Homes and Gardens

Ready, set, remodel! But wait! Before making any big changes to your home, ask yourself these important home remodeling questions and consider some tips for building a home.

Q: How long do you plan to live in your home post-renovation?

Remodeling contractors will tell you, the longer you plan to live in your home, the more creative you can get. If you plan to sell the house in the next five years, one of the best home building tips and tricks is to keep potential buyers in mind with your choices. In that case, you will want to use more universally appealing materials and neutral colors to increase the salability of your home.

Q: Do you need cosmetic fixes or an overhaul?

Sure, you can make one small change at a time, but think long-term about the next step. If you are having an expensive granite countertop installed, home addition contractors recommend you consider whether you will be replacing your cabinets down the road. The chances of reusing a granite countertop are small; either it does not match the footprint of the new cabinets or breaks when you try to remove it.

Q: Are you ready for long-term chaos?

Home renovations can go on for months, so you need to be prepared to live without certain luxuries- like your kitchen, bedroom or bathroom. When choosing home remodeling contractors check references to find out if they finished the work on time. You would be surprised how quickly a month can turn into two.

Q: Will your home remodeling match the style of the rest of your house?

When it comes to tips for building a home, home remodeling contractors will tell you that the inside of your home should reflect the expectations that the outside gives. For instance, if you live in a Victorian house, do not make it too contemporary indoors. Keep future buyers in mind. When people see a historical exterior, they will expect a historical interior, so stay true to the details.

Q: Are you really up for a DIY project?

You feel like you’re pretty handy, but many do-it-yourself projects demand serious time and skill. Many home remodeling tasks are not technically difficult but can take longer than you think. This can get in the way of a full-time job. Home addition contractors suggest having a taste of the job before committing to it in its entirety. After all, it takes minutes to remove something and days to replace it. You just may feel like hiring one of the local home remodeling contractors to finish the job.

When all is said and done, you should build and remodel as though you will live a hundred years. The best home building tips and tricks include using the most energy-efficient materials and techniques available. In the end, you will probably end up with a very valuable place, even though you did not set out for that!

Are you searching for your dream home or planning to sell your current home? Either way, you probably have some fairly specific ideas of what is (or should be) perfect about the inside of a home. But what about the value of your home in external terms?

The stability and increasing value of a home depends on a combination of factors. Primary factors include the curb appeal and condition of the house itself, and the neighborhood and community in which it is situated. Here are some external factors to consider:

· Location – to good schools, to transportation, shopping, cultural and activities venues

· Quiet – a quiet neighborhood and environment often support higher value to the homes

· Neighborhood condition -well-maintained area also factored into a home’s value

· Low crime area

It is often easier to think of conditions that negatively affect the value of a home:

· Poor quality school district

· Transit systems or busy roads too close to the residence

· Apartment, commercial, or mixed use (commercial/residential) buildings next to a house

· Location near high voltage towers

· Higher crime area

· Dilapidated neighborhood

· Many homes for sale and homes in foreclosure

So let’s consider some of the steps a home owner can take to support or improve the value of a home:

· Refresh the exterior with paint or siding

· New roofing

· Replace old windows with energy efficient vinyl or wood framed windows

· Upgrade the entryway area with a new door, fresh paint, plants

· Update and add exterior light fixtures (for improved appearance and safety value)

· Replace the hardware – door handles, house numbers, mailbox, etc.

· Replace an old garage door

· Refresh the landscaping

Determining the value of a home from exterior conditions requires more than the loving eyes of an owner or the enthusiastic “love-at-first-sight” eyes of the home hunter. Other tangibles and non-tangibles influence the value of a home:

· Keep exterior home improvements in perspective with the rest of the neighborhood. Elaborate brick pavers or unusual exterior remodeling do not necessarily improve the value of a home if none of the other homes have been so extensively customized. As one property writer recommended, improvements should be undertaken with “Fix right for the home type,” in mind.

· The value of a home may increase in a neighborhood that is undergoing a renaissance – one where property values are improving after a period of decline. Depending on the economy that is driving this gentrification, well-maintained and improved homes will likely increase in value over time.

· What used to be considered less desirable in terms of home and neighborhood have undergone changes. More people are opting to invest in areas that are situated close to reliable transit systems. Home buyers are also looking with increasing favor on mixed-use communities. The “home-and-picket-fence” model is not the same ideal that it once was.

