Featured

I’ve prattled on about the marketing stack for a few years now, but haven’t really explained each chunk. This 5-post series explains the stack as a whole, then piece-by-piece. I’m not some TV series jerk who will keep you hanging, though, wondering which of your favorite characters will die next (cough HBO cough cough). Instead,… Read More

Random

Well, not really. First, PORTENT DID NOT POST THIS. We never would. The guys who did may have been joking, I guess? Hopefully? Understand: This is exactly the kind of shock-jockey crap that makes marketing a joke. It doesn’t just insult an entire religion. It also insults our intelligence. I somehow doubt that the Christian… Read More

SEO

To many people’s minds, search engine optimization is on par with direct mail, telemarketing, and Katherine Heigl. (Well, maybe not Heigl-bad…) As Brand Manager of Portent, one of my ongoing directives is to gather case studies of our good work. But unlike conventional agencies who regularly tout their big marketing wins, I often have a… Read More

PPC

Timothy Johnson and Chad Kearns collaborated on this post. The holidays are coming! Are you prepared? To be sure you are, we’ve put together a list of 10 PPC suggestions you should implement. Don’t get left out in the cold. Now is the time to prepare so that you can make the most of this… Read More

SEO

One of my favorite comedy bits is Lewis Black educating us on the difference between milk and water. Black tells us that there is no such thing as soy milk because soy beans do not have breasts (from which milk comes). Soy milk is a made-up name to sell a product. “Link juice” – a… Read More

Video

This webinar was given July 25, 2013. Transcript: Sara:  Hi and welcome everyone to our next…or to this installment of the Portent Webinar Series.  My name is Sara.  I’ll be your moderator for today’s webinar, which is 7.5 Tips for Becoming a Brainstorming Genius with Katie Fetting, our Brand Manager at Portent.  We would love… Read More

Video

Sometimes we’re in meeting or on calls with clients and we catch our colleagues saying something worth sharing. So we created the “Portent Pop Quiz” series where we ambush the Portentite and have them drop a quick knowledge bomb about a random subject. In our latest installment Isla McKetta speaks on why editing, though commonly… Read More

Video

This webinar was given June 27, 2013.   Transcript: Ariana: Hello, and welcome, everyone, to the next installment of the Portent Webinar Series. My name is Ariana and I will be your moderator for today’s webinar, which is Waste-Per-Click – 10 Ways You’re Losing Money on PPC, with our very own Elizabeth Marsten, Senior Director… Read More

This webinar was given September 19. Transcript: Interviewer: Hello. And welcome, everyone, to the next installment of the Portent Webinar Series. My name is Ariana, and I will be your moderator for today’s webinar, which is breaking down barriers to drive success with Marianne Sweeny, our very own senior search strategist here at Portent. We… Read More

Internet Marketing

The vast field of Internet marketing may not necessarily be new, but it certainly has changed from the days of simple email campaigns and standard websites. Now it involves numerous sectors, from SEO to social media and everything in between. It is rapidly changing and requires someone to have their finger on the pulse of… Read More

PPC

After switching from free listings to commercial in October 2012, a lot has been made of Google’s transformation around Google Shopping. Almost a year later, while maybe no concrete winners (besides Google’s bottom line) can be drawn in the sand, we have seen significant opportunities for small businesses within Google’s increasing focus in its shopping… Read More

Social Media

The team at MackWebSolutions pulled together a panel of experienced community managers including our Director of Social Media, Sara Lingafelter, for a Google Hangout yesterday to discuss the difference between friends and followers, and how to target the right people with your social media and other outreach efforts. The panelists included: Sheena Medina – @sheenamedina… Read More

I’ve done some presenting over the last few weeks. Most of my talks centered around the concept of dispersed citation. It’s my theory on where Google’s going with all this rel=author, no-more-keywords, Google+ stuff, plus some tips on how to prepare and capitalize. Here’s the article – it’s a bit of a long read, but… Read More

This webinar was originally given in October, 2012. Transcript: Shawn Besabella: Hello. Welcome to the Portent Webinar Series. My name is Shawn, and I’ll be today’s moderator for today’s webinar, which is SEO Tips for Small Businesses. Today’s webinar will be presented by Josh Patrice, an SEO Team Lead here at Portent. So without further… Read More

SEO

Well it finally happened. In what they claim is a move to make search data more secure, Google has begun to encrypt all searches, effectively placing all organic traffic into the (not provided) category. This means business owners will never see the keywords people used to get to their site. We’ve already gone over what… Read More

Random

At first Google was just a search engine; then it started to get funny. Now, Google tricks, or “Easter Eggs,” lurk behind every Google search. The right keywords or an “I’m Feeling Lucky” search will often lead you to odd and awesome Google jokes. And Google Easter Eggs aren’t just in Search, you can also… Read More