ianlurie.com

# Ian Lurie

> Ian Lurie is a 30-year digital marketing nerd — strategy, SEO, content, and applied AI, with a side of Dungeons & Dragons. He founded the agency Portent (1995–2017) and now consults, trains teams, and speaks.

This is the personal site of Ian Lurie. It covers his consulting, training, and speaking services, and a blog ("Writing") on digital marketing, SEO, content, generative AI, and the occasional bit of nerd-adjacent randomness.

## Pages

- [About](https://www.ianlurie.com/about/): Ian's bio and background.
- [Consulting](https://www.ianlurie.com/consulting/): Digital marketing strategy, applied AI, SEO/GEO, and content consulting.
- [Training](https://www.ianlurie.com/training/): Custom digital marketing, SEO, and content workshops for teams.
- [Speaking](https://www.ianlurie.com/speaking/): Conference talks and recent speaking topics.
- [Writing](https://www.ianlurie.com/writing/): The blog: digital marketing, SEO, content, and AI.
- [Contact](https://www.ianlurie.com/contact/): Get in touch with Ian.

## Writing

- [Claude Skills vs Projects, Explained](https://www.ianlurie.com/writing/claude-skills-vs-projects/): Here’s my analogy: Claude is the kitchen. Skills are utensils. Projects are cookbooks.
- [AI Model Cheat Sheet: Claude, ChatGPT, and Gemini](https://www.ianlurie.com/writing/ai-model-cheat-sheet/): A post that tells you which feature on which AI platform does what.
- [Teach The Shit Out Of Everything](https://www.ianlurie.com/writing/teach-everything/): Teach the shit out of everything. It's our secret marketing weapon: provide frictionless, expert learning and you earn trust across AI and traditional search.
- [Hey, SEOWeek: Teach The Sh1t Out Of Everything](https://www.ianlurie.com/writing/ttsooe-slides/): SEO Week attendees, here are all the resources from my talk: Github repository, links, and the slides.
- [AI Is Average](https://www.ianlurie.com/writing/ai-is-average/): When it comes to content, AI is a “C” student, and that’s not good enough.
- [Digital Marketing’s Golden Rule: Build for Bots, Create For Humans](https://www.ianlurie.com/writing/digital-marketings-golden-rule-build-for-bots-create-for-humans/): If you want to shut out the noise, stick to one principle: Build for bots, create for humans. Build infrastructure that supports discoverability across all platforms, from social…
- [Building A Zero-Code AI SEO Workflow: Reference Materials](https://www.ianlurie.com/writing/ai-seo-workflow-reference-materials/): Links, the presentation, and some other stuff for folks who attended my talk about AI-powered SEO workflows.
- [Using AI to generate ALT text for 27,000 images](https://www.ianlurie.com/writing/use-ai-to-generate-alt-text/): Writing ALT text sucks. Writing ALT text for 27,000 images is enough to send me right off the Cliffs Of Insanity. I got AI to do the work for me. Here’s how.
- [How To: Build A Content Audit Assistant With ScreamingFrog and AI](https://www.ianlurie.com/writing/audit-existing-content-screamingfrog-ai/): You can’t build an AI content auditor. You can build an AI content audit assistant that analyzes your site’s existing content, traffic data, and crawl data for opportunities. I’ll…
- [Use AI to Improve Content Audits (not perform them)](https://www.ianlurie.com/writing/use-ai-to-improve-content-audits/): General-purpose AI can’t perform content audits. It can, however, improve them. Here’s how.
- [How to: Compress Images With Squoosh](https://www.ianlurie.com/writing/compress-images-with-squoosh/): 5 megabyte images kill kittens. And capybara pups. And your users’ will to live. Fortunately, there’s an easy image compressor: Squoosh.app. The name alone makes it worth a try,…
- [AI Is Not Clickless Search](https://www.ianlurie.com/writing/ai-is-not-clickless-search/): AI is not clickless search. Once you realize that, and the fact that it’s actually a whole separate earned media channel, marketing for AI makes more sense.
