Nett Solutions Blog

Restaurant Impossible?

10/10/201210/10/2012 mwon

I’m a huge fan of the Food Network. I love to cook. I love to grill. I love experimenting with new recipes. One of the more entertaining shows on the Food Network is called Restaurant Impossible. The premise of this show is about a chef named Robert Irvine, who always reminds me of NFL Referee Ed Hochuli due to them both wearing tight fitted shirts that show off their guns. (Let’s be real, if I was a walking gun show, I’d probably buy my shirts 2 sizes too small too.)

Chef Irvine goes into a failing restaurant and has 48 hours and $10,000 to turn it around. A majority of the show is spent fixing the operational and aesthetic aspects of the restaurant and the menu. However, there’s always a 5-10 minute segment focused on marketing. Chef Irvine always needs to find a way to generate buzz and bring customers to the grand re-opening of the restaurant. In marketing terms, he’s focused on “push marketing.”

I have a handful of friends in the restaurant business and they’re always looking for ways to attract more patrons. They all share a similar sentiment: If I can just get them to try my food, I think they’ll come back. Here are a number of very cool stats published in a collaborative study titled “The Mobile Path to Purchase” by Telemetrics, xAds, and Nielsen. These are some rather convincing numbers. Especially since I my own behavior seems to fit right into these statistics. I hope this helps all you restauranteurs:

89 percent of smartphone owners and 84 percent of tablet users have immediate purchase intent and take action within 24 hours of their research. (that’s not a typo. 89%!)
64 percent of smartphone and 44 percent of tablet users in Restaurants make a decision within an hour.
84 percent of mobile users had looked for a business location or maps and driving directions in the past month.
Smartphone local directory apps are most popular for Restaurant (53 percent)
75% of smartphone users seek restaurant info while on the go and over 50% of that activity is happening in a car.
65% of smartphone users look for restaurants within local walking or driving distance.

Bottom line: get your business on google maps/local apps, yelp, urbanspoon, and other social directories. We can help you get there.

Here’s an infograph for you to enjoy with more data: http://www.telmetrics.com/mobile-path-to-purchase-study-restaurant-searchers/

SEO Keyword Research Process

09/24/201209/24/2012 mwon

Courtesy of: http://blog.promodo.com/keyword-research-process-infographics

Cheap SEO and $5 Chinese food

09/14/201209/24/2012 mwon

I have a friend who moved to NYC in pursuit of his dream to become a writer. He was always good with words so I knew he’d be hell with a pen. His talents led him to the position of writer and, eventually, senior editor for publications such as Blaze, Vibe, and Vue. When he first moved to the city, he fit the mold of a typical twenty-something struggling to survive the concrete jungle. Due to the high cost of living in NYC, he often found himself eating what his sister referred to as “$5 chinese food” on a regular basis. Constant stomach aches would accompany these cheap, greasy meals laden with MSG. (That’s monosodium glutamate, not Madison Square Garden)

$5 Chinese food was a good fit at the time for 3 reasons. It was cheap, you received large portions, and it provided sustenance. 15 years have since passed. He’s moved on to enjoying all the culinary treats the city has to offer. $5 chinese food had its time and place in his life… those days are gone.

In the same way, cheap SEO may have had a time and place in our lives. Back in the day, SEO could be offered with the same 3 benefits of low end chinese food: cheap, with large portions, and it provided sustenance. If you do a simple Google search you’ll find countless SEO firms still selling this outdated SEO strategy. Google’s implementation of the Panda and Penguin algorithm tweaks have rendered “cheap” SEO as a thing of the past. Like my friend in NYC, Google eventually matured to the point where “cheap” was no longer wanted or needed. More notably, the stomach aches that accompanied “cheap” were made obselete. Here’s why:

Penguin can broadly be thought of as Google’s penalty for building too many irrelevant, low quality links and overstuffing your content with keywords. Large portions of low quality food was good for a while, but they have no place in our lives anymore.

Panda can be thought of as Google’s way of rewarding quality. No msg in my chow mein, please. No lard in my kung pao, thanks. Those days are gone. Google wants quality content and low bounce rates to deliver better results.

