Category: Insights

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How Technology is Revolutionizing the Real Estate Industry

The world has become a global village, all thanks to technology. We live in an era where technology and modern techniques have revolutionized every walk of life whether it is medicines, engineering, aircraft, fashion designing or real estate industry. Here are some of the ways in which technology has completely changed the perception of buying and selling the property. Whether a buyer is interested in Dubai Marina apartments for sale or simply wants to look for the best properties in New York, all the information is now just a few clicks away.

1. Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Artificial Intelligence has been around for almost a decade now and the industry is now flourishing rapidly. Apply it to the real estate market, and the possibilities and prospects are endless. For real estate agents, the best way to secure a deal is to show their clients the property that is perfect for their needs. The best way to achieve this is through AI, where different algorithms are executed to give agents the perfect property results based on historical data recorded by other similar customers. 

2. Internet of Things (IoT)

The Internet of Things (IoT) is another breakthrough in the house hunt. With more and more connected devices taking over the market every day, IoT is not going to stop anywhere in the next few years. A good example of how IoT is changing property buying and selling perspective is Beacon. Beacon is a Bluetooth device used to transmit information over the internet using Bluetooth. For example, a customer when enters the radius of Beacon device can get instant information about the property, including its real-world preview, even before an agent arrives. 

3. Data Science Analysis

Also called Big Data Analysis, data science has played a vital role in helping potential buyers find their ideal home. Using prestored data and analyzing it for their unique demands, buyers can easily find the perfect property for themselves without wasting any time in searching irrelevant ones.

4. Mobile Apps Development

A real estate agent is involved in a lot of day-to-day tasks like meeting potential clients, signing contracts, visiting properties and providing communication between buyers and sellers. Mobile apps like OpenHome Pro and DotLoop enable agents to perform their day to day tasks like scheduling, planning, marketing, tracking and reporting in a more convenient manner, providing all the requirements of their daily activities in a digital environment.

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Discover the Latest Database Management Trends in 2019

We know that in every walk of life trends come and go. It is the same in database management landscape but lately, we have witnessed that several new database management concepts are in fact, here to stay. They are not just a passing fad, rather they demonstrate staying power and they have the capacity to transform businesses and organizations.

As per http://www.dbta.com, we have witnessed the fact that there is a rising appreciation for the value of data; hence, there has been a significant increase in the amount spent and invested on data management, as well as, analytics services and products. As per IDC predictions, revenues for business analytics and big data solutions would be reaching $189.1 billion this year itself with an impressive double-digit annual growth through 2022. Let us explore the existing and the latest database management trends and ways to take the maximum advantage of them for benefitting your business or organization. Here are some of the latest trends.

Focus on Both SQL Databases & NoSQL Databases

SQL databases are also referred to as relational databases and they are known for defining and manipulating data based primarily on SQL or the Structured Query Language. SQL databases are immensely popular and are utilized for effectively handling structured data which would organize data elements and go on standardizing the way precisely they would be relating to each other and to diverse properties. Database admins managing an SQL server will often use utilize server monitoring in order to optimize the performance of their database.

NoSQL Databases are referred to as non-relational databases that would be allowing you to accurately store and retrieve all important unstructured data implementing a dynamic schema. We know that NoSQL is gaining a lot of traction because of its flexible capacity to come up with a unique and innovative structure which could be a graph, document, column or Key Value that is organized basically as a data structure. Even though SQL has been maintaining a huge lead over the NoSQL database for several decades now, however, things are changing now and there is the growing popularity of non-relational alternatives. NoSQL is catching up at a phenomenal speed with the introduction of popular databases like MongoDB, Cassandra, and Redis.

Use of Multi-Database Preferred over Single Database

There has been a growing trend towards the effective use of multi-database during the last decade as opposed to the conventional theory of keeping all your eggs very much in just a single basket. More than 50 percent of the businesses admit that they are using multiple databases to efficiently fuel their applications as compared to just a single database. As per the latest market survey, around 44.3 percent admitted to utilizing multiple databases and 55.7 percent are still operating one single database.

NoSQL & SQL Multiple Database Combinations

We understand that 75.6 percent of multiple database kind usage comprises of a mix of both NoSQL and SQL databases. This implies that for many companies you cannot adopt a cookie-cutter approach. Even though you may be having a preference for one of them, there is absolutely no dispute regarding the fact that each one of them has clear benefits over the other. Rather than restricting your company to just a single database type,  there is a necessity in 2019 to effectively evolve your database stratagem for compatibility in order to ensure that these two robust database management systems are able to be compatible with each other and help in effectively filling the gaps in all your data requirements.

