Search engine optimization (SEO) is defined as the process of affecting the visibility of a website or web page in a search engine’s natural or unpaid search results. Since its introduction in the late 1990′s, alongside the exponential growth of search engine usage, SEO has become an industry unto itself, and a necessary component to any website or company’s marketing strategy. When a web-goer uses a search engine like Google, a keyword or phrase is entered, and results are delivered. In most every instance, only the first two to three of these results are ever considered, making it vitally important to achieve a ranking in these top spots.
In April of the second last year, the process of search engine optimization was primitive and easily exploitable, a virtual Wild West with little in the way of policing. Search engines were establishing easily manipulated ranking criteria which were quickly found out and targeted heavily, dominated by webmasters with the most funding. Results were based on perceived importance: the number of links pointing to a particular website related directly to its scope of influence, meaning the site with the most links fanned out across the largest number of websites scored the highest result in a given keyword, or search term.
Among the most competitive keywords, some companies and webmasters began buying thousands of links a day to secure relevant rankings in a never-ending arms race that quickly spiraled out of control. Large directory websites were created to offer companies a place to submit additional links, and entire businesses were founded on the basis of spamming as much repeat content in as many places as possible in the name of driving up their client’s organic rank results. Meanwhile, site owners and businesses without the means of buying such an overwhelming number of links each day were being left on the second, third, or fourth pages of a keyword’s search rankings, making them essentially non-existent.
With Google’s introduction of their “Penguin” algorithm update however, the landscape started to change. Not only were ranking criteria being refined, but a system of punishment was introduced to handicap wealthy site owners attempting to buy their way to the top. No longer were all links considered equal, and duplicated content became discounted; buying thousands of links on websites with no relevance became recognizable and punishable. Sites with a firm hold on the top search results were suddenly finding themselves relegated to obscurity, replaced by websites managed genuinely. Those being rewarded were producing their own unique content (blog posts, articles, press releases, blog comments, guest posts, and more) shared by sites related to their own industry or interests, generating links honestly.
Google implemented another algorithm update, “Panda 2.0”, further restricting exploitative practices and emphasizing a holistic, interactive promotional approach to SEO. No single technique now has the ability to propel a website to the top of search results; a site’s web presence is counted as a whole, meaning a high ranking requires regular and highly diverse activity, including social media interactions. Keyword usage has also changed, rewarding websites that do not repeat the same search terms in each of their links. Again variety is encouraged, with only a portion of links generated covering main focus keywords. Greater importance has been given to local keywords as well, allowing more sites to perform well in their own regions without the threat of domination by state or nationwide competition.
This month on 21st April going is going to make another update. The websites which are mobile friendly are going to rank higher in search engines. You can read more about this update here
Over the past year, SEO has changed dramatically, but for the better. Search results can no longer be achieved through shortcuts; to achieve the highest results, promotion must be genuine, not spammed indiscriminately. By focusing on a website’s collective activity, the playing field has become level, preventing businesses from spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to force their way to the top, making search engine results more accurate, and more accessible for anyone looking for find success online.
Prabhakar tiwari
CEO
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