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The number of online marketplaces is increasing every day. They offer convenience and time efficiency over the traditional offline platforms to the buyers as well as the sellers. According to research conducted by Statista, E-commerce sales are expected to reach $4.1 trillion by the end of 2020. This only reflects the scope of online marketplaces. Let us get an understanding of “What is an Online marketplace?”

An online marketplace is a digital platform with websites and mobile apps, where several vendors, shops, people offer products to the buyers in exchange for a marketplace fee. The owner of the marketplace attracts the customers and handle all transactions. They do not hold any inventory and focus mainly on assisting the sellers to sell through the marketplace. Perfect examples of the online marketplace are Amazon, Airbnb, Etsy. Since the online marketplace offers a huge opportunity now just for the owners but for sellers and buyers, let us look at “Tips to Build an Online Marketplace.”

1. Conduct market research and research the target audience: Market research is essential while creating an online marketplace to get a clear understanding of the target market, users, their needs, and the solution they are looking for. It is important to assess the market size to better understand what business model to adopt. Understanding the market segments will help pick the most attractive niche in the target market. Popular online marketplace Amazon has grown big by initially starting from a small niche-an online bookstore. The study of the competitors will help gain insights into the marketing strategies and the business models they use as well as the strengths and weaknesses they have to use to your advantage. Market trends help to understand what is working and what is not, changes in regulations, new technological breakthroughs, and change in customer behaviour.

The most important element of conducting market research is to identify the target audience. Knowing who the users are and what are their goals and the challenges they face in buying the product. It is also important to know where they buy from, and what motivates them to buy. Creating buyer personas will give a better understanding of the audience and help solve the problems they face. All this will help draw up a business model that will work and prepare a marketing strategy to make the marketplace successful.

2. Choose the right business model: Designing a viable business model is very essential before starting the online marketplace. The various models to consider are:
• Sign up fees- a flat payment to charge the sellers to sign up on the marketplace. This way you get the money in even before the marketplace is thriving as long as you can sell your business idea. After the initial sign up one needs to look at other ways to monetize.
• Subscription- charging the sellers a specific amount regularly to generate revenue for the marketplace.
• Listing fees- collecting a set amount from the sellers for listing their products on the marketplace. These fees can be at a flat or variable depending on the price of the product, the category of the product.
• Selling fees- A great monetization strategy. Selling fees are collected each time the seller processes an order on the marketplace. It may pose a problem initially when the orders are small but eventually can ensure high returns when the order volume grows.

3. Planning the operations of the marketplace: A plan needs to be in place to successfully manage the operations of a marketplace and make it profitable. The focus needs to be on acquiring and maintaining the sellers to make the marketplace run. The first step is to convince the sellers to come on board. You need to present your unique value proposition to them and make them understand how the marketplace will function. The way the products are organized will impact the selection of the software, the layout of the marketplace, and how the sellers publish and manage their products. Payment processing, logistics, and shipping processes need to be carefully planned to ensure smooth operations of the marketplace. Marketing strategies need to focus on the target audience to get maximum traction to make the marketplace a success.

4. Outline the features of the Marketplace: Focus on creating features that the user needs to optimize time, effort, and money for a marketplace. Start with the essentials and improve the platform with time as the business grows. Make the onboarding of sellers an easy and simple process. Optimize product management features according to the product offering on the marketplace. Make it simple for the sellers to receive and process orders and communicate with their buyers. Similarly, the buyers should be able to find what they are looking for easily, place orders, and make payments. Adding some reporting features will help understand and analyze what is working and what is not for both you and the seller.

5. Select a payment solution: For a marketplace, payment is received from the sellers, payments are received for the sellers, and payments are received from the buyers. It is a must to have a sound payment solution in place to manage all these payments safely and securely. The types of payments, the processing cost, and the availability of payment providers in the region will govern the selection of the payment solution of the marketplace.

6. Invest in the right software: Selecting the right software will help you successfully launch the marketplace. Whether you choose from the cloud, hosted platforms, standalone solutions, multi-vendor CMS extensions, or your website will depend on the kind of marketplace being built, the features the platform needs, and the user experience.

7. Get a great team in place: Getting the right software is not enough. A team needs to be put in place to manage different aspects of a marketplace from design to marketing and sales, operations, and logistics. The focus should on getting people with specialized skills who have an understanding of the marketplace. This will not only ensure success but future growth as well.

8. Develop the Marketplace: After all the planning is in place with a great team, the next step is to develop the platform. Everyone involved in it should have a clear understanding of the requirements and the timeline. Ensure that there is a backup plan in place if things don’t work out as planned. Keep it simple when designing, implementing the marketplace software, and test with real users to resolve any issues faced initially before the official launch of the marketplace.

