Going beyond Google: How SEO has evolved and what its future means for you.

Posted by Anya Sleezer << back to blog

When you think of Search or SEO (search engine optimization), one company probably springs to mind: Google.

That’s no surprise. For some time SEO has revolved around the world’s most popular search engine, which was launched in 1998—but it wasn’t always this way. The first search engine, Archie (short for “archive”) was launched in 1990. While Archie was groundbreaking, it was soon overtaken by bigger brands like Google and Yahoo, and discontinued in the late 1990s.

It was in 1997, one year before Google’s founding, that SEO emerged as a distinct discipline. Back then, and for years later, SEO strategy was based on “keyword dumping”: SEO experts simply gamed the system by including a keyword (say “used trucks”) as many times as possible on their website. Guess what? For a long time it worked!

Thankfully, things changed in 2011. Google released the Panda 1.0 update, which affected 12% of websites on the internet. Think about that for a second—12% of all websites were affected in an instant. It was a whole new world.

Sites with poor quality or irrelevant content got KO’d. Google has continued to improve the quality of their search results ever since. According to Moz, Google updates its algorithm 500-600 times per year.

Don’t get spooked. Smart SEO strategy isn’t about knowing Google’s algorithm updates (which are locked up tighter than Fort Knox anyway). It’s about knowing trends. As SEO has shifted towards user-experience (UX) and design, Levo’s SEO strategy has too. We help clients create content that fulfills the user’s needs and provides a better experience.

That’s the “cliff notes” version, but SEO tactics are much more in-depth than that. Don’t bother Googling “evolution of SEO tactics,” though, as we’ve done it for you. Here’s what the past, present, and future of SEO looks like today, and what it means for your business’ bottom line.

Moving from Desktops to Mobile Devices

Before 2010, SEO was based on optimizing websites for desktops. Makes sense, as that’s where most people surfed the web.

That was then, mobile is today.

As smartphones have become more prevalent, more people are consuming content on mobile devices instead of desktops. In fact, more Google searches happened on mobile devices instead of desktops for the first time ever in 2015, and it has been that way ever since. ComScore now reports 65% of digital media consumption happens on mobile devices.

At Levo, we focus on optimizing users’ mobile experience first and foremost. This includes making sure that pages load on mobile in less than two seconds, and optimizing pages for different resolutions and devices.

Desktop isn’t dead, but mobile-first is the word.

Buy local. Think positive.

Local SEO used to be like SEO everywhere else—spam the listings by keyword dumping. Some local businesses would even cram keywords into their business name, fudge their location, and get links from spammy directories. It was good for their search rankings, but bad for their searcher’s user experience. Local businesses that tried these tactics may have won at search, but lost at priority one—making the sale.

Google launched an algorithm in 2014 specifically to provide more useful, relevant, and accurate local search results. Today, local SEO is about positivity. Positive reviews are one of the biggest drivers of rankings, as well as relevant, quality content.

Our local SEO strategy doesn’t try to outsmart the system; instead it keeps the focus on what matters most—serving the customer.

Search gets Social (Media).

Before Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and others, online interactions took place via instant messaging and email. Think AOL’s iconic, nostalgic: “You’ve got mail.” Frankly, we’re still embarrassed by our AIM handle, so we don’t want to dwell on this time period too much. Alas, instant messaging and email largely fell beyond the reach of SEO.

Then social media came along.

Social media is everywhere, and is every bit as influential as Google. You can’t ignore it as a marketer. Social media should increase brand exposure, drive consumer engagement, and create a conversation with your customer. It also plays a mission-critical role in Search. If you don’t have a social presence, search engines are less likely to see your business as relevant.

Changing how we think about links.

Linking back to other sites (backlinks) has always been a huge factor in search engine rankings, but it has changed dramatically over the years.

Back in the day, it was link quantity. More links led to higher rankings, similar to “keyword dumping.” Links with keyword-rich anchor text also helped the site rank better. Alas, it was easy to get links from sites that were of, shall we say, questionable repute.

Today, it’s quality over quantity. Links from authoritative, relevant websites matter more, while links from spammy sites get slapped with a low ranking. Search engines also like to see a good mix of link types: follow and no follow, branded anchor text, and keyword-rich anchor text.

At Levo, we focus on creating high-quality content and incorporating relevant, valuable links. We also monitor for any toxic links and remove low-quality links, all to maintain a healthy link portfolio for your website.

Context is king.

“Keyword dump” has been replaced by “context is king” in the smart SEO strategist’s playbook.

Google focuses on context-based searches. Instead of relying solely on the keywords a person searches for, Google focuses on the user’s word-combination and search history, giving the search engine context for what the user is actually searching for. Google does this through Latent Semantic Indexing and artificial intelligence, but the key takeaway is that Google search is context-based.

Think of it like this: Google is a service business. Their service is providing you, the searcher, with quality content that’s relevant to what you’re looking for. If they fail at that, say by leading you to a shoddy website built during the “keyword dump” days of old, you’ll leave Google and go somewhere else. So Google is constantly making efforts to give you the best search results. It’s what keeps the multi-billion dollar firm in business.

Yes, believe it or not, Google works for you.

Content is written for humans, not for search engines.

We’ve talked a lot about “keyword dump,” but don’t be mistaken—keyword density, word count, and formatting still matter…but they’re not what matters the most.

Good content is written for humans, not search engines. The more you engage people with your content, the better your site will rank. Period.

The Bottom Line

SEO has changed dramatically over the years, and it will continue to evolve in the future. One thing is certain—we must always provide relevant, high-quality content and a great user experience. Doing right by your customers is not a strategy or tactic; it’s just good business. Some things change (like our embarrassing AIM handle *shudder*), but over-delivering for people never will.

Anya Sleezer

Anya Sleezer is the owner of Levo, a full–service marketing agency, focused on helping companies from all industries who are concerned with their marketing results, traffic, branding, advertising, or websites.

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