Benjamin Franklin scored with what has become one of the greate3st quotes of all time…

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.

While the quote has been recycled and reused by every known motivational speaker and self help author on the planet — it has somehow fallen on the deaf ears of search engine marketers for years.

Own up to it — you’re spending time doing things that you know are producing zero return. You’re convinced of course that somehow, this one effort is going to catapult you over the edge and into insane amounts of fortune or fame.

So you’re there… cramming through another late night session, stealing what *has* to be quality tidbits of information on Digital Point, WebmasterWorld and every other place on the ‘net… and you’re sold. Hell man, this is it… this is the break you’ve been waiting for.

The next day, you look back and realize that aside from being pointlessly exhausted, you’ve learned nothing and haven’t gained a single ounce of knowledge.

People try to tell you that if you fail, you’re successful for at least trying. While I believe that, you eventually stop learning when you keep trying the same damn things and get the same, nonexistent results.

As search industry insiders, we complain about every little nuance of an engine, a SERP and a spidering. But truthfully, the big name engines are getting it right in many ways. We’re all trying to game the system of course, and that’s usually where those gripes are born that feed this addiction.

Let’s face it though… If what you’re actively doing… if what is consuming your time isn’t producing the rankings or traffic that you’re really set on — Why continue?

I’m amazed at how much BS there is in DigitalPoint sometimes. I know it happens elsewhere, but there seems to be an overwhelming amount of crap there. Anyways, the next time you find yourself scanning through forums and blogs trying to cash in on the next big idea — force yourself to focus on what has been working all along. Create content. Get backlinks. Research your audience and visitors — and create better web sites.

Stop wasting your time and allowing yourself to be tempted to take the easy way out.