Do you crave traffic like you would cold lemonade on a hot summer day? Do you think about your traffic stats and Google rankings more than eating, drinking or sleeping?

Marketers become so addicted to traffic numbers that they forget about every other marketing strategy. They focus all of their time and attention on traffic and never see how they are driving their businesses down a long, winding road of slow destruction.

Are you addicted to traffic? Take the quiz and find out!

Answer these questions with 1 – 5 where…

1 = Never
2 = Once a day to 2 times a week
3 = 2-5 times a day
4 = More than 5 times a day
5 = Every waking moment

If the question does not apply to you, score it a 3 or guess on a number that would apply based on past and current behaviours.

Question 1: How often do you check your Analytics for your website or blog?

Question 2: How often do you check your Facebook page for new “Likes”?

Question 3: How often do you check Twitter to see if anyone re-tweeted or responded to your tweet?

Question 4: How often do you check your stats for your email campaigns to see how many people clicked through?

Question 5: How often do you check your Google rankings?

Question 6: How often do you think about SEO, Google and increasing traffic?

Now add up the total of all your answers…

RESULTS

If your score is 24 or more, you need to enter a traffic rehab center. You clearly need help and you may even be neglecting your family as well.

If your score is 18-24, you definitely need some help. You may not be ready for rehabilitation, but if you don’t get your addiction under control, you may be closer than you think

If you score is 10-18, your activity is fairly normal but you also could be moderately addicted. Watch your behavior. Traffic addiction can come on slowly and take hold without you even realizing it.

If you scored 10 or lower, you don’t have an addiction to traffic. Do you even care what goes on with your website? You may need Motivator’s Anonymous

How did you score?

Yes, this was an unrealistic game and all in good fun, but hopefully it showed you where you stand as far as traffic is concerned.

Every marketer should make time to check traffic stats. However, checking traffic can cross over into obsession when it steals your productivity and time and takes your mind away from what really matters in marketing.

The SEO Trap

I have seen too many marketers spend countless hours watching their Google rankings trying to incessantly rank sites. I am not opposed to SEO at all. I simply feel that it is one of many online marketing strategies.

SEO junkies will get caught up in the “high” of rankings especially when their website position begins to rise. They finally reach a top position and bam! What happens?

They receive a surge of traffic, but only a slight increase in profit.  Why? Unfortunately, they spent so much time on getting traffic that they forgot to take a look at their website, sales funnel, customer support, conversions, content marketing, and target audience research.

What good is a bunch of traffic if you aren’t fulfilling your ultimate goal?

People who are addicted to a substance like drugs think the substance to which they are addicted is the end goal, when in fact they are simply seeking love and acceptance.

Marketers who are addicted to traffic think traffic is the end goal, when in fact what they are actually seeking is business growth and profits.

I’m not trying to say that traffic addiction is in any way as bad as drug addiction. That would be insane.

But I do want to caution business owners that traffic addiction is a trap. I was guilty of it myself many years ago. This addiction keeps you from success and a long-term thriving business model. Your constant desire to discover new tactics, quick fixes, secret SEO strategies, and any other shiny new traffic strategy will cause you to forget about the lifeblood of your business—the people you service.

What is the moral of the story?

Concentrate on the value you bring to your customers/clients. Discover what they desire and give it to them. Inject a little old-fashioned marketing back into your campaigns. Use SEO and other marketing strategies, but use them for the purpose of customer and business growth, not just to see your numbers rise.

The marriage of solid marketing strategies with a genuine desire to see your audience succeed is a winning formula that will outlast any Google algorithm or SEO fad.

Did you take the traffic quiz? What was your score?