Small Business Shift

You may have heard Google killed off a bunch of business accounts on Google+. This is in preparation for launching of the official product, which it sounds like may still be a little way off. Apparently over 10,000 businesses requested access to the beta business account program, and so they are going to basically bypass […]

Adage shares 50 social media stats. This one might not be the most useful, but is pretty amazing: 43. Re: the Royal Wedding: “911,000 wedding-related tweets were tracked in the past 30 days. That’s about 30,000 per day and accounts for 71% of all social media.” (USA Today) To see the other 49, visit: 50 Social […]

Yesterday Google announced changes to Google Places Pages. I posted a quick note in my Around The Web section at the time, but would like to dive into it a bit deeper and provide some analysis as well. What’s Changed On Google Places The Place Pages We’ll start at the top (orange edits are mine): A […]

For a more detailed look at the new Places layout, read my in-depth post. Mike Blumenthal was given an image from Coinso.com, displaying a new look for Google Places. Presumably a test, it seems focused on encouraging reviews in Google Places, with a large red “Write a review” button near the top of the page. […]

This article at Search Engine Land looks at data regarding small business social media use. It shows over 58% have Facebook or Twitter accounts (Facebook being roughly twice as popular), but a minority show real engagement. The author writes: Many business owners set up social media accounts because they’re free and they believe they should […]

Business Insider interviews an ex-Living Social salesman, now working with another daily deals provider. He says there are too many deal sites, and has this comment regarding the revenue share between businesses and deal sites: Lastly, a lot of people have figured out that 50/50 is a bunch of bullshit. You can talk a lot […]

Infographic from Unbounce – be sure to scroll down, the good part is the timeline. Great high level look at how to run all the pieces of an online marketing campaign, starting at day 1. They don’t include information specific to local businesses (such as building citations). Unbounce – The DIY Landing Page Platform via […]

Nice analysis on why it might be time to start looking at smartphones and how their use will impact your business: A recent report from the Pew Internet Project found that one third of American adults – 35% – own smartphones. Read the story at: Why It’s Time to Develop a Mobile Strategy | Nick Cifuentes.

I’ve never really liked fax machines, and don’t find it worth keeping one around. But once in a while, you have to use one. Often this involves something which needs a signature. Making all of this cheap and easy is HelloFax. About HelloFax HelloFax is an online fax service. It allows you to upload a […]

As the yellow pages slowly die off, phone book companies are increasingly pushing the Internet versions of their books – both to searchers and to small business ad buyers. Which, for a small business, begs the question: is it worth buying advertising in the Internet Yellow Pages (IYP)? Consumers & Internet Yellow Pages A recent […]