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(post wording updated 8/20/12 @ 5:00 ET) Join social media power influencer +Lynette Young for a look at ways your business can kick start its presence on Google+ in a Learn with Google Hangout on August 23rd at 1pm EDT/10am PDT. RSVP for the Hangout on our Google+ Event page.  Companies big and small are using social media to interact with customers and build digital brands. Even if your business wasn’t an early adopter of social, Lynette will guide you through ways to kick start this channel with Google+. In this hangout, she’ll talk through examples of businesses using hangouts, pages and unique content to grow their audience. As a Learn with Google program, you’ll also hear lots of tips and strategies you can use to build a community from scratch on Google+. Lynette Young is a digital media specialist helping entrepreneurs and businesses put social ideas into action. She is the founder of Women of Google+ and CEO of Purple Stripe Productions. Kari Clark of the Google+ Marke...

Today, shopping is no longer limited to the mall - it happens at home, waiting in line, or at the doctor’s office. If you’re armed with a smartphone, every moment is now a shopping opportunity. As retailers gear up for this month’s back-to-school shopping crunch, we took to the digital Main Street to find out how consumer shopping patterns have changed. Focusing on apparel shopping, we analyzed consumer shopping behavior from the point of sale backward, and surveyed apparel shoppers to understand shopping trends. We found that not only is online research playing an integral role than in both online and in-store purchases, consumers are increasingly shopping on their mobile devices and using online video to inform purchase decisions. In fact, 4 in 10 shoppers visited a store online or in-person as a direct result of watching a video online. Here are a few highlights from the report: Mobile devices bring the mall to you Mobile shopping is not a sporadic activity limited to weekend trips ...

(cross-posted on the Inside AdWords Blog ) It’s almost back-to-school time, but students aren’t the only ones who are getting geared up to learn. Today, we’re announcing our next series of Learn with Google webinars , which will arm you with the tools you need to get the most out of Google’s advertising products and solutions. Over the next couple of months, 13 webinars will teach you tips and how-to’s to help make the web work for your business. Join us as we kick things off this Thursday, August 9th with a webinar on multi-channel attribution and check out the full schedule below: Aug 9 at 9am PDT Multi-Channel Funnels: Attribution Across Channels Aug 23 at 10am PDT How to Kick Start Social with Google+ (Hangout on Air) Aug 28 at 10am PDT Optimizing your Video Ad Campaigns Aug 29 at 10am PDT Google+: Enhancing Marketing and Making Social Accountable Sept 5 at 10am PDT Go Bigger, Faster with AdWords Editor Sept 6 at 10am PDT Making the Most of Recent AdWords Updates Sept 12 at 10am PD...

Great search is all about turning intentions into actions in the blink of an eye. And in online retail, having a quick and user-friendly website can make a world of difference when it comes to engaging shoppers and driving sales. Today we’re excited to announce we’re offering one of the most popular features of Google Commerce Search , Search As You Type, as a free, stand alone feature. It’s easy to implement and helps increase sales and conversion rates on merchant websites. The Search As You Type pilot is available to US-based AdWords advertisers for free, up to 25 million searches annually, after which licensing fees would apply. Search As You Type on Hasbro.com  Search As You Type uses Google’s predictive suggestions and instant product results to enhance a merchant’s existing website search functionality. When shoppers type a search query into a merchant’s site, Search As You Type shows them product suggestions and photos, making it faster and easier for people to spot the ...

(cross-posted on the Google Commerce Blog ) Google I/O is here! With tickets selling out in 20 minutes, we know that many of you who wanted to attend are unable to. In an effort to bring I/O to you, we’re live streaming some of the sessions . Tune in today, June 27th at 4:00 PM PDT to catch our session on monetizing digital goods online with Google Wallet, featuring Google engineers and a guest partner. For links to this session and all the live streams, stay tuned to our Google I/O site: developers.google.com/io . And remember that you can get in touch with us year-round. We hold bi-weekly office hours on a Google+ Hangout to answer your payments-related questions. Find the next scheduled office hours at developers.google.com/live . Posted by Peng Ying, Developer Programs Engineer

Google created a infographic exploring Father’s Day digital trends. Take a look at what we found below; including how instrumental and varied online research is for gift giving. Advertisers can uncover similar demand insights and query trends using Google Insights for Search . Posted by Keri Overman, The Google Retail Team

Since its launch in mid-February 2012, the (still-new) AdWords Community , has been a place for advertisers from different parts of the world to come together and exchange ideas, advice and stories with other AdWords advertisers. It's really inspiring to see people sharing their best practices, pointing each other to resources, and enthusiastically helping those who need it. I’d like to share with you a few comments from our members on their experiences with the AdWords Community: NehaGupta : “I am happy to be part of Google AdWords Community. I love to discuss about Google AdWords as much as I can as I believe discussions always bring something knowledgeable. Perfect platform for me. I am really excited spending more and more time here instead of Facebook. Everyday I’m learning new things and also trying to take part in conversation by replying answers asked in the forum.” PPCBossman : “Hundreds of advertisers flow in and out of this Community on a daily/weekly basis and we all ro...