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SEO is not the career that I dreamt of.
Back then, I was a fresh engineering graduate doing quality inspections at a manufacturing plant. But life had other plans. Suddenly I was jobless during a hiring freeze.
So I did what any desperate engineer would do – took any job that came our way. I was hired as an SEO intern at a startup, not because I knew SEO (I really didn’t), but because they saw how badly I wanted to learn.
Here’s the twist: After some point in time, I loved doing it.
It wasn’t the technical stuff that hooked me at first. It was the constant problem-solving. Every ranking drop was a mystery. Looking around our industry now, I see I’m not alone. There are former policemen catching rendering issues instead of catching criminals. Former journalists who now write for search engines first, humans close second (just kidding, always humans first).
We’re this weird mix of people who found our way into SEO through uncommon ways. And somehow, we stayed. Not because it was comfortable – SEO is never comfortable – but because it scratches an itch we didn’t know we had.
I wanted to understand why. So I asked our SEO community (& my fellow team members) what motivates them in this wild industry where the only constant is change. Their answers surprised me and reminded me why I fell in love with this job in the first place.
This is their story. And mine. And maybe yours too.
What initially drew them to SEO
For the majority of them, it all started with a general interest in marketing. And it makes sense – the revenue generated by digital media ads across India was valued at around 576 billion Indian rupees in 2023. We all wanted to put our businesses in front of people who might care and make some money in the process. Little did we know we’d end up obsessing over the organic potential of the search engines.
Then there are hopeless romantics – 31% of them had picked SEO as a career because of their love for search engines. Here’s Aimee Jurenka expressing her passion for search engines.
“The algorithms are like a giant puzzle that constantly changes, and I love researching, forming hypotheses, and testing. When something works, I feel victorious.”
And here’s my favorite: 23% of us? Complete accidents. Like me, they stumbled into SEO with no clue what the future holds for us. I’m happy it worked out for each one of us.
Accidentally discovered SEO, but it turned into a journey of growth and success! – Furquan Syed
But, what motivates SEOs to stay
I saw this post from Jonathon Colman (Current Senior Design Manager @HubSpot) on Moz’s forum about the same topic you are reading right now. The post was from 2011, yet most of the points Colman shared about his motivation for SEO are still true.
Here’s what our fellow SEOs say:
Motivation #1 Gratification (but not so instant, like Colman said)
We all know that feeling when we check the analytics after a long weekend and see traffic climbing. That little burst of joy? That’s the stuff SEOs strive for.
I still remember my first win. It is not that big of a deal, yet it was so special for me. It was in my first job. Even though I was hired as an SEO, I used to do all the marketing stuff. I happened to write an article about car rental marketing and managed to reach the top spot quickly. Some of you might say, that topic isn’t competitive or doesn’t have much volume, but honestly at that point in time, I really didn’t care about anything. It was that small win that motivated me to pursue SEO and write more.
As our SEO manager, Roopesh likes to say, “The idea that with the right SEO strategy, even the smallest brand can make a big impact.” That’s the real dopamine hit right there. We’re the underdogs, helping small businesses punch above their weight class in search results dominated by big brands and bigger budgets.
But here’s the thing about SEO gratification – it takes time. Results may take weeks, sometimes months. The best part? It compounds, like your mutual fund investment.
Motivation #2 Problem-solving
Really? Problem-solving is what keeps you all motivated? I mean, is that drop analysis thing not frustrating at all?
😉 Just kidding! We all love being Sherlock Holmes for a day. But only to solve the canonicalization issues (which, let’s be honest, are way more complicated than solving a murder mystery).
Every day in SEO is like being handed a mystery box. I remember the horror stories of site migrations and the sudden change of canonical tag on a money-making page of an e-commerce site.
We’ve all been there. But without those thrills, SEO miiiiight be a bit boring.
Aditya Aman, the Founder of The Project SEO, seems to agree with this too, “What motivates me in SEO is the constant challenge and unpredictability. Competing against businesses across diverse industries opens my eyes to how growth happens and what strategies truly drive it.“
Motivation #3 Driving business results
Let’s talk about the elephant in the SERP – revenue.
Remember when I said some of us stumbled into SEO by accident? Well, we stayed for the results. In all honesty, this is what we all SEOs work hard for day in and day out. We want the business to succeed, not just in terms of traffic numbers, but in revenue generation too.
“For me, SEO is far more than just a marketing channel, it’s a way to help businesses thrive.”, says Aditya. And I agree. SEO is the only marketing channel where you can compete with deep-pocketed businesses even if you are a small business. Here’s the proof of that:
When you see those revenue graphs climbing up and to the right? That’s the second-best feeling ever (the first being the moment when Joey finally used air quotes correctly😉)
Motivation #4 Analytics & data
SEO has become more data-driven and analytical today – and I’m more happy about it. It feels real when fellow SEOs are also aligned with that fact.
