Articles by Nick Bernard
Nick Bernard // 30 Jan, 2014
Why SEOs Should Dump CSS Sprites for Icon Fonts
The SEO community and the web development community can often be at odds. One thing they’ll both agree on, however, is the importance of performance. The SEO’s favorite site speed tool is Google’s PageSpeed Insights, which I’ve written about before. We’ve all seen this among the suggestions: CSS sprites. One tactic to improve site speed… Read More
Nick Bernard // 6 Aug, 2013
Stop Writing Blog Posts: Ideas for Interactive Content
If you’re like me in the kitchen, sometimes you want to add a little North African flavor to dinner. After some light Googling the other night, I found plenty of couscous recipes, but I also found this culinary gem: “5 Couscous Cooking Mistakes to Avoid.” Wait, what? “Cooking” couscous amounts to no more than adding… Read More
Nick Bernard // 7 May, 2013
SEO for Beginners: Improving Site Speed
We write about a lot of fancy stuff on the Portent blog, such as server log analysis, advanced keyword research, and Tom Cruise. I want to address something that doesn’t have to be fancy: site speed. We’ve written two posts on how we configured Portent’s site: one is pretty advanced and the other is blindingly… Read More
Nick Bernard // 12 Mar, 2013
Tool Review: Broken Link Finder
I’m a huge fan of Garrent French’s link building tool, the Link Prospector, so I was jazzed when he released the Broken Link Finder. I wanted to give an overview of why broken link building is important and how this tool can save you a ton of time and effort. What is broken link building?… Read More
Nick Bernard // 22 Jan, 2013
How to Write an Effective Outreach Email [Instructographic]
In the brief amount of time I’ve spent doing outreach for link building, my approach and strategies have evolved. In my early days, I was over-eager and optimistic, crafting drawn-out messages and patiently waiting for the links to come flooding in. To continue with the theme of classic television sitcoms, I was the Richie Cunningham… Read More
Nick Bernard // 20 Sep, 2012
Local SEO Directories and Gyro Sandwiches
For the second installment of the Portent Local Series, I’ll go over why and how directories affect local search visibility and where business owners should focus their time and energy. Local search is like a gyro sandwich: it’s delicious when it works, but the process and criteria for the result can be mysterious. What exactly is… Read More
Nick Bernard // 30 Jul, 2012
7 Strategies for Getting .edu Links
As a linkbuilder, I love college websites. What’s not to love? Sure, getting authoritative links from .edu domains can pass a ton of equity, but college sites have a lot more going for them: They’re varied. Opportunities exist for every vertical. They’re fresh. You can expect the primary pages to be updated regularly. There’s nothing… Read More