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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.

According to Sharad Agarwal, CEO of Cyber Gear, “Domain authority is a measure of the power of a domain name and is one of the most important search engine ranking factors. Domain authority is based on three factors: Age, Popularity and Size. Web site owners need to focus on domain authority to ensure that their brand is popular on the web.”

‘Domain Authority’ of a web site is also important since it can ascertain the following:

• Prestige of a website and its authors
• Quality of the information presented
• Information and website centrality
• Competitive situation around a subject

Domain Authority (DA) is a search engine ranking score developed by Moz that predicts how well a website will rank on search engine result pages (SERPs). A Domain Authority score ranges from one to 100, with higher scores corresponding to a greater ability to rank based on an algorithm and weighted level metric.

Domain Authority is calculated by on the basis of age of domain, evaluating linking root domains, number of total links, MozRank, MozTrust, etc. into a single DA score. This score can then be used when comparing websites or tracking the ‘ranking strength’ of a website over time.

You can view a website’s DA by using MozBar (a free Chrome-extension), Open Site Explorer (a backlink analysis tool), the SERP Analysis section of Keyword Explorer and several other SEO tools across the web like Websiteseochecker.com.

Sites with a very large number of high quality external links are at the top end of the Domain Authority scale, whereas small businesses and websites with fewer inbound links may have a much lower DA score. Because of how Domain Authority is calculated, it’s best used as a comparative metric when doing research in the search results and determining which sites may have more powerful link profiles than others.

The best way to influence the Domain Authority metric is to improve your overall SEO. In particular you should focus on your link profile by getting more links from other well-linked-to pages.

GuestPosts.biz can help you build links from reputed portals.

The much awaited Apple Pay made its debut today in UAE. Six local banks – Emirates NBD, Mashreq, RAKBank, Emirates Islamic, HSBC and Standard Chartered are the first to offer Apple Pay in UAE, supported by Visa and MasterCard.

Recent research reveals that card spending has increased substantially in the last couple of years and UAE is heading towards a digital economy with cashless environment. Interestingly, the UAE is now among only 20 countries worldwide that now enjoy this payment facility.

How Does It Work?

Using Apple Pay is as easy as 1-2-3.

1. Add your credit cards information to your iPhone’s Wallet app from the ‘Settings’ tab and following the prompts. You can even upload cards by using your phone’s camera to read the card details.
2. Hold your device near a contactless card reader at where you’re making a purchase and use Touch ID to complete it. You can also do this action with your Apple Watch and even if you leave your iPhone far away, you can still use the Watch for Apple Pay.
3. The Touch ID step is also available on iPads and Macs that support it. For in-app purchases, a user just needs to tap the ‘Buy with Apple Pay’ button.

In the soon to be launched, iPhone X. Face ID will be used to authenticate an Apple Pay purchase.

Who Can Use It?

Users will have to update their devices to iOS 11 or later and select United Arab Emirates as their region as well as have an iCloud account.

Apple Products Supported

• iPhone 6 or later in stores, apps, and websites in Safari
• iPad Pro, iPad Air 2 or iPad mini 3 and later for use on apps and websites
• Apple Watch in stores and apps
• Mac introduced in or after 2012 running macOS Sierra or later and Touch ID on Macbook Pro Touch Bar

How Secure Is It?

With Apple Pay, your card number isn’t exactly stored on the iPhone, on Apple servers or shared with merchants. Instead of the traditional method of storing details in devices, a unique device account number is assigned and encrypted, which is securely stored in a secure element on the device. Each transaction then, is authorised with a one-time dynamic security code.

You can view your last transactions in your Apple Wallet, and some allow you to see the last ten transactions. Each bank differs on what information will be displayed, so it’s best to check with your bank to see exactly how this works.

And even if you lose your iPhone, you don’t have to panic. By using ‘Find My iPhone’ or by going to iCloud.com, you can put a device in Lost Mode, which automatically suspends all the cards in Apple Pay.

What’s Coming?

Soon, you’ll even be able to send and receive money over iMessage. Move over banks!

Cyber Gear is now offering regional ecommerce web sites and mobile apps, the facility to integrate their shopping carts to accept payment through Apple Pay.

1. USP

State clearly your ‘Unique Selling Proposition’ upfront. It should be a game changer.

2. Attractive ‘Look and Feel’

Everybody is drawn to a pretty face. Ensure your images are eye catching.

3. Video Sells

Multimedia is a big winner on the web. Social media is driven by video content.

4. Create Curiosity

Unravelling a ‘First of its’ kind’ offer helps.

5. Benefits, Benefits, Benefits

The benefits should be very straightforward, practical and appealing.

6. Testimonials

Proof of concept always convinces newbies.

7. Call for Action

‘In the face’ is a good idea.

8. ‘Responsive’

Over half of all web traffic now comes from mobile devices, so be sure your landing page is mobile-ready.

9. Speed Test

Use Google Webmaster Tools to ensure your page downloads within 6 seconds

10. Monitor the Response

Optimise the design and concept based on analytics.

Thanks to Donald Trump, Twitter is one of the most popular social media platform.

The problem is that with so many people embracing Twitter as a channel for communication, it is becoming increasingly difficult to find a Twitter account name (called ‘handle’) that relates to your identity, personal or business related. Each day, an average of 460,000 people sign up for a new account. This means about 320 people sign up for an account every minute. So your favourite name could be gone any second now, visit Twitter and find and reserve your favourite Twitter name as soon as you can.

Twitter awards the first person who requests for an available name and then prohibits their resale. Eight years after Twitter’s launch, it has become extremely difficult to secure short handles without resorting to the inclusion of middle initials, dashes, numbers or abbreviations.

If the handle you want is taken, there are ways to mutually negotiate with its owner to transfer it to you. Twitter can in some cases help in the case of impersonation or trademark violations. And, despite Twitter’s prohibition, there is an unsanctioned secondary market!

Twitter says that in order to keep an account active, a user needs to log in and tweet at least once every six months, or risk permanently losing an account. But Twitter’s standards for inactivity can be more complicated than tweets alone. The company also states, “Inactivity is based on a combination of tweeting, logging in, and the date an account was created. Please note that you may not be able to tell whether an account is currently inactive, as not all signs of account activity are publicly visible.”

Here are some guidelines for selecting your Twitter handle:

1. Keep the name as relevant to your company name as you can if you want to be recognized and found with ease.
2. The shorter it is – the easier it would be for someone to mention you in their Tweets because of the word limit. Initials are a good idea.
3. The more unique your Twitter name is the easier it will be to find it.
4. You also want your Twitter name to be easy to remember.
5. Keep it consistent with your other Social Media addresses.
6. Adding your location as part of your handle can sometimes he helpful.
7. Special characters are not such a good idea.

If you are totally flummoxed, try http://twitternamegenerator.com