9. Launch the Marketplace: Prepare the launch plan of the marketplace keeping in mind the timeline, the marketing message, and the primary channels that will be used. Devise a social media strategy as per your target audience and create the buzz before the launch. Do a soft launch and try and get as much feedback as you can from the initial customers. Use the feedback constructively and make changes and improvements to the platform. Post that does a test run before the launch of the marketplace. Make sure to create enough hype around the launch especially with the target audience.

10. Grow the marketplace: Post-launch the focus should be on growth and retention of the customer base as well as the seller base. Use social media to create brand awareness and attracting new customers. Set aside a budget for social media ad campaigns and have the necessary tools to analyze how well these platforms are working for you. Gather feedback from both the customer and sellers for improving the marketplace. Feature and promote the best sellers by creating case studies and success stories together with them. Always come up with new and exciting ways to engage your customers.

Building an online marketplace is a complicated and time-consuming process. Remember your niche is what will set you apart from others. Each marketplace has its unique challenges. However, with proper research and planning processes using the right expertise you can create a success story.

COVID 19 pandemic has caused unprecedented disruptions impacting businesses worldwide and wiping out more than $ 20 trillion of the value of global equity markets.

Businesses across various industries have been forced to rethink and readjust their strategies and respond in new ways to survive through this period. The timelines for implementing new emerging technologies have changed where companies have had to accelerate drastically to cope with the pandemic. Early implementers of digitalization have seen their investments paying off now and others have realized that digital capabilities need to be enhanced to stay resilient through these times.

The nature of the pandemic is helping certain industries succeed even after the restriction like remote working, social distancing is in place. Let us get an insight into the industries that are creating opportunities and are likely to thrive post the pandemic.

1. E-Commerce: Due to restrictions in place and fear of going to public places, the online marketplaces are booming. E-commerce companies have seen a huge growth in transaction orders despite the challenges faced with the supply chain. Many companies are expected to turn profitable in the next 1 year. This remarkable shift is not expected to retreat to the pre-COVID levels once things get back to normal.

2. Remote Working Technology: With billions of people working from home offices must stay connected. Schools around the world have moved to remote learning models making telecommunications and remote working platforms more important than ever before. Businesses that provide video meetings, file sharing, webinars, and other mobile collaborations have seen exponential growth. They are looking to hire more people to cope with the surge in demand. This new trend is likely to become the default method of communication for many industries in the future.

3. Industrial Real Estate: With growing interest in bringing industries closer to customers for better control in times of disruption, as well as for increasing safety stock, the demand for industrial space will likely grow. To accommodate more complex pick-pack systems and provide access to a greater variety of products, typically associated with any e-commerce distribution facility, the real demand for such a space will be thrice the size of a regular B2B facility. The change in the model could also see management either working from the distribution facility and/or from home.

4. Health Industry: The healthcare and pharmaceutical industries around the world are most essential in current circumstances. Companies are providing delivery services for medical supplies not just to individuals but to private clinics as well. With people switching to teleconsultations as a preferred way, companies that provide a platform to book appointments and consultations with doctors have seen record-high traffic and it is likely to grow in the future. The enhanced flexibility and convenience that this platform provides both for the patient and the healthcare provider will ensure the continuous growth even post the pandemic.

5. Product and Service Delivery: Companies that cater to deliveries of essential supplies has seen a huge spike in demand. Third-party services are being used by restaurants e-commerce, F&B companies to fulfil the substantial growth in orders as their current delivery infrastructure cannot cope with the surge in demand. In the post COVID world, it is anticipated that the delivery service will continue to stay in high demand.

6. Automation: Robots have been viewed as a threat to the workforce. With the current need for social distancing and least human interactions, the benefits of using such technology are superseding its threats of replacing humans. Warehouse operations have been transformed in current times. Companies are looking for low-cost, flexible automation solutions to replace humans where it is possible to do so. This trend will continue and diversify in the future. Many jobs will be lost, but once the companies switch to these technologies during current times, it is highly unlikely for them to revert to pre COVID times.

7. Augmented Reality: AI was incorporated into many online channels to cope with restrictions imposed due to COVID leading to a fall in sales in-store. It is likely to replace the need to feel and touch goods before making a purchase. The industry will see growth in the future with technological improvements and lower costs.

8. Online Grocery Stores: Online sales for grocery items have seen a drastic rise in orders in current times. Many companies have had to hire personnel to cope with high demand and ensure deliveries are made on time. With restrictions easing this trend is likely to stay with people opting for the convenience of the online stores.

9. Cloud Kitchens: a concept referred to as e-commerce of food where there are virtual restaurants and food can be ordered online and delivered to the customers. Centralized kitchens can serve as a hub for many restaurants who can reduce their cost of having a physical restaurant and staff to run it.