The Pivotal Role & Importance of Data Engineer 

The data engineer would be playing a pivotal role in 2019 as the architect of an organization’s data planning. No data teams would be able to efficiently perform without technical assistance and expertise of a qualified data engineer. These super-techies are indispensable as they boast of having advanced tech knowledge and multiple programming skills for preparing the groundwork proficiently for effective enterprise Data Management that could be utilized by some other staff such as the Data Scientist or the Data Analyst for precise data-oriented functions.

Implementation of Single-Point Data Management Channels

In 2019 there is an emerging trend of the effective implementation of Single-Point Data Management Channels. There is a rise in the use of enterprise-grade, single point data management channels rather than multiple disintegrated data management solutions within an enterprise. This trend has been gaining traction at a slow pace over the last few years but in recent times, it is impossible for businesses to survive or sustain without scalable, fully-integrated, single-point data management solutions for ensuring optimized distribution and data collection across numerous data channels.

IT Is Becoming Cloudier

We find that there has been a significant rise in the actual acquisition of effective SaaS apps that are known to displace on a regular basis, an on-premises application, thus, successfully migrating numerous users including their data to the cloud. Moreover, several organizations today have basically a cloud-first mandate that leads to certainly more SaaS applications. Today, data management has become intrinsically a hybrid affair which is supposed to reach across a host of on-premise systems and multiple clouds. You may seek professional assistance from reputed websites such as RemoteDBA.com.

Hadoop’s Actual Fall from Grace

Among the biggest surprises in recent years in the tech world is the rapid ascent and then equally rapid descent of Hadoop adoption. When Hadoop entered the industry in 2013, it took the entire community by storm and was deployed in as many as 20% data warehouse environments within 3 years of release. The growth curve seemed to plateau over 2017 and 2018, indicating that it had pretty much been deployed by any warehousing program that would require it. 

There has also been talking of user dissatisfaction with Hadoop’s immaturity as a platform, especially when dealing with maintenance, relational functions, and managing metadata. The cost of deploying and maintaining large clusters on a company’s own premises is also a considerable push back against the growth of Hadoop. As a technology, it is certainly here to stay, offering a ton of functionality to anyone who needs it, but the industry has demanded extensive restructuring to address the present problems with the platform.

Conclusion: The Amazing Data Lake Remix

Giving data a great home, the data lakes trend is very much toward an effective multiplatform architecture. The lake is supposed to be distributed physically across relational databases and Hadoop clusters. These could be deployed efficiently on the cloud, on premises, or an effective hybrid combination comprising both.  To make truly diverse and disparate data appear simpler and less complicated, you could find virtualization techniques quite handy, that is the reason why any hybrid data lake seems to be in reality a virtual data lake quite similar to the virtual data warehouse. 

Author bio

Patrick Hansen is a database developer with more than 15 years of experience in this field. He suggests his clients visit RemoteDBA.com when they need database support or any other technical help with database management.

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Top Database Management Trends You Can’t Ignore In 2019

More technology users and businesses are seeking for more information and data for valid reasons. Data management is a commodity that is leading to digital innovation. However, there is a big challenge when it comes to converting data into actionable insights. Digital innovation is today needed to help business organizations find a solution to the above challenge with success.

Trends for 2019- what should you be aware of?

Given below are some of the latest trends predicted for 2019 that businesses should look out for when it comes to data management:

  1. Data management is still a tough task- When a company is managing huge volumes of data like big data, the process becomes a complex one. The business should take steps to search for interesting patterns that are hidden in these large amounts of data. Machines should be trained in such a way that they are in a position to spot these patterns and incorporate them into production so that they can be acted upon. The above should not only take place once, but it should be repeated as many times as necessary. Experts in the field of data management add that this reality of putting the basics into production is a complex task and seems harder than it appears to be. For new businesses, the task is even tougher as the business needs an expert database and ETL skills. The business should take the onus of cleaning and putting labels on the data. The training for machine learning takes a lot of time and money, especially in the case where deep techniques for learning are used. On a final note, one should know that placing such a production to scale needs a whole set of skills that are reliable and secure. This is one of the prime reasons why data management will be tough in 2019, and data management professionals will be highly in demand.
  1. The need for proliferating continues- This will not be a very hard prediction to make in 2019. A few years ago, at the time of the Hadoop boom, there was an assumption that all data could be consolidated successfully. This was believed for both transactional and analytical workloads on a single platform. This idea, however, was not successful for a wide range of reasons. Experts in the field of data management state that there are different types of data and each of them have separate requirements for storage. For instance, graph databases, time series databases, relational databases, etc. These databases have their share of pros and cons. Developers cannot optimize the strengths if all the data is crammed into a single data lake that fits all. Again, esteemed professionals in the field of database management RemoteDBA.Com state it does not make sense amassing loads of data onto a single platform. The cloud, for instance, stores data for companies flexibly and cost-effectively. In the case of big data, Hadoop is the most budget-friendly storage for data that is unorganized and unstructured. For most companies, there are extra silos that need to be organized and managed. They are often big and important silos. Experts state that in the absence of a powerful central force, one should get used to these data silos as they will continue to proliferate.
  1. Analytics for 2019- Experts state that if you can act quickly on new data that comes into the organization, the better off you will be. This is the main driving force behind steaming analytics and real-time data. This has been very challenging and hard to pull off too. The organization has to possess data ultra- fast, and this can be done with the aid of automated decision making. The solution is to combine the SQL capabilities with open source streaming platforms to get real progress this year.
  2. Technology and evolution- The evolution of technology also plays a vital role this year in the field of data management. Companies have to take the onus of finding the right workforce with the appropriate skills for the job. Irrespective of the techniques and technologies they use, it is crucial for the company to find the right person with the right skill. Organizations also have to focus on deep learning skills and discover creative ways to manage data. For instance, if you take a look at big financial corporations, they have already started to use algorithms that are neutral and improved when it comes to spotting fraudulent transactions over traditional machines. This trend will grow and continue this year.

Experts in the field say that new technology is creating innovation to make data management for everyone better in 2019. The pace of innovation in the above field shows no signs of slowing down, and this is great news for those companies that manage huge amounts of data like big data. Last but not least, smart technology is growing, and devices are helping businesses and consumers in collecting and sharing data. This helps customers get a personalized experience wherever they go.

There is huge consumer demand today for smart devices, and they are proliferating at a huge rate. If you check ecosystems of smart devices for 2019, you will find that they are focused on two main platforms- Google Assistant and Alexa of Amazon. These platforms are helping consumers to infuse remote access and AI that starts right from lights to HVAC units. In short, you will find all the smart things around you in 2019, and the trend is expanding with speed!

Therefore, when it comes to database management trends to watch out in 2019, the above will steal the show. Progress is being made on all fronts, and there is a promise for innovation and creativity. There might be ethical, legal, and technical obstacles in 2019, but the potential benefits of innovations are huge to ignore. They will play a vital role in changing the current scenario of database management for businesses and consumers across the globe with success.

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Essential Facts about Asset Tracking Software

Asset tracking is a technique used for tracking physical assets that allow the user to learn about the status, location, and the maintenance of the asset schedule.  It is hugely beneficial for managing the process of the supply chain of both public government bodies and private organizations alike. The organization’s assets can be tracked real-time with the help of asset management software, handheld barcode scanners, RFID tags, or GPS. Asset tracking aids to maximize the efficiency of the asset and also minimize the loss. 

This software helps to track the movement of assets- software, devices, or IT equipment in an organization. In fact, it will scan the assets entirely to offer a quantitative record as well as allow physical monitoring of the assets. With this, companies can schedule preventive maintenance or scheduled maintenance.

Some Alluring Features 

These are some alluring features that have made Asset Tracking Software so popular,

    • GPS Positioning and Asset Recovery- When a company handles many assets, one may get detached from a huge batch and tracing, which can be problematic. This will need productive time and significant power to recover. Even worse, the business is likely to experience complaining customers, increased costs, and delayed productions. You can avoid all this with an asset tracking software which can aid one to know where their asset is along with its exact GPS location.

