Optimize 3.0 Inbound Marketing Blog

I’m often amazed at how many websites are even remotely optimized for search engine optimization (SEO).  I see many.  I wanted to share some ways for my readers here to grade their websites. First, below is a quick 10 point SEO self grader test:

Inbound marketing is growing like a weed.  Many B2B companies are catching on to the benefits.  And from a pure conceptual standpoint there’s no better way to gain new visits and leads to your website.  But from my vantage point, all is not necessarily well in inbound land as it relates to training and time commitment relative to success.  Here’s what I often hear from companies:  

Recently I came across this question in a fairly dramatic fashion.  A potential client was weighing a PPC and SEO proposal from a fairly reputable agency.  He was kind enough to share the proposal with me so I could have a look.  As I was reviewing this proposal I was taken aback by how it illuminates the differences between SEO and inbound marketing.  In fact, I was pretty shocked at some of the elements inside this SEO proposal.  Naturally, I had write this post!

What are inbound marketing services exactly and what do they cost? Inbound marketing is a broad undertaking that encompasses a range of activities.  When done correctly, in unison, it is perhaps the most effective means to drive new leads and sales to a website.  Actually implementing inbound marketing services goes well beyond simply buying automation marketing software.  Here’s why: The software only goes so far - be it Hubspot, Pardot, Maketo or any other platform.  Here's the disconnect - people often buy inbound marketing software without fully understanding the real effort required to fully benefit from the software investment. 

I came across this great NY Times article: Small Players Seek an Alternative to the Expense of Pay-Per-Click that details how inbound marketing works as a viable alternative to pay-per-click (PPC).  It also happens to feature none other than Tom Telford, the owner of Blue Creek Cabins who I featured in my post Hubspot Review: The Most Revealing Ever Pubslished.  Tom's story and the article is extremely informative and something small businesses should heed regarding the rising importance of inbound marketing as an effective digital marketing tactic.  In addition, there's an ironic twist: Google is directly helping out with Tom's success. 

I had the opportunity to appear on Blog Talk Radio today.  Everything Entrepreneur hosts teh weekly show and invited me to come on and discuss Optimize 3.0.  I used this opportunity describe inbound marketing and how we use that process on behalf of our clients.  I was the first one up so it comes up fast.  Have a listen:

Optimize 3.0 (http://www.optimize3point0.com) an Inbound Marketing Agency based in Larchmont, NY, is now a Gold Partner Tier Agency.  Only 5% of certified Hubspot partners hold such a distinction.  Optimize 3.0 has been a Hubspot partner since May 2011.

What comprises effective internet marketing packages?  The components available from Hubspot 3.0 enable the most important elements for an effective internet marketing package.  Once you’ve identified your marketing campaign topic, the process can be broken down into the following steps.   Each greatly assisted with Husbpot 3.0:

I wanted to share my 12 month efforts at Internet marketing optimization.  I became a Hubspot certified partner back in May 2011.  Soon after that I became a certified value added re-seller (Silver VAR).  Starting slowly I have built my Inbound Marketing business and website traffic by blogging.  Specifically, I focus on the concerns small to medium businesses have regarding Internet marketing optimization.  My blog posts are about SEO help such as link strategies and advice, Hubspot reviews with end-users and social media optimization techniques such as finding targeted Twitter followers.  When I blog I try to adhere to the principles of optimization and diligently incorporate metadata into my blog posts (Title tags, URLs, Alt Tags, etc).  I even delve into back linking techniques (be sure to check out www.DropMyLinks.com – a great resource for identifying SEO-friendly commenting blogs).   It was slow going at first, but today I have almost 70 terms in the top 3 of Google and 160 in the top 10.  I’ve saved over thousands of dollars in equivalent PPC ad spending.  Moreover, these organic results are far, far more effective.  Some of the keywords terms I rank highly for include “inbound marketing agency” and “inbound marketing consultant.”