Yearly Archives: 2012
Jack Martin8 May, 2012
How to Use Hootsuite and Twitter Lists to Engage Your Audience
And a fine Twitter Tuesday to you as well. A Hootsuite tutorial about using Twitter lists can only begin with a beautiful memory. I remember when I got my first Twitter follower. I was a bright-eyed web surfer with a bushy tail (since birth). @getfree_ebooks3 followed me, and our relationship blossomed. She was beautiful. I… Read More
Elizabeth Marsten4 May, 2012
10 Dangerous Defaults in PPC
You remember that episode where Homer Simpson goes into space as a NASA astronaut? He only got to go because Barney Gumble has an alcoholic relapse and Homer was the second runner up. Scientist: Well, Homer, I guess you’re the winner by default. Homer: Default? Woo hoo! The two sweetest words in the English language:… Read More
Ian Lurie4 May, 2012
Why Google Is Not Going Away: On AllThingsD
Forbes published an article this week explaining why Google and Facebook could disappear in the next 5 years. I, uh, beg to differ. I wrote my thoughts on the subject in an article published on AllThingsD. You can read it here. Give it a read. I think Google will be around for a long, long… Read More
Internet Marketing Ariana Burgess2 May, 2012
Hat Trick: How Account Strategists Do It All
For someone with only one head, I wear a lot of hats. Most people have jobs they can explain in a sentence (“I’m a doctor / librarian / deep sea diver.”) But I’m not one of those people: I’m an Account Strategist for Portent. As such, I find myself in all manner of situations, solving… Read More
SEO Ian Lurie30 Apr, 2012
4 tips for technical SEO
We’re all talking a lot about content and social media these days. But visibility boils down to technical SEO: Ensuring that search engines can easily find and categorize every page of your site. These are the top 4 I look at first when I’m auditing a site: 1: Check server response codes You can use… Read More
Ian Lurie29 Apr, 2012
10 ways to get into big trouble in marketing
Base your campaigns on the ‘average’ customer. Only follow the data. Never follow the data. Skimp on content. Wait for perfection (hint – you’ll never get it). Leave design to designers (hint – you need to know about it, too). Leave development to developers (hint – see above). Micromanage. Use empty controversy as an outreach… Read More
Elizabeth Marsten26 Apr, 2012
Expert PPC Management Within Your Reach
Pay-Per-Click advertising is a beautiful thing. Set up an AdWords or adCenter account and your ads can target thousands of potential customers looking for a product just like yours. Mmm, that’s nice. But it can be complicated and difficult. Especially on a budget. And time consuming. PPC Essentials Package That’s why Portent is rolling out… Read More
Analytics Ian Lurie25 Apr, 2012
SEO Analytics, Middle Earth-Style
Who saved Middle Earth? No, not Frodo. His will shredded like wet toilet paper. Gollum took the lava bath, destroyed the ring, and saved everyone from a 36″ Dark Lord. Does he get any credit? Nooooooo. Nine-fingered Frodo is the hero. The ladies all swoon at Legolas and Aragorn. But not poor Gollum. Internet marketers,… Read More
Social Media Doug Antkowiak25 Apr, 2012
The 10 Dumbest Tweets of All Time & the Idiots Who Wrote Them
It’s amazing how 140 characters can have such an impact on your career. Now that we live in a world where “Google before you tweet” is the new “think before you speak,” we all know how important it is to digest a witty thought before broadcasting it into the universe. The next time you feel… Read More
Design & Development Jess Walker24 Apr, 2012
Good Design Roundup
Good Design Roundup Good design doesn’t just mean pretty, it means functional too. Sometimes a website is born that combines those two things seamlessly. It’s like a miracle. Or more likely, people worked hard and communicated with one another, allowing design, functionality, and content to come together and deliver a clear and helpful message. A… Read More
PPC Elizabeth Marsten23 Apr, 2012
Thurday’s Free Webinar: PPC for Cheapskates
Hey Everybody! Don’t forget about Portent’s free monthly webinar on Thursday, April 26 at 11am PST. This month, yours truly will be presenting: PPC for Cheapskates. Pick up great tips and tricks to maximize your PPC dollars, whatever your budget size might be. If you have not registered yet, don’t be shy, registration is quick… Read More
Design & Development R.J. LaCount20 Apr, 2012
Introducing the Facebook Custom Tab Generator
Custom tabs on Facebook Pages allow us to display our own HTML content inside Facebook Pages by embedding code in iframes. This is done by creating a Facebook app and providing a few parameters (like the URL where our custom HTML page is located). Here’s an example of a custom tab: Add a Custom Tab… Read More
Social Media Doug Antkowiak18 Apr, 2012
Avinash Kaushik & His Awesome Google Plus Updates
When it comes to writing updates in Google+, some of the most influential people use the following formula to make their posts stand out: (Title in bold) + (3 to 4 short paragraphs) + #hashtag + URL + Picture = Awesome Update The inspiration of this post comes from Avinash Kaushik. I’m sure we’ve all… Read More
Featured Ian Lurie17 Apr, 2012
Three principles of internet marketing
I’ve put in some time lately talking about what internet marketing is not. I thought I’d take a crack what internet marketing is, for a change. Internet marketing’s driven by three principles that are often in tension: Note that I didn’t say The three principles of internet marketing. These are principles of internet marketing. But… Read More
PPC Ryan Moothart16 Apr, 2012
The 3 Most Important Lessons I’ve Learned as a PPC Strategist
I started working at Portent a year and a half ago as an intern. I was fresh out of college and did not know any specifics of internet marketing. I was introduced to the world of paid search during my first few weeks and found it intriguing. As I starting to do more work in… Read More