Ok, enough with the food analogy. Back to business. We’ve spoken to a number of clients who have been using low-cost SEO agencies for years. These clients were able to spend a few hundred bucks a month to achieve decent rankings in the SERPs. What they got was a ton of irrelevant or weak links and poor or thin content. After the Penguin and Panda shifts, these clients saw their rankings drop from page one to page 5 and beyond. They felt helpless and confused. You may be feeling the same way.

Nett Solutions has forged a team of experts who stay on top of their game and understand what Google wants. They don’t just want a ton of links to your site. They don’t want a lot of thin content. They want natural links and steady, organic growth. They want insightful content that is useful for your site visitors. They don’t want gimmicky weight loss programs. They want a steady, natural, constant fitness routine. Our entire SEO team is based here in the U.S. We believe the best way to align with Google’s shift towards quality is to use quality content writers, strategists, and campaign builders. The best quality SEO knowledge still comes from America. We’ve become efficient enough to be competitively priced without being “cheap” (low quality). If you’re struggling with your organic rankings, reach out to us. We’d love to help. 949-330-7060.

– Michael

Ad copy faux pas

11/03/201109/10/2012 mwon

Within our office we often get into debates about fashion faux pas. One of our Account Exec’s, Brandon, absolutely despises wedges and is adamant that they should never be worn under any circumstance. Garrick often wears skinny jeans on casual Friday’s and we debate how “skinny” is too skinny for a grown man. Others argue the shortcomings of Ugg boots. It seems like every time I walk through the mall with my wife I see an article of clothing and say, “who in the world would actually wear that?!?”

There have been countless occasions when I’ve looked at our clients ad copy and think the same thought… “who in the world wrote that?!?” Your ad copy is the critical first impression. One wrong word here or there can lead to the loss of a sale. In the same way you want to make sure your skinny jeans aren’t too skinny, you should make sure your ad copy has the right balance of word choice.

As a follow up to yesterdays post, here’s a list of 7 things Yahoo! Advertising says you should not do to your ad copy:

Unsubstantiated Ad Promotions: Be sure that any sale or percentage discount mentioned in your copy is prominent on the site’s landing page. This will help assure that clicks convert to sales.

Keyword Scope Mismatch: Diverse offers perform best when paired with general keywords, and while niche offers perform best with keywords that are very specific. Try not to bid on keywords that are too specific or too general for the offer, as they will not be targeted to the interested audience and are less likely to convert to sales.

Lists: Avoid creatives that are simply a list of products that you offer. Use short sentences and be sure to mention any competitive advantages.

Unknown Branding: Prominent mention of household brands is usually a plus, but using obscure brand names or non-famous personal names in copy performs more poorly than copy that just focuses on the offer.

Vague Offering: Avoid copy that is so general, jargon- or slogan-filled that the user can’t determine what you are really offering, or what your advantages are. Focus on how the offer answers the keyword inquiry.

Unnecessary Info: Do not mention products unrelated to the keyword, as this can confuse users about what is being offered.

Generic Templates: Avoid copy that is too basic and easily identifiable as a template, especially for shopping comparison sites. Keep specific copy categorized in campaigns with descriptions tailored to the general focus of the keyword, and the shopping season, as well.

Give us a call if you need some feedback or assistance with your creatives. We’d love to help.

— Michael Won

Ad tips for the Holidays

11/02/201109/10/2012 mwon

Now that Halloween is behind us, it’s time to focus on everyone’s favorite time of year. Ok, maybe not everyone… as a surfer, the water temp drops and the mornings are so chilly I don’t want to head down to the beach. Other than that, the malls are full of Holiday cheer, Starbucks is serving pumpkin spice lattes, the morning air is cool & crisp, and it’s a time for families to come together and truly appreciate each other.

Yahoo! Advertising recently released their 13 tips for effective ad copy during the holiday season. As you’ll see, many of these tips are fundamentally effective year-round. Cheers!

