Play SEO Like a Game

And Win More Often

It’s often said that SEO is more of an art than a science, and this is certainly true. Although most of what we do in Search Engine Optimization and Search Engine Marketing is oriented around a computer algorithm, that algorithm is forever unseen and unknowable. What little we know can change overnight as the result of an algorithm update, and indeed updates happen on a regular basis.

Furthermore, in the world of content marketing, copy writing, and ad creation, a human being is the final target of our work, not a computer. Even if best practice SEO earns more impressions on a Search Engine Results Page, it still takes a picky human being to click a link and make the final purchase.

But the world of SEO has access to something that most art doesn’t concern itself with: change, updates, and iterations. Here’s why I think good SEO is like a game, and how a playful attitude can be transformative for your online marketing campaign.

1. Nobody Knows The Best Strategy

Okay, sure. Any SEO worth their salt can rattle off a list of Best Practices. Much of what we do has been tried and tested by online marketers around the world. Plenty of information even comes down from official sources at Google itself. We know a lot!

But what about the stuff we don’t know? It’s common to hear SEO’s claim that there are over 200 ranking factors in Google’s algorithm. Some will even pretend to list all 200. But according to documents recently leaked from inside Google, there are actually over 14,000 variables that influence Google’s search rankings. That same leak revealed that some of those ranking factors directly contradict information that Google has provided in the past.

The real truth is that Google’s algorithm is ridiculously complex, changes often, and interacts with the complex contents of websites in mind boggling ways. That sure sounds like it’s impossible to come to grips with “The #1 Best Strategy for Your Website,” but it doesn’t preclude my #2 point…

2. We Get Plenty of Data on What’s Working and What Isn’t

Real data on Accuracy SEO’s visibility growth via SEMRush. I scoff at their AI predicted 3 month potential!

Across Google Analytics, Google Search Console, and third party tools like SEMRush and Ahrefs, online marketers have a ridiculous amount of data at their fingertips. Not only can we see changes in data like total users, users from organic search, and engagement rates, but we can also track keyword ranks in real time. To name just one example, SEMRush provides semi-daily alerts for keyword rank changes, and allows us to track up to hundreds of keywords simultaneously.

So when we do something like drastically change a webpage, we can watch whether that has positive effects, negative effects, or (most likely) a mixture of the two. While there is still a large degree of the unknowable in precisely what caused activity in the data, the data still provides a great deal of information that we can use to make informed decisions.

3. Everything We Do in SEO Is Reversible

Just about everything we do in SEO is reversible (I struggle to think of the exception to the rule). Whether that means rolling back content changes, rethinking design updates, or even disavowing links we created, for a sufficiently agile team no SEO decision is set in stone.

I’ve seen situations where a website change caused rank drops, the change was reversed, and within a few days the ranks were back to normal. This should lionize our creatives to make bold and daring decisions. As long as we’re watching the data carefully, nothing is going to break.

4. Intelligent SEO Thinks Long-Term

While it can be hard to convey this idea to clients, a single month or even a few months doesn’t define an SEO campaign. This is due to multiple reasons:

SEO efforts are cumulative
Some improvements take months to show up in the data
A healthy website should never stop growing
A rank change from 92-36 will do nothing for visitor and conversion numbers, but a rank change from 36-2 can redefine a business

I get it. Human beings are impatient. It can be difficult to justify paying for a service when your profits aren’t improving.

But the reality is that SEO isn’t a short-term process; it’s an approach to thinking about your website that should last as long as your business.

Even major brands bringing in millions of dollars every day are still focused on SEO. That’s because they understand that there is no upper limit to growth and expansion.

What This Means for Your SEO Campaign

Got a new idea? When you understand that SEO can be played like a game, your attitude should be “let’s try it.” The real worst-case scenario is that the new idea has no effect on your profits, because if it had a negative effect, we would reverse it!

I encourage you to take a creative and open-minded approach to your online marketing campaign. SEO is not an exact science, and unlike a book or painting, it’s never finished.

Ready to rethink your online business? Contact Accuracy SEO to Get Started or begin with a Free SEO Analysis!