Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a big deal, but there are plenty of people out there who are left scratching their heads when keywords, backlinks, or metadata are bought up at a meeting. Let this be an introduction for those folks. Here are five critical facts about SEO.
It Is More Rock’ N’ Roll That You Might Think
SEO isn’t the most glamorous industry, but it can trace its origins to a rock and roll group. In 1997, the manager of the band Jefferson Starship was appalled at the performance of his star group on early search engines. He set about altering their website to appear at the top of people’s related searches on early, directory-based search engine websites. His mission was a success: modern SEO was born.
It Evolves All The Time
If you were to ask 10 experts’ just what is SEO?‘, you might be surprised at the sheer variety of answers you’d receive. SEO is not a static field by any stretch of the imagination. Although the broad goals of SEO professionals might stay the same, how they achieve those goals is constantly changing. This is to do with the mutability of the internet and the constant evolution of search engine ranking algorithms.
Google, for instance, is constantly changing the algorithms it uses to rank search results. This is partially to give users a better experience by showing them the most relevant pages. It is also a tactic designed to improve the overall ethical practice of SEO agencies. As the Google search algorithms become more focused on content and context, spammy SEO tactics like keyword stuffing have faded into the background – replaced by genuine content creation.
It Is Very Important For Businesses And Organizations
The rise of the internet has led humanity into a new, hyper-networked world. Search engines are the hubs, the nexus’ our networks interchange. Businesses and other organizations rely on Search Engine Optimization to stay profitable and famous in an environment where standing online can make or break them. Companies invest vast quantities of money in perfecting their search engine ranking.
It Is A Huge Industry
Because SEO is so important to businesses and organizations in a highly networked postmodern world, it has spawned an absolutely vast industry. According to Forbes magazine, the Search Engine Optimization industry is worth around US$80 billion every single year.
Search Engine Companies Encourage It (To A Degree)
You might think that search engine companies would discourage the deliberate manipulation of their ranking algorithms. This is not the case. Google has long encouraged website owners to tailor their sites for their algorithms. The reason is simple: if Google develops algorithms that can rank pages accurately according to quality and relevance, site owners will improve the quality of their content, and Google’s users will receive better results. A happy and symbiotic relationship! However, search engine companies do look down on so called ‘black hat SEO, which involves curving algorithmic favor through nefarious or underhand means.
