Difference between revisions of "Timeline of search engine optimization"

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This is a '''timeline of {{w|search engine optimization}}'''.
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This is a '''timeline of {{w|search engine optimization}}''', attempting to describe significant events related to this practice. For the sake of context, many events directly related to {{w|search engine}}s, their evolution, products and updates, are included. 
  
 
== Sample questions ==
 
== Sample questions ==
  
 
The following are some interesting questions that can be answered by reading this timeline:  
 
The following are some interesting questions that can be answered by reading this timeline:  
 +
 +
* What are some notable SEO tool services?
 +
** Sort the full timeline by "Event type" and look for the group of rows with value "SEO tool launch".
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** You will see a variety of services (some of them for free) offering analytics, SEO rank tracking software, blogging, etc.
 +
* What are some events describing practices against search engine guidelines?
 +
** Sort the full timeline by "Event type" and look for the group of rows with value "{{w|Spamdexing}}".
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** You will see a number of Black hat SEO techniques, and related events.
 +
* What are some significant updates involving search engines?
 +
** Sort the full timeline by "Event type" and look for the group of rows with value "Notable update".
 +
** You will see some significant updates by prominent search engines, mainly {{w|Google}}; aimed at combating {{w|spamdexing}}, but also improving aspects like geographic intent, end-user data, etc.
 +
* What are some of the several competitions specialized in SEO?
 +
** Sort the full timeline by "Event type" and look for the group of rows with value "{{w|SEO contest}}".
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** You will see a number of notable contests launched throughout the years. 
 +
* What are some of the numerous books focused on SEO?
 +
** Sort the full timeline by "Event type" and look for the group of rows with value "Literature".
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** You will see a mostly random list of titles illustrating the literature industry on the topic of CEO.
 +
* What are some events providing context to SEO?
 +
** Sort the full timeline by "Event type" and look for the group of rows with value "Background".
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** You will see significant events, some of them describing search evolution, and others related to major search engines.
  
 
==Big picture==
 
==Big picture==
 
  
 
{| class="wikitable"
 
{| class="wikitable"
 
! Time period !! Development summary !! More details
 
! Time period !! Development summary !! More details
 
|-
 
|-
| 2015 onward || Mobile search era ||
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| 1991–2002 || Prelude period<ref name="The Evolution Of SEO Trends Over 25 Years">{{cite web |title=The Evolution Of SEO Trends Over 25 Years |url=https://searchengineland.com/evolution-seo-trends-25-years-223424 |website=searchengineland.com |accessdate=4 January 2020}}</ref> || Early period starting from the launch of the world’s first website by {{w|Tim Berners-Lee}}. As websites start crowding the Internet, the first search engines fill a need for structure and accessibility. in 1993, search platforms like Excite revolutionize how information is cataloged and make finding information easier by sorting results based on keywords found within content and backend optimization. {{w|Webmaster}}s and content providers begin optimizing websites for search engines in the mid-decade. {{w|Yahoo!}} in 1994 and {{w|Google}} in 1997 enter the scene to improve and simplify how data is indexed and delivered. In this primitive stage, marketers would leverage keyword stuffing, excessive tagging, and (often spammy) backlinks to generate high rankings in search. Often, major algorithm updates would take several months to complete, allowing black-hat SEO tactics to remain effective for long stretches of time. In 1994, several new search engines become widely accessible to the public.<ref name="tellmeyourgoal.coms">{{cite web |title=The History of Search Engine Optimization |url=https://www.tellmeyourgoal.com/the-history-of-search-engine-optimization |website=tellmeyourgoal.com |accessdate=10 January 2020}}</ref> In 1996, in which some consider the time when [[w:search engine optimization|SEO]] really took off, {{w|Sergey Brin}} and {{w|Larry Page}} begin building {{w|BackRub}}, the predecessor of {{w|Google}}, which would become the biggest, most recognized search engine.<ref name="bluefrogdm.coms"/> Around 1997, the first algorithm crackers appear. 1997 is the year that several SEO providers decode all 35 parameters of Excite’s algorithm.<ref name="A Brief History of SEOd">{{cite web |title=A Brief History of SEO |url=https://medium.com/tripika/a-brief-history-of-seo-3b35d7fa34d3 |website=medium.com |accessdate=10 January 2020}}</ref>   
 +
|-
 +
| 2003–2005 || Early developments<ref name="The Evolution Of SEO Trends Over 25 Years"/> || {{w|Google}}, {{w|MSN}} and {{w|Yahoo!}}, the three major search engines that are left, start incorporating undisclosed page ranking factors into their algorithms. The era of keyword-spamming SEO is long over. {{w|Webmaster}}s and content providers have to rely on more creative ways to promote content and generate inbound links in order to achieve long term increases in search engine rankings.<ref name="A Brief History of SEOd"/>
 +
|-
 +
| 2006–2009 || Middle period || This period introduces highlights like Google's Universal Search to offer additionally more engaging content media in search results such as news, images, and video.<ref name="The Evolution Of SEO Trends Over 25 Years"/>
 +
|-
 +
| 2010–2012 || Consolidation period <ref name="The Evolution Of SEO Trends Over 25 Years"/> || Social media becomes a more pivotal piece of SEO strategy.<ref name="A Brief History of Search & SEO">{{cite web |title=A Brief History of Search & SEO |url=https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/a-brief-history-of-search-seo |website=blog.hubspot.com |accessdate=6 January 2020}}</ref> By 2010, {{w|content farm}}s appear, designed to lure search engine algorithms. As a response, Google decides that the quality of the content should matter more for search engine rankings, and in 2011 launches its {{w|Google Panda}} update which effectively kills the practice.<ref name="A brief history of Search Engine Optimization (SEO)"/> Toward 2012, Google continues setting restrictions to means of improving users' ranking score and continues penalizing websites using unethical methods of rankings.<ref name="gopbn.comd">{{cite web |title=The History of Search Engine Optimization |url=https://gopbn.com/blog/history-of-seo/ |website=gopbn.com |accessdate=10 January 2020}}</ref>
 +
|-
 +
| 2013–present || Modern SEO era<ref name="The Evolution Of SEO Trends Over 25 Years"/> || Focus moves towards mobile search. In 2014, the app indexing launches, making apps appear alongside websites in search results. In 2015, the so-called ‘Mobilegeddon’ update appears, making website mobile friendliness a ranking signal in searches.<ref name="A brief history of Search Engine Optimization (SEO)"/> By 2017, SEO is considered, for the most part, a conversation with {{w|Google Search}}.<ref name="A Brief History of SEOd"/> 2018 starts with the continuation of mobile as a key focus for search engines.<ref name="A brief history of Search Engine Optimization (SEO)"/> As of 2019, SEO campaigns are much more laborious and complex than they were a decade ago. Users get better relevant results and webmasters and content providers have to provide actual value in order to rank high on search results.<ref name="A Brief History of SEOd"/>
 
|-
 
|-
 
|}
 
|}
  
{| class="wikitable"
+
 
! Time period !! Development summary !! More details
+
== Numerical and visual data  ==
 +
 
 +
=== Google Scholar ===
 +
 
 +
The following table summarizes per-year mentions on Google Scholar as of October 26, 2021.
 +
 
 +
{| class="sortable wikitable"
 +
! Year
 +
! "search engine optimization"
 +
|-
 +
| 2000 || 28
 +
|-
 +
| 2002 || 61
 +
|-
 +
| 2004 || 145
 +
|-
 +
| 2006 || 442
 +
|-
 +
| 2008 || 948
 +
|-
 +
| 2010 || 1,850
 
|-
 
|-
| 1991–2002 || Prelude time<ref name="The Evolution Of SEO Trends Over 25 Years">{{cite web |title=The Evolution Of SEO Trends Over 25 Years |url=https://searchengineland.com/evolution-seo-trends-25-years-223424 |website=searchengineland.com |accessdate=4 January 2020}}</ref> || Early period starting from launch of the world’s first website by {{w|Tim Berners-Lee}}. As websites start crowding the Internet, the first search engines fill a need for structure and accessibility. in 1993, search platforms like Excite revolutionize how information is cataloged and make finding information easier by sorting results based on keywords found within content and backend optimization. Webmasters and content providers begin optimizing websites for search engines in the mid-decade. Yahoo in 1994 and Google in 1997 enter the scene to improve and simplify how data is indexed and delivered. "This is a primitive stage of SEO, in which marketers would leverage keyword stuffing, excessive tagging, and (often spammy) backlinks to generate high rankings in search. Often, major algorithm updates would take several months to complete, allowing black-hat SEO tactics to remain effective for long stretches of time. "  "It was not until 1994, however, that several new search engines became widely accessible to the public. "<ref name="tellmeyourgoal.coms"/>  "However, in 1996, SEO really took off when Sergey Brin and Larry Page began building what would become the biggest, most recognized search engine to date: BackRub. "<ref name="bluefrogdm.coms"/> "The first algorithm crackers appeared around ’97. By decoding a search engine’s ranking algorithm, which at the time was nowhere near impossible, unscrupulous webmasters could get sites into the top 10 results at will. 1997 was the year that several SEO providers decoded all 35 parameters of Excite’s algorithm."<ref name="A Brief History of SEOd">{{cite web |title=A Brief History of SEO |url=https://medium.com/tripika/a-brief-history-of-seo-3b35d7fa34d3 |website=medium.com |accessdate=10 January 2020}}</ref>   
+
| 2012 || 2,830
 
|-
 
|-
| 2003–2005 || Early developments<ref name="The Evolution Of SEO Trends Over 25 Years"/> || "By 2004, the three major search engines that are left, Google, MSN and Yahoo!, start incorporating undisclosed page ranking factors into their algorithms. The era of keyword-spamming SEO is long over. Webmasters and content providers have to rely on more creative ways to promote content and generate inbound links in order to achieve long term increases in SE rankings."<ref name="A Brief History of SEOd"/>
+
| 2014 || 3,240
 
|-
 
|-
| 2006–2009 || "The Middle Ages"<ref name="The Evolution Of SEO Trends Over 25 Years"/> ||
+
| 2016 || 3,770
 
|-
 
|-
| 2010–2012 || "The Enlightenment "<ref name="The Evolution Of SEO Trends Over 25 Years"/> || "That year also saw a growing importance of social media content in SEO. " "While the 2009 introduction of Google's real-time search had some social ramifications, social media is becoming a more pivotal piece of SEO strategy."<ref name="A Brief History of Search & SEO"/> "By 2010 a tactic had appeared where websites were created from large amounts of low-quality textual content, frequently updated and specifically designed to lure search engine algorithms. These sites were linked together forming so-called ‘content farms’ whose only purpose was to drive search engine traffic and, just like doorway pages before them, sending the incoming traffic to the final destination.
+
| 2018 || 4,660
As a response, Google decided that the quality of the content should matter more for search engine rankings, and in 2011 launched its ‘Panda’ update which effectively killed the practice. This was later followed by ‘Penguin’ which focused on websites that contained irrelevant links, sneakily added to the otherwise relevant content to the visitor."<ref name="A brief history of Search Engine Optimization (SEO)"/> "2010-2012 Google Sets the Table of SEO" "Google, once again, began setting restrictions to means of improving your ranking score and continue penalizing websites using unethical methods of rankings."<ref name="gopbn.comd">{{cite web |title=The History of Search Engine Optimization |url=https://gopbn.com/blog/history-of-seo/ |website=gopbn.com |accessdate=10 January 2020}}</ref>
 
 
|-
 
|-
| 2013–present || Modern SEO era<ref name="The Evolution Of SEO Trends Over 25 Years"/> || "Then focus moved towards mobile. First in 2014, with the launch of app indexing making apps appear alongside websites in search results and then in 2015 with the so-called ‘Mobilegeddon’ update that made website mobile friendliness a ranking signal in searches."<ref name="A brief history of Search Engine Optimization (SEO)"/> "2018 started with the continuation of mobile as a key focus for search engines."<ref name="A brief history of Search Engine Optimization (SEO)"/> "By 2017, SEO is, for the most part, a conversation with Google Search. Google has over 70% of today’s search engine users and is thus the place you have to be in in order to start driving organic traffic your way. SEO campaigns are much more laborious and complex now than they were a decade ago, but this is largely a good thing. Users get better relevant results and webmasters and content providers have to provide actual value in order to rank high on search results."<ref name="A Brief History of SEOd"/>
+
| 2020 || 5,340
 
|-
 
|-
 
|}
 
|}
 +
 +
[[File:Search engine optimization gscho.png|thumb|center|700px]]
 +
 +
=== Google Trends ===
 +
 +
The chart below shows {{w|Google Trends}} data for Search engine optimization (Topic), from January 2004 to April 2021, when the screenshot was taken. Interest is also ranked by country and displayed on world map.<ref>{{cite web |title=Search engine optimization |url=https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=all&q=%2Fm%2F019qb_ |website=Google Trends |access-date=16 April 2021}}</ref>
 +
 +
[[File:Search engine optimization gt.png|thumb|center|600px]]
 +
 +
The chart below shows {{w|Google Ngram Viewer}} data for Search engine optimization, from 1990 to 2019.<ref>{{cite web |title=Search engine optimization |url=https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=Search+engine+optimization&year_start=1990&year_end=2019&corpus=26&smoothing=3 |website=books.google.com |access-date=16 April 2021 |language=en}}</ref>
 +
 +
[[File:Search engine optimization ngram.png|thumb|center|700px]]
 +
 +
=== Wikipedia Views ===
 +
 +
The chart below shows pageviews of the English Wikipedia article {{w|Search engine optimization}}, on desktop from December 2007, and on mobile-web, desktop-spider, mobile-web-spider and mobile app, from July 2015; to March 2021.<ref>{{cite web |title=Search engine optimization |url=https://wikipediaviews.org/displayviewsformultiplemonths.php?page=Search+engine+optimization&allmonths=allmonths&language=en&drilldown=all |website=wikipediaviews.org |access-date=16 April 2021}}</ref>
 +
 +
[[File:Search engine optimization wv.png|thumb|center|450px]]
  
 
==Full timeline==
 
==Full timeline==
  
 
{| class="sortable wikitable"
 
{| class="sortable wikitable"
! Year !! Month and date !! Event type !! Details
+
! Year !! Month and date !! Search engine (when applicable) !! Event type !! Details
 +
|-
 +
| 1991 || || || Early development || The first website is developed for the [[w:SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (work)|Stanford Linear Accelerator Center]].<ref name="William R.">{{cite book |last1=Parkhurst |first1=William R. |title=Routing First-step |url=https://books.google.com.ar/books?id=IzR8ycHGTEkC&pg=PA279&lpg=PA279&dq=%221993%22+%22600+websites%22&source=bl&ots=P7bG2az1m1&sig=ACfU3U3M67pbWKsSJifP7hSGSq3Lw_eiqA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwith_WnuNToAhVzIrkGHWoCCHkQ6AEwCnoECAUQKQ#v=onepage&q=%221993%22%20%22600%20websites%22&f=false}}</ref> It is believed that {{w|SEO}} is born in this year, with the launch of the first website.<ref name="bluefrogdm.coms">{{cite web |title=A BRIEF HISTORY OF SEO |url=https://www.bluefrogdm.com/blog/a-brief-history-of-seo |website=bluefrogdm.com |accessdate=7 January 2020}}</ref>
 +
|-
 +
| 1994 || || || Early developent || Greg Boser discovers that he could use the Internet to sell protective foam equipment to fight fires. Boser builds a website and starts seeking ways to drive potential customers to his site for sales.<ref name="thehistoryofseo.com">{{cite web |title=The History of Search Engine Optimization |url=http://www.thehistoryofseo.com/The-Industry/The_History_of_Search_Engine_Optimization.aspx|website=thehistoryofseo.com |accessdate=6 January 2020}}</ref>
 +
|-
 +
| 1995 || || || Organization || John Audette forms Multi-Media Marketing Group, which would produce a popular newsletter with tips for influencing search engines.<ref>{{cite book |title=The SAGE Handbook of Web History |edition=Niels Brügger, Ian Milligan |url=https://books.google.com.ar/books?id=PENeDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT437&lpg=PT437&dq=%22Multi-Media+Marketing+Group%22+%221995%22&source=bl&ots=dkUwAwaqG4&sig=ACfU3U3qN4RdZPOMmvB-2cBZdyolmNaMiA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjNlcW0-YvpAhUSA9QKHXKUCL8Q6AEwCnoECAoQAQ#v=onepage&q=%22Multi-Media%20Marketing%20Group%22%20%221995%22&f=false}}</ref><ref name="thehistoryofseo.com"/> 
 +
|-
 +
| 1996 || April 1 || || SEO tool launch || Alexa Internet is founded. It offers commercial online traffic data and analytics.<ref>{{cite web |title=Alexa Internet SuccessStory |url=https://successstory.com/companies/alexa-internet#:~:text=Alexa%20Internet%20SuccessStory-,Profile,owned%20subsidiary%20of%20Amazon.com. |website=successstory.com |accessdate=28 June 2020}}</ref>
 +
|-
 +
| 1996 || Aptil || || || The report ''A Webmaster’s Guide To Search Engines'' by Danny Sullivan is published.<ref name=sew-history/><ref name=usatoday-sew/>
 +
|-
 +
| 1996 || May 22 || || {{w|Spamdexing}} || The earliest known reference<ref name="wspy">"Word Spy - spamdexing" (definition), March 2003, webpage:[http://www.wordspy.com/words/spamdexing.asp WordSpy-spamdexing].</ref> to the term ''{{w|spamdexing}}'' is by Eric Convey, who says:
 +
 
