What Is SEO and Where Did It Come From?
When I was first offered a job in April 2021 to work in SEO, I had to ask…”What’s SEO?”
You see, my boss believes that when you find good, hard-working people, any business can be built and eventually thrive. So when I told him I had no clue what SEO was, it didn’t really matter. He knew I would learn.
Search Engine Optimization
After some mentoring, Googling, and training, I quickly learned that SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization and that it has become an invaluable service for businesses on the internet.
It’s true that SEO has been around since the mid-1990s, but its value has skyrocketed as more consumers turn to online reviews, websites, and Google searches to research, learn, and shop.
When did SEO become a thing?
Though possibly arguable, SEO as a marketing strategy started around 1997. Bob Heyman claims that rock band manager Jefferson Starship was mad that his website ranked 4th in search engine results, and he wanted to be #1. From this, it’s said that the strategic use of keywords and creating content online to drive rank in search results, a.k.a. SEO, began.
At first, it was directory-driven by brands such as Yahoo and Mozilla as a way to find websites that editors perceived as valuable. Then it evolved to serve businesses that had websites but weren’t getting many visitors, and now search engine results pages (SERPs) are hot commodities for those that want to get found online.
How SEO works
Include content that aligns with Google algorithms so that the bots scanning your page find value and credibility, making it worthwhile to push up the SERPs
Keyword research needs to be done to find out what people are looking for
Consistent, quality content is created and posted utilizing keywords
Internal and external links should be added to provide validity and trustworthiness to your site and, thus, your business
When done effectively, your website will rank higher in search results
It’s ironic to me how important SEO can be for a business to rank higher in search results yet at the same time so fluid; algorithms are constantly changing, so flexibility is a necessity in order to stay current in SEO practices.
Another thing that people need to realize is that SEO doesn’t change your rank overnight; it takes time. Each business owner's strategy for SEO may be different, and that will garner varying results. What matters is maintaining an online pulse, one that the bots pick up every time they scan, and making sure you stay authentic to your business philosophy to capture the market searching for you.
Don’t have time to chase the ever-evolving world of SEO?
Klusster Media offers SEO services that fulfill your business needs. You provide the business; we provide the content and results.