At the beginning of my career, I would have handled many situations differently if I had known these twelve and a half emotional components.

Let’s examine each quality and some applications for them.

 

1. Unleash your curiosity and SEO potential

 

For every proficient SEO specialist, curiosity is an essential quality. The key is thoroughly examining the business, the product, the customer profile, the websites, and any additional team procedures.

Without this background information, your suggestions might fall short and damage your reputation with customers, employers, and coworkers.

Curiosity, however, fosters professional development and improves your SEO game. Embracing curiosity reveals the most recent advancements in project management, SEO, UX best practices, and even “minor” skills like making useful prioritization matrices. These abilities come in very handy when managing several websites and stakeholders.

 

2. Develop patience when you “count to ten”

 

Early obstacles or disappointments shouldn’t demoralize you.

Let’s face it: success with SEO requires effort, and outcomes are rarely achieved quickly.

You’ll frequently find yourself preaching patience as an SEO specialist.

Educating stakeholders on the reasons that, for the nth time, Semrush and Google Search Console display disparate positions.
They are letting the development team know why frequent redirections aren’t ideal even if users aren’t impacted.
This is the age-old query from teams that have yet to make any suggested adjustments regarding the quarterly decline in organic traffic (since no one questions the upward trend).
My golden rule in these situations is to thoughtfully take my time in replying, polishing it, and emphasizing any positives.

 

3. Let your courage run wild and accept the “impossible”

 

Disappointing answers like “I don’t know,” “Our website can’t handle it,” or the time-tested “This is impossible” shouldn’t depress you.

A tenacious person will never give up, always question the status quo, and will not accept defeat.

(Congrats to ChatGPT, Stack Exchange, and StackOverflow for proving that the “impossible” is possible!)

I might need to become an expert in JavaScript or be more knowledgeable about React or Node.js. If a website doesn’t render correctly, I will still notice it.

Recently, none of my reliable plugins correctly rendered the website in one of my projects. Although there were hints of sporadic rendering issues in Google Search Console, nothing seemed wrong to the user. The development teams were sure that everything was perfect.

 

4. Being kind prevails, so show respect in your interactions

 

Our hectic lives are all about making deadlines and completing tasks. However, we must remember that errors are inevitable because we are only human.

Consider the rendering problem, for instance. I was lucky to find it by being persistent.

But if I had been younger, I might have opened the discussion by saying, “I’ve been telling you that something’s not right for months, but you ignored it.” What are you going to do with this proof now?

There are better ways to have a fruitful discussion or work together in the future.

 

5. Acknowledge your ignorance and practice self-awareness

 

Determining your level of expertise in a particular business and your professional standing are crucial. Our time is moving quickly, and businesses and digital marketing are no exception.

Never be afraid to ask for help from others with more experience than you have or to be honest, when you’re not understanding a concept or are not keeping up with the newest SEO tools.

It’s also important to have a realistic understanding of how you compare to other people. Keeping your ego in check is an important part of being self-aware, in addition to appreciating your abilities and knowledge.

 

6. Keep your ego in check and remain grounded

 

Recently, I received an invaluable lesson from my manager. I’ve worked as an internal SEO consultant for a number of outside agencies.

Some partnerships worked really well, allowing both parties to grow and learn from one another. Some, well, others were just a never-ending game of cat and mouse.

But regardless of the kind of relationship, I was always skeptical and defensive at first, which made the journey difficult.

 

7. Pay attention and establish a sympathetic connection

 

It’s critical to form friendships and alliances with teammates on different teams.

Listen to them, be empathetic, comprehend their aspirations and problems, and show them how you can help.

Educate stakeholders as well as colleagues. In the end, these efforts will be fruitful.

Imagine this: Since others are aware of the significance of title modifications, you won’t need to be the unwavering defender of your website.

The significance of well-written page titles will be acknowledged by stakeholders. You’ll receive invitations to important meetings regarding changes to the infrastructure, content, and website.

