August 13, 2010 by ian
This is part 1 in a short series about my attempt to learn a new programming language. 'Cause, you know, it's what nerds do. The journey begins: My site map generator I wanted to build a decent site map generator. To me, 'decent' means: It can crawl and parse pages, grabbing links, without generating an index. Some tools purport to do this - WGET, for one - but bugs get in the way. It can crawl and parse pages for images and video, too. You can pause, stop and restart crawls, and generate a map from a partial crawl. All…
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April 29, 2010 by ian
OK, getting VERY geeky here. You only want to read this post if: You program in ColdFusion. I've been using CF since the late 90s. It's far and away my favorite programming language. You get happy tingly feelings when you make an application run 60-70% faster. You're a nerd. If you're still here, this is a great tip for speeding up ColdFusion applications that handle really large strings: Usually, in CF, you'd combine (concatenate) strings like this: <CFSET string1 = "I"> <CFSET string2 = " am"> <CFSET string3 = " the nerdman!!! "> <CFSET string1 = string1 & string2 &…
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January 13, 2010 by ian
This one's an experiment: I'm going to spend this and the next few HTML Basics lessons showing you how to use WordPress to apply the HTML stuff you've learned in the last 4 lessons. An introduction to using WordPress to add and edit content on the web. Please let me know what you think - I'm trying to decide how deep I should dive in a 5-minute lesson. Is this too little? Too much? Should I do a tap dance? Related Posts HTML basics: Creating your first web page HTML basics: Headings and paragraphs HTML basics: Creating links HTML Basics:…
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October 2, 2009 by ian
For this week's site review, I took a look at eHubPensacola.com. My advice: Build a search-optimized home page. Focus on the business model. You're offering coupons and discounts. Make sure folks can get access to them quickly and easily. Then use that to build a relationship and get visitors to purchase membership. SEO and Business Models: CM Site Review #4 from ian lurie on Vimeo.…
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September 23, 2009 by ian
Already found two useful hacks in Google Sidewiki, although I still wonder why it's around. Make links work If you create a link in a Sidewiki entry, Google adds on some annoying extra stuff, so that: www.portentinteractive.com/services.htm becomes www.portentinteractive.com/services.htm&sa=D&sntz=1 That's an invalid link, and it'll give you a 404 error every time. The fix is easy: When you insert the link into Sidewiki, add any query string you want to the end of your URL. So the URL above becomes: www.portentinteractive.com/services.htm?this=that Now, when Google adds their stuff, you get: www.portentinteractive.com/services.htm?this=that&sa=D&sntz=1 A valid link. Woo-hoo! Turn off Google Sidewiki for your…
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September 17, 2009 by ian
I'm striking out against the grand tradition of Powerpoint-as-outline, aka Powerlines. They're a fatal illness breaking out at conventions, conferences and in board meetings across the country. The authorities would like you to think this is all under control. But trust me, THEY WON'T DO ANYTHING until it's TOO LATE, and we're all barricaded in our homes, fending off thousands of zombified Powerpoint addicts. So we must take matters into our own hands. Powerpoint slides should serve as: Counterpoint or emphasis; Background; or Illustration and support. They should not be: A word-for-word transcript of your presentation; A detailed outline…
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September 4, 2009 by ian
Short answer: Not to your rankings. The description tag is one of those 'meta' tags you hear about a lot. If you clicked view >> source in your web browser, it'd look like this: It's a bit of text that summarizes the page. There's no real limit on length. Most search engines will show the first sentence or two, so make sure your best stuff is at the beginning of the tag. It doesn't impact rankings The description tag doesn't impact the rankings. Or it has so little impact it's irrelevant. Either way, there's no point in stuffing it with…
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August 17, 2009 by ian
Just recorded our first video site review. This one's American Parkour. Biggest problem on the site: No clear subscription model. You can subscribe for newsletters, etc., but they're not front-and-center. And this site's subscription list is clearly the biggest asset they can have. So, here's the video: Tips for American Parkour to improve their online subscription rates. Tips for better online subscription rates: AmericanParkour.com from ian lurie on Vimeo. Other Stuff Free, no-strings-attached ebook: Monitoring Social Media with Google Reader 22 things You Don't Know About Your Customers 10 Ways to Grow Your House E-mail List And, of course, follow…
