It’s crazy how many spammy emails we get each day.

Each morning when I come to work and open my email I seem to have a handful of spammy, unlovable emails filling my inbox. Mind you, being an email marketing consultant, I can’t bring myself to just dump them into my trash bin. I am actually curious to how the subject line got through, what the return email address is, how the email displays in my email window, how many highlighted or bold words are used, and all the other nerdy stuff that email marketing consultants find fascinating (fist bump to all you who feel me).

The last year has brought many changes to the role link building services play in our inbound marketing strategy for our clients. We have always been a company rooted in the belief of a holistic marketing strategy and that all the pieces and parts of marketing need to work together to build your brand, bring in leads and convert them to customers. Many pieces overlap or are intertwined and natural connections are made.

So we have had people ask, “What’s that Inbound Marketing thing you are doing?” and, “What’s the difference between inbound marketing and traditional marketing lead generation techniques?”

Are you busy running your small business and managing day to day operations? Bogged down with meetings, phone calls and responding to emails? Not able to focus on overhauling your marketing strategy, but want to increase lead conversion on your website?

Why should I use landing pages on my website?

Did you know that up to 98% of your website visitors will never come back to your site once they visited for the first time? Wow! So if you don’t have either really great addictive content, or a way to connect with your visitors, you will never see them again.

If you are considering creating a website for your small business this year, or even giving your current website a makeover, then this is the time to do it! According to AT&T Small Business Technology Poll 2013, 67% of small businesses are marketing their products or services by using a website. Furthermore, Google data shows small businesses with websites grow 40% faster than those without. 

Throughout 2013, as part of our Inbound Marketing strategy, we have been blogging and creating downloadable content in ebooks, not just for our clients, but for our own agency. You can find out how blogging has affected us this year here at the Bubble by reading our blog, but here is a little snapshot into our world through the eyes of our faithful office dog, Backup. Backup really does think we all are here to work for her, to open the door so she can come in or out, as well as throw her toys or chase her around the office. So, with that in mind, I wrote an Inbound Marketing version of the traditional poem The Night Before Christmas. Enjoy!

It occurs to me that understanding how to add keywords to a webiste as part of your internet marketing strategy is similar to Christmas stockings. 

Christmas was a very important holiday in my house, and although I grew up in a low income family, my mom put a lot of thought and energy into making sure Christmas was special. Each of us kids hung up our stockings and on Christmas morning, our stockings were stuffed full. Stockings were a big deal and we could always unload them before mom and dad were up. Presents had to wait for the whole family so we would take our time going through our stockings until the whole family was awake.

If you have been so busy with the hustle and bustle of the season that you have missed the Christmas Spirit of WestJet, a Canadian based airline, then check out this YouTube video:

If you are at all familiar with link building services or in need of them, then the terms Google, page rank, link building, Penguin, Panda, and now Hummingbird are probably familiar to you as well (if they aren’t, keep reading!)