Infographic created by Track Your Truck, a GPS vehicle tracking devices provider

  • Augment Customer Service- The moment a customer signs a contract for doing business with a company they look for a positive ROI. This software will help them in keeping a track on the assets of their customers every time. Besides, you can also track the efficiency at which the goods are moving.
  • Real-Time Asset Management- Through this software, one can get a picture of their business assets. They can trace goods as they are moved or arrive at particular destinations in real-time. Precise asset tracking is essential for effective data management.
  • Reduce Labour Waste and Increase Productivity- Asset tracking applications will work wonders in keeping track regarding the different items that are passing via one’s department. This way, they will be capable of calculating the lifecycle of an asset. Asset trackers will make the employees free from all menial tasks, thereby leaving them to pay attention to other facets of business which invest time to their bottom-line.  
  • Prevent Unnecessary Maintenance and Repair Costs- To track an asset’s life cycle is crucial, especially one that takes a long time to complete. Asset tracking software can help to monitor and also anticipate devaluation of goods, thus replace the same on time.
  • Maintenance Tracking- Asset maintenance is vital for the effectiveness of numerous processes. Through advanced software, one can set up repeat alerts for time to time maintenance of every tool that you use in their business.
  • Set Stock Thresholds- No matter it is done externally or internally, asset audits can put immense strain on a business. It is the asset tracker that helps one to perform audits to boost the visibility of their assets and thereby cut down compliance risks. This software will offer precise data that one can use to make informed decisions.

Apart from this, this software will also help to offer regulatory compliance, streamline the maintenance schedule, offer peace of mind, and also ensure accuracy.
 

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Have You Chosen The Best SEO Company For Yourself?

Once you are sure after checking the services that they are fully reliable, you can easily decide whether to buy the services or not. The performance of the services must be thoroughly checked in order to be sure about future use. After this, the best among them can be selected and bought. If some extra time is needed in this process, it is never in vain rather you would be the most comfortable once these services are hired by you so a little effort in the inquiry wouldn’t go wasted. The local SEO plans that you select should give the maximum output. This ensures a comfortable and growing business.

How To Make Your Business Grow?

  • Starting a business is very easy but attracting people towards it and investing in it is what a difficult task remains. 
  • You have to get the maximum traffic to your business. 
  • These days, every other business wants to generate more and more traffic towards their website. And doing this is not a difficult task; it has been made much easier and simpler by the exploitation of the search engine optimization changes. 
  • The SEO companies available are the business pickers that are they help your business to grow and flourish.
  •  It provides many attractive and beneficial packages to the customers as they are efficient service providers.

Best Local SEO Company is useful to the small businesses and helps them in growing to the maximum extent possible. However, when it comes to choosing the SEO Company, a lot of research needs to be done in order to find out which one is the best for you. It is understood that a lot of SEO companies need to be explored before selecting any. Whenever free, thorough research on SEO companies must be done in order to choose the most loyal and creditworthy amongst them. The terms and conditions of the SEO companies must be read properly beforehand. Since there is a different criterion of different SEO Company, it is good to be thorough with each one of them.

The payment issues of the particular SEO companies vary to a great extent along with the services of the packages so it is important to be well versed with them prior. It should be made sure that the businessmen go through all the common services included in the local citation service.

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How To Make Data Storage 80% More Efficient

Making data storage more efficient requires that you have actually thought about how you will manage data storage, you have found the right servers, and you have found a good host for those servers.  There are a few things that you need to consider when you are trying to buy the right kind of storage, and you will find that it is easier to buy something that you know is the best style for your company.  Most companies that are buying storage need to know what they can do to make all their servers more efficient at the same time. 

1. Remove The Junk

You need to remove the junk from the process because you will find that duplicate and useless files will clog up your servers.  You do not want to be in a place where you are running out of space because you did not spend any time paring down the files that you have.  Plus, you need to be sure that you have found a way to organize all the things that you have for the better. You bought used Hitachi storage to save money, and you need to save time by staying organized.  

2. File Folders

You need to use folders as much as you can because that is the only way to be sure that you will get the right files in the right places.  When you are organized, you are going to have a much easier time using all the storage space that is in the unit. Plus, you will start to feel like you do not need to hunt so much for the things that you are using.  You can go to any folder at any time, and you will get instant results because you are not going to spend all your time searching fruitlessly.

3. Upgrades

You have to upgrade your servers and software as much as you can because that is the only way that you can be sure that you will get the best speeds out of these devices.  When you are not upgrading anything, it is very hard for you to keep the server going. Plus, you will find that an upgrade is easy to do if you have a server support company that does most of the work for you.