- [Return On Time Invested: Presentation Stuff](https://www.ianlurie.com/writing/roti-preso/): The slides and all supporting links, video, and tutorials from my Return On Time Invested presentation. Also includes a nifty Loom video about using Squoosh.app!
- [Coax. Persuade. Cajole. Using Generative AI Right](https://www.ianlurie.com/writing/coax-cajole-persuade-gai/): I used ChatGPT to generate a cycling training plan and got a valuable reminder that generative AI can’t think. But it knows a lot. Getting it to convert that knowledge into…
- [Plague Words And Their Alternatives](https://www.ianlurie.com/writing/plague-words/): I won’t bore you with a long post. This is a list of words and phrases you should leave out of your business writing and (most) marketing copy, and a few alternatives (plus snarky…
- [Marketing’s Secret Currency: Return On Time Invested](https://www.ianlurie.com/writing/return-on-time-invested/): The first thing your audience spends on you is time. Make sure they get a good return on investment.
- [For Unforgettable Marketing, Teach The Shit Out Of Everything](https://www.ianlurie.com/writing/teach-the-shit-out-of-everything/): Teaching makes you memorable. It’s the best marketing tool you’ve got.
- [Stop Headaches With Merged Data Content Scoring](https://www.ianlurie.com/writing/content-scoring/): Links, tools, and the deck from my SEMPDX Engage 2024 talk about merged data content scoring (oh, and you can schedule a little Q&A time with yours truly).
- [Digital 101: Three Questions Make Marketing Work](https://www.ianlurie.com/writing/digital-marketing-101/): You want to be better at digital marketing? Understand that it’s still MARKETING, and marketing boils down to three questions: What’s the problem? How do I fix the problem? How…
- [When The Lights Go Out: Closing An Agency The Right Way](https://www.ianlurie.com/writing/when-the-lights-go-out/): If you’re shutting down your agency, remember: Your responsibilities don’t end after you turn out the lights. My thoughts on Portent’s closure, and how we can do better.
- [Social Media Is Not Owned Media](https://www.ianlurie.com/writing/social-media-isnt-owned-media/): Social media isn’t owned media. I could write a huge, theoretical rant about social media and the definition of owned media. Thanks to my pal Elon Musk, I don’t have to.
- [What’s The Minimum Number Of Words For A Blog Post?](https://www.ianlurie.com/writing/whats-the-minimum-number-of-words-for-a-blog-post/): One.
- [Data Visualization For Marketers: SERPStat Webinar](https://www.ianlurie.com/writing/data-visualization-for-marketers-serpstat-webinar/): SERPStat invited me to talk about one of my favorite topics/pet peeves: Data visualization. I learned (after about 20 years) that if no one understands you, being right means…
- [Building, Running, & Selling An Agency](https://www.ianlurie.com/writing/agency-life/): I’ve given this talk a couple of times now. Building and running an agency is all about controlled chaos. These are a few lessons I learned (or failed to learn) along the way.…
- [Diversity And Inclusion Matters](https://www.ianlurie.com/writing/diversity-and-inclusion-matters/): Ian Lurie, LLC is committed to fostering, cultivating and preserving a culture of diversity, equity and inclusion… OK, look: Ian Lurie, LLC is pretty much one person. Me. I work…
- [Content Creation For Really Small Teams](https://www.ianlurie.com/writing/content-creation-for-small-teams/): All the case studies about content that generated 50,000 customers can make you feel like a complete loser, and I’m here to say you’re not, and you’re not alone. This morning I…
- [How To Run An Internal SEO Training Program](https://www.ianlurie.com/writing/seo-training-deck/): Training internal teams is one of an SEO professional’s greatest opportunities. It can also be a living hell. Seattle Search Network invited me to talk about it, so I did. Here’s…
