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EDITOR’S NOTE: Today’s guest blogger is Eric Rosenzweig, CIO of Garden Fresh Restaurant Corp. Eric and the Garden Fresh team told their story live via webinar recently. Listen to the webinar recording to hear them discuss why the time was right to switch and how the change benefited their business. With 129 restaurants in 15 states, Garden Fresh Restaurant Corp. has grown quickly since we acquired the first two Souplantation restaurants in 1983. Since then, over 300 million guests have experienced the all-you-care-to-eat dining experience at our restaurants, jam packed with fresh, high quality ingredients. Early in 2012, we found that the upkeep of our email system & servers was becoming unsustainable. It slowed down collaboration and execution of plans across the business. After evaluating various solutions, switching to Google Apps with the help of SADA Systems was a ‘no brainer’. Introducing shared Google Calendars and Google Docs simplified day-to-day tasks. Before the move ...

Can you believe Thanksgiving is once again upon us? While it is a great weekend to reflect on all that we have to be thankful for and to catch up with friends and family, Thanksgiving weekend has also has become the official kickoff for the holiday shopping season. Although previously just a single-day shopping extravaganza, Thanksgiving weekend has exploded into a packed 5-day shopping bonanza filled with special discounts and deals. With online sales up over by over 25% in 2011 (comScore), 2012 promises to bring an even better weekend for Retailers. So, before you head out to shop yourself this weekend, here are some must-know tips & tricks to ensure you’re set-up for success: Thanksgiving-Day Shopping is bigger than ever before: Thanksgiving Day shopping trends have dramatically shifted the past couple of years. Previously, a ‘turkey-coma’ was spent resting, or napping, in anticipation of store openings at midnight on Friday morning. However, more recently, with the surging popu...

While retailers might still be carting out decorations and Black Friday deals have yet to hit shelves, the holiday shopping season is already in full swing. Searches for “holiday gift” on Google have already spiked 156% since the first of November, and searches for “Black Friday” are up 546%. In the days leading up to the biggest shopping event of the year, we took a look at early trends in holiday shopping using Google Consumer Surveys and found that it’s shaping up to be the first Nonline holiday season . People are shopping earlier and shopping smarter, both online and in stores. Case in point, while 80% of shoppers plan to research their purchases online, 69% of apparel shoppers still plan to make their purchases in a store while 36% plan to purchase online. Shopping earlier, shopping smarter Although we’re only halfway into November, many consumers have already purchased their holiday gifts - 14% of people who plan to shop for toys have already made purchases, 11% for apparel s...

The holiday season is a chaotic time, with shopping activity reaching a fever pitch. Holiday shoppers aren’t just looking for the best deals, they’re also looking for the retailer that provides the most hassle-free path to purchase. Read on for 8 tips you can apply now to earn the business of this year’s throng of savvy gift givers, wherever and however they are on the web. Be where the shoppers are. 53% of consumers plan to do more holiday shopping research online this year than they did in 2011. It’s essential at this point in the season to double-check that your search and display ads stand out from the rest. 1. Make basic changes for big impact in your search ads. Using a longer ad headline may result in higher clickthrough rates, and also creates a better experience for users by highlighting more information in the ad. We also recommend helping shoppers see the exact products you offer before they even reach your site with product ads . 2. Convert browsers to buyers with remarketi...

(cross-posted on the Inside AdWords Blog and Mobile Ads Blog ) This holiday season, make it easy for your customers to find, visit, and call your business with AdWords location targeting and location extensions. Location targeting shows your ads to customers in specific geographic areas you want to reach, while location extensions dynamically attach your business address and phone number to your ads. Today, we are announcing a few improvements to these two features and making them available in more countries to help your business “get local” for the holidays. What’s new: 1. Introducing airport targeting: A new way to reach travelers on the go Whether people are checking a flight status or passing time before take-off, mobile and tablet devices have become indispensable for airport-goers . With the launch of airport targeting, businesses are now able to connect with potential customers on mobile, tablet or laptop devices in more than 350 airports around the world via AdWords. With a...

You’ve heard a lot from us about emerging nonline trends this year - and that trend continued this past Halloween season, where trick-or-treaters no longer recognized a divide between online and offline shopping. Neither did smart businesses. For years, costume sites made convenience and inventory the hallmarks of their success. This year, with increasing consumer demand around Halloween and more multi-good retailers getting into the game, those businesses needed to rethink ways to capture the interest of savvy shoppers. This year we saw costumes retailers invest more than ever in mobile websites, video content, and improved product pages to engage with shoppers wherever they were searching, whether from the candy aisle or a haunted house. By ensuring they were present across all screens, these retailers were able to capitalize quickly on offline events, most predominantly those of the elections frenzy. Practically overnight, Big Bird made the jump from Presidential debate quote to a ...