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30 | Kitchen & Bath Design News May 2014 Industry Profle do a kitchen. We have to be there. [It's perceived that] if you're not on Houzz, you're not in the kitchen business." Twitter is a great way to keep an eye on what people are saying about the business, he relates, while LinkedIn is a way to market to other kitchen designers. McAlary sees his time spent on Face- book as an investment. "We'll give away iPads, etc.," he says, indicating that this participa- tion is a way to get people to spend time on the page and 'like' the business. "We think at some point, Facebook 'likes' will be important." McAlary also sees value in video, with one YouTube video he created going vi- ral, getting nearly 50,000 views in a two-week time period. "It's been great for us!" he says of the clip that compresses a two-month renovation into a 211-sec- ond, stop-action video. "If someone clicks on it, they typically won't leave until they've watched it." That's signifcant because the amount of time visitors spend on a site is critically important, ultimately playing a role in how much McAlary pays for advertising. "Google sees people staying on the site, and we pay less per click," he says. STAYING RELEVANT While McAlary is the only one at the frm who spends time on the Internet, he sur- rounds himself with a team of advisors, meeting with them about once a month. "One time we had two-and-a-half months between meetings," he recalls. "It was cata- strophic. Google frequently modifes their algorithm and everything changes." His team includes his Internet advertising friend, experts dedicated to search engine optimization, Website professionals and a guru who specializes in mobile appli- cations. "Everyone is smart and has their own area of expertise," he says, though he admits that there are no hard and fast rules when it comes to Internet advertis- ing. "Someone will come up with a brilliant idea, we'll go with it, then Google will make changes. We're con- stantly changing the Web site…constantly tweaking it to stay relevant. It's ongoing and never ending." Some tweaks he routinely makes focus on how Inter- net users fnd the business online. He intentionally elimi - nates the use of some words such as cheap or inexpensive when tagging his business, photos, videos, etc. In fact, he negatively keywords those terms to deter clients who are looking for low-cost cabinets/ design and who typically have low closing values. Even the company's name, Main Line Kitchen Design, was chosen so people would fnd him online before they fnd his competitors. "Most people look at cabinetry in showrooms for years before they ever intend to redo their kitchen," he says. "The day they decide to spend the money, the first thing they do is type a search into the Internet for cabinet compa- nies near their home. We focus our business on being the first kitchen designer people fnd when they do an online search." The inclusion of 'kitchen design' in the frm's name is understandable. 'Main Line' was chosen to cor relate with the Main Line area of Philadelphia, which is a col- lection of afuent towns built – with high-end businesses – along the old Main Line of the Pennsylvania Railroad. "In our area, there are a lot of businesses with 'Main Line' in their name," he says. "It's a way for them to identify with this area. Our name was very purposeful as to how we want- ed to present the business. If someone types into a search 'kitchen cabinets Main Line' or 'kitchen design Main Line,' they'll get results that are two to three pages deep, with al- most everything being related to us. We essentially own that term on the Internet." This line of t hink ing supports his business philos- ophy. "It is now more valuable to be found on the frst page in a relevant Google search than to have a showroom lo- cation on Main Street in the city or town that you service," he says. PAYING THE BILLS While Internet management takes up a good portion of his time, McAlary doesn't neglect what really pays the bills… designing kitchens. Main Line Kitchen Design special- izes in cabinetry, offering several options, including those from Oracle, 6 Square, Jim Bishop, Dura Supreme, Village Custom Kitchens, Col- lier and Bremtown. While he and his designers will ofer advice on additional elements such as countertops, lighting, tile, etc., McAlary directs his clients to specialists in these areas as a frst reference. This singular focus cor- relate s w it h h i s de sig n philosophy, which emphasiz- es the importance of design over expensive elements. "The design is the most valu- able aspect of a kitchen," he says. "Great designs look bet- ter and increase the value of a home more than a lesser design, even if that design uses much more expensive materials." If clients are trying to stick within a particular budget, McAlary will encour- age them to spend money to make the design work, as op- posed to throwing money at products. "It's design frst, stuf sec- ond," he says. "I encourage my clients to resist spending $6,000 on a refrigerator that is in the wrong place. People can be reluctant to spend a couple hundred dollars to move a sink. But if they're willing to eliminate a glaze or get a less expensive line of cabinetry, that will enable them to pay for changes that will make a better design." AT A GLANCE MAIN LINE KITCHEN DESIGN, LLC Location: Philadelphia, PA Principal: Paul McAlary (president) Advertised hours of operation: 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday-Thursday; 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday; 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. "In reality, most days our calls and emails get forwarded to my iPhone and tablet. I am curious by nature, so I will often respond after hours." Number of employees: Three Cabinetry lines: Oracle, 6 Square, Jim Bishop, Dura Supreme, Village Custom Kitchens, Collier and Bremtown Design software: 20-20 Technologies and ProKitchens Business philosophy: "It is now more valuable to be found on the frst page in a relevant Google search than to have a showroom location on Main Street in the city or town that you service." Design philosophy: "Great designs look better and increase the value of a home more than a lesser design, even if that design uses much more expensive materials." This kitchen's renovation is featured in a 211-second YouTube video that has gone viral, getting nearly 50,000 views in a two-week period. To encourage online attention, McAlary tagged the image with keywords including brushed stone quartzite and granite countertops. This Main Line Kitchen Design features cherry cabinetry with a custom-designed wood hood and a two-tiered peninsula with a built-in curio cabinet. KBD_28-31_IndustryProfile.indd 30 4/15/14 1:33 PM