Yearly Archives: 2011

Ian Lurie28 Sep, 2011

Resources from Search and Social Hawaii

I’ve put all of the resources I mentioned during my various talks at Search & Social Hawaii into a single Bitly link bundle. You can check it out here. Some of the stuff in the bundle: My slides. Links to past blog posts diving deeper into topics like content curation. Links to scripts I mentioned.… Read More

Ian Lurie23 Sep, 2011

SEO/social reporting with Google Spreadsheets

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

Ian Lurie21 Sep, 2011

Sample SEO proposal template

This isn’t the proposal template we use. But it seems to be the one a lot of other folks use, and they’re all doing OK. So feel free to use this as your template: ========================================= To: Name of client From: Name of you Date: Hopefully today Dear Name of client: Generic introduction with pleasantries. Reference… Read More

Ian Lurie16 Sep, 2011

Big, fat lessons on rebuilding your blog

Let someone else do it. And stay out of their way. There is always a way to export/import your content. Don’t believe someone if they say “You’ll have to cut and paste it.” Analytics should work from day 1 (mine did). Trade three useless graphical features for one good typographical element. You’ll win every time.… Read More

Ian Lurie14 Sep, 2011

The internet marketing list, 2: 59 more things

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

Ian Lurie13 Sep, 2011

Google sitelinks go Cthulhu, grow social media tentacles

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

Ian Lurie9 Sep, 2011

9 times bad: Keyword research advice that sucks

There is some truly horrible keyword advice out there. If you run into any of these in a blog post or e-mail by an ‘expert’, move on. Don’t make eye contact. Don’t take any of their advice. “Buy a keyword-rich domain name.” Yep, that worked wonderfully in 2002. Keyword-rich domains have been faltering for years.… Read More

Ian Lurie7 Sep, 2011

SEO statistics: Predicting traffic growth

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

Ian Lurie6 Sep, 2011

New Portent people, punished with painful puns

…and some alliteration. Two new faces at Portent. I’m really excited to have them on board, both because they’re scary-smart and will be great for the company, and because their hiring means we’ve reached another milestone of sorts. I’ve decided to welcome them to the company with some horrifically bad puns: Lindsay Thomas Lindsay’s not… Read More

Ian Lurie5 Sep, 2011

A marketing plan for the President

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.

Elizabeth Marsten2 Sep, 2011

Speaking at SMX East -NYC

If you’re attending SMX East this September at the Jacob K. Javits Center, look for me! I’ll be on the Q&A panel for Ask the Paid Search Buyers on Thursday the 15th. Bring the questions you’ve always wanted to ask about PPC. And you’ll definitely not want to miss my presentation on How to Create… Read More

Ian Lurie31 Aug, 2011

Writer’s block: An infographic

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

Portent Staff30 Aug, 2011

Campaigning for Links

November 2012 is more than a year away, but White House and congressional contenders are already hitting the campaign trail. It’s typically easier for local incumbents to gain re-election than it is for outsiders to be elected. This is because familiarity breeds trust. The same applies to marketing, if you already have an affiliation with… Read More

Ian Lurie30 Aug, 2011

Marketing for marketers: Heal thyself

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

Ian Lurie25 Aug, 2011

The IT department isn’t killing you – you are

Dear CEO/VP of operations or whatever you are: Information technology departments don’t kill businesses. CEO’s using IT departments kill businesses. I’m reading a great book by John Hughes: Haunting the CEO (affiliate link). He’s a CIO-for-hire, and he’s seen it all. I’d started writing this post before I started the book, but the book really… Read More