SEO and Test Cricket: What The Aussie Team Teaches Us

The Australian Test cricket team – and cricket in general – can teach us a ton about winning the game of search engine optimisation (SEO).

We’re talking Test Cricket – the longest game in the world – run over five days, with many twists and turns. SEO is a also “long form” contest but it has no end. You can’t hit a few sixes and retire, and expect to be Wisden Cricketer Of The Year.

The cricket pitch is Google’s algorithm – a bloody mystery! Pitches have set dimensions but they change from day to day, and hour to hour. We’re regularly surprised by how they react during play. Anyone experienced in SEO will say the same thing about the search engine algos.

Now let’s compare the recent Australian Test team with successful SEO tactics.

1. David Warner. We love Davey but someone has to be the poster child for the lesson that if you try black hat techniques, you’ll end up being caught and your rankings will be penalised. The positive lesson he teaches us is ‘variation’. Don’t try to hit a boundary with every ball. You’ve got to construct an innings and use all the shots in your playbook to come out on top. Content, backlinks, small technical adjustments – they all add up.
2. Usman Khawaja. He's your solid opening gambit so you can build on strong foundations. There’s a lot of hard, grinding work is done. Sometimes you get early results, yet often there seems to be a lot of time at the crease for little reward – but openers are absolutely critical to set up success.
3. Marnus Labuschagne. He's social media … chirp, chirp, chirp all day long. But quality gets rewarded. When his batting goes viral, watch out!
4. Steve Smith. The alchemy of cricket success is part art, part science. Scientifically, he’s the master of shot selection and defence. As an art form, he is original and creative. If you “Smithy” your SEO playbook, you might just join the ranks of the SEO elite.  
5. Travis Head. The ‘comeback king’, Head teaches us that all is not lost when you get dropped (or lose your number one ranking for a keyword). He made changes to his game and came back as aggressive as ever. Be open to changing your SEO techniques – but also be brave, bold and aggressive when required. 
6. Cameron Green. He said recently that he’s trying to learn to “leave the ball”. Trying to hit every ball is a sure way to fail. With hundreds of Google ranking factors and thousands of techniques being proposed, learning what SEO actions to take and what to ignore is a priceless skill. Narrow you aim and then execute with skill.
7. Pat Cummins. The skipper. Someone needs to get all team members – content creators, developers etc - pushing in the same direction. And it needs to be someone with a strategy; someone that knows how to exploit your opponents’ weaknesses. SEO, like cricket, is a competitive game.
8. Alex Carey. We’ve dubbed him “Mr Backlinks”. Like backlinks, most balls come in to the wicketkeeper. The higher the quality of the incoming ball (backlink), the better the chance of getting a breakthrough wicket (or search ranking boost). It’s hard to win without lots of quality backlinks.
9. Mitchell Starc. Speed is important. So, too, is your “big gun technique” to get the breakthrough that inspires the rest of the team. When the stumps start flying or you jump 10 places to land on page one of Google, it’s a fist-pump moment!
10. Nathan Lyon. You have to spin to win in cricket, and you need to spin up good content to have any chance of securing top ranking in SEO. “Gary” is at the top of his game, thanks to having lots of variation in his deliveries. So, keep your content fresh and original.
11. Josh Hazelwood. Winning in SEO requires consistent effort and Josh’s ability to maintain an accurate line and length, ball after ball, is the perfect example of the success that comes with it.
12. Twelfth man. He’s your 301 redirect, the guy who works in the background doing what’s needed. Essential to the team but rarely basks in the limelight.

The goal is to win The Ashes, not become the ashes. To wear the baggy green cap of Australian cricket, you need to be the best. The demands are high but the rewards are great.

The same is true of search engine optimisation. 

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