As a new generation of the internet unfolds thanks to the advent of AI, it’s time to look back at the history of SEO.
How far have we come?
And how did we get to the turning tide we’re witnessing now, with AIO writers replacing SEO writers?
The history of SEO traces back to the early days of the internet, when search engines and algorithms were first developed to help people find what they needed online.
Over time, these practices have been refined so that today we see an incredibly complex web of strategies for optimizing websites for maximum visibility on search engine results pages (SERPs).
In this post, we’ll explore the origins of SEO as well as some major milestones along its journey from then until now — plus a few predictions about where it’s headed next.
What Is SEO?
First, let’s review the concept of SEO.
SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. It’s the process of optimizing a website to rank higher in search engine results.
When you use SEO, you focus on improving the content, structure, and technical aspects of a website so search engines like Google or Bing can find it easily and rank it highly.
By making sure your site is optimized for search engines, you can increase visibility and attract more visitors to your business.
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Types of SEO
There are two main types of SEO – on-page optimization and off-page optimization – each with its own set of goals and techniques used when implementing an effective strategy.
- On-page optimization focuses on optimizing individual web pages within a website. These on-page elements include titles, headings, meta tags, images, alt text, etc.
- Off-page optimization looks at external factors that influence how websites rank, such as backlinks from other sites and social media signals.
Needless to say, SEO is a powerful tool for improving the visibility of your website and driving more traffic to it. It has come a long way since its inception, and understanding its history can help you create effective SEO strategies right here, right now.
Let’s dive into this fascinating story.
The History of SEO
The history of SEO and its beginnings is a surprising tale that has reached “legend” status.
The Legend of SEO
It starts with an angry, expletive-filled phone call from the manager of the band Jefferson Starship to Bob Heyman, who was then the VP of audience development at a company called Cybernautics.
It was the mid-90s, when the internet as we know it was brand-new.
Why was Jefferson Starship’s manager angry? The band’s website was showing up on page 4 of a search engine. Somehow, the page had gotten buried in the SERPs amid promotion from fan sites.
But the manager wanted it on page one.
So Heyman and his partner, Harden, fixed the issue by optimizing the band’s website with the term “Jefferson Starship.”
Boom. Problem solved. The page shot back to the top of the search engine rankings.
Here’s what that page looked like in 1996, via the Internet Archive Wayback Machine (who else remembers splash pages that served absolutely no purpose? 😆):
And, let’s all take a moment to absorb the fact that, back in 1995-1997, all you had to do was insert a keyword a few times on a page to rank. 😭
Origins of the Term “SEO”
So when did the term “SEO”, or search engine optimization, become common in the online marketer’s vernacular?
It can be traced back to the early days of search engines and web directories.
Before Google, there were a variety of options such as AltaVista, Lycos, and Excite that used different algorithms to rank websites. Web directories like Yahoo also provided users with lists of websites organized by categories.
Essentially, SEO came about in the late 1990s as a response to search engine sorting and ranking. It was developed by webmasters and content creators who wanted to make sure their sites were visible to potential customers.
The term “SEO” itself was first used by the Webstep Marketing Agency in 1997.
In 1998, Danny Sullivan, the founder of Search Engine Watch and present-day Google Liaison (remember him from this post about Google detecting AI content?), popularized the term through his work helping clients optimize content.
The Birth of Google and Quality/Relevance Ranking Factors
Of course, in the history of SEO, we have to talk about the birth of Google. Here’s the cliff notes version:
In 1998, Stanford Ph.D. students Larry Page and Sergey Brin developed a new algorithm called “PageRank” which revolutionized how webpages were ranked: based on their relevance to user queries.
Before this, search engines mainly looked at on-page factors to determine rankings, including site structure.
PageRank, on the other hand, also looked at off-page factors like the number and quality of external links pointing to a site.
This algorithm became known as Google after Page and Brin founded their company in 1998 under that name.
The Evolution of SEO
As technology advanced, so did algorithmic ranking factors such as content relevancy, link popularity (number & quality), domain authority (age & trustworthiness), and more all playing an important role in determining website rankings on SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages).
Top ranking factors in 2023. Source: First Page Sage
And as the complexity of SEO increased, new roles were born in response as marketers employed various strategies to optimize websites for better rankings:
- SEO writer
- SEO marketer
- SEO consultant
- SEO analyst
- SEO manager
More recently, the focus has shifted towards providing higher-quality content tailored specifically for user intent rather than simply focusing on keywords alone.
AI content creation has also recently shoved its way into the spotlight. The tools out there today are better than ever and completely capable of writing a well-written first draft structured for SEO.
Enter: the AIO writer.
Major Milestones in the History of SEO
SEO has had a long journey, from the early days of web directories and search engines to the emergence of algorithmic ranking factors.
As we move forward into the future, it’s important to understand these key milestones to stay ahead of the competition and leverage effective SEO practices.
2003: Google Introduces the Florida Update & Nofollow Attribute
In 2003, Google introduced the “Florida” update to its algorithm. This update was designed to combat link spamming and other manipulative tactics used by webmasters to boost their rankings.
At the same time, they also introduced the “nofollow” attribute which allowed website owners to indicate that certain links should not be followed or indexed by search engines.
2005: Introduction of Google Analytics & AdWords Campaigns
Google Analytics was launched in 2005 as a free tool for website owners and marketers to track user behavior on their sites.
It provided valuable insights into how visitors interacted with pages, allowing them to make more informed decisions about optimizing their content for better performance.
Around the same time, Google also began offering AdWords campaigns – pay-per-click advertising solutions – which further revolutionized digital marketing strategies worldwide.
2011: Panda Update & Mobile-Friendly Websites Become Essential for Rankings
In 2011, Google released its Panda update which targeted low-quality content and penalized websites containing it.
This meant website owners had to focus even more heavily on creating unique and high-quality content if they wanted any chance at ranking well on SERPs.
Additionally, mobile devices were starting to flood the scene, which meant having a mobile-friendly version of your site became essential if you wanted your pages to rank well across all platforms.
The Current State of SEO & Future Predictions
AI-powered algorithms, localized content, and user experience optimization are quickly becoming the new norm in SEO.
AI-powered algorithms can help determine which content is most relevant to a user’s query by analyzing the context of the query as well as other factors such as location or previous searches.
Localized content is also playing an important role in SEO today. By optimizing your website for local searches you can ensure that your business appears at the top of search engine results when someone within your target area searches for related terms or services.
Finally, user experience has become a major factor in determining how high a website ranks in SERPs. Search engines prioritize websites with fast loading times and easy navigation. Quality content is also essential to UX; you must create content for people, not search engines, and focus on providing accurate, relevant, helpful information.
The History of SEO Is Still Happening: Are You Keeping Up?
The history of SEO is storied and fascinating – and it’s not done yet.
We’re living that history right NOW.
It has evolved from simple keyword stuffing to complex algorithms that take into account user experience and other factors when ranking websites.
As we look towards the future, it’s clear that SEO will continue to change with new technologies and trends emerging every day – like AI writing!
Today, you need a complex set of strategies to do SEO correctly and increase your website’s visibility and drive traffic. Just one of those strategies includes adding an AI writing tool to your content process to speed up the production of SEO content while ALSO making sure an AIO writer is guiding that tool along the way.
It’s a lot, but staying up-to-date on all things related to SEO is essential for any business looking to stay ahead of its competition.
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