 +
<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>
 
|-
 
|-
| 1945 || || || American engineer {{w|Vannevar Bush}} introduces the concept of “collection of data and observations, the extraction of parallel material from the existing record, and the final insertion of new material into the general body of the common record.<ref name="amcodigital.com">{{cite web |title=THE HISTORY OF SEO (SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION) |url=https://www.amcodigital.com/history-of-seo/ |website=amcodigital.com |accessdate=7 January 2020}}</ref> Bush emphasizes the necessity for an expansive index for all knowledge, stating: "[Information] has been extended far beyond our present ability to make real use of the record. A record, if it is to be useful to science, must be continuously extended, it must be stored...Our ineptitude in getting at the record is largely caused by the artificiality of the systems of indexing. The human mind does not work this way. It operates by association."<ref name="whatisseo.comd">{{cite web |title=History of Search Engines |url=https://www.whatisseo.com/history-of-search-engines.html |website=whatisseo.com |accessdate=7 January 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Pariser |first1=Eli |title=The Filter Bubble: What The Internet Is Hiding From You |url=https://books.google.com.ar/books?id=-FWO0puw3nYC&pg=PT165&dq=vannevar+bush+1945+collection+of+data&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjnm735idToAhXtIbkGHfNICPgQ6AEIKDAA#v=onepage&q=vannevar%20bush%201945%20collection%20of%20data&f=false}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Miller |first1=Gary |last2=Benke |first2=Meg |last3=Chaloux |first3=Bruce |last4=Ragan |first4=Lawrence C. |last5=Schroeder |first5=Raymond |last6=Smutz |first6=Wayne |last7=Swan |first7=Karen |title=Leading the e-Learning Transformation of Higher Education: Meeting the Challenges of Technology and Distance Education |url=https://books.google.com.ar/books?id=6jeFAwAAQBAJ&pg=PT84&dq=vannevar+bush+1945+collection+of+data&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjnm735idToAhXtIbkGHfNICPgQ6AEISjAE#v=onepage&q=vannevar%20bush%201945%20collection%20of%20data&f=false}}</ref>
+
| 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>
 
|-
 
|-
| 1987 || || || Search engine [[w:Archie (search engine)|Archie]] begins as a project for students and staff at {{w|McGill University}}, with aims to connect the McGill University School of Computer Science to the internet.<ref name="tellmeyourgoal.coms">{{cite web |title=The History of Search Engine Optimization |url=https://www.tellmeyourgoal.com/the-history-of-search-engine-optimization |website=tellmeyourgoal.com |accessdate=10 January 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=ARCHIE SEARCH ENGINE FROM MCGILL UNIVERSITY |url=http://www.historyofdomainnames.com/archie/ |website=historyofdomainnames.com |accessdate=6 April 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=ARCHIE SEARCH ENGINE |url=http://community.worldheritage.org/articles/eng/Archie_search_engine |website=worldheritage.org |accessdate=6 April 2020}}</ref>
+
| 1997 || June || || Website launch || Search Engine Watch is started by [[w:Danny Sullivan (technologist)|Danny Sullivan]], building upon his April 1996 report ''A Webmaster's Guide to Search Engines''.<ref name=sew-history>{{cite web|url = https://www.searchenginewatch.com/history-of-sew/|title = History of SEW|publisher = Search Engine Watch|accessdate = June 13, 2021}}</ref> An article in USA Today on August 2006 would quote Google's {{w|Matt Cutts}} and Yahoo's Tim Mayer praising Search Engine Watch.<ref name=usatoday-sew>{{cite web|url = https://usatoday30.usatoday.com/tech/news/2006-08-01-sullivan-search_x.htm|title = Got a search engine question? Ask Mr. Sullivan|date = August 1, 2006|accessdate = June 13, 2021|publisher = USA Today}}</ref>
 
|-
 
|-
| 1990 || || || McGill University student {{w|Alan Emtage}} launches [[w:Archie (search engine)|Archie]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Archie |url=https://twitter.com/mcgillu/status/1039248155211124737?lang=en |website=twitter.com |accessdate=6 April 2020}}</ref> Designed to search and store directory listings on file transfer protocol sites, it is considered by some to be the very first [[w:Web search engine|search engine]]<ref name="A Brief History of Search & SEO"/> Archie searches {{w|File Transfer Protocol}} (FTP) sites to create index of downloadable files. Due to limited space, only the listings are available and not for the contents for each site.<ref name="wordstream.come"/><ref name="amcodigital.com"/><ref name="whatisseo.comd"/><ref name="seo.comf"/>
+
| 1997 || September || {{w|Google}} || Background || <code>google.com</code> is registered as a domain name.<ref>{{cite web |title=Google domain name was registered 20 years ago |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/heres-what-google-looked-like-the-first-day-it-launched-in-1998-2017-9 |website=businessinsider.com |accessdate=10 April 2020}}</ref>  
 
|-
 
|-
| 1990 || || || "Search Methods Before the Internet – Phonebook"<ref name="seo.comf"/>
+
| 1999 || November 18 || || Conference || {{w|Search Engine Strategies}} (SES) takes place as the first-ever all search marketing conference.<ref name="20 Years of SEO: A Brief History of Search Engine Optimization"/><ref name="amcodigital.com">{{cite web |title=THE HISTORY OF SEO (SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION) |url=https://www.amcodigital.com/history-of-seo/ |website=amcodigital.com |accessdate=7 January 2020}}</ref><ref name="seo.comf"/>
 
|-
 
|-
| 1991 || || || English computer scientist {{w|Tim Berners-Lee}} in {{w|Geneva}} launches his WWW Virtual Library <code>vlib.org</code>. It is considered the oldest catalog on the [[w:World Wide Web|Web]].<ref name="wordstream.come">{{cite web |title=THE HISTORY OF SEARCH ENGINES |url=https://www.wordstream.com/articles/internet-search-engines-history |website=wordstream.com |accessdate=7 January 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Van Rys |first1=John |last2=Meyer |first2=Verne |last3=Sebranek |first3=Patrick |title=The Research Writer, Spiral bound Version |url=https://books.google.com.ar/books?id=g4HP5TIs2-cC&pg=PA84&dq=Tim+Berners-Lee+set+up+a+Virtual+Library+%221991%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi2l_vUlNToAhXTILkGHRNVD5IQ6AEIKDAA#v=onepage&q=Tim%20Berners-Lee%20set%20up%20a%20Virtual%20Library%20%221991%22&f=false}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Scheeren |first1=William O. |title=The Hidden Web: A Sourcebook |url=https://books.google.com.ar/books?id=KgTqbPXQqroC&pg=PA46&dq=Tim+Berners-Lee+set+up+a+Virtual+Library+%221991%22+vlib.org&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjCgvDOltToAhWNI7kGHTwQCDIQ6AEIMzAB#v=onepage&q=Tim%20Berners-Lee%20set%20up%20a%20Virtual%20Library%20%221991%22%20vlib.org&f=false}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Tortosa |first1=Virgilio |title=Escrituras digitales: tecnologías de la creación en la era virtual |url=https://books.google.com.ar/books?id=5UF-g_q2rqQC&pg=PA179&dq=Tim+Berners-Lee+set+up+a+Virtual+Library+%221991%22+vlib.org&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjCgvDOltToAhWNI7kGHTwQCDIQ6AEIPDAC#v=onepage&q=Tim%20Berners-Lee%20set%20up%20a%20Virtual%20Library%20%221991%22%20vlib.org&f=false}}</ref>
+
| 1999 || || || {{w|Spamdexing}} || {{w|Link farm}}s are first developed by [[w:search engine optimization|search engine optimizers]] (SEOs) to take advantage of the [[w:Inktomi (company)|Inktomi]] search engine's dependence upon link popularity.<ref>{{cite book |title=Complete Digital Marketing Guide Book for SEO, Social Media & Brand awareness: Definitive & Hidden Secrets of Digital Marketing to grow your business |publisher=Publicancy |url=https://books.google.com.ar/books?id=rkXHDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA87&lpg=PA87&dq=Link+farms+were+first+developed+by+search+engine+optimizers+(SEOs)+in+1999+to+take+advantage+of+the+Inktomi+search+engine%27s+dependence+upon+link+popularity&source=bl&ots=FNmwxiQUqB&sig=ACfU3U31uGMX92Rr6f0XUYbO2WaZqojgJA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjqp9LjqqLqAhVXHrkGHWfSB20Q6AEwAXoECAoQAQ#v=onepage&q=Link%20farms%20were%20first%20developed%20by%20search%20engine%20optimizers%20(SEOs)%20in%201999%20to%20take%20advantage%20of%20the%20Inktomi%20search%20engine's%20dependence%20upon%20link%20popularity&f=false}}</ref>
 
|-
 
|-
| 1991 || || || The first website is developed for the [[w:SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory (work)|Stanford Linear Accelerator Center]].<ref name="William R.">{{cite book |last1=Parkhurst |first1=William R. |title=Routing First-step |url=https://books.google.com.ar/books?id=IzR8ycHGTEkC&pg=PA279&lpg=PA279&dq=%221993%22+%22600+websites%22&source=bl&ots=P7bG2az1m1&sig=ACfU3U3M67pbWKsSJifP7hSGSq3Lw_eiqA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwith_WnuNToAhVzIrkGHWoCCHkQ6AEwCnoECAUQKQ#v=onepage&q=%221993%22%20%22600%20websites%22&f=false}}</ref>
+
| 1999 || || {{w|Google}} || {{w|Spamdexing}} || [[w:Google bombing|Google bombs]] date back to this year, when a search for "more evil than Satan himself" results in the {{w|Microsoft}} homepage as the top result.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.clickz.com/google-bombs-arent-so-scary/61942/|accessdate=27 June 2020|title=Google Bombs Aren't So Scary|first=Danny|last=Sullivan|date=March 18, 2002|work=ClickZ}}</ref><ref name="searchenginepeople.com">{{cite web |title=The 10 Most Incredible Google Bombs |url=https://www.searchenginepeople.com/blog/incredible-google-bombs.html |website=searchenginepeople.com |accessdate=27 June 2020}}</ref>
 +
|-
 +
| 2000 || || {{w|Yahoo!}}, {{w|Google}} || Background || In what is considered to be the worst strategic move in search history<ref name="dailytechmonde.blogspot.com">{{cite web |title=Story SEO: Search Engine Optimization |url=https://dailytechmonde.blogspot.com/2019/12/search-engine-optimization-story.html |website=dailytechmonde.blogspot.com |accessdate=27 April 2020}}</ref>, {{w|Yahoo!}} partners with {{w|Google}} and lets Google power their organic results instead of {{w|Inktomi}}. At this time Google is a little-known search engine. After this, every Yahoo search result would say “Powered by Google”, with Yahoo! ending up introducing their largest competitor to the world and Google becoming a household name.<ref name="20 Years of SEO: A Brief History of Search Engine Optimization"/>  
 
|-
 
|-
| 1991 || || || "It is believed that SEO was born in 1991. Around this time, the world’s first website was launched, and one quickly turned into many as websites crowded the internet. So, there was a huge need for structure and accessibility, and the world’s first search engines were created. "<ref name="bluefrogdm.coms">{{cite web |title=A BRIEF HISTORY OF SEO |url=https://www.bluefrogdm.com/blog/a-brief-history-of-seo |website=bluefrogdm.com |accessdate=7 January 2020}}</ref>
+
| 2000 || || || Conference || Pubcon launches in {{w|London}} as the first of a large search conference series.<ref>{{cite web |title=10 Things You Might Not Know About Pubcon |url=https://www.pubcon.com/10-things-you-might-not-know-about-pubcon |website=pubcon.com |accessdate=20 April 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=15 Facts About #Pubcon You May Not Know |url=https://www.searchenginejournal.com/15-facts-pubcon-may-not-know/140298/#close |website=searchenginejournal.com |accessdate=20 April 2020}}</ref>
 
|-
 
|-
| 1991 || || || [[w:Gopher (protocol)|Gopher]] system is released by Mark P. McCahill, Farhad Anklesaria, Paul Lindner, Daniel Torrey, and Bob Alberti of the {{w|University of Minnesota}}<ref name="wwwunleashed">{{cite book|last=December|last2=Randall|first=John|first2=Neil|page=[https://archive.org/details/worldwidewebunle00dece/page/20 20]|title=The World Wide Web unleashed|year=1994|publisher=Sams Publishing|isbn=1-57521-040-1|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/worldwidewebunle00dece/page/20}}</ref> Gopher is considered to be the first search engine using a hypertext paradigm.<ref name="thehistoryofseo.com">{{cite web |title=The History of Search Engine Optimization |url=http://www.thehistoryofseo.com/The-Industry/The_History_of_Search_Engine_Optimization.aspx |website=thehistoryofseo.com |accessdate=6 January 2020}}</ref>
+
| 2000 || || || SEO tool launch || WebCEO is founded.<ref>{{cite web |title=WebCEO |url=https://www.linkedin.com/company/web-ceo/ |website=linkedin.com |accessdate=28 June 2020}}</ref> It offers SEO tool kit for digital agencies.<ref>{{cite web |title=SEO & Digital Marketing Tools |url=https://www.webceo.com/ |website=webceo.com |accessdate=28 June 2020}}</ref>  
 
|-
 
|-
| 1993 || February || || Six Stanford students create Architext, a project seeking to use statistical analysis of word relationships to improve relevancy of searches on the Internet. Architext would later become the search engine {{w|Excite}}.<ref name="thehistoryofseo.com">{{cite web |title=Short History of Early Search Engines |url=http://www.thehistoryofseo.com/The-Industry/Short_History_of_Early_Search_Engines.aspx |website=thehistoryofseo.com |accessdate=6 April 2020}}</ref> Excite would revolutionize how information is categorized, making it easier to find information “by sorting results based on keywords found within content and backend optimization.<ref name="A Brief History of Search & SEO">{{cite web |title=A Brief History of Search & SEO |url=https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/a-brief-history-of-search-seo |website=blog.hubspot.com |accessdate=6 January 2020}}</ref><ref name="bluefrogdm.coms"/><ref>{{cite book |last1=Livingston |first1=Jessica |title=Founders at Work: Stories of Startups' Early Days |url=https://books.google.com.ar/books?id=ktm885vGIXEC&pg=PA61&dq=%22architext%22+%221993%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiWiPeJsdToAhXPFbkGHU-sCR4Q6AEIPzAD#v=onepage&q=%22architext%22%20%221993%22&f=false}}</ref>
+
| 2000 || October 23 || {{w|Google}} || Service launch || {{w|Google AdWords}} launches.<ref name="20 Years of SEO: A Brief History of Search Engine Optimization"/> It is a pay-per-click online advertising platform that allows advertisers to display their ads on Google's search engine results page.<ref>{{cite web |title=How Does Google AdWords Work? The Basics of Google Ads |url=https://www.freshbooks.com/hub/marketing/how-does-google-adwords-work |website=freshbooks.com |accessdate=28 April 2020}}</ref>
 
|-
 
|-
| 1993 || || || The graphical Mosaic web browser improves [[w:Gopher (protocol)|Gopher]]’s primarily text-based interface.<ref name="thehistoryofseo.com"/>
+
| 2000 || December 11 || {{w|Google}} || Notable update || {{w|Google Toolbar}} becomes available as a web browser toolbar for {{w|Internet Explorer}}, allowing SEO practitioners to see their {{w|PageRank}} score (a number between 0-10).<ref>{{cite web |title=Google Toolbar History |url=http://www.seobythesea.com/2007/07/google-toolbar-history/ |website=seobythesea.com |accessdate=28 April 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Google Toolbar & GTPR – Google Algorithm Update December 11, 2000 |url=https://www.seocandyland.com/blog/seo-blog/google-algorithm-updates/google-toolbar-google-algorithm-update-december-2000/ |website=seocandyland.com |accessdate=28 April 2020}}</ref><ref name="20 Years of SEO: A Brief History of Search Engine Optimization"/><ref name="amcodigital.com"/>  
 
|-
 
|-
| 1993 || June || || Matthew Gray at {{w|MIT}} develops the web crawler, {{w|World Wide Web Wanderer}}, to measure the size of the Web.<ref name="A Brief History of Search & SEO"/><ref name="wordstream.come"/> "Wanderer – The first web crawler to measure the size of the web. Created by Matthew Gray"<ref name="seo.comf"/>  
+
| 2001 || || || Concept development || Danny Sullivan, a prominent industry writer, unsuccessfully suggests the term "search engine marketing" as a successor to "search engine optimization", with the purpose to cover the spectrum of activities involved in performing SEO, managing paid listings at the search engines, submitting sites to directories, and developing online marketing strategies for businesses, organizations, and individuals.<ref name="20 Years of SEO: A Brief History of Search Engine Optimization"/><ref name="researchgate.nete">{{cite web |title=History Of Search Engines |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/265104813_History_Of_Search_Engines |website=researchgate.net |accessdate=10 January 2020}}</ref>  
 
|-
 
|-
| 1993 || October || Search engine launch || Web search engine {{w|Aliweb}} launches. Created by Martijn Koster, it allows users to submit the locations of index files on their sites.<ref name="seo.comf"/><ref>{{cite book |last1=Maze |first1=Susan |last2=Moxley |first2=David |last3=Smith |first3=Donna J. |title=Authoritative Guide to Web Search Engines |url=https://books.google.com.ar/books?id=ZkxqAAAAMAAJ&q=%22Aliweb%22+%221993%22&dq=%22Aliweb%22+%221993%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjUwJaDttToAhUiHbkGHb6JDMsQ6AEIYzAH}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Auxiliar Administrativo. Servicio Canario de Salud. SCS. Temario Vol. II. |edition=Editorial CEP |url=https://books.google.com.ar/books?id=7y-xDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA326&dq=%22Aliweb%22+%221993%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjUwJaDttToAhUiHbkGHb6JDMsQ6AEIODAC#v=onepage&q=%22Aliweb%22%20%221993%22&f=false}}</ref><ref name="ddd">{{cite book |title=Enhancing the Power of the Internet |edition=Masoud Nikravesh, Ben Azvine, Ronald R. Yager, Lofti A. Zadeh |url=https://books.google.com.ar/books?id=R2f8CAAAQBAJ&pg=PA17&dq=%22Aliweb%22+%221993%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjUwJaDttToAhUiHbkGHb6JDMsQ6AEIMDAB#v=onepage&q=%22Aliweb%22%20%221993%22&f=false}}</ref>
+
| 2001 || Year round || {{w|Google}} || Background || Users massively abandon old search engines like {{w|Lycos}}, {{w|Excite}}, {{w|AltaVista}} and {{w|Hotbot}}, and move their interest towards {{w|Google}}.<ref name="A Brief History of SEOd"/><ref name="seo.comf"/> Brett Tabke, Founder of WebmasterWorld, comments: “Many SEOs have sleepless nights as we realize it is Google or bust.”  <ref name="seo.comf"/>  
 
|-
 
|-
| 1993 || || || There are approximately 600 websites online at the time.<ref name="seo.comf"/><ref name="William R."/>
+
| 2002 || November 15 || || {{w|SEO contest}} || {{w|Schnitzelmitkartoffelsalat}} is launched by German webmasters as the first recorded SEO Contest.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Lenssen |first1=Philipp |title=55 Ways to Have Fun with Google |url=https://books.google.com.ar/books?id=-XDkb3htVikC&pg=PA29&lpg=PA29&dq=2002+November+15+SEO+contest+Schnitzelmitkartoffelsalat&source=bl&ots=q0Mc3fYinG&sig=ACfU3U3KvITDxH4FENSsEr6Rk13eRt-LhA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjYzZiqi97oAhWRIrkGHeHcCnMQ6AEwAXoECAwQKw#v=onepage&q=2002%20November%2015%20SEO%20contest%20Schnitzelmitkartoffelsalat&f=false}}</ref>  
 