4. Purge

You still need to purge files as much as you can because that is the only way that you can make the units efficient.  When you have an office, you will remove all files that are older than 7 years. The same is true in your servers. You need to purge them at least once a month so that you can get rid of anything that is far too old to be stored right now.

The best part of all of this is that you can do the storage with almost no trouble.  You can make your servers much easier to use, and you can create a storage plan that you know will be easy for you to maintain.

About the author

Louise Harris is a co-founder of Christian Marketing Experts and marketing specialist at PSD to WordPress and a packaging design company. She is an excellent Editor, a wonderful writer, and a magnificent marketing specialist. Follow her on Twitter @lastredit.

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Deciding on the Best Software for Structural Designing and Analyzing

When it comes to the importance of technology in the construction industry, the majority of people immediately assume that one’s talking about the construction equipment, improvements in PPE or construction material. However, what they often ignore is the fact that the majority of work starts in the planning stage, which usually implies the design of the construction in question. Here, the role and importance of adequate tool are unparalleled and there are many different fields where proper modeling and analysis could make all the difference. With that in mind and without further ado, here are several things you need to understand when choosing the best software for structural designing and analyzing.

1. Static analysis of the structure

The first step when it comes to the assessment of structure in the development process is its static analysis. What this means is the analysis of components caused by loads that do not induce significant inertia and damping effects. We’re mostly talking about factors like strains, displacements, stresses, etc. One of the most important things when it comes to structural designing and analyzing is how the model will behave in a real-life environment. This is why you need a software that allows inputs for wind and seismic loads, as well as one that’s able to generate stability checks for nonlinear load cases. This is not just important for the safety of the structure but also for the overall business efficiency of your organization.

2. 3D modeling

The issue of 3D modeling is the most definite must in 2019 for several reasons. In fact, there are a lot of people who believe 3D modeling to be the best thing that has happened to the construction industry in a long time. First of all, it gives designers more creative room to try out different solutions to the same problem and pick the best one. Second, the designs made this way are much easier to share, which helps in the decision making the process, as well as enhances the collaboration. Most importantly, it gives you a chance to experience the building long before the construction works actually begin.

3. Cloud-based tool

The next thing worth mentioning is the fact that the best structural design and analysis tools like Autodesk Fusion 360 are cloud-based is an enormous plus. This is mostly due to the fact that it allows for a greater level of collaboration and makes the end result more impressive. Even if there’s just one person working on the project, cloud-based software can allow one much greater flexibility of work, especially when it comes to the issue of off-site designing. Remember that BYOD (bring your own device) trend is getting more and more popular amongst architects and this is something that a cloud-based tool can greatly help out with.

4. Open source vs. premium

When it comes to the issues of budget, you need to keep in mind the fact that a professional architect needs to approach the cost of a software license as an operational expense. Still, open source tools have some advantages that one shouldn’t ignore. First of all, if you decide to use a plethora of tools, you can opt for open source ones as back-up, due to the fact that they’re free and, therefore, don’t contribute to your operational expenses. Second, they usually have an amazing community, which can be a major turning point in this industry. Lastly, they offer greater transparency and outstanding security. Needless to say, both of these features can become an important asset.

5. Impressing the client

One of the reasons why a lot of people use tools like Photoshop in this field is due to the fact that they have a responsibility towards their clients to present them with a visual representation of the end result of the project. One of the benefits that you can get from this is the possibility to integrate the image created and rendered this way into your digital marketing. This is important for both firms and freelance architects who are quickly becoming a bigger and bigger part of the industry. In other words, the quality of the image and the effect that it makes is just as important when choosing your tools.

6. Integration with other tools

The last thing you need to check before picking the adequate software is the possibility of integrating it with other tools, platforms, and plugins. For instance, SketchUp can be integrated with Google earth in order to help you make a much better positioning of the structure on the property in question. This and other plugins can make your job a lot easier. This particular trend is also quite important if, in the future, your company decides to start developing their own specialized tools and apps. While this may still be just a distant possibility, it’s also a concept that you should definitely not rule out.

In conclusion

In the end, it’s important to mention that you’re in no way restricted to a single tool or a single software that you can use and that you have a plethora of options and combinations to choose from. Also, as a freelance architect or a person in charge of a small construction business, you’ll also need to use a range of tools that aren’t necessarily related to the structural design and analysis. For instance, you’ll need a reliable construction accounting software, a platform for comparing material and equipment prices, etc.