Best practices for marketing holiday gifts

Personalization: Be sure to promote any monogramming/name engraving or other personalization offers that are available, whether the gift is for children or adults.
Uniqueness: Many people like to know that a gift for their loved one will be rare or “one-of-a-kind,” and not simply something that is available in every store.
Have a Holly Jolly Holiday: Holiday gifts for both kids and adults are for fun, so be sure your ad copy emphasizes the fun factor appropriately.
Family Occasion: Emphasize family togetherness for holiday offers like recipes, food, candy, board games, etc.
’Tis Better to Give than to Receive: Ads that contain copy about giving gifts tend to perform better than copy talking about receiving them.
Holiday and Seasonal References: Tailor copy that is appropriate to the festive season with special holiday language and references.
Big Selection: An emphasis on a large selection from which to find exactly the right gift is important when bidding on general holiday shopping keywords.
Shiny and New: People like to know that their gift will be hip, trendy and the latest fashionable thing.
Gift Wrapping: If a gift wrapping option is offered, be sure to mention it.
Free Content: Spotlight anything about the offer that is free.
Shipping – Fast and Free: People prefer free shipping when it is offered at all times. During the holidays, fast/same day or overnight shipping verbiage is equally important, since the user must be sure that the item will arrive in time.
Famous Brands and Trademarks: Appropriate use of trademark symbols with official brand names can increase user confidence and click-through rates.
Deadlines and Calls-to-Action: Subtle language encouraging a click today can perform well. Sales with a specific end date, or an upcoming holiday deadline to prepare for, encourage the user to click and get the deal before it’s too late. (But be sure that your copy does not promote a date or season that has already passed!)

— Michael Won

iSad

10/06/201110/06/2011 mwon

I don’t use Apple products. More notably I’m known in my office as the guy who is extremely annoyed by “Mac people.” I have an Android Phone. My newest toy is the Samsung Series 9 which is a PC knockoff of the Macbook Air. I admit, I did receive an iPad as a gift but it sits idly on my nightstand collecting dust. For our company’s outside sales team I purchased the Motorola Xoom tablet.

So why did I decide to come out of blogging hibernation today to discuss the man who spearheaded the culture that irked me so? Because as a businessman I loved Steve Jobs. I spent the last few years back in school earning my MBA. I wrote countless pages on the topic of the recession, growth, people, and innovation. Let me rephrase that… I spent endless hours confirming the theory that people need to innovate in order to spur the growth necessary to climb out of this recession. It all starts with people. People like Steve Jobs. People like you and me who can carry on his spirit of innovation.

Never, in my lifetime, has someone been able to blend art & science with such vigor. Mr. Jobs was able to make geeks cool. He made the cool want the geeky. Never has anyone been able to merge form and function so beautifully. His products were truly superior. And this is an admission coming from someone who is turned off by “Mac people.” In order for our nation to grow we need to innovate.

I know what you’re thinking… “I don’t make electronics!” You don’t have to. I don’t. I’m in the business of online advertising. A culture of innovation is the state of mind. It’s about seeing things differently. It’s about questioning the status quo. Instead of just thinking outside the box, tear down the box and throw it in the recycling bin. It’s about taking the argumentative “yeah but…” out of your vocabulary and replacing that with questions of what “could be.” It’s about doing good… correction… it’s about being at your best instead of simply trying to hit numbers. It’s about selling differently no matter what you sell. It’s about working with passion and bringing fun back into whatever you do. It’s about saying “I can” when people say you can’t. It’s a belief. It’s contagious. It’s about people. Not products or job roles. It’s about making geeky cool and cool geeky.

I’ll end this rant with this final thought. Last night my wife walked in the house and the first words out of my mouth were “I’m sad. Steve Jobs just died.” I continued on to say, “there are only a few people our country really needs right now. There are only a handful of people I want my kids to grow up and meet someday. Steve Jobs was one of them.” Well, all that’s left for us to do is to be that person. Strive to be a businessman, parent, or friend that people will want their kids to meet someday.

-Michael

Nett Solutions is a SEM agency working with Yahoo! and Google. We are a SoCal based company built of an eclectic cornucopia of: marketers, mothers & fathers, husbands & wives, college grads & MBA’s, surfers, church-goers, athletes, comedians (and those who think they are comedians). Our common bond is that we like to help people succeed.

