Yearly Archives: 2012
Portent Staff12 Jul, 2012
5 Things Kitten Photos Can Teach Us About Internet Marketing
Kittens rule the Internet. From the Jedi kittens of YouTube to the caption-savvy LOLcats, kittens are delighting nations. Sure, the occasional video of a laughing baby ripping paper or Darth Vader unicycling steals the viral spotlight, but kittens (and their older box-loving cat friends) have everyone from angsty adolescents to greying grandmas chuckling in pure bliss.… Read More
SEO Ian Lurie5 Jul, 2012
How Google gave the spammers all the power
Google launched the Penguin update to filter out spammy links. Great! That’s fantastic! Lead us, oh tuxedoed little birdie, to the Golden Age of SEO! Content, marketing and all-around smarts will win the day! Penguin is not subtle. It targets link profiles that flunk fairly obvious, common-sense criteria: Don’t buy links; don’t get site-wide footer… Read More
PPC Marianne Sweeny3 Jul, 2012
Predatory Online Advertising…and not from Google for a Change
I learned something the hard way awhile ago. There is a big difference between search engine advertising and social site advertising and just because someone looks up front and helpful does not mean that they are. Search engine advertising is affordable, configurable, reports a return on investment, can be turned on and off quickly, is… Read More
Internet Marketing Ian Lurie29 Jun, 2012
30 Internet Marketing Tips Webinar – the video and audio
Enjoy: 30 internet marketing tips you need RIGHT NOW: Portent Webinar 7 from ian lurie on Vimeo. Ian Lurie runs through the top 30 things he feels internet marketers and business owners need to keep in mind during campaigns. Thanks to a great suggestion from Kevin Gallagher, here’s the entire webinar mp3, too. Feel free… Read More
Internet Marketing Ian Lurie29 Jun, 2012
Webinar Slides: 30 Internet Marketing Tips You Need RIGHT NOW
From my webinar yesterday. Have a gander. The video’s going live in a few hours: 30 Internet Marketing Tips You Should Do RIGHT NOW View more presentations from Ian Lurie
Ian Lurie27 Jun, 2012
Web copyright for the complete dumbass
I’m a generous guy. So, when I see someone acting like a complete scumbag, I assume they’re ignorant, instead. For example, if you take an article I wrote in 2005 and put it up for sale, without my permission, on a third-party site, like this: …I take the high road: You’re not a dishonest pile… Read More
Social Media Jack Martin26 Jun, 2012
How to Tweet Like You’re Not a Business
It’s Twitter Tuesday! And what a lovely Twitter Tuesday it is. This week we’re talking about tweeting for businesses. If Mitt Romney really is right and corporations are people, then they sure don’t act like it on Twitter. And that’s too bad. People don’t want to do business with a business; people want to do… Read More
Featured Elizabeth Marsten21 Jun, 2012
What a Paid Search Marketer Needs to Know About Google Shopping
Froogle, Google Product Search, Google Shopping- whatever you call it, it’s integrated with AdWords – now more than ever. And if you think Google is going to stop there…yeah, right. This just got a bit more competitive is all. Oh yeah, and less free. If you’ve been following along with the recent announcement that Google… Read More
Social Media Bryden McGrath19 Jun, 2012
InboxQ: Spread Your Twitter Authority Like Butter
Believe it or not, there are people on Twitter that don’t know you exist. I know, it came as a shock to me and my 300 followers as well. But Twitter is a conversation, and whether you’re a person or a person representing a brand, you can’t converse with anyone who doesn’t know you… Read More
PPC Michael Wiegand14 Jun, 2012
6 Vital Google AdWords Opportunities Tab Tips
Google provides a list of expansion ideas on a periodic basis right in your account under the Opportunities tab: Keyword suggestions, bid suggestions, potential volume – they provide the works: This seems like a slam dunk. It’s not. Google wants you to spend more money in AdWords. End of story. Their suggestions are only based… Read More
Doug Antkowiak12 Jun, 2012
Read This Because I Said So… The Power of Persuasion
“Because I said so” worked with your mom and it works in marketing. “Because” is a magical word because when people hear it, they start to buy in. Taking its roots from the phrase bi cause during the 13th Century, “because” introduces a direct reason for any occurrence or action in a statement. Last month,… Read More
Ian Lurie8 Jun, 2012
6 lessons that changed my career
I’m feeling introspective today. These are realizations to which I can point and say “Yep, that’s where I changed”: It’s not all about me. Successes, failures, perceived snubs, etc. are never solely my own. Share credit, accept blame, assume the best of people (a continuing struggle for me, but hey, I’m working on it). Mistakes… Read More
Internet Marketing Jack Martin7 Jun, 2012
How to Engage Your Audience in Five Seconds
I like to look at a potential customer the same way I look at a potential mate (Don’t make it weird). And in this mindset, there is one tenet I follow above all else: less is more. The more time I spend trying to convince a girl that she should kiss my face, the more… Read More
PPC Jack Martin5 Jun, 2012
Blocking an IP Address in Google AdWords
If you found this article through Google Search, you may have already clicked on several other links making false promises to teach you how to block an IP address in Google Adwords. I did too; that’s why I wrote this. Those other articles are red herrings — part of an elaborate government ploy to distract… Read More
Ian Lurie4 Jun, 2012
Web copywriting 101: Sub-headings
I went to read The Skills Gap Myth on Time.com this morning, and I saw this: I know I’m off Diet Coke, and low on caffeine, and my brain’s working in slow motion. But still, that’s an awful lot of uninterrupted text for a Monday morning. When you’re writing online, you need to break up… Read More