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The President’s trade representative Jamieson Greer says tariffs will be reduced to 15%, ending months-long dispute with BernView the full article

There’s a new sheriff in Bentonville. Today, Walmart announced that John Furner will become the company’s new CEO and president, effective February 1 next year, succeeding longtime boss Doug McMillon, who is retiring. McMillon has been at the helm of the retail giant since 2014. Prior to becoming CEO, he led Walmart’s international division for four years, after leading Sam’s Club, a Walmart subsidiary, between 2005 and 2009. “Serving as Walmart’s CEO has been a great honor and I’m thankful to our Board and the Walton family for the opportunity,” McMillon said in a statement Friday. Why is McMillon retiring? “This is the right time to retire because the company’s in such great shape, and John is more than ready to lead this company through another set of transformations,” McMillon said in a separate video message, filmed alongside Furner. Walmart’s team also tells Fast Company that previous CEO transitions have followed a similar pattern. Specifically, they were announced in November and followed a sequence: a successor was named, the transitions started at the end of the year, and the outgoing CEO remained on the board for a period of time in an advisory capacity. McMillon said he believes the company will be in good hands when Furner takes the reins. “I’ve worked with John for more than 20 years. His love for our associates and this company runs deep,” McMillon said. “He’s uniquely capable of leading the company through this next AI-driven transformation. He’s a merchant, an operator, an innovator, and a builder. I know that our future is bright with his leadership.” A tenure marked by growth and technological change Walmart has made notable strides under McMillon’s tenure, including investments in the company’s workforce by increasing wages and expanding employee programs, and more recently, embracing AI by partnering with OpenAI to allow new ways for customers to shop and interact with the brand. It also went under a small but ambitious rebrand this year, the first in decades. Furner is currently the president and CEO of Walmart U.S., a role he’s held since 2019, and is responsible for 1.5 million employees and roughly 4,600 stores. He started at Walmart as an hourly associate in 1993, working his way up the corporate ladder. “As we enter a new retail era fueled by innovation and AI, our purpose and our people will continue to guide us,” Furner said in a statement. Walmart’s stock fell around 3% during premarket trading on Friday after the news was released. Year-to-date, shares are up around 14%, and they’re up 104% over the past five years. Walmart will is expected to release its latest earnings numbers on November 20. View the full article

Baseball and bets go hand-in-hand in the Dominican Republic, where professional athletes, musicians and even legislators go public with their wagers. But for every legal bet in the Caribbean country, officials say there are countless more illegal ones. It’s a widespread, multimillion-dollar industry that has come under scrutiny following U.S. federal indictments of Cleveland Guardians pitchers Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz. They are accused of taking bribes from unnamed sports bettors in the Dominican Republic to throw certain pitches and help those bettors win at least $460,000, according to an indictment unsealed Sunday in New York. Ortiz and Clase have both pleaded not guilty. The accusations have dismayed and embarrassed many in the players’ native country. “The case of Emmanuel Clase and Luis Ortiz tarnishes the image of Dominican baseball players,” said José de los Santos, a fan of Dominican and Major League Baseball. “Actions of that nature put Dominican and Latino players in the spotlight.” The DR has 3,500 registered betting shops, and those are just the legal ones Sports betting shops are widespread in the Dominican Republic, a country of more than 11 million people where baseball is king. According to data from the Dominican Association of Sports Betting Shops, there are about 3,500 registered businesses, and countless more illegal ones. Quico Tabar, head of the country’s national lottery who was tasked by the president to regulate gambling, recently stated in a public letter that officials have been working for years to regulate betting shops but that “circumstances beyond our control” have not allowed that to happen. He did not elaborate. For Raymond Jiménez, a self-described frequent sports gambler, it’s all the same. He said he chooses the biggest and closest businesses that allow big wagers, regardless of whether they’re legal or not. “I don’t know of any illegal betting shops,” he said. Jiménez said most bets in the Dominican Republic focus on sports including MLB, NBA and NFL games. “I’ve been gambling since 1998, when I was underage,” Jiménez said. “I used to jump the school fence to go into a betting shop at 14 years old. I’ve heard everything, from athletes who sell themselves to gamblers to others who bet against them.” Gambling persists amid corruption Legislators in the Dominican Republic are debating a bill that would create a new entity to regulate and oversee gambling and establish penalties for non-compliance. Meanwhile, chatter about the Clase and Ortiz cases continues to dominate the news and social media, as does the case of Oscar Chalas, the Dominican Republic’s former director of casinos and gambling. He reached a plea deal with prosecutors in late October and admitted responsibility in collecting money from illegal betting shops to allow them to keep operating. Chalas told a judge that each illegal shop paid up to $100 a month, but that he didn’t remember the total amount collected because there were “so many” of them. He also claimed that a former treasury minister knew and approved of the scheme, according to local media reports. The pace of legal and illegal gambling is only expected to surge as local teams and fans prepare for the Dominican Republic’s Professional Baseball League final early next year. One of the country’s most famous public bets involving the local league took place earlier this year. Hall of Famer and former Red Sox star David Ortiz offered fans a 1 million peso ($16,000) wager on social media in favor of the team that went on to win the championship — he ended up with 15 million pesos ($240,000) on the line. That included a 2 million peso ($32,000) bet with Dominican urban singer Bulin 47, but Ortiz forgave him after winning: “You’re good to those who are poor,” he wrote. AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB —Martín Adames, Associated Press View the full article

Excelling in fundamental sales negotiation skills is critical for your success in a competitive market. Comprehending how to listen actively and leverage data can greatly improve your communication with buyers. By focusing on key performance indicators, you can refine your tactics and measure your outcomes effectively. Preparing for negotiations and anticipating objections likewise play important roles. These strategies not only assist in closing deals but likewise nurture lasting relationships. What other skills could boost your negotiation game? Key Takeaways Master active listening to understand client needs and build rapport for lasting relationships. Utilize data-driven negotiation techniques to tailor strategies and enhance credibility. Analyze historical sales data to identify buyer behavior patterns and refine tactics. Establish clear negotiation goals and prepare alternative offers to encourage collaboration. Leverage key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure success and focus discussions effectively. Understanding Sales Negotiation Sales negotiation is a fundamental process where buyers and sellers engage in discussions to reach a mutually beneficial agreement. Comprehending sales negotiation involves recognizing that it’s not merely about closing deals but in addition addressing the emotional and financial concerns of the buyer. You’ll need strong negotiation skills for salespeople, including clear communication to prevent misunderstandings and align expectations. Effective negotiation cultivates trust and rapport, indispensable for long-term relationships. Additionally, mastering advanced negotiation for institutional sales can improve your ability to navigate complex interactions. It’s critical to engage in back-and-forth dialogue, addressing concerns and compromises, as this collaborative approach leads to satisfactory outcomes for both parties involved. Importance of Negotiation in Sales Negotiation plays a pivotal role in the sales process, as it helps create agreements that are beneficial to both parties involved. By mastering effective sales negotiation skills, you can cultivate trust and improve long-term relationships with buyers. This process allows you to align your offerings with the buyer’s strategic objectives, clearly communicating the value of your solution. Successful negotiations lead to higher average deal sizes and improved customer satisfaction during reducing discounting, ultimately preserving your profit margins. Furthermore, a well-executed negotiation process boosts your brand reputation by preventing misunderstandings and frustrations. Companies that prioritize negotiation training for their sales teams often see better revenue forecasting and higher closure rates, making negotiation a crucial aspect of successful sales strategies. Essential Sales Negotiation Skills To master fundamental sales negotiation skills, you need to focus on two key areas: preparation and active listening. Preparation involves thoroughly researching your product, comprehending customer needs, and being aware of market dynamics so you can tailor your approach effectively. Meanwhile, active listening techniques allow you to pick up on underlying concerns and objections, enabling you to respond appropriately and cultivate a more productive dialogue. Preparation and Research Preparation and research are foundational elements in achieving successful outcomes in negotiations. By thoroughly comprehending the buyer’s business model and industry pressures, you can identify their needs and expectations, which improves your negotiation strategy. Analyzing past purchasing behavior and any existing relationships with competitors can provide valuable insights that inform your approach. Before negotiations, set clear goals and define acceptable alternatives to maintain focus. Gathering data on market trends and pricing fortifies your position, allowing you to anchor discussions with informed benchmarks. Furthermore, preparing for potential objections by mapping out responses helps you address concerns confidently and maintain momentum. This groundwork guarantees you enter negotiations well-equipped, facilitating a more effective and productive dialogue. Active Listening Techniques Entering negotiations well-prepared sets the stage for productive conversations, but the effectiveness of those discussions greatly depends on your ability to listen actively. Active listening involves fully concentrating on the speaker, which nurtures trust and rapport. Techniques like paraphrasing and summarizing clarify points and show you value their input. Active Listening Techniques Benefits Paraphrasing Clarifies comprehension Summarizing Reinforces key points Non-verbal cues Shows engagement Open-ended questions Uncovers deeper insights Effective Sales Negotiation Strategies When you’re preparing for a sales negotiation, thorough research is key to comprehending both your product and the buyer’s needs. Active listening techniques can greatly improve your ability to address concerns and objections, ensuring that you fully grasp the buyer’s perspective. Preparation and Research Thorough research lays the groundwork for effective sales negotiations, as it equips you with crucial insights into the buyer’s business model, industry challenges, and specific needs. This preparation enables you to formulate alternative offers and set clear negotiation goals, improving your leverage during discussions. By anticipating objections and preparing responses that emphasize long-term value, you can close deals without excessive discounting. Furthermore, utilizing data from your research helps communicate the economic and operational impact of your offerings, aligning discussions with the buyer’s strategic goals. Mapping out potential negotiation scenarios guarantees you can adapt your strategies dynamically. Key Elements Benefits Strategies Buyer Insights Customized conversations Research thoroughly Alternative Offers Boosted negotiation leverage Prepare multiple scenarios Anticipating Objections Improved closing likelihood Highlight long-term value Data Utilization Aligned discussions Communicate impacts clearly Dynamic Strategies Adaptability in negotiations Map potential outcomes Active Listening Techniques Active listening is a critical skill during sales negotiations, as it allows you to fully engage with the other party and uncover their underlying needs and concerns. To improve your active listening, try paraphrasing the speaker’s words and employing mirroring techniques; this builds rapport and encourages open dialogue. Incorporate empathetic responses to validate your counterpart’s feelings, which can help reduce tension and promote collaboration. Asking clarifying questions not only shows your engagement but also guarantees you grasp their position deeply, leading to customized solutions. Regularly practicing skills like summarizing key points and acknowledging emotions can greatly improve your negotiation outcomes, helping you build long-term relationships with clients and achieving mutually beneficial agreements. Preparation Is Crucial Preparation is essential for successful sales negotiations, as it allows you to understand the buyer’s business model and tailor your value proposition effectively. A well-prepared sales team is more likely to close deals, as thorough preparation builds confidence and reduces reliance on emotional decision-making. Here are some key aspects of effective preparation: Conduct extensive research on industry pressures and competitor offerings to anticipate objections. Set clear negotiation goals to maintain focus and direction during discussions. Prepare alternative offers in advance to adapt to changing dynamics and encourage collaboration. Active Listening In the context of successful sales negotiations, listening attentively can greatly impact the outcome of discussions. Active listening involves fully concentrating, comprehending, and responding to what the other party says. This skill helps uncover deeper needs and concerns, cultivating trust and rapport between negotiators. Research shows that effective active listening can increase the likelihood of closing deals by up to 60%. Techniques like paraphrasing and asking clarifying questions improve comprehension and demonstrate genuine engagement. Furthermore, paying attention to both verbal and non-verbal cues allows you to pick up on emotions and motivations, which can be vital for addressing objections. Regular practice of active listening not just enhances communication but also leads to longer-lasting business relationships and higher customer satisfaction. Data-Driven Negotiation Data-driven negotiation leverages analytics and insights to improve the effectiveness of negotiation strategies, greatly increasing the likelihood of favorable outcomes. By utilizing data, you can tailor your approach to better align with client needs, enhancing both your position and the perceived value of your offer. Consider these key points: Historical sales data helps you identify patterns in buyer behavior, allowing for strategic adjustments. Implementing key performance indicators (KPIs) can refine your negotiation tactics and reduce unnecessary discounting practices. Presenting evidence of past performance and ROI boosts buyer confidence, making them more willing to agree to premium pricing. Incorporating data into your negotiations not merely strengthens your arguments but also supports your credibility, leading to a higher success rate in closing deals. Frequently Asked Questions What Are the 7 Elements of Negotiation? The seven elements of negotiation are interests, options, alternatives, legitimacy, communication, relationship, and commitment. Interests refer to each party’s underlying needs. Options are potential solutions that satisfy these interests. Alternatives, or BATNA, provide fallback plans if negotiations fail. Legitimacy focuses on fair standards, whereas communication emphasizes clarity and active listening. The relationship involves maintaining rapport between parties, and commitment guarantees all parties agree on the terms reached during negotiations. What Are the 7 Steps of Negotiation? The seven steps of negotiation include preparation, where you gather information and set your goals; establishing rapport to build trust; defining the agenda to clarify discussion points; exchanging information to understand both parties’ needs; bargaining to reach a mutually beneficial agreement; closing the deal with clear terms; and implementing and following up on the agreement to guarantee all commitments are met. Each step is vital for achieving a successful negotiation outcome. What Are the 5 C’s of Negotiation? The 5 C’s of negotiation are Communication, Collaboration, Compromise, Creativity, and Confidence. Effective communication involves clear dialogue and active listening, which promotes comprehension. Collaboration encourages working together to achieve common goals. Compromise requires making concessions to reach agreements. Creativity allows for innovative solutions that address both parties’ needs. Finally, confidence helps you approach negotiations assertively, influencing outcomes positively. Mastering these elements can greatly improve your negotiation effectiveness and relationship-building skills. What Is the 70/30 Rule in Negotiation? The 70/30 rule in negotiation suggests you should spend 70% of your time listening and comprehending the other party’s needs, whereas only 30% should be spent presenting your position. This approach encourages better communication, allowing you to uncover hidden objections and align your proposals with the other party’s priorities. Conclusion Acquiring the seven crucial sales negotiation skills is fundamental for your success in today’s market. By focusing on active listening, utilizing data-driven techniques, and preparing thoroughly, you can improve your negotiation outcomes. Comprehending KPIs and leveraging historical sales data will allow you to present compelling proposals that justify your pricing. In the end, these skills not just help you close deals more effectively but additionally cultivate long-term relationships with clients, ensuring ongoing success in your sales career. Image via Google Gemini This article, "Master 7 Essential Sales Negotiation Skills for Success" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

