SO, YOU WANT TO KNOW ABOUT SEO?
Of course, it all started with search engines.
But in the early 90s, search engines were entirely different beasts to what we know today. Back then, with the internet in its infancy, there was a huge variation of search options and webmasters had to submit their own URLs personally to whatever search engine they wanted their results to appear in.
As a result, many webmasters found their website’s content was indexed and could be found whenever certain search terms were entered into an engine.
Many took risks and experimented, finding that they could potentially manipulate search results with certain on-page techniques on their web pages. This included measures such as hiding text on their sites, keyword stuffing, utilising fake ‘doorway’ pages and more. These terms were soon classed as illegitimate and earned ‘black hat’ status.
Though not confirmed, it’s widely thought that the phrase ‘Search Engine Optimisation’ was coined in 1997. Search engines began to crack down and issued websites looking to manipulate rankings with severe penalties. Throughout the years, mostly with the growth of search engine technology, standards and rules have gotten tighter to offer users a better overall experience, and to help them find what they need in as short a time as possible.
Search engines are now the cornerstone of the internet, with only the best websites making it to the tops of results pages. By penalising websites that were only there to trick users and placing high value on good, quality content that enhances user experience, search engines were able to grow alongside users and offer them a streamlined service.
By incorporating ethical SEO into an online campaign, webmasters were able to compete with big-brand competition and expand their businesses across cyberspace to a much wider audience. SEO was born, and continues to grow.