 

8. Be responsible for your impact because it fosters trust

 

Accountability is the basis for earning trust. No matter how big the change, as a qualified professional, only advocate for things you firmly believe in.

Own the result when something goes wrong. Take ownership of SEO deliverables and the projects that other teams depend on.

Don’t make illusory claims that you will meet deadlines that you cannot. Tell someone right away if you can’t deliver on what was agreed upon.

This is a useful exercise: Maintain a list of emails where agreements and promises were shared, as well as a written record of them.

It will help you avoid forgetting important details and minimize impromptu scope adjustments.

 

9. Aim high and make an effort to see the wider picture

 

Those who have come to trust you, seen how SEO affects important business metrics, and accepted responsibility will be receptive to audacious tactics.

It’s time to collaborate with developers, CRO specialists, UX designers, UI experts, and content creators—thinking beyond the box.

Determine areas of agreement between their work and your recommendations. Let your dreams be big now.

Ambition is difficult. It requires a strategic plan, an unwavering belief, and a visionary outlook.

You have to persuade decision-makers and other people, which is difficult, especially at first.

 

10. Adopt a strong conviction and never give up on the potential of SEO

 

When SEO is first starting out, it can seem like a mysterious black hole.

It takes months for results to show up, and determining the precise causes can be difficult.

Because of this, it’s imperative that you have unwavering faith in your plan and the resources you use.

Take initiative and implement your plan to create noticeable website optimizations.

The secret is to draft a strategy document that outlines your high-level actions for C-level executives.

After that, turn that document into a thorough, step-by-step plan that takes other teams’ and your own resources into account.
Typically, I use a quarterly-based annual plan that I update at the beginning of each quarter.

Remember to coordinate these plans with all the teams that you rely on, including the development and content teams.

Sync up with these teams every two weeks or every month to talk about their respective challenges and priorities. To ensure that everyone is in agreement, try to take thorough notes during each meeting.

 

11. If the ranking of your top keyword declines, maintain your optimism and don’t give up

 

In SEO, setbacks are unavoidable. You might have witnessed the abrupt collapse of your diligently achieved outcomes.

When a Google update comes out and changes the entire organic landscape, all of a sudden you are ranked in the top five for your priority keyword.

This is when optimism really starts to matter. Keep in mind that there are other strategies you can use to counteract the traffic decline.

There are two varieties of optimism, though.

The first, “Based on Data,” results from your confidence in your diligent work and adherence to industry best practices.
It’s not really dependable to believe in miracles, which is the second.
Competent SEO specialists rely on the former.

 

12. Express gratitude and acknowledge each accomplishment

 

Another essential emotional component is gratitude. It’s important to recognize and value even the smallest victories along the way.

I divide every project into significant checkpoints so that I can acknowledge and appreciate each small victory. This improves team spirit and shows stakeholders, other teams, and coworkers how far the team has come.

It is equally important to emphasize how other people’s work affects the overall performance of the company. Whenever I report on a weekly, monthly, or quarterly basis, I always make sure to credit the individuals who contributed to the outcomes.

Honoring modest accomplishments keeps hope alive and draws attention to encouraging developments.

Others will share your confidence in your ability to increase traffic and conversions as an SEO specialist.

 

12 1/2. Show kindness and candor

 

According to one of my former coworkers, “SEOs are naturally critical.”

To put it slightly differently, I would say that we shouldn’t be afraid to deliver bad news. Being a responsible SEO requires you to be “kind candor.” The final portion of the 12.5-emotional ingredients is this.

People frequently start projects without fully understanding how they will affect organic traffic or how much work will be required.

You have a responsibility to promptly and transparently voice any concerns you have as an SEO specialist. Silence usually has more detrimental effects.

It is imperative, though, that you express your thoughts with civility and deference.

You can transform from an SEO expert who only completes tasks and produces a ton of work for other teams to a valuable partner for your coworkers and the company by embodying the 12½ emotional ingredients.

If you’re still having trouble and are confused, take a look at our monthly SEO packages and get assistance from the professionals.