There are no absolute guarantees as to the current and future value of a home. The decline and rebirth of an area’s industries are external factors, as are other economic shifts in a neighborhood. Another external factor is the arrival of even one neighbor with unpleasant habits. This neighbor’s conduct and/or property maintenance can unfavorably shift the value of the surrounding properties.

Pride of current or future residence does not always require extensive investment. Developing a plan of reasonable and regular external home care can do a lot to help maintain and increase a home’s value.

For many homeowners who are contemplating a home sale, one area that causes anxiety is the home inspection process. Despite the care and attention you have shown your home since you bought it, you may be concerned with lingering issues that could dramatically reduce a home’s value that you are unaware of. Luckily, there are a number of specific concerns that home inspectors look for that can be identified by conducting a walk through with your Realtor® or paying for your own home sale pre-inspection. Here is a list of things to think about when planning for your home inspection.

Water damage: Is your gutter system in good shape? Many prospective buyers dread water damage, as that can mean major problems ranging from foundation issues to mold growth. Experienced home inspectors will look for water damage on the interior of your property, but will also make sure that the signs of ongoing water management are in good shape. This particularly includes the condition, construction, and positioning of your gutter system.

Graded sloping toward the foundation: Many home inspectors also look for signs of the land sloping toward your home’s foundation. Over time, this indicates the inability of the surrounding soil to properly manage drainage. As a result, water pools around your home’s foundation and you end up with significant structural damage to your home. In many cases, landscaping can easily fix this problem.

Ventilation and insulation: Does your attic have enough ventilation? This is critical to both climate control and the long-term health of your home. Inspectors will check the general condition of an attic, as well as your soffits and fascia to ensure that you have sufficient ventilation to prevent heat buildups and improper air escape.

Faulty appliances: Any appliances that come with the home, such as the refrigerator or the range, should be in good working repair. It is important to establish their age, their warranty status, and any known issues with these appliances prior to the sale. If your home has older appliances that are likely to be a point of contention during the sale, consider replacing them with new ones.

Damaged siding or stucco: Many homeowners focus on the condition of their exterior cladding, such as siding or stucco, for purposes of appearance and curb appeal. But your home inspector is going to be looking for any areas of damage that could indicate moisture seeping through. Siding and stucco play a critical role in protecting your home from the elements. Repairs can be inexpensive and save you thousands in future costs.

Heating and central air systems: When you live in an area that is fairly temperate, you may not use your heating and central air systems as much as other parts of the country. But it is important that they are in good working order. If it has been awhile since you have used them, consider investing in a thorough cleaning and check up to make sure everything is up to code.

Checking beneath the carpet: If you have wall to wall carpeting or areas of paneling in your home, you can expect an inspector to probe what’s underneath. Is the padding or wall in good condition? Checking what is under the carpet is an important signal of the care you have shown your home and what can be expected.

Are you contemplating putting your home on the market? If so, start your process by contacting a knowledgeable real estate agent. He or she will be able to help guide you through a smooth sales process, with their knowledge of the local market and years of experience managing real estate transactions.

Buying your first home at any stage of life can be an overwhelming and daunting experience. The key to making home ownership a reality is to have complete information about home finance. It is important to start with your deposit. Most lenders/credit providers will require you to have a genuine savings deposit of at least five percent of the purchase price plus upfront costs. So, it is better to plan for deposits in advance.

What should be the Deposit Strategy Plan?

If you want to bring your dreams of home ownership to reality, you will need to scrape together a deposit. The first step to saving for a deposit is to do some homework and develop a deposit strategy plan for yourself as you may be expected to pay between 5-20% of your property’s value as a deposit.

How to create a Budget?

Your plan should also involve creating a “Budget” to work out:

>> How much can you afford to borrow?

>> What amount can you afford to make in monthly repayments?

When creating your “Budget”, you need to determine your current financial situation and your cash flow. These include the following factors:

>> Adding up everything you earn in a month, then

>> Subtracting everything you spend such as credit card payments, personal loan payments, food, petrol, utility bills, school and education fees, gym membership, etc.

The difference between the total amount that you earn and the total amount that you spend will be the amount you can afford to make in monthly payments.

What Costs are to be incurred while buying a Home?

As with any purchases, there are always some costs in buying a home. And to help you understand what the costs are, here, is a list of the costs and factors you should consider when buying your dream home:

Loan Application Fee – This standard, upfront establishment fees usually covers the costs of preparing your loan documentation and one standard valuation fee.