|-  
 
|-  
| 1993 || || || The are about 10 million internet users at the time.<ref name="seo.comf"/>
+
| 2002 || || {{w|Google}} || Service launch || {{w|Google}} announces the launch of [[W:Google Shopping|Froogle]], a free product listing and price comparison service where users can discover various products from across the vendors, sort them and make a purchase.<ref name="seo.comf"/><ref>{{cite web |title=AN INTRODUCTION TO GOOGLE SHOPPING |url=https://blog.adnabu.com/google-shopping-introduction/ |website=blog.adnabu.com |accessdate=28 April 2020}}</ref> 
 +
|-
 +
| 2003 || || {{w|Google}} || Product launch || After acquiring [[w:Blogger (service)|Blogger.com]], Google launches [[w:Google AdSense|AdSense]], which serves contextually targeted Google AdWords ads on publisher sites.<ref name="20 Years of SEO: A Brief History of Search Engine Optimization"/>
 +
|-
 +
| 2003 || || || Website launch || Search Engine Roundtable is started by [[w:Barry Schwartz (technologist)|Barry Schwartz]] for discussion of advanced SEO topics.<ref>{{cite web|url = https://www.contentkingapp.com/blog/future-of-seo-barry-schwartz/|title = The Future of SEO w/ Barry Schwartz|author = Steven van Vessum|date = November 3, 2020|accessdate = June 13, 2021|publisher = ContentKing}}</ref>
 +
|-
 +
| 2003 || || || Website launch || SEO news website Search Engine Journal is started.<ref>{{cite web|url = https://www.searchenginejournal.com/about/|title = About|publisher = Search Engine Journal|accessdate = June 13, 2021}}</ref>
 +
|-
 +
| 2003 || || || SEO evolution || {{w|Blog}}ging becomes popular and is utilized for SEO. {{w|Blogger}} and {{w|WordPress}} become widely used.<ref name="seo.comf"/>
 +
|-
 +
| 2003 || April 3 || {{w|Google}} || {{w|Spamdexing}} || The term ''[[w:Google bombing|Googlewashing]]'' is coined by {{w|Andrew Orlowski}} to describe the use of {{w|media manipulation}} to change the perception of a term, or push out competition from {{w|search engine results page}}s (SERPs).<ref>{{cite news|last=Orlowski|first=Andrew|url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2003/04/03/antiwar_slogan_coined_repurposed/|title=Anti-war slogan coined, repurposed and Googlewashed ... in 42 days.|date=April 3, 2003|work=The Register|accessdate=January 6, 2007}}</ref><ref name="AdamsMcCrindle2008">{{cite book|author1=Andrew A. Adams|author2=Rachel McCrindle|title=Pandora's Box: Social and Professional Issues of the Information Age|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dXmx97UzO6IC&pg=PA122|accessdate=30 September 2012|date=15 February 2008|publisher=John Wiley & Sons|isbn=978-0-470-06553-2|pages=122–123}}</ref>
 +
|-
 +
| 2003 || November 16 || {{w|Google}} || Notable update || Google launches its Google Florida update, aimed at combatting {{w|keyword stuffing}}<ref>{{cite web |title=Google Florida: The First Major Algorithm Update |url=https://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-algorithm-history/florida-update/#close |website=searchenginejournal.com |accessdate=23 June 2020}}</ref>, a practice consisting in loading a webpage with keywords or numbers in an attempt to manipulate a site's ranking in search results.<ref>{{cite web |title=Irrelevant keywords |url=https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/66358?hl=en |website=support.google.com |accessdate=29 June 2020}}</ref>
 +
|-
 +
| 2004 || March || || {{w|SEO contest}} || Promoweb agency organizes the first French-speaking contest, ''Mangeur de Cigogne'' (eater of stork).<ref name="dsdf">{{cite web |title=SEO contests or web ranking competitions |url=http://www.noname.fr/concours-de-referencement/seo-contest.html |website=noname.fr |accessdate=28 April 2020}}</ref>
 +
|-
 +
| 2004 || May || || {{w|SEO contest}} || Nigritude Ultramarine 2004 launches as the first english language SEO competition, created by darkblue.com and run by SearchGuild.<ref name="Previous SEO Competitions">{{cite web |title=Previous SEO Competitions |url=https://beanseohero.com/seo-competitions.php |website=beanseohero.com |accessdate=8 January 2020}}</ref>
 +
|-
 +
| 2004 || August || || {{w|SEO contest}} || A new contest of SEO is organized in the {{w|United Kingdom}} by a web agency, based this time on keywords seraphim proudleduck.<ref name="dsdf"/> This contest is presented by Salmonbones.<ref name="Previous SEO Competitions"/> 
 +
|-
 +
| 2004 || || {{w|Google}} || Notable update || Google and other top search engines start improving results for queries that have a geographic intent (e.g., a restaurant, plumber, or some other type of business or service provider in the user's location).<ref name="20 Years of SEO: A Brief History of Search Engine Optimization"/>
 
|-
 
|-
| 1993 || || || "Primitive Web Search"<ref name="tellmeyourgoal.coms"/>
+
| 2004 || || {{w|Google}} || Notable update || {{w|Google}} and other search engines begin making greater use of end-user data, such as search history and interests, to personalize search results. This means that the results the user sees could be different than what another person obtains sitting next to the user in another computer when searching for the same query.<ref name="20 Years of SEO: A Brief History of Search Engine Optimization"/>
 
|-
 
|-
| 1993 || Late year || || {{w|World Wide Web Wanderer}} is used to generate an index called the "Wandex", an early web search engine.<ref>{{cite web |title=The First Web Search Engine? |url=historyofinformation |website=historyofinformation.com |accessdate=6 April 2020}}</ref> {{w|Wandex}} becomes the first search engine to crawl the web indexing and searching indexed pages on the Web.<ref name="thehistoryofseo.com"/><ref>{{cite book |last1=Odom |first1=Sean |title=Seo for 2011: Search Engine Optimization Secrets |url=https://books.google.com.ar/books?id=A-dVj39Q71oC&pg=PA13&dq=%22Wandex%22+%221993%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjhi8zRr9ToAhXHEbkGHcddBP0Q6AEIKDAA#v=onepage&q=%22Wandex%22%20%221993%22&f=false}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Ledford |first1=Jerri L. |title=Search Engine Optimization Bible |url=https://books.google.com.ar/books?id=2Gz-CAAAQBAJ&pg=PA5&dq=%22Wandex%22+%221993%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjhi8zRr9ToAhXHEbkGHcddBP0Q6AEIMTAB#v=onepage&q=%22Wandex%22%20%221993%22&f=false}}</ref>
+
| 2004 || || || SEO tool launch || [[w:Moz (marketing software)|SEO Moz]] is founded by Rand Fiskin. First a blog, SEOmoz would grow to become one of the largest providers of SEO Tools.<ref name="seo.comf"/>  
 
|-
 
|-
| 1994 || January || || {{w|Stanford University}} students {{w|Jerry Wang}} and {{w|David Filo}} create {{w|Yahoo!}} in a campus trailer. Yahoo starts originally as an Internet bookmark list and directory of interesting sites. Webmasters have to manually submit their page to the Yahoo directory for indexing so that it would be there for Yahoo to find when someone performed a search.<ref>{{cite book |last1=So |first1=Shermon |last2=Westland |first2=J.Christopher |title=Red Wired: China’s Internet revolution |url=https://books.google.com.ar/books?id=vbqIAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA1&dq=%22yahoo%22+%221994%22+%22wang%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwidqce2vtToAhX4HLkGHcw-BL4Q6AEIVDAF#v=onepage&q=%22yahoo%22%20%221994%22%20%22wang%22&f=false}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Huff |first1=Priscilla Y |title=Business and Industry |url=https://books.google.com.ar/books?id=mywYAAAAIAAJ&q=%22yahoo%22+%221994%22+%22wang%22+%22filo%22&dq=%22yahoo%22+%221994%22+%22wang%22+%22filo%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiNs-HSvtToAhWNErkGHVkZBGkQ6AEIKDAA}}</ref><ref name="20 Years of SEO: A Brief History of Search Engine Optimization"/><ref name="wordstream.come"/>
+
| 2004 || || || SEO tool launch || SEO tool company Sistrix launches.<ref>{{cite web|url = https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/sistrix-gmbh|title = Sistrix|publisher = CrunchBase|accessdate = June 12, 2021}}</ref> Their analyses of Google algorithm updates would often be cited on Search Engine Land.
 
|-
 
|-
| 1994 || || || " the first full-text search engine, WebCrawler created in 1994 by Brian Pinkerton. Prior to this, only webpage names/domains were indexed in catalogues."<ref name="whatisseo.comd"/> "WebCrawler – First search engine to index full web pages and allow searchers to search with any word."<ref name="seo.comf"/>
+
| 2004 || || {{w|Google}}, {{w|MSN}}, {{w|Yahoo!}} || Notable update || The three major search engines that are left, {{w|Google}}, {{w|MSN}} and {{w|Yahoo!}}, start incorporating undisclosed page ranking factors into their algorithms.<ref name="A Brief History of SEOd"/>
 
|-
 
|-
| 1994 || || || "The earliest pioneers in the field of SEO also found the Internet not only interesting, but a viable industry money maker. For example in 1994, Greg Boser discovered that he could use the Internet to sell protective foam equipment to fight fires. He built a website and started seeking ways to drive potential customers to his site for sales."<ref name="thehistoryofseo.com"/>
+
| 2005 || January || {{w|Google}}, {{w|MSN}}, {{w|Yahoo!}} || Background || {{w|Google}} unites with {{w|Yahoo!}} and {{w|MSN}} for the {{w|nofollow}} attribute, which is created in part to decrease the amount of spammy links and comments on websites, especially blogs.<ref name="A Brief History of Search & SEO"/>  
 
|-
 
|-
| 1994 || || || The number of websites grows to 10,000, up from 600 websites in 1993.<ref name="William R."/>
+
| 2005 || March 1 || || {{w|SEO contest}} || Loquine Glupe is held. It is hosted by <code>webmaster-forums.co.uk</code>.<ref name="Previous SEO Competitions"/>  
 
|-
 
|-
| 1995 || || || " For example in 1995, John Audette formed Multi-Media Marketing Group (MMG) in Lake Oswego, Oregon on the sale of 4,000 copies of his $30 online book about marketing on the World Wide Web."<ref name="thehistoryofseo.com"/>
+
| 2005 || April || || SEO tool launch || {{w|SpyFu}} launches.<ref>{{cite web |title=List of Free Courses and Tools That You Can Use for Free During the Coronavirus Lockdown. |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/readersblog/hoho-media-agency/list-of-free-courses-and-tools-that-you-can-use-for-free-during-the-coronavirus-lockdown-12407/ |website=timesofindia.indiatimes.com |accessdate=28 June 2020}}</ref> It is a keyword research and competitive intelligence tool used by digital marketers to improve their performance in online search.<ref>{{cite web |title=SpyFu Review, Pricing & Features: Best SEO Tool for Competitor Keyword Research |url=https://www.softwarepundit.com/seo/spyfu-review-pricing-features |website=softwarepundit.com |accessdate=28 June 2020}}</ref>
 
|-
 
|-
| 1995 || Late year || || {{w|Excite}} is commercially released as a crawling search engine.<ref>{{cite book |last1=DESAI |first1=SANDEEP |last2=SRIVASTAVA |first2=ABHISHEK |title=SOFTWARE TESTING : A Practical Approach |url=https://books.google.com.ar/books?id=B4sQDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA280&dq=Excite+1995&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwibwo7-pNToAhVFE7kGHU08B3kQ6AEIQjAD#v=onepage&q=Excite%201995&f=false}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Comm |first1=Joel |title=Click Here to Order: Stories of the World's Most Successful Internet Marketing Entrepreneurs |url=https://books.google.com.ar/books?id=YkEdWYvuUk8C&pg=PA263&dq=Excite+1995&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwibwo7-pNToAhVFE7kGHU08B3kQ6AEIUjAF#v=onepage&q=Excite%201995&f=false}}</ref><ref name="thehistoryofseo.com"/>  
+
| 2005 || May–December || || {{w|SEO contest}} || Hommingberger Gepardenforelle 2005 launches as another German contest. The goal of this SEO contest is to figure out how search engines determine rankings.<ref name="Previous SEO Competitions"/>  
 
|-
 
|-
| 1995 || || || The number of websites grows to 100,000, up from 10,000 websites in 1994.<ref name="William R."/>
+
| 2005 || June || {{w|Google}} || Notable update || Google debuts personalized search, which makes use of user personal search and browsing history to make results more relevant,<ref name="A Brief History of Search & SEO"/> thus presenting customized results pages when the user is logged in.<ref name="A Brief History of SEOd"/>
 
|-
 
|-
| 1996 || January || || {{w|Stanford University}} students {{w|Larry Page}} and {{w|Sergey Brin}} build and test Backrub, a new search engine that ranks sites based on inbound link relevancy and popularity. Backrub would ultimately become {{w|Google}}.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Breverton |first1=Terry |title=Breverton's Encyclopedia of Inventions: A Compendium of Technological Leaps, Groundbreaking Discoveries and Scientific Breakthroughs that Changed the World |url=https://books.google.com.ar/books?id=VepgBQAAQBAJ&pg=PT559&dq=backrub+1996&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjSo8P3qNToAhVUDrkGHd4jBoYQ6AEIMTAB#v=onepage&q=backrub%201996&f=false}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=MIRANDA GONZALEZ |first1=FRANCISCO JAVIER |last2=RUBIO LACOBA |first2=SERGIO |last3=CHAMORRO MERA |first3=ANTONIO |title=Dirección de operaciones. Casos prácticos y recursos didácticos |url=https://books.google.com.ar/books?id=N9r7CAAAQBAJ&pg=PA105&dq=backrub+1996&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjSo8P3qNToAhVUDrkGHd4jBoYQ6AEIQzAD#v=onepage&q=backrub%201996&f=false}}</ref><ref name="20 Years of SEO: A Brief History of Search Engine Optimization"/><ref name="seo.comf"/>
+
| 2005 || || || {{w|Spamdexing}} || {{w|Nofollow tag}}s are created as a means to combat spam. SEO professionals begin using this tag as a way of {{w|PageRank sculpting}}, a technique consisting in distributing the {{w|PageRank}} of a website to other subpages.<ref name="20 Years of SEO: A Brief History of Search Engine Optimization"/>  
 
|-
 
|-
| 1996 || May || || {{w|Inktomi}} launches {{w|Hotbot}}.<ref name="tellmeyourgoal.coms"/>
+
| 2005 || August || || {{w|Spamdexing}} || The term ''[[w:Spam blog|splog]]'' (short for spam blog) is popularized around the time, when it is used publicly by {{w|Mark Cuban}}, who writes: " A splog is any blog whose creator doesn’t add any written value. I’m sure some might argue that packaging data, such as news feeds or the blog posts of others is added value. I dont think it is."<ref>{{cite web |title=A splog here, a splog there, pretty soon it ads up… and we all lose |url=https://blogmaverick.com/2005/08/15/a-splog-here-a-splog-there-pretty-soon-it-ads-up-and-we/ |website=blogmaverick.com |accessdate=27 June 2020}}</ref>  
 
|-
 
|-
| 1996 || || || The number of websites grows to 650,000, up from 100,000 websites in 1995.<ref name="seo.comf"/><ref name="William R."/>
+
| 2005 || || || {{w|SEO contest}} || Msnbetter Thangoogle launches as a Polish SEO contest intended to promote SEO in {{w|Poland}} and get the attention of search engines.<ref name="Previous SEO Competitions"/>  
 
|-
 
|-
| 1996 || || || The are about 74 million internet Users at the time.<ref name="seo.comf"/>
+
| 2005 || || || SEO tool launch || [[w:Conductor (company)|Conductor]] is founded.<ref>{{cite web |title=Conductor |url=https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/conductor#section-overview |website=crunchbase.com |accessdate=29 June 2020}}</ref> It is a SEO technology firm offering a suite of enterprise SEO tools and performance.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Odden |first1=Lee |title=Optimize: How to Attract and Engage More Customers by Integrating SEO, Social Media, and Content Marketing |url=https://books.google.com.ar/books?id=Coku6bhrBcIC&pg=PA206&lpg=PA206&dq=conductor+offers+seo&source=bl&ots=jJvkD2haZN&sig=ACfU3U3ZjvPmNFGzeE-gUAztYtImcGAXCw&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj2luSR46XqAhV6IbkGHfjzCVgQ6AEwDHoECAoQAQ#v=onepage&q=conductor%20offers%20seo&f=false}}</ref>
 
|-
 
|-
| 1997 || || || 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=[[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>
+
| 2005 || || || Spamdexing || The practice of {{w|meta-tag stuffing}} becomes ineffective. The practice involves repeating keywords in the Meta tags, and using meta keywords that are unrelated to the site's content.<ref name="Publicancy">{{cite book |title=Complete Digital Marketing Guide Book for SEO, Social Media & Brand awareness: Definitive & Hidden Secrets of Digital Marketing to grow your business |publisher=Publicancy |url=https://books.google.com.ar/books?id=rkXHDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA89&lpg=PA89&dq=Meta-tag+stuffing+ineffective+since+2005&source=bl&ots=FNmwzhRSlI&sig=ACfU3U0Dh3rOtwPfJTH7TxFVjeIUwsQ5kw&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwii3dOz8afqAhVSIrkGHXunB3gQ6AEwAHoECAoQAQ#v=onepage&q=Meta-tag%20stuffing%20ineffective%20since%202005&f=false}}</ref>
 
|-
 
|-
| 1997 || April || || Davis Warthen and Garrett Gruener launch Ask Jeeves as a natural language search engine, using human editors to try to match search queries.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Sajja |first1=Priti Srinivas |last2=Akerkar |first2=Rajendra |title=Intelligent Technologies for Web Applications |url=https://books.google.com.ar/books?id=f_7RBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA88&dq=%22Ask+Jeeves%22+%22in+1997%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj35ryevNToAhXYCrkGHfJmD80Q6AEIMDAB#v=onepage&q=%22Ask%20Jeeves%22%20%22in%201997%22&f=false}}</ref> AskJeeves later becomes <code>ask.com</code>.<ref name="seo.comf"/><ref name="tellmeyourgoal.coms"/><ref name="ddd"/>
+
| 2005 || September || {{w|Google}} || Notable update || {{w|Google}} releases Jagger, an update that helps to diminish the level of unsolicited link exchanges that fly around.<ref name="20 Years of SEO: A Brief History of Search Engine Optimization"/><ref>{{cite web |title=Google’s Jagger Update Rocks Manipulative Link Building |url=https://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-algorithm-history/jagger-update/#close |website=searchenginejournal.com |accessdate=4 January 2020}}</ref>  
 
