niche with just 34% keyword difficulty? Consumer tech has an unusually accessible entry point. But don’t let the recent dip in YoY growth (-6%) fool you. The 233% growth over the last 10 years demonstrates this niche’s staying power. What sets successful tech blogs apart? Thorough, hands-on testing that goes beyond surface-level reviews. Anyone can summarize a spec sheet, but readers value authentic insights and detailed performance reviews. Focus on specific product categories or user needs where you have genuine expertise rather than trying to cover the entire consumer tech landscape. A standout example in this niche is RTINGS. The blog features objective product testing using standardized methodologies and scoring systems. Run by a team of engineers, testers, technical writers, and developers, their content is high quality and trustworthy. This credibility is essential, especially if you want to monetize product reviews through affiliate programs, as RTINGS does. Monetization paths: Product affiliates, sponsored reviews, comparison guides, tech accessory partnerships Success requirements: Technical knowledge, testing methodology, clear communication of complex features 20. Health The health niche pulls in a whopping 368,000 monthly searches. Not to mention that juicy $4.67 CPC. But don’t start drafting “10 tips for better health” articles just yet. As a YMYL topic, health content faces Google’s toughest quality filters. Without medical credentials or expert partnerships, you’ll struggle to gain traction. Your best bet? Niche down to specific health conditions where you have firsthand experience or certified knowledge. And back everything with scientific research and insights from medical professionals. This is what Healthline, a popular blog in the health niche, does. Their articles are written by health writers and reviewed by medical professionals, which helps establish trust and credibility. To monetize, Healthline uses multiple revenue streams that align with its audience’s interests. This includes advertising, sponsored content, and affiliate links. Monetization paths: Health product affiliates, wellness programs, supplement partnerships, telehealth referrals, digital downloads/plans Success requirements: Medical/health credentials, research skills, ability to translate complex information responsibly 21. Books What this evergreen category lacks in CPC ($0.68), it makes up for in passionate audience engagement. (Check out that 368,000 monthly search volume). But you’ll need a distinctive angle that sets you apart from established literary blogs to break into this competitive space. Consider niching down to underrepresented genres, specialized reading guides for particular audiences, or unique book curation approaches. Authentic book reviews and recommendations are crucial here. Insightful commentary and humor also work well. For example, Book Riot stands out in this niche with diverse book coverage, literary-themed product reviews, and multiple themed newsletters. They’ve also taken a creative approach to monetization with their own book subscription box. Curated by Book Riot editors, each box delivers hand-selected books tailored to the customer’s preferences. Monetization paths: Book affiliate programs, product recommendations, subscription book clubs, author partnerships, premium reading guides Success requirements: Genre expertise, analytical reading skills, consistent content production 22. Cryptocurrency Thinking about riding the crypto wave? This niche has skyrocketed with a mind-blowing 700% growth over the past decade. With 135,000 monthly searches, there’s no shortage of people hungry for crypto content. Here’s the catch You’re facing 100% keyword difficulty. Google won’t let just anyone rank here—this is serious YMYL territory. Focus on educational content that helps readers understand blockchain fundamentals or risk management strategies. Share your personal experiences (both wins and losses) to build authenticity. Success requires genuine expertise through technical accuracy, responsible advice, and transparent disclosure of your own involvement with digital assets. The CoinDesk blog is a powerhouse in crypto news. Backed by financial journalists and technical experts, they cover the latest trends, regulations, and market moves. CoinDesk monetizes its blog with a solid mix of methods: Display ads Sponsored content Industry events Monetization paths: Crypto exchange affiliates, trading tool partnerships, educational courses, premium market analysis Success requirements: Blockchain knowledge, trading experience, ability to explain complex concepts clearly 23. Remote Work Interest in remote work has grown steadily (460%) over the past decade. In fact, 60,500 people search for “remote work” each month. But the low $0.83 CPC isn’t ideal. This means you’ll need more than display ads to make money in this niche. Addresses specific challenges in your content to stand out. Like maintaining work-life boundaries, building virtual team culture, or optimizing home office setups for different living situations. Consider focusing on particular remote work scenarios to excel in areas with less content saturation. Like digital nomads, hybrid teams, or specific industries. Remote.co is a strong example of a successful blog in the remote work space. Their blog covers content for job seekers and remote employees/leadership. Like spotting job scams, high-paying WFH jobs, onboarding employees, and virtual collaboration tips. Remote.co monetizes through multiple channels. Including paid memberships for job seekers looking for their next remote opportunity. Monetization paths: Remote work tool affiliates, sponsored content, productivity courses, virtual team training, home office equipment partnerships Success requirements: Remote work experience, productivity system knowledge, ability to document effective practices 24. Web Design Looking to capitalize on a niche with serious earning potential? Web design has an impressive $8.84 CPC—the fourth highest on our list. Recent trends show encouraging growth: 31% over two years. And the 49,500 monthly searches indicate plenty of audience interest. But breaking into this high-competition space (96% keyword difficulty) requires demonstrating legitimate design expertise. You can’t fake it here. To stand out, share your actual processes and projects. And create tutorials that show your personal approach to design problems. Stay current with emerging design trends and technologies to maintain credibility in this field. A standout in the web design space, the blog CSS-Tricks delivers practical advice and in-depth design problem-solving articles. Owned by cloud service provider DigitalOcean, CSS-Tricks helps funnel leads to its parent company’s products. Including Cloudways, a web hosting provider. It also generates revenue through sponsorship opportunities. Monetization paths: Design tool affiliates, premium templates, UI kits, design courses, logo and designer tools, client referral programs Success requirements: Web design portfolio, technical knowledge, visual communication skills 25. Passive Income Dreaming of making money while you sleep? You’re not alone—passive income has seen 115% growth over the past decade with 49,500 monthly searches. But just regurgitating what’s already out there won’t cut it. Readers (and search engines) want to see that you know what you’re talking about. Document your actual passive income streams with real numbers and transparent insights. In a niche filled with get-rich-quick schemes, your authentic experiences and realistic expectations will build trust that keeps readers coming back. The Smart Passive Income blog is a long-time favorite in this space. Its content helps readers become entrepreneurs and build passive income streams for sustainable success. But Smart Passive Income isn’t just about advice—it’s a business itself. They monetize through multiple channels: Paid community with workshops and masterminds SaaS tools Live events Affiliate marketing Monetization paths: Business tool affiliates, premium courses, membership communities, downloadable resources Success requirements: Proven income streams, financial transparency, systems development experience Your Next Move: Bring Your Blog Idea to Life The best blog niche ideas aren’t the ones with the biggest numbers—it’s where your expertise meets market opportunity. Before you commit, ask yourself: Do you have real knowledge in this area? Can you consistently create content here? Does the monetization align with your goals? Remember: Differentiation beats competition every time. Ready to bring your blog idea to life? Learn how to start a blog with our step-by-step guide, including a 12-month action plan and downloadable checklist. The post 25 Best Blog Niche Ideas <br>(Data Study) appeared first on Backlinko. 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. One of my biggest pet peeves about the Oura ring platform is getting some temporary relief, thanks to Amazon’s spring sale. Chargers for the gen 4 ring (the newest model) are available for $35.40 today, so you can pick up a spare for close to half the usual price. Oura Ring 4 Charger $35.40 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg $59.00 Save $23.60 Get Deal Get Deal $35.40 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg $59.00 Save $23.60 And, yep, the usual price for an Oura charger is a whopping 59 bucks. The old gen 3 chargers don’t fit the new gen 4 rings, and the chargers are also sized: If you have a size 8 ring, you need a size 8 charger. And there aren’t third-party chargers for the gen 4 rings, so the official Oura ones are your only option. Hence my griping about the price. But now, at $35.40? That’s still not cheap, but it’s a lot better than full price. Your ring will have come with one charger, but it’s handy to have a spare so you can keep one at your work desk and one on your nightstand, or to keep an extra in your travel drawer. The Oura ring lasts most of a week on each charge—up to eight days, according to the company, although I found I only got about five days between charges with blood oxygen sensing turned on. That also accounts for charging the ring when it falls to 20% battery, which is the app's recommendation to be sure it won't run out of juice while you sleep. The fourth generation Oura ring has a good reason for not fitting the old chargers, by the way—the old rings had three sensor bumps on the inside, where the gen 4 has finally managed to fit its technology into a smooth interior that fits like a normal ring. So the ring is a different shape on the interior, and the sizing has also changed. For more on the differences between the gen 3 and gen 4 Oura rings, I have a detailed comparison here. I’ve also worn three different generations of the ring over the past four years, and I wrote a retrospective here with all my thoughts on how I’ve used my ring over the years, and where it has and hasn’t lived up to my expectations. Shopping for tech? Lifehacker can help you make the right decision. Browse our tech reviews and head-to-head comparisons for everything from laptops and smartwatches to e-bikes and home gyms. Subscribe to our deals newsletter, Add to Cart, for the best sales sent to your inbox, or browse our best-of lists directly on Amazon, including: The Best Over-Ear Headphones The Best Wireless Earbuds The Best Adjustable Dumbbell Sets The Best Projectors View the full article