10. E-Learning: With children across the world forced to continue their education from home, e-learning has become essential. This holds true for colleges and universities as well. With this shift and the integration of information technology in education, it will make online education an integral part of the education industry.

Countries have increasingly felt the need to have their manufacturing rather than relying on other countries to have more resilience in their supply chain. This socio-economic trend to reverse globalization will ensure that no organization faces challenges like those that the pandemic presented.

The Post-COVID road is certainly going to be bumpy and unpredictable, but it is in these uncertain times great opportunities arise. The pandemic has compelled many companies to evolve, transform, and digitalize to conduct business. Some businesses will survive and emerge strong, transformed reshaped and some will not survive. The key lies in bringing about the changes necessary to overcome any future challenges.

COVID 19 has changed everything around us from the way we live to the way we shop.

The use of technology by businesses and people has soared and is visible with the increase in internet usage by 60 percent. There has been a substantial shift in retail spending from planning to buying products we need. These changes have brought about a complete change in the retail setting. Businesses today are using a variety of resources to understand the changing customer behaviour like google trends, survey, analysis of their data as well as social listening to be able to make decisions in real-time. Google has stepped up and has offered tools like “Rising Retail Categories” since May 2020 which highlights fast-growing product-related categories along with the location.

To help European, Middle East, and Africa retailers make the most of the digital opportunities, Google is all set to launch its new initiative “Accelerating Retail” in September 2020.

What is Accelerating Retail?

Retail accounts for 9 percent of jobs in the European Union alone and it will play a vital role in the recovery. Accelerating Retail is a platform designed to help retailers of all sizes across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa accelerate business recovery and growth and to be ready for the upcoming peak shopping season. The month-long program will introduce new products, tools, free training, real-time insights, and resources to plan for the future.

Why do we need a platform like Accelerated Retail?

1. Retailers need to respond to the changing needs of the consumers-The world around us has seen a major change after COVID 19 was declared a pandemic. Online shopping has seen exponential growth which has brought about challenges in decision making for the businesses. The needs of the consumers have changed and their buying journey which started from research to exploring options both offline and online have now gone through a change due to the uncertainty in the availability of the products. Consumers have become more open to exploring other brands and options available. Having said that they now need help in finding the right product, at the right place, at the right time. This provides a perfect opportunity for the retail industry to respond to the consumer needs and changes in behaviour while building their brand online and in-store through the use of tools of Accelerated Retail.

2. Recovery and growth through digital- Online retail demand have soared and the focus of any business now needs to be on providing great customer experience and build brand recognition. With the launch of a new version of “Grow My Store” in many countries, Google wants to help local businesses to improve digital shopping, grow customer traffic, and enhance the online customer experience to complete transactions. It is as simple as entering the business URL into the tool to get a customized report, digital traffic trends, industry benchmarks, and actionable tips to improve. This will help retailers reach their potential customers. Upgrading of Smart Shopping campaigns is being done to help with the acquisition of new customers and simplify advertiser onboarding. The use of “Rising Retail Trends”, which was specific to the U.S., U.K., and Australia has been expanded to other regions on the world to providing insights to fast-growing retail categories with locations where more interest is seen.

With the growth in online spending, the success of the retail sector will depend on the online and offline offering, and the customer purchase experience. Research conducted by Google in collaboration with Euromonitor shows that in the next five years purchases will be made in-store but retailers who offer in-store and digital platforms will gain the maximum. Through the use of digital technologies, retailers can become more resilient and ensure growth. Accelerated Retail will help make that possible and prepare retailers for what lies ahead.

Every now and then there’s a shift in gears, redefining ‘success’ for social media marketing. Because of its dynamic nature, it’s hard to predict the outcome these trends could bring.

But what exactly are social media trends?

Social media trends are dynamic, it’s the propelling energy that’s taken every industry by a storm. Without social media trends, everyone would have a tough time picking the right technique for business growth.

Now seems like the ideal time for companies to reflect and reconsider their approach to social media marketing. Especially amidst the pandemic, corporations are already tasked with finding an equilibrium between discovering new and innovative ways to appeal to their customers and analyzing their fluctuating social data to understand what steps to take next.

Therefore, refocusing your perspective on social media might just be the right thing to do. But, before we start let’s talk facts.

On a daily basis, how much time do people spend on social media?

Research shows that an individual spends about 2 hours and 23 minutes per day on social media networking sites and messaging platforms.

Particularly ages between 16-24 allocate most of their time every day on social media, especially while watching TV – 72% of them are using social media!

Additionally, social media is an essential tool for most users, and marketers who have successfully realized its importance are now bridging themselves via these platforms to build successful relationships with their clients.

