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- How HubSpot's Website Grader (and AEO Grader) Won at SEO
How HubSpot's Website Grader (and AEO Grader) Won at SEO
PLUS: I Hacked Reddit To Get 550+ Users For My SaaS
Startup Spells 🪄
October 30, 2025
How HubSpot's Website Grader (and AEO Grader) Won at SEO
HubSpot's Website Grader dominated search rankings by giving away a valuable tool for free.
HubSpot Website Grader interface
Launched in 2007, the tool analyzed any website's SEO and provided a score. It went viral not through ads, but because users couldn't stop sharing their results.
4 Million Websites, 40,000 Backlinks
The tool graded four million websites between 2006 and 2011, converting them into qualified leads.
More importantly, it generated over 40,000 organic backlinks from users sharing their scores on blogs and forums.
SEO Grader ranking #1 in search results
This genuine authority is why the free Website Grader tool from HubSpot still ranks #1 for "seo grader" or "website grader" today.
Website Grader ranking #1 in search results
The Psychology of a Simple Score
The tool's simple score was its psychological hook. A low score created urgency to improve website, while a high one encouraged bragging. Both results drove sharing.
To get a full report, users submitted their email address. This gave HubSpot a list of perfect, pre-qualified leads who were actively trying to improve their websites.
The SEO Snowball Effect
Those 40,000 backlinks boosted HubSpot's entire domain authority, not just the tool's page.
This authority cascaded to related keywords, lifting their overall search presence.
Social signals amplified the effect. Website Grader received 25,000+ referrals from StumbleUpon alone. Add 4,500 Delicious bookmarks. These social proof signals told search engines: people value this tool.
The tool won industry recognition. PC Magazine's Top 100. W3 Awards. Interactive Media Awards. Webby Awards. Each recognition generated earned media coverage and more discovery channels.
HubSpot's Playbook for the AI Era
HubSpot is now applying the same strategy to AI with its free AEO Grader from HubSpot.
AEO Grader appearing #1 in search results
This new tool analyzes how AI search engines perceive a brand.
AEO Grader interface with brand analysis form
It’s the same timeless principle. Solve a real problem with a useful, free tool. That's how you earn top rankings through utility, not manipulation.
Top Tweets of the day
1/
We took @ycombinator’s advice very literally when they said talk to users and put a "call a founder" button in our app
As we continue to grow I get the question more often
"Don't the calls get annoying?"...
No. Not even a little bit.
This morning I got to start my monday with
— royce branning (@rbfasho)
7:17 PM • Nov 18, 2024
Simple hack to get customer feedback.
2/
Truth about going viral:
It's not about:
- perfect timing
- trending sounds
- hashtag researchIt's about pattern interruption
I've helped several founders go viral but one thing stays consistent:
Break their scroll pattern = Win their attention
Everything else is noise
— Murata | The Algo King (@MurataAlgoK)
7:22 PM • Nov 11, 2024
Pattern interrupt is king to stop scroll!
3/
♻️ Now almost a year later, I think it was a great decision to switch Nomads.com's digital nomad chat community from Slack to Telegram
I got rid of a $120,000/year Slack bill and left a platform that was really anti-community and also dying IMHO
I moved it all to
— @levelsio (@levelsio)
9:24 PM • Nov 18, 2024
Lots of enterprise startups love to charge up exorbitant prices. But there are always cheaper or free alternatives.
Rabbit Holes
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