Search Engine Optimization Specialists

The Internet as we know it today began in the early 1990s. In order to find desired content, Internet users relied on search engines such as Yahoo! and Google to lead them to the most popular and relevant Web sites. Each search engine has a unique formula, also known as an algorithm, used to rank Web sites based on content, tags, and hits for search engines users. The higher the rank, the better chance Internet users would visit the site. As more companies began to create Web sites and sell their products and services online, they began to seek out ways to have their sites rank higher on search engine results.

Known as search engine optimization, the process of increasing a page’s chances for a better ranking became widely known in the mid-1990s. Search engines were forced to quickly adapt their algorithms in order to avoid manipulation of rankings. Some of the most popular search engines do not disclose the algorithms they use to rank sites, which can include up to 200 different signals. Search engines are constantly updating their algorithms and introducing new features to their users. For example, Google Instant, an offshoot of Google’s search engine, was developed to predict and produce results while users typed in search terms. Google Instant came as a response to the explosion in the number of social media sites and blogs, but was discontinued in 2017 because it did not work well with searches made on mobile devices, which have become more prominent.

The Digital Analytics Association (formerly SEMPO), a leading association in the field, was founded in 2003.