We all take on different roles. Each role serves a purpose in our interactions with our surroundings. We classify ourselves as many different things, but we are typically careful on what “tags” we pull out of the bag depending on the situation. In the earlier days of the online social networking, people were not as careful when dumping out their bag. Today we’ve learned to use a bit of strategy when creating online profiles and deciding which “tags” to apply to the public eye.

For as long as I can remember, I’ve consider myself a “Gamer” – going back to the late 1980s.  I’ve always enjoyed RPGs and games where there is a level or ranking system. The idea of playing and watching stats / “counters” rise is what gets me hooked.

Whether it’s a leveling system, or a more sophisticated system which logs multiple pieces of data such as hours played, total deaths, monsters slain, etc…Excitebike Analytics

These stats create a scale of measure that is commonly referred to as  a “Ladder” Gamers love to climb ladders (and I don’t mean Donkey Kong!)

Up until a few years ago, I had no problem plopping myself down on the couch, loading my favorite game titles, and killing an afternoon in some fantasy World. It was easy for me to get into games – old games, new games, any game really. I enjoyed the feel of being on my toes while learning a new game and getting my arse handed to me by some computer AI (or other gamers when it came to playing online). It was fun, it was relaxing, and I always enjoyed watching my stats crawl higher and higher.

Flash forward a few years. I am now a full-time, freelance Web Developer, SEO, and online marketer with an armada of websites that I manage. My love for gaming hasn’t decreased, nor has my free time to play them.

However, somewhere in the past few years, SEO managed to wedge itself in front of gaming. I’m not sure how or when it happened, but all of a sudden I have become incapacitated to take on new games.  I give them a try and lose interested after only a session or two of the game.

For whatever reason, I have no issues loading up old games and  playing them till the end of time, but new games are beyond me. Even “old new games” (games that may have come out in the 80s or 90s for example) fall into this cluster.

SEO has taken the front seat because it fills in some the gaps that gaming formerly filled. It offers certain aspects, or “criteria” I need in my life – income and a profession for example. Surprisingly, it also meets most of my “gaming criteria” – Ladders (search engines), Counters (Traffic/Statistical Analytics), a dynamic environment (SEO’s constantly changing attribute) to keep my wits sharp.

The end result of gaming and SEO are the same for me:

  • Ladders – I get to climb the greatest ladders of all, in a global competition.
  • Accomplishment – Just like beating any good video game, a successful SEO campaign is sweet.
  • Bragging Rights – We all like to polish our trophies from time to time.
  • Recognition – Everyone likes to be recognized for their expertise by their peers.

Pro Wrestling A Winner is You
So in a nutshell, SEO has become the greatest  game of all for me. It’s a career option, there are constant milestones and stages to be “beaten”, a certain amount of strategy is involved, and it keeps my brain sharp.


SEO is Like a Great Video Game was written by Dan Bochichio, a freelance Internet Specialist with over a decade of experience in web design. Dan specializes in taking new businesses from a web-zero to a web-hero by creating attractive sites which meet today's standards on the Web.