There are a ton of perks that come along with working in the SEO industry. No one takes themselves too seriously. Google throws a good party. You can wear jeans to work!
But for all of the glitz and glamour, sometimes its just difficult to stay super excited about link building and the competitive analysis of the HVAC industry.
Here are five ways to re-energize your passion for SEO, on a daily basis and beyond.
1.) Compartmentalize your day to day work. Making a to-do list can keep you on track, for both your sake and your clients valuable time.
Start every day (after coffee of course) by sitting in front of a blank page and writing out an attainable list of goals to have done by the end of the day. One of the more difficult things to get used to in the SEO business is that how you spend your day is pretty much up to you.
The drawback of this industry is that you can spend hours building links and working feverishly, and at the end of the day have no tangible results to show for it. Creating the list and crossing off as you go keeps you on track, and you can end the day with a tangible list of completed goals.
2.) Interact with the industry movers and shakers online. There are so many respected SEO experts out there that post new information daily. The best use of your down time during the work day is spent just browsing the web for interesting and the most relevant articles about our industry. If you find you keep coming back to the same blog, subscribe to the feed, bookmark the page, and follow on Twitter. Chances are, if the experts in the SEO world think it's relevant to them, it's relevant to you. And The more you know!, right?
3.) Discuss your strategies with your co-workers. When I hit a wall or even when I'm feeling pretty confident about one of my clients, I try to talk about my strategies and progress with my co-workers. Even though they sit across the room from me, the benefits of a fresh perspective can work wonders.
The monotony of several SEO strategies can be exhausting and can dull your enthusiasm for getting the work done for your client. Have a quick brainstorm session once a week or so to generate new ideas you can try to break up the same'ol, same'ol. Or try it on a grand scale.
4.) Go to SEO Conferences. There is nothing that will get you more jazzed about getting back to work than spending a couple of days surrounded by the industry's best and brightest.
Every time I leave a panel at a conference, I have pages of notes that I am psyched to put into practice on my first day back at the office.
It will jumpstart your ideas, and inspire you to combine your methods with the advice you're getting.
5.) Talk with your clients. It's not always the most fun way to spend an hour, but some client calls provide the shot-in-the-arm you need to dive deeper into their campaign.
Again, a fresh perspective is valuable. Discuss what is working and not working. Your client may be able to help with this, regardless of their SEO knowledge.
Wow, talk about a shot-in-the-arm! This is just what I needed to refocus and get excited again about SEO. It just gets so repetitive and boring at times that it’s easy to be lost and demotivated. I’m already using number 1, I think I’ll start to have more strategy discussion sessions with my co-workers (number 3). Thanks, Matt.
Thank YOU Mark for reading and adding to the mix. Good luck keeping at it.
Great list, especially talking with clients and going to conferences. Both are a great way to bring together perspectives beyond your regular interactions. The daily to-do list is invaluable. Rather than start with a blank page I find it easier to create the list for the next day either while I am working on a client’s site or at the end of the day. That way I hit the ground running the next morning. It is easier when you are in the thick of it to come up with ideas then when you are looking at a blank page. One easy solution is when you are done working a client’s site for the moment come up with one item you want to do next time you work on the site. It then takes less time to figure out what where you were at when you focus on their site again. I also like the idea of only focusing on three solid things for the day. If you get those done all else is gravy. I have yet to put this idea into practice.
Some great points Wyatt, thanks for reading. Getting a head start on the to do list the night before is a good idea. I just find it calming to start the day with a blank sheet in front of me. One of the joys of time management as an SEO (once you master it) is being able to fill your time as you’d like with different strategies. Thanks again.