How did Search Engine Optimization Come About?

Search engine optimization has become a crucial part of any business’ online presence from the time of company formation. SEO activities essentially deal with increasing a business’ visibility on popular search engines like Google and Yahoo. By increasing the page ranks of a particular website, a business is able to direct an increased amount of traffic to their online platforms, where users can interact with informative and engaging content.

While Search Engine Optimization has drastically changed the way in which content is created and disseminated across the Internet, few are actually aware of how the architecture of the Internet began changing into what we experience today.
The origins of the Internet itself can be traced as far back as 1958 when AT&T developed the first commercially viable modem. Over time, online entities realized that there was a growing need for a way to identify, organize and distribute such large amounts of data. In 1990, the first search engine was developed with an aim to archive the data present on the Internet. This search engine was extremely rudimentary and did not resemble what we see today with Google or Yahoo.

As search engines grew in complexity and evolved to suit users’ needs and preferences, the term ‘search engine optimization’ was coined. Companies identified the Internet as a hugely promising vehicle to drive commercial sales of their products and services. As such, the need to develop engaging content that was privileged over other content became extremely important. Since the 1990s, search engine optimization has grown to become an integral fixture in any Internet based marketing program.