Simple, right? Not really, the market is slowly saturating. But don’t worry, we’re going to share some tips that will help you to stand out!

1. Stories Are Only Getting More Popular 

There’s no better method than using stories to capture the attention of your audience. These few second clips are highly engaging, addictive, and catchy. They’re short enough to keep people interested hooked on them for hours and hours!

Plus, over 500 million people use the story feature on platforms such as Instagram, WhatsApp, Messanger, and Facebook every day. While over 4 million advertisers utilize stories every month for advertisement purposes.

This is a great feature to utilize if you want to increase your brand awareness, drive connection, or even network with people!

2. Shop From Home Through Social Commerce

Who needs a mall, when you have social commerce. Shop from the comfort of your own home! Social commerce continuously helps to connect social media and commerce.

Nowadays, social platforms are operating vigorously to meet the demands of clients who prefer shopping through their social media platforms. For instance, Instagram launched shoppable posts so individuals can look through products without leaving the app.

While Facebook has Marketplace which lets users sell and list products on the platform. Additionally, Pinterest offers users Buyable Pins so they can shop for products and discover new ones!

How can you use this?

Well, first of all, you should use one or most of these emerging trends of social commerce efficiently. Look into different ways to show your clients how well the product you’re offering fits into their lives. A few techniques to try would be product unboxing and demonstration videos, use interactive visuals, video testimonials, etc.

Furthermore, most of these social media tools let you in on some insight about trending content schemes, popular hashtag ideas, how your followers are reacting and engaging with your content.

3. Think Out of The Box

CREATIVITY is key! You don’t want your social media accounts to be bland and the same as everyone. Be creative, think out of the box! Find other ways to approach your target audience engagingly. This will surely increase your brand name and also keep your audience engaged.

Some ways you could incorporate creativity is by using interactive infographics also referred to as ‘gifographics’, which is a combination of GIF and infographics. Furthermore, you could also find influencers who would advertise your content on their social media accounts. This would increase your brand value!

As well as diversify your social distribution channels, use apps such as Snapchat and Reddit while using mainstream platforms like Facebook and Instagram.

4. Video Content Is Rising 

Don’t sleep on video content! It makes up half of the creative content, nothing captures attention faster than visual representation. However, personalized videos gain more popularity, especially if you customize your content to cater to the needs of your audience. That’s why most brands focus on using short and engaging videos to connect with their target audience.

Additionally, research shows that 86% of people expect to see videos from brands in 2020. While 36% of them prefer education or explainer videos. Although, 14% prefer product demonstration videos.

On the last note, there are so many platforms to chose from, YouTube wins second place to Facebook in the context of active users. We also have IGTV by Instagram and of course the oh-so-famous TikTok!

5. Are You An Influencer?! Let’s Collaborate.

Influencers are the hot topic right now, working with an influencer is the most authentic way to market your brand and product. Every day you see more and more labels collaborate with influencers, which is a smart idea because it helps the brand and influencer gain recognition.

Moreover, once you understand what the influencer brings to the table you can base your decision on collaboration on that, does your product target their audience, do you share the same/similar values? Will your product make a difference in their lives. How will this collaboration affect your current audience?

Therefore, try to pick an influencer who has similar values and ideals as your company that way you can target a large audience, your and their’s combined!

6. Which Platform Is The Right Fit For You

Despite popular belief, every social platform available right now is advantageous to use. There’s no such platform that is “dead”.

For instance, Snapchat saw an increase in its daily active users during 2019 even after TikTok was launched and to this day LinkedIn is seeing insane growth for its B2B marketers.

On that note, brands should really think about which platform they want to spend most of their time promoting.

Although, let me give you a hint; you want to choose a platform where your audience is constantly active. That way you know where to nurture your brand image. There’s so much to choose from! But make sure that you choose a platform that will help you reach your target audience. After all, you need to be appealing to the right audience.

So these are a few of the social media marketing trends you need to be aware of! Make sure to keep a lookout for more!

The world that we live in today, it is imperative for any business to have a flawless and a ‘responsive’ website. A good website is responsible for nearly 95% of the first impression that people form about a company or a brand.

Websites have seen a complete makeover from the time of its inception. From providing basic information about an organization or a brand to now providing a platform to communicate with its users, engaging them, making them a part of the brand story to achieve higher awareness and higher sales.

Good web design is essential as it has a direct correlation with how a brand is perceived by its audience. For some companies, it plays a vital role as it is the only component leading to their growth and expansion.

Web design trends are evolving all the time. Incorporating the latest web design trends will ensure a modern and updated site. Web Design Trends 2020 is an absolute mixture of minimalism, bold typography to using ever-evolving high tech technology to take the website experience to the next level.