Let color-coded tick marks be your friends. By Frank Stitely The Relentless CPA Go PRO for members-only access to more Frank Stitely. View the full article

Let color-coded tick marks be your friends. By Frank Stitely The Relentless CPA Go PRO for members-only access to more Frank Stitely. View the full article

Plus seven mistakes to avoid in winning new fees. By Martin Bissett Passport to Partnership Go PRO for members-only access to more Martin Bissett. View the full article

Plus seven mistakes to avoid in winning new fees. By Martin Bissett Passport to Partnership Go PRO for members-only access to more Martin Bissett. 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. Act fast if you want to pick up an Oura ring on a steep discount—some of them are available today for just $199 in Amazon's spring sale. I’m seeing this deal on gen 3 rings in the Heritage shape, and silver or black colors. Oura Ring Gen 3 $199.00 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg $249.00 Save $50.00 Get Deal Get Deal $199.00 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg $249.00 Save $50.00 This ring is a third-generation, or gen 3, ring. It’s not Oura’s newest, but it is still a solid pick with all the same core features as the newer gen 4. I have a comparison here of the gen 3 and gen 4 rings, if you’d like to know what you’re missing. The gen 4 gathers the same data but is sometimes more accurate, comes in a wider range of sizes, and has a smooth interior rather than the sensor bumps of the gen 3. Personally, I’ve worn both, but as I’m typing this I have a gen 3 ring on my finger—it’s absolutely fine. (You can read more about my long-term experiences with the Oura rings here.) The $199 rings are the flat-topped Heritage style, in silver or black. (Other colors cost more.) As of the time I'm writing this, the deal is available for all sizes, from 6 to 13. If you want the smooth Horizon model, those are available for $249, which is also a good price. Ever since the gen 4 rings launched in late 2024, the gen 3 rings have been at least $50 off their original price (which was $299 and up, with Heritage being the cheapest). Sometimes they have been $100 off. This price of $199 is the lowest I’ve ever seen for any Oura ring—it’s $150 off the ring’s original price for that style and color. The Oura ring still requires a $5.99/month subscription to use its best features, so make sure you figure that into your budget. Also, note that you’ll need to know your ring size to order, and that the gen 3 rings are not sized the same as the gen 4. Your best bet is to find a gen 3 sizing kit to try on in-person before you order. Shopping for tech? Lifehacker can help you make the right decision. Browse our tech reviews and head-to-head comparisons for everything from laptops and smartwatches to e-bikes and home gyms. Subscribe to our deals newsletter, Add to Cart, for the best sales sent to your inbox, or browse our best-of lists directly on Amazon, including: The Best Over-Ear Headphones The Best Wireless Earbuds The Best Adjustable Dumbbell Sets The Best Projectors View the full article

The other day, Lily Ray (Vice President of SEO Strategy & Research at Amsive) noticed Google had begun surfacing its own storefront for some competitive “Your Money or Your Life” searches. By Google’s own admission, these kinds of “E-E-A-T” sensitive queries…Read more ›View the full article

Tomorrow, NPR’s CEO Katherine Maher goes before a DOGE congressional subcommittee to defend the public media outlet’s case for federal funding. Maher gives a preview to her testimony, sharing how funding cuts would impact Americans’ broad access to crucial news and information, particularly in rural and local areas. Maher also reveals NPR’s strategy for reengaging with their audience, how the organization can better frame its identity as an outlet for all Americans, and more. This is an abridged transcript of an interview from Rapid Response, hosted by the former editor-in-chief of Fast Company Bob Safian. From the team behind the Masters of Scale podcast, Rapid Response features candid conversations with today’s top business leaders navigating real-time challenges. Subscribe to Rapid Response wherever you get your podcasts to ensure you never miss an episode. When you joined NPR last year, the organization faced plenty of business challenges: audience engagement, business model. Since then, the environment just got a whole lot more fraught. There was a high profile criticism about newsroom bias last spring from an editor on the staff. That sounds almost quaint right now though. You’ve been called to testify on Capitol Hill tomorrow to speak before the DOGE subcommittee in a hearing titled “Anti-American Airwaves,” alongside the head of PBS. What do you expect from that? What should we all expect? How do you prepare for that? Honestly, I view it as an opportunity. I view it as an opportunity to go and talk about all the great work that NPR does, but also the great work that our stations do. I think that that’s something that often gets lost in the conversation about public radio is the overall percentage of funds that go directly to local stations. The importance of the local station network, and the fact that when people are listening to public radio, they are not listening to us broadcasting from D.C., they’re listening to their local station, which is probably, chances are, attached to a local university. Or it’s a community nonprofit, and it’s making the choices about what folks hear on the air. It probably has some call-in public affairs show where you can talk about what’s going on that matters to you as a resident of your town, your city, et cetera. So, just really getting back to that, that feels like such an important part of what I’m there to do. And, how do you prepare? I mean, you prepare by making sure you know what you’re there to say, and you prepare by making sure you know what it is that you want to be able to communicate about the value of the work, and you prepare by a lot of practice. It’s like trying to go to Carnegie Hall. It’s a lot of practice. I was talking to a friend about doing this interview. He was telling me a story about talking to a colleague who’s a MAGA republican, and he mentioned an episode, he said, “Oh, I’ll send you this episode of This American Life.” And they were like, “Oh, it’s on NPR. Oh, no.” It almost sounds like there are people who are listening to NPR stations that maybe don’t realize they’re NPR stations, or don’t connect it to this conversation about, I don’t know, it being anti-American. I really want to rebuff this idea that in any way that public radio is anti-American. For starters, we are a uniquely American model. We are a public-private partnership. For every single federal dollar we get, local stations raise an additional seven. They rely on their communities, they rely on local businesses. NPR is 25% of what you hear on public radio airwaves on average. In fact, 75% of stations programming is either other shows that they purchase or local shows that they produce. And, “This American Life” is a great example. We love This American Life. I heard Glass used to work at NPR. But it’s not an NPR program. It is a public radio program. It’s part of the diverse texture of what is actually available. There’s 1,300 public radio stations across the country. They represent their local communities in ways that are hyper unique, whether we’re talking about high school basketball, the price of sorghum wheat. It’s easy to forget about if you’re just listening to the radio in perhaps New York or a DC, is that all of this is very much in tune with whatever’s going on in American lives at any particular point in time in this enormous nation of ours. NPR isn’t a federal agency, as you have said. You get money from lots of different places. But, the subtext of this DOGE hearing is the prospect of losing federal funding or some important part of it. What would the practical impact of losing that funding be? I can imagine you’ve been preparing for this possibility even well before this hearing came up. We have to be prepared for all scenarios all the time. The thing that I would want everyone to know about federal funding is the impact that loss of federal funding would have on local stations. 121.5 million goes to public radio on an annual basis, it’s a lot of money, I want to acknowledge that. And it’s also not a ton of money relative to the total size of the American public budget, right, the federal budget, a 100 million of that goes direct to local stations. And, disproportionately, the percentage of those funds goes to support stations that serve rural communities, that serve less affluent communities, that serve communities with really large areas of service, where the infrastructure investment in making sure that broadcast airwaves reach the country is significant. I think about my colleagues in Eastern Kentucky who have to put repeaters and hollers in order for Eastern Kentuckians to be able to hear those radio broadcasts. The loss of federal funding would directly impact the ability for stations to provide coverage, which currently 99.7% of the nation has access to airwaves. It would directly affect our ability to be part of the emergency broadcast system, and it would directly affect the ability of local stations to be able to continue to support commission and purchase programming about their communities. That’s where the harm would be. The harm would be for the local stations, and that’s what we’re trying to avoid, because it’s very easy, again, in DC to forget that we’ve lost a third of newspapers across the country in the last 20 years. One fifth of Americans live in a news desert. Public radio, public broadcasting, your local newsroom is often the only news that folks have that actually cares about their community and covers the issues that listeners care about. You’re for all Americans, but you had an editor at NPR say, “No, the news has been biased.” The way you talk about COVID, or the Mueller report, or whatever. There is this impression from certain people in America that NPR is not for all Americans, and obviously, that’s what the hearing’s about tomorrow. Yeah. And that’s one of the reasons that I’m here: I believe very deeply that that is our objective and our responsibility. I had someone come up to me and they said, “I’m a conservative. I grew up on NPR. I love NPR. And I’m just not sure it’s a home for me right now.” And that struck me. That cut me to the core. I want it to be a home for everyone. I want people to feel as though it’s their home for curiosity, it’s their home for understanding the world. Certainly, that’s the role it played in my life as a young person. So, for starters, we have really reoriented the organization around audience needs. Broadcast radio is not the greatest way to understand audience needs because we just don’t have that much information about how people are listening. But as we have more digital data around people who are coming to our websites, or listening to our podcasts, or even just streaming from our app, those linear radio experiences, it starts to be able to help us understand how to better serve audiences. In the past, the only audience research that we did was with people with college degrees, but only 35% of Americans have a college degree, which meant that we were not listening to the needs of all Americans. How do you run a media organization and say, “65% of my potential audience, I’m not going to ask them what they want.” So we’re doing that, which I think makes a really big difference. The thing that we’ve identified in terms of our audiences is that curiosity is the most common characteristic. And the great news is that curiosity is not a partisan trait. Curiosity exists in every demographic, every age group, every political persuasion. And so, that’s a great place for us to hone in on our curiosity. What’s going on in the world? How do we explain it? How do we give people the information to go a little bit deeper, give them that context that helps them situate themselves? And I think it’s time for us to reintroduce ourselves as if this is what we’re here to do, and yes, we’re here to do it for everyone. How’s the mood and morale on your team these days? They’re here to go to work. I just walked through the newsroom to get here to the studio, and everyone’s heads down, they’re working, they’re reporting, they’re producing, they’re getting ready to file their story for All Things Considered, or they’re getting ready for whatever band is coming in for Tiny Desk next. I think that the overall environment right now is that people really want to do the work. There’s a lot of news in the world today, whether we’re thinking about the transformative administration, whether we’re thinking about questions of space exploration. I think people feel as though, of course, this is a different moment in time, and it is really important that we show up and are responsive to people’s questions about the value of our work. I come back to the fact that when we talk about efficiency, public radio is remarkably efficient. The cost per public media per American is $1.60. It’s basically when you go to check out at CVS and you’re asked to round up to a good cause, that’s us. That’s what we cost. Public radio costs less than $1.60, the public media as a whole is $1.60 per American per year. As I said, for every dollar of federal funding, $7 of private funding. We’ve got a good story to tell, and 75% of Americans want to see public media maintain or increase its current funding levels. So, again, I think that’s the story we’re here to tell. View the full article

