Yearly Archives: 2012
Featured Ian Lurie8 Feb, 2012
SEO Exam questions: The answers
When I wrote these exam questions, I have to admit, I didn’t think about publishing the answers. It seemed kind of… wrong. But then I thought about the havoc wreaked if all kids had the teachers’ answer keys (obscure Simpsons reference there). And I smiled in a way that makes my family nervous. So, the… Read More
Ryan Moothart7 Feb, 2012
The Idiot’s Guide to AdWords Extension Ads
You can say a lot of things about Google. You can praise them for setting the standard all search engines seek to meet. You can damn them for being the closest thing to a monopoly we’ve seen on the internet. But one thing you can’t do is chastise them for being boring. Have you seen… Read More
SEO Ian Lurie7 Feb, 2012
SEO exam questions: A sample
I’m working on a set of SEO test questions at my company. The objective: Figure out each SEO analyst’s strengths and weaknesses, then tailor training to them. I thought I’d share a few. They’re supposed to start off pretty easy and get more difficult: TRUE or FALSE or BOTH: The ‘nofollow’ attribute is good for… Read More
Social Media Ian Lurie4 Feb, 2012
Twitter shows up in Google SERPs again
Important update: Man, did I get this one wrong. Andy Beard correctly points out that this result showed up because I follow Lucky on Google+, and they have a link to their Twitter profile in their Google+ profile. The result only shows up once in a while, and in my Saturday-morning haze it I mistook… Read More
Doug Antkowiak3 Feb, 2012
Why Aren’t More People Talking About Google+ Direct Connect?
When I brought up Google+ Direct Connect with Ian, he already knew that Google+ will build your search traffic, but when it came to authenticating a Google+ page, he didn’t really know what I was talking about. In a nutshell, Google+ Direct Connect allows users the ability to discover a Google+ page by adding the… Read More
Featured Ian Lurie2 Feb, 2012
Google Plus will build your search traffic
Google Search Plus Your World builds organic search traffic, big-time. Say what you want about the evil-ness of the whole thing. It’s a huge opportunity, and you need to capitalize on it now. The background I’ve been working for several weeks, researching what seems to get your Plus profile showing up in organic search results—also… Read More
Internet Marketing Ian Lurie1 Feb, 2012
Webinar video now available
All I ask in exchange is your soul. Well. Actually just your e-mail address, if you don’t mind. Click here to sign up and watch the video of the first webinar, ‘Internet marketing 101’. I won’t spam you. Much.
Mike Fitterer1 Feb, 2012
6 Crucial Internet Account Management Tips
When someone asks me what I do professionally I usually tell them I’m a pirate, a ninja, or a wine connoisseur. Then I tell them that I moonlight as an Account Strategist at an Internet marketing agency. Inevitably they ask “what the hell does that mean?” The truth is that this is a perfectly legitimate… Read More
Random Ian Lurie31 Jan, 2012
Portent Webinar 1: Resources
We’re starting the first Portent webinar in 50 minutes! In the mean time, here are links to resources I’ll be discussing: A link bundle with all of the goodies I mention: http://portent.co/web1bundle The slides, on Slideshare: http://portent.co/yAaPa5 If you want to view the recording later on, you’ll need to register. Link coming shortly.
Josh Patrice31 Jan, 2012
3 Easy Local SEO Tactics That Will Raise Your Rankings Today
Is your business locally owned and operated? Do you only target specific states, cities, or neighborhoods? If so, you’re hopefully working hard on your website and web presence. That’s great! We love local businesses at Portent, and we’d like to help you out. Here are 3 quick and easy steps that you can take to… Read More
Tom Schmitz30 Jan, 2012
A Take Action Framework
I have two styles of work. One is intuitive. When I have invested my 10,000 hours into I work quickly. I can because I have the knowledge and experience needed to be accurate and effective. I am not, unfortunately, an expert on all things. In fact, when it comes to most topics I know just… Read More
Ian Lurie29 Jan, 2012
5 signs you should shut up
I’ve had a hard time blogging of late. I feel a little hopeless. Like I’m yelling at the top of my lungs and pointing and saying DON’T WALK INTO THE BURNING HOUSE, but there are 10,000,000 other people writing all forms of idiocy. Luckily, I know lots of folks are still scraping my blog and… Read More
Ian Lurie24 Jan, 2012
Great marketing, small marketing: How it all fits
I did a presentation today at Emerging Media Conference: How marketing can change the world. I’ve distilled it down to the essential bits here. It’s not the best organized ever, but it covers the essentials. Give it a read: Streeeetchhh First, a quick mental stretching exercise: “Marketing” is not “Selling stuff”. “Marketing” is: Communications created… Read More
Tom Schmitz23 Jan, 2012
Search Ranking Factors 2012 Discussion
Search engine results have changed dramatically. Today, which websites get top rankings depend on very different signals than in the past. So much so that what we once considered the whole of SEO is now only a small portion. Here are some of the factors affecting search engine optimization today. On-Site SEO On-site SEO includes… Read More
Analytics Ian Lurie20 Jan, 2012
Google Analytics Tutorial: Install (updated)
I noticed that my original Google Analytics video tutorial is a wee bit out of date. Like, 4 years out of date. So, here’s a new basic install video: