Analytics

Google Analytics now has this cool, real-time stats dashboard. At first, I thought it was just fluff—something to use up my spare 2 minutes/day. But, it’s really handy. I’ve found five good uses for it so far: Test social media posts in real time: Send out a tweet, and then watch the result. Send a… Read More

SEO is complicated, and it’s easy to fall for a ripoff artist, or someone who’s just clueless. But there are some easy ways to detect SEO buttheads. Here’s how you can tell if someone making big promises is utterly full of horse manure: 1: The spam e-mail Butthead indicator #1: The unsolicited e-mail. Strength: 2/5… Read More

Random

I love when someone tells me I should ‘manage growth’ at Portent. How, exactly, would I do that? Hire a psychic? Sometimes, the economy tanks, and you get 10 great new clients. Sometimes, the economy grows, and 3 clients leave to sell their toothpaste caps in Superbowl ads. I guess I could tell 5 great… Read More

SEO

Yo ho, yo ho, a pirate’s life for me. Going black hat. It’s so tempting. You put in all this time researching SEO. You know as much about the algorithms as anyone. You watch competitors zip past you and you just know they’re cheating. How else could they zip past you*? *I dunno… Maybe because… Read More

Copywriting

If you write for SEO, you write for online users, and vice-versa. I just put together this SEO copywriting cheat sheet to cover it all. It’s free – have a look. The SEO Copywriting Cheat Sheet – PDF The cost? Zero. Zip. Nada. If you want to make me smile, you can: Buy one of… Read More

Internet Marketing

‘Engagement’. Shudder. It’s the latest beaten-to-death marketing term. Truth is, though, there’s a genuine need to ‘engage’ with your customer. I get it: You want to stand out. You want your customers to like you. You want them to remember you. But do you really have to over-complicate your web sites, and your marketing campaigns,… Read More

Random

Oh god, you groan, I have to write on the blog again?! I just wrote a post last month!!! It’s a pain, I know. You’ve got a business to run, or a game to watch, or kids to feed. Spending 2 hours grinding out 300 words just isn’t a high priority. It can be worth… Read More

Random

Anyone who publishes anything on the web is part of Google. Well, anyone who lets Google crawl their content, anyway. Which is just about everyone. I told ya so Lots of bloggers are saying that Google’s a publisher. To which I can only say, “Well, DUH!” I’ve been writing about Google-as-aggregator for a few years… Read More

Analytics

I was sure I’d get crushed by a falling NASA satellite today. It didn’t happen, but it was very motivating. I completed my legacy to the marketing world: A Google Spreadsheet that automatically grabs everything from Linkscape data to Google Analytics numbers to Twitter follower counts. It’s purty: More important, I’ve provided a link to… Read More

Internet Marketing

I did it before. I’m doing it again. Here’s a list of 59 more things you need to do for your internet marketing campaign. I’ve tried my darndest to avoid duplication, but be patient: Speed up: Get Google Page Speed. Run it on every page of your site. Until you have a 90+, you aren’t… Read More

SEO

Beware! Google’s new, massive, SERP-sucking sitelinks are growing tentacles. And they’re getting those appendages into more than brands. I’ve been pondering Google’s sitelinks a lot lately. It’s hard not to. Sitelinks are in your face everywhere you go. Do a search for ‘Lucky Brand.’ Between sitelinks and Adwords ads, you can’t even fit in quick… Read More

Analytics

Prospective clients always want to know: What kind of impact will SEO have? How much traffic will I get? I’m an empirical guy. I want to give an answer. But based on what? Well, I did some serious digging into traffic patterns over time across 200 Portent clients, and I have some answers. Warning: This… Read More

Dear President Obama:You're not going to read this. Republicans will read it and roll their eyes. Democrats will read it and grind their teeth.But I'll feel better, because this crap is driving me crazy, and I finally wrote it all down.

I have horrific writer’s block right now. I’m tired, burned out on writing and generally verbally fried. Alan Bleiweiss gave me an amazing idea: So, thanks to Alan, here it is. All my limited artistic talent focused like a blurry laser beam in a snowstorm on my current nemesis: Writer’s block. I don’t know. I… Read More

My forehead should be bleeding. I’ve pounded it against my desk about thirty times in the last 24 hours. If I can help other people and companies market themselves, why can’t I ever do it for myself? This isn’t the first time I’ve asked myself this question. But it’s the first time that I can… Read More