Excelling in fundamental sales negotiation skills is critical for your success in a competitive market. Comprehending how to listen actively and leverage data can greatly improve your communication with buyers. By focusing on key performance indicators, you can refine your tactics and measure your outcomes effectively. Preparing for negotiations and anticipating objections likewise play important roles. These strategies not only assist in closing deals but likewise nurture lasting relationships. What other skills could boost your negotiation game? Key Takeaways Master active listening to understand client needs and build rapport for lasting relationships. Utilize data-driven negotiation techniques to tailor strategies and enhance credibility. Analyze historical sales data to identify buyer behavior patterns and refine tactics. Establish clear negotiation goals and prepare alternative offers to encourage collaboration. Leverage key performance indicators (KPIs) to measure success and focus discussions effectively. Understanding Sales Negotiation Sales negotiation is a fundamental process where buyers and sellers engage in discussions to reach a mutually beneficial agreement. Comprehending sales negotiation involves recognizing that it’s not merely about closing deals but in addition addressing the emotional and financial concerns of the buyer. You’ll need strong negotiation skills for salespeople, including clear communication to prevent misunderstandings and align expectations. Effective negotiation cultivates trust and rapport, indispensable for long-term relationships. Additionally, mastering advanced negotiation for institutional sales can improve your ability to navigate complex interactions. It’s critical to engage in back-and-forth dialogue, addressing concerns and compromises, as this collaborative approach leads to satisfactory outcomes for both parties involved. Importance of Negotiation in Sales Negotiation plays a pivotal role in the sales process, as it helps create agreements that are beneficial to both parties involved. By mastering effective sales negotiation skills, you can cultivate trust and improve long-term relationships with buyers. This process allows you to align your offerings with the buyer’s strategic objectives, clearly communicating the value of your solution. Successful negotiations lead to higher average deal sizes and improved customer satisfaction during reducing discounting, ultimately preserving your profit margins. Furthermore, a well-executed negotiation process boosts your brand reputation by preventing misunderstandings and frustrations. Companies that prioritize negotiation training for their sales teams often see better revenue forecasting and higher closure rates, making negotiation a crucial aspect of successful sales strategies. Essential Sales Negotiation Skills To master fundamental sales negotiation skills, you need to focus on two key areas: preparation and active listening. Preparation involves thoroughly researching your product, comprehending customer needs, and being aware of market dynamics so you can tailor your approach effectively. Meanwhile, active listening techniques allow you to pick up on underlying concerns and objections, enabling you to respond appropriately and cultivate a more productive dialogue. Preparation and Research Preparation and research are foundational elements in achieving successful outcomes in negotiations. By thoroughly comprehending the buyer’s business model and industry pressures, you can identify their needs and expectations, which improves your negotiation strategy. Analyzing past purchasing behavior and any existing relationships with competitors can provide valuable insights that inform your approach. Before negotiations, set clear goals and define acceptable alternatives to maintain focus. Gathering data on market trends and pricing fortifies your position, allowing you to anchor discussions with informed benchmarks. Furthermore, preparing for potential objections by mapping out responses helps you address concerns confidently and maintain momentum. This groundwork guarantees you enter negotiations well-equipped, facilitating a more effective and productive dialogue. Active Listening Techniques Entering negotiations well-prepared sets the stage for productive conversations, but the effectiveness of those discussions greatly depends on your ability to listen actively. Active listening involves fully concentrating on the speaker, which nurtures trust and rapport. Techniques like paraphrasing and summarizing clarify points and show you value their input. Active Listening Techniques Benefits Paraphrasing Clarifies comprehension Summarizing Reinforces key points Non-verbal cues Shows engagement Open-ended questions Uncovers deeper insights Effective Sales Negotiation Strategies When you’re preparing for a sales negotiation, thorough research is key to comprehending both your product and the buyer’s needs. Active listening techniques can greatly improve your ability to address concerns and objections, ensuring that you fully grasp the buyer’s perspective. Preparation and Research Thorough research lays the groundwork for effective sales negotiations, as it equips you with crucial insights into the buyer’s business model, industry challenges, and specific needs. This preparation enables you to formulate alternative offers and set clear negotiation goals, improving your leverage during discussions. By anticipating objections and preparing responses that emphasize long-term value, you can close deals without excessive discounting. Furthermore, utilizing data from your research helps communicate the economic and operational impact of your offerings, aligning discussions with the buyer’s strategic goals. Mapping out potential negotiation scenarios guarantees you can adapt your strategies dynamically. Key Elements Benefits Strategies Buyer Insights Customized conversations Research thoroughly Alternative Offers Boosted negotiation leverage Prepare multiple scenarios Anticipating Objections Improved closing likelihood Highlight long-term value Data Utilization Aligned discussions Communicate impacts clearly Dynamic Strategies Adaptability in negotiations Map potential outcomes Active Listening Techniques Active listening is a critical skill during sales negotiations, as it allows you to fully engage with the other party and uncover their underlying needs and concerns. To improve your active listening, try paraphrasing the speaker’s words and employing mirroring techniques; this builds rapport and encourages open dialogue. Incorporate empathetic responses to validate your counterpart’s feelings, which can help reduce tension and promote collaboration. Asking clarifying questions not only shows your engagement but also guarantees you grasp their position deeply, leading to customized solutions. Regularly practicing skills like summarizing key points and acknowledging emotions can greatly improve your negotiation outcomes, helping you build long-term relationships with clients and achieving mutually beneficial agreements. Preparation Is Crucial Preparation is essential for successful sales negotiations, as it allows you to understand the buyer’s business model and tailor your value proposition effectively. A well-prepared sales team is more likely to close deals, as thorough preparation builds confidence and reduces reliance on emotional decision-making. Here are some key aspects of effective preparation: Conduct extensive research on industry pressures and competitor offerings to anticipate objections. Set clear negotiation goals to maintain focus and direction during discussions. Prepare alternative offers in advance to adapt to changing dynamics and encourage collaboration. Active Listening In the context of successful sales negotiations, listening attentively can greatly impact the outcome of discussions. Active listening involves fully concentrating, comprehending, and responding to what the other party says. This skill helps uncover deeper needs and concerns, cultivating trust and rapport between negotiators. Research shows that effective active listening can increase the likelihood of closing deals by up to 60%. Techniques like paraphrasing and asking clarifying questions improve comprehension and demonstrate genuine engagement. Furthermore, paying attention to both verbal and non-verbal cues allows you to pick up on emotions and motivations, which can be vital for addressing objections. Regular practice of active listening not just enhances communication but also leads to longer-lasting business relationships and higher customer satisfaction. Data-Driven Negotiation Data-driven negotiation leverages analytics and insights to improve the effectiveness of negotiation strategies, greatly increasing the likelihood of favorable outcomes. By utilizing data, you can tailor your approach to better align with client needs, enhancing both your position and the perceived value of your offer. Consider these key points: Historical sales data helps you identify patterns in buyer behavior, allowing for strategic adjustments. Implementing key performance indicators (KPIs) can refine your negotiation tactics and reduce unnecessary discounting practices. Presenting evidence of past performance and ROI boosts buyer confidence, making them more willing to agree to premium pricing. Incorporating data into your negotiations not merely strengthens your arguments but also supports your credibility, leading to a higher success rate in closing deals. Frequently Asked Questions What Are the 7 Elements of Negotiation? The seven elements of negotiation are interests, options, alternatives, legitimacy, communication, relationship, and commitment. Interests refer to each party’s underlying needs. Options are potential solutions that satisfy these interests. Alternatives, or BATNA, provide fallback plans if negotiations fail. Legitimacy focuses on fair standards, whereas communication emphasizes clarity and active listening. The relationship involves maintaining rapport between parties, and commitment guarantees all parties agree on the terms reached during negotiations. What Are the 7 Steps of Negotiation? The seven steps of negotiation include preparation, where you gather information and set your goals; establishing rapport to build trust; defining the agenda to clarify discussion points; exchanging information to understand both parties’ needs; bargaining to reach a mutually beneficial agreement; closing the deal with clear terms; and implementing and following up on the agreement to guarantee all commitments are met. Each step is vital for achieving a successful negotiation outcome. What Are the 5 C’s of Negotiation? The 5 C’s of negotiation are Communication, Collaboration, Compromise, Creativity, and Confidence. Effective communication involves clear dialogue and active listening, which promotes comprehension. Collaboration encourages working together to achieve common goals. Compromise requires making concessions to reach agreements. Creativity allows for innovative solutions that address both parties’ needs. Finally, confidence helps you approach negotiations assertively, influencing outcomes positively. Mastering these elements can greatly improve your negotiation effectiveness and relationship-building skills. What Is the 70/30 Rule in Negotiation? The 70/30 rule in negotiation suggests you should spend 70% of your time listening and comprehending the other party’s needs, whereas only 30% should be spent presenting your position. This approach encourages better communication, allowing you to uncover hidden objections and align your proposals with the other party’s priorities. Conclusion Acquiring the seven crucial sales negotiation skills is fundamental for your success in today’s market. By focusing on active listening, utilizing data-driven techniques, and preparing thoroughly, you can improve your negotiation outcomes. Comprehending KPIs and leveraging historical sales data will allow you to present compelling proposals that justify your pricing. In the end, these skills not just help you close deals more effectively but additionally cultivate long-term relationships with clients, ensuring ongoing success in your sales career. Image via Google Gemini This article, "Master 7 Essential Sales Negotiation Skills for Success" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

