Ryan Jones

Because when you learn faster than everyone else, you win faster than everyone else.

Here's the hard truth...

If you don't know what works, you'll keep wasting time (and money) on what doesn't.

To get off the wheel, you need proof.

✅ Test your changes.
✅ Measure their real impact.
✅ Keep a record of what works and what doesn't.

It's when constant action replaces actual insight.

You're busy, but you're not progressing.

You're working hard, but not learning fast.

But when traffic DOES move, we can't explain why.

So we keep guessing. We keep tweaking. And we keep running.

That's the SEO Hamster Wheel.

Almost all of the SEOs I know aren't short on effort.

They're short on learning.

Every single day, we're tweaking titles, updating content, fixing internal links, maybe even improving Core Web Vitals. All in the hopes that something moves the needle.

Hard work doesn't guarantee SEO growth. Learning does.

Most of us forget that, and end up trapped on the SEO Hamster Wheel.

Increase in dwell time, yes! Which probably helped with the increase in clicks!

And a slight increase in conversions, but nothing too major! :)

All from focusing on clarity, not just keyword density.

Sometimes, less content communicates more value. Especially when it aligns better with what searchers actually want.

Curious. Have you ever seen traffic improve after cutting down a blog post instead of expanding it?

And the results?

🚀 Clicks per day up 90%
🚀 CTR up 47%
🚀 Average position improved from 25 → 13.5
🚀 Impressions up 29%

The changes we made were simple but intentional:

✅ Removed fluff and filler
✅ Rewrote headings to match real search queries
✅ Improved overall readability and flow

After the test:

📄 1,232 words
🧩 155 sentences
📑 114 paragraphs
📚 Readability grade: 6 (Good)
⏱️ Reading time: 4m 55s

Before the test:

📄 2,484 words
🧩 179 sentences
📑 131 paragraphs
📚 Readability grade: 9 (Good)
⏱️ Reading time: 9m 56s

We ran an SEO test on our "RegEx in Google Search Console" article using SEOTesting.

The goal?

To see whether simplifying and tightening up content could drive more engagement and clicks.

We cut a blog post in half... and almost doubled the clicks from organic search!

Here's what happened:

That’s where tools like SEOTesting come in.

They help you set up tests, track impact, and make confident, data-driven decisions.

Because when you replace guesswork with evidence…

You don’t just save time.

You gain focus.

And that’s what fuels repeatable growth. 🚀

The good news?

There’s a (legal 😉) way to avoid the SEO Guesswork Tax.

Through structured testing and measurement.

When you test systematically, you:

✅ See what drives performance.
✅ Build proven insights.
✅ Stop guessing and start learning.

Change → Movement → Uncertainty → More change.

The tax keeps compounding. 📈

Over time, it:

❌ Kills focus.
❌ Blocks learning.
❌ Wastes resources.
❌ Delays growth.

You’re always working… but rarely learning.

It’s not a financial tax.

It’s a productivity and focus tax.

You pay it every time you:

➡️ Act on instinct or “best practices.”
➡️ Copy competitors without real data.
➡️ Watch rankings move but can’t explain why.
➡️ Treat SEO like a checklist, not experiments.

Most SEO teams aren’t short on effort.

They’re short on focus.

Every week, we make dozens of changes:

- Titles
- Links
- Content Updates

All hoping something moves the needle.

And when traffic finally DOES change, we can’t explain why.

That’s the SEO Guesswork Tax. 💸

Digitaloft’s eCommerce SEO Summit is back on 20 Nov!

I’m speaking with James Brockbank, Crystal Carter, Amy Gibson & Anthony Barone.

I’ll show how SEO testing drives SALES, not just traffic. Plus tools, test types & examples.

Join me 👉 digitaloft.co.uk/webinars/the...

When time is limited, focus matters more than effort.

You don’t need more hours.
You need proof of what works.

That’s how you finally get off the SEO Hamster Wheel. 🚀

SEO testing helps you break the cycle.

When you test systematically, you:

✅ Find what actually drives growth
✅ Stop repeating low-impact work
✅ Build a database of results to guide decisions

Here’s the reality:

If you don’t know what works, you’ll keep wasting time on what doesn’t.

The harder you work, the less you actually learn.

Every change feels urgent, but few build lasting insight.

Then traffic changes... and we have no idea why.

So we double down.
We keep guessing.
We keep running.

That’s the SEO Hamster Wheel 🐹

So what happens?

We fill our calendars with endless optimizations: title tweaks, content refreshes, and internal link updates, all hoping something moves the needle.

Most SEOs I know are short on time. ⏳

Too many tasks. Too many priorities.

Not enough hours in the day.