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August 12, 2009 by ian
I've been kind of a jerk lately, even by my standards. My guilt is your gain, though - I just finished writing an e-book, and I'm making it available free, no strings attached: The Fat-Free Guide to Conversation Monitoring shows you how to monitor what folks say about you in social media using Google Reader and a few keyword searches. You can read it online in Scribd format, or download it, both from this link: Download the Fat Free Guide to Conversation Monitoring Disclaimer: There are some exceptionally cool social media monitoring tools out there. I am in no way…
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August 2, 2009 by ian
I'll be doing a site clinic at SES San Jose: 10-11AM on Tuesday, August 11th. Here's the official spiel: The Curmudgeon's Web Copywriting Clinic SEO, PPC, social media: You work hard to build traffic. But is your site's copywriting driving away visitors? Get your site's copy reviewed for: - Online readability - Call to action - Clarity & structure - SEO-friendliness A few small changes can help you keep more visitors, and turn them into customers. Bring your URL by the booth and have your page reviewed by Ian Lurie, CMC (Chief Marketing Curmudgeon) at Portent Interactive. So get over…
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July 29, 2009 by ian
I'm spending today trying not to spontaneously combust. Assuming I don't vanish with a puff of smoke and a FOOMP, this will be a quick primer on title tags. In case you don't know: In web terms, the 'title tag' is a hidden bit of code on your page. It's typically visible to the public in two places. First, in the title bar of your web browser: And second, as the headline of most search snippets on search results pages: As the headline of a search snippet, the title tag is the ultimate arbiter of clickability. A good title tag…
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December 5, 2008 by ian
I'll be presenting a webinar today: Transforming Google Analytics Into Business Analytics When: Tuesday, December 9, 12 PM PST (that's today) Where: Here, on the web, silly The focus: Making actual, real-life use of Google Analytics to grow your business. No fancy shtuff like advanced segments. I'll talk about: Data overload and how to avoid it The 3 factors you really need to track: Profit, Growth and Pipeline The system you need to make it work: Configure, Track, Apply How to use click value calculation to simplify it all. Real-world examples. Note: This is not a Google Analytics training webinar.…
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November 24, 2008 by ian
Just wrapped up my Conversational Marketing Summit presentation titled 'why does most marketing suck?'. In it, I review: A brief history of marketing, as told by beer. Why and how you should select, rather than accumulate, customers. How you can better listen to your audience. The meaning of life. At least as a marketer. I also answer several specific questions about social media, PPC and the like. Here's the recording: You can also see it at full size: Click here.…
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October 28, 2008 by ian
Yo, copywriters. If you freak out about semantic markup, then you have varying degrees of apoplexy over links. But linking is a critical part of smart online copy. Links are why it's called the world wide web, and not the world wide collection of random disconnected bits and pieces. So you need to learn. Here's a quick tutorial from me, a one-time marketing copywriter. This doesn't go into a lot of theory - it's strictly step-by-step. This article is just about internal links - the links you create from one page on your site to another page on your…
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October 24, 2008 by ian
Copywriters are a weird, weird bunch. They fearlessly crank out pages of great prose - an activity that terrifies most people - but are horrified when I mention something like 'semantic markup'. The concept of a heading tag reduces the best writers to a mass of quivering jelly. Well, for all you writers out there, here's a guide to semantic markup - the use of heading tags and basic HTML to make your writing easier to format, read and optimize for the internet. It can also help you improve sales or whatever it is you're trying to accomplish on your…
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October 8, 2008 by ian
Note: Webinar cancelled - more info here. Sign ups for my October 16th internet marketing triage webinar have been, uh, less than stellar nonexistent. So I thought I'd give it another shot. October 16th, I'll be doing a 90-minute webinar on internet marketing. My focus: Those first things you have to do if you're going to make an honest effort at an internet marketing campaign. It'll be based on my 59 Things internet marketing list. Here's what we'll cover: Using Google Reader to monitor your reputation, and keep an eye on your competitors. 5 changes you can, and must,…