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How Modern Data Centers and SaaS are Changing Each Other

They say the key to any relationship is the ability to bring out the best in each other. This has definitely been the case in recent years between most SaaS providers and major data centers.

SaaS evolves and data centers adapt. Data centers evolve and cause SaaS to evolve again, and the cycle repeats.

Let’s take a closer look at how this perfectly harmonious relationship has looked over the last few years. Also, if you’re currently exploring your options for a new data center, you can get more information by clicking that link. Another tip, you can take advice from companies that provide ultra-fast connectivity, business focused cloud and cyber solutions to organisations around the world like 4D Data Centres.

SaaS Cloud Computing Is Driving Data Center Evolution

In recent years we’ve seen the rise of mega-SaaS providers such as Salesforce, SAP, and Workday. We’ve also seen software companies like Microsoft and Adobe reach new heights by properly transitioning their SaaS proposals and offerings into SaaS-based solutions.

The most obvious impact is the sheer number of data centers now required to facilitate a market-wide mass exodus across all boards.

The move towards SaaS has also caused a surge of data centers moving to private cloud deployment to implement new software, using a combination of internal or hosted private clouds, managed by a third party.

According to data from Gartner Inc., 46% of data centers surveyed said they’re pushing for private clouds for deployment across all software markets over the next two years. Only 24% said they will push for a public cloud.

We’re also seeing a higher demand for the flexibility of a hybrid model of on-site data, coupled with colocation data center providers and public infrastructure as a service (IaaS). This opens the door for better efficiency through cloud bursting within a hybrid model.

How Data Centers are Changing SaaS Companies

In previous years, front-line employees enjoyed the simple convenience of a SaaS-based solution. However, department leaders may have found it difficult to get high-level data. Getting richer analytics may have been stalled or cumbersome.

This often meant that leaders would lose time to manually requesting data from the SaaS provider, followed by a frustrating cycle of FTP protocols and encrypted email attachments. Or they may have even had to wait for a manual shipment of data stored on hard disks. By the time leaders got their hands on the data they requested, it may have been outdated, devalued and stale.

However, that “trapped” data can be freed up by data centers evolving from a data warehouse to a data share-house. A data share-house takes away the waiting and inefficiency by removing the steps previously needed to manually move data around via FTP, email, or even courier. This is the end of data silos and gives everyone access to the same data at any time.

No two other industries are doing more to help each other evolve than SaaS providers and data centers. SaaS companies are constantly pushing to improve the customer experience, while they also look to solve any problems a customer may have with a data center. The same can be said for data centers, as they look to solve issues customers may have with a SaaS.

With this type of true synergy in place, it will be exciting to see where both industries are in 5, 10 and 15 years time.

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How to Get Traffic to Your New Store

Starting from the bottom can be one of the most difficult times for your eCommerce website. Not only is it hard to get backlinks, it is hard to convince people to visit your site and buy from you.

But you have to start somewhere. You need to start with one visitor before you can get a million. Similarly, you need to start from one customer before you can get a thousand. If you will let this problem faze you, you will not get anywhere.

Today, you’ll learn about 6 strategies that you can use to get more traffic to your eCommerce website. These are designed for new eCommerce website owners. So you don’t need to worry even if you don’t have a list of customers. I’ll handhold you from the bottom so that you can reach the top.

Start with Your Family and Friends

You cannot reach a hundred if you don’t start from one. So start small. Often, business owners would set their goals high. They would set their bar as high as getting a hundred customers per day right from the launch of the website. But this is a setup that is doomed for failure. After all, a website’s popularity grows over time. No one will read your blog just because you have written it. You are not as special as you think.

But there is one segment of the market where you are special. To these people, they will support anything that you will do. In fact, some of them may even bend backwards for you. The people that I am talking about are your family and friends.

If you have just launched a new website, it may be best to start with your family and friends. These people will not judge you and they will not be skeptical about what you have to offer. Sure, they may not give you your initial boost of sales but they can help you jumpstart your marketing.

Remember, every family member or friend also have their network. They also have family members and friends that they can refer your website to. The good news is that direct recommendations from family members and friends are usually stronger. This means that people tend to act on recommendations given by people who are close to them. So you should use this to your benefit if you are marketing your eCommerce website. You should use exhaust your existing network before you proceed with the next strategy.

