Small Business Saturday is recognized as the Saturday after Thanksgiving. It started in 2010 as an American Express campaign and is a registered trademark of the American Express Corporation. It is a day where holiday shoppers are encouraged to spend their dollars at small, local businesses, rather than large, big box retailers. On Facebook, the page, “Small Business Saturday” has over 3 million likes. The Twitter hashtags “#SmallBusinessSaturday” and “#SmallBizSaturday” star

By the time many people are waking up the morning after Thanksgiving, many other Americans have already been shopping for several hours. Many are still in line as you read this article. Some say, however, that Black Friday is losing its appeal, and just isn’t as popular as it has been in years past. With online shopping and smartphone apps, some feel that they can get as good of a deal online and not have to deal with the crowds and the very early mornings. As more and more s

Does Social Media make a difference when it comes to E-Commerce? There's no arguement that Social Media helps businesses to connect with customers, but some still wonder how much revenue is actually earned from Social Media sites. Check out some of the statistics that we have gathered. The evidence all points to the fact that Social Media is a great asset to have, and it's not going anywhere any time soon.

Google is trying something new with Google Shopping The example that is pictured shows products from a specific jeweler that is categorized- rings, bracelets, necklaces, and earrings in a search for that jeweler. When a category is clicked- it leads to a page on Google Shopping, not to the jewelers website. So, if other retailers carry this specific brand, then those listings would also appear. For example- with this format, if a consumer was looking for Ugg brand apparel or

Facebook Places App Have you heard of the new Facebook Places Directory? Many didn’t. The launch wasn’t widely publicized. What is well known is that Facebook knows a great deal of information about its user- where we go, how often we go, what days we are there, who we went with, and more. What does that mean? Everyone is aware that people talk- and people talk online. Facebook Places combines friends talking online with specific cities and places. For example, if a person is

When we talk to clients about providing SEO work, we develop a clear goal of getting on the first page of search engines. However, we don’t mean Yahoo’s homepage, but that is exactly what Ryan Krane- www.ryankrane.com- experienced last week. Ryan was contacted by Yahoo to contribute to a story about back pain treatment, which is Ryan’s specialty. The reason he was contacted to contribute to it…you guessed it. The editor did a search for back pain treatment and found Ryan’s we

Did you know that search engines are now the #1 resource used by consumers looking for products and services from local businesses? Let's face it- the internet is a way of life. Our toddlers know how to operate a smartphone better than our grandparents- at least mine does. With so much of the local population relying on the internet for information about your business: directions, operating hours, products & services offered, reviews, prices and more- you simply cannot afford