Top 21 Signs You Need a Break From SEO (2008 version)
By Matt McGee on Sep 17, 2008 in MY BEST POSTS, SEO
It’s that time of year again: Time to find out if you’re spending too much time on SEO and in desperate need of a break. Here’s the 2008 version of “Signs You Need a Break from SEO.” Enjoy!
1.) While everyone else searches for wedding photographers, senior portrait photographers, and the like, you’ve spent weeks looking for a “social media avatar photographer.”
2.) The thought that SoloSEO is actually a team of two gives you a slight headache.
3.) You travel to so many conferences that your spouse struggles to keep track of your whereabouts. And one day, while trying to update her calendar with your schedule, your wife says to you, “Okay, SES in March. SMX and SEG in April. And what’s the one in May? SEX?” (This actually happened.)
4.) Instead of showing the number of RSS feeds you’re subscribed to, your feed reader just says “TILT.”
5.) There’s an indentation in your mousepad that exactly mirrors the path from the “What’s New” tab on Sphinn to the “Report As Spam” button below the most recent submission.
6.) You know how to “match client sites to the 70+ part algorithm formula that is used by Google, Yahoo, MSN, Ask and every major search engine worldwide.”
7.) You know where that quote came from.
8.) It doesn’t strike you as strange that you sometimes communicate with your spouse via your blogs.
9.) When Danny Sullivan moved his family from England to California, you tracked their travel on FlightAware.com.
10.) Your spouse says your family is “going green.” Your first thought: “Did our PageRank increase on the family blog?”
11.) While telling your son about your favorite childhood books, you wax poetic about the “Wikipedia Brown” series. You never correct yourself. He doesn’t, either.
12.) You get in line at the public library, and while your son checks out a book, you whisper to the librarian, “Eric Ward says you have the best links around. Can I get one?”
13.) One day your wife tells you, with no prompting, “I really like the name ‘Mihmorandum’. I wish we had a cool last name that we could do something with.” (A true story.)
14.) You spend the next four days trying to come up with clever puns for “McGee.” (Also true.)
15.) You think Lively, Google’s virtual world, offers a lot of marketing potential.
16.) When Matt Cutts posts his personal travel schedule, you sync it to your own calendar.
17.) When your alma mater emails you about its new Alumni Directory, your first thought is, “Ooooh. A clean link from a .edu? Gotta check that out.” (True story.)
18.) You vow to never make a donation when you learn your alumni listing is blocked to search engine spiders. (Also true.)
19.) You’ve never been on TV, and never will be, but you still create a TIVO “wish list” search for your name. You convince yourself it’s all in the name of reputation management.
20.) You use social updating services like Ping.fm and HelloTxt, but those aren’t enough for you. No, you need a master service that updates your updating services. You’re that connected.
21.) You laughed at anything on this list!
Previous Versions:
Top 21 Signs You Need a Break From SEO (2007 version)
Top 21 Signs You Need a Break from SEO (the original)
- Top 21 Signs You Need a Break From SEO (2007 version)
Back by popular demand, one year later! Here's the 2007 version of "Signs You Need a Break from SEO." Enjoy!... - Make that “Top 39 Signs…”
Lesson for the day: We all seem to need a break from SEO. :-) The "Top 21 Signs You Need... - Top 21 Signs You Need a Break from SEO
1) You wish the people who do movie credits would start spelling stunt dubl the right way. 2) When helping...
36 Comment(s)
By Michael Jensen on Sep 17, 2008 | Reply
Matt, fantastic post! I laughed at almost all of them! Just what I needed to give my headache a break.
By paisley on Sep 17, 2008 | Reply
good article.
By David Mihm on Sep 17, 2008 | Reply
I wish I’d read this post at around 4:00 this afternoon when I needed a jumpstart. Having read it at 7:30, the day can only go downhill from here. A worthy sequel in your series!! (or is that SQL?)
By Dana Lookadoo on Sep 17, 2008 | Reply
The best part, well one of the best, was reading your communication with Carrie on her blog!
Will look forward to your 21 Signs in 2009! Great series!
By Chad Gardner on Sep 17, 2008 | Reply
Ha, when you can’t find a social media avatar photographer are you forced to go to Managa?
By Michael Dorausch on Sep 17, 2008 | Reply
Ha Ha, are there social media avatar photographers? I could use one.
I’ll spend the rest of the day thinking what rhymes with McGee.
By Andy Beal on Sep 17, 2008 | Reply
Very funny Matt!
By Matt McGee on Sep 17, 2008 | Reply
Thanks for the great feedback, gang. Much appreciated.
By Sean Galusha on Sep 17, 2008 | Reply
Great list Matt - All of them so true, yet so funny!!