Lenders Mortgage Insurance (LMI) Premium – If you are considering borrowing up to 80% of your property’s value, lenders/credit providers will often require you to take out LMI. This insurance will protect the lenders/credit providers in case you default on your loan. You can choose to pay a one-off LMI premium or you can have the LMI premium added to your loan amount.

Government Fees – This fee includes Stamp Duty and Land Transfer fees, etc. The purchase price (value) of your property will determine the amount of fee payable.

Home/Building and Contents Insurance – Most lenders/credit providers will require you to have home/building insurance as part of their home loan arrangements. You should also consider that Home/Building Insurance and Contents Insurance can be bundled together by insurers as “Home and Contents Insurance” package.

Legal/Conveyancing – You will need to appoint a Conveyancing specialist or solicitor to assist you in complete the purchase of your property. If you do not have a conveyancer or solicitor, you can ask your finance broker or real estate agent to recommend someone.

Inspection Fees – To ensure your new home does not have any nasty surprises (i.e. termites or structural damage), you should get a Building Inspection and Pest Inspection done on the property you are buying.

What Benefits do First-Time Home Buyers receive?

If you are a first-time home buyer, you may be entitled to the Federal Government’s First Home Owner Grant (FHOG) scheme to assist you when you are:

>> Purchasing a newly built home

>> Constructing a new home, or

>> Purchasing a property “Off-the-Plan”

Depending on which state or territory you live in, you may also be entitled to Stamp Duty rebates or exemptions.

Truly, a first-time home buyer benefits from the schemes and exemptions offered by the government. Take advantage of the benefits today. Don’t wait anymore. You have complete information of obtaining your first home loan. All the best for buying your dream home!

The adage goes something like ‘the best time to start investing is now.’ For some beginners, this can be painstaking, considering the volumes of information on the best investment with guaranteed returns. Other beginners will think this is an easy way to make a quick buck and plunge head first in the markets.

This post is for the amateur investor who is ready to make a strategic decision to safeguard their investment against exposure to unsustainable risk, but with enough latitude to pursue conservative opportunities that yield capital gains, and learn the ropes of the trade while at it.

Apart from the theoretical understanding of how the financial markets operate, it is imperative that a beginner gets a realistic feel of the different strategies investors employ in pursuit of opportunities in the markets.

The following is a detailed explanation of five best investment approaches suitable for beginners:

ETFs

Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) offer a less rigorous opportunity for participating in the stock exchange. As a beginner, investing in ETF is ideal because an ETF pools together several assets including particular stocks, commodities and bonds, and the performance tracked against an index. ETFs allows you as the investor to trade several assets commonly as if they were a single stock. The diversification of the ETF enables beginners to access a broad portfolio of stocks and bonds providing the convenience and reduced risk. Consequently, the flexible nature of ETFs allows an investor to trade flexibly, with the choice of buying and selling at any time during regular trading hours.

Mutual funds

Mutual funds are pooled investment vehicles ideal for beginners because of its two primary characteristics. First, a beginner is able to access the services of a professional trader in the name of fund manager despite the meek amount of capital, some as low as $25. Secondly, the investor is exposed to minimal risk because mutual funds, like ETFs, invest in a diverse asset class portfolio of stocks, commodities, and bonds across different markets and industries.

Individual stock

After a detailed analysis of the past performance of an individual stock and the prevailing facts, individual stocks can offer a stable investment opportunity suitable for beginners. Caution should, however, be placed to ensure that the investment into the particular stock does not upset the risk tolerance level of your portfolio in case of a negative turn of events. Markets is not always predictable.

Certificate of deposit

Depositing money in a bank over a specified term length with a fixed and guaranteed return of capital plus interest is a sound investment opportunity for a beginner. Certificate of deposits is insured and hence the capital plus interest are guaranteed to the investor at maturity. However, it is important to understand that access to this money is limited during the stipulated investment term length and may attract fees or loss of interest in case of withdrawal.

High Yield Savings Account

This investment also entails saving for the sole purposes of earning capital gains from interest over a specified term length. However, unlike the certificate of deposit, the interest is not fixed and hence interest is according to the prevailing market rates. Funds in this account are however more liquid hence easily accessible.

Chris Bouchard is a strategic consultant who works with non-profit leaders and social entrepreneurs to apply concepts and techniques to identify complex strategic issues, find practical solutions, and devise strategies to create and win a unique strategic position. He also offers project development, proposal writing, and project evaluation services.