Offer Something More than the Regular Online Store

If you have done the first strategy, you should already have at least 10 visitors or customers in your website. Getting 10 people is not that hard. As long as you have at least 5 family members or friends that know another person, you are on your way to getting 10 new people into your website.

But getting people into your website is just one part of the picture. You also need to give your visitors a reason to stay. You need to give them a reason to choose you over your competitors.

This is where most eCommerce marketers fail. Often, they will set up a website with the same items as their competitor and offer the same service. Then, they will stand back and wait for sales. When no one is coming to buy their stuff, they start to wonder. “Why are they not buying my stuff when I am already doing what my competitor is doing?”

But that’s the problem. The problem is that you are content with providing just what your competitor is providing. You don’t want to offer more. You don’t want to exceed expectations. So you stay in the safe zone hoping to be noticed.

In this world where the Internet is loaded with businesses and information, it is time for you to step up and offer something more. It can come as a simple free shipping or it can be in the form of the product that you are selling. As long as it is unique and it fulfills a particular need in your target market, you are bound to make some sales.

Target Big Influencers By Featuring Them

One of the best ways to get more traffic to your website is to be featured by influencers. These people are more than just online celebrities. They have command over what people will buy or use. So if they recommend you, you can expect an influx of sales.

However, getting a big influencer to feature you is easier said than done. After all, these people are busy. On top of that, they are so used to getting business proposals that they expertly ignore them. They are so used to it that when they get an email from a business, they delete it right away.

So how can you get past their ignore zone? Here’s a secret. While influencers often appear cool on the outside, they are not as cool as you think. Just because they have cool videos or they talk cool in their blogpost doesn’t mean that they are not human. Inside is an ego that is constant need of stroking or a business owner that desperately need some sales. If you know how to approach these, then you can easily get them to promote you. 

Fortunately for you, it is not that hard to do. In fact, this is a strategy that has been done by business owners in the past and it instantly got them in the good side of influencers. All you need to do is be part of their community. Join their coaching program or buy their products. From there, you can review their products and show the world how the product has helped you.

From here, all you need to do is email the influencer. You’ll be surprised that a simple act like this can instantly gain their attention.

Get Social Media Influencers to Promote You

Let me introduce you to a different breed of influencers. These are the influencers that don’t have millions of followers yet there are people who follow them everyday. These influencers may not have a huge following but they are still called influencers because they influencer their audience’s buying decisions.

These influencers are called social media influencers. You’ll rarely see these people on television and they will often post in their Youtube channel or just update their blog. But while they may not be on mainstream media doesn’t mean that they have less of an influence. In fact, some of them have massive influences in highly targeted niches.

The good news is that reaching these influencers are not that hard. Since they are available on social media, their contact information are often shown on the Internet. From here, all you need to do is contact them.

But here’s a technique. Instead of just contacting them to say ‘Hi’, you can do something more. You can offer them your product for free. Why should you do this? It is a way to get on their good side as well as getting them to review your product for you. Of course, it’s a risk. But if they like your product, they would be more than happy to promote it to their followers.

Of course, there is a chance that the strategy will flop. Some influencers will not reply to your proposal while others will just take the free product without giving it a review. Even if that happens, you should just dust yourself off and look for the next influencer.

Free Samples Can Get You Traffic

You have seen the power of free samples in the previous strategy. This is where you send influencers some samples with hopes that you will get a review in return. While this may not work all the time, its percentage for working is pretty high. Why is that? It’s all because of the ingrained concept of reciprocity.

You see, human beings are very fascinating. While most of them close themselves off from the world, they will often open up with the slight show of care. Sending free samples can show that your business cares about them no matter how they feel. And this care can often move their hearts and make them move according to how you want them to move.

Because of this, free samples really has its power. And it is not just for influencers. I think that you can also use the same strategy for your customers. You may have already observed how free samples work in a grocery store. People tend to buy the product once they taste it. It works in the same way online. If you will give people some free samples, they are often more than happy to recommend your product to their family and friends.

Don’t Forget about Micro-Influencers

Now that we are talking about influencers, let’s stop and define what influencers are for a minute. These are people who have a significant but indirect influence in the purchasing decisions of their audience. Celebrities are natural influencers. Once people see them using or wearing a particular item, they would often like to get the same item. However, it is an entirely different world online. While celebrities may have millions of followers online, they are not the only people that you can target. There are also the micro-influencers – people who have a small but highly engaged market.