|-
 
|-
| 1997 || September || || <code>google.com</code> is registered as a domain name.
+
| 2005 || September 29 || || {{w|Spamdexing}} || The term ''{{w|sping}}'' (a short for "[[w:spam (electronic)|spam]] [[w:ping (blogging)|ping]]") is coined by a French [[w:Search engine optimization|SEO]] blogger, Sébastien Billiard, in an article titled "Spam 2.0".<ref>{{cite web |title=Spam 2.0 |url=http://s.billard.free.fr/referencement/?2005/09/29/146-spam-20 |website=s.billard.free.fr |accessdate=27 June 2020}}</ref>
 
|-
 
|-
| 1997 || || || "Yandex Launched – Currently Russia’s largest search engine."<ref name="seo.comf"/>
+
| 2005 || November || {{w|Google}} || SEO tool launch || {{w|Google}} launches {{w|Google Analytics}}. This free, web-based tool would become so popular at launch that webmasters would experience downtime and maintenance warnings.<ref name="A Brief History of Search & SEO"/><ref name="seo.comf"/><ref name="20 Years of SEO: A Brief History of Search Engine Optimization"/>  
 
|-
 
|-
| 1997 || || || The number of websites surpasses 1,000,000, up from 650,000 websites in 1996.<ref name="William R."/><ref name="seo.comf"/>
+
| 2005 || December || {{w|Google}} || Notable update || Google releases Big Daddy, an update that improves the architecture of Google to allow for improved understanding of the worth and relationship of links between sites.<ref name="20 Years of SEO: A Brief History of Search Engine Optimization"/><ref>{{cite web |title=Google’s Big Daddy Update: Big Changes to Google’s Infrastructure & the SERPs |url=https://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-algorithm-history/big-daddy-update/ |website=searchenginejournal.com |accessdate=4 January 2020}}</ref>  
 
|-
 
|-
| 1998 || || || {{w|Larry Page}} and {{w|Sergey Brin}}, then graduate students at {{w|Stanford University}}, develop "Backrub", a search engine that rely on a mathematical algorithm to rate the prominence of web pages. The number calculated by the algorithm, {{w|PageRank}}, is a function of the quantity and strength of {{w|inbound link}}s.<ref name="lgscalehyptxt">{{cite web|author1=Brin, Sergey  |author2=Page, Larry |lastauthoramp=yes |url=http://www-db.stanford.edu/~backrub/google.html|title=The Anatomy of a Large-Scale Hypertextual Web Search Engine|publisher=Proceedings of the seventh international conference on World Wide Web|year=1998|pages=107–117|accessdate=3 January 2020}}</ref>
+
| 2005 || December 20 || || {{w|SEO contest}} || The V7ndotcom Elursrebmem Competition is organized in the United States.<ref name="Previous SEO Competitions"/><ref name="dsdf"/>  
 
|-
 
|-
| 1998 || || || "Goto.com launched with sponsored links and paid search. Advertisers bid on Goto.com to rank above organic search results, which were powered by Inktomi. Goto.com was ultimately acquired by Yahoo. DMOZ (the Open Directory Project) became the most sought-after place for SEO practitioners to get their pages listed. MSN entered into search with MSN Search, initially powered by Inktomi."<ref name="20 Years of SEO: A Brief History of Search Engine Optimization"/><ref name="amcodigital.com"/>
+
| 2005 || || || SEO tool launch || SEO tool company Searchmetrics launches.<ref>{{cite web|url = https://searchmetrics.recruitee.com/l/en#section-101586|title = Grow your career at Searchmetrics|accessdate = June 12, 2021}}</ref> Searchmetrics analyses of Google algorithm updates would often be cited on Search Engine Land.
 
|-
 
|-
| 1999 || || || "The first-ever all search marketing conference, Search Engine Strategies (SES), took place. You can read a retrospective on that event by Sullivan here. (The SES conference series continued running under various monikers and parent companies until shutting down in 2016.)"<ref name="20 Years of SEO: A Brief History of Search Engine Optimization"/><ref name="amcodigital.com"/>
+
| 2006 || February–May || || SEO contest || "The Four Required Words" SEO Contest launches. It is sponsored by milliondollarscreenshot.com and is the first contest to use an expression in quotes and targeted image search, even though no images are shown in the time of the contest.<ref name="Previous SEO Competitions"/>
 
|-
 
|-
| 1999 || || || "SES Conference – First Search Engine Strategies conference created by Danny Sullivan."<ref name="seo.comf"/>
+
| 2006 || March–December || || SEO contest || Carcasherdotcom seocontest launches.<ref name="Previous SEO Competitions"/>
 
|-
 
|-
| 1999 || || || "2.2 Million + Websites Online."<ref name="seo.comf"/>
+
| 2006 || May 11 || || SEO tool launch || {{w|Google Trends}} launches.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Jun |first1=Seung-Pyo |last2=Yoo |first2=Hyoung Sun |last3=Choi |first3=San |title=Ten years of research change using Google Trends: From the perspective of big data utilizations and applications |doi=10.1016/j.techfore.2017.11.009 |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0040162517315536#:~:text=Google%20Trends%20was%20first%20introduced%20on%20May%2011%2C%202006.&text=Google%20Trends%20merely%20provides%20the,2016%20(Sullivan%2C%202016).}}</ref> It is a tool for SEO research.<ref>{{cite web |title=7 Ways to Use Google Trends for SEO & Content Marketing |url=https://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-trends/266721/ |website=searchenginejournal.com |accessdate=28 June 2020}}</ref>
 
|-
 
|-
| 1999 || || || "279 Million + Internet Users."<ref name="seo.comf"/>
+
| 2006 || July 11 || || Literature || ''The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business Is Selling Less of More'' is published by Chris Anderson.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business is Selling Less of More by Anderson, Chris (July 11, 2006) Hardcover Unknown Binding – January 1, 1800 |url=https://www.amazon.com/Long-Tail-Business-Anderson-Hardcover/dp/B014I8UA36 |website=amazon.com |accessdate=30 June 2020}}</ref>
 
|-
 
|-
| 2000 || || || "In 2000, Yahoo pulled off the worst strategic move in the history of search and partnered with Google and let Google power their organic results instead of Inktomi. Beforehand Google was a little-known search engine. Hardly known! The end result: every Yahoo search result said “Powered by Google” and they ended up introducing their largest competitor to the world and Google became a household name."<ref name="20 Years of SEO: A Brief History of Search Engine Optimization"/>
+
| 2006 || || {{w|Google}} || Product launch || Google launches Google Webmaster Tools, a suite of SEO tools that provides data and configuration control and lets webmasters view crawling errors, see what searches the user's site showed up for, and request reinclusion.<ref name="20 Years of SEO: A Brief History of Search Engine Optimization"/>  
 
|-
 
|-
| 2000 || || || "It was also in 2000 that the Google Toolbar became available on Internet Explorer, allowing SEO practitioners to see their PageRank score (a number between 0-10). This ushered in an era of unsolicited link exchange request emails."<ref name="20 Years of SEO: A Brief History of Search Engine Optimization"/><ref name="amcodigital.com"/>
+
| 2006 || || || Product launch || {{w|XML}} {{w|sitemaps}} are introduced, soon acquiring a great support from the search engines. XML sitemaps allow webmasters to display to the search engines, every {{w|URL}} on their website that is available for crawling. An XML sitemap contains not only a list of URLs but a range of further information, which help search engines to crawl more intelligently.<ref name="20 Years of SEO: A Brief History of Search Engine Optimization"/><ref name="amcodigital.com"/>  
 
|-
 
|-
| 2000 || || || "Google’s organic results also got some company in the form of AdWords ads starting in 2000. These paid search ads began appearing above, below, and to the right of Google’s unpaid results."<ref name="20 Years of SEO: A Brief History of Search Engine Optimization"/>
+
| 2006 || || {{w|Google}} || {{w|Spamdexing}} || {{w|BMW}} is banned and utterly removed from {{w|Google}}’s search results for using a technique called {{w|cloaking}}, which means showing one type of content for search engines and another one for users.<ref name="A brief history of Search Engine Optimization (SEO)">{{cite web |title=A brief history of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) |url=https://blog.zooma.se/en/blog/a-brief-history-of-search-engine-optimization-seo |website=blog.zooma.se |accessdate=6 January 2020}}</ref>
 
|-
 
|-
| 2000 || || || "Meanwhile, a group of webmasters informally got together at a pub in London to start sharing information about all things SEO in 2000. This informal gathering eventually turned into Pubcon, a large search conference series that still runs today."
+
| 2006 || || || {{w|SEO contest}} || Redscowl Bluesingsky SEO contest takes place. It is sponsored by SEOLogs.<ref name="Previous SEO Competitions"/>
 
|-
 
|-
| 2000 || || || "Baidu – China’s largest search engine launched."<ref name="seo.comf"/>
+
| 2006 || || {{w|Google}} || SEO tool launch || {{w|Google Webmaster Central}} is launched. It is a free portal from that notifies the user of major technical issues with his/her website.<ref name="seo.comf"/><ref>{{cite web |title=Technical Considerations for Your Local Business Website |url=https://moz.com/learn/seo/local-website-technical-recommendations |website=moz.com |accessdate=28 April 2020}}</ref> 
 
|-
 
|-
| 2001 || || || "At one point in 2001, one prominent industry writer suggested search engine marketing as a successor to search engine optimization. Obviously, it didn’t happen."<ref name="20 Years of SEO: A Brief History of Search Engine Optimization"/> ". The term "Search Engine Marketing" was proposed by Danny Sullivan in 2001 to cover the spectrum of activities involved in performing SEO, managing paid listings at the search engines, submitting sites to directories, and developing online marketing strategies for businesses, organizations, and individuals"<ref name="researchgate.nete">{{cite web |title=History Of Search Engines |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/265104813_History_Of_Search_Engines |website=researchgate.net |accessdate=10 January 2020}}</ref>
+
| 2006 || || || Notable update || Since 2006, better methods of accessibility, including {{w|progressive enhancement}}, become available, so {{w|cloaking}} is no longer necessary for regular SEO.<ref>{{cite book |title=Complete Digital Marketing Guide Book for SEO, Social Media & Brand awareness: Definitive & Hidden Secrets of Digital Marketing to grow your busines |edition=Publicancy |url=https://books.google.com.ar/books?id=rkXHDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA201&lpg=PA201&dq=Since+2006,+better+methods+of+accessibility,+including+progressive+enhancement,+have+been+available,+so+cloaking+is+no+longer+necessary+for+regular+SEO&source=bl&ots=FNmvEgVUuF&sig=ACfU3U3kqCoRAnKptRc-ExCnNQSdOzwOHA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwio6_C8lZnqAhXXLLkGHTc5BGEQ6AEwAHoECAsQAQ#v=onepage&q=Since%202006%2C%20better%20methods%20of%20accessibility%2C%20including%20progressive%20enhancement%2C%20have%20been%20available%2C%20so%20cloaking%20is%20no%20longer%20necessary%20for%20regular%20SEO&f=false}}</ref>  
 
|-
 
|-
| 2001 || || || "The 2001 Exodus was a huge kick in the shorts for many, as users abandoned older search engines like HotBot, AltaVista and Excite. Many users had moved their interest towards the new kid on the block, and so began “The Reign of Google.”"<ref name="seo.comf"/>
+
| 2006 || || || Website launch || {{w|BlackHatWorld}} launches as a forum[https://www.blackhatworld.com/] aimed at discussing the latest trends in internet marketing. <ref>{{cite web |title=Advertise on BlackHatWorld.com Review |url=https://toolswelike.com/black-hat-world-review/ |website=toolswelike.com |accessdate=29 June 2020}}</ref>
 
|-
 
|-
| 2001 || || || "“Many SEOs have sleepless nights as we realize it is Google or bust.” – Brett Tabke, Founder of WebmasterWorld."<ref name="seo.comf"/>
+
| 2006 || {{dts|September 15}} || || SEO tool launch || DeepCrawl is founded. It offers a SEO platform aimed at helping brands to accelerate growth and mitigate losses in organic search performance.<ref>{{cite web |title=DeepCrawl Launches Automator to Enable SEO Quality Assurance |url=https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200428005171/en/DeepCrawl-Launches-Automator-Enable-SEO-Quality-Assurance |website=businesswire.com |accessdate=29 June 2020}}</ref>
 
|-
 
|-
| 2001 || Year round || || Users abandon search engines like {{w|Lycos}}, {{w|Excite}}, {{w|AltaVista}} and {{w|Hotbot}}.<ref name="A Brief History of SEOd"/>
+
| 2006 || {{dts|October}} || {{w|Google}} || Background || {{w|Google}} acquires {{w|YouTube}} for US$1.65 billion. Youtube would ultimately become the second most used search property in the world.<ref name="20 Years of SEO: A Brief History of Search Engine Optimization"/>  
 
|-
 
|-
| 2002 || November 15 || || "The first recorded SEO Contest was {{w|Schnitzelmitkartoffelsalat}} by German webmasters, started on November 15, 2002, in the [[w:German language|German]]-language {{w|usenet}} group de.comm.infosystems.www.authoring.misc."
+
| 2006 || {{dts|December 11}} || || Website launch || Search Engine Land, often stylized SearchEngineLand, launches at <code>searchengineland.com</code> as a new search news blog. It is run by SEO expert [[w:Danny Sullivan (technologist)|Danny Sullivan]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Danny Sullivan’s Search Engine Land Launches December 11 |url=https://searchengineland.com/danny-sullivans-search-engine-land-launches-december-11-9957 |website=searchengineland.com |accessdate=27 June 2020}}</ref>
|-  
+
|-
| 2002 || || || "Google – Announced the launch of Froogle, a product search engine."<ref name="seo.comf"/>
+
| 2006 || End of year || || {{w|Spamdexing}} || According to {{w|EURid}} statistics, over 50% of the registrations could be considered at best speculative and at worst {{w|domain name warehousing}}, a practice by [[w:Domain name registrar|registrars]] obtaining control of expired {{w|domain name}}s already under their management, with the intent to hold or “warehouse” names for their own use and/or profit.<ref>{{cite web |title=The .eu domain  2006 |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111110022315/http://www.eurid.eu/files/2006_annual_report.pdf |website=web.archive.org |accessdate=29 June 2020}}</ref>
 +
|-
 +
| 2007 || {{dts|January 15}} || || {{w|SEO contest}} || SEO World Championship launches. It is sponsored by European Internet Marketing company Eastpoin.<ref name="Previous SEO Competitions"/> 
 +
|-
 +
| 2007 || March 20 || {{w|Google}} || Product launch || {{w|Google}} announces Plus Box, a new search feature that lets users see more information about individual search results.<ref>{{cite web |title=More than meets the eye |url=https://googleblog.blogspot.com/2007/03/more-than-meets-eye.html |website=googleblog.blogspot.com |accessdate=28 April 2020}}</ref> 
 +
|-
 +
| 2007 || May 2 || || Concept development || Jason Gambert attempts to trademark the term SEO by convincing the Trademark Office in Arizona that SEO is a "process" involving manipulation of keywords and not a "marketing service."<ref>{{cite web|title=Trademark/Service Mark Application, Principal Register|url=http://tsdr.uspto.gov/documentviewer?caseId=sn77171330&docId=APP20070505071211#docIndex=71&page=1|accessdate=3 January 2020}}</ref> 
 +
|-
 +
| 2007 || May 16 || {{w|Google}} || Product launch || {{w|Google}} undertakes the most radical change to its search results ever, with the introduction of its [[w:Google Search|Universal Search]] system that blends listings from its news, video, images, local and book search engines among those it gathers from crawling web pages.<ref>{{cite web |title=Google Launches “Universal Search” & Blended Results |url=https://searchengineland.com/google-20-google-universal-search-11232 |website=searchengineland.com |accessdate=17 May 2020}}</ref> 
 +
|-
 +
| 2007 || || {{w|Google}} || {{w|Spamdexing}} || Google starts a campaign against paid links affecting {{w|PageRank}}.<ref name="A Brief History of SEOd"/> 
 +
|-
 +
| 2007 || August || || SEO tool launch || SimilarWeb is founded.<ref>{{cite web |title=We are the measure of the digital world |url=https://www.similarweb.com/corp/about/ |website=similarweb.com |accessdate=28 June 2020}}</ref> It gives users the ability to see their competitors' traffic sources.<ref>{{cite web |title=SimilarWeb |url=https://backlinko.com/hub/content/similarweb#:~:text=Even%20though%20SimilarWeb%20isn't,sense%20for%20their%20respective%20sizes. |website=backlinko.com |accessdate=28 June 2020}}</ref>
 
|-
 
|-
| 2003 || || || "In 2003, after acquiring Blogger.com, Google launched AdSense, which serves contextually targeted Google AdWords ads on publisher sites. The mix of AdSense and Blogger.com leads to a surge in monetized simple Internet publishing and a blogging revolution."<ref name="20 Years of SEO: A Brief History of Search Engine Optimization"/>
+
| 2007 || September || || {{w|Spamdexing}} || Ralph Tegtmeier and Ed Purkiss coin the term "mosaic cloaking", which consists in only cloaking parts of the website in an effort to be more stealth.<ref>{{cite web |title=What is cloaking in SEO? How to apply cloaking on my affiliate links(Black Hat SEO technique) |url=https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/what-cloaking-seo-how-apply-my-affiliate-linksblack-hat-raman-sharma/ |website=linkedin.com |accessdate=27 June 2020}}</ref>
 
|-
 
|-
| 2003 || || || "Blogger and WordPress – Blogging became popular and was utilized for SEO."<ref name="seo.comf"/>
+
| 2008 || February–April || || {{w|SEO contest}} || seocontest2008 launches. It is sponsored by the UK Webmaster World Community.<ref name="Previous SEO Competitions"/>
 
|-
 
|-
| 2003 || || || "38 Million + Websites Online."<ref name="seo.comf"/>
+
| 2008 || March 31 || || Literature || ''Search Engine Optimization'' is published by Kristopher B. Jones.<ref>{{cite web |title=Search Engine Optimization: Your visual blueprint for effective Internet marketing |url=https://books.google.com.ar/books/about/Search_Engine_Optimization.html?id=Z91tXQIgxc8C&source=kp_book_description&redir_esc=y |website=books.google.com.ar |accessdate=30 June 2020}}</ref>
 
|-
 
|-
| 2003 || || || "782 Million + Internet Users."<ref name="seo.comf"/>
+
| 2008 || June–August || || {{w|SEO contest}} || Busby SEO Challenge 2008 is held. It is sponsored by Busby Web Solutions based in {{w|Australia}}.<ref name="Previous SEO Competitions"/><ref>{{cite web |title=Busby SEO Challenge World Cup |url=http://ryangaraygay.com/busby-seo-challenge-world-cup/ |website=ryangaraygay.com |accessdate=27 April 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Busby SEO Challenge Contest 2008 |url=http://www.3seo.com/Busby-SEO-Challenge/ |website=3seo.com |accessdate=27 April 2020}}</ref>
 