10 Web Design Trends for 2020

1. Dark Mode: this trend was followed in 2019 and has stayed on and made its way into 2020. Dark mode designs are modern and make design elements stand out more, thereby creating a higher contrast ratio. Offering an elegant and sleek layout to having a positive impact on battery life and energy consumption, the dark mode has benefits of reducing the strain to the eyes by reducing the use of light pixels which lowers the brightness of the screen.
2. Minimalism: is one of those classic web design trends that never seems to fade. This trend has even more relevance today as the attention spans are becoming shorter and so are the screen sizes. The main focus remains on the core features of the website rather than the visual appearances. The less a user has to think about moving around the website, the more attention they will pay to content. Photos and videos are an effective way to influence users with the use of minimal text.
3. 3D Elements: one of the most alluring elements of web design that make a website more fun, engaging, and keep the visitors stay longer are the 3D elements. In 2020 more immersive 3D web designs will be seen creating higher engagement than ever before. The level of realism and depth that can be achieved is inaccessible by any other digital technology. This will especially hold true for e-commerce where such design will be used to present a product.
4. Artistic Illustrations: the purpose of an illustration is to tell a story to the audience, to capture their attention, and help them visualize aspects of the product or service. Different styles of illustrations for web designs are a trend in 2020. It will not only combine art and design but will also look at aesthetics and photos. It is important to keep in mind to match the style of illustrations and graphics with the brand personality.
5. Luminous Colour Scheme: use of futuristic colour schemes in the form of bold colour pairings to make the web designs come alive on screen are trending for 2020. A mix of colours like dark neon, hues of blue and purple and hot pink give a glowing feel.
6. Black and White: web designs with the black and white theme have always been a trend as they have a very classy and elegant feel to it. Websites following this trend in 2020 are often minimalist with bold typography and artistic photographs or illustrations.
7. Frames of White Spaces: bleed layouts have been a trend for a while but now web designers are doing away with it and are leaning more towards the use of solid structures and devising ways to use white space to give more structure to the designs and making use of clean frames for design stability. This enables the visuals to shine creating a sense of order to the website.
8. Shadows, Layers, and Floating elements: are all about creating depth. Soft shadows and floating elements add interesting elements and depth to the page by giving it a 3D lite look. These can also be used in the text and photos. Layering multiple elements such as images, icons, videos, text can lead to a web presentation with an undisturbed flow. These elements create a sharp contrast from the classic flat design by giving the design a light feel as if the elements are floating over each other.
9. User Triggered Animations: a growing trend in web design is having animation triggered by an input or action by the visitor. This is a very exciting feature and adds a new dimension to the webpage.
10. Voice capable interfaces: voice search is taking over search on a website. This is possible now through AI and voice user interface technology. It becomes imperative for a website to have voice capable interface since voice search for search. It adds more functionality to the website and is extremely helpful for people with disabilities.

End of the day, websites should tell compelling stories through their design and content to engage and convert visitors into loyal customers.

The year 2020 is set to be a year of diversity when it comes to the trends dominating the web design. Trends are more futuristic than they have ever been to. This year will see the development of web designs being technology-driven apart from being eye-catching through the use of visuals, colours, and 3D effects and some of the old trends being reinvented to cater to the new styles. Web designers will have an array of choices to create an attention-grabbing web experience.

In a #WFH era, when you see somebody dressing up, they are not preparing to go out. They are most probably getting ready for a Zoom Call. Right?

So how do you prepare for the perfect Zoom call?

Start with the basics and keep it simple. You are not to dress up in your Friday best. Wearing a really busy outfit will take the viewer’s attention away from you. A plain, solid color will help bring out the best in you. Steer clear of shirts that are bright white or dark black because they look like a blob on camera.

Focus next on the lighting. Facing a window draws light to your face. If the strongest light is coming from a lamp or a window behind you, you’re likely to look like you’re in the witness protection program, with your face in shadow.

The jury is still out on using flashy virtual backgrounds. The virtual background can be a handy way to hide your messy kitchen or home office. Like in TV interviews, sitting by your bookshelf may impress a few people. Make sure you have read at least a few books that you flaunt!

Here is a technical point worth considering. The cameras on smartphones and webcams are wide-angle. So if you get too close to it, you will look distorted. Keep an appropriate distance from the camera to look your best.

Using an accessory mike is a good idea to avoid the echoing affect and the sound you make while jamming the keyboard during a call.

Keep your phone or laptop at the same level as your eyes – until you see the webcam eye to eye.

Here is the ultimate tip. Use Zoom’s beauty filter to soften the focus of your camera so you can impress your grandma with your youthful looks!

Contributed by Sharad Agarwal, CEO of Cyber Gear.

