MerchantCircle Creates ‘Instant Websites’

MerchantCircle has introduced what it’s calling an “instant website” product. In order to take advantage of it local businesses need to be registered with MerchantCircle.

The company told me yesterday that 75% of its registered businesses/members (now at 550K) don’t have websites. This number is not the same as all SMBs because MerchantCircle “over-indexes” in smaller markets. (My survey research has shown a figure in the 55% to 60% range for no websites among SMBs.) But it represents a significant market opportunity for the company to grow its advertiser base (now at a reported 7,500).

The websites are similar to blogs in that their format is templated but can be changed at will. The content is drawn from the MerchantCircle profile pages. Richer pages equal better website content. The website populates with a single click at the end of the process.

To begin, local businesses register domains through MerchantCircle. Hosting and monthly fees are $14.99 per address per month. Costs go down for multiple addresses. Here’s a video showing the entire process, most of which is spent on registering domains.

Yahoo!, Microsoft, Google and SmallTown offer stand-alone simple website building tools. Blogs can also be used as sites (as I do). However the MerchantCircle tool may be the quickest and easiest yet. It represents an entry point for most of these businesses, which later will probably want more elaborate sites as they become more sophisticated. (That implies another product for MerchantCircle to meet that potential demand.)

However it’s a smart way for MerchantCircle to generate additional revenue and create a foot-in-the-door for an advertising upsell, as well as to provide a service to these businesses. Those that create websites are going to be more likely to advertise. It also creates SMB loyalty because most people don’t know how to transfer domains and will likely remain with MerchantCircle, accordingly, as their web host.

A related, previous post, “The End of SMB Websites,” generated lots of discussion and debate about the relationship between websites and landing pages, as well as the need for websites in a world of rich profiles and landing pages.