Officers found ‘no evidence’ the origins of the blaze were ‘suspicious’ View the full article

Companies like Apple have their own ecosystems, where it's easier to interact with other devices from the same company. For example, it's trivially easy to transfer photos from one iPhone to another, or to share a Wi-Fi password between iPhones with one tap. The same goes for a hotspot as well. You can start using your iPhone's internet connection on your iPad or Mac, without even lifting your iPhone. Android, unfortunately, mostly lacks this level of cross device integration. Samsung and Pixel devices do offer some exceptions, but usually only with other Samsung or Google devices, respectively. Now, though, a formerly Pixel-exclusive tethering feature named Instant Hotspot is coming to Samsung devices, starting with the Galaxy S25 series. How Instant Hotspot worksInstant Hotspot works with any compatible Android and Chromebook device, and they don't have to be from the same manufacturer. For example, you can use this feature to enable internet connection on a Chromebook or a Pixel tablet, or a secondary Android phone without a SIM connection. And all that can happen in a single tap. When the feature is enabled, you'll see a notification on the offline device, asking if you want to connect to the your online gadget and create a hotspot. The catch is that this only works for devices that are registered to your Google account, but it should make sharing data much simpler. How to enable and use Instant Hotspot on the Samsung Galaxy S25Instant Hotspot is built on top of Android's Cross-Device Services feature that was released last year. It was available on Pixel phones first, but finally other manufacturers are starting to integrate. Samsung's Galaxy S25 series devices are confirmed to be some of the first to get access to this feature, with the One UI 7.0 update. According to user reports seen by Android Authority, older devices with the One UI 7 update are starting to see this feature, too. To enable the Cross-Device Services feature, go to Settings > Google > Cross-Device Services. Tap Next to set up the feature. Then, tap OK to join a group of your devices that are all connected to the same Google account. Credit: Mishaal Rahman Now, you'll see settings for two new features, Call Casting and Internet Sharing. Make sure that both are enabled. Once that's done, you're off to the races. When your Galaxy S25 is near another Android phone, tablet, or Chromebook that's offline and in your Google account group, your device will get a gentle notification asking if you'd like to use your Galaxy S25's internet connection with it. Just tap the Connect button to create a temporary hotspot from your phone. If you don't see the notification, you can also manually browse the available Wi-Fi networks. You'll find the Galaxy S25 listed right up top. View the full article

Pent-up demand and the rapid pace of home appreciation is fueling the ongoing rise in home prices, even as mortgage rates present obstacles for buyers. View the full article

How do technocrats expect the needed macroeconomic adjustments to occur?View the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. When it comes to having the hottest, crispiest snacks at the ready, I’ve always had your best interest in mind. While any air fryer is better than no air fryer, in a perfect world the best air fryer would be available to us all at an affordable price. Well folks, my favorite air fryer is 39% off for Amazon’s Big Spring Sale and it’s a deal worth jumping on. The Cuisinart Air Fryer Toaster Oven is $139.95 right now, compared to its usual $229.95, and while it’s not cheap per se, I would say it dips down into a much lower price bracket for sure. If you were looking for air fryers in the $100 to $150 range, then the Cuisinart is worth considering. Cuisinart Air Fryer Toaster Oven $139.95 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg $229.95 Save $90.00 Get Deal Get Deal $139.95 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg $229.95 Save $90.00 I reviewed the Cuisinart Air Fryer Toaster Oven late last year and I was completely won over by how quiet it was. Convection ovens across the board are effective cooking machines, so I believe it’s the side benefits that make an air fryer right or wrong for a person—like, do you need double baskets? Or do you need a travel air fryer? There are many things to consider. The cherry on top is that this very air fryer also became my top pick for Best Overall Air Fryer when considering size, ease of use, price, and other features (like window or basket model). My favorite features of the Cuisinart Air Fryer Toaster Oven are the simple operating controls using turning knobs instead of digital buttons that might have you clicking 25 times just to increase the time, the ample interior space, and the sweet, sweet (near) silence of the convection fan. In a habitat like Brooklyn (near an above-ground subway train in a neighborhood that loves to honk horns for all communication) an air fryer as quiet as this is like a vacation. A vacation that gives you crisp tater tots at the end. Whether you have a new baby that wakes up at a pin’s drop, or you simply enjoy a quiet atmosphere, you can have peace and the perks of a high-quality air fryer for an excellent price right now. Shopping for tech? Lifehacker can help you make the right decision. Browse our tech reviews and head-to-head comparisons for everything from laptops and smartwatches to e-bikes and home gyms. Subscribe to our deals newsletter, Add to Cart, for the best sales sent to your inbox, or browse our best-of lists directly on Amazon, including: The Best Over-Ear Headphones The Best Wireless Earbuds The Best Adjustable Dumbbell Sets The Best Projectors View the full article

But here’s the truth: SEO is filled with repetitive, time-consuming tasks that Python can automate in minutes. Things like checking for broken links, scraping metadata, analyzing rankings, and auditing on-page SEO are all doable with a few lines of code.…Read more ›View the full article