AIG: Maurice Greenberg’s piece in today’s Wall Street Journal nearly provoked an attack of apoplexy. I’m not sure if I’ve read such a slanted, self-serving editorial in a long, long time. I’m pretty shocked that the WSJ would publish such pandering drivel. Be that as it may, we all know that the Big Mo controls gobs of AIG shares both directly and through his management of CV Starr, so let’s just say that we know where he is coming from. When he starts out with the bailout-inconsistency argument, he kind of had my ear. But when he went on to praise the Citigroup package while chastizing the AIG deal, I couldn’t help but call bull$hit.

To date, the government has shown everything but a consistent approach. It didn’t give assistance to Lehman Brothers. But it did push for a much-publicized and now abandoned plan to purchase troubled assets. The government also pushed for a punitive program for American International Group (AIG) that benefits only the company’s credit default swap counterparties. And it is now purchasing redeemable, nonvoting preferred stock in some of the nation’s largest banks.

The Citi deal makes sense in many respects. The government will inject $20 billion into the company and act as a guarantor of 90% of losses stemming from $306 billion in toxic assets. In return, the government will receive $27 billion of preferred shares paying an 8% dividend and warrants, giving the government a potential equity interest in Citi of up to about 8%. The Citi board should be congratulated for insisting on a deal that both preserves jobs and benefits taxpayers.

But the government’s strategy for Citi differs markedly from its initial response to the first companies to experience liquidity crises. One of those companies was AIG, the company I led for many years.

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The maintenance of the status quo will result in the loss of tens of thousands of jobs, lock in billions of dollars of losses for pension funds that are significant AIG shareholders, and wipe out the savings of retirees and millions of other ordinary Americans. This is not what the broader economy needs. It is a lose-lose proposition for everyone but AIG’s credit default swap counterparties, who will be made whole under the new deal.
The government should instead apply the same principles it is applying to Citigroup to create a win-win situation for AIG and its stakeholders. First and foremost, the government should provide a federal guaranty to meet AIG’s counterparty collateral requirements, which have consumed the vast majority of the government-provided funding to date.

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The purpose of any federal assistance should be to preserve jobs and allow private capital to take the place of government once private capital becomes available. The structure of the current AIG-government deal makes that impossible.

The role of government should not be to force a company out of business, but rather to help it stay in business so that it can continue to be a taxpayer and an employer. This requires revisiting the terms of the federal government’s assistance to AIG to avoid that company’s breakup and the devastating consequences that would follow.
Hank, you’ve got to be kidding me. The U.S. taxpayers saved Citigroup’s life, and for that we may get up to 8% of the company. THAT is called a “punitive program” in Hank’s parlance for the U.S. taxpayer. In my world when you save a company you own ALL the equity, not 1/12th of the equity. The fact that the taxpayer gets up to 80% of AIG – now that starts to make sense. I agree with the Big Mo’s contention that “The purpose of any federal assistance should be to preserve jobs and allow private capital to take the place of government once private capital becomes available.” But that has nothing to do with post-restructuring equity ownership. He then pulls on the heartstrings by saying “The maintenance of the status quo will result in the loss of tens of thousands of jobs, lock in billions of dollars of losses for pension funds that are significant AIG shareholders, and wipe out the savings of retirees and millions of other ordinary Americans.” Well, Hank, that is 100% on you. YOU should have thought things through before building a company and a culture that gambled it all – and lost. You tell that retiree, that pensioner how you screwed them. That’s called integrity. This thinly-veiled call for personally getting bailed out is both insulting and offensive. And I’m not buying it. I’m sure that my fellow U.S. taxpayers aren’t, either.

Private Equity: The daisy chain of secondary sales of PE L.P. interests will almost certainly accelerate. It is one of those slow-motion train wrecks that is painful to watch. The calculus is easy to understand: public equity values plummet, PE values are stickier and fall more slowly, PE as a percentage of overall assets rises to unacceptable levels, precipitating a wave of sales of PE L.P. interests. An interesting feature of this dynamic is autocorrelation, where PE values are slow to adjust notwithstanding the public market comparables that are available. If industrials are down 40%, then don’t you think a portfolio of PE holdings in the industrials sector should trade well beyond 40% down due to illiquidity? This isn’t the way many PE funds choose to see the world, however. Regardless, the secondary market is just that – a market – and the discounts being placed on marquee funds like KKR and Terra Firma reflect this reality. Pensions and endowments have to dump stuff, and are trying to do so at a fraction of their basis. But even at fire-sale prices it is hard to move the merchandise. In the next few months we’ll see just how desperate these investors are. Might we see KKR trade at 30 cents on the dollar? It’s possible. And frightening.