“Solving Edge Case problems, Recovering a defeated website by finding & fixing that one thing that was keeping it down, Building Processes & Tools that can help me with expediting work & analyzing data are some of the things that motivate me.”, says Kunjal Chawhan.
Data-driven SEO isn’t all about building Python scripts. It is about extracting insights and building your SEO strategy around it.
It is about knowing what works and what isn’t.
It is about uncovering the underlying facts. (Kudos to Ahrefs for being the pioneer in data-driven SEO👏)
It is about knowing why something happens backed by data.
Ultimately, to help invest our time where it matters. It’s not just Kunjal, “becoming more analytical and trying to get better day by day is what motivates me.”, says an anonymous SEO geek. We all would agree to this, “The real thrill isn’t in collecting data – it’s in those “aha!” moments when numbers reveal something unexpected.”
A few tips to stay motivated
Motivation is a complex idea that influences human behavior and decision-making. Expectancy-Value Theory says our motivation comes from two things – whether we expect to succeed (Expectancy) and how much we value the outcome (Value). We know our SEO efforts can work (we’ve seen it happen). We know when it works, the value it brings to the businesses in terms of traffic & revenue.
So, here are some tips that can help you stay motivated and achieve the result you’ve always wanted.
#1 Celebrate Small Wins
Yes. Even the smallest wins. Keep a journal – screenshot those ranking improvements, happy client emails, and traffic increases. On tough days when you feel demotivated, flip through it and remind yourself that you’ve solved harder problems before.
We at Botpresso, take it even further by sharing even our tiniest wins with the entire team.
#2 Create Meaningful Connections
Social interactions can enhance motivation. Engaging in community activities will help you learn and foster a sense of belonging. You can be a part of each other’s successes & failures. “Ask questions, even if it might sound like the silliest question still ASK. If you are the smartest person in the room, then you are in the wrong room“, says Clita.
# 3 Find Your “Flow State”
Flow state happens when the challenge at hand meets your skill level perfectly. Research suggests that when individuals work on a task that is neither too easy nor too difficult, they experience heightened motivation and satisfaction. “Your whole being is involved, and you’re using your skills to the utmost,” says psychologistCsíkszentmihályi.
So the takeaway for you is;
- Schedule complex technical audits when your energy is highest
- Save routine tasks for lower-energy periods
#4 Use “Implementation Intentions”
Studies demonstrate that people who have specific plans like “If I’m stuck on a problem, then I’ll ask my SEO community” are more likely to stay motivated. Why does this work? Because it removes the mental stress of “What should I do now?” and focuses your energy on the solution you have already planned.
#5 The Temptation Bundling Technique
Temptation bundling is all about pairing something you find less enjoyable with one you look forward to. Like, “I’ll only listen to my favorite true crime podcast while doing site audits.”
“Link one of your instantly gratifying WANTs with something you SHOULD be doing.” – James Clear on building Temptation Bundling.
We’ve also asked fellow SEOs to share their tips and here are they;
Never get complacent. The organic landscape changes on a dime so you need to always be prepared to adapt along with it. Also, never stop doing the “grunt work”. I’m a director at my agency but I still work on keyword search, reporting, and even content/metadata recs. – Eric Hoover, Director of SEO at Jellyfish.
Create your own sandbox. Don’t let best practices or competitors dictate your strategies. Experiment boldly, even with unconventional methods. Have fun! – Brent Rangen
Stay curious and keep learning. While it’s important to stay strong on the fundamentals of SEO—focus about 80% of your time on mastering these—don’t hesitate to explore skills like web scraping or data automation. These can save you time and make your SEO efforts more efficient. A balance between the basics and new skills will keep you motivated and ahead in the game. – Altamash, Senior SEO @Botpresso
Motivation isn’t about constantly feeling pumped up (which we absolutely can’t). It’s about building systems & processes that keep you moving forward, even when the algorithms change and the rankings fluctuate.
Parting note
You know what’s funny? From the survey, someone “anonymous” said that they wouldn’t recommend SEO as a career to others.
“You would constantly be under pressure with algorithm changes, and your entire career depends on a monopoly. The lack of control over your professional destiny makes it a risky career choice.” – our anonymous friend isn’t entirely wrong.
But. Every career has its monopoly. Even the software industry is threatened by the advent of AI. What makes SEO different is how we’ve learned to thrive within it. Remember when everyone said “SEO is dead” after every algorithm update? Meanwhile, we just kept evolving. We’ll always be!
That is it. We’ve covered quite a few factors that motivate SEOs based on our survey results and social interactions. But every individual is unique. So, there might be other reasons why you chose to stay in this wild ride.
Why not let us know about it? You can either share your story on LinkedIn by tagging us or write to us by email. Maybe we can include that in our next update 😉.
