Today, Portent is moving to the Smith Tower. But before we can say hello to downtown Seattle, we have to say goodbye to Tukwila Life. If you’re unfamiliar with the phrase “That’s Tukwila Life” – it’s the motto of the city of Tukwila, where Portent has made it’s home for the last ten years or [...]
Articles by Elizabeth Marsten
Elizabeth leads Portent’s SEO, PPC, Copy, Social and Link Building teams through their daily trials and triumphs. For more of Elizabeth's marketing tips, check out her latest eBook "Write Ad Copy that Inspires Greatness." The knowledge it took her a lifetime to glean can be yours for the low, low price of $9.95.
9 Tips for Setting Up an AdCenter Account from Scratch
It’s free to sign up! AdWords charges you $5 for account activation. Don’t dump your entire AdWords account in. That’s just silly. Use the 80/20 rule. 20% of what you’re doing in Google can go over to adCenter. Just like a house fire, take only what you treasure most. Then accumulate later. There are settings [...]
10 Dangerous Defaults in PPC
You remember that episode where Homer Simpson goes into space as a NASA astronaut? He only got to go because Barney Gumble has an alcoholic relapse and Homer was the second runner up. Scientist: Well, Homer, I guess you’re the winner by default. Homer: Default? Woo hoo! The two sweetest words in the English language: [...]
Expert PPC Management Within Your Reach
Pay-Per-Click advertising is a beautiful thing. Set up an AdWords or adCenter account and your ads can target thousands of potential customers looking for a product just like yours. Mmm, that’s nice. But it can be complicated and difficult. Especially on a budget. And time consuming. PPC Essentials Package That’s why Portent is rolling out [...]
Thurday’s Free Webinar: PPC for Cheapskates
Hey Everybody! Don’t forget about Portent’s free monthly webinar on Thursday, April 26 at 11am PST. This month, yours truly will be presenting: PPC for Cheapskates. Pick up great tips and tricks to maximize your PPC dollars, whatever your budget size might be. If you have not registered yet, don’t be shy, registration is quick [...]
The AdWords Manual Review
If you’re not familiar with the exciting adventure that is an AdWords Manual Review, heed my warning. It’s one of those clauses they hide in the terms and conditions and has little to no flexibility on either scheduling one or finding out more about them- like why your account was flagged in the first place. [...]
Midnight Madness PPC
Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Thanksgiving, it’s fast approaching. I’m sure you’ve got your campaigns all pumped up with holiday-riffic ad copy burgeoning with sales and promo codes sitting in an Editor file, ready to go. And course, have your daily budgets set to skyrocket to keep up with demand. People sure a love a deal. [...]
AdWords Ads with Email Form
I haven’t heard much about Contact Form Extensions since PPC Hero talked about the beta last January 2010 (yeah, AWHILE ago) and all but forgot about it until I ran across it today myself. Searching on what will be a super hot topic, well now, I found a contact extension form ad in the sidebar, [...]
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 [...]
How to Fake it: Automating PPC When You Can’t Afford the Machine
I pitched SMX Advanced this year for the Human vs. Machines: What’s the Best Way to Manage Paid Search? session. I didn’t get accepted (sniff) but that’s doesn’t mean that my pitch can’t be a most excellent blog post. I knew I was a little off the beaten track with it anyway, but that is [...]