Venture Capital: I attended an interesting brownbag today with my pals at betaworks. A big part of the discussion was around funding in today’s hostile environment. Here are a few of the tidbits that came out of the dialogue:

What does an SEO-friendly article look like these days?

Ask 100 people and you will probably get 100 different answers. The problem is that a lot of marketing ‘experts’ are still stuck in the past when it comes to the best strategies for getting a post to the top of Google and this results in a lot of low quality content and a lot of wasted time.

The best way to make an article SEO-friendly is actually quite simple, so read on and let’s dive into what you need to know.

Provide Value

To understand how to write the best SEO-friendly article, it pays to get inside the mindset of Google a little. What is Google trying to achieve?

The answer is simple: it wants to serve its users by linking them to the very highest quality and most relevant content that it can find. Thus, any signals that you can send to Google to show that your content is high quality and relevant, will ultimately results in a boost to your SEO. The question is just how you go about doing that.

One example is to include outward bound links to other useful resources, relevant to the content of your site. This shows Google that you’re interested in providing as much information as possible to your readers, it aligns you with high quality sites and it provides references to back up your claims (suggesting accuracy).

What this shouldn’t mean is that ‘every article needs at least two outward bound links’. This is entirely missing the point as it will create a predictable pattern on your site that will look like manipulation. Link out when it is relevant and useful and don’t be cynical about it.

It’s also for this reason that Google likes to see long content – of around 800 words+. While reports vary, it is generally thought that the ideal content length for SEO is approximately 1,800 words – and this will improve your chances of being features as News.

Keywords

It’s painful to see, but some SEO companies still think that a good SEO article is one that has the same keywords repeated over and over, to the detriment of the reading experience. This is one of the fastest ways to have your content flagged as spam, if not by Google, then by the human readers on your site.

Instead, keywords should be used very sparingly. A density of around 1-2% is recommended but only when that is appropriate and when it fits with the content naturally. This is one reason to write longer-form content though, as longer posts are going to have more space for repetitive keyword use. It’s also important to recognize that synonyms and related terms are just as important, if not more so. Try to write around the subject and let related terms enter your content naturally. This is something you can expect to play a bigger and bigger role in future.

Readability

Finally, space out your content and use lots of headings. Use large fonts and a narrative, user-friendly structure. This will help to keep people on your pages for longer and that’s one of the other things that Google looks for when ranking content.

A common term SEO (Search engine optimisation) has spread over masses. This particular topic has become the talk of leading businesses today. This particular term when applied skilfully can prove to be effective in generating lots of revenue. Not only it promotes the ranking of the website but can invite the traffic of users from the different sources as well.

It is important to keep the focus on the good quality content and links to your website. Truly speaking, these two aspects are hardest to cover. There are certain factors offered by the SEO company that not only increases the ranking but can also generate the desirable traffic.

Provides the Influencers

Influencers are the sound professionals who can help you to promote your blog posts or article diligently. These professionals can be the representative of the company itself or some hired authority. These influencers are subject matter expert who can curate the content of the website professionally. Audiences are bound to attract, as these experts know the ways to gather the attention significantly.

Generates Content Marketing Strategy

When deciding for the delivery of content, it is utmost important to work on the content marketing strategy as well. For content, the two aspects that revolve around it are keywords and the regularity of the post whether it is the blog post or research reports. An SEO company has some strategies that can help search engines like Google to identify the right material and fetch the same to the end users.

Creates Powerful back-links to your website

The SEO professionals when hired can generate valuable series of back-links directed to your website because of the strong digital reach or persona they are having.

Prepares a Mobile Friendly Applications

The Huge population has stepped down their feet on the mobile applications and it is necessary for businesses to underline the rankings of the mobile applications as well unless they will lose their majority of ranking significantly.

Uses the Schema.Org Mark-Up for Effective Layout

The schema.org is responsible for creating a structured data over the internet. It can help Google to identify which set of information or data is a picture, review, video, location of the company and much more. So that search engines like Google can easily identify which set of data is to be presented to end users which can ultimately improve the rankings.

