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<blockquote>The problem arises when site operators load their Web pages with hundreds of extraneous terms so search engines will list them among legitimate addresses.

The process is called "spamdexing," a combination of {{w|spamming}} — the Internet term for sending users unsolicited information — and "[[w:Web indexing|indexing]]."<ref name=wspy/></blockquote>

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| 1997 || || || Concept development || According to industry analyst [[w:Danny Sullivan (technologist)|Danny Sullivan]], the phrase "search engine optimization" probably comes into use around this time. Sullivan credits Bruce Clay as one of the first people to popularize the term.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://forums.searchenginewatch.com/showpost.php?p=2119&postcount=10|title=Who Invented the Term "Search Engine Optimization"?|author=Danny Sullivan|date=June 14, 2004|publisher={{w|Search Engine Watch}}|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100423051708/http://forums.searchenginewatch.com/showpost.php?p=2119|archive-date=23 April 2010|accessdate=May 14, 2007}} See [https://groups.google.com/group/alt.current-events.net-abuse.spam/browse_thread/thread/6fee2777dc17b8ab/3858bff94e56aff3?lnk=st&q=%22search+engine+optimization%22&rnum=1#3858bff94e56aff3 Google groups thread].</ref> "all signs definitely point to the term SEO originating around 1997."<ref name="20 Years of SEO: A Brief History of Search Engine Optimization">{{cite web |title=20 Years of SEO: A Brief History of Search Engine Optimization |url=https://www.searchenginejournal.com/seo-101/seo-history/#close |website=searchenginejournal.com |accessdate=4 January 2020}}</ref> "In 1997, the words “search engine optimization” were first used by John Audette and Bruce Clay, and soon after SEO became a widely used term."<ref name="seo.comf">{{cite web |title=THE HISTORY OF SEARCH |url=https://www.seo.com/blog/the-history-of-search-infographic/ |website=seo.com |accessdate=10 January 2020}}</ref>