The Pulse covers the latest from Google and Open AI and the EU investigation into Google's site reputation abuse enforcement The post SEO Pulse: AI Shopping, GPT-5.1 & EU Pressure On Google appeared first on Search Engine Journal. View the full article

MacOS is great in all kinds of ways, but it's far from the most customizable operating system out there. Sure, it's not locked down to the extent iOS and iPadOS are, but compared to Linux and even Windows, macOS really doesn't let you change the look and feel very much. But that isn't to say there's no room to tweak the operating system to make it the way you like—if you know where to look. Here are a few third-party tools that let you make macOS your own. Use a custom cursorIt's pretty easy to change how the mouse pointer looks on Windows and Linux—you just need to dig around in the settings. On macOS, you can only change the size of the pointer. Unless, that is, you install the free and open source Mousecape. This application lets you create a cursor, then use it in place of the default system ones. You can also install cursors made by others. There's no centralized collection of cursors for this, unfortunately, but I found a fun hand on Github, some Wii cursors, and a decent collection on DeviantArt. You could also try your hand at creating your own set. Note that Tahoe users will have to download an updated fork in order to use Mousecape—the main build doesn't work at the moment. You'll need to install a pre-release download as of this writing. Use any website as your wallpaper Credit: Justin Pot Some great wallpapers, including dynamic ones, are included with macOS. There's also the option to use your own photos. But what macOS doesn't offer are custom, animated wallpapers. Enter Plash. This free application lets you turn any website into a macOS wallpaper, which opens up all kinds of interactive possibilities. A few sites included let you look out a random stranger's window, see real-time weather data, or take in some animated pixel art, but you can use any website you can think of. It's a lot of fun to play around with. Clean up the menu bar Credit: Justin Pot The macOS menu bar is a bit of a mess. Windows makes it relatively easy to hide icons by dragging them to a secondary area. Apple hasn't offered anything like this until Tahoe, which added a way to disable any icon in the settings. The problem: it's all or nothing. Hide an icon in the settings and there's no quick way to access it other than going back into the settings and turning it back on. For that, you'll need a third party app. I personally recommend Ice, which is the best free app for cleaning up your menu bar. My coworker Pranay recommends Barbee, another great option. Both make it easy to hide menu bar icons in a secondary bar accessible by hitting an icon, similar to how it works on Windows. Every Mac user should install some sort of tool like this. Change your folder icons Credit: Justin Pot This one isn't unofficial, exactly, but it's so buried it might as well be. You can change the icon for any folder, document, or even application by right-clicking it, clicking "Get Info", then dragging an image to the icon in the window that opens. Weird, right? But it works, meaning you can customize folders to look however you want. I talked about this in an article with more details. This gets really fun if you install Fancy Folders, a free application seen in the image above which allows you to create folder icons in the color of your choice, complete with either the text or icon of your choice. It's a lot of fun to play with, and can be very useful for visually keeping things organized. View the full article

It should come as a shock to no one: The 2026 Latin Grammy Awards were all about Bad Bunny. The Puerto Rican superstar won album of the year for his landmark release “Debí Tirar Más Fotos.” After thanking his family and all those who worked on the album, he ended his speech with “Puerto Rico, I love you, thank you.” Those are powerful words honoring a record that doubles as a love letter for his island. The artist born Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio was destined to dominate from the jump. He also won the first award of the night, for música urbana album. Halfway through the show, the singer found himself back on stage accepting the música urbana song trophy for “DTmF.” “I never practice my speeches,” he said in Spanish. And then he showed up for a third time: to perform “Weltita” with Chuwi. He wasn’t the only one with reason to celebrate: Song of the year went to Karol G, Andrés Jael Correa Ríos and Édgar Barrera for “Si Antes Te Hubiera Conocido.” And Alejandro Sanz took home record of the year for “¿Y Ahora Qué?” Live from Sin City, the 26th annual Latin Grammys were both energetic and eclectic. Take Raphael, the 2025 Person of the Year, who launched into an emotive rendition of “Qué Sabe Nadie” and “Mi Gran Noche,” inviting the crowd to sing along. That was after Santana kicked things off — specifically, Maluma singing Santana’s 1970 hit “Oye Como Va” with the guitar legend himself. It was just the beginning of a memorable medley, talents of today celebrating Santana — Christian Nodal joining in for “Corazón Espinoza” and Grupo Frontera for their 2025 collaboration with the virtuosic musician, “Me Retiro.” Performances hit hard and fast: Aitana brought her dreamy electro-pop, Sanz delivered a medley of “El Vino De Tu Boca” and “Las Guapas,” Rauw Alejandro channeled Puerto Rico in Vegas with “Khé?,” the bachata “Silencio,” “Falsedad” and “Carita Linda.” Then: Danny Lux, Kakalo and Ivan Cornejo brought contemporary Mexicana sounds. Pepe Aguilar followed, with his life-affirming mariachi — “El Cihualteco” into “El Fuereño.” Elena Rose slowed things down with “Me Lo Merezco.” Karol G and the legendary Mexican singer Marco Antonio Solís dueted the romantic ballad “Coleccionando Heridas.” Two of the biggest groups in regional Mexican music – Grupo Frontera and Fuerza Regida – launched into their joint hit, “Me Jalo,” before the latter took over for “Marlboro Rojo.” That’s a cut from their record-breaking 2025 album “111xpantia.” Carín León’s lovely raspy vocal tone carried throughout “Ahí Estabas Tú”; then he was joined by Kacey Musgraves for “Lost in Translation.” Not long after, León took home the trophy in competitive contemporary Mexican album category for “Palabra De To’s (Seca).” Morat brought the pop-rock with “Faltas Tú” and Ca7riel and Paco Amoroso brought a kind of outsider, artistic spirit. Joaquina delivered a full-bodied “Quise Quererte.” Any aspiring artists watching would be wise to take a page out of the Brazilian singer Liniker’s book; “Negona Dos Olhos Terríveis” was one of the night’s most joyful. The same, of course, should be said about norteño band Los Tigres del Norte. The coveted best new artist trophy was handed out to Paloma Morphy. Traditional tropical album went to Gloria Estefan for “Raíces.” Not long afterward, she hit the stage for “La Vecina” and “Chirriqui Chirri,” joined by Nathy Peluso for the latter. Then ranchero/mariachi album went to Christian Nodal for “¿Quién + Como Yo?” Most of the evening’s awards were handed out during a pre-televised Premiere Ceremony. That included: Bad Bunny’s “Voy A Llevarte Pa Pr” winning for reggaeton performance. Argentinian duo Ca7riel and Paco Amoroso cleaned house then, too: taking home their first Latin Grammys for short and long form music video, alternative song, as well as alternative music album for “Papota,” and pop song for “El dia del amigo.” That’s five wins, making them the most awarded act at the 2025 show. The three-hour award show aired live from Las Vegas’ MGM Grand Garden Arena. It was hosted by the dynamic duo of Maluma and actor, producer and musician Roselyn Sánchez. This story has been updated to correct that Maluma helped open the Latin Grammys, not Miguel. —Maria Sherman, AP Music Writer View the full article

This week’s PPC Pulse highlights Google’s PMax expansion, Microsoft’s Clarity requirement, and rising scrutiny around AI Max results. The post PPC Pulse: PMax Expands, Clarity Now Mandatory & AI Max Data Debate appeared first on Search Engine Journal. View the full article

While some SEO influencers are selling panic and “AI-proof” gimmicks, the data from Google’s front lines tells a different, more strategic story. The rapid integration of AI into search has created a wave of anxiety, making it increasingly difficult to distinguish between durable strategy and distracting noise. The flood of information often leaves marketers unsure of where to focus their efforts. That’s the diamond in the rough that I discovered while attending the News & Editorial SEO Summit (NESS), which was held online Oct. 21-22. This article cuts through the hype to deliver clarity. I’ve distilled insights from technical SEO experts at The New York Times, Polemic Digital, and NewzDash into five counterintuitive but actionable truths. These takeaways offer a durable, data-backed framework for your 2026 SEO strategy and beyond. 1. AI Overviews aren’t devouring breaking news (yet) Contrary to the widespread belief that AI Overviews are taking over every SERP, the data reveals a far more nuanced reality for timely content. A detailed analysis from NewzDash found that only 1.9% of major trending news keywords trigger AI Overviews. For the most competitive, high-traffic moments, traditional search features still dominate. The real “surprising truth” is in the context of when and why AI Overviews appear. AI Overviews are most likely to show up 6 to 9 hours after a major news event, during the “post-event window” when live interest fades and real-time coverage slows. The analysis identified several key signals that increase the likelihood of an AI Overview, including: Low-competition queries. Broad entity searches without qualifiers (e.g., “Chicago” instead of “Chicago shooting”). Topics with little or no immediate coverage. This insight is critical: for now, Top Stories and real-time reporting still command the SERP during the moments that matter most, countering the narrative that AI has completely replaced traditional news results. Dig deeper: AI Overview citations: Why they don’t drive clicks and what to do 2. Your ‘good enough’ Core Web Vitals are probably fine The obsession with achieving perfect Core Web Vitals (CWV) scores can lead to diminishing returns. While important, CWV is not the massive direct ranking factor many believe it to be. Its primary role is as an indicator of usability and user experience. The real impact of CWV is indirect but potent. Poor CWV creates a frustrating user experience. Frustrated users leave or click back quickly. Google interprets these behaviors as negative engagement signals, which can directly harm your rankings. Think of CWV as a tool to measure and prevent user experience problems. The practical advice from industry experts is to get your scores to “Mostly green.” Investing significant resources to improve further is rarely worth the effort from a pure SEO perspective. 3. Stop obsessing over clean code – focus on meaning Engineers often obsess over minimizing every byte in the HTML, a holdover from the days of slow connections. But Google’s crawlers don’t care. The surprising truth is that “clean source code is not necessary.” The technical reason is that Google tokenizes HTML before parsing, stripping out non-semantic tags that don’t add meaning. Instead of wasting engineering cycles on superficial code cleanup, reallocate those resources to what actually moves the needle: robust semantic markup. Using tags like <article>, <section>, and <nav> explicitly tells Google what each block of content represents. This makes indexing easier and reduces the chance of errors by clearly defining the purpose and relationship of your content. Get the newsletter search marketers rely on. See terms. 4. Content chunking is your new AI superpower As search evolves from bots to large language models (LLMs), structuring content for machine comprehension is more important than ever. Content chunking has emerged as a critical practice for ensuring your content is visible and usable by AI systems. This structure is crucial for the operation of modern AI systems, particularly those using retrieval-augmented generation (RAG). RAG needs to fetch verified data to “ground” its responses, and well-chunked content makes your information a prime candidate for retrieval. To make your content easy to chunk, you must provide a clear, logical structure. You can do this by following two key principles: Anchor chunks with semantic HTML5 tags: Use tags like <article>, <section>, <nav>, and <footer> to explicitly define the different parts of your page. Establish a clear hierarchy with header tags: Using <h1> through <h6> tags correctly creates logical topical breakpoints that guide the LLM’s understanding of your content’s structure. A simple rule of thumb offered by Christine Liang of The New York Times is: “If a chunk makes sense to you as a reader, then it makes sense for the LLM.” Dig deeper: Chunk, cite, clarify, build: A content framework for AI search 5. Don’t fall for the latest AI SEO gimmicks In the rush to adapt to AI, many unproven and ineffective tactics have emerged. Focus on foundational principles rather than chasing the latest gimmicks. For instance, LLMs.txt, a proposed standard for guiding AI crawlers, is “not a thing – at least not for Google,” according to experts. Its adoption by both websites and LLMs is very low, making it an ineffective tool. Similarly, tactics such as over-optimizing content with endless lists, FAQs, and aggressive front-loading are essentially a modern version of classic keyword stuffing. While they may offer short-term gains, their effectiveness will diminish as models get smarter and better at understanding naturally written content. The foundation of AI visibility remains grounded in traditional SEO. As Gary Illyes of Google told Kenichi Suzuki in a recent interview: “As far as I know, Gemini AI Overview and AI Mode all use Google search for grounding. So, basically, they issue multiple queries to Google search and then Google search returns results for that those particular queries.” This is the most important statement for SEOs today. It confirms that AI Overviews are built upon the foundation of traditional Google Search. The path to visibility in AI features runs directly through mastering the fundamentals of SEO, not chasing shiny objects. The real path to AI visibility still runs through core SEO While the search landscape is undoubtedly being reshaped by AI, the core pillars of effective SEO are not just relevant – they’re more critical than ever. A strong technical foundation, semantically structured content, a commitment to quality, and a focus on user experience are the principles that endure. These are the signals that both traditional search crawlers and sophisticated AI models rely on to identify authoritative and valuable information. In an age of increasing complexity, mastery of the fundamentals is the ultimate competitive advantage. Instead of asking how to “optimize for AI,” the real task is to create content so valuable and well-structured that both humans and AI have no choice but to cite it. Dig deeper: AI search is booming, but SEO is still not dead View the full article