Cybersecurity is a critical aspect of doing business, yet it tends to be tossed in the back burner — particularly by startups and small businesses who think they’re less of a target to hackers.

The truth is, the impact of a cyber-attack is even worse for small, ill-prepared companies.

According to statistics, 60 percent of small businesses collapse within six months following a cyber-attack.

As far as the likelihood of being targeted goes, just remember that DDoS or Distributed Denial of Service attacks are now sold on the dark web for around $25 per hour. That’s actually an incredibly low price, given that such attacks result in a double whammy of crippled sales and a stained brand reputation.

You might be surprised with the lengths dirty competitors will go to deal with threats.

In this post, we’ll discuss the strategies to prevent this scenario without breaking the bank.

Let’s begin.

1. Pick a Web Host with Robust Security

When building a website for your online business, one of the first challenges is picking a suitable host.

Although one-dollar hosting companies are highly tempting for aspiring website owners, they could spell trouble for your sustainability in the long-term.

Bear in mind that the ability to get a site up and running shouldn’t be the only item in your web hosting checklist. You also need reliable customer service, a streamlined control panel, and loads of security features to keep your website protected against online threats.

It’s not just about the bandwidth capabilities and uptime guarantees.

Below are some of the security features that you should look for when choosing a web hosting company:

Scheduled Backups and Easy Restore Points
24/7 Network Monitoring
Protection Against Malware and Viruses
Account Protection Tools
Built-In DDoS Protection
Web Application Firewall
Regular Updates to PHP, MySQL, and Other Systems

2. Get SSL

Speaking of web hosting security, some companies throw in a free SSL or Secure Sockets Layer for establishing encrypted connections between servers and users. This effectively stops digital eavesdroppers from intercepting sensitive information in transit.

Having an SSL certificate on your website also has a couple of other benefits that make it a worthy investment:
Better Conversions
If you sell products online, here’s an interesting fact:

A survey by the Baymard Institute reveals that 18 percent of customers left a website during the checkout process because of cybersecurity concerns. More specifically, they didn’t trust the website with their extremely sensitive credit card information.

Having an SSL certificate gives them reassurance in the form of a security validation. This is indicated by the closed lock icon to the left of your domain URL.

Higher Search Engine Rankings
In case you’re unaware, search engines like Google put great user experience above everything else in their ranking algorithms. This encompasses the security of users, which is why the use of SSL certificates is recognized as an important ranking signal.

If your hosting plan doesn’t come with an SSL certificate to boot, you may purchase one instead from a third-party vendor like Sectigo.

Sectigo offers many types of SSL certificates at reasonable price like single domain, cheap wildcard SSL certificate, multi domain SSL, A business owner can choose required type of SSL certificate and install it on the server.

In addition to the certificate itself, Sectigo also offers a “secured seal,” which you can showcase on your website to boost the confidence of prospective customers — ideally in your home, product, and checkout pages.

3. Hire a DPO

For businesses that cater to EU residents, including those that aren’t based there, you’re probably already familiar with the GDPR or General Data Protection Regulation.

Put simply, the GDPR presents businesses a list of requirements geared for the data security of EU citizens, such as documenting the movement of data in your company, requesting for the consent of users for cookie usage, and designating a DPO or Data Protection Officer to oversee GDPR compliance, collaborate with data protection authorities, and so on.

The good news is, small businesses can now outsource a DPO from UK-based security organizations like Bulletproof — a much more cost-effective way to ensure GDPR compliance.

Of course, having a DPO in your company improves data security awareness among your staff. They’re also tasked with conducting regular security audits to deter potential breaches and review GDPR compliance.

DPOs are also responsible with the education of your data subjects — your EU-based customers — when it comes to your organization’s data privacy policies, security protocols, and their right to have their personal information deleted.

4. Use Two-Factor Authentication

While DDoS attacks can potentially, single-handedly demolish a small business, all it takes is one successful brute force attack to seal any company’s fate.

A brute force attack is when a hacker leverages a tool to generate heaps of consecutive password guesses, which will then be used to gain unauthorized access to an account.

If you let them brute-force their way into your systems, you’re basically handing them the keys to your online business.

Fortunately, you have a number of options when it comes to incapacitating these hackers.

An example is to use two-factor authentication to incorporate another verification step, typically using a one-time password sent via email or SMS.

This renders your website virtually impervious to brute force attacks.

However, implementing two-factor authentication on your website involves different steps based on your website platform. WordPress users, for example, can use a plugin like Two Factor Authentication to implement the feature without writing a single line of code.

Another way to stop brute force attacks is to limit the number of failed login attempts users can make before additional verification is required.

The usual route is to integrate CAPTCHAs as a verification step, which are designed specifically to stop bots from having any more login attempts once they’ve exceeded your limit.

