Yearly Archives: 2011
PPC Michael Wiegand13 Jul, 2011
Ad Comparison Tool
A few weeks back, I wrote a guest post on PPC Hero about the Profit per Impression (PPI) metric. In the post, I talk about calculating PPI manually using an Excel Spreadsheet. To that end, I created a free spreadsheet to do just that: the Ad Comparison Tool! How does the Ad Comparison Tool work?… Read More
Ian Lurie11 Jul, 2011
When everyone works together, SEO just works
SEO works best when everyone works together: Creative, PR, social media, writers and yes, the SEO team. I’ve preached that for years. But it almost never happens. The PR agency ignores us. The dev team smiles like they just smelled sour milk and then leaves. The branding team holds up relevant holy symbols and backs… Read More
Featured Ian Lurie8 Jul, 2011
Marketing truths: People buy pleasure, not prevention
People buy pleasure, not prevention. I know, deep for a Friday afternoon. It’s a rule that’s helped me sell for years, though. Try it on for size: Bike helmets and prevention: A marketing failure It’s hard to scare people into buying something. When I was in law school, I worked in a bicycle shop that… Read More
Random Jess Walker8 Jul, 2011
Portent Interactive: Origins
Ever wonder how Portent came to be? Want to know the secret to our success is? How does Portent feel about hookers? What do Cybermen think about Portent? You’re in luck, because we created an infographic that will answer these questions and more. Click image for full size.
Featured Ian Lurie7 Jul, 2011
11 reasons smart people start internet marketing agencies
A few people described yesterday’s post as ‘soul killing’, ‘depressing’ and ‘horrifyingly accurate’. Today, I’m taking not-incompatible view that all smart people in the internet marketing biz should start their own agencies. Note that I’m not a “follow your bliss” hand waving business philosopher. I think in terms of building a lasting business that can… Read More
Random Jess Walker7 Jul, 2011
Creative Art Direction at Portent
Around 4PM on a Friday afternoon, Tracy called a meeting in his office to discuss the Portent rebrand. I had been given the privilege of creating art for the category pages of our new site, but no one had mentioned what the art should be, except for Elizabeth who wanted PPC to be represented by… Read More
Ian Lurie6 Jul, 2011
11 reasons no sane person starts an internet marketing agency
This is the first of a 2-part series that documents 2 voices in my head. One voice perpetually says “You are an idiot for running an agency.” The other says “This rocks. It’s the greatest job in the world.” So fear not: I’m not having a mid-life nervous breakdown. Or, if I am, it’s not… Read More
Ian Lurie5 Jul, 2011
I lose my fracking mind or: A new Python script
Total. Mind. Meltdown. I’d do a brilliant insightful post today, I’m sure, except that today’s events, professional and media-related, combined with my concussing myself with a bicycle rack yesterday, have left me a gibbering idiot. Or brought out the gibbering idiocy that normally lies just beneath the surface. Or something. So instead, here’s a little… Read More
Ian Lurie4 Jul, 2011
SEO lessons: Google drops Twitter
Google has let their subscription to the Twitter firehose expire. That means Twitter’s gone from real-time search, for certain. Actually, it appears real-time search is just gone. I don’t see ‘latest’ any more: I’ve never been a fan of real-time search: As I said in 2009, a real-time stream of poo is still poo. The… Read More
Ian Lurie1 Jul, 2011
Google+ thoughts – I eat crow
I must eat crow now. Not tasty, breaded and fried, but vaguely icky, with feathers still stuck to it. I dissed Google+ the moment it came out, in part because it failed—it vomited everywhere when I tried to sign up. But now that I’ve used it for a while, I have to say that it’s… Read More
SEO Matt Gratt30 Jun, 2011
4 Under the Radar SEO Tools
SEOs love their tools. New tools can provide important new insights, never before possible. (However, we must remember – the tools are only as smart as the user. Tools give you leverage – you must supply the motion.) Here are 4 under the radar SEO tools I learned about at SMX: Chartbeat What it is:… Read More
Ian Lurie28 Jun, 2011
Google+ outlook, in a nutshell
I just tried to sign up for the Google+ notification list. This is what I got: In case you didn’t know, Google+ is Google’s latest attempt to break into social media. Judging by the result, I think it’ll easily eclipse… Google Buzz.
Ian Lurie27 Jun, 2011
8 reasons I don’t care about (toolbar) PageRank
Google rolled out their latest Toolbar PageRank update today. Yawn. I said it was stupid last year. I’ll say it again this year. Toolbar PageRank is 50% meaningless, 25% misleading, 20% useless and 5% worth tracking. It has slightly more impact than Google +1. Here’s why I wouldn’t use it to measure page value if… Read More
Ian Lurie24 Jun, 2011
The path to marketing nirvana: The peeve, and the rush
What makes Steve Jobs so damned compelling? What about Seth Godin? Howard Stern? Richard Feynman? (choke) Rush Limbaugh? They’ve found Marketing Nirvana: The place where their beliefs and their product match up. I’m not saying this as a pile of wishy-washy marketing-psychobabble crap. Marketing nirvana is on your to-do list. It’s on mine too. If… Read More
Matt Gratt24 Jun, 2011
Advanced Google Analytics Cheat Sheet
Update! We’ve got a new and improved version of the Cheat Sheet for 2015! Google Analytics is Hard Google Analytics is tricky. There are cookies, utm_codes, and lots of counterintuitive definitions. As Kanye West would say, “It’s enough to drive a sane man biz-erk.” Can’t Someone Put This All in One Place? When I was… Read More