The stock market survived the longest government shutdown in U.S. history with minimal impact. But it tumbled on Thursday, November 13, amid a sell-off of tech stocks as worries about overinflated values and interest rate cuts grew. Take the S&P 500, which shrank 1.66% to 6,739.49, or the Dow Jones Industrial average, which went down by 1.65% to 47,457.22—both at their lowest in over a month. It was only the day before that the Dow had surpassed 48,000, reaching a new record high. The Nasdaq composite met a similar fate, dropping 2.29% to its month low of 22,870.36. Many tech stocks felt the effect. Shares of electric vehicle maker Tesla (Nasdaq:TSLA) dropped 6.64% on Thursday, followed by another 4.78% at one point during after-hours and premarket trading on Friday. Palantir Technologies (Nasdaq:PLTR), which has been repeatedly pointed to as an example of overinflated value, saw its shares fall 6.53% Thursday and an additional 4.30% in after-hours and premarket trading. As of yesterday’s closing bell, Palantir was still trading 127.61% up in 2025. Nvidia Corporation, which just became the first company to hit a $5 trillion valuation in late October, also saw its shares (Nasdaq:NVDA) fall. Shares of the AI chip designer closed down 3.58% and, like its fellow tech companies, saw that drop continue through after-hours and premarket trading with a decline of 3.33%. Nvidia’s stock had already fallen Tuesday, following the news that Softbank sold its 32 million Nvidia shares—worth $5.8 billion—in October. These drops occurred alongside a decreasing likelihood that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates when it meets on December 9 and 10. According to CME FedWatch, the likelihood for a rate cut reached over 98% a month ago, but sank to 62.9% on Wednesday and 50.1% on Thursday. View the full article

Head of US division will take over from February after current boss retiresView the full article

As an aspiring entrepreneur, you need to grasp fundamental small business advice that can steer your venture toward success. Staying organized is vital; it involves managing financial records and utilizing project management tools effectively. Furthermore, you must learn to be flexible, adapting to market changes and customer feedback. These foundational steps pave the way for automating tasks and prioritizing customer service, yet there’s more to explore that can enhance your business even further. Key Takeaways Stay organized by maintaining accurate financial records and using project management tools to enhance productivity and collaboration. Be flexible in adapting to market changes and actively listen to customer feedback to improve services and offerings. Automate processes like CRM, accounting, and payroll to save time, reduce errors, and enhance efficiency. Prioritize exceptional customer service to boost retention rates and increase profitability through satisfied customers’ referrals. Build personal connections and a professional network to create collaboration opportunities and foster loyalty among customers. Stay Organized Staying organized is fundamental for any entrepreneur looking to run a successful business. Accurate records of your finances are essential; by recording transactions weekly, you can spot financial trends and issues early on. Using project management software like Trello or Notion can streamline your task assignment and deadline management, boosting productivity. Planning your social media campaigns and email marketing in advance with automation tools saves time and guarantees consistent customer engagement. Centralizing documentation on a shared platform makes access easier for your team, enhancing collaboration. Furthermore, creating a daily to-do list and prioritizing high-priority tasks greatly improves efficiency, making sure you address critical responsibilities swiftly. For more insights, consider consulting a business advisor for small businesses or visiting local business centers for customized small business advice. Learn to Be Flexible Organizational skills lay the groundwork for running a successful business, but the ability to adapt is equally important. Being flexible in response to changing market conditions can markedly reduce your risk of obsolescence, keeping your business relevant and competitive. Listening to customer feedback is vital; 70% of customers prefer brands that do so, which can help you adjust your business model or pricing strategy. Furthermore, consider updating your website design to improve user experience, potentially boosting conversion rates by 200%. A business advisor can guide you through these changes, and exploring a local business center near you may offer more resources. Automate as Many Things as Possible In today’s fast-paced business environment, automating various tasks can considerably streamline your operations and improve efficiency. By implementing tools like CRM systems, accounting software, and payroll solutions, you can save time, reduce errors, and enhance customer engagement. Furthermore, setting up automated emails and chatbots can help you maintain customer satisfaction as you free up your resources for more strategic activities. Streamline Operations With Technology Streamlining operations with technology is essential for any entrepreneur looking to improve efficiency and reduce costs. By adopting various tools, you can automate repetitive tasks and focus on growth. Here are some effective strategies: Implement CRM tools to automate follow-ups with leads, enhancing conversion rates and saving time. Utilize QuickBooks for streamlined bookkeeping, reducing manual data entry as well as providing real-time financial insights. Set up automated email campaigns to recover up to 15% of abandoned shopping carts, boosting potential revenue effortlessly. Integrate ADP to automate payment processes and tax calculations, minimizing errors and ensuring compliance. Enhance Efficiency Through Automation Finding ways to improve efficiency can considerably impact your business’s bottom line. Implementing automation tools, like CRM systems, can handle customer follow-ups automatically, allowing you to focus on strategic growth. Utilizing accounting software can reduce manual data entry errors by up to 90%, streamlining bookkeeping processes and saving valuable time. Automated email campaigns targeting abandoned shopping carts can recover about 10-15% of lost sales, greatly boosting your revenue. Additionally, chatbots can provide instant customer support outside business hours, enhancing customer satisfaction as well as reducing your staff’s workload. Finally, payroll software can expedite payroll processing by over 50%, ensuring timely payments and compliance with tax regulations, thereby enhancing your overall operational efficiency. Embrace automation to maximize productivity and drive success. Focus on Customer Service Though many aspects of running a small business demand attention, focusing on customer service can greatly impact your bottom line. Prioritizing exceptional customer service can boost your retention rates by up to 25%, enhancing profitability. Here are four key strategies to implement: Listen to Feedback: Actively seek and respond to customer feedback, which can increase satisfaction and loyalty by 10-15%. Timely Communication: Respond without delay to inquiries, improving your ratings by up to 30%. Create Positive Experiences: Guarantee every interaction is positive; satisfied customers recommend your business to an average of 3 to 4 people. Adopt a Customer-Centric Approach: Companies prioritizing customer service see profits 60% higher than those that don’t. Investing in customer service pays off remarkably. Understand Financial Management Financial management is a cornerstone of any successful small business. Maintaining a positive cash flow is vital, as 82% of small businesses fail because of cash flow mismanagement. To navigate financial uncertainties, establish a thorough budget that includes all expenses, revenue projections, and contingency plans. Regularly reviewing financial statements, such as income statements and balance sheets, provides insights into your business performance and informs strategic decision-making. Utilizing accounting software can streamline your financial management, reducing manual errors and ensuring accurate tracking of income and expenses. Furthermore, consulting with financial professionals can improve your comprehension of tax obligations and help identify potential deductions, ultimately impacting your overall business profitability positively. Prioritize these practices to strengthen your financial foundation. Develop a Marketing Strategy When you develop a marketing strategy, it’s essential to blend both digital and traditional channels to maximize your reach and engagement. Allocate at least 70% of your budget to digital marketing for ideal results. Here are some effective tactics to reflect on: Utilize social media: Engaging actively can boost your lead generation by an average of 126%. Implement targeted advertising: Using platforms like Google Ads can yield a return on investment of up to 400% when customized to specific audiences. Collaborate with influencers: This can expand your reach by 11 times, connecting you authentically with potential customers. Regularly review performance data: Companies that analyze their data are five times more likely to make faster, more effective decisions. Network and Build Relationships To grow your business effectively, you should prioritize networking and relationship-building. Attend networking events to meet potential partners and investors, as you leverage online platforms to expand your reach and connect with a broader audience. Don’t forget to follow up diligently with your contacts; maintaining these relationships can lead to valuable referrals and opportunities that traditional marketing might miss. Attend Networking Events Networking events are essential for entrepreneurs looking to expand their business opportunities and build meaningful relationships. By attending these gatherings, you can connect with a diverse group of professionals who may help your business grow. Here’s how to maximize your networking experience: Meet potential investors who may be interested in funding your projects. Form partnerships with other entrepreneurs, leading to valuable collaborations. Gain insights into market trends by engaging with industry experts at conferences. Follow up with contacts you make, as 70% of people will refer a business after a personal connection. Leverage Online Platforms In the current digital era, leveraging online platforms is crucial for entrepreneurs aiming to expand their professional networks and build valuable relationships. Start by utilizing platforms like LinkedIn to connect with industry professionals, which can lead to potential partnerships and collaborations that improve your business visibility. Joining relevant online forums and groups allows you to share insights and ask questions, nurturing relationships with peers and opening doors to networking opportunities. Participate in virtual networking events and webinars to broaden your professional circle and gain insights from industry leaders. Furthermore, engage with customers and fellow entrepreneurs on social media to create a community, leading to referrals. Follow Up Diligently After meeting new contacts at networking events, following up diligently is essential for building lasting relationships. This process demonstrates your genuine interest and commitment to maintaining connections. Here are some effective follow-up strategies: Send personalized messages that reference specific topics discussed, increasing response rates by up to 30%. Be persistent; studies show that 80% of sales require five follow-ups after the initial meeting. Engage on social media platforms, like LinkedIn, to facilitate ongoing communication and share updates. Schedule regular follow-ups to keep your business top-of-mind, enhancing referral opportunities and collaboration. Frequently Asked Questions What Is the Best Advice for Entrepreneurs? The best advice for you as an entrepreneur is to maintain a clear vision and mission that directs your decisions. Build a strong network, as connections often lead to opportunities. Prioritize financial management, ensuring you budget accurately to avoid cash flow issues. Engage in continuous learning through education and mentorship, adapting to market changes. Ultimately, focus on exceptional customer service, since satisfied customers are likely to pay more for a better experience. Is $10,000 Enough to Start a Small Business? Yes, $10,000 can be enough to start a small business, particularly in service-based industries with lower overhead. You’ll need to budget carefully, focusing on vital expenses like legal fees, marketing, and initial equipment. Consider a lean startup model, working from home and utilizing cost-effective tools. Nevertheless, keep in mind that around 30% of small businesses fail within two years, so thorough market research and a solid business plan are key for success. How to Succeed in Business 9 Tips for Small Business Growth? To succeed in business, focus on building strong customer relationships by delivering exceptional service and seeking feedback. Develop a thorough marketing strategy that blends digital and traditional methods, adjusting based on performance data. Embrace technology to streamline operations and gather insights. Set clear, SMART goals to guide your growth. Finally, network effectively by attending industry events, as many successful businesses credit networking for their achievements. These steps can greatly improve your business’s growth potential. What Skills Do Entrepreneurs Need to Successfully Manage a Small Business? To successfully manage a small business, you need strong financial management skills to monitor cash flow effectively. Communication skills help you build relationships with customers and employees, whereas problem-solving abilities allow you to tackle challenges creatively. Marketing skills are crucial for promoting your products, and time management skills enable you to balance various responsibilities efficiently. Acquiring these skills will improve your ability to navigate the intricacies of running a small business. Conclusion In summary, mastering these seven crucial small business advice tips can greatly enhance your chances of success. By staying organized, being flexible, automating tasks, prioritizing customer service, comprehending financial management, developing a marketing strategy, and networking effectively, you create a strong foundation for your business. Each of these strategies contributes to a more resilient operation, nurturing growth and customer loyalty. Implementing these practices will help you navigate challenges and seize opportunities in the competitive entrepreneurial environment. Image via Google Gemini This article, "7 Essential Small Business Advice Tips for Entrepreneurs" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