5. Keep Your Software Updated

Last but not least, software vendors regularly publish patches that fix detected vulnerabilities in their product’s previous versions or expand its security features. This applies to everything, from content management systems to antivirus applications.

A good practice is to enable automatic software updates — at least in your crucial online business applications like security tools, operating systems, and so on.

By staying up-to-date with your software versions, you can improve your chances of weathering a zero-day attack. This is a type of cyber-attack wherein hackers exploit a vulnerability in an application before the developers and cybersecurity companies even find the issue.

Other Factors To Consider  

Cybersecurity is crucial in attaining a successful business. That’s why it’s crucial to choose a suitable cybersecurity solution for your business needs. For instance, if your business is an e-commerce store, ensure that your website and mobile app are secure for online shoppers to have more confidence in buying your products. 

Choose a trusted cybersecurity solution provider. Most reputable providers publish case studies and whitepapers to comprehensively explain how their cybersecurity solution works. Reading and comparing them with other providers will give you an idea if the solution is suitable for your business. Moreover, you can make use of referrals that will point you to the right provider. 

In addition, it also pays off to know how to access the dark web safely. The dark web refers to a part of the web that’s highly restricted. It’s only accessible using special software, enabling website operators and users to stay untraceable.  

But why do businesses need to access the dark web? Many large companies monitor the dark web to check if their confidential data is for sale or can be found online. A business is at risk of a major cybersecurity attack if it’s in the dark web listings. Hence, dark web listings can ruin a business reputation and result in a loss of competitive advantage.

Conclusion

For online businesses, capable cybersecurity is no longer an option in today’s world.

It’s never too early to invest in your endeavor’s protection against online threats. Remember, preventing cyber-attacks from causing damage is always more preferable than mitigating and cleaning up their effects later on.

A strong internet connection is important for any kind of business wanting to succeed in today’s competitive market arena. But searching for the best plan is a challenge, especially when you are just starting out in your field.

Once you start a business, there are plenty of things to organize. Whether your business is located in an office or at home, you have to make sure that everything is operating smoothly. And since your business will most likely depend on uninterrupted internet service to function, you must make finding the best internet service provider a priority.

Here is a step-by-step guide to help you find the right internet service provider:

Step 1: Understand the Different Business Internet Packages

Although all plans will enable internet connection for a certain price, not all of them will work the same way. Cable, digital subscriber line (DSL) and fiber optic providers are common in urban areas and cities, but most businesses rely on satellite service in less populated areas.

Understanding the differences among these internet options will help you identify which type will best meet your internet needs.

●   DSL

DSL makes use of local phone lines to provide high-speed internet. As compared to a dial-up service, DSL makes use of separate frequencies for internet and phone. Therefore, you can use both of them at the same time.

Of all the broadband options, DSL is considered the most affordable yet the slowest. The actual download speeds are often slower than the speeds that most providers advertise, which is not the case with fiber optic or cable.

●   Cable

Cable internet service makes use of cable wires to deliver internet. It tends to be more reliable than DSL. Depending on the package you get, it may be faster than fiber optic. But cable internet might not be available in your area – if there is, there might only be one provider.

●   Fiber Optic

Fiber optic is the fastest internet option. It trumps other broadband options when it comes to upload speed. But this option is not as widely available as the other internet service options since it does not use existing telephone or cable lines.

Instead, new fiber optic cables must be installed for it to deliver high-speed internet. These cables make use of tiny and light glass fibers to receive and send data.

●   Satellite

Satellite internet service can be slower and more expensive than other options. However, it can only be your choice if your business is in a rural area. It usually performs better than dial-up.

Also, it does not use a phone line, so you can freely use your landline even when you are connected to the internet.

Step 2: Determine What You Need in a Plan to Successfully Run Your Business

Determining what your business needs will have a direct impact on the amount of bandwidth your business data plan should have. Some of the important considerations include:

• Will you be uploading or downloading files into the cloud?
• Will you be sending and receiving emails regularly?
• How often will you need to open Skype or stream videos?
• What is the size of the files you will be dealing with?

You can use usage calculators online to determine your bandwidth needs. You may also get the services of an IT or telecommunications professional to help you out with this.

Step 3: Ask Questions

Most internet service providers will present perfect-world situations where nothing falters or breaks down. But in reality, things won’t always run smoothly. Outages and drop-offs in service will occur at some point. So it is crucial for you to know how the service providers will handle such situations before you commit.

Here are some questions you must ask a provider:

• Do they employ local service technicians?
• How many subscribers are sharing a connection?
• How many hours do they lose to downtime every year?
• Will the customer service centers be open 24/7?
• What is the average hold time for clients who need help?

