About The SEOptimist Project
Hi there. My name is Brian Watkins.
The SEOptimist project began as a vision I had a ways back about the way we market on the web. I got my start in this world as a teenager learning HTML and building websites, and going to college for writing.
I turned that into a real profession in 2007, having worked both in agencies and on my own ever since.
Agency work was a great place to learn, but in some cases it also showed me exactly what is wrong with the status quo. There are good reasons some people have a negative impression of SEO and web marketing itself, and any SEO worth their salt has probably encountered their share of prospects with that same story:
“I’ve already worked with several web people and my site still isn’t doing anything.”
This happens because SEO is complex, and many pros offer a subset of SEO tools. Opinions differ, and certain advice gets repeated constantly that is frankly… incomplete.
How does anyone know where to begin?
The SEOptimist is a collaborative enterprise, for the good of the client.
In my opinion, this industry is way too territorial. Every agency is trying to be everything to everyone, meaning they don’t specialize and they can’t make recommendations that are purely about the client.
Every “analysis” is a self-fulfilling sales funnel.
For my part, I’m not trying to be a big agency with 100+ clients and I’m not trying to front with skills I don’t fully have. Sure, my journey has meant a broad skill set, but I am also clear on what my primary offerings are and I incorporate other talented professionals I trust wherever I can.
For the client, that means they are getting the best that I can refer for their budgets — truly creative and passionate people whose work I would stand behind.
The best SEO campaigns involve content optimization, of course, but design and juggling ads and social media channels are important to longer term wins as well. I’d be doing my clients a disservice to try offering it all personally.
I operate in a boutique fashion, meaning I take on what I can comfortably handle, where I am confident I can still do a good job. Any time I can, I’ll refer another professional to augment the project.
Social Media…
I’ve become pretty selective with where I spend my time on social media these days. However, I’d love to connect with you so we can learn from each other.
You can find me on my Youtube channel and on Linkedin.