Yellow & White make… green?

02/02/201109/10/2012 mwon

A commercial and residential phone book were walking past a haunted house when they hear a terrifying scream.

Commercial phone book: “Did you hear that? It came from the haunted house!”

Residential phone book: “We need to go in and investigate.”

Commercial phone book: “No way man.”

Residential phone book: “What’s the matter? You yellow?”

Ok, sorry for the silly joke. What’s even sillier is the huge stacks of phone books delivered to my condo building every year. I live in a rather large development so there are enough phone books in the mail room to easily fill 2 pallets. These phone books sit idle, wrapped in plastic, hoping for someone take them home. Week after week these things sit there untouched. The only time I was tempted to pick one up was when I needed paper to ignite my charcoal chimney (that’s right folks, real men bbq with coals, not gas).

Well it looks like this nuisance is coming to an end. At the end of 2010, Verizon Communications received permission from New York, Pennsylvania and Florida (with Virginia pending) to stop distributing phone books. This is a milestone that is far overdue. I don’t remember the last time I heard anyone say “check the phone book” when they needed a phone number. Nowadays, all you hear is “Google it” or “check Bing.” When you need to find someone or something, you can find it much faster online and get more information than you would in a phone book. (Don’t believe me? Go to www.Spokeo.com and search for your own name.) On top of that, phone books only record information in your local area while the internet provides access to people around the world. The bottom line is very few people depend on the yellow or white pages so I fully expect to see this trend continue. My only question is: What took so long?

We’re seeing a similar shift in newsprint. Advertising in phone books and newspapers are down as these companies try to figure out how to monetize their online assets. Advertisers are shifting their budgets online. Newsprint and phone books need ad revenue to survive so we’ll see how they continue to evolve.

My favorite benefit of eliminating the yellow and white? We’re going more green.

– Michael

Can Bing slay the King?

10/05/201009/10/2012 mwon

My big sis is 2 years older than me. Her first summer in Jr. High marked the start of her road to independence. She wanted to hang out with her clique of friends rather than with the family. She wanted to go to the mall to see and be seen. Her daily schedule was to wake up to do her hair (white Aqua Net spray can, bangs teased really high… it was 1986), try on 8 different outfits before “settling” for one, and then would call her posse to come over and hang out at the house (we were latch key kids so we had the house to ourselves). On any given day we had at least half a dozen of her friends over. As a little 5^th grader I was content spending my days playing Atari 2600. However this summer was different. Whenever the “big” 7^th & 8^th grade boys would come over they decided it would be fun to pick on me. Day in and day out they would pick fights with me, tease me, and try to bully me around. I had no choice but to take it like a man. If you have an older sibling, you know what I mean when I say I hated them.

Years later we started becoming good friends. They still picked on me but it was more of a big brother-little brother relationship. Then a funny thing happened. I hit my growth spurt. It soon dawned on me that I was taller and stronger than some of them. When they picked on me I began to fight back… and win. There were other guys who were bigger and stronger than me but one by one, little by little, I began to hold my ground against the older brothers.

Well it looks like the little search bro (Bing) may be growing up. Last month Nielsen announced that Bing finally surpassed Yahoo! in US search volume with a share of 13.9%. Yahoo dipped to 13.1%. Of course it all depends on who you ask and how you measure market share. Calculating search market share is a lot like rating the best steakhouse… everybody’s rating system is slightly different. For example, comScore still has Yahoo well ahead of Bing in search volume by a hefty 6% margin. Without getting into an argument about which source is the most accurate, I’d like to focus on the one common theme amongst all the search rankings: Bing is growing. Bing has been growing consistently all year. Bing, IMO, will continue to grow. I remember just last year how people were writing off Microsoft as a major search player. My how quickly this industry changes.

