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 [...]

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 [...]

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.

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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

January 18th was a big day in the fight against Internet censorship legislation. As you may have noticed, major websites like Wikipedia and Reddit took their content offline to protest against the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect IP Act (PIPA). These two pieces of legislation would make dramatic changes to the Internet, [...]

Would you be surprised to learn that I’ve been writing Google Search+ recommendations and how-to guides for Portent clients this week? I plan to share my findings here on the blog, but before I dive into the new stuff I feel that it is important to cover some old ground first. Have you laid a [...]

In late December, Google announced the ability to delegate up to 50 named managers as administrators for a Google+ page, yet Google forgot to tell us one little secret. How the hell do you grant admin access to multiple users? If you’ve already created your Google+ page, use this simple tutorial to help others join [...]

When you run an ad campaign in Facebook to get more fans for your business page, you’re able to analyze your performance using Facebook Insights. Recently, Facebook completely removed the old version of Insights and made their new version mandatory. If you’re not familiar with the new Insights, they feature more in-depth and granular information [...]