MerchantCircle Launches the Web's Easiest-To-Use Instant Website Service

Offering Designed to Help Local Merchants Acquire Customers Online in Tough
Economic Times

LOS ALTOS, Calif., Aug. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- MerchantCircle, the largest
online network of local business owners in the nation with 550,000 members,
today announces its "Instant Website" service, the web's easiest-to-use
website and custom domain name offering. Local business owners will be able to
select a customized web address through the MerchantCircle platform and
instantly create a website under that domain name. Included in the monthly
service, MerchantCircle provides all web hosting and content creation tools,
with business information automatically pulled and updated from their
MerchantCircle listing onto a separate website.
"This offering comes as a direct result of conversations we've had with
thousands of our merchants, more than 75% of whom have never had a web
presence before," says Darren Waddell, Vice President of Marketing,
MerchantCircle. "Our new Instant Website service will give merchants a true
website with a business web address to serve as a complement to their existing
MerchantCircle listing."
"I bought The Falk Company in 2004 and they had 60 customers nationwide
for their Camfo Creme with no web presence," says Damian McAllister, owner of
The Falk Company in Fargo, ND. "Since putting my business on MerchantCircle, I
now have 300 customers, but I want to grow my business even more. Having a
domain name and website through MerchantCircle will help me out even more on
search engines and it's been an amazingly simple process. Literally, I just
clicked button."
Currently, only 1 million out of an estimated 15 million local business
owners advertise in the United States, with only 42% having websites (Sterling
Market Intelligence). "Advertising a local business online is the most cost-
efficient way to acquire local customers," says Waddell. "In these difficult
economic times, we believe every local business should have a professional-
looking website." To help local merchants get online, MerchantCircle will
give away 1,000 Instant Websites to reward its most active members.
The Instant Website product will be offered for between $14.99 and $6.99
per month depending on the number of web addresses selected, which will be
hosted by MerchantCircle. Local business owners will be able to create new
content (coupons, blogs, pictures, newsletters) through their MerchantCircle
listing, and it will automatically be pulled onto their new business listing.
The Instant Website service is the first of its kind on the web.
For more information, visit: http://www.mc-instantwebsite.com
About MerchantCircle
Founded in 2005, MerchantCircle is the largest online network of local
business owners in the nation, combining social networking features with a
customizable web listing that allows local merchants to attract new customers.
More than 15 million MerchantCircle business listings across the country are
easily accessed on major search engines.
Currently, over 550,000 merchants on the MerchantCircle network upload
pictures, blog, create coupons and newsletters, and connect with other
merchants. In addition to its free services, MerchantCircle offers a portfolio
of online advertising services including Search Engine Marketing, Website
Directory Submission, Web Content Creation, and Business Verification.
MerchantCircle has attracted nearly 7,500 paying customers since launching a
suite of advertising services in December.
MerchantCircle is located on Main St. in downtown Los Altos, Calif., and
is funded by Rustic Canyon Partners, Scale Venture Partners, Disney's
Steamboat Ventures, and Citysearch, a property of IAC. Learn more at
www.merchantcircle.com
SOURCE MerchantCircle

Kevin Leu of MerchantCircle, +1-858-361-4407, Kevin@MerchantCircle.com