This may not seem like a big deal to the general public but if you’ve followed the search industry for a while, I’m sure you understand the impact. Google and Yahoo! have held their ground in the #1 & #2 spots for a number of years now. For years the two have been battling for users like “Kate plus 8” and “the Real Housewives” battle for reality show viewers. Replacing Yahoo! as #2 is like switching Batman’s Robin or the Lone Rangers Tonto. The questions have always been a Yahoo! vs. Google debate. MSN has been an afterthought for quite some time. If Google is the head cheerleader and prom queen, then Yahoo! is the well known student body president. MSN? MSN was always that quiet, shy, nerdy girl with coke bottle glasses who you would only acknowledge when you needed to copy homework. Well guess what folks? That quiet, nerdy girl just got Lasik, has been hitting the gym for a year, and got accepted into an Ivy League school… keep an eye out because she may transform into someone very powerful.

The idea of turning the “MSN search engine” into the “Bing Decision Engine” may be a matter of semantics to some. Others may find that Microsoft has successfully reverse engineered the search process to deliver much better results. Who knows, it could just be the multi-million dollar advertising campaign to promote Bing. Whatever they did is working. They are growing consistently and that is the ultimate goal.

Will they be able to slay Goliath? They’re a long way from toppling Google’s 65% market share but they’re heading in the right direction. Will Google Instant counter Bing’s growth? We’ll see. Our October Newsletter will feature an article which answers the most common questions we’ve been asked about Google Instant. Keep an eye out for it in your Inbox. If you aren’t subscribed to our Newsletter, you can sign up by clicking here.

– Michael

“I’ll be back”

08/03/201008/03/2010 mwon

I used to spend every other week traveling throughout 13 states in the Midwest for business. I have seen the Corn Palace in South Dakota (http://www.cornpalace.org/). I’ve driven an SUV on frozen Lake Minnetonka. I’ve had a chance to compare Memphis, St. Louis, Kansas City, and Texas BBQ in a one month span. I’ve visited family and friends all along the east coast. I have taken a number of road trips through Oregon, Washington and Nevada. I like to think I’m a well traveled man.

The one lesson I’ve learned is there is no place like home. California, the Golden State. Home of USC, UCLA, Berkeley, Stanford, Pepperdine, CSUF, among the many other fine institutions. We have Silicon Valley and the Housewives of the OC, Snoop Dogg and Mickey Mouse. We have THIS!!! I like frigid 60 degree winter days. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy snowboarding. It’s just that I prefer to go to the snow instead of having it come to me. I enjoy driving to the white, snow-capped Sierra’s in an hour… wearing shorts and flip flops. More than that, I like the fact that I can enjoy a day snowboarding and still make it to a sunset dinner on the beach in the same day. Sure traffic is horrific, botox and silicone abounds, and it costs $800k to buy a 1600sq foot condo but I’ll take it. I have the sun, snow, Hollywood, and beaches all at my finger tips.

Sounds great doesn’t it? Not so much. As I open my morning e-newspaper, I’m slapped with a brutal reminder of our reality. California is hurting. Recent headlines read “84 companies added to the ‘leaving California’ list.” “California dominates small-business bankruptcies.” “Is California A Sinking Ship?” Ouch. Sure our regulations and taxes need to be more business-friendly but for a State that has so much to offer, it seems we should be able to figure out how to boost our economy. Well, the California Tourism Board came out with a number of TV Ads that I’ve seen repeatedly on major networks.

Tourism makes up a huge chunk of our tax revenues so I like the idea. My only question is why I, a SoCal resident, keep seeing these ads on major TV networks here in the state? I know it takes a hefty sum of money to purchase ad space and produce ads. Why are they targeting Californians with an ad that has our Governator telling us “you’ll be back.” We’ll be back??? We’re already here!

Granted, I haven’t seen metrics on the ad campaign but at face value it looks like they’re targeting the wrong people with the wrong ad. This happens so often with businesses today. One recent example we spoke to is a airport Town Car service who serves business travelers. This company’s ad campaign was targeted to his local area so they were missing all the business travelers flying into town from other states. While this is a blatant example, the principle holds true… it is always important to evaluate your ad campaigns to ensure your money is being maximized. Our consultants have been a tremendous resource for many businesses and enjoy working with clients to maximize their ad spend in these tough times. Give us a call… I assure you, “You’ll be back.”

– Michael