I stumbled across this article written in 1995 about the future of the internet. It is a definite MUST read as it prophesies the “trendy and oversold” hype of the internet concept. Take a minute to read it and have a good laugh.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/106554

A lot can change in 15 years, can’t they?

- In 1995 acid washed jeans were in. In 2010, MEN are wearing super low rise, skinny jeans.

- In 1995 a best picture nominee was Babe. 2010 has Avatar in 3D/IMAX special effects.

- In 1995 Juno was a major email service provider. In 2010 Gmail is the new Juno & Juno is now a movie about teen pregnancy.

- In 1995 Saint’s fans wore paper bags over their heads. In 2010 the Saints are no longer the Aints.

- In 1995 Prince’s lyrics, “Tonight I’m gonna party like it’s 1999,” had relevancy. In 2010 Prince no longer has a name, but rather a symbol.

- In 1995 Jay Leno hosted the Tonight show. In 2010, the host is Conan O’br… um, nevermind.

Working for a couple dot-coms during the 90’s I remember the e-commerce hurdles we had to overcome. Very little online credit card security existed, those who trusted online transactions were sparse, internet access was limited, and e-commerce software lacked sophistication. Online sales were just a blip on the radar.  I even remember looking for a new office suite and making sure our broker noted “T1 connections”, and “internet ready” as key criteria. In 15 short years, the tables have turned.

As marketers, we try our best to track the pulse of the marketplace. Our local paper (I read the online version, Mr. Stoll) has a section tracking local retail businesses. Here are 10 of the 15 most recent headlines:

• MainPlace store closes
• Disneyland store to close
• Struggling O.C. mall up for sale
• Bella Terra finds replacement for Circuit City
• Retailer to close 165 stores
• O.C. movie theater owner files for bankruptcy
• Sam’s Club closes O.C. store
• Crate & Barrel closes O.C. store
• O.C. surf shop closes, women’s discounter opens

A whopping two-thirds of the most recent posts in this periodical section are reporting closures or financial distress of brick and mortar businesses. To say this is the end of traditional retail businesses would be foolish. However, I do believe all businesses need to take advantage of the symbiotic relationship between their building storefront and their e-commerce storefront.

Multi-channel marketing has finally arrived. comScore reported that online Holiday retail sales reached $29.1 billion, an increase of 4% compared to 2008, and it was the traditional brick & mortar retailers who were pushing online deals from Black Friday through Christmas. (Note: this jump occurred while overall retail spending declined during the year). In the winter of 2009, retail stores finally embraced the multi-channel mentality.  A combination of: Foot traffic, search engine ad campaigns, eye-catching online display ads, mailers, coupons & customer support via Facebook, and announcing free shipping on Twitter has helped many businesses keep the doors open.

The benefits are just as powerful for local service businesses as they are for national retailers. Research from Nielsen Online shows that 82% of users search on engines like Yahoo! and Google to find a local business, 50% of internet users turn to the search engines FIRST in order to find a local business, and 40% of the searchers will use geographic keywords (city/state name) in their query. Local services can’t just rely on word of mouth.  Taking advantage of online advertising channels such as search and display will enhance your growth. Our team is always open to strategizing with you.

– 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.

One of the first questions sales teams face when meeting a prospective business for the first time is “what does your company do?”  We explain that Nett Solutions is a SEM who provides prime sponsored listings on Yahoo! and Google.  Over the past two years it seems there is a Pavlovian reaction to this statement which automatically triggers a response of “I don’t want Yahoo!  I only want Google.”

I believe that statement is a fallacy in the advertising world built upon subjective feelings rather than objective logic.  I am not here to argue Google’s market share or to downplay its incredible success.  In fact, Google tends to be my personal choice for search.  I am simply sharing the perspective that it is not wise to neglect Yahoo! in an ad campaign.  We have reviewed numerous metrics from our clients showing that some Yahoo! ad campaigns return a better ROI than Google.  In each of these instances Google certainly showed more volume but the relative ROI percentage leaned in Yahoo’s favor. 

I am a thirty-something who decided to re-enter the world of academia and pursue my MBA.  I was dumb enough to register for a Finance course my first semester… not the wisest decision after a decade long  layoff from school.  Now, if you detest finance as much as I do, this blog will bring you nightmares and may cause you to break out in a cold sweat.  On the first day of class our professor was refreshing our cobweb-laden minds about the topic of Capital Budgeting and Net Present Value (NPV).  As a quick Finance 101 review, NPV is simply the present value of all the future cash flows of a project you are considering.  In laymans terms, let’s say you wanted to buy a $100,000 machine for your business.  To see if it is worth buying you want to calculate what the total estimated future revenue of that machine is worth in today’s dollars. If the NPV is positive (ie: worth more than $100,000) you should buy the machine since it more than pays for itself.  If it is negative you should reject it.

So we calculated the NPV for three Projects and the answer came out as:

NPV of Project A = $3,986

NPV of Project B = $2,129

NPV of Project C = -$813

The professor asked the class “As a manager, which project do you want for your company?”  The entire class blurted out a knee-jerk reaction of “Project A”.  The professor immediately asked again, “As a manager, which project do you want for your company?”  An insecure and subdued, yet still unanimous “Project A” was given by the students.  After asking a third time, we caught on.  As a manager you want BOTH project A and B since they both bring in a positive cash flow! 

I believe this is a good parallel to the way people view Yahoo! and Google.  Sure, one may bring about more volume than another but as long as they both bring about a positive ROI or cash flow you would be foolish to ignore one over the other.  Whether it’s Yahoo, Google, print ads, or online display ads, all advertising channels will bring about different ROI’s.  As long as the campaign is putting more in your pocket than what you spend you should continue to go with it. 

Yahoo! just released their Q4 earnings report and announced their revenues topped analysts estimates.  Sales totaled $1.26 billion.  This surge in revenue was attributed to a rush in online spending.  Remember, search engines only make money when people click on their ad network.  People are clicking on Yahoo! whether you want to believe it or not.  According estimates from organizations like comScore Inc., Yahoo! still holds nearly 20% market share.  That’s 20% of the opportunities you may be missing out on if you have written off Yahoo!. 

Cheers and go Team USA!

– 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.

You have a favorite search engine, right?  You probably chose one or two by avoiding those that delivered the least helpful information.  Over time some of those less effective search engines have disappeared.  To avoid losing relevance, it’s important for the search engines to make sure that their search results are accurate and meaningful.  The SEP model helps them accomplish this goal.  Our staff at NettSolutions has the resources and the know-how to help you choose search terms that most accurately describe your business and most effectively draw buyers to your website. 

As an Authorized Reseller for Google, Yahoo!, MSN, and their affiliates, Nett Solutions provides companies worldwide with top placement in the 1st , 2nd or 3rd sponsored positions, generating the targeted traffic that translates to real, bottom-line results.

Without a true understanding of what people are actually typing into a browser to find a particular product or service, many businesses make the costly mistake of guessing which terms they think people would use to search for what they do. The vast majority of the time the way people actually search varies significantly from what businesses assume.

The other error that can be even more costly to a business is assuming that a high search volume automatically means more business. Just because a search yields a high search traffic volume it does not necessarily mean targeted traffic or qualified leads.

For example a tradeshow design firm might purchase the keywords “trade show” and receive an exceedingly high volume of people searching that phrase, however many of these people will be looking for trade shows to attend. Broad terms are searched heavily but they do not necessarily get the click throughs and conversions that more targeted keywords would yield.

Nett Solutions looks at more than just volume. Our focus is to give you a targeted strategy that will yield qualified leads that are more likely to be searching for exactly what you have to offer