Search engine optimization

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a set of methodologies aimed at improving the visibility of a website in search engine listings. The term also refers to an industry of consultants that carry out optimization projects on behalf of client sites.

History

SEO began in the mid-1990's, as the first search engines were cataloging the early Web. Many site owners quickly learned to appreciate the value of a new listing in a search engine, as they observed sharp spikes in traffic to their sites.

Site owners soon began submitting their site URLs to the engines on a regular basis, and began modifying their site to accommodate the needs of search engine spiders, the software programs sent out to explore the Web. Special features such as the Meta tag became a common feature of sites that sought out high-ranking listings.

Consultant firms arose to serve the needs of these site owners, and attempted to develop an understanding of the search engines' internal logic, or algorithyms. The goal was to develop a set of practices for copywriting, site coding, and submissions that would ensure maximum exposure for a website.

Controversy

As the industry developed, search engines quickly became wary of unscrupulous SEO firms that attempted to generate traffic for their customers at any cost. One frequent practice, called keyword spamming, involved the insertion of random text at the bottom of a webpage, colored to match the background of the page. The inserted text usually included words that were frequently searches (such as sex), with the goal of getting rankings, and thus access to large streams of traffic.

The search engines responded with a continuous series of countermeasures, designed to filter out the "noise" generated by these artifical techniques. In turn, several SEO firms developed ever-more-subtle techniques to influence rankings.

Current Trends

In recent years, search engines and SEO firms have attempted to establish an unofficial truce. There are several tiers of SEO firms, and the most reputable companies employ content-based optimizations which meet with the search engines' (reluctact) approval. These techniques include improvements to site navigation and copywriting, designed to make websites more intelligible to search engine logic.