Articles by Portent Staff
Portent Staff // 9 Jan, 2014
An AdWords Wishlist for 2014
This post is brought to you by our special guest, Toni Voutilainen. Toni is a passionate PPC practitioner from a Finland-based Internet Agency Tulos Helsinki, operating in Scandinavia. Tulos and Portent are conducting a pilot of an International Geek Exchange program – this article is the culmination of Toni’s visit here to Seattle. This October, AdWords… Read More
Portent Staff // 19 Dec, 2013
Why Brand Managers Must Sweat the Small Stuff… and it’s ALL Small Stuff
Marketers have always had a difficult time justifying their budgets. My grandfather was a Mad Man – working in advertising and marketing from the 60s to the 80s for a series of companies. (He eventually wound up a Sr. VP of Marketing at Doskocil Foods moving armies of pepperoni.) I remember being a wee lass… Read More
Portent Staff // 17 Dec, 2013
Remarketing for Search Ads
Remarketing Lists for Search Ads [RLSA] is an extremely useful feature that Google rolled out over the summer. It allows you to serve search ads to people who are on your remarketing lists, and for Portent’s small e-commerce clients, it’s definitely proven profitable. So if you’re looking for another way to increase your sales, read… Read More
Portent Staff // 28 Oct, 2013
SEO as Customer Service: Or Why Marketing’s Most ‘Shameful’ Secret Should Come Out of the Closet
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
Portent Staff // 24 Oct, 2013
Link Juice est Mort
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
Portent Staff // 15 Oct, 2013
7.5 Tips for Becoming a Brainstorming Genius [VIDEO WEBINAR]
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
Portent Staff // 9 Oct, 2013
Waste-Per-Click: 10 Ways You’re Losing Money in PPC [VIDEO WEBINAR]
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
Portent Staff // 5 Oct, 2013
Save Time, Money and Bloodshed with Soft System Discovery [VIDEO WEBINAR]
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
Portent Staff // 2 Oct, 2013
Google Hangout: Making Friends, Not Followers
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
Portent Staff // 27 Sep, 2013
SEO Tips for Small Businesses [VIDEO WEBINAR]
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
Portent Staff // 25 Sep, 2013
The 113 Best Google Tricks, Easter Eggs, April Fool’s Day Jokes and Pranks
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
Portent Staff // 24 Sep, 2013
A Day in the Life or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love (not provided)
I read the news today, oh boy… Danny Sullivan announced that Google is actively moving towards 100% encrypted search results. This should come as no surprise to anyone in the industry. When Google introduced secure search back in 2011, we saw the writing on the wall. As Google increased their number of users, the number… Read More
Portent Staff // 20 Sep, 2013
The Amazing Pets of Portent
While we do love SEO, PPC, social, content, and Internet marketing in general, we’re more than that – we’re also people, people who love our pets. (I mean, we love them so much we built an entire Facebook app called the Kitten Moodinator.) So for this fun, furry, Friday post I present The Pets of… Read More
Portent Staff // 11 Sep, 2013
5 Project Management Tips from Portent’s Newest Mom
Being a new mom is pretty awesome. Sure, there’s lack of sleep, lots of crying (you and the baby), and lots of diapers. But there are also awesome smiles, giggles, cuddles, and hugs. It’s challenging enough to accommodate this new person, but working full-time adds an extra layer. Over the years, however, I’ve developed some… Read More
Portent Staff // 6 Sep, 2013
The Big Content Real-Time Dashboard Template
You’ve heard the saying “content is king!” so many times by now that it’s become a joke. A joke that isn’t funny and doesn’t even accurately depict the real role of content. Content is what your visitors see when they come to your site. It’s how you engage with them. It is the key to… Read More