![\"SEO](\"http:\/\/www.brandignity.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/seo-evolution.jpg\")
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There\u2019s no doubt about it: search engine optimization (SEO)<\/a> is more important than ever. Businesses around the world rely on it to make money because it\u2019s the only thing that makes their internet presence legitimate<\/em>. Without it, they\u2019re a guppy in a shark tank. With it, there are no limits. It\u2019s that powerful<\/em>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n For many, the question is – how did SEO get to this point?<\/strong> How did something that started only twenty-five years ago<\/a> get to be such a major marketing player so quickly<\/em>. The answer is because it\u2019s dynamic and has evolved. But why? <\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n In the beginning, there was God – sorry I meant the internet.\u00a0 When the world\u2019s first website<\/a> came out in 1991, everything was perfect. There was no spam, false advertisements, illegitimate online businesses, hackers, or even liars. There were sites and users.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Word got around quickly and more websites were developed. Eventually there were too many. Search engines needed to be created. Excite<\/a> was the first. Yahoo<\/a> the second. Google the third. They acted as a filter. A website\u2019s worthiness was determined by the search engines. Sites were ranked accordingly. It worked well for a while, but eventually businesses caught on and started picking apart the search engines\u2019 flaws. They tricked and manipulated the search engines in any way they could to get their site ranking up. And it worked<\/em>. Keyword stuffing, excessive tagging, and backlinks lead to high rankings and increased sales. Until 2003, when Google became the king.<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Google is the reason SEO has changed – and possibly even born. Google was the first major player to recognize unethical internet practices and put an end to them. They decided that they wanted to be the leader that connected internet users to valuable content. They created rules and regulations. Bad websites were punished, and good ones rewarded. Starting in 2003, they awarded ethical internet practice with high rankings. They even began to get more personalized. User history was used to personalize searches. They used things like maps, locations, and store hours to help users. This personalization would be the building block for the company\u2019s future development and spark the evolution of SEO.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n As Google became more personalized, so did SEO- it had to. The unethical practices mentioned above would not only no longer work, but would put SEO companies out of business- quick<\/em>. New content was created and<\/em> new ways to get that content to the user were found. A text only website became a thing of the past. Images and videos began to be incorporated into websites. User interaction and satisfaction increased as a result.<\/p>\nGoogle<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\nThe Evolution of SEO<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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