Google rolled out their latest Toolbar PageRank update today. Yawn. I said it was stupid last year. I’ll say it again this year. Toolbar PageRank is 50% meaningless, 25% misleading, 20% useless and 5% worth tracking. It has slightly more impact than Google +1. Here’s why I wouldn’t use it to measure page value if… Read More

What makes Steve Jobs so damned compelling? What about Seth Godin? Howard Stern? Richard Feynman? (choke) Rush Limbaugh? They’ve found Marketing Nirvana: The place where their beliefs and their product match up. I’m not saying this as a pile of wishy-washy marketing-psychobabble crap. Marketing nirvana is on your to-do list. It’s on mine too. If… Read More

It’s no secret I’m a Google Analytics fan. But Google Analytics version 5, coming soon to a browser near you, addresses some major shortcomings. Here are ten features you’ll want to check out, the moment they’re available: 1: Multi-touch attribution Important note: This is a separate beta and is rolling out on its own. So… Read More

Tomorrow I’m going to be speaking to the ONA/SPJ meetup about SEO and social media. ONA is The Online News Association). SPJ is the Society for Professional Journalists. My typical relationship with journalists and their editors goes like this: Ian is a cockroach, only less evolved. Ian isn’t a bad guy, but he’s going to… Read More

On my vacation last week, I got to go sailing. I’ve sailed since I was 12. In the last 15 years, I’ve only gotten to do it every 2-3 years, at best, but I at least know my port from starboard. I sailed a boat called a Hobie Wave: We nearly ended up having a… Read More

Internet Marketing

Ian’s on vacation this week, to a place with little or no internet and he asked for a volunteer to do a CM post and to have “fun” if so warranted. Well, it’s warranted. And I am leaving the country while he’s gone and not coming back for a couple of weeks after he gets… Read More

I have a secret to confess. I actually run an agency. NO, WAIT. Don’t go away! This involves free, no-strings-attached learning stuff. And a cool web site! Bear with me. I know you probably know I have a job. But whenever I meet folks at a conference, they seem to assume that money just sort… Read More

Random

I’ve watched The Ultimate Dog Tease 1000 times now. I love it. But I feel so bad for the dog. So, when we decided to spoof it, we tried to think of a creature no one cares about. And we realized – it’s us!!!. I went to law school. The only thing less liked than… Read More

Republicans, Democrats, some of you are pretty stupid when it comes to social media. Exhibit A: Your last name is Weiner—W-E-I-N-E-R— and you send lewd photos via Twitter? Seriously?! Exhibit B: You reply to a Craigslist ad via e-mail, attaching a picture of your six-pack? (that’s ex-Congressman Christopher Lee, folks, lest we forget) So, 10… Read More

All good things come to an end, it seems. This deal has expired. You can buy the book for only $2 more, on my site. Or wait and see what the Sumo brings next. I’ve always been a bit scared of the AppSumo. His tough talk. His topknot. That smug smile. But it turns out… Read More

Ooh! Ooh! Did you see that?! I just made up a new term! I, Ian Lurie, can now put my stamp on the industry. QualityRank. It has a nice ring to it, yes? By tomorrow 10 conferences will invite me to keynote. Google has talked about ‘quality user experience’ and ‘quality content’ for a long… Read More

For every fantastic client we land at Portent, we talk to: 30-40 we like but can’t work with for one reason or another; 10-20 who make us a little nervous; 5-10 who we like, but are in industries we just won’t represent; 1-2 people who make me want to retire and open a combination gaming… Read More

I wrote a guest post for Heather Lloyd-Martin’s SEO Copywriting blog. In it, I write about Tribbles, fish, and why you have to write, even if you think your clients are illiterate rodents. Read Just Write!.

In the last few weeks, Google’s been hyping their new +1 voting feature. Click the little +1 and tell everyone you liked a particular search result. Then they announced the +1 button. Click that and tell your network about a page you like, right from that page. You don’t have to be on Google.com. Note… Read More

“Are you OK sir?” The guy next to me at SeaTac gate S8 was eyeing me dubiously as I sat reading Seth Godin’s Poke The Box. I’d just finished yet another passage that made me think “Hell YES!” Apparently, I was also nodding vigorously. My inner monologue was showing. It creeped out my fellow traveler.… Read More