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Post by Eric Brantner

The key to becoming truly great at online marketing is to constantly push yourself by getting out of your rut and trying new techniques. Many of us have gotten so caught up in following the same old formula over and over again that we never evolve. Sure, we get consistent results with our websites by playing it safe, but truly great results come when you push yourself out of your comfort zone, forcing yourself to stop relying on the typical SEO/ internet marketing crutches.

What follows is a list of 7 challenges that can ultimately help you sharpen your SEO skills.

1. Promote a friend’s website without changing its structure- If you provide SEO services to outside clients, you understand why this challenge is important. There are those clients who are stubborn and who don’t want you to mess with their site too much. They restrict you from fully doing your job, but they want the same great results you normally produce. This will challenge you to find unique ways to make their site visible in the search engines without altering significantly.

2. Generate 15 links to your lowest performing content- Let’s face it, we don’t always hit home runs with our content. In fact, sometimes our articles just plain stink. But what if you have a client who needs inbound links and doesn’t want you to write new content for them? You need to find creative ways to generate quality links to even your worse content. This doesn’t include spamming in forums or blog comments either.

3. Overhaul your website- Again; this pulls you out of your comfort zone. It can be easy to fall into a rut of designing every page with the same general look. Comfort stifles innovation. For this reason, I challenge you to completely overhaul your website. Include an element in it that you don’t usually use (video, graphics, interactive elements.) The more you push yourself, the better you’ll become.

4. Follow 5 new blogs and guest post on them within a month- Guest posting on other blogs is beneficial for several reasons. It builds new connections; generates inbound links; improves your site’s visibility; and it establishes you as an authority. The goal of this challenge is to help you find a completely new audience and to build great relationships in a short amount of time.

5. Follow 5 new blogs without promoting yourself- The reason for this is simple it’s not always about you. You don’t have to constantly be promoting yourself. Become an active member on 5 new blogs without ever promoting yourself. You’ll find that you can learn new things from others, and that it feels good to not have to be constantly marketing your site.

6. Write an SEO e-book your mom would understand. Quiz her at the end- I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard SEOs say My parents don’t even understand what I do for a living. If you can’t even explain to your own mother what you do, how can you clearly express the value of SEO Company to a prospect? Write a brief e-book over the basics of SEO, and quiz your mom at the end to see how well she understands it.

7. Get a press release published in a reputable newspaper or trade journal once a month- Online press releases have completely changed the entire press release process. With self-publishing, you no longer have to fight with editors to get your press release in their newspaper or journal. As a result, the internet is flooded with boring, poorly-written, keyword-stuffed press releases. Try to bring back the art of press release writing by getting one published in a reputable newspaper or trade journal once a month. This will make you focus on writing quality pieces that truly engage others.

There are several more things you can do to become a better internet marketer. How do you challenge yourself on a daily basis? Share your challenges with us in the replies you just might help someone become a better Internet marketer!