My Experience With Imposter Syndrome Working In SEO

I have worked in the SEO industry for nearly ten years now. Time has flown.. and I have worked on near enough a hundred websites for SEO and digital marketing as a whole. Even after so many successful campaigns I’ve run throughout different digital marketing agencies, I still have imposter syndrome about my work. In this post, I’m going to talk about what imposter syndrome is, my experience, and why I’ve found it so common in the SEO industry and women in particular.

So.. what is imposter syndrome?

Imposter Syndrome refers to a psychological pattern where individuals doubt their abilities and have a persistent fear of being exposed as a fraud, despite evidence of their accomplishments, skills, or competence. It is often characterised by feelings of inadequacy and a belief that you don’t deserve success. People experiencing imposter syndrome often say their achievements are down to luck or external factors rather than acknowledging their own capabilities. This is a common issue amongst people with low self-esteem, and with myself having ADHD and dealing with low self-esteem issues in the past – I can relate!

Key features of imposter syndrome include:

Self-doubt: Constantly questioning your abilities and competence, This could look like believing that you are not as capable as others perceive them to be and that you are fake.
Attribution of success to External factors: If you’re someone who believes in fate and ‘things happen for a reason’ kinda thing, then this is something that often attributes to your successes to luck. Timing and help from others rather than acknowledging your skills and hard work got you where you are! (Take some credit).
Fear of being exposed: With imposter syndrome, there is a constant fear of being discovered as a fraud, leading to anxiety and stress, even in situations where you are performing well.
High achievements don’t boost the mood: Despite a bucket full of evidence of competence and success, individuals with imposter syndrome may remain convinced that they are not truly deserving. Again, a massive self-esteem issue!
Overworking or perfectionism: If you think you have imposter syndrome, you may tend to overwork or strive for perfection to compensate for your perceived lack of abilities, leading to stress and burnout.

Imposter syndrome can literally affect anyone, regardless of accomplishments or competence. It’s commonly observed in high-achieving individuals, including professionals, students, artists, and entrepreneurs. It can stem from various factors, such as upbringing, personality traits, societal expectations, past experiences of failure, and most commonly, criticism.

Is imposter syndrome a mental health issue?

Imposter Syndrome is not classified as a mental health disorder in itself. It’s considered more of a pattern of thinking or a psychological phenomenon rather than a diagnosable mental health condition. It’s not listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5).

However, imposter syndrome can significantly impact mental health by causing distress, anxiety, and low self-esteem. Prolonged feelings of inadequacy and the stress of constantly feeling like a fraud can contribute to depression and burnout. It can affect your overall well-being which may interfere with both work and personal lifestyle..

While imposter syndrome itself is not considered be a clinical diagnosis, its effects on mental health are very real. Seeking support from mental health professionals or therapists can help you manage any challenges associated with imposter syndrome.

My experience with imposter syndrome in the SEO industry

The biggest issue for me, is that SEO has no written down guidebook on what is right and what is wrong. Obviously from experience, we learn what works and avoid anything blackhat and in the grey zone – But there is no SEO bible to be found, it’s experience and knowledge and finding things out yourself or with the help of other SEOs.

With this in mind, it’s important to remember that SEO is quite literally – an ever-evolving field. Below are some areas I have found hard myself and among peers in the SEO industry:

Live and breathe: “It depends”

I would honestly love to know how many times I’ve said ‘it depends’ working in the SEO industry. But the truth is, it does depend! No website is the same, SEO will work for some businesses and not for others so knowing the right techniques for the site and the build is crucial. With SEO – we can’t promise anything until we have done the research, so while it may be a wildcard when we don’t know the answer, it’s something to me that feels like it is telling someone straight up – I don’t know.

Which triggers imposter syndrome. When in fact it is normal to not always have answers straight away – We can give advice and a rough figure but the truth be told we will not know 100% until we have done the research!

Justifying feels like excuses

One of the biggest things that gets to me with SEO is that it feels like you are giving excuses when something isn’t performing up to speed. When in actual fact SEO is very, very seasonal. If you run an online business for Hot Tubs, you’re biggest selling months are likely to be the summer when people are looking to go away the most, which naturally you will see a dip over the winter and spring period. Whereas if you are an online retailer selling kids’ toys, your busiest months will be the Christmas period.

Not only literal seasonal factors, it’s the economy, and since the pandemic in 2019 there has been a complete change in traffic for some online businesses.

The pandemic changed so much, how people shop, spend their time, limit their money, choose to stay at home on a Friday rather than go out on the town, and the cost of living crisis – There are sooo many other factors to SEO than people realise – and me just typing this feels like an excuse once again!