A good example of micro-influencer is a blogger in a particular niche. This blogger may not be the most popular but his website is steadily getting some traffic each month. This is an example of a micro-influencer and they are highly valuable when it comes to promoting eCommerce products.

You see, micro-influencers may have a small market but that doesn’t mean that you should ignore them. That’s because these people are more open to collaborating or promoting online stores than the big guys.

Since they are more open, their chances of agreeing to your offer is often higher. With this, you can ask multiple micro-influencers to promote you with a higher chance of success. The result? You’ll get more people to promote your site.

Have a Referral Marketing Program

If you can only use one strategy out of this guide, you should use this one. Referral marketing is by far the easiest and best way to build traffic to any eCommerce website.

Let me illustrate this by narrating the experience of PayPal. PayPal started as a small player in the industry – This means that they only have a few signups. But when they implemented their referral marketing program, everything changed.

Here’s what PayPal did. They opened a program where they will pay every person that get them a new signup. They paid real money and they were losing money in the beginning. But they didn’t care. They know that this is crucial to getting them off the ground so that they can become the primary payment processor online.

And they managed to become like that after a few years. Today, no one tops PayPal when it comes to online payment processing. It is the most used online payment platform today.

You can learn from PayPal’s story. It really helps to encourage your audience to refer their family and friends in exchange for a reward. This is the quickest way to boost your eCommerce traffic.

NOTE: If you don’t know how to code, you’ll need a referral marketing software. The software should be able to set up the program automatically for you.

Conclusion

Looking at the strategies above, you’ll find that starting from the ground is not that bad. In fact, most online businesses that already made it on top lack the tenacity of those at the bottom. So even if it is hard to get that first visitor or sale, don’t give up. Just keep on promoting. Change your strategy if needed. Eventually, you’ll break through and make that sale.

So what strategy did you like from the list above? What do you plan on using? If you have any questions on the implementation part, don’t be afraid to ask me.

DevelopmentInsightsSaaS

Do You Really Need to Hire a Software Testing Company for Penetration Testing?

The United States of America proposed a budget of US $17.43 billion just for cybersecurity for the fiscal year 2017-2019. According to another survey, the firms which have 20,000 or more employees spend an average of 10.6 million US $ on cybersecurity in the USA alone. These stats clearly show the importance of cybersecurity of a company and also the country for that matter. In this blog, we’ll focus on the importance of hiring the software testing company for penetration testing. Before we move forward, you need to understand what penetration testing is and why it is important.

What is Penetration Testing?

Penetration testing also known as pen testing or pen-test is a type of testing which is specifically performed to test the security of a software or an app. Penetration testing is very important because your software or app contains very sensitive database and any kind of data leak or cyber-attack can cost you a fortune. Therefore, penetration testing is important. However, the real question is do you really need to hire a software testing company for penetration testing? In order to find out the answer, give a read to the following:

Great Talent Pool

Software testing companies make sure that they hire the best talent pool. Therefore, if you hire a company for penetration testing, then you’ll be getting the services of the domain experts. However, if you go for other options like hiring a freelancer, then there is a big possibility that companies won’t get the desired results. It is because they lack the resources which a proper testing company has.

Attention to Detail

Since you hire a company specifically for penetration testing, they will help give their best to find out all the security lags in your project. Hence, you can sit back and relax because your project is now in safe hands. They will pay attention to every single detail since they have domain experts which will ensure the quality of the project.

On-Time Delivery

Outsourcing testing company can save you a lot of time. The testing company is bound to deliver the product on time. Above all, they offer real-time testing. Hence, you make the required changes in the code and get your code check for security leaks at the same time. This makes the whole process smooth and streamlines the workflow. Hence, you are able to deliver the product at the ideal time.

Cheaper Option

You simply can’t hire a complete testing team for penetration testing for a single project. It will cost you a lot of money and efforts. Above all, you will not be able to hire domain experts since they are not that easy to find. Therefore, hiring a testing company is a cheap and convenient option.

Conclusion

Now you know all the benefits of hiring a testing company for penetration testing. Therefore, you can decide for yourself if you really need to hire a testing company for penetration testing or not.

Author Bio

Ray Parker is a senior marketing consultant with a knack for writing about the latest news in tech, quality assurance, software development, and travel. With a decade of experience working in the tech industry, Ray now dabbles out of his New York office.