Optidge’s 2025 Year in Review: Celebrating Our Top Moments

As 2025 comes to a close, we’re taking a moment to reflect on what made this year extraordinary. 

From earning prestigious awards and recognition to expanding our thought leadership in AI-driven marketing, this year proved what’s possible when you combine expertise, mentorship, and a relentless commitment to client success.

Here are the moments that defined Optidge in 2025.

Embracing AI in Digital Marketing

This year, we leaned into AI, not as a trend, but as a strategic tool that reshapes how digital marketing delivers results. 

Danny Gavin and our team shared insights across conferences, webinars, and industry events, positioning Optidge as a trusted voice in navigating AI’s impact on search, content, and campaign optimization.

Speaking Engagements + Thought Leadership:

  • UT Physicians Marketing Conference: Danny delivered the keynote, “Making Use of AI in Marketing,” exploring practical applications for healthcare marketers navigating generative AI.
  • Crown Heights Young Entrepreneurs Webinar: Danny introduced Generative Engine Optimization (GEO), showing how AI-driven search engines are reshaping SEO strategy.
  • Wil Reynolds’ SMX Presentation: Optidge was featured as a case study in Wil Reynolds’ session on AI Search, highlighting our adaptive approach to evolving search landscapes.
  • CopyTribe Alumni Presentation: Danny shared insights on the future of SEO in an AI-first world, addressing how content strategies must evolve alongside machine learning advancements.
  • Marketing Edge 2025 Conference: Danny’s session, “AI Beyond the Hype: Building a Culture of Quick Wins,” challenged marketers to move past buzzwords and implement AI tools that deliver measurable outcomes.

These conversations weren’t just about technology, they were about empowering marketers to use AI strategically, maintaining the human insight that drives real business growth.

Team Impact + Agency Leadership

At Optidge, we believe in sharing what we’ve learned. This year, our team showed up across podcasts, roundtables, and training sessions, offering practical guidance for agency owners, marketers, and entrepreneurs navigating growth challenges.

Industry Events + Roundtables:

  • The Huddle Sponsorship: Optidge sponsored the inaugural “The Huddle – Business Networking Event” in Houston, TX where Danny also led a roundtable on “Building Your Service Business,” exploring the operational and strategic challenges agencies face as they scale.
  • Scale at Speed Live 2025: Our team attended this premier agency growth event, connecting with fellow agency leaders and gaining insights into sustainable scaling strategies.
  • Josh Peacock’s “Proven Playbook for Scaling Your Agency on Autopilot”: Danny was featured in this eBook, sharing how systems, processes, and the right CRM infrastructure enable agencies to grow without sacrificing client quality.

Training + Workshops:

We launched a partnership with the University of Texas Medical Branch, delivering in-depth training sessions on:

  • Google Analytics 4 (GA4) implementation and reporting
  • AI for Search: practical applications for healthcare marketing
  • Google Ads optimization strategies
  • Meta advertising fundamentals and campaign structure

These sessions equipped UTMB’s marketing team with hands-on skills they could implement immediately, proof that great training bridges theory and execution.

Podcast Appearances:

Our team showed up on some of the industry’s top podcasts, sharing expertise and stories that resonate with marketers and entrepreneurs:

  • Scaling Up Business Podcast with Eric Alderman: Danny discussed sustainable growth strategies for service-based businesses.
  • RAA Talks Podcast: Brianna Deboever opened up about “Overcoming Mom Guilt,” offering honest insights into balancing career ambition with family priorities.
  • Curve Ahead Podcast with Brian Wiles: Danny explored SEO strategies specifically for podcasters, showing how audio content can drive organic search visibility.
  • Marketing Refresh Pod with Terri Hoffman: Danny and Terri dove into sales and marketing alignment, tackling one of the most persistent challenges in B2B growth.
  • SEO for Hire Podcast with Josh Peacock: Danny appeared on two compilation episodes, sharing tactical SEO insights for agencies and in-house teams.
  • The Curious Creative: Joe Wolf, Director of Paid Media, was featured on the Curious Creative podcast to dive into authentic storytelling in digital marketing through strategic, optimized paid media campaigns. 
  • Outlier’s Edge: Danny joined Niiamah Ashong and Stacy Piagno for a raw conversation about the hidden costs of authenticity in business and why doing what you love is the key to long-term success.  