|-
 
|-
| 2004 || May || || Nigritude Ultramarine 2004 launches as the first english language SEO competition, created by darkblue.com and run by SearchGuild.<ref name="Previous SEO Competitions">{{cite web |title=Previous SEO Competitions |url=https://beanseohero.com/seo-competitions.php |website=beanseohero.com |accessdate=8 January 2020}}</ref>
+
| 2008 || August 3 || || SEO tool launch || {{w|SEMrush}} launches.<ref>{{cite web |title=SEMrush: Russian SEO firm’s Trevose offices build keyword software |url=https://technical.ly/philly/2014/01/03/semrush/ |website=technical.ly |accessdate=28 June 2020}}</ref> It provides an all-in-one tool suite for improving online visibility and discovering marketing insights.<ref>{{cite web |title=What is SEMrush? |url=https://www.semrush.com/kb/995-what-is-semrush#:~:text=SEMrush%20is%20an%20all%2Din,%2C%20Marketing%20Insights%2C%20Campaign%20Management. |website=semrush.com |accessdate=28 June 2020}}</ref>
 
|-
 
|-
| 2004 || || || "Around 2004, Google and other top search engines started improving results for queries that had a geographic intent (e.g., a restaurant, plumber, or some other type of business or service provider in your city or town)."<ref name="20 Years of SEO: A Brief History of Search Engine Optimization"/>
+
| 2008 || || || Product launch || {{w|Yoast SEO}} starts operations as a SEO tool.<ref>{{cite web |title=YOAST SEO |url=https://wordpress.org/plugins/wordpress-seo/ |website=wordpress.org |accessdate=8 January 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The history of Yoast |url=https://yoast.com/about-us/history/ |website=yoast.com |accessdate=8 January 2020}}</ref> It is a {{w|WordPress}} {{w|plugin}} that makes it easy for users to do things like control titles and meta descriptions, set their targeted keywords and track how often they're using them, manage sitemaps, and other tasks.<ref>{{cite web |title=Everything You Need to Know About Using Yoast SEO for Wordpress |url=https://moz.com/blog/using-yoast-seo-for-wordpress |website=moz.com |accessdate=28 April 2020}}</ref>  
 
|-
 
|-
| 2004 || || || "It was also around 2004 that Google and search engines began making greater use of end-user data, such as search history and interests, to personalize search results. This meant that the results you saw could be different than what another person sitting next to you in a coffee shop when searching for the same query."<ref name="20 Years of SEO: A Brief History of Search Engine Optimization"/>
+
| 2009 || January 18 || {{w|Google}} || Notable update || Google Vince Update is released. It favors brand websites when it comes to search results for traffic-rich keywords.<ref name="20 Years of SEO: A Brief History of Search Engine Optimization"/><ref>{{cite web |title=Google’s Vince Update: The Day Big Brands Won |url=https://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-algorithm-history/vince-update/ |website=searchenginejournal.com |accessdate=4 January 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Why is the Vince Update also referred to as the Brand Update? |url=https://www.sistrix.com/ask-sistrix/google-updates-and-algorithm-changes/google-vince-update/why-is-the-vince-update-also-referred-to-as-the-brand-update/ |website=sistrix.com |accessdate=10 April 2020}}</ref> 
 
|-
 
|-
| 2004 || || || "Seraphim Proudleduck 2004" "This SEO Contest presented by Salmonbones had prizes of 1,000, 300, and 200 British pounds as well as a bonus prize of a website and 1 year of hosting. The winner was whoever ranked highest for "seraphim proudleduck" on January 1st, 2005 at 1am in the UK. Sadly, the prize money in this contest was never distributed to the winner, Philipp Lenssen, for which the contest owner later apologized."<ref name="Previous SEO Competitions"/>
+
| 2009 || March–August || || {{w|SEO contest}} || Net Builders SEO Contest is held. The targeted keyword is "sulumits retsambew" which is webmaster stimulus backwards. Backwards seems to be a common trend in these contests.<ref name="Previous SEO Competitions"/>
 
|-
 
|-
| 2004 || || || "SEOMOZ – Founded by Rand Fiskin, first a blog, SEOmoz grew to become one of the largest providers of SEO Tools."<ref name="seo.comf"/>
+
| 2009 || April || || Literature || ''Search Engine Optimization All-in-One for Dummies'' is published by Bruce Clay and Susan Esparza.<ref>{{cite web |title=Search Engine Optimization All-in-One For Dummies |url=https://books.google.com.ar/books/about/Search_Engine_Optimization_All_in_One_Fo.html?id=JYWBA4FoR7oC&source=kp_book_description&redir_esc=y |website=books.google.com.ar |accessdate=30 June 2020}}</ref>
 
|-
 
|-
| 2004 || || || "By 2004, the three major search engines that are left, Google, MSN and Yahoo!, start incorporating undisclosed page ranking factors into their algorithms."<ref name="A Brief History of SEOd"/>
+
| 2009 || June 3 || [[w:Bing (search engine)|Bing]] || SEO tool launch || {{w|Bing Webmaster Tools}} launches along with [[w:Bing (search engine)|Bing]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Bing Webmaster Tools vs Google Search Console |url=https://www.fourfront.us/blog/google-search-console-vs-bing-webmaster-tools/ |website=fourfront.us |accessdate=28 June 2020}}</ref>  
 
|-
 
|-
| 2005 || January || || "One of the biggest years in the search engine world was 2005. That January, Google united with Yahoo and MSN for the Nofollow Attribute, which was created in part to decrease the amount of spammy links and comments on websites, especially blogs."<ref name="A Brief History of Search & SEO"/>
+
| 2009 || August 10 || {{w|Google}} || Notable update || {{w|Google}} announces [[w:Google Caffeine Update|Caffeine]], which would become one of the most important updates in the search engine’s history.<ref>{{cite web |title=Google’s Caffeine Update: Better Indexing & Fresher Search Results |url=https://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-algorithm-history/caffeine-update/ |website=searchenginejournal.com |accessdate=4 January 2020}}</ref>
 
|-
 
|-
| 2005 || March || {{w|SEO contest}} || "Loquine Glupe 2005. Needing to top google by March 1st, the winner of this contest hosted by webmaster-forums.co.uk would receive a link from a PR6 website and free hosting for a year, while the runner-up would get free advertising in the forum."<ref name="Previous SEO Competitions"/>
+
| 2009 || || || SEO tool launch || AuthorityLabs launches as a SEO rank tracking software.<ref>{{cite web |title=Authority Labs Review |url=http://www.seobook.com/authority-labs-review |website=seobook.com |accessdate=28 June 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Authority Labs Review – Features, Tips, Pricing, and More |url=https://www.digitalexaminer.com/authority-labs-review-features-tips-pricing/ |website=digitalexaminer.com |accessdate=28 June 2020}}</ref>  
 
|-
 
|-
| 2005 || May–December || {{w|SEO contest}} || "Hommingberger Gepardenforelle 2005. Another German contest, the goal of this SEO contest was to figure out how search engines determined rankings. Sponsored by Computer Magazine, the contest was run from May 15 - December 15th, 2005."<ref name="Previous SEO Competitions"/>
+
| 2009 || || {{w|Bing}} || Background || After Microsoft Live Search becomes {{w|Bing}}, in an unsuccessful attempt to challenge Google’s nearly 70 percent grip of the U.S. search market, {{w|Yahoo!}} and {{w|Microsoft}} join forces to partner on a 10-year search deal (though it would end up being reworked five years later).<ref name="20 Years of SEO: A Brief History of Search Engine Optimization"/>  
 
|-
 
|-
| 2005 || June || || " Then, in June, Google debuted personalized search, which used someone’s search and browsing history to make results more relevant."<ref name="A Brief History of Search & SEO"/>
+
| 2009 || September–December || || {{w|SEO contest}} || OES Tsetnoc SEO Contest is held.<ref name="Previous SEO Competitions"/>
 
|-
 
|-
| 2005 || || || "Also in 2005, nofollow tags were created as a means to combat spam. SEO pros began using this tag as a way of PageRank sculpting."<ref name="20 Years of SEO: A Brief History of Search Engine Optimization"/>
+
| 2009 || October || || Literature || ''The Art of SEO'' is published by Eric Enge, Stephan Spencer, Rand Fishkin, and Jessie Stricchiola.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Art of SEO: Mastering Search Engine Optimization |url=https://books.google.com.ar/books/about/The_Art_of_SEO.html?id=l334y5226sEC&source=kp_book_description&redir_esc=y |website=books.google.com.ar |accessdate=30 June 2020}}</ref>
 
|-
 
|-
| 2005 || September || || "Google also unleashed a couple of noteworthy updates:" "Jagger, which helped to diminish the level of unsolicited link exchanges that were flying around, as well as heralding the decline in the importance of anchor text as a factor due to its corruptibility."<ref name="20 Years of SEO: A Brief History of Search Engine Optimization"/><ref>{{cite web |title=Google’s Jagger Update Rocks Manipulative Link Building |url=https://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-algorithm-history/jagger-update/#close |website=searchenginejournal.com |accessdate=4 January 2020}}</ref>
+
| 2009 || Year round || {{w|Google}} || Notable update || {{w|Google}} executes between 350 and 550 adjustments to its search algorithm along the year, meaning at least once a day, showing the "rapid advancement required to stay on top if playing the game of SEO at the highest level".<ref name="A brief history of Search Engine Optimization (SEO)"/>  
 
|-
 
|-
| 2005 || || {{w|SEO contest}} || "Msnbetter Thangoogle 2005. Polish SEO contest intended to promote SEO in Poland and get the attention of search engines. There were some small prizes like an MP3 player, and SEO book, a cup, and even an honorary title of “Polish master of positioning internet websites 2005.” The contest ended on October 1st, 2005."<ref name="Previous SEO Competitions"/>
+
| 2009 || || {{w|Google}} || {{w|Spamdexing}} || {{w|Google}} announces attempt to stop the effects of {{w|PageRank}} sculpting that come as a result of nofollow links.<ref name="A Brief History of SEOd"/>
 
|-
 
|-
| 2005 || November || || "That November, Google Analytics launched, which is still used today to measure traffic and campaign ROI."<ref name="A Brief History of Search & SEO"/> "Google – Introduced personalized search. Announced that hyperlinks with rel=”nofollow”[4] would not influence the link target’s PageRank. Google acquired Urchin software and launched Google Analytics."<ref name="seo.comf"/>
+
| 2009 || || || SEO tool launch || Rank Ranger (often written as RankRanger), a SEO tool, launches. Their analyses would be frequently referenced in Search Engine Land posts on Google algorithm updates.<ref>{{cite web|url = https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/rank-ranger|title = Rank Ranger|publisher = CrunchBase|accessdate = June 12, 2021}}</ref>
 
|-
 
|-
| 2005 || December || || "Google also unleashed a couple of noteworthy updates:" "Big Daddy (coined by Jeff Manson of RealGeeks), which improved the architecture of Google to allow for improved understanding of the worth and relationship of links between sites."<ref name="20 Years of SEO: A Brief History of Search Engine Optimization"/><ref>{{cite web |title=Google’s Big Daddy Update: Big Changes to Google’s Infrastructure & the SERPs |url=https://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-algorithm-history/big-daddy-update/ |website=searchenginejournal.com |accessdate=4 January 2020}}</ref>
+
| 2010 || January || || SEO tool launch || WooRank launches.<ref>{{cite web |title=So What Is WooRank? |url=https://www.woorank.com/en/p/about |website=woorank.com |accessdate=28 June 2020}}</ref> It is an automated website reviewing tool offering SEO auditing and monitoring.<ref>{{cite web |title=WooRank |url=https://www.capterra.com/p/176630/WooRank/ |website=capterra.com |accessdate=28 June 2020}}</ref>
 
|-
 
|-
| 2005 || December 20 || {{w|SEO contest}} || "v7ndotcom elursrebmem 2006. This competition from John Scott on the forum v7n.com was won by Scott Jones with second place Jim Westergren. The winner gave 50% of the prize money to a charity supporting Celiac Disease. The branded keyword v7ndotcom and secondary word elursrebmem (membersrule backwards) were used. The contest was announced December 20, 2005 and ended on May 15, 2006 at 12PM Pacific. There were prizes totaling over $9,000 with $7,000 to the winner and this was the biggest SEO competition at the time. Greg Boser didn't like one of the rules of this competition that required a link to V7N so he offered the same prize in exchange for linking to Matt Cutts blog instead. Greg ended up awarding his prize to Scott Jones. One major accomplishment for this contest was that it drew mainstream attention from the WSJ."<ref name="Previous SEO Competitions"/>
+
| 2010 || {{dts|April 25}} || Google, (eventually) Bing || Product launch (search rankings flux) || SERPMetrics launches its Flux page that provides charts of search rankings flux.<ref>{{cite web|url = https://serpmetrics.com/flux/|title = US (.com) SERP Fluctuation|publisher = SERPMetrics|accessdate = July 3, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100425002904/http://serpmetrics.com:80/flux/|title = SERPMetrics Flux|accessdate = July 3, 2021}}</ref>
 
|-
 
|-
| 2005 || || || "In 2005, Google starts personalizing search results, taking into account a user’s search history to come up with customized results pages when that user is logged in"<ref name="A Brief History of SEOd"/>
+
| 2010 || || || SEO tool launch || Screaming Frog launches.<ref>{{cite web |title=3 Ways You Should Be Using Screaming Frog |url=https://www.forwardpmx.com/insights/blog/3-ways-you-should-be-using-screaming-frog/ |website=forwardpmx.com |accessdate=28 June 2020}}</ref> It offers SEO and pay-per-click (PPC) advertising services.<ref>{{cite web |title=We are a UK based search marketing agency and the creators of the famous website crawler and log file analyser tools. |url=https://www.screamingfrog.co.uk/ |website=screamingfrog.co.uk |accessdate=28 June 2020}}</ref>
 
|-
 
|-
| 2006 || February–May || || ""the four required words" 2006. Run from February 15th - May 15th, 2006, this contest had prizes of $100 for Google, $20 for MSN, $20 for Yahoo, $20 for A9, $20 in Google Images, $20 in A9 Images, and $20 in Ask Images. It was sponsored by milliondollarscreenshot.com and was the first contest to use an expression in quotes and targeted image search, even though no images were shown in the time of the contest."<ref name="Previous SEO Competitions"/>
+
| 2010 || || || {{w|Spamdexing}} || A tactic appears where websites are created from large amounts of low-quality textual content, frequently updated and specifically designed to lure search engine algorithms. These sites are linked together forming so-called ‘{{w|content farm}}s’ whose only purpose is to drive search engine traffic and, just like {{w|doorway page}}s before them, sending the incoming traffic to the final destination.<ref name="A brief history of Search Engine Optimization (SEO)"/>  
 
|-
 
|-
| 2006 || March–December || || "carcasherdotcom-seocontest 2006. Run from March 1st - December 1st, 2006, CarCrasher offered monthly $500, $200, and $100 prizes and on December 31st, the prizes jumped to $3000, $2000, and $1000. There were also prizes like a Plasma TV, Sony PSP, and even an iPod."<ref name="Previous SEO Competitions"/>
+
| 2010 || || || SEO tool launch || SEOPanel is released. It is an open source multi-website SEO monitoring application.<ref>{{cite web |title=Seo Panel |url=https://installatron.com/seopanel |website=installatron.com |accessdate=28 June 2020}}</ref>
 
|-
 
|-
| 2006 || || || " By 2006, Google rolled out a Maps Plus Box, which I was quite impressed by at the time."<ref name="20 Years of SEO: A Brief History of Search Engine Optimization"/>
+
| 2010 || December || {{w|Google}} || Notable update || Both {{w|Google}} and {{w|Bing}} add "social signals," which first display any written Facebook posts, for example, from the user's own network that matches his/her query.<ref name="A Brief History of Search & SEO"/>  
|-
 
| 2006 || October || || "In October 2006, Google acquired user-generated video sharing network YouTube for $1.65 billion, which ultimately became the second most used search property in the world."<ref name="20 Years of SEO: A Brief History of Search Engine Optimization"/>
 
 
|-
 
|-
| 2006 || || || "Google also launched two incredibly important products in 2006:" "Google Webmaster Tools. Now known as the Search Console, Google Webmaster Tools let webmasters view crawling errors, see what searches your site showed up for, and request reinclusion."<ref name="20 Years of SEO: A Brief History of Search Engine Optimization"/>
+
| 2010 || Year round || || Statistics || 52% of the companies are estimated to spend more on SEO, 39% Spending about the same, and 9% Spending less.<ref name="seo.comf"/>  
 
|-
 
|-
| 2006 || || || "Google also launched two incredibly important products in 2006:" "Google Analytics. This free, web-based tool was so popular at launch that webmasters experienced downtime and maintenance warnings."<ref name="20 Years of SEO: A Brief History of Search Engine Optimization"/>
+
| 2011 || {{dts|February 12}} || {{w|Google}} || {{w|Spamdexing}} || The ''{{w|New York Times}}'' publishes an article claiming that retailer {{w|JCPenney}} ranks unusually high in Google searches and that this is due to a large number of unnatural links to the JCPenney site with strategically selected anchor text. Google's Matt Cutts confirms that this violates Google's policies and Google starts applying a corrective "manual action" against JCPenney that leads to the site dropping significantly in search rankings.<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/13/business/13search.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all|title = The Dirty Little Secrets of Search|last = Segal|first = David|date = February 12, 2011|accessdate = July 10, 2021|publisher = New York Times}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url = https://searchengineland.com/new-york-times-exposes-j-c-penney-link-scheme-that-causes-plummeting-rankings-in-google-64529|title = New York Times Exposes J.C. Penney Link Scheme That Causes Plummeting Rankings in Google. Today, the New York Times published an article about a search engine optimization investigation of J.C. Penney. Perplexed by how well jcpenney.com did in unpaid (organic) search results for practically everything the retailer sold, they asked someone familiar with the world of search engine optimization (SEO) to look into it a bit more. The investigation ...|last = Fox|first = Vanessa|date = February 12, 2011|accessdate = July 10, 2021|publisher = Search Engine Land}}</ref>
 
|-
 
|-
| 2006 || || || "Also in 2006 XML sitemaps gained universal support from the search engines. XML sitemaps allow webmasters to display to the search engines, every URL on their website that is available for crawling. An XML sitemap contains not only a list of URLs but a range of further information, which helped search engines to crawl more intelligently."<ref name="20 Years of SEO: A Brief History of Search Engine Optimization"/> "XML Sitemaps, introduced in 2006 and acquired a great support from the search engines."<ref name="amcodigital.com"/>
+
| 2011 || February 14 || {{w|Google}} || Notable update || Google launches the {{w|Google Chrome}} extension "Personal Blocklist", as part of countermeasures against {{w|content farm}}ing.<ref>{{cite web |title=New: Block Sites From Google Results Using Chrome’s “Personal Blocklist” |url=https://searchengineland.com/googles-personal-blocklist-delete-google-search-results-on-chrome-64757 |website=searchengineland.com |accessdate=24 June 2020}}</ref>  
 
|-
 
|-
| 2006 || || || "In 2006 it was time for BMW to get banned and utterly removed from Google’s search results for using a technique called cloaking, which means showing one type of content for search engines and another one for users."<ref name="A brief history of Search Engine Optimization (SEO)">{{cite web |title=A brief history of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) |url=https://blog.zooma.se/en/blog/a-brief-history-of-search-engine-optimization-seo |website=blog.zooma.se |accessdate=6 January 2020}}</ref>
+
| 2011 || February 23 || {{w|Google}} || Notable update || Google launches {{w|Google Panda}}, a algorithm update aimed at combating {{w|content farm}}s by rewarding high-quality websites and diminishing the presence of low-quality websites in Google’s organic search engine results. Google Panda is initially known as "Farmer." The algorithm also combats {{w|keyword stuffing}}.<ref>{{cite web |title=TED 2011: The 'Panda' That Hates Farms: A Q&A With Google's Top Search Engineers |url=https://www.wired.com/2011/03/the-panda-that-hates-farms/ |website=wired.com |accessdate=23 June 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Google Panda |url=https://moz.com/learn/seo/google-panda |website=moz.com |accessdate=18 May 2020}}</ref>  
 
|-
 
|-
| 2006 || || {{w|SEO contest}} || "Redscowl Bluesingsky 2006. More made up words, this SEO contest was sponsored by SEOLogs. Shoemoney won the contest but since he had put up the money for the contest, he gave the money to the runner."<ref name="Previous SEO Competitions"/>
+
| 2011 || June 3 || Literature || || The first edition of the SEO Periodic Table is released by Search Engine Land.<ref>{{cite web|url = https://searchengineland.com/introducing-the-periodic-table-of-seo-ranking-factors-77181|title = Introducing: The Periodic Table Of SEO Ranking Factors|last = Sullivan|first = Danny|date = June 3, 2011|accessdate = June 18, 2021|publisher = Search Engine Land}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url = https://www.seroundtable.com/seo-periodic-table-13519.html|title = SEO Ranking Factors As A Periodic Table|last = Schwartz|first = Barry|date = June 6, 2011|accessdate = June 18, 2021}}</ref> The SEO Periodic Table would continue to receive annual updates.
 
|-
 
|-
| 2006 || || || "Google – Google Webmaster Central is launched. Google, along with MSN and Yahoo, announced joint support for sitemap protocol."<ref name="seo.comf"/>
+
| 2011 || || || SEO tool launch || Ahrefs launches. It is a toolset for backlinks and SEO analysis.<ref>{{cite web |title=What is Ahrefs.com? |url=https://help.ahrefs.com/en/articles/78203-what-is-ahrefs-com |website=help.ahrefs.com |accessdate=28 June 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Ahrefs Review: More Than Just an SEO Backlink Analysis Tool |url=https://www.99signals.com/ahrefs-review/ |website=99signals.com |accessdate=28 June 2020}}</ref>
 
|-
 
|-
| 2007 || January 15 || || "SEO World Championship 2007. Sponsored by European Internet Marketing company Eastpoint, this contest went from January 15th 2007 - May 1st 2007. The keyword they chose was "globalwarming awareness2007". This actually explains one of the domains that showed up in the SERPs for the Wix SEO Hero competition early on, as it was likely one of the competing websites back in 2007. A friend of mine Benj Arriola actually won this one. The prizes included a Citreon C2, a Caribbean Cruice, a plasma TV, $500, and $100."<ref name="Previous SEO Competitions"/>
+
| 2012 || February 28 || || Literature || ''Content Strategy for the Web'' is published by Kristina Halvorson and Melissa Rach.<ref>{{cite web |title=Content Strategy for the Web: Content Strategy Web _p2 |url=https://books.google.com.ar/books/about/Content_Strategy_for_the_Web.html?id=KIIQ3Fq9CM8C&source=kp_book_description&redir_esc=y |website=books.google.com.ar |accessdate=30 June 2020}}</ref>
 
|-
 
|-
| 2007 || May 2 || || Jason Gambert attempts to trademark the term SEO by convincing the Trademark Office in Arizona that SEO is a "process" involving manipulation of keywords and not a "marketing service."<ref>{{cite web|title=Trademark/Service Mark Application, Principal Register|url=http://tsdr.uspto.gov/documentviewer?caseId=sn77171330&docId=APP20070505071211#docIndex=71&page=1|accessdate=3 January 2020}}</ref>  
+
| 2012 || April 24 || {{w|Google}} || Notable update || {{w|Google Penguin}} launches as a Google algorithm update.<ref name="A Brief History of Search & SEO"/><ref name="tellmeyourgoal.coms"/> It is aimed at decreasing [[w:Search engine optimization|search engine rankings]] of websites that violate Google's Webmaster Guidelines.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/35769#3|title=Webmaster Guidelines - Webmaster Tools Help|publisher=Support.google.com|accessdate=10 April 2020}}</ref>  
 
|-
 
|-
| 2007 || || || "We really began to see search starting to evolve in new and exciting ways starting in 2007. All of these updates were aimed at improving the user experience." "Let’s start with Google’s Universal Search. Until this point, the search results had consisted of 10 blue links."<ref name="20 Years of SEO: A Brief History of Search Engine Optimization"/>
+
| 2012 || May || {{w|Google}} || Product launch || {{w|Google}} unveils the {{w|Knowledge Graph}}, a new visual interface that provides popular facts about people, places and things alongside Google's traditional results. This constitutes a major shift away from interpreting keywords strings to understanding semantics and intent.<ref name="20 Years of SEO: A Brief History of Search Engine Optimization"/><ref>{{cite web |title=Google Testing Semantic Search Update |url=https://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-semantic-search-update/43443/ |website=searchenginejournal.com |accessdate=4 January 2020}}</ref> The {{w|Knowledge Graph}} would become popular in knowledge representation and knowledge management applications widely across search engine, biomedical, media and industrial domains.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Wasny |first1=Garrett |title=Advanced Googling: How to Search Smarter, Faster and More Efficiently on Google |url=https://books.google.com.ar/books?id=2W3CAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA123&dq=%22Knowledge+Graph%22+%222012%22+%22google%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi9uemPwdToAhU3F7kGHQ8VAl0Q6AEIQjAD#v=onepage&q=%22Knowledge%20Graph%22%20%222012%22%20%22google%22&f=false}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Pan |first1=Jeff Z. |last2=Calvanese |first2=Diego |last3=Eiter |first3=Thomas |last4=Horrocks |first4=Ian |last5=Kifer |first5=Michael |last6=Lin |first6=Fangzhen |last7=Zhao |first7=Yuting |title=Reasoning Web: Logical Foundation of Knowledge Graph Construction and Query Answering: 12th International Summer School 2016, Aberdeen, UK, September 5-9, 2016, Tutorial Lectures |url=https://books.google.com.ar/books?id=-J47DgAAQBAJ&pg=PA1&dq=%22Knowledge+Graph%22+%222012%22+%22google%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi9uemPwdToAhU3F7kGHQ8VAl0Q6AEIKDAA#v=onepage&q=%22Knowledge%20Graph%22%20%222012%22%20%22google%22&f=false}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Färber |first1=M. |title=Semantic Search for Novel Information |url=https://books.google.com.ar/books?id=wHc2DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA23&dq=%22Knowledge+Graph%22+%222012%22+%22google%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi9uemPwdToAhU3F7kGHQ8VAl0Q6AEIMDAB#v=onepage&q=%22Knowledge%20Graph%22%20%222012%22%20%22google%22&f=false}}</ref>  
 
|-
 
|-
| 2007 || || || ". In 2007, Google starts a campaign against paid links affecting PageRank."<ref name="A Brief History of SEOd"/>
+
| 2012 || July 26 || {{w|Google}} || Product launch (search rankings flux) || Moz launches MozCast, the "Google weather report". The tool, available online at mozcast.com, tracks the "temperature" of changes to Google's search algorithm and rankings on a day-to-day basis, helping provide better context to search algorithm changes beyond just the biggest ones.<ref>{{cite web|url = https://moz.com/blog/announcing-mozcast-the-google-weather-report|title = Announcing MozCast - The Google Weather Report|last = Meyers|first = Peter|date = July 26, 2012|accessdate = 2 July 2020|publisher = [[wikipedia:Moz|Moz]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120715000000*/http://mozcast.com|title = Internet Archive's Wayback Machine results for mozcast.com in 2012|accessdate = May 1, 2017}}</ref><ref name=mozcast-v-algoroo>{{cite web|url = http://insideonline.co.uk/mozcast-vs-algoroo/|title = Mozcast Vs. Algoroo – Which Tool Should You Use?|last = Ryan|first = David|date = May 22, 2016|accessdate = May 1, 2017|publisher = Inside Online}}</ref>
 
|-
 
|-
| 2008 || February–April || {{w|SEO contest}} || "seocontest2008. This one was sponsored by the UK Webmaster World Community and launched February 1st and lasted until April 1st, 2008. The keyword was seocontest2008 and the prize was $1000 for the winner and $100 for the next 3 participants."<ref name="Previous SEO Competitions"/>
+
| 2012 || September 10 || || SEO tool launch|| {{w|Backlink}} is founded as a SEO firm offering website optimization, search engine optimization and {{w|social media}} internet marketing solutions.<ref>{{cite web |title=back-link |url=https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/back-link#section-overview |website=crunchbase.com |accessdate=29 June 2020}}</ref>  
 
|-
 
|-
| 2008 || June–August || {{w|SEO contest}} || "Busby SEO Challenge 2008. Running from June 1st - August 31st, 2008, this contest targeted "busby seo challenge" and was sponsored by an Australian society, Busby Web Solutions. Prizes: $5,000 for the winner, the second prize: $2,000 and for the third prize: $500."<ref name="Previous SEO Competitions"/>
+
| 2012 || || || SEO tool launch || Kerboo launches as LinkRisk. It offers link audits, SEO, {{w|content marketing}}, and {{w|link building}}.<ref>{{cite web |title=2012: The start of our journey. |url=https://kerboo.com/about-us/ |website=kerboo.com |accessdate=29 June 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Kerboo |url=https://www.linkedin.com/company/kerboo-limited/about/ |website=linkedin.com |accessdate=29 June 2020}}</ref>
 
|-
 
|-
| 2008 || || || {{w|Yoast SEO}} starts operations as a SEO tool.<ref>{{cite web |title=YOAST SEO |url=https://wordpress.org/plugins/wordpress-seo/ |website=wordpress.org |accessdate=8 January 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The history of Yoast |url=https://yoast.com/about-us/history/ |website=yoast.com |accessdate=8 January 2020}}</ref>
+
| 2013 || {{dts|June}} (before June 12, likely June 9) || {{w|Google}} || Product launch (search rankings flux) || Rank Ranker's Rank Risk Index becomes publicly available around this time. Google Search gives a creation date of June 9; the first Wayback Machine snapshot is from June 12.<ref>{{cite web|url = https://www.rankranger.com/rank-risk-index|title = Rank Risk Index: Google SERP Fluctuations|publisher = Rank Ranger|accessdate = July 3, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130612212239/https://www.rankranger.com/rank-risk-index|title = Ranger Rank Risk Index|publisher = Rank Ranker|date = June 12, 2013|accessdate = July 3, 2021}}</ref>
 
|-
 
|-
| 2008 || || {{w|SEO contest}} || "Busby SEO World Cup 2 2008. A second challenge from Busby targeted "busby seo test" with a prize of $5,000, 2nd place $2,000, 3rd $500, 4th $250, and 5th $100."<ref name="Previous SEO Competitions"/>
+
| 2013 || June 27 || || Literature || ''Google Semantic Search'' is published by David Amerland.<ref>{{cite web |title=Google Semantic Search: Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Techniques That Get Your Company More Traffic, Increase Brand Impact, and Amplify Your Online Presence |url=https://books.google.com.ar/books/about/Google_Semantic_Search.html?id=niCJxqdc-eoC&source=kp_book_description&redir_esc=y |website=books.google.com.ar |accessdate=30 June 2020}}</ref>
 
|-
 
|-
| 2009 || January 18 || || "In 2008, then-Google CEO Eric Schmidt said the Internet was becoming a cesspool and that brands were the solution. “Brands are how you sort out the cesspool,” he said. Less than six months after his comment, along came a Google update called Vince. Big brands suddenly seemed to be ranking a whole lot better in the SERPs." "The Vince Update appeared January 18, 2009. It was named after a Google engineer by this name in admiration of his effort in this algorithmic change – or what Matt Cutts, who was head of Google’s webspam team at the time, would refer to as a “simple change.”"<ref name="20 Years of SEO: A Brief History of Search Engine Optimization"/><ref>{{cite web |title=Google’s Vince Update: The Day Big Brands Won |url=https://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-algorithm-history/vince-update/ |website=searchenginejournal.com |accessdate=4 January 2020}}</ref>
+
| 2013 || August || {{w|Google}} || Notable update || {{w|Google Hummingbird}} launches as an update, helping to combat {{w|keyword stuffing}}.<ref>{{cite web |title=FAQ: All About The New Google “Hummingbird” Algorithm |url=https://searchengineland.com/google-hummingbird-172816 |website=searchengineland.com |accessdate=23 June 2020}}</ref>  
 
|-
 
|-
| 2009 || March–August || {{w|SEO contest}} || "Net Builders SEO Contest 2009. Winner: Hellas. The contest ran from March 15 - August 15, 2009. 1st place received $1000, 2nd $500, and 3rd got $250. The targeted keyword was "sulumits retsambew" which is webmaster stimulus backwards. Backwards seems to be a common trend in these contests."<ref name="Previous SEO Competitions"/>
+
| 2013 || October || {{w|Google}} || System launch || Google App Indexing is launched for a limited set of publishers. It is a system that allows searchers to click on listings in Google's search results, taking them into apps on their [[w:Android (operating system)|Android]] and {{w|iOS}} smartphones and tablets.<ref name="A brief history of Search Engine Optimization (SEO)"/> <ref>{{cite web |title=Google: App Indexing |url=https://searchengineland.com/library/google/google-app-indexing |website=searchengineland.com |accessdate=7 January 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The Death of the Desktop: The Future For Mobile SEO |url=https://www.4mation.com.au/blog/death-desktop-future-mobile-seo/ |website=4mation.com.au |accessdate=28 April 2020}}</ref>  
 
|-
 
|-
| 2009 || June || || "In 2009, the search engine world saw a bit of a shakeup. Bing premiered that June, with Microsoft aggressively marketing it as the search engine that would produce noticeably better results than Google. But as SEL predicted, it was no “Google-killer,” nor did its advice for optimizing content significantly contrast Google’s. In fact, according to Search Engine Journal, the only noticeable difference was Bing’s tendency to give priority to keywords in URLs, as well as favoring capitalized words and “pages from large sites.”"<ref name="A Brief History of Search & SEO"/> "In 2009, Microsoft gathered all that it had learned from its previous search engines (MSN Search, live Search, Windows live Search) and wrapped it all into what they now call Bing. About a year later, Yahoo! jumps on board with Microsoft and begins using the Bing search technology as well."<ref name="seo.comf"/>
+
| 2013 || November 28 || || Literature || ''SEO Made Easy: Everything You Need to Know about SEO and Nothing More'' is published by Evan Bailyn.<ref>{{cite web |title=SEO Made Easy: Everything You Need to Know About SEO and Nothing More |url=https://books.google.com.ar/books/about/SEO_Made_Easy.html?id=kOJWAgAAQBAJ&source=kp_book_description&redir_esc=y |website=books.google.com.ar |accessdate=30 June 2020}}</ref>
 
|-
 
|-
| 2009 || August 10 || || "On August 10, 2009, Google announced Caffeine – which would become one of the most important updates in the search engine’s history."<ref>{{cite web |title=Google’s Caffeine Update: Better Indexing & Fresher Search Results |url=https://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-algorithm-history/caffeine-update/ |website=searchenginejournal.com |accessdate=4 January 2020}}</ref>
+
| 2013 || || || SEO tool launch || Serpstat is founded.<ref>{{cite web |title=All-in-One SEO platform |url=https://serpstat.com/about/ |website=serpstat.com |accessdate=28 June 2020}}</ref> IT offers a tool for keyword research, PPC analysis and competitor research.<ref>{{cite web |title=Serpstat Review: The Ultimate SEO & PPC Tool for Bloggers |url=https://www.99signals.com/serpstat-review/#:~:text=Serpstat%20is%20an%20exceptional%20tool,SEO%20tools%20in%20the%20market. |website=99signals.com |accessdate=28 June 2020}}</ref>
 
|-
 
|-
| 2009 || || || "In 2009, Microsoft Live Search became Bing. Then, in an attempt to challenge Google’s nearly 70 percent grip of the U.S. search market, Yahoo and Microsoft joined forces to partner on a 10-year search deal (though it ended up being reworked five years later)."<ref name="20 Years of SEO: A Brief History of Search Engine Optimization"/>
+
| 2014 || || {{w|Google}} || Notable update || Google releases "Pigeon", an algorithm update whose goal is to improve local search rankings.<ref name="A Brief History of Search & SEO"/><ref>{{cite web |title=Google Pigeon – What Is It and What Should I Do? |url=http://www.leapgo.com/google-pigeon/ |website=leapgo.com |accessdate=28 April 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Google Pigeon |url=https://www.webopedia.com/TERM/G/google-pigeon.html |website=webopedia.com |accessdate=28 April 2020}}</ref>  
 
|-
 
|-
| 2009 || September–December || {{w|SEO contest}} || "OES Tsetnoc SEO Contest 2009. This contest literally for SEO Contest in reverse was from September 10th til December 15th 2009. Organized by PromoJunkie, there were prizes of $1000, $300, and $200. Some guy who went by Handsome won."<ref name="Previous SEO Competitions"/>
+
| 2014 || September || [[w:Bing (search engine)|Bing]] || Notable update || [[w:Bing (search engine)|Bing]] launches update aimed at combating {{w|keyword stuffing}}.<ref>{{cite web |title=URL Keyword Stuffing Spam Filtering |url=https://blogs.bing.com/webmaster/2014/09/09/url-keyword-stuffing-spam-filtering |website=blogs.bing.com |accessdate=23 June 2020}}</ref>
 
|-
 
|-
| 2009 || Year round || || {{w|Google}} executes between 350 and 550 adjustments to its search algorithm along the year, meaning at least once a day, showing the "rapid advancement required to stay on top if playing the game of SEO at the highest level".<ref name="A brief history of Search Engine Optimization (SEO)"/>
+
| 2014 || September || {{w|Google}} || {{w|Spamdexing}} || {{w|Google}} targets private blog networks (also known as {{w|link farm}}s) with manual action ranking penalties.<ref>{{cite web |title=Google Targets Sites Using Private Blog Networks With Manual Action Ranking Penalties |url=https://searchengineland.com/google-targets-sites-using-private-blog-networks-manual-action-ranking-penalties-204000 |website=searchengineland.com |accessdate=23 June 2020}}</ref>  
 
|-
 
|-
| 2009 || || || {{w|Google}} announces it is attempting to stop the effects of {{w|PageRank}} sculpting that come as a result of nofollow links.<ref name="A Brief History of SEOd"/>
+
| 2014 || October 5 || {{w|Google}} || Notable update || Google launches Penguin 3.0, a new algorithm update aimed to penalize those sites who use black hat {{w|link building}} tactics to build unnatural links to manipulate search engines. The update affects 0.3% English Language queries all over the world.<ref>{{cite web |title=Google Penguin Update 3 Released, Impacts 0.3% Of English-Language Queries |url=https://searchengineland.com/google-penguin-update-3-135527 |website=searchengineland.com |accessdate=24 June 2020}}</ref> Black hat link building tactics are methods used to direct people to a site by exploiting website loopholes, enabling a site to rank higher than it should through "organic" search means.<ref>{{cite web |title=black hat link building |url=https://searchcontentmanagement.techtarget.com/definition/black-hat-link-building#:~:text=Black%20hat%20link%20building%20tactics,system%20and%20boost%20search%20rankings. |website=searchcontentmanagement.techtarget.com |accessdate=30 June 2020}}</ref>
 
|-
 
|-
| 2010 || December || || " In December 2010, both Google and Bing added "social signals," which first displayed any written Facebook posts, for example, from your own network that matched your query. But it also began to give PageRank to Twitter profiles that were linked to with some frequency. The importance of Twitter in SEO didn't end there -- stay tuned."<ref name="A Brief History of Search & SEO"/>
+
| 2014 || November || {{w|Google}} || Notable update || {{w|Google}} adds a "mobile-friendly" label for search results that are optimized for such platforms, where text is readable without zooming or horizontal scrolling, and links are spaced well enough so that there’s a reduced chance of mis-tapping.<ref name="A Brief History of Search & SEO"/><ref>{{cite web |title=Helping users find mobile-friendly pages |url=https://webmasters.googleblog.com/2014/11/helping-users-find-mobile-friendly-pages.html |website=webmasters.googleblog.com |accessdate=6 January 2020}}</ref>  
 
|-
 
|-
| 2010 || || || "By 2010 a tactic had appeared where websites were created from large amounts of low-quality textual content, frequently updated and specifically designed to lure search engine algorithms. These sites were linked together forming so-called ‘{{w|content farm}}s’ whose only purpose was to drive search engine traffic and, just like doorway pages before them, sending the incoming traffic to the final destination."<ref name="A brief history of Search Engine Optimization (SEO)"/>
+
| 2014 || {{dts|November 7}} || {{w|Google}} || Product launch (search rankings flux) || The oldest Wayback Machine snapshot of Advanced Web Ranking's page for Google's search rankings flux is for this date. The underlying data goes back to August 10, 2014.<ref>{{cite web|url = https://web.archive.org/web/20141107155134/https://www.advancedwebranking.com/google-algorithm-changes/|title = Google Algorithm Changes|publisher = Advanced Web Rankings|date = November 7, 2014|accessdate = July 3, 2021}}</ref>
 
|-
 
|-
| 2010 || Year round || || "Companies’ SEO Spending in 2010. 52% – Spending more on SEO. 39% – Spending about the same. 9% – Spending less."<ref name="seo.comf"/>
+
| 2015 || February || {{w|Google}} || Notable update || Google announces a change, with a mobile-friendly test that allows webmasters to view potential issues and make changes before the rollout.<ref name="A Brief History of Search & SEO"/>
 
|-
 
|-
| 2011 || || || "In 2011, Google found its search results facing severe scrutiny because so-called “content farms” (websites that produced high volumes of low-quality content) were dominating the search results. Google’s SERPs were also cluttered with websites featuring unoriginal and auto-generated content – and even, in some instances, scraper sites were outranking content originators."<ref name="20 Years of SEO: A Brief History of Search Engine Optimization"/>
+
| 2015 || March 16 || {{w|Google}} || Notable update || Google introduces a new penalty algorithm to decrease the likelihood of {{w|doorway page}}s ranking in search results.<ref>{{cite web |title=An update on doorway pages |url=https://webmasters.googleblog.com/2015/03/an-update-on-doorway-pages.html |website=webmasters.googleblog.com |accessdate=27 June 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=How Doorway Pages Hurt Your Site’s SEO |url=https://thecontentworks.uk/doorway-pages/ |website=thecontentworks.uk |accessdate=27 June 2020}}</ref> Doorway pages are low-quality pages, optimized to rank well for specific keywords that act as a door between users and content.<ref>{{cite web |title=Google’s shutting the door on doorway pages for SEO |url=https://www.brafton.com/news/seo-1/googles-shutting-door-doorway-pages-seo/ |website=brafton.com |accessdate=30 June 2020}}</ref>
 
|-
 
|-
| 2012 || April || || "In April 2012, Google took what it called “another step to reward high-quality sites” with the first of many Penguin updates -- and, in the process of announcing it, acknowledged Bing’s month-earlier blog post on the changing face of SEO. "<ref name="A Brief History of Search & SEO"/> " Penguin 4.0 is the latest version of Penguin, which was originally introduced in April, 2012."<ref name="tellmeyourgoal.coms"/>
+
| 2015 || April 21 || {{w|Google}} || Notable update || Google introduces search engine algorithm update so-called ‘{{w|Mobilegeddon}}’, which makes website mobile friendliness a ranking signal in searches.<ref name="A brief history of Search Engine Optimization (SEO)"/><ref>{{cite web |title=Finding more mobile-friendly search results |url=https://webmasters.googleblog.com/2015/02/finding-more-mobile-friendly-search.html |website=webmasters.googleblog.com |accessdate=7 January 2020}}</ref>
 
|-
 
|-
| 2012 || May || || {{w|Google}} unveils the {{w|Knowledge Graph}}, a new visual interface that provides popular facts about people, places and things alongside Google's traditional results. This constitutes a major shift away from interpreting keywords strings to understanding semantics and intent.<ref name="20 Years of SEO: A Brief History of Search Engine Optimization"/><ref>{{cite web |title=Google Testing Semantic Search Update |url=https://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-semantic-search-update/43443/ |website=searchenginejournal.com |accessdate=4 January 2020}}</ref> The {{w|Knowledge Graph}} would become popular in knowledge representation and knowledge management applications widely across search engine, biomedical, media and industrial domains.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Wasny |first1=Garrett |title=Advanced Googling: How to Search Smarter, Faster and More Efficiently on Google |url=https://books.google.com.ar/books?id=2W3CAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA123&dq=%22Knowledge+Graph%22+%222012%22+%22google%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi9uemPwdToAhU3F7kGHQ8VAl0Q6AEIQjAD#v=onepage&q=%22Knowledge%20Graph%22%20%222012%22%20%22google%22&f=false}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Pan |first1=Jeff Z. |last2=Calvanese |first2=Diego |last3=Eiter |first3=Thomas |last4=Horrocks |first4=Ian |last5=Kifer |first5=Michael |last6=Lin |first6=Fangzhen |last7=Zhao |first7=Yuting |title=Reasoning Web: Logical Foundation of Knowledge Graph Construction and Query Answering: 12th International Summer School 2016, Aberdeen, UK, September 5-9, 2016, Tutorial Lectures |url=https://books.google.com.ar/books?id=-J47DgAAQBAJ&pg=PA1&dq=%22Knowledge+Graph%22+%222012%22+%22google%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi9uemPwdToAhU3F7kGHQ8VAl0Q6AEIKDAA#v=onepage&q=%22Knowledge%20Graph%22%20%222012%22%20%22google%22&f=false}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Färber |first1=M. |title=Semantic Search for Novel Information |url=https://books.google.com.ar/books?id=wHc2DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA23&dq=%22Knowledge+Graph%22+%222012%22+%22google%22&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi9uemPwdToAhU3F7kGHQ8VAl0Q6AEIMDAB#v=onepage&q=%22Knowledge%20Graph%22%20%222012%22%20%22google%22&f=false}}</ref>
+
| 2015 || April || {{w|Google}} || Notable update || Google introduces mobile update. Since then, non-mobile-friendly websites would start getting lower rankings. This means SEO is no longer about keywords and content, with responsive design as new factor.<ref name="A Brief History of Search & SEO"/>
 
|-
 
|-
| 2013 || October || || "launch of app indexing making apps appear alongside websites in search results"<ref name="A brief history of Search Engine Optimization (SEO)"/> "Google App Indexing was launched in October 2013 for a limited set of publishers."<ref>{{cite web |title=Google: App Indexing |url=https://searchengineland.com/library/google/google-app-indexing |website=searchengineland.com |accessdate=7 January 2020}}</ref>
+
| 2015 || May 1 || || SEO tool launch || Rank Tracker launches. This tool automatically tracks the users' daily keyword positions movements across all major search engines.<ref>{{cite web |title=RankTracker |url=https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/ranktracker |website=crunchbase.com |accessdate=28 June 2020}}</ref>
 
|-
 
|-
| 2014 || || || "Keeping with the tradition of animal-named algorithm updates, Google released "Pigeon" (dubbed so by SEL) in 2014, which carried quite an impact on local search results. At the time, it seems to have been designed to improve Maps queries, which began to be treated with some of the same technology that was applied to its other search functions, like "Knowledge Graph, spelling correction, synonyms". Local searches were going to become a big deal -- and it will only continue to do so, as you'll see in a bit."<ref name="A Brief History of Search & SEO"/>
+
| 2015 || May || || Background || {{w|Mobile search}} surpasses desktop search.<ref>[https://adwords.blogspot.com/2015/05/building-for-next-moment.html "Inside AdWords: Building for the next moment" ''Google Inside Adwords'' May 15, 2015.]</ref>  
 
|-
 
|-
| 2014 || November || || "Back in 2014, Google added a "mobile-friendly" label for search results that were optimized for such platforms -- where text is readable without zooming or horizontal scrolling, and links are spaced well enough so that there’s a reduced chance of mis-tapping."<ref name="A Brief History of Search & SEO"/><ref>{{cite web |title=Helping users find mobile-friendly pages |url=https://webmasters.googleblog.com/2014/11/helping-users-find-mobile-friendly-pages.html |website=webmasters.googleblog.com |accessdate=6 January 2020}}</ref>
+
| 2015 || {{dts|June 23}} || {{w|Google}} || Product launch (search rankings flux) || Data for AccuRanker's "Google Grump" rating, a measure of Google's search rankings flux, goes back to this date.<ref>{{cite web|url = https://www.accuranker.com/grump|title = Our ‘Google Grump’ Rating|publisher = AccuRanker|accessdate = July 3, 2021}}</ref>
 
|-
 
|-
| 2015 || February || || "Google announced that change in advance, in February 2015, with a mobile-friendly test that allowed webmasters to view potential issues and make changes before the rollout."<ref name="A Brief History of Search & SEO"/>
+
| 2015 || || {{w|Google}} || Background || {{w|2015}} is known as the Year of Mobile, the point at which {{w|mobile search}}es overtake {{w|desktop search}} for the first time on {{w|Google}}.<ref name="20 Years of SEO: A Brief History of Search Engine Optimization"/>  
 
|-
 
|-
| 2015 || April || || "The biggest post-2010 SEO announcement might have been Google’s mobile update of April 2015, when non-mobile-friendly websites would start getting lower rankings. That meant SEO was no longer about keywords and content -- responsive design mattered, too."<ref name="A Brief History of Search & SEO"/>
+
| 2015 || October || {{w|Google}} || System launch || {{w|Google}} {{w|RankBrain}} is announced. It is a {{w|machine learning}} (AI) algorithm initially used to try to interpret the 15 percent of searches that Google has never seen before, based on the words or phrases the user has entered.<ref name="20 Years of SEO: A Brief History of Search Engine Optimization"/><ref>{{cite web |title=A Complete Guide to the Google RankBrain Algorithm |url=https://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-algorithm-history/rankbrain/ |website=searchenginejournal.com |accessdate=4 January 2020}}</ref> 
 
|-
 
|-
| 2015 || May || || {{w|Mobile search}} surpasses desktop search.<ref>[https://adwords.blogspot.com/2015/05/building-for-next-moment.html "Inside AdWords: Building for the next moment" ''Google Inside Adwords'' May 15, 2015.]</ref>
+
| 2015 || November 19 || {{w|Google}} || Guidelines release || Google releases the full versions of its search quality raters guidelines (QRG), a 160-page-long handbook that it previously only gave human evaluators to rate websites. The guidelines help websites understand what qualities Google Search would like to see in websites, although ratings made by raters based on these guidelines do not directly change search engine rankings. The release follows a leak in October 2015 of the same guidelines<ref name=qrg-release>{{cite web|url = https://searchengineland.com/google-releases-the-full-version-of-their-search-quality-rating-guidelines-236572|title = Google Releases The Full Version Of Their Search Quality Rating Guidelines. For the first time, Google has released the full version of its Search Quality Raters guidelines and handbook. It is 160 pages of wonderful SEO knowledge.|date = November 19, 2015|accessdate = 7 July 2020|publisher = Search Engine Land}}</ref> Two important pieces of jargon that gain currency in the SEO world due to these guidelines are: YMYL (your money or your life), a term for websites that offer information or allow people to take actions that have the potential to negatively impact the end user's health and wealth (examples include sites related to e-commerce, financial advice, medical advice, and legal advice), and E-A-T (expertise, authoritativeness, and trust), factors that are important to Google Search for ranking sites, and even more important for YMYL sites.<ref>{{cite web|url = https://moz.com/blog/google-search-quality-raters-guidelines|title = 30+ Important Takeaways from Google's Search Quality Rater's Guidelines|last = Slegg|first = Jennifer|date = November 25, 2015|accessdate = 7 July 2020|publisher = SEOMoz}}</ref> The guidelines are described as "160 pages of wonderful SEO knowledge."<ref name=qrg-release/>
 
|-
 
|-
| 2015 || || || {{w|2015}} is known as the Year of Mobile, the point at which {{w|mobile search}}es overtake {{w|desktop search}} for the first time on {{w|Google}}.<ref name="20 Years of SEO: A Brief History of Search Engine Optimization"/>
+
| 2015 || || {{w|Google}} || Standard development || According to a study, the top-ranking factors for search engines and their algorithms (including Google’s core algorithm) are ranked in order of importance as:
 +
* Domain-level link features
 +
* Page-level link features
 +
* Page-level keyword and content-based features
 +
* Page-level keyword agnostic features
 +
* Engagement and traffic/query data
 +
* Domain-level brand metrics
 +
* Domain-level keyword usage
 +
* Domain-level keyword-agnostic features
 +
* Page-level social metrics<ref name="tellmeyourgoal.coms"/>  
 
|-
 
|-
| 2015 || October || || "In terms of search, we’ve already started to see the impact of AI with Google RankBrain. Announced in October 2015, RankBrain was initially used to try to interpret the 15 percent of searches that Google has never seen before, based on the words or phrases the user has entered."<ref name="20 Years of SEO: A Brief History of Search Engine Optimization"/><ref>{{cite web |title=A Complete Guide to the Google RankBrain Algorithm |url=https://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-algorithm-history/rankbrain/ |website=searchenginejournal.com |accessdate=4 January 2020}}</ref>
+
| 2016 || March–June || || {{w|SEO contest}} || Apex Forum SEO Contest is held.<ref name="Previous SEO Competitions"/>  
 
|-
 
|-
| 2015 || || || ", and then in 2015 with the so-called ‘Mobilegeddon’ update that made website mobile friendliness a ranking signal in searches."<ref name="A brief history of Search Engine Optimization (SEO)"/><ref>{{cite web |title=Finding more mobile-friendly search results |url=https://webmasters.googleblog.com/2015/02/finding-more-mobile-friendly-search.html |website=webmasters.googleblog.com |accessdate=7 January 2020}}</ref>
+
| 2016 || September 13 || || Literature || ''SEO for Growth: The Ultimate Guide for Marketers, Web Designers & Entrepreneurs'' is published by John Jantsch and Phil Singleton.<ref>{{cite web |title=SEO for Growth: The Ultimate Guide for Marketers, Web Designers & Entrepreneurs |url=https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/32054694-seo-for-growth |website=goodreads.com |accessdate=30 June 2020}}</ref>
 
|-
 
|-
| 2015 || || || "According to a 2015 study, the top-ranking factors for search engines and their algorithms (including Google’s core algorithm) are ranked in order of importance as:
+
| 2016 || December 27 || || Literature || ''Digital Marketing For Dummies'' is published by Russ Henneberry and Ryan Deiss.<ref>{{cite web |title=Digital Marketing For Dummies |url=https://books.google.com.ar/books/about/Digital_Marketing_For_Dummies.html?id=cx7NDQAAQBAJ&source=kp_book_description&redir_esc=y |website=books.google.com.ar |accessdate=30 June 2020}}</ref>  
 
