https://segmentsmarketing.com/guides Free, practical guides for independent run specialty store owners and managers. en-us Wed, 14 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://segmentsmarketing.com/guides/google-merchant-center-for-running-stores https://segmentsmarketing.com/guides/google-merchant-center-for-running-stores Google Merchant Center holds your product data for Google Shopping. Shopify stores connect through the Google & YouTube sales channel. Running shoes need brand, GTIN, gender, age group, color and size, with every size grouped under one item_group_id. Clear contact details and a written return policy help keep the account out of misrepresentation trouble. Fill the Store Wed, 14 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://segmentsmarketing.com/guides/how-ai-assistants-recommend-running-stores https://segmentsmarketing.com/guides/how-ai-assistants-recommend-running-stores AI assistants recommend running stores by searching the web and map data at the moment someone asks. ChatGPT uses its own crawler and search partners, Perplexity runs a live web search, Gemini reads Google Maps, and AI Overviews draw on Google's index. Your Business Profile, reviews, website text and crawler access decide whether you get named. Get Found Wed, 14 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://segmentsmarketing.com/guides/how-brand-co-op-works https://segmentsmarketing.com/guides/how-brand-co-op-works Co-op advertising is money a shoe or apparel brand sets aside to share the cost of your local ads that feature its products. It usually builds up as a percent of what you buy from the brand, needs pre-approval, must follow brand guidelines and is paid back after you show proof the ad ran. Terms vary by brand. Co-op Wed, 14 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://segmentsmarketing.com/guides/claim-co-op-from-every-brand https://segmentsmarketing.com/guides/claim-co-op-from-every-brand To claim co-op, get each brand's program and accrual balance from your rep, get the campaign pre-approved, run the ad inside the brand's guidelines, save proof such as invoices, screenshots and campaign reports, and submit the claim before the deadline. Then track it until the check or credit memo arrives. Co-op Wed, 14 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://segmentsmarketing.com/guides/get-more-google-reviews https://segmentsmarketing.com/guides/get-more-google-reviews Ask every customer, not just happy ones, using your Business Profile's review link or QR code. Mention it at the end of a fitting, print it on receipts and send it in a follow-up email after their first runs. Never offer anything in exchange, never pressure people to review in the store, and reply to every review. Get Found Wed, 14 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://segmentsmarketing.com/guides/how-to-market-a-running-store https://segmentsmarketing.com/guides/how-to-market-a-running-store Market a running store in three blocks of four weeks. First fix the basics: website, Google Business Profile, pickup in store, tracking and a contact on every sale. Then get found with answer-first pages, better product pages and steady reviews. Then run one brand launch with your rep, funded by co-op, as a four-week local campaign. Store marketing Wed, 14 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://segmentsmarketing.com/guides/in-store-events-for-running-stores https://segmentsmarketing.com/guides/in-store-events-for-running-stores The events that bring runners into a running store are the ones that repeat: a weekly run club that starts and ends at the store, brand demo nights with reps, training groups for goal races, and fit clinics. Promote each on your Google Business Profile, take RSVPs, and measure sales and new names from attendees. Store marketing Wed, 14 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://segmentsmarketing.com/guides/local-inventory-ads-setup-guide https://segmentsmarketing.com/guides/local-inventory-ads-setup-guide To set up local inventory ads, link each store's verified Google Business Profile to Merchant Center, send Google in-store stock for every store with matching store codes, choose how shoppers see that stock, pass inventory verification if Google asks, then link Google Ads and turn on local products in a Shopping or Performance Max campaign. Fill the Store Wed, 14 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://segmentsmarketing.com/guides/local-seo-for-running-stores https://segmentsmarketing.com/guides/local-seo-for-running-stores Google ranks local results on relevance, distance and prominence. A running store controls relevance with a complete Business Profile and a page for each store, and builds prominence with reviews and links from race and club sites. Keep name, address and phone identical everywhere, add store structured data, and show what's in stock. Get Found Wed, 14 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://segmentsmarketing.com/guides/race-sponsorships-and-expos https://segmentsmarketing.com/guides/race-sponsorships-and-expos A running store should sponsor races that bring registered runners through its door. Ask for packet pickup in the store before cash logos, then a mention in the race's emails and an expo booth. Measure each race with a race-only discount code, pickup day traffic and the count of new customer names captured. Store marketing Wed, 14 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://segmentsmarketing.com/guides/shopify-flow-automations-for-run-stores https://segmentsmarketing.com/guides/shopify-flow-automations-for-run-stores Shopify Flow is a free app on the Basic, Grow, Advanced and Plus plans. A run store should start with six workflows: low stock alerts on core sizes, hiding sold out shoes and republishing on restock, tagging missing barcodes or product types, flagging new products without images, tagging high value orders, and alerting staff to pickup orders. Fill the Store Wed, 14 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://segmentsmarketing.com/guides/shopify-for-run-specialty-stores https://segmentsmarketing.com/guides/shopify-for-run-specialty-stores Shopify works well for a running store because Shopify POS and your website sell from one inventory, counted by location. Set up each store as a location, build shoes with Size and Width variants, turn on pickup in store, fill in vendor, product type and barcodes, and the same data feeds Google. Fill the Store Wed, 14 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://segmentsmarketing.com/guides/the-1-minute-test-for-your-website https://segmentsmarketing.com/guides/the-1-minute-test-for-your-website Five checks show whether Google and AI tools can read your running store's website: search site: for a shoe you carry, search a product sentence in quotes for copied manufacturer copy, find the price in the page source, run PageSpeed Insights on mobile, and ask an AI assistant where to buy running shoes in your town. Get Found Wed, 14 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://segmentsmarketing.com/guides/google-business-profile-checklist https://segmentsmarketing.com/guides/google-business-profile-checklist Set Running store as your primary category and add only categories your store truly is, like Shoe store. Keep regular and holiday hours current, add your services and in-store products, upload real photos, and post events. Give each location its own verified profile, linked to its own page, with a store code that matches Merchant Center. Get Found Wed, 14 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://segmentsmarketing.com/guides/when-a-competitor-opens-nearby https://segmentsmarketing.com/guides/when-a-competitor-opens-nearby When a competitor opens near your running store, first record how you show on Google Maps and in AI answers for your key searches. Then close gaps in your Business Profile and reviews, make your in-stock shoes visible on Google, and lean into what a big box or national franchise can't copy: fit expertise, run clubs and race partnerships. Get Found Wed, 14 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT