Before we begin, let me point out that this is just going to be a list of excellent and funny memes, with a little criticism thrown in. If you’re looking for a post about how to successfully use memes for marketing, check out the related posts.

Memes are some of the most viral content on the Internet, starting with cat pictures (and Cats), running the gamut all the way up to the modern meme life cycle. Today, memes are born on Twitter, Tumblr, Reddit, SomethingAwful, 4Chan, and a host of other sites. They live for hours, days, weeks, sometimes months or years, before fading into obscurity, only to be revived for a potent punch line later on.

The most viral memes are the most generic, those related to pop culture or with otherwise widespread appeal. While you may be able to capitalize on those, there are other memes, more local memes, that benefit you more within your industry. They aren’t shared as much, but they’re more hilarious to the people who get them. Besides, proper use of memes makes you look deeply in touch with today’s youth, which can be great for some businesses.

Unfortunately, most companies that try to use memes aren’t in touch with today’s youth and don’t know how to properly use those memes. For example, this Fry “Not Sure If” meme doesn’t follow the format and is pretty boring besides.

Here’s how you do it right:

1. This SEO Figure

Poking fun at Matt Cutts as if he was an advice animal is an amusing concept in itself, and though it doesn’t have a lot of play, it’s still potentially hilarious to the people who have to deal with him on a daily basis.

2. These Link Difficulties

I don’t know who you are, where you are, but I will find you, and I will… ask you politely to remove the spam links that are hurting my site. You’ll do that for me, won’t you? Nevermind the threat of implied violence that comes with this fun quip.

3. This Matronly Callout

Some SEO mistakes are so basic even your grandmother can point them out, and that’s exactly what she’s doing in this meme. The one flaw with this one is the poor choice of font. Come on, if you’re going to make a meme, at least use Impact like everyone else.

4. This Little Mobster

This picture of a baby went viral because of his hilarious expression and the implied scene, of him in the role of a grizzled old man telling stories around the table. Combined with the timeless “No officer, I have no idea how that beer got there” humor, mixed with a dash of disavowing links, it comes out to be a fine bit of memetic humor.

5. This Successful Child

Sometimes, when you see something go a bit better than expected, you just want to celebrate. That’s what this victorious toddler is doing, when his newsletter achieves a pleasantly high CTR. When don’t we all wish we could be as successful as he is?

6. This Industry Veteran

We’ve all been there; someone completely new to the scene comes in and talks about reading up on the industry, styling themselves as a self-taught expert. The old pros laugh it off and ignore him, while he impresses the people who we don’t care to impress. There’s a bit of disconnect with the college student base of this meme, but it’s decent nonetheless.

7. This Simple Rhyme

This meme is always an easy one to make; just take a picture of Lionel Richie, add on the like “Hello, is it me you’re looking for?” and change out the word “me” for something that rhymes. In this case, the substitution of “leads” makes it a little bit of basic marketing humor that just works. Why yes, it is leads I’m looking for.

8. A Reminder of the Difficulty of SEO

One does not simply do anything in SEO, between all of the tools you need to learn, the rules that keep changing, and the competition you must face. Sometimes, it seems like getting a page to the top of the Google rankings is as insurmountable a challenge as taking the One Ring all the way to the Dark Lord’s volcano.

9. A Factual Rebuttal

Internet Explorer has been the butt of many, many jokes over the years. By this point, none of them are ever laugh out loud funny, but they can at least elicit a smirk. In this case, it’s a point in the favor of the meme creator, who used the meme format perfectly, and it’s even something Dwight might say in the show.

10. These Real Priorities

Emilio, also known as Business Cat, is one of the first of many “animal of a colored radial field” memes. His schtick is being a corporate office manager, often tyrannical, with very firm cat priorities. This one hits both marketers and cat owners close to home, as anyone who has ever had a cat interrupt their writing can attest.

11. This Bit of Skepticism

Willy Wonka is a little skeptical, a little condescending, and a lot funny when you consider that everyone – everyone – exaggerates their traffic numbers for the sake of making themselves look better. It’s when you come down to bragging about the authority of a site no one has ever heard of that Wonka really gets his sneer on.

12. This Real Look at SEO

The “What I think I do” meme typically showcases images of a profession or hobby from various perspectives, and this one poking fun at SEO is no different. The pictures may not be flattering, but they’re probably a little more realistic than the self-delusions some marketers face.

13. These Laughing Villains

Google may have a policy to do no evil, but that doesn’t mean their choices always come out looking that way on the other end. Their European trials notwithstanding, often their policies can be interpreted in a self-serving way, as this poke at Google+ links showcases.

14. This Classic First World Problem

You made your bed, now sleep in it. At least, that’s what this meme seems to be implying. It’s a simple, amusing premise showcasing the all-too-common scenario webmasters faced when Penguin rolled around; all those valuable links you paid for have become actively harmful, and the only way to get rid of them is often to pay to have them removed.

15. This Hilarious Video

Okay, so this one isn’t really a traditional meme. It is a meme, often found where users cut up clips of politician speeches or commercials and completely change the meaning of the content. Matt Cutts, as you all know, is the spokesman for Google SEO and offers great advice all the time via YouTube. This video cuts up clips of his videos and answers the question of how to range #1. If you’re at all familiar with SEO or Matt’s videos, this is hilarious.

Join the Discussion

1. SEO-Memes.tumblr.com says:

   February 25, 2016 at 6:25 am

   Haha, good stuff. There’s a chance I will repost some of these. 🙂

   Reply

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