These conversations weren’t just about promoting Optidge; they were about contributing to the broader marketing community, sharing lessons learned, and helping others navigate the challenges we’ve faced ourselves.

Growth + Expansion

This year, we refined our positioning, launched new service offerings, and expanded ODEO Academy’s impact. It proved that growth isn’t just about revenue, it’s about deepening the value we deliver.

New Website & PerCRMance Positioning:

We launched our new homepage, introducing our further refined value proposition: Paid + CRM = PerCRMance. 

This positioning reflects what we’ve always believed: great paid media campaigns paired with a CRM strategy can help brands unlock serious performance by providing a full-funnel system that goes beyond clicks to track, convert, and scale more efficiently.  

Industry-Specific Pages:

We created dedicated landing pages showcasing our HubSpot expertise in verticals where we’ve delivered proven results:

These pages aren’t just marketing assets—they’re educational resources that help prospects understand how CRM strategy connects to their business outcomes.

Paid Search Association (PSA) Webinar:

In December, we were invited to present a webinar for the Paid Search Association, exploring how HubSpot and paid search integration creates seamless lead nurturing and attribution visibility. 

This collaboration reinforced our reputation as CRM and paid media experts who understand both sides of the funnel.

ODEO Academy’s Expanding Impact:

ODEO Academy continued its mission of empowering aspiring marketers with practical, agency-rooted education. 

This year, we launched new courses and programs that gave students, especially women transitioning into marketing careers, the skills and confidence to succeed in real-world roles.

ODEO’s growth reflects what Optidge stands for: mentorship, expertise, and creating pathways for the next generation of marketers.

Recognition + Vision

This year brought recognition that validated years of hard work, strategic focus, and unwavering commitment to delivering results for our clients.

Awards & Achievements

Google Premier Partner Status

This year, Optidge earned Google Premier Partner status, placing us in the top 3% of agencies nationwide. This recognition reflects our team’s expertise, our clients’ success, and our consistent investment in Google Ads innovation and performance.

AMA Houston Crystal Awards (7th Consecutive Year)

The American Marketing Association Houston recognized our campaigns once again—our seventh consecutive year earning accolades at the Crystal Awards:

Over the last four years, we’ve won five “Best Paid Search Campaign” awards, a track record that speaks to our team’s ability to deliver results across industries and campaign scales.

Davey Awards (21st Annual)

The Davey Awards recognized our content and storytelling efforts on The Digital Marketing Mentor podcast: 

These awards honor not just our production quality, but the value TDMM delivers to marketers, agency owners, and entrepreneurs seeking practical guidance.

TDMM Podcast Milestones:

Speaking of The Digital Marketing Mentor podcast, we are proud of the progress the podcast has made in the space. As we head into 2026, we reflect on two milestones from this year:

  • Episode #100: We hit triple digits, celebrating with reflections on the journey and gratitude for our guests and listeners.
  • 5,000 Downloads on Buzzsprout: This milestone confirmed what we’ve always believed: there’s a hunger for honest, tactical conversations about mentorship and what works (and what doesn’t) in digital marketing.

Stay tuned for new episodes in 2026 as we have big plans for a refined, refreshed take on these critical conversations that will feature tactical advice from inside our agency, stories of career transitions and growth, and guidance on the latest trends and topics in digital marketing. 

Looking Ahead to 2026

As we close out 2025, we’re not just reflecting on wins, we’re looking ahead with clarity and purpose. The lessons we’ve learned this year will shape how we serve clients, develop talent, and contribute to the marketing community in 2026.

We’re committed to:

  • Deepening our AI expertise and helping clients navigate evolving search landscapes
  • Expanding ODEO Academy’s impact, creating more pathways for aspiring marketers
  • Continuing to share what we learn through TDMM, speaking engagements, and industry collaborations
  • Delivering even greater results for the clients who trust us with their growth by creating custom Hubspot solutions, recommending tailored media strategies, and more. 

Thank you to our clients, our community, and our team

To our clients: thank you for trusting us with your marketing. Your success is our success, and we don’t take that partnership lightly.

To our team: your expertise, creativity, and commitment to excellence made every achievement on this list possible. This year proved what we can accomplish when we show up for each other and for the people we serve.

To our community: thank you for listening to TDMM, attending our sessions, and engaging with the ideas we share. You remind us why this work matters.

Here’s to 2025, and to the growth, learning, and impact ahead in 2026.

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