This post was written by Alison Green and published on Ask a Manager. A reader writes: I feel bananas asking this, but could you give me a read on how/whether people still use phones in office/remote office work in 2025? I have a fully remote, customer-focused job for a tiny organization, and no one on my team will use phones. I have the most customer interactions and am willing to answer my phone if one calls, but I wind up getting calls for everyone on my team, because none of my colleagues will pick up their phones or even return voicemails. At most, they will email and agree to schedule a Zoom, but mainly they just ignore calls entirely. I don’t mind helping out, but I have very different functions and access to systems from my colleagues and often I CAN’T help. I tell customers to contact the relevant person but they say, “Oh they never respond,” which I know to be true so what can I say? My colleagues have told me phoning people is old-fashioned and anxiety-provoking and they don’t want to deal, so they don’t, but the customers are … how we make money? I am not a receptionist and don’t have the ability on my phone to forward calls. I find it awkward and somewhat demoralizing to spend my time taking messages and asking colleagues to respond to calls. I have spoken to my colleagues about the customers having the right to do business how they wish, English language learners having better spoken English than written, and that a quick call can replace 10 emails. I have not found a way to bring up the fact that some of them tend to both lose and misread emails, so calls are better for nipping that sort of thing in the bud. I have brought this phone-phobia up with friends who work elsewhere, and some have said they just refuse to use their phones too! I don’t love using the phone but I don’t love lots of things about my job — that’s what the money’s for! Am I way out of step here? Is there a solution I am not thinking of for a fully remote office where only one person uses a phone? I should say, the volume of calls is actually pretty low, but it is still embarrassing when someone calls with a problem for a colleague and I have to tell them that person is just not accessible by phone, not ever. No, you are not out of step. Your coworkers are being ridiculous — and negligent, it sounds like. It’s true that lots of people don’t like phone calls! Before email and other text-based methods of communicating, calls were the only real option for quick communication so people used the phone without much thought; there were no alternatives. Now that we do have alternatives, a lot of people have grown much less comfortable with the phone — most likely, simply from using it so much less often But it’s still a normal and required part of many, many jobs … and that clearly applies to your coworkers’ jobs because customers are calling them. In theory there are jobs where you could decide you won’t deal with customers by phone, but those are typically jobs where you are the boss or self-employed and have the standing to make that decision and to accept whatever trade-offs come with it, like potentially losing business. That does not appear to be the case for your coworkers. It sounds like it’s time to talk to your boss, since you’re ending up having to deal with your colleagues’ customers because they won’t. Tell your boss what you said here: you’re getting calls for everyone else on your team because they won’t answer their phones or return voicemails, you’re often unable to help, and when you tell callers to contact the relevant person they tell you they already know that person never responds. Tell your boss it’s interfering with your work and leaving customers unhelped, and ask for her assistance in resolving it. From there, if it keeps happening, cc your manager on every phone message you take for your coworkers. Having their boss cc’d on “Client X called and said they need to talk to you and you haven’t returned their messages” may get action where trying to appeal to their general sense of responsibility hasn’t. View the full article

A private European aerospace company scrubbed its attempt on Monday to launch the first test flight of its orbital launch vehicle from Norway. Unfavorable winds meant that the Spectrum rocket couldn’t be launched from the island of Andøya in northern Norway, Munich-based Isar Aerospace said. The launch is subject to various factors, including weather and safety. The company said it could also conduct the test flight later in the week. Another date hasn’t yet been set. The 28-meter (91-foot) Spectrum is a two-stage launch vehicle designed for small and medium-size satellites. The company has largely ruled out the possibility of the rocket reaching orbit on its first complete flight, saying that it would consider a 30-second flight a success. Isar Aerospace aims to collect as much data and experience as possible on the first integrated test of all the systems on its in-house-developed launch vehicle. The startup, which says it has raised more than 400 million euros ($435 million) in capital, hopes to build up to 40 launch vehicles per year in the future at a plant outside of Munich. The launch vehicles are all to be used for putting satellites into orbit. Isar Aerospace is separate from the European Space Agency, or ESA, which is funded by its 23 member states. ESA has been launching rockets and satellites into orbit for years, but mainly from French Guiana—an overseas department of France in South America—and from Cape Canaveral in Florida. View the full article

Most organizations use project names as they’re a quick way to remember projects and programs. Some project managers think those names should describe a project’s purpose or its main goals, while others simply choose cool or catchy project names to lighten up the mood in the organization. While it can be challenging, creating project code names is a meaningful task that you and your team will value. Then, you’ll need project management software like ProjectManager to get the job done. ProjectManager lets you choose between a wide variety of project management tools such as Gantt charts, dashboards, timesheets, calendars, reports and much more. Get started for free today. /wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Portfolio-Dashboard-CTA.pngProjectManager’s dashboards are ideal for managing projects, programs and portfolios. Learn more How Do You Create a Project Name? There are no right or wrong answers when creating a project name and no method either, which makes it difficult for some people. Today, there’s a lot of advice on how to name projects and even project code name generators online that are fun to use when starting a project. But we thought it’d be most instructive to look at key tips to create a project name, along with the best project code names of all time. 8 Tips to Create Project Names A project name captures its essence and can create a sense of ownership in the team. However, creating a project name is much harder than it sounds. Here are some tips to spark your creativity. 1. Use a Project Name Generator You might be out of ideas right when choosing a project name. In fact, most of us do. Luckily, there are some AI-based project code name generators that’ll make things easier. They’re capable of providing dozens of project names you can skim through. While these project name generators might not be perfect, they’re definitively a source of inspiration. 2. Make the Project Name Concise and Memorable While it may be tempting to think of a long name, aim for brevity when possible. Short project names are easier to remember and say. The name should be easy to pronounce, and you’ll want to avoid complex or unique spellings that could result in mispronunciations. Don’t be afraid to be creative; make the name stand out from other projects. 3. Consider Your Audience Is the project internal or external? Internal project names may be more technical or humorous, while external ones need more professional or client-friendly names. Keep in mind any cultural differences and avoid names that might be misinterpreted as something offensive. 4. Brainstorm With Your Project Team As always, you should welcome your team members’ ideas when naming your projects. Just like you, they’re involved in the project and can help you come up with great project name ideas that you might have missed. 5. Align Your Project Name With Your Organizational Culture Coming up with a project name goes beyond choosing a cool or catchy name. It’s also important to factor in aspects of your organizational culture such as your brand tone, business name or company values. As a general rule, you don’t want to choose a project code name that goes against any of those. 6. Do a Trademark Check Many projects involve the development of a final product. In those cases, you must be cautious about not using any registered trademark in order to avoid any negative consequences for your project. If you’re located in the United States, you can do a trademark search by using the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) database. There are similar regulatory entities around the world. 7. Use a Theme for Your Project Names In large organizations, most of the time your project will be part of a program or project portfolio. It’s important to consider that there should be a logical connection between project names. You could do this by using project names that follow a theme. A typical example of this is to name your projects after Greek mythology gods such as Zeus, Poseidon or Ares. 8. Think Long-Term Will the project evolve and grow over time? Choose a name that will be relevant even if it’s used years in the future. There may be potential future extensions or related projects, so try to avoid trendy names that could quickly become outdated. Now, let’s review 15 of the most famous project code names of all time. /wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Project-Plan-Template-Word-image.png Get your free Project Plan Template Use this free Project Plan Template for Word to manage your projects better. Download Word File 15 Project Name Ideas from History The military first started creating project code names for strategic reasons. Churchill himself, it was said, named the Normandy invasion and had his own code of sorts for how operations were to be named. Projects with a higher risk of casualty “ought not to be described by code words which imply a boastful or overconfident sentiment,” he penned. He also recommended avoiding names of “frivolous” characters and living people. Project code names and project names then started expanding across industries, languages and continents and are now a common practice for most organizations. Here are some of the best project names from history. 1. Project Starlink This is a satellite internet constellation that SpaceX operates. The goal is to provide high-speed, low-latency broadband internet access to underserved areas worldwide. Project Starlink uses a large network of low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites to minimize delay compared to traditional geostationary satellites. It’s a rapidly expanding project that has the potential to help bridge the digital divide. 2. Project Nightingale Although it’s now over, Project Nightingale was a data storage and processing project that involved Google Cloud and Ascension, one of the United States’ largest healthcare systems. It involved transferring millions of patient records from Ascension to Google Cloud to improve healthcare delivery. 3. Titan Apple is mum, but Insiders report that the company is working on a car called “Titan,” slated to be road-ready in 2019. With a name that gigantic, buzz is already building about the features that may or may not rival Google’s self-driving cars. 4. Operation Warp Speed (OWS) This significant public-private partnership aimed to accelerate the development and manufacturing of COVID-19 vaccines and diagnostics. The goal of this project was to significantly shorten the typical timeline associated with vaccine development, a process that often takes several years. 5. Project Hanks When Verizon Communications was looking to take over AOL, they needed to keep the deal secret and came up with a code name. According to the Telegraph, Project Hanks is the name they chose, which may not make sense until you remember that Tom Hanks starred in the movie You’ve Got Mail (1998), a romantic comedy about a relationship built on AOL’s famous mail notification. 6. Kodiak Unlike some other companies that have a codename and then change it to something else when it comes to market, in 2000, Apple developed its first version of Mac OS X with the codename Kodiak. It’s since followed that theme with updates with other powerful creatures of the wild, such as Puma, Jaguar, Panther, Leopard, Snow Leopard and Lion. 7. Code Talkers This was the project name for the secret WWII program to recruit Cherokee, Creek, Choctow and other tribal members to transmit coded messages in Native American languages. It was also popularized in the Nicholas Cage classic of cinema, Windtalkers. 8. Project Blue Book If you don’t already know, then you probably don’t have the clearance. But for the sake of disclosure, Project Blue Book was the code name for the US Air Force investigations into UFO sightings. But you didn’t hear that from us. 9. Artemis Program This is NASA’s project to return humans to the Moon. The goal is to establish a sustainable presence there and to prepare for future human missions to Mars. It aims to land the first woman and first person of color on the lunar surface. This project represents a new era of human space exploration. 10. X Lab They may have been known earlier for their unofficial slogan “Don’t be evil,” but that doesn’t mean Google doesn’t have a secret lair. At the company’s secret “X” Lab, projects like the Self-Driving Car and Google Glass are built under the cloak and veil of secrecy deserved by its uber-mysterious name. 11. Project 404 The code name for a covert US Air Force mission to Laos during the Vietnam War was to supply line crew technicians. Today, it’s the code name for a webpage that can no longer be found. Coincidence? 12. Manhattan Project The super-secret project to develop an atomic bomb during World War II was a beehive of activity for some of the smartest minds at the time, but all they could come up with in terms of a name for their work was “Manhattan” because they began the research in a simple office building located in Manhattan, New York. They eventually moved to more secure environs out of the area, but the classy name remained. 13. Vision Pro This project name refers to Apple’s development and release of its mixed-reality headset called the Apple Vision Pro. It represents Apple’s entry into the spatial computing market as it combines augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR). Today, the high price point is a significant hurdle for mass market adoption. 14. Durango When Microsoft was looking to build upon its wildly popular Xbox 360 gaming console, Durango was its name. But like all Microsoft projects, the project name was far from the final product name. In this case, they thought long and hard and hired the best people to release Xbox One. 15. Apollo One of the most famous projects of the last century, the Apollo program, was designed to land humans on the moon and bring them back alive. It’s the kind of story more told in myth, which is maybe why NASA (an acronym for National Aeronautics and Space Administration) went back to the Greeks. Apollo is associated with the Greek verb meaning to destroy. That may sound counterintuitive, but in Greek mythology Apollo, son of Zeus and Leto, twin of Artemis, was the god of prophecy, medicine, music, art, law, beauty and wisdom. ProjectManager Turns Project Names Into Successful Project Plans Once you’ve come up with a great codename, you need to start the project. The codenames of the projects we collected above are memorable because they were successful, and every great project begins with a plan. ProjectManager, our award-winning project management software, simplifies that process with online Gantt charts that turn your tasks into timelines for easy scoping. Keep projects on schedule and under budget with this visual tool. /wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Gantt_Manufacturing_Wide_Zoom-175_Focus-on-Tasklist_Spreadsheet.jpg Team Collaboration for Better Execution The codename for a project is cool, but your team is your most valuable resource. ProjectManager frees them to be more productive. They can collaborate with each other at the task level, adding relevant files and images. They can even tag people and send out email alerts to keep everyone in the loop. Give your teams the tools they need to get the work done. /wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Kanban_Marketing_Wide_Zoom-150_Moving-task-to-different-status.jpg ProjectManager has all that and more. Our software enables you and your team to deliver any kind of project in any kind of industry. Take a look at what we can offer your next project, then come up with a winning codename. Try ProjectManager for 30 days with this free trial. The post How to Choose a Project Name: Tips & 15 Best Project Code Names appeared first on ProjectManager. View the full article

