MerchantCircle enlists its millionth small business for online marketing help

January 18, 2010 | Anthony Ha
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merchantcircle-logoMerchantCircle may not be as well-known as business listing site Yelp, but its user base of small businesses who want to control their web presence keeps growing. The company says it recently signed up its 1 millionth business, about three-and-a-half years after launching.

Los Altos, Calif.-based MerchantCircle creates online profiles for every small business it can find (it has created 15 million profiles in all), then encourages owners to “claim” those profiles and start paying for MerchantCircle services. The company has been criticized for going after those businesses aggressively, but it offers a real service, making it easy for business owners to customize a profile that will top search engine results for relevant local queries, with features like a blog, coupons, and an online answer service.

With its focus on business owners who may not be that web-savvy, MerchantCircle also likes to emphasize the broadness of its audience. Its listings aren’t just concentrated in a few major cities, it says (although there are 10,400 members in New York City). Instead, there are 1,750 towns in the United States with more than 100 members. Islip, New York-based Nassau Avenue Nails was the millionth business to sign up, and will receive all of MerchantCircle’s services for free.

The company has raised a total of $14.1 million from Rustic Canyon Partners, Disney’s Steamboat Ventures, Scale Venture Partners, and IAC, the company that owns Citysearch.

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About the Author, Anthony Ha

Anthony is VentureBeat's assistant editor, as well as its reporter on enterprise technology, cloud computing, and advertising. Before joining VentureBeat in 2008, Anthony worked at the Hollister Free Lance, where he won awards from the California Newspaper Publishers Association for breaking news coverage and writing. He attended Stanford University and now lives in San Francisco. Reach him at anthony@venturebeat.com. You can also follow Anthony on Twitter.

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  • I am so excited for Merchant Circle. I know being with the site as helped my business and it can help others also. www.michigancellularstore.com
  • I am so excited for Merchant Circle for signing up the 1 Million person. This is awesome. As a Moderator for the Merchant Circle website, I can think of no other accomplishment greater than Merchant Circle, connecting 1 million small business owners with end users.

    Congrads...Merchant Circle.
  • Rothstein Jewelers of BeverlyHills has been a member of MerchantCircle for a few years. We have found this a greatly improved business-networking site that is merchant-friendly but also encourages consumer interaction. It is like a huge nationwide family. There are so many FREE features to help the small business owner succeed locally and also be found by the search engines. There are interactive educational Forums, including links to twitter & FB. Maybe it is time-consuming, but what better way to spend it than improving your business's chances to succeed. http://www.merchantcircle.com/business/J.Rothst... (check it out for yourself)
  • Merchant Circle has been great for promoting my business, I have seen an increase in traffic and sales since I started with them. It has a wonderful community feel that I really like and there is no end to the tips you get from other merchants to help you grow your business.
  • These findings make sense, frankly. Proactive participation in social media can be (or can seem to be) a full-time effort, a commitment that small business owners (with small business staff) lack the time to embrace. And this won't change, because using social media effectively *is* a major time commitment.
  • Merchant Circle is one of the best social networks for small businesses. MC's concept is very efficient. It combines a business listing, web page, blog spot, forum, and newsletter tool into one online location. My business has experienced measurable growth, and made excellent business contacts as a result of Merchant Circle. There's just nothing else like it on the web.
    http://www.staciesgifts.com
  • mycookiecentral
    I love Merchant Circle! I was lucky enough to be introduced to Merchant Circle by another local small business. Since joining almost one year ago, I have found myself welcomed by the Merchant Circle community. The wealth of experienced, successful business owners available that are willing to help new business grow is reason enough to join. The marketing tools provided (blogs, coupons, photo galleries, and so much more) far surpass those of any other marketing site I've seen and the results speak for themselves (my business, too, can be found on page one of Google). Try Mercant Circle! It's free to claim your listing and you won't be dissapointed by all it has to offer!
  • Anthony Carlitto
    I have been with MerchantCircle for years and have found MerchantCircle is one of the most powerful tools a local business can be connected with. As an owner of nationwide internet marketing company, we always list our clients on MerchantCircle directory. As mentioned above, the exposure businesses receive from Google is amazing, along with being one of the few inter-active directories, and with the merchant deals, coupons, promotions, friendships and forums (that educate and help small and mid-sized businesses), MerchantCircle stands alone and is in a class by themselves. My advice, claim your listing on MerchantCircle if you want to continue growing your business, or stay ahead of your competitors. If any business out there needs help, contact me free of charge, and I will be more than willing to show you the benefits of this amazing internet marketing tool.
    The only surprising thing to me about MerchantCircle is the fact that a business would ignore a very vital part of one of the strongest internet marketing tools on the web.
  • MC is one of the best networking and marketing places for a small business. If you build your site and your network you can get amazing results and grow your business every day. Remember other merchants are also customers. In addition MC has placed me on page one of google and yahoo - don't believe me type in home staging services alexandria, va. Besides its business benefits I have met some very talented and amazing individuals. MC is a wonderful place for a business whether you are just getting started or have been in business for decades.
  • theglassguy
    MerchantCircle is by far the BEST networking site on this planet. MerchantCircle when used properly can produce amazing results. The key is to sign up and start getting active. I've been with MerchantCircle for almost 2 years now, I love it. I use to spend about $350 - $400 a month from YP ads and I probably saw maybe 2 calls a year, Today, I spend $130 a month with MerchantCircle and bill almost $8,000 - $9,000 a month! Up until joining MerchantCircle, business was a struggle. Now we have all the business we can handle. It amazes me, my competitors spend thousands of dollars on a website – I don't need one. MerchantCircle is my website. It's Funny I beat out ALL my competitors big fancy expensive websites with my lil ol MerchantCircle listing.
    I'm averaging more than 7,000 page views a month to my MerchantCircle listing – which is my main and only web presence. My business can be found under MANY different search terms on top search engines, The Glass Guy shows up at the TOP of results all over the Twin Cities and Minnesota areas. http://www.merchantcircle.com/business/The.Glas...
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