Yearly Archives: 2009

Copywriting

Link related content together and it’s 10x more powerful as an SEO tool. So why doesn’t anyone ever do it? It’s easy. Here’s how you create a ‘hub’ page and use it to boost your rankings, improve your site for readers and get that warm tingly feeling inside: You’ve got nuthin’ Say you run a… Read More

Random

See this? This is my ego: You can help it grow, or at least dry out a bit, if you just vote for me in Invesp’s Top 100 Online Marketers of 2009 contest: Yeah, it’s just a link play, I know. But it’s kind of neat, and gain, my sad little ego could use the… Read More

Social Media

I’m going to tell you a secret that people in social media marketing and social media optimization don’t like to talk about. Fame begets fame. If you’re a celebrity or popular brand then social media will be particularly easy for you. For those of us who are celebrities only in our own minds, you and… Read More

SEO

Mwahahahahaha. See. I TOLD YOU ALL that site performance mattered in SEO. Did you listen? Nooooooooo. Well suck on this: Google just announced a new site performance report in their Webmaster Tools control panel. With it, you get a nifty overview of your site’s load speed: You can find the new tool under the ‘Labs’… Read More

Random

“Do this bit of work for me for free. It’s a huge opportunity! You’ll get rich! I swear!” Uh-huh. David Thorne wrote this hilarious piece about an alleged exchange with someone who wanted some free design work. While it may be an utter fabrication, it got me thinking: In 15 years, I’ve never – never… Read More

Random

OMG I CAN’T THINK OF WHAT TO WRITE!!!!!! We all say it. Truth is, it’s not that you can’t think of what to write – you don’t want to think of what to write. Every day you’re bombarded by potential ideas for articles and blog posts. Here are a few I’ve used time and again:… Read More

Random

Filtering isn’t enough. 99% of social media users don’t get it, though, so their attempts at outreach fail. Filters are passive. Some stuff passes through. Some stuff doesn’t. But a filter doesn’t add anything. Most bloggers grab lots of links, post ’em up on the page and leave it be. Or they write something like… Read More

Random

A Horror Story by Evan Fishkin Recently, I’ve been asked a lot of questions about PubCon, (which is one fantastic search marketing conference!), but just one keeps repeating: “Why Evan, would you let Matt Cutts shave your ‘Curls of Righteousness’?” (witness the horror) For the hungry masses, yearning for answers to questions so long contemplated,… Read More

Internet Marketing

Use Twitter auto-follow tools. Cut other people down. Sell products you know are crappy. Don’t take advice. Ever. WRITE E-MAILS IN ALL CAPS. Misuse words. Amelioratingly. Latch onto one idea and don’t let go. Two legs good, four legs baaaaad. Whatever you do, never admit you’re wrong. Whatever you do, never stop reminding others of… Read More

SEO

I’m here tonight to clear up a little misconception: Douglas Karr wrote an article a few days back titled “Is Google really trying to make the web better?” He talked about Matt Cutts’ implication at PubCon that site load speed is becoming a search ranking factor. Karr implies that this favors businesses with deep pockets,… Read More

Internet Marketing

If you want to learn about StumbleUpon and what it is, read my previous article about Stumbleupon traffic quality.. StumbleUpon is my friend. In a weird, they-just-showed-up-and-were-nice-to-me kind of way. I’ll write an article about, say, The Plague that is Powerpoint. Nothing happens. I shrug and move on to the next piece. Then BAM, weeks… Read More

Random

I go to conferences, eat the dry sandwiches, sleep in the hotel room and then head home. Usually, it’s a wash – I learn a thing or two, bounce around outside the circles of the ‘in’ people like the smallest puppy in the litter, and that’s it. This year, though I went to my first… Read More

SEO

Quick post tonight: I’ve been using eBay’s keyword research tool for a while now. It may just beat the more established toolsets when it comes to commercial keyword research. Here’s how you use it: First, go to http://labs.ebay.com/raghavgupta/demoto/to?. Type in your query: When you click ‘submit’ you’ll get a report like this: The ‘Popularity’ column… Read More

Random

Check out Portent Interactive’s own Evan Fishkin at PubCon 2009 in Las Vegas, NV. Evan’s head was shaved by Google’s Matt Cutts due to a lost bet. Evan bet Matt that no one would submit a spam site to Google’s interactive site review. Clearly, someone did. And no, the bet had nothing to do with… Read More

Internet Marketing

While this is a true story, it took me awhile to stop being creeped out and make the connection to how this could apply to internet marketing. Once while home was a mere four blocks from a friend’s house (granted I crossed a major avenue in which prostitution is a known issue, but 35 blocks… Read More