Ugh...getting organized with my SEO

[cbielich]

One thing I have learned about SEO is that it takes a patient, organized and task oriented person in order to be a good SEO'r. Luckily I have these skills which I think helps me with my own personal SEO, but at the same time I have other personality traits that work against me at the same time which can distract me from staying on track.

1. I am a goal oriented person - I like to create weekly, monthly and yearly goals to help keep me focused.
2. I am a patient person
3. I am a task oriented person - I can repeat a task over and over again even if I hate it.
4. I am very organized - I am a better house keeper than my wife (which drivers her crazy)

but at the same time I have some other personality traits that work against me which counter act against my strong points.

1. I can't leave a task undone and I have to complete it immediately
2. I am a multi tasker - I can do 20 things at once.

The struggle I have is even though I set goals, complete them and have the patience to do them at the same time I tend to work on things and won't move on until they are done. Even though their importance may not be as pressing an other areas. For instance I will work on getting rid of Google errors (404's), fixing code issues with the site people report instead of taking the time to work on the bigger things like fixing issues which effected me from Panda and Penguin. I get stuck on these smaller tasks since I know I can complete them faster, but they never seem to end.

I would love to hear other models SEO'r use to help them organize their time management and spreading the tasks across the board and get everything done.

[danatanseo]

This is a great question. I am a lot like you, except I don't get stuck on certain things that revolve around Google Webmaster Tools. Here's my advice:

1. 404's are GOOD - OK, everyone gets 404s. I work for a large e-commerce site. We have 404s everywhere. The answer? Create a custom 404 page that is consistentwith your overall branding that, in a friendly way, leads people somewhere useful.

2. Do you have a dynamic site? Then technical HTML errors abound I am sure. Learn to know which ones are ccsting you link juice (use SEOMoz's Open Site Explorer to identify duplicate content)/ Bend over backwards to resolve your duplicate content issues.

3. Depending on your platform, take duplicate meta descriptions and duplicate title tags with a grain of salt.

I have one store on the 3dcart platform right now. On this platform, it's impossible to customize meta titles and meta descriptions for .asp pages. You have no choice but to ignore errors coming from .asp pages from sites on that platform. [Never mind the fact that they are trying to sell you SEO services]

Be patient, keep studying, keep working and you'll deliver the best results possible for you client.

[AndreVanKets]

Dana, I just want to chip in on Point 1..

Ignoring your 404 pages is fine. But make sure to remove all links on your website pointing to the 404 page.

When google bot crawls your pages, and finds a link to a 404 page, it doesnt care if the 404 page is optimised for users, It's still a 404 so G bot wont be happy.. With these 404's you also get duplicate content/Titles and meta descriptions as there are many of them.

In other words, be sure to removal all links pointing to 404 pages. Link Sleuth makes this easy..

Greg

[danatanseo]

Yes Greg, absolutely agreed. Linking to a page that has a 404 is a wasted linking opportunity. Not good for spiders or humans. Cesar, for your own reference, there is a great Chrome extension that crawls pages and identifies 404s. It's quite handy. Here's the info http://www.seomoz.org/blog/check-my-links-chrome-extension-a-link-builders-dream

[ThompsonPaul]

Cesar, I hear where you're coming from - I am prone to some of the same challenges.

Here's a phrase to keep in mind:

Success isn't about getting things done right, it's about getting the right things done.

The reality is there is a literally never-ending supply of the "little things" that are easier to focus on because the steps needed for them are clear and less stressful, therefore more comfortable to deal with. Except focusing only on them is the path to almost certain destruction.

It's way harder to work on the bigger stuff not just because it takes longer, but because there are far more unknowns involved, which makes it so much more uncomfortable. But working through them and figuring them out will give far greater returns in the actual advancement of your site, as you already admit.

So a suggestion: what if you blocked out a couple of hours twice a week to work only on the really big stuff. Don't allow yourself to even look at or start any little stuff during those times. If you spot something little that bugs you, jot down a note for later, but make those several hours sacred - BIG STUFF ONLY!!

The rest of the time, you can work as usual, but at least for a couple hours twice a week, the big stuff is getting attention.

One last thing. You're going to HAVE to learn to get comfortable with not finishing everything at one sitting. Much of the "big stuff" is just too big to chew through all in one go. If you have to, break a big one into specific chunks, and work a chunk all the way through, but stop thinking you have to "eat the elephant all in one sitting". Usually you just can't. As the project management experts all advise, break large tasks into smaller specific jobs. Then you won't feel as overwhelmed about starting them.

My $.02. Whattaya think?

Paul