By Kate Morris on Sep 17, 2008 | Reply
LMAO, love it. Totally love it. I have someone willing to photograph me for my avatar, seriously.
By Wil Reynolds on Sep 17, 2008 | Reply
The SMX / SES as SEX thing just happened Sunday night when I was in Denver with my GF and two other friends, freaking hilarious!!!
By Will H. on Sep 17, 2008 | Reply
Good stuff Matt. So what did you finally decide matched ‘McGee’? I’m not much of a rapper, but SmallBusinessSEM doesn’t seem to rhyme.
By Corey on Sep 17, 2008 | Reply
Nice post!! Really liked the list!
By Lauren Cobb on Sep 17, 2008 | Reply
Very funny Matt! I made the SMX mistake too - talking to my teenage daughter. “Hey, I’m going to Seattle for SEX.” I got quite a look from her on that one.
By Larry Chasse on Sep 17, 2008 | Reply
Making folks laugh on a Wednesday is always a good thing. Nice post.
By Ryan Rose on Sep 17, 2008 | Reply
Matt,
I laughed, I cried, I said to myself, “Oh wait, that’s me” 21 times.
By Kenny Hyder on Sep 17, 2008 | Reply
6 & 7 are great!!!
By Vince Blackham on Sep 17, 2008 | Reply
When you meet Matt McGee in person, you’ll find it’s not difficult to poke fun at him (or find clever nicknames for him)
By Mike belasco on Sep 17, 2008 | Reply
#22, you start seeing Matt Cutts in your dreams (or nightmares) (actually happened in a dream)
By Matt McGee on Sep 17, 2008 | Reply
@Kate Morris — no way! That photog could be a pioneer in this new niche.
@Will H. — I gave up after four days.
@Vince Blackham — I’ll take that as a compliment.
@Mike Belasco — I mentioned an SEO dream I had in the 2007 version of this list. Didn’t involve Matt Cutts, but a couple other well-known industry friends.
By robert watts on Sep 17, 2008 | Reply
#20 had particular significance especially from where I’m commenting
sent from: fav.or.it [FID1858665]
By kpaul on Sep 17, 2008 | Reply
Heh. re: #4 - at first I thought TILT was some crazy new acronym related to the field and that I was behind again. So I googled it … then it dawned on my what you meant.
Anyway!
-kpaul
By Nick Stamoulis on Sep 17, 2008 | Reply
This is greatness! Definitely laughed at most of them!
By Erfan on Sep 17, 2008 | Reply
If i didnt laugh, does that make me a bad seo?
By David Temple on Sep 17, 2008 | Reply
Great new list, hilarious and yet so sad that I can relate. Could add;
You wonder what the other half of Matt McGee looks like.
By Eric Ward on Sep 18, 2008 | Reply
Sad but true:
I have actually requested links IN-PERSON at more than one library, in more than one city.
Worked both times.
-Eric
By Matt McGee on Sep 18, 2008 | Reply
That’s awesome, Eric! Hehehehe. Thanks for all the great feedback, gang.
By Virginia on Sep 18, 2008 | Reply
Rhymes with McGee
Free
Oh Si ?
esprit
donkey
heehee
Funny List! We all need a break sometimes just to breathe free
V.
By Adam Lefever on Sep 18, 2008 | Reply
Matt,
That was freaking hilarious. Loved it. Very creative!
~A
By Brian Carter on Sep 18, 2008 | Reply
Awesome Matt, glad to see another installment. Love the “wife” quotes. Ok, but tracking Danny’s flight is a bit creepy. Stop that.
By Missy on Sep 19, 2008 | Reply
My favorite was the library link. LoL. Good stuff, Matt.
I have never really considered myself an SEO, but as a blogger, i do plenty of it. So i can relate to much of what you wrote on the list. Very funny.
Have a great weekend.
Missy.
By Cari McGee on Sep 19, 2008 | Reply
I remember reading the ‘06 version of this and not finding too much of it funny. I thought the ‘07 list was great. This list is my favorite (and not just because I figure so prominently in it!) because I understand so much more about SEO now. I need to come up with my own list - Top-21-signs-you-know-too-much-about-SEO-because-you-love-one!
By Derek on Sep 21, 2008 | Reply
I starting reading your list on a break from working on a clients website and that was at 01:00am. I wasn’t sure if I should laugh or cry. Great posting.
By Kris on Sep 22, 2008 | Reply
I’m not even an official “SEO guy” and I thought that list was hilarious. Thanks for the laugh on a Monday!
By Donace on Sep 27, 2008 | Reply
lol hilarious list. thankfully I can only relate to one or two at the moment!
By Sam on Oct 7, 2008 | Reply
Very funny and so true!