- [E-A-T & SEO: MNSearch Presentation & Links](https://www.ianlurie.com/writing/e-a-t-seo-presentation/): The MNSearch community is one of the best on the planet. They let me babble on about E-A-T and SEO today. This is the deck, and a couple of relevant links.
- [The Perfect Blog Post](https://www.ianlurie.com/writing/the-perfect-blog-post/): Read this to plumb the depths of my despair as a marketer and writer.
- [In These Uncertain Times, Marketing Copy Can Still Show Empathy](https://www.ianlurie.com/writing/copywriting-can-show-empathy/): Most of us, including brands and the copywriters that work for them, want to show empathy. Particularly during a crisis. But you don’t need to start your ad with “In these…
- [What Digital Marketing Does](https://www.ianlurie.com/writing/digital-marketing-does/): Digital marketing is not a business strategy. It connects your customers to your value (your product) when they need it.
- [Site Replatforming: 51 Must-Do To-Dos](https://www.ianlurie.com/writing/replatforming-must-do-to-dos/): I have a love/hate relationship with site replatforming projects: Migrating from one CMS/e-commerce platform/whatever to another is an opportunity. Great things can happen! Yay!…
- [Every Shitshow is Different: Running An Agency In A Crisis](https://www.ianlurie.com/writing/every-shitshow-is-different-running-an-agency-in-a-crisis/): If you run an agency, you’re going to face tough times. There’s no avoiding them. These are my experiences and how I (and my agency) survived them.
- [SEO 101: URL Permanence](https://www.ianlurie.com/writing/seo-101-url-permanence/): If you create repeating, date-based content on your site, like an annual ‘best of’ list or buyer’s guide, use the same URL every year. Archive previous years to date-based URLs.…
- [SEO 101: The Blank Sheet Of Paper Test](https://www.ianlurie.com/writing/seo-101-the-blank-sheet-of-paper-test/): SEO Rule Number One: Fully describe your content. Heck, that’s copywriting rule number one. Everything that describes content should pass the blank sheet of paper test: “Will…
- [Marketing Haiku, 2.0, aka I Still Have Writer’s Block](https://www.ianlurie.com/writing/marketing-haiku/): Yep. I still have writer’s block. I’m so desperate I’m rewriting old fluff pieces and publishing them in a futile display of attention grubbing. So here you go: More Marketing…
- [Putting The Brakes On Python](https://www.ianlurie.com/writing/putting-the-brakes-on-python/): Python is a fantastic SEO tool, until it breaks your heart. Tools are tools and you need to pick your battles. Ask yourself these questions before you code.
- [What’s A Good Outgoing Link? Use Common Sense](https://www.ianlurie.com/writing/outgoing-links/): What’s a “good” outgoing link? The SEO world has generated a mindboggling mound of utter crap on this subject. I try to simplify and make sense of it all.
- [Advanced? It’s Not What You Think.](https://www.ianlurie.com/writing/advanced-not-what-you-think/): Advanced isn’t what you think. “Skilled” isn’t the same as “advanced.” “Skilled” means you know how to do a thing. Skills are crucial. “Advanced” means you can recognize the…
- [SEO Copywriting: The Blank Sheet Of Paper Test (presentation)](https://www.ianlurie.com/writing/seo-copywriting-blank-sheet-of-paper-test/): Carol Schiller invited me to talk SEO copywriting at her class on Saturday. It was great fun, replete with Capybara. I focused on The Blank Sheet Of Paper Test: “Will this…
- [How To: Find And Replace Fonts In Powerpoint](https://www.ianlurie.com/writing/find-replace-fonts-powerpoint/): I don’t do tips posts, but this one was so dang exciting. You can find and replace fonts in Powerpoint. I. Am. Stunned. I am filled with joy.
- [My Other Writing](https://www.ianlurie.com/writing/my-other-writing/): I’ve been writing for 28 years. These days, I write for fun, not survival, so there may be a little less going on here. Have a look at the 1,000+ posts I wrote on Portent.com