The day to get organized is now, not later. Without having some organization for your project, you run the risk of sending an extensive and time-consuming project spiraling into abject failure. A well-organized project ensures that everyone knows what’s expected of them, what their authority is and what they need to do. Project organization provides the track on which to run a project. Without it, a project is in shambles. What Is Project Organization? The project organization is the structure of the project. It’s created separately, with specialists and workers from various departments. These personnel work under the project manager or project management office (PMO). Project organization is a process. It provides the arrangement for decisions on how to realize a project. It decides the project’s process: planning how its costs, deadlines, personnel, and tools will be implemented. The project organization is then presented to the project stakeholders. Areas of Responsibility There are three areas of competence and responsibility in a project organizational structure: project leadership, the project team and the project board. The project leadership is responsible for the management of the project, and the project team implements the project. The project board is the decision-making body that defines project success and whether or not a project must be canceled. /wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Organizational-Chart-Template.png Get your free Organizational Chart Template Use this free Organizational Chart Template for Excel to manage your projects better. Download Excel File Types of Project Organizational Structures There are a variety of project organizational structures. Review some of the structures below and choose the best one for your project. Functional Project Organizational Structure In this traditional organizational setup, project work is handled within a company’s existing functional departments. Each department is responsible for completing its portion of the project, and employees are grouped by functions such as marketing, engineering, IT, finance, etc. Each functional manager oversees their department and uses the existing resources as needed. Projectized Organizational Structure A stark contrast to functional project organization, this is when the entire company is organized around projects. In other words, the organization’s main focus is on projects, and employees are assigned to project teams. Each employee is loyal to the project instead of a functional department, and project managers have significant authority over the project and its resources. Matrix Organizational Structure The matrix organizational structure blends functional and projectized characteristics. Employees report to both a functional and a project manager to create a matrix of reporting relationships. Resources are shared between functional departments and projects for more efficient resource utilization. As teams are cross-functional, it helps improve collaboration. Organic Organizational Structure This structure is a flexible and adaptive model where decision-making authority is distributed throughout the organization instead of concentrated at the top. As there are few levels of management, this results in a wide span of control and an emphasis on horizontal and informal communication channels. Virtual Organizational Structure Also known as a modular or network structure, a virtual organizational structure is a highly adaptable model that relies on technology to connect dispersed individuals and organizations. Technology such as video conferencing, the internet and collaborative tools helps facilitate communication. Team members can be located anywhere in the world. Multi-Divisional Organizational Structure This organizes a company into separate and semi-autonomous divisions based on factors such as product lines, customer types or geographic regions. Each division operates as a relatively independent business unit with its own resources and functions. It allows them to quickly adapt to changes in their specific markets. Understanding what type of organizational structure to use determines a project’s management. The structure provides the bones for the project, and therefore the project plan must align itself with the structure. This is usually done with a project organization chart. /wp-content/uploads/2021/10/PPM-ebook-banner-ad-evergreen.jpg Project Organizational Structure Charts Figuring out what structure to make a project organization is only the start of organizing a project. The real work is implementing and applying that project organization. That’s why a project organization chart is so important. It establishes the formal relationships between the project manager, project team, development organization, the project itself and project stakeholders. Best Practices The project manager creates the project structure, which must meet the project needs throughout its phases. The project organizational structure, however, cannot be too rigid or too loose but strike the right balance between those two points. The object of a project organization is to help the team achieve the project goal and do their best. Therefore, a project manager must analyze their team members’ strengths from the start and, when assigned, ask them if they’re comfortable in their roles. While the project organization chart fosters collaboration cost-effectively, avoiding duplication and overlaps of effort, it has only limited value. That’s because it only illustrates a hierarchical relationship among the team, not how they’ll do the work. That said, it is still a valuable tool and part of any well-planned project or portfolio. Organizational Chart Template & Example You can use ProjectManager’s free organizational chart template to help you get started making your own chart. It’s an example of an organizational chart in an Excel file, where each department is broken down along with their teams and specializations. Download it for free today. /wp-content/uploads/2022/11/organizational-chart-template-screenshot.jpg We offer a variety of free PMO templates you can use to manage all aspects of your projects, programs and portfolios. How to Make a Project Organization Chart The project organization chart will identify the roles and responsibilities of the team, but also detail those team members selected for those roles. This includes identifying training if needed, recognizing how to allocate resources and determining appropriate ways to involve stakeholders. To do this, there are six steps to take. 1. Identify Personnel First, who are the people that are related to the project scope? These are those who have an impact on the project. They are the key staff. These people can run the gamut from marketers to salespeople, department heads and IT personnel to consultants and support staff, etc. 2. Create Senior Management Team The next step is to get a team that is responsible for the project. These are, of course, those individuals with a vested interest in the project and are committed to its success. This team is usually made up of project sponsors or the client, though it can also include experts who offer guidance throughout the project. 3 Assign Project Coordinators There’s a need to have a point person, or group at the mid-to-low management level, to carry out duties that fall to this level. This person or group will help synchronize team tasks. The number of coordinators will be determined by the size of the project, but always focus on three areas of a project: planning, technical and communications. 4. Note Stakeholders Outside of the team that will execute the project, it is key to identify the stakeholders, as they are also impacted by the project and participate in the project development. 5. Identify Training Requirements Sometimes teams are proficient at their tasks and with the tools that have been furnished to help them. Sometimes they’re not and need a period of training before the project can be executed. This is the point where any training that is needed is established and offered to the team. The project coordinator is usually managing the task of upskilling team members. 6. Create Project Organization Chart Finally, it’s time to develop the project organization chart. First, review the previous steps and then make this visual representation of how the people in the project will collaborate, what their duties are and where they’re interrelated. You can use a free network diagram tool, such as Google Draw, and when done have it disseminated to the necessary parties. The project organization chart must have the primary decision-makers listed. Each person involved in the project must have an assignment and identified the role and the responsibilities of those roles are clearly defined. Any links connecting roles must be identified, as well as all the stakeholders. Be sure that the reporting and communications channels are also defined and described. Project Organization Tips Without project organization, you risk projects that veer off track. Here are some key tips to improve project organization. Develop a clear plan: Everyone should understand the project’s goals, objectives and scope. From there, document the project’s scope to avoid scope creep. Ensure effective communication: Tools like a communication plan, regular meetings and clear communication can better outline when and how project information will be shared. Document and organize information: A centralized repository for all documents and information can help improve organization and project outcomes. Seek regular feedback: Open and honest feedback can help spot potential errors before they worsen and cultivate a more inclusive team environment. Embrace change: Learn from previous mistakes and be prepared to adapt to changes in the project scope or environment. How ProjectManager Helps with Project Organization Once you have your project organization structure and chart, it’s important to make sure that structure holds up over the life cycle of the project. ProjectManager has the tools that project managers or program managers need when working on one or a portfolio of projects. Our features make sure your project organization is solid with features that keep track of project portfolios. /wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Gantt_Manufacturing_Wide_Zoom-150_Task-Info.jpgProjectManager’s Online Gantt Chart ProjectManager lets you create project groups for individual project portfolios. This allows you to have a portfolio-level dashboard, which can generate graphs and charts for reporting or a Gantt chart on select groups of projects. Then you can organize by the team, region, schedule or portfolio manager. ProjectManager is a cloud-based project management software that has a full set of features to help project managers and their teams work efficiently and productively. Whether you’re working on one project or a portfolio of projects, our robust software gives you the controls to manage them successfully, with planning, monitoring and reporting tools. See how ProjectManager can take your project organization chart and carry it through your project portfolio by taking this free 30-day trial. The post Project Organization 101: How to Organize Your Project (Template Included) appeared first on ProjectManager. View the full article

