Yearly Archives: 2014
SEO Ian Lurie29 Dec, 2014
SEO Using Force-Directed Diagrams
Note: You can now buy Force Directed Diagrams in our store. Sometimes, the only way to understand a site is to look deep into the technology stack and gaze upon its dark, dark soul. But we at Portent try to avoid contact with evil beings. Instead, we use force-directed diagrams. I got my nerd on… Read More
Internet Marketing Kyle Eliason23 Dec, 2014
It’s Raining Marketing: The Importance of Integrated Marketing Communications
Halfway during one of my marketing classes in college, I noticed a small quote on the bottom right-hand side of the whiteboard. It said, “Which raindrop caused the flood?” My teacher never referenced it once during the duration of the course. However, ten weeks later, it all made sense. What is this IMC you speak… Read More
SEO Kaitlin McMichael18 Dec, 2014
Is Duplicate Content Really a Problem?
The short answer is yes. We have written extensively on the subject before: SEO Obviousness: Duplicate content sucks, Duplicate content sin #1: Pagination, Duplicate content sin #2: Default page linking, SEO worst practices: The content duplication toilet bowl of death, and 5 SEO Strategies We Swear Aren’t Going Anywhere. So we have done our due… Read More
PPC Erica Opsvig2 Dec, 2014
8 Free Keyword Research Tools for PPC Advertising
Whether it’s SEO or PPC advertising, search engine marketing campaigns should begin with keyword research. This research is arguably the most important task for the foundation of all SEM efforts. It not only gives marketers insight into the mind of their audience, but helps bridge the gap between potential customers and the products or services… Read More
Blog Ariana Burgess25 Nov, 2014
Bad Behaviors That Make Me a Better Project Manager
I have learned over the years that there are a few behaviors which are normally considered impolite or taboo, but are extremely helpful when it comes to managing projects and teams and getting things done. Saying NO: For a Libra, saying no is not easy. I like to have balance and harmony, make people happy. So saying no… Read More
Featured Ian Lurie20 Nov, 2014
Allies, not rockstars: Influencer research for us mortals
Most marketers equate ‘influencer research’ with ‘finding a celebrity who will endorse for free.’ I call that the Rockstar Method. It’s a miserable approach. Ready-and-waiting rockstar social amplifiers are slightly less common than mint-condition K cars. The Rockstar Method has its place with major brands, pure luck and the well-connected. Mere mortals like you and… Read More
SEO George Freitag19 Nov, 2014
5 Ways Your Site Might Fail Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test
On Tuesday, Google announced a new label in search results that states whether or not a site is “mobile-friendly.” Now when you’re on your phone, you’ll know ahead of time if the site you’re thinking about visiting is optimized for your device. Accompanying that announcement, Google said that they are also experimenting with a ranking boost for sites… Read More
SEO David Portney18 Nov, 2014
My (Insanely Large) List of SEO Tools & Other Useful Resources
I’m just about to reach the 5 year mark working in the online marketing industry, and one thing that I’ve always found remarkable is how open and sharing people in this line of work tend to be. Whether it’s strategies, tactics, updates, techniques or tools – folks in this space do a lot of sharing,… Read More
Internet Marketing Tracy Beach13 Nov, 2014
Symbols in subject lines, AKA the resurrection of Wingdings
I’ve worked at Portent for 14 years now and this is my first blog post. You might ask yourself, “why now?” “Why does he start with this subject?” The answer is that nothing in the past 14-plus years has been more exciting, more inspiring, and maybe even more important than the recent technological advancements that have allowed us… Read More
PPC Elizabeth Marsten6 Nov, 2014
A Big Idea: The International Geek Exchange
As a part of our Big Idea series, I wanted to share more detail to a special pilot program that I took part in recently and will be presenting on in Dallas at State of Search later this month. It’s the International Geek Exchange that Toni Voutilainen, a senior PPC specialist of the Tulos Agency… Read More
Social Media Ian Lurie5 Nov, 2014
How to: Do a Twitter Audit in 1 Hour Or Less
I have a somewhat-random, step-by-step routine for auditing my own Twitter account (world, really, but I start with my account). I wrapped it up in a presentation. This is not a scientific method kind of thing. It’s more of a take-a-look-at-how-things-went-and-avoid-putting-both-feet-in-my-mouth kind of thing: Confirm, Observe, Adjust: How to audit your Twitter world an 1… Read More
Design & Development Brock Reed4 Nov, 2014
The Agile Approach to design and development. It really works!
Back some 15 years ago when I first entered into the creative agency world as a Project Manager, I was taught how to manage and lead projects in a traditional and linear way. Each team member, each discipline, and every contributor had their place along the project path. Once the strategist was done setting the big… Read More
SEO George Freitag30 Oct, 2014
Google’s Data Highlighter: Your New Favorite Backup Plan
We all know the importance of Schema markup and rich snippets on your search results. We’ve written about the importance of getting markup implemented on your web page and getting rich snippets showing in your search results. And you should. Schema markup is the best solution to getting rich snippets to show up in search… Read More
Internet Marketing Ian Lurie28 Oct, 2014
43 tools for modern marketers
Modern marketers are mutts: We have to write, edit, produce, plan, measure, learn, listen, speak and otherwise pull miracles out of our rear ends on a daily basis. We need tools. This is my list. By the way, no one’s paid me, bribed me, threatened me or otherwise steered me towards their products. This is… Read More
Design & Development Matt Meyers23 Oct, 2014
Why HTML5 is, like, REALLY IMPORTANT
If you’ve worked in the world of the internet at any point in the past few years, there is a good chance you’ve heard of the hot new technology that is HTML5, and there is a similarly good chance that what you’ve heard is largely hype and buzzwords. While HTML5 does offer a great deal… Read More