As an aspiring entrepreneur, you need to grasp fundamental small business advice that can steer your venture toward success. Staying organized is vital; it involves managing financial records and utilizing project management tools effectively. Furthermore, you must learn to be flexible, adapting to market changes and customer feedback. These foundational steps pave the way for automating tasks and prioritizing customer service, yet there’s more to explore that can enhance your business even further. Key Takeaways Stay organized by maintaining accurate financial records and using project management tools to enhance productivity and collaboration. Be flexible in adapting to market changes and actively listen to customer feedback to improve services and offerings. Automate processes like CRM, accounting, and payroll to save time, reduce errors, and enhance efficiency. Prioritize exceptional customer service to boost retention rates and increase profitability through satisfied customers’ referrals. Build personal connections and a professional network to create collaboration opportunities and foster loyalty among customers. Stay Organized Staying organized is fundamental for any entrepreneur looking to run a successful business. Accurate records of your finances are essential; by recording transactions weekly, you can spot financial trends and issues early on. Using project management software like Trello or Notion can streamline your task assignment and deadline management, boosting productivity. Planning your social media campaigns and email marketing in advance with automation tools saves time and guarantees consistent customer engagement. Centralizing documentation on a shared platform makes access easier for your team, enhancing collaboration. Furthermore, creating a daily to-do list and prioritizing high-priority tasks greatly improves efficiency, making sure you address critical responsibilities swiftly. For more insights, consider consulting a business advisor for small businesses or visiting local business centers for customized small business advice. Learn to Be Flexible Organizational skills lay the groundwork for running a successful business, but the ability to adapt is equally important. Being flexible in response to changing market conditions can markedly reduce your risk of obsolescence, keeping your business relevant and competitive. Listening to customer feedback is vital; 70% of customers prefer brands that do so, which can help you adjust your business model or pricing strategy. Furthermore, consider updating your website design to improve user experience, potentially boosting conversion rates by 200%. A business advisor can guide you through these changes, and exploring a local business center near you may offer more resources. Automate as Many Things as Possible In today’s fast-paced business environment, automating various tasks can considerably streamline your operations and improve efficiency. By implementing tools like CRM systems, accounting software, and payroll solutions, you can save time, reduce errors, and enhance customer engagement. Furthermore, setting up automated emails and chatbots can help you maintain customer satisfaction as you free up your resources for more strategic activities. Streamline Operations With Technology Streamlining operations with technology is essential for any entrepreneur looking to improve efficiency and reduce costs. By adopting various tools, you can automate repetitive tasks and focus on growth. Here are some effective strategies: Implement CRM tools to automate follow-ups with leads, enhancing conversion rates and saving time. Utilize QuickBooks for streamlined bookkeeping, reducing manual data entry as well as providing real-time financial insights. Set up automated email campaigns to recover up to 15% of abandoned shopping carts, boosting potential revenue effortlessly. Integrate ADP to automate payment processes and tax calculations, minimizing errors and ensuring compliance. Enhance Efficiency Through Automation Finding ways to improve efficiency can considerably impact your business’s bottom line. Implementing automation tools, like CRM systems, can handle customer follow-ups automatically, allowing you to focus on strategic growth. Utilizing accounting software can reduce manual data entry errors by up to 90%, streamlining bookkeeping processes and saving valuable time. Automated email campaigns targeting abandoned shopping carts can recover about 10-15% of lost sales, greatly boosting your revenue. Additionally, chatbots can provide instant customer support outside business hours, enhancing customer satisfaction as well as reducing your staff’s workload. Finally, payroll software can expedite payroll processing by over 50%, ensuring timely payments and compliance with tax regulations, thereby enhancing your overall operational efficiency. Embrace automation to maximize productivity and drive success. Focus on Customer Service Though many aspects of running a small business demand attention, focusing on customer service can greatly impact your bottom line. Prioritizing exceptional customer service can boost your retention rates by up to 25%, enhancing profitability. Here are four key strategies to implement: Listen to Feedback: Actively seek and respond to customer feedback, which can increase satisfaction and loyalty by 10-15%. Timely Communication: Respond without delay to inquiries, improving your ratings by up to 30%. Create Positive Experiences: Guarantee every interaction is positive; satisfied customers recommend your business to an average of 3 to 4 people. Adopt a Customer-Centric Approach: Companies prioritizing customer service see profits 60% higher than those that don’t. Investing in customer service pays off remarkably. Understand Financial Management Financial management is a cornerstone of any successful small business. Maintaining a positive cash flow is vital, as 82% of small businesses fail because of cash flow mismanagement. To navigate financial uncertainties, establish a thorough budget that includes all expenses, revenue projections, and contingency plans. Regularly reviewing financial statements, such as income statements and balance sheets, provides insights into your business performance and informs strategic decision-making. Utilizing accounting software can streamline your financial management, reducing manual errors and ensuring accurate tracking of income and expenses. Furthermore, consulting with financial professionals can improve your comprehension of tax obligations and help identify potential deductions, ultimately impacting your overall business profitability positively. Prioritize these practices to strengthen your financial foundation. Develop a Marketing Strategy When you develop a marketing strategy, it’s essential to blend both digital and traditional channels to maximize your reach and engagement. Allocate at least 70% of your budget to digital marketing for ideal results. Here are some effective tactics to reflect on: Utilize social media: Engaging actively can boost your lead generation by an average of 126%. Implement targeted advertising: Using platforms like Google Ads can yield a return on investment of up to 400% when customized to specific audiences. Collaborate with influencers: This can expand your reach by 11 times, connecting you authentically with potential customers. Regularly review performance data: Companies that analyze their data are five times more likely to make faster, more effective decisions. Network and Build Relationships To grow your business effectively, you should prioritize networking and relationship-building. Attend networking events to meet potential partners and investors, as you leverage online platforms to expand your reach and connect with a broader audience. Don’t forget to follow up diligently with your contacts; maintaining these relationships can lead to valuable referrals and opportunities that traditional marketing might miss. Attend Networking Events Networking events are essential for entrepreneurs looking to expand their business opportunities and build meaningful relationships. By attending these gatherings, you can connect with a diverse group of professionals who may help your business grow. Here’s how to maximize your networking experience: Meet potential investors who may be interested in funding your projects. Form partnerships with other entrepreneurs, leading to valuable collaborations. Gain insights into market trends by engaging with industry experts at conferences. Follow up with contacts you make, as 70% of people will refer a business after a personal connection. Leverage Online Platforms In the current digital era, leveraging online platforms is crucial for entrepreneurs aiming to expand their professional networks and build valuable relationships. Start by utilizing platforms like LinkedIn to connect with industry professionals, which can lead to potential partnerships and collaborations that improve your business visibility. Joining relevant online forums and groups allows you to share insights and ask questions, nurturing relationships with peers and opening doors to networking opportunities. Participate in virtual networking events and webinars to broaden your professional circle and gain insights from industry leaders. Furthermore, engage with customers and fellow entrepreneurs on social media to create a community, leading to referrals. Follow Up Diligently After meeting new contacts at networking events, following up diligently is essential for building lasting relationships. This process demonstrates your genuine interest and commitment to maintaining connections. Here are some effective follow-up strategies: Send personalized messages that reference specific topics discussed, increasing response rates by up to 30%. Be persistent; studies show that 80% of sales require five follow-ups after the initial meeting. Engage on social media platforms, like LinkedIn, to facilitate ongoing communication and share updates. Schedule regular follow-ups to keep your business top-of-mind, enhancing referral opportunities and collaboration. Frequently Asked Questions What Is the Best Advice for Entrepreneurs? The best advice for you as an entrepreneur is to maintain a clear vision and mission that directs your decisions. Build a strong network, as connections often lead to opportunities. Prioritize financial management, ensuring you budget accurately to avoid cash flow issues. Engage in continuous learning through education and mentorship, adapting to market changes. Ultimately, focus on exceptional customer service, since satisfied customers are likely to pay more for a better experience. Is $10,000 Enough to Start a Small Business? Yes, $10,000 can be enough to start a small business, particularly in service-based industries with lower overhead. You’ll need to budget carefully, focusing on vital expenses like legal fees, marketing, and initial equipment. Consider a lean startup model, working from home and utilizing cost-effective tools. Nevertheless, keep in mind that around 30% of small businesses fail within two years, so thorough market research and a solid business plan are key for success. How to Succeed in Business 9 Tips for Small Business Growth? To succeed in business, focus on building strong customer relationships by delivering exceptional service and seeking feedback. Develop a thorough marketing strategy that blends digital and traditional methods, adjusting based on performance data. Embrace technology to streamline operations and gather insights. Set clear, SMART goals to guide your growth. Finally, network effectively by attending industry events, as many successful businesses credit networking for their achievements. These steps can greatly improve your business’s growth potential. What Skills Do Entrepreneurs Need to Successfully Manage a Small Business? To successfully manage a small business, you need strong financial management skills to monitor cash flow effectively. Communication skills help you build relationships with customers and employees, whereas problem-solving abilities allow you to tackle challenges creatively. Marketing skills are crucial for promoting your products, and time management skills enable you to balance various responsibilities efficiently. Acquiring these skills will improve your ability to navigate the intricacies of running a small business. Conclusion In summary, mastering these seven crucial small business advice tips can greatly enhance your chances of success. By staying organized, being flexible, automating tasks, prioritizing customer service, comprehending financial management, developing a marketing strategy, and networking effectively, you create a strong foundation for your business. Each of these strategies contributes to a more resilient operation, nurturing growth and customer loyalty. Implementing these practices will help you navigate challenges and seize opportunities in the competitive entrepreneurial environment. Image via Google Gemini This article, "7 Essential Small Business Advice Tips for Entrepreneurs" was first published on Small Business Trends View the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Scheduling your day is an important part of being productive. You can (and should) prioritize your to-dos by timeliness and time box your way to a jam-packed, detailed schedule, but there’s more to time management than that. You should also consider dividing up not only your day, but your week overall, to maximize productivity. The trick here is to theme your workdays. Instead of jumping from task to task on any given day, try grouping all the similar ones together and parking them on a specific day, when your schedule allows. By putting similar tasks together on the same day, you’ll stay in that “zone” longer, focusing only on what needs to be done in it. If all the things you have to do have something in common, you’ll stay focused on the central theme of the day’s work as you move from task to task. How to divvy up themed days for productivityFirst, start by thinking about why you want to do what you're doing. I don't mean you need to get all philosophical, but adding a "why" to your to-do list is valuable. You don't just want to clean your house because you have to, but because you want a safe, comfortable space or because your mom is coming to say for a week and you want her to feel cozy (and not harp on you about any lingering dust). You don't just want to finish your big project at work because it was assigned to you, but because you want to grow in your career, stay employed, or get a promotion. If thinking this way is a stretch for you, try setting SMART goals around your tasks. SMART goals are specific, measurable, actionable, relevant, and time-bound (in accordance with the acronym) and they help you stay focused on why you're doing what you're doing, as well as how you're going to do it. Set these intentions so you feel like you have something to work toward. That's where the daily themes come in. If you complete similar tasks over the course of one day, you are striving for an intention—meeting whatever goal you’ve set for that day’s theme—and staying focused on it from task to task. Say you have a big project at work. Here's how your first three days could look: Consider getting all administrative-type work done on Mondays. Designate Mondays for responding to emails, sending out new ones, taking calls, or scheduling meetings. Make sure you use this day to request any resources, details, or answers you need from others involved in the project, so you have everything you need for the following days. Creative activities, like brainstorming or designing, could be handled Tuesday, while Wednesday could be for research. You could also theme your days by project, according to Leonard Alexandru, an engineering director at Deloitte who has written about the value of themed days. Instead of dedicating time every day to multiple projects, consider assigning each project its own specific day of the week for work, so a project that requires a big focus on management should take up a whole day while one that requires you to focus on marketing, communications, sales, or whatever else should be on another. Why this works (and what to keep in mind)I do this around my apartment: One day is for cleaning my bedroom, the other is for the living room, and another is for the kitchen. It is that simple—and broadly applicable beyond your job. Hell, if you do strength training, you probably already do arm day, back day, leg day, etc. You wouldn't do a lat pulldown on leg day because it wouldn't make sense to exhaust your whole body, nor divert your focus from your glutes and quads. The reason it works is the same reason divvying up gym days works. When you are focused entirely on one thing, you do better at it, which makes you more productive at it. When you throw everything into the metaphorical blender, you lose that focus. Plus, the stress of figuring out what to do at a given time is gone, leaving you open to just get to work. You can "eat the frog" (that is, tackle your biggest task first) or work off a system like 1-3-5, which calls on you to take care of one major task, three medium-sized ones, and five smaller ones. With a themed grouping, you don't have to decide what those are; you just go. Try setting each day’s theme as an all-day event on whatever calendar software you use, so you’ll have a reminder at the top of the page about what to focus on each day. Just knowing your Thursdays are for client meetings, for instance, relieves you of the anxiety of deciding what to prioritize that day or when to schedule those meetings. It eliminates decision fatigue and keeps you on-task without you having to think too hard about what activity should go in what slot during your busy week. Obviously, a necessary or urgent meeting could crop up on a day that isn't Thursday. It's fine to take it, of course, but try to keep the general framework of the themed days whenever you can. View the full article

Emotional intelligence matters, and not just on a personal level. Research shows developing greater emotional intelligence can lead to higher performance and pay, as well as better professional and personal relationships. The better you can understand and manage your emotions, and the emotions of people around you, the greater your chances of success. So how emotionally intelligent are you? You could take an emotional intelligence test. Or you could just see how you answer the following questions. “Do I ask for advice instead of feedback?” Say you’re okay with getting feedback, even when it’s critical. (Plenty of people who claim they do, really don’t.) You may even enjoy getting critical feedback. But that doesn’t mean other people like to give you the feedback you need. Research shows when feedback is requested rather than volunteered, it tends to be too vague. Too fluffy. Too, “I don’t want to hurt your feelings so I’ll just be nice,” to be of any real value. But when you ask for advice? Harvard Business School researchers found that compared to asking for feedback, asking for advice resulted in respondents providing 34 percent more areas of improvement, and 56 percent more ways to improve. In short, emotionally intelligent people realize that asking another person to provide feedback (saying, “How did I do?”) puts them on the spot. On the other hand, asking another person for advice (saying, “What can (or should) I do?”) is flattering. Asking someone for advice implicitly shows you respect their knowledge, skills, experience, etc. Do that, and two great things happen: you get the input you need, and they feel valued, trusted, and happy to offer guidance they know will help you. Win-win. “Do I appreciate (even if I don’t like) negative feedback?” But what if you’re given feedback you didn’t request? That’s the farthest thing from fun. No one likes to be told what they can do better. Research shows most people rarely appreciate feedback when it’s negative. And when they do receive constructive criticism, they rarely use it to improve their performance. (In fact, studies show that within days we tend to totally forget the negative feedback we receive.) Emotionally intelligent people keep their feelings in check and embrace — or at least put aside — the discomfort to find ways to improve. A study published in Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning found that we’re far more likely to recall evaluative feedback (feedback about something we’ve already completed) than directive feedback (feedback on how we could improve on a future task.) That’s why emotionally intelligent people embrace — again, even if they don’t enjoy — critical feedback. They focus on what it says about the task, not about themselves. Instead of avoiding feedback that threatens how you currently perceive yourself, use it to improve how you will someday perceive yourself. Smarter, more skilled, more talented, more inclusive… more of whatever you someday hope to be. “Do I often praise other people?” Do you feel you don’t receive enough recognition and praise? Science says you’re not alone. Two out of three employees surveyed feel they don’t receive enough praise, and nearly three-fourths say they receive some form of positive feedback less than once a week. Clearly that doesn’t feel great. Emotionally intelligent people recognize that what they want — or need — is what they can give to people they know. A kind word. A sincere thank-you. Plenty of people you know — employees, vendors, customers, friends, family, etc. — deserve a kind word. A sincere thank-you. But you should also recognize people you don’t know. A store clerk. A delivery person. A customer service rep. Because praise that is unexpected, like the gift that is given “just because,” is often even more powerful. “Do I willingly admit my mistakes?” As Daniel Coyle writes in his book The Culture Code, Navy SEAL Dave Cooper feels the most important words a leader can say are, “I screwed that up.” While that might sound odd, since conventional wisdom says leaders should project unshakable confidence, and admitting weakness risks creating more weakness, emotionally intelligent people realize strong cultures can only be built when people feel safe enough to tell one another the truth. Which starts with leaders who admit they aren’t perfect. The result is a vulnerability loop: one person allows themself to be vulnerable and admits a mistake or a shortcoming, which allows another person to do the same. In time, that leads to more open exchanges that build trust and drive performance. And helps people focus on how they can get better, together. “Do I often skip past the small talk?” Say you’re at a conference and just met someone new. Do you whip out the small talk? Science says you shouldn’t. A series of studies published in Journal of Personality and Social Psychologyfound that the more awkward and uncomfortable a conversation with another person sounded, the more they tended to bond with the other person, and the more they liked the other person. Participants felt less awkward, more connected, and a lot happier after those conversations than they expected to feel. Emotionally intelligent people realize that the deeper the conversation, especially with someone they don’t know, the more likely they both are to enjoy it. Keep in mind “deep” doesn’t have to be too deep. When researchers asked people to come up with what they considered to be “deeper” questions, the most common were pretty straightforward: What do you love doing? What do you regret most? Where do you see yourself in five years? As the researchers write, “Our research suggests that the person next to you would probably be happier talking about their passions and purpose than the weather or ‘What’s up?’” And so do you. View the full article

Investors in Bitcoin are waking up to another bad morning for the world’s preeminent cryptocurrency. As of the time of this writing, the price of one token is down 6.55% in the last 24 hours to just above $95,000 per coin. It’s a low that Bitcoin has not seen since May. Today’s selloff continues a monthlong trend in which Bitcoin has now lost about 20% of its value. But what’s driving this most recent selloffs? Two culprits are most likely at play. Uncertainty of Fed rate cuts Next month, the Federal Reserve is expected to announce a decision on whether it will change interest rates. The Fed has three options: increase rates, hold rates at current levels, or cut (decrease) rates. Until recently, Wall Street was pretty bullish about the likelihood that the Fed would cut rates in December. When the Fed cuts rates, it’s generally seen as beneficial because rate cuts boost liquidity in markets. Increased liquidity generally prompts investors to allocate more to risk assets. Risk assets include assets like cryptocurrencies and highly volatile stocks (such as AI-adjacent stocks lately). So a Fed rate cut in December would boost liquidity, likely driving investors toward risk assets, including cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, which would likely rise in price. But now, as NBC News notes, in recent days, traders think there is only around a 50% chance that the Fed will cut rates in December. At the beginning of November, the majority of traders thought there was a 90% chance the Fed would do so. This uncertainty over whether the Fed will cut rates in December is likely one of the biggest factors behind Bitcoin’s fall today. Selloff of tech and crypto stocks Bitcoin is generally seen as a risk asset since its price is highly volatile compared to more traditionally stable assets like bonds. But Bitcoin isn’t the only risk asset. Many tech stocks are seen as risk assets—particularly ones operating in the AI space—because their prices can swing so widely as of late. And as of the past day, those risky tech assets have been plummeting. Yesterday alone, the prices of some major tech and AI-adjacent stocks dropped significantly due to both uncertainty about Fed rate cuts and growing fears of an AI bubble. Those drops yesterday included: Palantir Technologies Inc. (Nasdaq: PLTR): down 6.53% Intel Corporation (Nasdaq: INTC): down 5.23% Nvidia Corporation (Nasdaq: NVDA): down 3.58% Tesla, Inc. (Nasdaq: TSLA): down 6.64% Amazon.com, Inc. (Nasdaq: AMZN): down 2.71% Alphabet Inc. (Nasdaq: GOOG): down 2.89% Meanwhile, those traditional tech stocks weren’t the only ones getting hit hard yesterday. As noted by CoinCentral, crypto stocks in the mining and trading space also had a pretty bad day, including: Bitfarms Ltd. (Nasdaq: BITF): down 17.98% Bitdeer Technologies Group (Nasdaq: BTDR): down 20.3% Coinbase Global, Inc. (Nasdaq: COIN): down 6.86% Gemini Space Station, Inc. (Nasdaq: GEMI): down 9.78% Bullish (NYSE: BLSH): down 9.85% When investors see risk asset stocks declining sharply—particularly ones operating in the crypto space—it may drive an outflow of investment in cryptocurrencies themselves as they seek safer and more stable investment assets to park their money in. Bitcoin has had a chaotic 2025 Being an investor in Bitcoin has certainly had its highs and lows this year. The token began trading just above $94,000 per coin just after the new year. It got a crypto-friendly The President administration boost around the time of President The President’s inauguration later that month. But after trading above six figures for the first few months of the year, Bitcoin took a hit, along with most of the stock market, thanks to President The President’s Liberation Day tariffs, which injected more uncertainty into investors’ minds than they had experienced in a long time. By April, Bitcoin had fallen to just above $76,000. However, the crypto recovered nicely since then, steadily rising until it hit an all-time high of over $126,000 in October. But since then, Bitcoin has steadily declined. And after its recent fall, Bitcoin is now up only about 2.8% for the year. View the full article

This week, we had a pretty big update touch down early on and it really continued throughout the whole week, I named it the Movember update. Google Opal tool encourages you to create optimized AI content at scale. Google said...View the full article

Harry Clarkson-Bennett reveals how to turn Google Search Console’s constraints into enterprise-level SEO advantages through smarter property segmentation. The post How To Make Search Console Work Harder For You appeared first on Search Engine Journal. View the full article