Scope can make or break a project. If you’re not keeping a finger on the scope of the project, it can quickly go off-track, messing up your schedule and depleting the budget. That is how many projects fail. Yes, scope management is one more constraint a project manager must master, but then project managers love making plans to overcome challenges. A scope management plan is just another meaty piece of the project that any project manager will love to sink their teeth into. After all, the project manager is tasked with ensuring that the project reaches a satisfactory conclusion. That cannot be done without having a scope management plan. But first, what is the project scope? What Is Project Scope? Project scope is how a project’s goals and objectives are defined. The project scope statement lists those goals, what the deliverables will be, the tasks needed to make the deliverables, what the costs for that will be and the deadlines. It is, in fact, the parameters of the whole project. Scope helps not only with the boundaries of the project but with who will be responsible for the tasks that make up the project and the process that will be applied to make sure everything is done correctly and approved. This information is usually collected in a scope statement, which is also known as a statement of work. The statement of work is a cornerstone for project managers. Changes are going to happen in a project, but managing those changes to stay within scope must happen or the success of the project is threatened. The scope of a project can only be changed by submitting a change request to the project’s change control board. In construction projects, a change order form is used when changing the scope of a project and must be approved by the owner and the contractor. /wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Project-Scope-Template-1.png Get your free Project Scope Template Use this free Project Scope Template for Word to manage your projects better. Download Word File What Is a Scope Management Plan? Like any plan, a scope management plan is a bunch of processes that are in place to make sure that the project includes all the necessary tasks. The scope management plan is primarily concerned with defining how the scope is explained, developed, structured and verified. By using a scope management plan, project managers can define and map their project, so it remains within the planned scope. The scope management plan helps project managers allocate resources in such a manner that the project can finish on time, within budget and with the quality expected by stakeholders. Project scope management is about: Planning the process to define the work that must be done throughout the project Controlling and monitoring those processes Tracking the project to avoid scope creep when approving or disapproving changes Closing, including an audit of deliverables and assessing the outcome against the plan Scheduling the resources that are needed to complete the work /wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Gantt-CTA-2025.jpgManage scope with powerful management and tracking tools from ProjectManager. Learn more How to Make a Scope Management Plan To begin, you need to have a series of inputs, starting with a project charter. This defines the objective of the project. It sets the project goals, roles and responsibilities. Stakeholders are also identified at this point. The charter is a high-level description of the project. The project management plan is fundamental to creating the project scope plan. The project management plan is a baseline against which the project scope plan can be measured. This includes the quality management plan, a description of the project life cycle and the methodology that will be used. It’s important to also think about the organization’s culture, as this will have an impact on the project. Resource availability will also have a great impact on the scope of the project and therefore must be included as part of the plan. Then there is the personnel administration to consider as a resource that is either well-qualified or in need of training. Of course, marketplace conditions influence the scope of the project, so keep it in mind. Other factors to consider are the processes and procedures, which are key to any project’s success, and the corporate knowledge base. This includes policies, financial databases, historical data and more. All of these with good judgment, data analysis and meetings, are the materials that will help a project manager to create a scope management plan. Steps for Creating a Scope Management Plan The steps to making a scope management plan are as follows: Identify stakeholders such as project sponsors, clients, end users and relevant team members and get requirements from them. Accomplish this using interviews, surveys, document analysis, use cases and more to document their requirements. Create a detailed project scope statement that identifies the project’s goals and objectives. Be sure to outline how the project scope will be defined and documented and specify the techniques used, such as data analysis, meetings, etc. Create a work breakdown structure (WBS) to map all the necessary tasks and how they will be created and maintained. This helps ensure all of the needed work is identified and accounted for and facilitates collaboration amongst team members. Develop the process by which the WBS will be maintained and approved. In some cases, there will be WBS revisions, so define what this approval process looks like. List the roles and responsibilities of the project team. All team members should understand how their individual responsibilities contribute to the overall project scope. Establish the process for formal acceptance of completed project deliverables. The defined acceptance criteria should be measurable, specific and agreed upon. This ensures that deliverables meet the acceptance criteria and stakeholder expectations. Determine how to control and document change requests against the scope statement. This may be accomplished through tools such as a change request form or a change control board. Who Makes and Implements the Scope Management Plan? It’s a collaborative process to create and implement a scope management plan, but the project manager typically carries the weight of the responsibility. They define the process for outlining, validating and controlling the project scope. The project manager will also create a work breakdown structure and document the requirements and acceptance criteria. Project team members are also involved as they contribute their technical expertise and knowledge of project deliverables. They will also help build the WBS while executing their assigned tasks. Stakeholders such as the project sponsor, client, end user or senior project members will provide input on the project requirements and help define the project scope. They are also responsible for reviewing and approving the scope management plan and any significant changes. Prevent Scope Creep with a Scope Management Plan If you think scope creep sounds unpleasant, you’d be right. Scope creep is what happens when changes in the project occur without being managed and controlled. Think of a project where new requirements are added after the project has already been executed. If those new requirements can’t be reviewed and delivered with the same resources and at the same time as originally planned, then you have scope creep. Another example of scope creep coming from the opposite direction is when there are lots of changes in a project and all those changes are approved. Sounds good, right? Well, not if those changes, approved or not, create a never-ending project with no end in sight. One way to make sure that your project doesn’t have scope creep is to plan against it. That brings us back to the importance of a scope management plan. Project Scope Template This project scope template for Word helps you identify the tasks, deliverables, constraints and assumptions that will help you define the scope of your project. It also has a section where you can list costs to assess the feasibility of your plan. /wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Project-Scope-Screenshot-600x443.jpg Templates to Help Your Scope Management Plan There are a lot of pieces to assemble to build a good scope management plan. Having the tools to help you gather all this data is helpful. That’s where project management templates come in. While templates are static documents that only offer a helping hand, they can still streamline the process and make sure you don’t leave out any valuable information. We have selected a few of the free project templates to get you started on your scope management plan: Project Plan Template Plan is the operative word in a scope management plan, and the project plan template will give you a place to collect the tasks and resources you’ll need in the project. The first part of the template addresses the scope and provides space for you to reiterate the scope of the project as it is defined in the project charter. Risk Register Template Nothing can change the scope of a project quicker than a realized risk. Being able to identify and then track the resolution of those risks that arise in your project should be part of any scope management plan. The free risk register template allows you to define the priority of each risk, assign a team member to own the process and monitor their progress dealing with it. Change Log Template Managing risk is important, but change can come from more than one direction. What if a stakeholder adjusts their expectations in the middle of the project? You need a process to manage that change from approval to completion. That’s where the free change log template comes in handy. Now you can capture that change and track it throughout the life cycle of your project. ProjectManager Can Track and Report on Your Scope Management Plan There are many points in the development of your scope management plan where ProjectManager can make the process easier and more effective. Gantt Charts for Scheduling ProjectManager has a robust Gantt chart feature. When you input all your project’s tasks, our software automatically creates a Gantt chart with a list to the left and a timeline to the right. Next, you’ll add the start and end dates to each task, which will show the duration of each task. /wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IT-Gantt-Project-Plan-150.png Because some tasks can’t start until the task before they have finished, these dependent tasks can be easily linked on the Gantt chart. Setting up dependent tasks can go a long way when it comes to preventing scope creep. Dashboards for Tracking Because ProjectManager is a cloud-based project management software, status updates are instantly reflected, and progress is seen in real time on our project dashboard. The real-time dashboard has metrics for progress, workload, tasks and more, which crunch project numbers automatically and display them in easy-to-read colorful graphs and charts. /wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Dashboard_Construction_Wide_Zoom-150.jpg When using a scope management plan, tracking and reporting is key. The real-time dashboard tracks progress as it happens, so if things go off-track, you’ll be able to respond quickly and effectively. Part of that means reporting on the progress of the project, which is where our real-time dashboard has your back. Kanban for Task Management ProjectManager also has multiple views, so if your team wants to just see their task list, they can. Or if you want a visual tool to track workflow, you can view the project as a kanban board, where tasks are cards under columns that represent the phases of your project. You can also view the project on a calendar. Scope creep won’t have the time to set in with ProjectManager giving you multiple views on the project in real-time. /wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Kanban_Marketing_Wide_Zoom-150_Moving-task-to-different-status.jpgWith ProjectManager, you can view projects in many ways, such as with a kanban board. Don’t let scope threaten your project, manage it with ProjectManager. Our cloud-based project management software has the tools to implement your scope management plan and keep scope creep at bay. Try it now for free with this free 30-day trial. The post How to Make a Scope Management Plan (Template Included) appeared first on ProjectManager. View the full article