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October 3, 2008 by ian
Note: Webinar cancelled - more info here. I'm starting a webinar series on internet marketing. For lack of a great, clever name, I'm calling it my Internet Marketing Webinars. Webinar 1: 59 Things You Should Be Doing The first one will be based on my 59 Things list. I'll go into more detail on the key list items, and take questions about the list. Topics will include: Creating a friendly 404 error page for your site. Basic changes for better SEO. 3 changes that will get you more sales. At the end of the webinar you'll have a clear set…
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April 8, 2008 by ian
Successful internet marketing brings together a lot of disciplines. Unfortunately, that often results in project chaos: Unhappy teams, communication failures, etc.. Read on and I'll give you a few methods for putting things back on track. You've Been There: The Project's on the Rocks Tell me if this sounds familiar: The developer says they can't go any further without the designer's input. The designer just can't seem to call the developer. The project manager cries a lot and can't get anyone on the phone. And you're pretty sure the content team is down at the bar. Your internet marketing project…
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January 2, 2008 by ian
Google's webmaster tools are a great search marketing tool. But they're also a fantastic internet marketing tool, because they let you peek into the heads of your audience, and see how search engines (and probably your customers) are classifying you. I recorded a brief video about it, and provided some quick guidance on getting set up: Online Videos by Veoh.com Or watch the hi-res version here. Note that it's 61 megabytes - not a quick download. This was indeed the reality TV version of my webcast. No script, plus my kids and their friends playing in the background. They were…
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October 9, 2007 by ian
I'm on a bit of a personas kick lately. Here are the tutorials I've written to date: Get In Your Customers' Heads: Creating Great Personas The introduction. The 4 Rules of Personas: Creating Great Personas, Part 2 Applying personas directly to your internet marketing strategy. 3 Rules for Applying Personas to E-mail Marketing This one's pretty clear from the title, I hope... Search Marketing and Personas: Opening Your Customer's Heads I go on a 'Heroes' kick, and talk about personas' application to search marketing. Here's my post regarding SMX West, too. SMX West Slides, etc. Technorati Tags: personas…
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September 17, 2007 by ian
Almost every business owner I meet says “I have a web site. I just don't have enough time to make it not suck.†Well, you don't need a lot of time to make your website not suck. You can do it while you're slurping that first latte of the morning. Here's how you do it in 10 minutes a day, Getting Things Done-style: Have whatever you use to manage your to-do list handy: Your Moleskine, your day planner, whatever. Log in to your web site traffic report. If you don't have any statistics report, don't set it up right…
Continue Reading Website Suck? No Visitors? Follow these 5 easy steps to Internet Glory. »
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July 16, 2007 by ian
Purely for organizational purposes, I've pulled all the tutorials together in one place: Install Google Analytics Site Search in 5 Steps Analyze Internal Search Data With Google Analytics - Now superseded by the tutorial above. Data discovery with Google Analytics 2.0 Google Analytics Tutorial 1: Setting Up Google Analytics Tutorial 2: Essential Stats Google Analytics Tutorial 3: Digging Deeper Google Analytics Tutorial 4: Goals Google Analytics Tutorial 5: Search Analytics Google Analytics Tutorial 6: Visitor Segmentation I'll update this page as I do more tutorials. Technorati Tags: analytics, Google Analytics Technorati Tags: analytics, Google Analytics…
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May 8, 2007 by ian
I am joining the 21st Century with my very own podcast feed. The feed includes my first interview, as well as the Google Analytics Tutorials. As I add more stuff, I'll update the feed... The link: http://feeds.feedburner.com/ConversationMarketingPodcasts Technorati Tags: podcast…
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February 25, 2007 by ian
I'm supposed to be recording my next Google Analytics Tutorial today. However, reality intervened: My wife went out of town for 8 days (Mexico) with friends. 6 hours after I waved goodbye, both kids came down with the flu. They then gave it to me. My wife got home last night after 8 days of sun 'n fun. Both kids are better, thank you very much. I have no voice. Well, actually, I have a voice, but I sound like Kathleen Turner, which is a neat trick for a somewhat pudgy 38-year-old man. So no tutorial today. Instead, I've…
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