Shifts the Websites to Secure HTTP Address

Google has made clear that websites whose web address has been shifted to secure option that is HTTP will be presented to end user. Thus, the SEO services have begun shifting the current business address to new and safer option of HTTP.

The above are the 6 strategies that are now being implemented by SEO services to meet the trends of coming years.

This article is especially for my readers who want to learn everything about SEO. Here I will share with you all the extensive and the advanced SEO techniques you need to know to be successful. I present to you the most advanced SEO strategies that exist. These are the proven methods to increase the rank of your website. With these proven strategies you can speed up the site performance, and get more targeted traffic. Here are eight secret tips to better optimize your content for search engine optimization.

Accessibility And Indexation

Do you know what matters the most for SEO? The content! But is that it? The answer is NO! You might have a website full of amazing, creative and unique content, but if the search engines like Google do not index the site, the search engines can’t crawl the site properly; the unique and attractive content and a beautiful website will not matter at all.

Performance And Website Speed

You may know that site speed is not a large factor in listing the website at the top. It affects the ranking by 1%, but that 1% is often neglected. Google may not give it that much importance, but think of it like this, if your website is quick, easy to load, responsive, then the visitors will be happy visiting it again, any authentic SEO expert services provider will tell you that. Make sure that you understand efficiency makes the user experience better. Once the users get a quick response, they have a better control of the experience.

Now that the search engines index your website let us go further to the next level. The second allows you to analyze & control the performance of your site and also the speed.

Advanced Search

Today SEO is not just about the back links or tags. SEO has evolved over time. The search engines will not rank your website if it is not relevant. Once you understand this part; you will get ahead of others.

SEO Expert Services Prefer WordPress

WordPress is an excelled source. We say source because it is. You will find that almost every blog is created in WordPress. It is an excellent CMS with dozens of capabilities which are SEO oriented. Most of the people know the basics of WordPress, so we will skip those and take things one step ahead.

Advanced Research For Data

When you are running an SEO campaign, it’s like being a detective. It is fun, and it is challenging. To ensure the best you need to get the data or let’s say, pull the data from different sources available on the web. There are many ways in which you can dig the data from various sites.

Research For Keywords

Keyword research is a big thing in SEO. You must have used the popular Google AdWords tool. We suggest you do not stick to only a single tool. Try other dozens of tools available on the web.

Techniques For Link Building

You may use penguin and panda to create the links. But still, you will need some excellent strategies and techniques to make sure that your content is out there. You need to deploy proper methods to ensure that the people see and read the content, and they link back to it.

Other Search Items

It may be easy to rank the text i.e. the content or the article but what about the media on the site? How will you rank the photos? How will you get good ranks on the mobile search? A good SEO expert services provider will also look into these things and will optimize the content for you in a fruitful way for your business.

SEO video marketing is one of the more effective ways to reach your target audience. SEO and video content is very beneficial for business. Marketing to make a lasting impression can have a major impact on your business. Video is powerful content and contributes a great deal with SEO. Here are five key benefits of SEO video marketing.

1. Video marketing is great for SEO

Videos can boost SEO rankings on both major platforms Google and YouTube. Having a well optimized video that reaches your target audience is more likely to become visible in search engines. An optimized title and description lets Google know what it is about. Being that Google shows videos in their search results, its great for a businesses marketing and SEO. Creating links from your video to your website leads to higher rankings in search results.The higher you rank, the more traffic you will potentially get.

2. Valuable Content

With video marketing, content should be relevant, informational and engaging. By creating valuable content, you would be increasing the watch time of viewers which is very important with ranking with YouTube. The longer the viewer stays on a video has an impact on that video ranking higher. Viewers are more likely inclined to watch a video so keep it worth watching.

3. Increased Conversions

Videos can increase sales. Businesses that use video convert to higher sales than businesses who don’t. Viewers can turn into leads, and leads into customers.

4. Brand Awareness

Videos have an opportunity to reach millions on major platforms such as Google, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and Vimeo. Videos are more likely to get plenty shares and go viral. Building brand awareness through video lets viewers form a connection with your brand.

5. Increased Web Traffic

Videos that are positioned on the 1st page of Google and YouTube means thousands of potential visitors to your website. Potential clients are more likely to watch a video that is positioned on the 1st page rather than a link to a website. YouTube is the second largest search engine. A well optimized, engaging, informational video will increase SEO ranking on both page 1 of Google and YouTube.