Mike Waltz faces growing pressure to step down after classified details shared with journalist View the full article

Do you have a website or are you thinking about creating one? And do you want to attract more people to your business? If the answer is yes, then there’s no doubt about it: SEO should be part of your marketing efforts. It’s a great way to build your brand and get people on your site. But what does it actually entail? In this post, we’ll give you an understanding of what SEO is and how you can get started! What is SEO? The acronym SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. Let’s first get a definition from one of our principal SEO experts at Yoast, Alex Moss: SEO is both the art and science of improving a website, and pages within, to be as visible as possible for when people search for a relevant topic within any search platform. SEO covers many areas from technical aspects including optimizing a site’s performance and structure, to enhancing brand authority by providing great content and matching it with that person’s search intent. Alex Moss – Principal SEO at Yoast So how does Google work? With search engines like Google, the process consists of crawling, indexing, and ranking. The crawler is an online bot that scours the web to collect all the pages out there and save them in a gigantic database called the index. This index is constantly updated with new pages or updated versions of existing ones. When someone searches online, the search engine calls on the index and uses complex algorithms to determine which pages are relevant to show. This determines the ranking of results shown to the online searcher. For example, when I search for the term ‘sustainable phone case’, these results are shown by Google. Based on my search term and the intent behind it, Google deems these results the best ones found in its index. Screenshot of Google’s results for ‘sustainable phone case’ Organic vs paid search SEO is focused on attracting more organic traffic to your website, traffic that comes to your site via unpaid search results. But as you can see in the image above, the search results also show ads and sponsored results. Often at the top of the page. To make a clear distinction, there are a few acronyms in use that are valuable to know: SEM: Search engine marketing entails all marketing efforts to show up in the search results, both through ads and organic results. SEO: SEO is the practice of improving a website to show up when people search for a relevant topic within any search platform. SEA: Search engine advertising is the practice of paying for ads that show up in the search results of relevant keywords. PPC: Pay-per-click. The advertising model used in SEA, where the advertiser pays a fee each time one of their ads is clicked. These paid results can allow you to show up as the top result for a search term, but it will cost you money every time a user clicks through to your website. When comparing SEO vs PPC, they both have their benefits and drawbacks. But more often than not, they complement each other well. Why SEO is important for site owners Huge volume of searches The reason that so many (big) companies heavily invest in SEO is the high impact that it can have when done right. To give you an idea, Google, the most-used search engine got around 8.3 billion searches per day in 2024. A number that has only gone up (and significantly) since 1998. So if you have a website, you want to make sure to show up in Google and other search platforms. SEO is intent-driven Online search is very intent-driven. Unlike other marketing channels, such as social media, where people happen to scroll upon your brand and content. This means you’re interrupting a user’s experience to capture their attention, which makes it more difficult to get them interested. Showing up in their search results aligns with an existing demand—your customers are actively seeking information, products, or solutions. This makes SEO a powerful inbound marketing strategy, where users come to you rather than the other way around. Because searchers already have intent, they are more likely to convert, making SEO an essential tool for attracting high-quality leads. Competitive advantage Creating a website and leaving it at that isn’t going to cut it. With new websites popping up left and right, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to get noticed and maintain customer loyalty. SEO can provide you with higher online visibility, a stronger brand, more authority in your field, more contact moments with your audience and higher quality traffic to your website (and/or offline location). All of this, leading to higher brand loyalty and more revenue. Types of SEO Although the basic principles remain the same, there are a few different types of SEO worth mentioning. They may not all apply to your situation, but it is beneficial to dive into the ones that do: Ecommerce SEO: SEO specifically focused on gaining more visibility and organic traffic for online stores. With the goal of acquiring more sales. Local SEO: Local SEO is the practice of optimizing your website for a specific local area. This is to ensure you are easily found (both online and offline) by a local audience. Video SEO: The process of optimizing videos and video pages to make them appear in the search results for relevant keyphrases. Whether that is Google’s search results or search results on other platforms like YouTube and social media. News SEO: Mainly relevant for news publishers, news SEO focuses on getting content to show up as the top result in Google News and other news-specific areas of the search results. The 3 pillars of SEO SEO is all about optimizing your website to increase your online visibility. But what do we mean by that? What exactly should you be optimizing? Well, there’s a lot you can do and it can be divided up into three main areas. The 3 pillars of SEO: Technical SEO, on-page SEO, and off-page SEO. Technical SEO First of all, it’s important to focus on the technical part of SEO. Technical SEO is all about improving a website’s technical aspects to improve user experience and make search engines understand your pages. Aspects that fall under technical SEO are: Loading time of your pages Making the right parts of your site crawlable for search engines The amount of dead links on your site Security Use of structured data Search engines value these aspects because they want to present their users with websites that provide a proper user experience. A page that takes forever to load, doesn’t exist anymore, or isn’t secure, provides a terrible user experience and will not make users happy. Also, aspects such as crawlability and structured data help search engines understand what your pages are about. This helps search engines understand your relevance and allows them to rank your pages higher. On-page SEO Although technical SEO is also part of on-page SEO, this can be seen as ‘under-the-hood’ optimization to improve your pages. The other efforts that can be categorized as on-page SEO are targeted at optimizing the content on a page. Think of: The quality of your content Use of the proper keywords Showing E-E-A-T in your content Site structure Internal linking Well-thought-out URLs, titles, and alt tags On-page SEO mainly revolves around content SEO and using the elements around that content to improve your findability for relevant terms. Off-page SEO In contrast to on-page SEO, off-page SEO entails everything you do for SEO outside of page optimization. Such as external link building, social media and local SEO (off-site). This is focused on growing your reach and building your brand to attract more traffic. An important part is link building, getting other relevant websites to link to your content. This can really help boost your visibility and improve your reputation as an authority – see links as like votes of confidence from other websites But there’s a lot more you can do. For example, speaking at events, doing interviews, and blogging for other websites. These activities give you the opportunity to showcase your expertise and reach new people. When you own a local shop, these might not be as relevant. In that case, it’s important that you focus on the experience that people have with your shop. Make sure that customers leave happy and that this experience is positive, offline and online. This also extends to social media. Although your activity there does not directly impact rankings, it pays off to be in contact with your audience there as well. And provide a similar (positive) experience through these platforms as well. One final aspect that you shouldn’t forget about is your business listings. Make sure these are accurate on your Google Business Profile and other websites that are relevant to your business. SEO Ranking factors To determine what results to show, and in what order, search engines use ranking factors. Ranking factors, or ranking signals, are characteristics of a page that search engines look at to determine how relevant that page is for a specific search query. Although the exact list of ranking factors and their importance is a bit of a mystery and changes from time to time, we do have a pretty good idea of the most important ones: The quality, relevance and usability of your content External and internal links The technical aspects of your site (f.e. security) User experience on your site (site speed, easy navigation, mobile parity) The overall online presence of your brand In addition to these top-ranking factors, there are plenty of others (both known and unknown). But to get a head start with SEO, it makes sense to focus on these aspects first. SEO now vs early days: a brief history SEO in the 90’s Although websites have been around for a little while