Step 4: Discuss the Data Cap

Data caps refer to the threshold at which the provider may start charging you if you go over your maximum in a billing cycle. Some providers have data caps while others don’t, so be sure to find out before working with any provider.

Step 5: Know What You’re Paying For

Apart from the data cap, you should also consider added expenses like equipment and hardware. Some internet providers offer these as part of the package while others don’t. So make sure that you understand what is included in the quote they’ve given you.

Reputable providers are upfront with such information. Also, they usually have a feedback form that allows their clients to send reviews so they can improve their services.

Once you have chosen the best plan and have it in place, you can look forward to reliable, speedy internet. The last thing you want, especially when your business is starting out, is to let your customers down because this will tarnish your reputation. By working with the right internet service provider and choosing the right package, the risk of this happening will significantly be minimized.

 AUTHOR BIO

Azhar Abulhamayel is the Head of Marketing – National Segment and High Value at Zain KSA. The company was the first operator in the Middle East to commercially launch the 4G/LTE network. Zain serves +10M customers, has extended its network coverage to 94% of the population, and attracts thousands of new customers daily.

Google’s first digital skills program in Arabic designed to help youth find jobs, grow their careers or start their own businesses.

 Online learning platform offers 100 lessons across 26 core topics, all in Arabic and free of charge

• org to award $1 million grant to INJAZ Al-Arab, a regional nonprofit organization, which will offer in-person trainings to students in rural areas and underprivileged communities
• Google signs agreement with MiSK Foundation to roll out in-person trainings to students across Saudi Arabia in one year
• Total of 200,000 people to be trained by INJAZ Al-Arab and MISK Foundation, with a target of 50% female participation

 Monday, April 16 (Dubai) — Google announced today the launch of ‘Maharat min Google’, a free digital skills-building program in Arabic, in an effort to help people in MENA find jobs, advance their careers or grow their businesses. Based on a blended learning model, ‘Maharat min Google’ provides free courses, tools, and in-person digital skills training to students, educators, job seekers and businesses.

The online platform — g.co/Maharat — has 100 lessons across 26 core topics in digital marketing that include search engine marketing, social media, video, e-Commerce, geo-targeting, and data analytics, among others. Google will provide a certificate upon completion of the full course, which takes about nine hours to complete.

“We’re delighted to be bringing ‘Maharat Min Google’ to the Middle East and North Africa — our contribution to the future of the workforce in MENA. This program is free of charge, available in Arabic and accessible on any platform. ‘Maharat Min Google’ draws on our 20-year history of building products, platforms, and services that connect people and businesses, helping them grow and succeed online. We know how valuable digital tools are to MENA’s future and we at Google are proud to be an engine supporting their growth,” said Matt Brittin, Google’s president of business operations across Europe, Middle East and Africa.

Google also signed an agreement with Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Foundation (MiSK) which will conduct in-person trainings to more than 100,000 students across Saudi Arabia. Both collaborations with Injaz and MISK will target 50 percent female participation. Google is looking for further local partnerships across the region with governments, universities, private-sector businesses and nonprofits to expand the reach of its ‘Maharat min Google’ program.

“At the Misk Foundation, we emphasize the importance of this initiative as it is an extension to the our commitment to develop the Saudi youth’s skills, focusing in particular on 21st century skills which will result in a ready-to-market generation as well as prepare the next generation of entrepreneurs and innovator. And since obtaining digital skills is the cornerstone to achieve this, the Misk Foundation partnered on this initiative with Google and the other participating and sponsoring organizations,” said Deema Al Yahya, Adviser and CEO of MiSK Innovation.

Google also announced at the launch event that Google.org, Google’s philanthropic arm, is granting $1 million USD to INJAZ Al-Arab, a regional nonprofit organization, which will roll out in-person trainings to 100,000 students across 14 countries in MENA focusing on youth in underprivileged and  rural areas.

Akef Aqrabawi, CEO of INJAZ Al-Arab, said: “We are very happy with Google’s support to offer digital literacy skills across the MENA region and to expand the reach of a program like ‘Maharat min Google’. We share a common vision with Google and want to support the Arab youth, especially those in rural areas and underprivileged communities, in preparing them for future job opportunities and in empowering them to become successful entrepreneurs.”

In a recent study by the World Economic Forum, 1 in 5 jobs in the Arab world will require digital skills that aren’t widely available today. 51% of youth consider unemployment their biggest concern and only 38% believe their education gives them the skills they need to enter the workforce. In MENA, there are 30 million women educated, connected and of working age, which represents the largest economic opportunity in the region today.  More than 50% of university graduates are females, yet only 25% participate in the workforce.

Courses are available on g.co/Maharat and new lessons will be added in the future.