We may earn a commission from links on this page. The Pomodoro technique is a superstar in the world of productivity methods because its premise—that you should work hard for 25 minutes, then reward yourself with a few minutes off—is effective and appealing. But that doesn’t mean it works perfectly for everyone. Like any other method, it’s adaptable and, once you get the hang of it, should be customized to meet your unique needs. And if you find that Pomodoro's 25-minute work sessions with five-minute cooldowns aren’t cutting it for you, there's a similar but more flexible alternative: flowtime. What is the flowtime technique?The flowtime technique is a spin on Pomodoro, and as such, relies on the same principles: You work for a while, then get a break. The difference is that you determine how long the work and rest time last. Sometimes referred to as “flowmodoro,” this method is also all about keeping you in the zone on a task, luring you into deep work by using the goal of taking a break to keep you going. The break is crucial, so no matter how long you work, you do have to take one. Not only is that the motivator to keep you focused, but your productivity will take a massive hit if you work too long. Flowtime—or any technique designed to help you accomplish deep work—is useless if you end up producing dreck. The key here is the uninterrupted work you do while you’re gunning for that break. Like Pomodoro, you’re supposed to stay focused intently on a single task for the duration of your grind time, rather than do a little work, check your phone, type a little more, check your email, etc. Don't multitask, either, since it will actually make you less efficient. The only way flowtime is truly different from Pomodoro that you decide how long you work for, instead of relying on the "25 on, five off" framework. With Pomodoro, you are stricter, typically using a timer to keep you working and from checking your phone. You may not think you need the timer with the flowtime technique, but you should use one that has a stopwatch function to track how long you actually end up working and keep it on hand for days when you need the extra structure of the timer itself. In fact, once you finish a few days of flowtime and figure out your own working habits with the stopwatch, you'll need the timer so you can set it in personalized increments. This where I recommend using an app to help you manage things. My favorite is FocusPomo, which blocks your distracting apps for you whenever you're in a focus session. These sessions are customizable, so they don't have to be 25 minutes, and once you use it for a while, you get useful data on how long you work and when you may have gotten distracted. How to set up your personal flowtimeThe downside to using flowtime over Pomodoro is the same as the upside: You’re in charge of how long you work. While the Pomodoro technique is straightforward and outlines exactly how long you get to work and play, setting up your personal flowtime requires a little bit more effort and thought. You’ll need about a week to figure it out before you fully put it into action. During this exploratory setup period, here’s what you do: Track when you start working on a specific task with no distractions. You can use time-tracking software, but in this case a spreadsheet might be better because you also… Write down when you start feeling restless, distracted, or disinterested. Check your stopwatch to see exactly how long you were working, then take a break. Jot down when you feel energized enough to get back to the task and restart your stopwatch. Repeat until the task is done, then mark down when you finished, and how you feel overall. In a spreadsheet, dedicate one sheet to each task that needs to get done. Your columns can be labeled however makes sense to you, but something like the below—including a date, start and break times, and an ultimate conclusion time—is helpful. After using the spreadsheet for a while, you’ll get a sense of how long you can usually stand working on something before you need a break and how long those breaks typically need to be for you to feel rejuvenated enough to get back at it. Credit: Lindsey Ellefson Once you have a sense of your own work abilities and preferences, you can put them into action. If you can usually focus on cleaning for 15 minutes, start setting your timer for 15 minutes every time you clean, then give yourself a break that works for you, whether it’s five or 10 minutes. Commit to getting back to the task. From personal experience, this part matters a lot. I can think of plenty of times when I did not commit to getting back to it, but I notice I feel significantly less motivated when that happens. Focus on those feelings of self-satisfaction, and use them to motivate you to get back at it. You can challenge yourself to add more time to your work sessions gradually, but that’s optional. If your specific method is working for you, great. If you want to get better at focusing for long periods of time, start by adding one minute every time you do a task, inching it from, say, 15 to 16 to 17 minutes every time. It’s helpful to go back to the spreadsheet if you plan to do this, so you can see if you’re starting to tap out too early and readjust your flowtime. Bear in mind that you need to run through that experimental period for every single kind of task. If you're working on an application for grad school and feel extremely motivated, the time might fly by, and you may discover you can work for an hour with no problem. If your house is a mess and you struggle to find cleaning motivation, you may not be able to do more than 15 or 20 minutes of that at a time. It wouldn't make sense to block out an hour for cleaning just because it's something else you can do for an hour—you're only setting yourself up to fail. Unfortunately, this means the preparation period for flowtime adoption is lengthy, but it is worth it. This isn’t an easy way out if Pomodoro doesn’t work for you. Rather, it’s a challenge to find a time combination that does work for you. Something is always better than nothing, so find the flowtime that fits your needs and tap into the power of uninterrupted work with the promise of breaks, even if it looks a little different from the norm. Don't get discouraged if you don't feel like you're working in long enough chunks at first; productivity falls off when you don't give yourself enough breaks, so look at this as a way of making sure that doesn't happen. View the full article