longer, people started optimizing their sites for search engines in the mid-1990s. As you can imagine, SEO was a lot simpler back then. The algorithms that search engines used were way less advanced and relied on ranking factors like keyword density to determine the relevance of a page. The ‘trick’ back then was making sure the keyword was being used enough times throughout your page and in your meta tags. Search engines evolving Naturally, the companies behind search engines quickly realized the issue with this approach. Displaying the results that use the keyword most isn’t always the best experience for their users. So they had to find a way to better handle how potential results were being ranked. Search engines like Google started working on ways to get smarter and rely less on ‘tricks’ and static ranking factors. This resulted in a number of algorithm updates, each resulting in a smarter Google that was more capable of understanding the relevance of a page. With a team working non-stop on improving Google’s search engine, the focus moved from factors like keyword density to user experience and high-quality content. These algorithm updates are still very much a part of the SEO field, with Google releasing a new one (or multiple) every year. You can expect this to be a continuous process where search engines adapt to current search behaviour and adjust their algorithms to keep showing users the best results for their search query. SEO in 2025 So, where does that leave us in 2025? As mentioned, search engines continue working on their algorithms to improve their users’ experience. The focus points of SEO in 2025 are still high-quality content and technical factors like site speed, security and mobile parity. But there are more aspects that Google and other search engines deem important. Search engines are working hard to get a better understanding of a user’s search intent, to show that user the results that fit their need best. Related to that, they continue to improve how information is presented in the search results, which can differ quite a bit per search intent. A possible zero-click search, where the definition of site structure is shown in an AI overview. One result of that is zero-click searches, where search engines show the complete answer to a search query in the search results. This can lead to fewer clicks to your website, but it still pays off to be the website that provides that answer. In fact, this is a good example of the direction in which SEO is going. Shift your focus from ‘just clicks’ and maintaining a specific spot in the search results to building a strong brand and being visible on different platforms. In 2025, SEO will focus less on raw keywords and more so around search intent across diverse platforms like social media and LLMs. As well as this, it’ll be important to produce more video content as discovery platforms integrate these more into their SERPs. Alex Moss – Principal SEO at Yoast The other aspect we can’t ignore is AI. More people are using AI tools for their online searches and search engines are also investing in providing AI-driven search experiences. An example of that is Google AI overviews, where Google uses AI to pull together and combine information on a search query from different resources. This is then shown in one overview, with the hope that this directly answers the specific question asked. Setting SEO Goals SEO experts used to closely monitor ranking positions, clicks, website traffic and stats like bounce rates. Naturally, all of this data is still relevant, but there has been a shift in what goals to focus on. Search behavior has changed, and search engines are showing your content in many different ways. So it’s not just a number game anymore. You need to focus on the overall perception of your brand and being present in the right places. Set SEO goals related to engagement, brand awareness, user experience on your website, user satisfaction, and how all of this can be related to sales or other actions you want your audience to perform. This can be trickier than just looking at your daily rankings but will give you a better idea of the success of your SEO strategy and how you’re perceived. How to learn SEO and get started Although it consists of a lot of different aspects, it is possible to tackle (a lot of) SEO yourself. Let’s look at how you can do that and what resources can help you get started. Start with the basics Before you get to content creation, it’s important to get your technical SEO in order. If you know your way around redirects, optimizing page speed, crawlability, security and structured data, make those your first priority. If not, let your site builder help you out or hire someone with a background in technical SEO. When that’s done, you can start looking at site structure and the content on your pages. By doing keyword research, you will be able to create content that aligns with your business and gets people to your website. It will also give you loads of input on topics to write about. This will enable you to set up an SEO strategy and plan to continue working on this throughout the year. Because SEO is never done. That’s why it’s important to create a realistic plan and keep yourself (or your team) to it. This might feel like a lot of effort, but remember that SEO not only brings more traffic to your site, it also helps build your brand and increase user loyalty in the long run. How we can help you At Yoast, we want to make SEO accessible for everyone. And we want to help you do it yourself. That’s why we offer a free and Premium version of our WordPress plugin, allowing you to get started with SEO without too much trouble. Our free plugin comes with features like the SEO and readability analyses, which give you feedback on your content right away. It also handles parts of the technical SEO for you. Our Premium plugin gives you access to some more features like AI-powered features, a redirect tool, and the possibility to add multiple keywords per page. Making SEO even easier to work on. We also offer a variety of SEO courses in our Yoast SEO academy, where you can find 5 free courses to get started. For example, the SEO for beginners course, the WordPress for beginners course and a course on structured data. If you’re a Yoast SEO Premium user, you get access to all 16 courses on there. Which will really help you dive into the different aspects of SEO and how to tackle them. Finally, we have an SEO blog with numerous blog posts on SEO basics, more advanced SEO, new developments and related topics. All of this to make sure that you have all the tools you need to successfully work on SEO yourself! 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We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. It's Amazon's Big Spring Sale—not quite Prime Day, but as close as you're going to get in March. But while Prime Day usually includes a bunch of discounts of Apple devices, including the ubiquitous AirPods, they aren't included among the retailer's Spring Sale offers. But that's fine, because the Apple-made headphones I would actually recommend buying over the AirPods Pro actually are in the Big Spring Sale: the similarly full-featured, great-sounding Beats Fit Pro, which are currently $30 off. Beats Fit Pro ANC Earbuds $169.00 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg $199.95 Save $30.95 Get Deal Get Deal $169.00 at Amazon /images/amazon-prime.svg $199.95 Save $30.95 The Pros were actually my second pair of Beats-branded earbuds. I started out with a set of their cheaper cousins, the Beats Studio Buds, which offer similarly strong active noise cancelling (ANC) and have earned decent marks from the likes of PCMag (especially for their price point—they're also part of the Big Spring Sale, and currently $99—$50 off the usual price). But when I left that pair behind at a hotel and needed to replace them, I decided to upgrade to the Beats Fit Pro for a few reasons: They have quality sound and good ANC. As our pals at PC Mag noted, they offer "deep bass and crisp highs with above-average noise cancellation." I'm not an audiophile and I mostly listen to podcasts, but my tunes (mostly streamed from Amazon Music) sound pretty good too. They provide a snug fit. I apparently have gaping earholes, because most earbuds fall right out of my ears at the slightest movement. Beats Fit Pro's wingtips and silicone tips provide a snug fit that keeps them comfortably in my ears, even when I'm sweaty. They have Apple's H1 chip. This was the main reason I upgraded: The Studio Buds don't have Apple's H1 headphone chip, which means they can't take advantage of many of the features that make AirPods so cool, like in-ear detection, device switching, and Find My functionality. The Beats Fit Pro can do all of that. They aren't AirPods. I get that AirPods are their own thing, and their look has become something of a brand of its own. But I've always thought they were kind of stupid looking. The Beats Fit Pro lack those dangling white stems that are the AirPods' signature, and I like them a lot better for it. I'm not including this on my list of reasons, but the Beats Fit Pro also come in a variety of pretty colors, and four of them are part of the Big Spring Sale. If you go with AirPods, you only have the choice between white and white. Shopping for tech? Lifehacker can help you make the right decision. Browse our tech reviews and head-to-head comparisons for everything from laptops and smartwatches to e-bikes and home gyms. Subscribe to our deals newsletter, Add to Cart, for the best sales sent to your inbox, or browse our best-of lists directly on Amazon, including: The Best Over-Ear Headphones The Best Wireless Earbuds The Best Adjustable Dumbbell Sets The Best Projectors View the full article