At the beginning of the internet, Search Engine Optimization was also born. Few have predicted the impact that SEO brought in the day to day lives of every consumer. SEO has evolved to become a vital element in making a name on the internet. However, this is not always the case as SEO was once a single-cell organism waiting to grow.
Tim Berners-Lee is known to be the inventor of the World Wide Web. In 1991, he launched the world’s first website from his lab in the Swiss Alps. Over time, more and more sites were offering user information through the means of bare-bones usability and optimization.
The need for structure and accessibility was needed more than ever because of more and more websites emerging during this era. In 1993, platforms like Excite were used to catalog information, which makes searching for information more accessible. These platforms sorted search results through the use of keywords found within content.
A few years after the early stages of SEO, competitors like Yahoo and Google start to make search queries are delivered and indexed. Before the invention of algorithms and backlinks, anything goes for SEO. Marketers capitalized on the usage of keywords by spamming and excessive tagging backlinks to get a higher search ranking.
Companies like Google see the usage of spamming keywords; that is why they envisioned opportunities for users to consume more valuable content. Google took charge of developing a more optimized mode of searching by penalizing websites that are spamming keywords to have their page’s ranking increased.
Search results based on a user’s history was also invented to have more improvement in the relevance and value of search results. This birth in local SEO helped the users to obtain more information near them, such as maps, locations, store hours, and mobile results. Search engines prefer results near a user’s location.
In 2008, Google was launched to display suggested search options based on historical data. By having this option, Google improved usability and offered more relevant content by showing users suggestions in search options based on their historical information. Google Trends and Google Analytics were also invented this year.
In 2010, the game of SEO had changed entirely as more websites earned a spot in the search rankings by having quality content. During this era, Google has imposed a stricter policy on the usage of keywords. Significant updates from Google enforced more stringent regulations regarding spamming and over-optimization.
Having new search regulations was not enough for us why new search features were added. These features offer immediate answers to search queries without the user having to dig for content to have answers. The response on a given question was displayed on the screen automatically.
During this period, social media has been growing more and more. Because of this growth, social media has also affected search results on the internet. Google launched Google+ with a +1 option, which played a significant factor in boosting content visibility. The content was shared throughout the web and social media.
In the modern era, the use of smartphones was acknowledged by Google. Because of the use of smartphones, websites that lack mobile optimization and accessibility get wiped away from the search results. Today, search results can also vary depending on the device used by the user.
Knowing the future of SEO is essential if you want to advance in the search rankings. It has almost been thirty years since the launch of the world’s first website. If you want to know the trends and possibilities that may occur in the year 2020, you can always check this infographic from Digital Marketing Philippines..