But justifying why traffic has dipped, or conversions were lower than last month shouldn’t feel like or be an excuse – It is an observation and a way to look into new ways to improve your website.

SEO is oh-so-competitive

Impostor syndrome in SEO can also be heightened by the competitive nature of the industry. There are so many companies fighting for the top search results, and feeling that you are not up to scratch with your competitors and other professionals is very common. For me personally, I do like the competition it adds to the motivational side, however, I know a lot of people that find it is a very challenging aspect of SEO and can get you down in the dumps with imposter syndrome.

It can be difficult to stay up-to-date

SEO is constantly changing, updates, updates, and more updates. I’ve found when you’re swamped with client work it can be difficult to stay up to date with the latest trends and best practices. This can lead to feeling like we never know enough and that we’ve fallen behind. It’s so important to make time to read the latest on SEO whether it’s your lunch break or once every Friday afternoon.

There was a time when I hadn’t stayed on top of SEO news for around four months and felt a bit out of it and a failure, which had a knock-on effect on my self-esteem at work however I now always make sure I have time to learn – I had the best time at the Brighton SEO conference this year, definitely something every SEO’er should experience!

How to fight imposter syndrome in the SEO industry?

Can imposter syndrome be cured??

Therapy, counseling, or coaching can be beneficial in helping individuals address imposter syndrome by working through underlying issues and developing strategies to build self-confidence and overcome self-doubt. There are a few ways to deal with imposter syndrome in general and in the digital marketing world, some examples below:

Recognising and challenging negative thought patterns
Reframing beliefs about success
Seeking support from peers or mentors
Practicing self-compassion
Acknowledging achievements based on personal merit and effort rather than external validation.

Speak with other SEO professionals

Speaking with other professionals in the SEO industry can help you feel less alone and gain a different perspective. There are many online forums like Discord, Slack and Reddit which is a personal favorite of mine. Not only that but if you are working in a small digital marketing team or within a digital agency, speak up to those around you.

One thing I have petered my previous SEO mentors with was a lot of questions. I prefer to talk to people than Google it sometimes, ironic I know as I should be more of a Google bot on the web. Below are a couple of SEO communities that are available to help women with imposter syndrome and many other issues faced in the world of the websites:

Go to SEO events

Whether it’s a small networking group once a month or a big conference like Brighton SEO – every SEO’er needs to go to an event once in a while. For me it gave me a real confidence boost, cause without sounding big-headed – I realised I really knew my shit and it was great to see others practicing the same techniques and facing the same issues.

So if you’ve felt a bit out of it and are lacking confidence in yourself I really do recommend it! Even if you don’t feel completely confident at first, attending these events will allow you to gain confidence and learn from other professionals.

Take your time

On a similar note to ‘It depends’ practice saying “I need more time” and ‘Let me look into this’. You don’t need to have all the answers or know everything all the time. If you don’t know something, it’s okay to admit it and spend more time on it before making a decision or stating something. Instead of feeling insecure about not knowing something, try to see it as an opportunity to learn.

This is something I used to worry about a lot, I felt like it made me look like I knew nothing cause I didn’t have an answer straight away.

But at the end of the day, it makes you to be more honest and authentic with yourself and others, which adds to your trustworthiness, and something I have dealt with a lot at digital marketing agencies, is people that know little about SEO selling SEO without all the facts – which always comes back to bite them in the butt. So please take your time and get the facts and figures right beforehand. It will keep your mind at ease.

Set realistic and achievable goals

Repeat after me, SEO takes time. We know that SEO is a slow burner, it can take up to at least three months to six months to see real impactful results. So making sure you are setting realistic and achievable goals for both you and the client is a crucial step.

By setting SMART goals (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound), you can make sure your goals are clear and easy to follow. SMART goals allow you to measure your progress more effectively and see how you are progressing toward your goals and make sure that you are not overloaded or overwhelmed in the process. If your goals are too ambitious, you are more likely to feel insecure and unable to achieve them, which can negatively affect your confidence and trigger imposter syndrome once again.

Setting realistic results alleviates disappointment in yourself and the client. You can see how to set SMART goals up here.

Stay up to date

Something I touched on earlier is staying up to date on SEO updates and not falling behind, a few of my favourite reads are found on the blogs below, check them out sometime!

Final thoughts

screw-you-imposter-syndrome

Imposter syndrome is real, and it does hit hard in the SEO industry, especially women. I hope this blog post has helped with anyone learning about what imposter syndrome is, and how it can be beat working in such a fast-paced digital marketing environment! Please remember that you are not alone and that you are not a fraud. – If you want to reach out to me directly please feel free to get in touch over email: hello@mentalmarketing.uk or share this articles with others.

SEO and imposter syndrome