Ok, I know that’s a pretty graphic title for this post but if Sammy Hagar can use the word “Mental Masturbation” in a top 40 song about Rock and Roll, then I can use it when talking about SEO.
In fact, it’s even more appropriate because that’s what we ALL do when it comes to SEO.
Perhaps you’ve heard the term “Googlebate”? We’ve all done it… Come on you can admit it, we’re all friends here right? Wink, wink…
For those of you who don’t know, “Googlebating” is when we type our own name into Google to see how many pages Google returns that shows our name.
For example, look at the search term of SEO Google guy, Mr. Matt Cutts.
“Google-bating” for some people it’s become like a competitive sport! It’s even more so when it comes to SEO because when it comes to making money online via SEO, it comes down to traffic. And you get the most traffic by being #1.
The Urban Dictionary gives this definition of “Mental Masturbation” – “The act of engaging in useless yet intellectually stimulating conversation, usually as an excuse to avoid taking constructive action….”
And here’s where a lot of webmasters AND professional SEO’s get into trouble. Because they waste time day after day checking their stats to see if their keywords have moved up or down.
Now on the surface I get that, but the reality is that you’re just stroking your ego. If you’re keywords are up, you’re happy for the day. If they’re down, you’re mood changes and it ruins your whole day.
But the fact is that NO lasting search engine result is going to happen on a day to day basis. Sure we’ve all seen cases where somebody (maybe even you) submitted a video to YouTube and your ranking (for the video…) went to # 1 for a day or two. But then after 3 or 4 days, the listing vanished only to resurface two weeks later at #15, or #30 or #163.
You see the point….
Sure you can concentrate on trying to make some “quick money” by being #1 for 24 hours, but is that a smart long term business strategy? If it is, let me know because I haven’t seen it work for any of the markets I’m in.
Guys don’t waste your time checking your search engine rankings daily (or even several times a day – like I’ve seen some people do), you’re just wasting time on an activity that is not going to make you more money.
Yes, it’s true, Google is so screwed up right now that you could put up a page or video and using a combination of tricks, get that new link indexed and ranking with in as little as 20 minutes or less. But it’s a temporary ranking that in all likelihood will change within a day or so.
So instead of checking all the time to see how you’ve “done”, instead spend that time creating new content, getting new back-links, making your product better, or a hundred and one other things that will make you money.
Don’t be a slave to your rankings. They will change, so check them 3 times a week at most and you’ll find that you’re a lot more centered, have a much better over all perspective on what’s important and your over all SEO strategy.
Oh, and since we’re talking about Sammy Hagar….. Here’s a shout out to my good friend and SEO master Jerry West!