People are already turning to AI to answer questions, compare products, and make decisions in seconds. That shift exposes a fundamental problem: the web’s underlying structure was never built for machines. As AI agents mature, the way information is delivered – and the need for traditional webpages – could change dramatically. Disruption is normal – even when we don’t see it coming The idea that the web as we know it could end, which I mentioned during a live OXD podcast in Salzburg, drew reactions ranging from thoughtful to angry. Someone even insisted, “The web will always be there.” But anyone paying attention knows that “always” and “never” rarely hold up in technology. History shows that nothing technological is permanent. When fundamental shifts happen, we call them disruptions because the impact becomes undeniable only in hindsight. Back on Aug. 6, 1991, who could have imagined that Tim Berners-Lee’s World Wide Web would upend the world? The same pattern has repeated for centuries. The steam engine, the loom, the printing press, the car, smartphones, and the move from analog to digital were all dismissed at first as too expensive, too slow, or too complicated. People pointed to existing solutions and assumed they would endure. We also tend to judge new technologies too early. We compare immature, unoptimized versions to mature systems we’ve relied on for years. What we rarely do is imagine the new technology in its fully developed state – and only then make a fair comparison. That habit clouds our view of the future. What buying a smartwatch reveals about the web’s limits Where do you go for information when you want to buy a smartwatch? Often, it’s the manufacturers, retailers, or websites Google returns for your search terms. I want to know the exact differences between the Samsung Galaxy Watch8, Classic, and Ultra, and whether the price gap is justified for what I need. Can I find that at Samsung? Probably not. Each product has its own page and is described as “super.” I end up taking notes by hand just to compare basic details. I wonder what distinguishes a fabric band from an athleisure band, what a 3nm processor does for me, or what One UI even is. To understand the sleep-monitoring features, I have to copy the text and translate it into German by a tool because Samsung used an English explanation. Customer-centric information or copy-and-paste disaster? (Source: Samsung.com/de) There is a “compare” function in the shop, but it doesn’t help much. It often raises more questions than it answers. For example, doesn’t the more expensive model have a running coach? Yes, but the marketing team highlighted other differences, and “quick release” or “timeless design” seemed more important to list. And what do “A2DP, AVRCP, HFP, HSP” or “16M” mean in terms of color depth? Is “Super AMOLED” really super? Comparing one of these watches with a model from another brand is even harder. That’s when you usually start googling and end up on SEO-driven pages that compare everything with everything else, claim to test every product, and ultimately push you toward a paid affiliate link. How asking AI exposes the web’s weaknesses To get a full overview, I need a lot of time – often more than an hour. On Google, I have to vary my search phrases and click through each result individually. But asking ChatGPT, “What are the main differences between the Galaxy Watch8, Watch8 Classic, and Ultra?” gives me an overview of similarities, differences, and an assessment within four seconds. Excerpt from an AI response about the differences between the individual watches (here ChatGPT 5) As shown below, I’m even prompted to compare price and benefits. Quick, short, and concise – plus an offer to compare the most suitable model in terms of performance and price (ChatGPT 5) If I ask follow-up questions, even specific ones, I get clear answers. And if I want to know how these models differ from an Apple smartwatch, that’s no problem. Open questions are quickly explained in the dialogue, and I’m given ideas I hadn’t even considered. “Should I check whether all the watch’s functions work with your phone?” ChatGPT asks. “Yes, it’s a Pixel phone.” I’m immediately told that some functions, such as blood pressure measurement, won’t work unless I’m using a Samsung phone. This small, random example shows how time-consuming and often inadequate web research can be. Manufacturers and retailers present products in a way that they think we want to see them. But we usually have more questions and often want one thing above all: to compare. We’re delta thinkers – we want to know the difference. On the other hand, suppliers tend to present products in a singular, non-comparable way. If a product lacks something, it’s better left unsaid or made as opaque as possible. That’s understandable, but it doesn’t help us. Take a break now Stop reading this article and use your AI of choice to search for explanations, comparisons, and benefits of any products or services. If you haven’t been doing this more often lately, try it now. You’ll be amazed at how detailed and close the answers get to what you actually want to know – in seconds. If you’re unsure whether the answers on certain topics come from reliable sources, simply include that in your prompts: “Only search designated expert sites.” “Only use well-known institutions.” “Give me all sources.” And so on. The latest version of Google’s Gemini signs off politely when you request in-depth research and then works on it for up to 15 minutes. You’ll get a message when the answer is ready, often in the form of a report of up to 50 pages generated just for you. Practically nothing is left unanswered. School and university students use this mode to produce almost finished assignments or seminar papers, needing only to add their names. Whether that is good for learning is another question, but one thing is certain: it saves a lot of time. And unfortunately, the results are often better than what someone might produce on their own. HTML is a markup language – for humans We use HTML to display text and images flexibly in a browser. It determines where something appears and how it is shown. That has been useful for humans since the start of the web. In recent years, though, a workaround has been added for a growing problem. When a product page says “€9.99,” we know that’s the price. Our brains assign meaning automatically. And if a number like “90409” appears before a place name, we recognize it as a postal code. But none of that meaning exists in the HTML code. The code defines formatting, not semantics. As websites are increasingly analyzed by machines, including Google, this became a challenge. How does a machine know that “9.95” is a price? And does that price include or exclude VAT? The solution was structured data – markup that sits invisibly inside HTML so machines can “understand” the meaning of words or numbers. But only larger companies and shops tend to use it. Most of the web still doesn’t. Depending on the study, only 10% to 30% of sites use structured data at all. Bad luck for the machines – or for the website operators. So even if we generously count structured data as part of HTML, the exact content of websites remains difficult for machines to interpret. Google recognized early on that certain patterns, like a number matching a global location database, probably indicate a postal code. Even gender can sometimes be inferred from first names if the mapping is clear. But the very need for these database “crutches” shows how much important meta information HTML simply does not convey. In recent years, Google has worked hard to categorize and catalog the information it finds – think of the Knowledge Graph or author recognition. For humans, the information on a page is usually clear and intuitive. We can tell whether Mario Fischer wrote a text about a book or whether Mario Fischer is the author of the book being shown, often based on layout or phrasing. For a machine, though, these are just sentences, words, and numbers. AI still doesn’t care about that. It throws everything into the same pot and generates statistically plausible associations. It doesn’t understand real meaning or real connections – at least not yet. Thinking one or two steps ahead Chatbots like ChatGPT and Gemini are not replacing websites yet. The AI behind them still doesn’t understand context, as described above. It may seem like it does, but much of what we see is almost pure statistics. So what will be possible in five years? We’ve only had broadly usable AI for two to three years. Think back to the first ChatGPT in November 2022 – and compare that to today. We can now create images and moving videos, generate interview-style summaries, and even plan vacations with AI instead of reading hundreds of websites, reviews, and price pages. All of this has happened in about 30 months, including the time it took Google and others to react to the GPT shock and expand their offerings. So again: what will AI do in five years? By then, we’ll likely all have personal AI assistants that could: Schedule appointments. Answer emails. Handle routine tasks. Search for information. Summarize it. Read it to us when we have time. These personal agents won’t wait for prompts the way they do today but will work proactively in the background in a fully automated way. The popular n8n platform already makes it possible to build early versions of these agent systems, although you still have to set them up yourself and think ahead. If an email with an appointment request arrives, the system can categorize the sender, search your calendar for openings and reply with suggestions. This is possible today, but it takes some tinkering. In the future, personal agents will contact each other automatically and negotiate a meeting time in a fraction of a second. When the appointment arrives, the user will get a brief or detailed briefing – whatever they prefer – along with all the information they need. Scenarios like this no longer sound utopian and are considered entirely feasible, if that’s the direction we choose. Get the newsletter search marketers rely on. See terms. From stochastic parrot to domain AIDI This brings us to a crucial point. Today’s chatbots respond based on statistical word probabilities. They’re trained on whatever texts could be gathered – books, the web, and more. This approach isn’t accurate or reliable. Information that doesn’t appear often in the training data is hallucinated or estimated. Our future agents will likely not be able to operate in this manner. One solution already available is to have ChatGPT consult one or more websites before answering. That usually makes responses more reliable. However, they would be far more reliable if the information retrieved in real time didn’t suffer from the interpretation problem described above. For example, if it were clear what “Mario Fischer” means in a given text. Markup can help, but it’s rarely used. Ideally, we’d use a data structure designed for machines. Instead of HTML text, a server would return data in a truly structured form – similar to a database query. Rather than a wall of text, the AI would get a completed form: field labels and field values together, with content and meaning attached. Perfect! If an AI received that structured form instead of an HTML page – which has to be stripped of code and styling – it could do far more with it and wouldn’t have to guess at meaning. That’s also how an API works – an interface for exchanging machine-readable data. Since we don’t have a term for an AI-first version of this, the interface for AI queries will be called AIDI here: an AI data interface. Such an interface would make machine-driven data retrieval far easier and dramatically faster. Simple comparison: Googling (search results) vs. AI agent Two business models on the web: Selling and commission There are many ways to earn money with a website, but they ultimately fall into two basic models. Selling goods or services. Earning money from traffic. Traffic monetization is the classic publisher model, funded through advertising or click and sale commissions. Transactional and informational searches are the two Google search types that historically drove strong revenue when paired with solid rankings. However, with AI responses increasingly handling information-oriented questions, the “traffic” model has already been significantly impacted. Google is accused of cutting off visits through AI Overviews. Google denies it (for now), but that will likely turn out to be a white lie, just as it was with years of denying that traffic data was used for ranking. The mistake critics make is again reflexively treating Google as the enemy. The fact that sites earning money from information are, with few exceptions, likely a thing of the past is not Google’s fault but the rise of AI chatbots. What should Google do – pretend AI doesn’t exist and keep showing 10 blue links for the next 20 years? That Google’s AI, like others, was trained on these very sources is painful – and understandably so – for publishers. But complaining doesn’t change the direction. AI is here to stay, and people use it more every day. As shown earlier with the smartwatch example, AI’s biggest advantage right now is time: you no longer have to read three, seven, or 20 websites to get the information you need. No website writer can anticipate exactly what I want to know. I have to collect everything myself, and often end up frustrated. ChatGPT and others give me exactly what I asked for. If not, I refine the question, and the system remembers everything so far and builds on it. Today, asking a chatbot often yields faster and better results than reading individual sites. Not always, but increasingly so. That’s what’s killing information-oriented websites – not Google. And Google knows it will ultimately win the AI game. It has more than 25 years of experience evaluating website quality, domain reputation, trustworthiness, spam likelihood, and many other factors. Competitors don’t have that. OpenAI, Meta, Deepseek, Perplexity, and others may produce better answers at times, depending on preference. However, they have no idea which websites truly contain the best information or where misleading content is published. They treat all sources the same and use them equally for training. And when they need to “research” live, they use Bing or quietly scrape Google results – still the highest-quality index. Google’s next move, likely already underway, is a blend of an LLM with enrichment from trustworthy websites. And because Google already has almost all web content broken into individual components inside its index, it doesn’t need to fetch pages. Internal API calls to its ranking systems are enough. So, at least for information searches, AI bots can already replace much of what the web provides. You don’t need to be a prophet to see that getting even better soon. That leaves transactional tasks. Once my bot helps me choose the right smartwatch, I still have to buy it. For simple orders, that’s easy. However, if I’m concerned about delivery time, delivery date, discounts, product or manufacturer certifications, environmental factors, warranty, regional preferences, or even the logistics provider, the process becomes more challenging – for me and the bot. I’d have to comb through many shops to find the best match. How much weight do I give to price? Would I pay more for a retailer I trust to handle problems well? Humans make these judgments automatically. A personal agent could do this too if it knows my preferences. But HTML, with its lack of machine-ready structure, becomes a barrier again. That’s where domain AIDIs could help. Instead of reading the visible HTML, my bot would extract all necessary information directly from a structured data interface. Traditional single-page display in the browser vs. AI summary from individual domain AIDIs Right now, this may sound like a pipe dream because such general interfaces don’t yet exist. But all the data needed for them is already available from manufacturers and retailers – just spread across various systems, databases, and often still unstructured. If a standards body started defining the data needed for purchases, momentum would build quickly. As soon as the first AIs used these interfaces, the usual rush would begin: big players first, then everyone else. Just look at today’s economic hype – everyone wants their company or products to show up in bot responses as fast as possible. SEO, PPC, and social media are already slipping into the background. The question everywhere is: How do I get AI to mention or recommend my company? Once pressure mounts, new requirements are implemented quickly, sometimes so quickly that proportion and economic logic get tossed aside. So whether companies will eventually feed data into these interfaces so bots can factor them into purchase decisions isn’t really a question. It’s only a matter of time. And once the new sales channel exists, it will be used. Silent commerce is already here In the B2B sector, companies have long used interfaces like this through their ERP systems, such as SAP. For decades, search programs at large manufacturers have quietly communicated with supplier systems, checking availability and negotiating delivery terms and prices – all digitally. The only fundamental difference is that these systems “know” each other and share defined data structures and protocols. EDIFACT, RosettaNet and IDoc are just a few examples. A broader approach would require far more data and a data interface that is accessible to everyone. So how would a personal agent find suppliers or retailers? By using the same principle that lets websites be found through domain name servers (DNS). You would register the address of your AIDI with a data provider. That provider would determine the range of services or products you offer and replicate that information across redundant servers accessible to AIs. If someone is looking for a pencil, these services would return the AIDI root addresses of all manufacturers and retailers that sell pencils. Those addresses could then be used for tiered queries. Are pencils available? If so, the bot could refine the query to include: HD strength, 25 pieces, next-day delivery, under $0.85, no shipping cost, sustainable wooden casing, and so on. The examples here are simple and intentionally open-ended. The goal is not to outline a complete framework with every requirement and level of complexity, but to illustrate the basic principle of this kind of silent commerce. Even if it sounds enormous, it would be technically feasible. People once said mobile phones were “impossible” because the whole country would need transmission masts – and everyone would need to own a phone for the system to make sense. And as I often say, the person who bought the first fax machine was probably miserable. He had no one to fax. And what about publishers? A new architecture like AIDI could ultimately help everyone who previously earned money from informational content through advertising. It would be possible to introduce a credit-based payment system for content requests made by AI agents – similar to how data retrieval is billed through APIs today. The user or their AI agent could decide, case by case, whether a request is worth it and use the retrieved content in the generated response. Payment could be handled directly by the bot through clearing systems, sparing users from today’s subscription forms. Considering that many publishers already ask readers to pay monthly fees for digital news access, such an idea isn’t far-fetched. The only change is that instead of a monthly flat rate, users would pay a few cents per retrieval. That shifts operational costs from advertisers to users, but if the information is substantial and useful, why not? The “free to read, but packed with banners and sticky video overlays” model was never popular and has long been a flaw in the web. A personal agent can also completely replace the browser Imagine a future in which websites still exist, but AIDIs exist alongside them. My personal agent could access these interfaces to make purchases, first for simple items, then for more complex products and services. If tradespeople kept networked digital calendars, booking a washing machine repair would be effortless. Website and online shop usage would decline, and eventually, we might not need them at all. A horror scenario? From today’s perspective, maybe. But sales would continue. People would still buy things – just through a different channel. Not through the web, but quietly and digitally through a personal agent. The agent knows what the item is for and can include suitable alternatives. It might even do a better job than we could, since we work with limited and often outdated information. This doesn’t mean “websites” as a consumption format have to disappear. A personal agent could generate visually appealing pages from structured digital data whenever I want to read something. That could be on a phone, laptop, desktop, or through smart glasses. But the information would no longer follow the visual form providers must use today. It would be organized according to my information needs. These views would likely look very different from today’s chatbot text blocks. Powerful AI could generate colorful, illustrated responses that feel nearly indistinguishable from a website – except that they are customized to me and drawn from multiple sources. If I asked about a smartwatch, the output would show offers from several manufacturers, highlight the differences that matter to me, and even incorporate real-time generated videos. What would the watch look like on my wrist? Much more helpful than a plain “43 mm wide” line that doesn’t mean much. Would supplying AIDIs with data cost less than producing full HTML pages? We can assume so. Eliminating flowery descriptions alone removes the entire content-creation burden. My AI would generate the human-readable text itself, in my preferred tone, with technical terms explained in a way I understand. And if something still isn’t clear, I can ask directly – no need to search the web again for what “One UI” might mean. It may sound like a strange thought experiment, but imagine we had skipped the web entirely. There is no web. And now we have an increasingly capable AI in an app. How would we handle commerce or information retrieval in a purely digital, agent-driven world? We certainly wouldn’t invent HTML for that. Would we? Will the web disappear? Probably – at least in the long term. There is little reason to keep maintaining large-scale web presences, and much more reason to expect that we’ll communicate with personal agents that become far more capable than they are today. Using them is easier, faster, more personalized and simply more convenient. And if technological history teaches us anything, it is that new systems always win when they are easier, cheaper (especially in terms of time), more personalized and more convenient. Every board member or CEO has one or more human assistants who save them time. Why shouldn’t we all have the same advantage if technology makes it possible? We are inundated with AI-generated content in text, image, and audio form. (Source: t3n.de) When personalized AI systems and the necessary interfaces – AIDI – will actually arrive is still unknown. Predicting a timeline would be presumptuous. Technological leaps appear suddenly and unexpectedly to most people. When will the next startup, armed with enough venture capital, hit the market with a breakthrough? And one question may be on your mind: If the web disappears, what will train future LLMs? We can assume that everything available for training has already been used. And right now the web is filling rapidly with AI-generated content. As I write this, one startup claims it can automatically generate up to 3,000 podcasts a week. Who is going to consume all of that? Machines would increasingly train on their own output, which makes little sense. It is also unclear whether pure LLMs are a dead end and whether additional methods will be necessary. Many experts think so. A human can learn to drive in a few weeks. Compare that to the enormous effort behind autonomous driving and how long it is taking. AI training may get a major boost once learning is no longer text-only but includes visual observation and active participation in the real world, as we’re beginning to see with robots. A mobile, active machine with optical and tactile sensors – connected to a networked AI – would gain insights impossible to achieve through text alone. One thing is certain: if the web does fade away, I’ll have a problem with the name of my trade journal, “Website Boosting,” in Germany. View the full article

Google said it has made significant improvements to the Google Ads advertiser suspensions. Google said it reduced incorrect suspensions by 80%, appeals are addressed 70% faster and 99% of appeals are resolved within 24 hours.View the full article

Supposedly, there is this "hack" to "crack the code" to make your Local Service Ads work in Google Ads that is fake and not recommended. Folks are saying if your LSAs are not working, you should close that Google Ads account and make a new one. But Google and LSA experts are saying otherwise.View the full article

Learn 7 AI SEO techniques to earn visibility in LLMs + how to track it. View the full article

Google announced a bunch of AI-based search features for Google Shopping, AI Mode and Gemini for the holiday season. Google is rolling out the AI Mode comparison feature (we saw it earlier), calling stores feature, AI price tracking and agentic checkout based on the price trigger.View the full article