 
Domain-level link features
 
Page-level link features
 
Page-level keyword and content-based features
 
Page-level keyword agnostic features
 
Engagement and traffic/query data
 
Domain-level brand metrics
 
Domain-level keyword usage
 
Domain-level keyword-agnostic features
 
Page-level social metrics"<ref name="tellmeyourgoal.coms"/>
 
 
|-
 
|-
| 2016 || March–June || {{w|SEO contest}} || "Apex Forum SEO Contest 2016. Winner Scott Paxton. The keyword was "Club Penguin Walkthrough". Contest began on March 25th and went through June 22nd. There were lots of prizes totaling $8,684.04 for the winner with $1,000 in cash, $2,859.80 in prizes for second including $250 cash, and $1,769.80 in prizes for third including $100 cash."<ref name="Previous SEO Competitions"/>
+
| 2017 || January || {{w|Google}} || Notable update || {{w|Google}} introduces an algorithmic change called the “Intrusive Interstitial Penalty” in order to “punish aggressive interstitials and pop-ups that might damage the mobile user experience.<ref name="tellmeyourgoal.coms"/>
|-  
+
|-
| 2016 || August || || Google announces a crackdown on mobile pop-ups.<ref name="A Brief History of Search & SEO"/>
+
| 2017 || March || {{w|Google}} || Notable update || Google introduces update informally known as “Fred”, which would have a major impact on the SEO community.<ref name="tellmeyourgoal.coms"/>
 
|-
 
|-
| 2017 || January || || {{w|Google}} introduces an algorithmic change called the “Intrusive Interstitial Penalty” in order to “punish aggressive interstitials and pop-ups that might damage the mobile user experience.<ref name="tellmeyourgoal.coms"/>
+
| 2017 || {{dts|July 20}} / 21 || {{w|Google}} || Product launch (search rankings flux) || Data for Algoroo, a Google algorithm flux tracking tool, is available going back to this date. Algoroo is available for google.com and google.com.au.<ref>{{cite web|url = https://algoroo.com/|title = Algoroo|accessdate = July 3, 2021}}</ref>
 
|-
 
|-
| 2017 || March || || Google introduces update informally known as “Fred”, which would have a major impact on the SEO community.<ref name="tellmeyourgoal.coms"/>
+
| 2018 || June || {{w|Google}} || Market distribution || As of date, {{w|Google}} accounts for over 72.47% of all global desktop search traffic, followed by {{w|Baidu}} at 13.47%, {{w|Bing}} at 7.64%, and {{w|Yahoo!}} at 4.74%.<ref name="seoexpertbrad.comss">{{cite web |title=GOOGLE LOCAL SEO STATISTICS THAT EVERY SEARCH MARKETER SHOULD READ |url=https://seoexpertbrad.com/local-seo-stats/ |website=seoexpertbrad.com |accessdate=6 April 2020}}</ref>
 
|-
 
|-
| 2018 || June || || As of date, {{w|Google}} accounts for over 72.47% of all global desktop search traffic, followed by {{w|Baidu}} at 13.47%, {{w|Bing}} at 7.64%, and {{w|Yahoo!}} at 4.74%.<ref name="seoexpertbrad.comss">{{cite web |title=GOOGLE LOCAL SEO STATISTICS THAT EVERY SEARCH MARKETER SHOULD READ |url=https://seoexpertbrad.com/local-seo-stats/ |website=seoexpertbrad.com |accessdate=6 April 2020}}</ref>  
+
| 2018 || July || {{w|Google}} || Notable update || {{w|Google}} announces that from then on, page speed would be a ranking factor for mobile searches.<ref name="A brief history of Search Engine Optimization (SEO)"/><ref>{{cite web |title=Using page speed in mobile search ranking |url=https://webmasters.googleblog.com/2018/01/using-page-speed-in-mobile-search.html |website=webmasters.googleblog.com |accessdate=7 January 2020}}</ref>
 
|-
 
|-
| 2018 || July || || {{w|Google}} announces that from then on, page speed will be a ranking factor for mobile searches.<ref name="A brief history of Search Engine Optimization (SEO)"/><ref>{{cite web |title=Using page speed in mobile search ranking |url=https://webmasters.googleblog.com/2018/01/using-page-speed-in-mobile-search.html |website=webmasters.googleblog.com |accessdate=7 January 2020}}</ref>
+
| 2018 || {{dts|August 30}} || {{w|Google}} || Product launch (search rankings flux) || Data for cognitiveSEO Signals Google search ranking flux is available starting this date.<ref>{{cite web|url = https://cognitiveseo.com/signals/|title = Google Algorithm Changes|accessdate = July 3, 2021}}</ref>
 
|-
 
|-
| 2020 || || || Comscore predicts that by this year, 50% all searches will be voice.<ref name="A brief history of Search Engine Optimization (SEO)"/><ref>{{cite web |title=Stat of the week – Voice Search |url=https://blog.zooma.se/en/blog/stat-of-the-week-voice-search |website=blog.zooma.se |accessdate=7 January 2020}}</ref>
+
| 2019 || January 26 || || {{w|Spamdexing}} || {{w|XRumer}} is released is a piece of software made for spamming online forums and comment sections. "It is marketed as a program for search engine optimization and was created by BotmasterLabs."<ref>{{cite web |title=XRumer |url=http://www.botmasterlabs.net/xrumer/ |website=botmasterlabs.net |accessdate=29 June 2020}}</ref>
 
|-
 
|-
 
|}
 
|}
Line 301: Line 410:
  
 
===What the timeline is still missing===
 
===What the timeline is still missing===
 
* [https://www.searchenginejournal.com/seo-101/seo-history/#close]
 
* [https://searchengineland.com/evolution-seo-trends-25-years-223424]
 
* [https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/a-brief-history-of-search-seo]
 
* [http://www.thehistoryofseo.com/The-Industry/The_History_of_Search_Engine_Optimization.aspx]
 
* [https://blog.zooma.se/en/blog/a-brief-history-of-search-engine-optimization-seo]
 
* [https://www.bluefrogdm.com/blog/a-brief-history-of-seo]
 
* [https://seoexpertbrad.com/local-seo-stats/]
 
 
 
 
 
* [https://www.tellmeyourgoal.com/the-history-of-search-engine-optimization]
 
* [https://mikekhorev.com/the-history-of-search]
 
 
  
 
===Timeline update strategy===
 
===Timeline update strategy===
  
 
==See also==
 
==See also==
 +
 +
* [[Timeline of Google Search]]
 +
* [[Timeline of web search engines]]
  
 
==External links==
 
==External links==

Latest revision as of 17:39, 26 October 2021

This is a timeline of search engine optimization, attempting to describe significant events related to this practice. For the sake of context, many events directly related to search engines, their evolution, products and updates, are included.

Sample questions

The following are some interesting questions that can be answered by reading this timeline:

  • What are some notable SEO tool services?
    • Sort the full timeline by "Event type" and look for the group of rows with value "SEO tool launch".
    • You will see a variety of services (some of them for free) offering analytics, SEO rank tracking software, blogging, etc.
  • What are some events describing practices against search engine guidelines?
    • Sort the full timeline by "Event type" and look for the group of rows with value "Spamdexing".
    • You will see a number of Black hat SEO techniques, and related events.
  • What are some significant updates involving search engines?
    • Sort the full timeline by "Event type" and look for the group of rows with value "Notable update".
    • You will see some significant updates by prominent search engines, mainly Google; aimed at combating spamdexing, but also improving aspects like geographic intent, end-user data, etc.
  • What are some of the several competitions specialized in SEO?
    • Sort the full timeline by "Event type" and look for the group of rows with value "SEO contest".
    • You will see a number of notable contests launched throughout the years.
  • What are some of the numerous books focused on SEO?
    • Sort the full timeline by "Event type" and look for the group of rows with value "Literature".
    • You will see a mostly random list of titles illustrating the literature industry on the topic of CEO.
  • What are some events providing context to SEO?
    • Sort the full timeline by "Event type" and look for the group of rows with value "Background".
    • You will see significant events, some of them describing search evolution, and others related to major search engines.

Big picture

Time period Development summary More details
1991–2002 Prelude period[1] Early period starting from the launch of the world’s first website by Tim Berners-Lee. As websites start crowding the Internet, the first search engines fill a need for structure and accessibility. in 1993, search platforms like Excite revolutionize how information is cataloged and make finding information easier by sorting results based on keywords found within content and backend optimization. Webmasters and content providers begin optimizing websites for search engines in the mid-decade. Yahoo! in 1994 and Google in 1997 enter the scene to improve and simplify how data is indexed and delivered. In this primitive stage, marketers would leverage keyword stuffing, excessive tagging, and (often spammy) backlinks to generate high rankings in search. Often, major algorithm updates would take several months to complete, allowing black-hat SEO tactics to remain effective for long stretches of time. In 1994, several new search engines become widely accessible to the public.[2] In 1996, in which some consider the time when SEO really took off, Sergey Brin and Larry Page begin building BackRub, the predecessor of Google, which would become the biggest, most recognized search engine.[3] Around 1997, the first algorithm crackers appear. 1997 is the year that several SEO providers decode all 35 parameters of Excite’s algorithm.[4]
2003–2005 Early developments[1] Google, MSN and Yahoo!, the three major search engines that are left, start incorporating undisclosed page ranking factors into their algorithms. The era of keyword-spamming SEO is long over. Webmasters and content providers have to rely on more creative ways to promote content and generate inbound links in order to achieve long term increases in search engine rankings.[4]
2006–2009 Middle period This period introduces highlights like Google's Universal Search to offer additionally more engaging content media in search results such as news, images, and video.[1]
2010–2012 Consolidation period [1] Social media becomes a more pivotal piece of SEO strategy.[5] By 2010, content farms appear, designed to lure search engine algorithms. As a response, Google decides that the quality of the content should matter more for search engine rankings, and in 2011 launches its Google Panda update which effectively kills the practice.[6] Toward 2012, Google continues setting restrictions to means of improving users' ranking score and continues penalizing websites using unethical methods of rankings.[7]
2013–present Modern SEO era[1] Focus moves towards mobile search. In 2014, the app indexing launches, making apps appear alongside websites in search results. In 2015, the so-called ‘Mobilegeddon’ update appears, making website mobile friendliness a ranking signal in searches.[6] By 2017, SEO is considered, for the most part, a conversation with Google Search.[4] 2018 starts with the continuation of mobile as a key focus for search engines.[6] As of 2019, SEO campaigns are much more laborious and complex than they were a decade ago. Users get better relevant results and webmasters and content providers have to provide actual value in order to rank high on search results.[4]


Numerical and visual data

Google Scholar

The following table summarizes per-year mentions on Google Scholar as of October 26, 2021.

Year "search engine optimization"
2000 28
2002 61
2004 145
2006 442
2008 948
2010 1,850
2012 2,830
2014 3,240
2016 3,770
2018 4,660
2020 5,340
Search engine optimization gscho.png

Google Trends

The chart below shows Google Trends data for Search engine optimization (Topic), from January 2004 to April 2021, when the screenshot was taken. Interest is also ranked by country and displayed on world map.[8]

Search engine optimization gt.png

The chart below shows Google Ngram Viewer data for Search engine optimization, from 1990 to 2019.[9]

Search engine optimization ngram.png

Wikipedia Views

The chart below shows pageviews of the English Wikipedia article Search engine optimization, on desktop from December 2007, and on mobile-web, desktop-spider, mobile-web-spider and mobile app, from July 2015; to March 2021.[10]

Search engine optimization wv.png

Full timeline

Year Month and date Search engine (when applicable) Event type Details
1991 Early development The first website is developed for the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center.[11] It is believed that SEO is born in this year, with the launch of the first website.[3]
1994 Early developent Greg Boser discovers that he could use the Internet to sell protective foam equipment to fight fires. Boser builds a website and starts seeking ways to drive potential customers to his site for sales.[12]
1995 Organization John Audette forms Multi-Media Marketing Group, which would produce a popular newsletter with tips for influencing search engines.[13][12]
1996 April 1 SEO tool launch Alexa Internet is founded. It offers commercial online traffic data and analytics.[14]
1996 Aptil The report A Webmaster’s Guide To Search Engines by Danny Sullivan is published.[15][16]
1996 May 22 Spamdexing The earliest known reference[17] to the term spamdexing is by Eric Convey, who says:
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 spamming — the Internet term for sending users unsolicited information — and "indexing."[17]
1997 Concept development According to industry analyst 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.[18] "all signs definitely point to the term SEO originating around 1997."[19] "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."[20]
1997 June Website launch Search Engine Watch is started by Danny Sullivan, building upon his April 1996 report A Webmaster's Guide to Search Engines.[15] An article in USA Today on August 2006 would quote Google's Matt Cutts and Yahoo's Tim Mayer praising Search Engine Watch.[16]
1997 September Google Background google.com is registered as a domain name.[21]
1999 November 18 Conference Search Engine Strategies (SES) takes place as the first-ever all search marketing conference.[19][22][20]
1999 Spamdexing Link farms are first developed by search engine optimizers (SEOs) to take advantage of the Inktomi search engine's dependence upon link popularity.[23]
1999 Google Spamdexing Google bombs date back to this year, when a search for "more evil than Satan himself" results in the Microsoft homepage as the top result.[24][25]
2000 Yahoo!, Google Background In what is considered to be the worst strategic move in search history[26], Yahoo! partners with Google and lets Google power their organic results instead of Inktomi. At this time Google is a little-known search engine. After this, every Yahoo search result would say “Powered by Google”, with Yahoo! ending up introducing their largest competitor to the world and Google becoming a household name.[19]
2000 Conference Pubcon launches in London as the first of a large search conference series.[27][28]
2000 SEO tool launch WebCEO is founded.[29] It offers SEO tool kit for digital agencies.[30]
2000 October 23 Google Service launch Google AdWords launches.[19] It is a pay-per-click online advertising platform that allows advertisers to display their ads on Google's search engine results page.[31]
2000 December 11 Google Notable update Google Toolbar becomes available as a web browser toolbar for Internet Explorer, allowing SEO practitioners to see their PageRank score (a number between 0-10).[32][33][19][22]
2001 Concept development Danny Sullivan, a prominent industry writer, unsuccessfully suggests the term "search engine marketing" as a successor to "search engine optimization", with the purpose to cover the spectrum of activities involved in performing SEO, managing paid listings at the search engines, submitting sites to directories, and developing online marketing strategies for businesses, organizations, and individuals.[19][34]
2001 Year round Google Background Users massively abandon old search engines like Lycos, Excite, AltaVista and Hotbot, and move their interest towards Google.[4][20] Brett Tabke, Founder of WebmasterWorld, comments: “Many SEOs have sleepless nights as we realize it is Google or bust.” [20]
2002 November 15 SEO contest Schnitzelmitkartoffelsalat is launched by German webmasters as the first recorded SEO Contest.[35]
2002 Google Service launch Google announces the launch of Froogle, a free product listing and price comparison service where users can discover various products from across the vendors, sort them and make a purchase.[20][36]
2003 Google Product launch After acquiring Blogger.com, Google launches AdSense, which serves contextually targeted Google AdWords ads on publisher sites.[19]
2003 Website launch Search Engine Roundtable is started by Barry Schwartz for discussion of advanced SEO topics.[37]
2003 Website launch SEO news website Search Engine Journal is started.[38]
2003 SEO evolution Blogging becomes popular and is utilized for SEO. Blogger and WordPress become widely used.[20]
2003 April 3 Google Spamdexing The term Googlewashing is coined by Andrew Orlowski to describe the use of media manipulation to change the perception of a term, or push out competition from search engine results pages (SERPs).[39][40]
2003 November 16 Google Notable update Google launches its Google Florida update, aimed at combatting keyword stuffing[41], a practice consisting in loading a webpage with keywords or numbers in an attempt to manipulate a site's ranking in search results.[42]
2004 March SEO contest Promoweb agency organizes the first French-speaking contest, Mangeur de Cigogne (eater of stork).[43]
2004 May SEO contest Nigritude Ultramarine 2004 launches as the first english language SEO competition, created by darkblue.com and run by SearchGuild.[44]
2004 August SEO contest A new contest of SEO is organized in the United Kingdom by a web agency, based this time on keywords seraphim proudleduck.[43] This contest is presented by Salmonbones.[44]
2004 Google Notable update Google and other top search engines start improving results for queries that have a geographic intent (e.g., a restaurant, plumber, or some other type of business or service provider in the user's location).[19]
2004 Google Notable update Google and other search engines begin making greater use of end-user data, such as search history and interests, to personalize search results. This means that the results the user sees could be different than what another person obtains sitting next to the user in another computer when searching for the same query.[19]
2004 SEO tool launch SEO Moz is founded by Rand Fiskin. First a blog, SEOmoz would grow to become one of the largest providers of SEO Tools.[20]
2004 SEO tool launch SEO tool company Sistrix launches.[45] Their analyses of Google algorithm updates would often be cited on Search Engine Land.
2004 Google, MSN, Yahoo! Notable update The three major search engines that are left, Google, MSN and Yahoo!, start incorporating undisclosed page ranking factors into their algorithms.[4]
2005 January Google, MSN, Yahoo! Background Google unites with Yahoo! and MSN for the nofollow attribute, which is created in part to decrease the amount of spammy links and comments on websites, especially blogs.[5]
2005 March 1 SEO contest Loquine Glupe is held. It is hosted by webmaster-forums.co.uk.[44]
2005 April SEO tool launch SpyFu launches.[46] It is a keyword research and competitive intelligence tool used by digital marketers to improve their performance in online search.[47]
2005 May–December SEO contest Hommingberger Gepardenforelle 2005 launches as another German contest. The goal of this SEO contest is to figure out how search engines determine rankings.[44]
2005 June Google Notable update Google debuts personalized search, which makes use of user personal search and browsing history to make results more relevant,[5] thus presenting customized results pages when the user is logged in.[4]
2005 Spamdexing Nofollow tags are created as a means to combat spam. SEO professionals begin using this tag as a way of PageRank sculpting, a technique consisting in distributing the PageRank of a website to other subpages.[19]
2005 August Spamdexing The term splog (short for spam blog) is popularized around the time, when it is used publicly by Mark Cuban, who writes: " A splog is any blog whose creator doesn’t add any written value. I’m sure some might argue that packaging data, such as news feeds or the blog posts of others is added value. I dont think it is."[48]
2005 SEO contest Msnbetter Thangoogle launches as a Polish SEO contest intended to promote SEO in Poland and get the attention of search engines.[44]
2005 SEO tool launch Conductor is founded.[49] It is a SEO technology firm offering a suite of enterprise SEO tools and performance.[50]
2005 Spamdexing The practice of meta-tag stuffing becomes ineffective. The practice involves repeating keywords in the Meta tags, and using meta keywords that are unrelated to the site's content.[51]
2005 September Google Notable update Google releases Jagger, an update that helps to diminish the level of unsolicited link exchanges that fly around.[19][52]
2005 September 29 Spamdexing The term sping (a short for "spam ping") is coined by a French SEO blogger, Sébastien Billiard, in an article titled "Spam 2.0".[53]
2005 November Google SEO tool launch Google launches Google Analytics. This free, web-based tool would become so popular at launch that webmasters would experience downtime and maintenance warnings.[5][20][19]
2005 December Google Notable update Google releases Big Daddy, an update that improves the architecture of Google to allow for improved understanding of the worth and relationship of links between sites.[19][54]
2005 December 20 SEO contest The V7ndotcom Elursrebmem Competition is organized in the United States.[44][43]
2005 SEO tool launch SEO tool company Searchmetrics launches.[55] Searchmetrics analyses of Google algorithm updates would often be cited on Search Engine Land.
2006 February–May SEO contest "The Four Required Words" SEO Contest launches. It is sponsored by milliondollarscreenshot.com and is the first contest to use an expression in quotes and targeted image search, even though no images are shown in the time of the contest.[44]
2006 March–December SEO contest Carcasherdotcom seocontest launches.[44]
2006 May 11 SEO tool launch Google Trends launches.[56] It is a tool for SEO research.[57]
2006 July 11 Literature The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business Is Selling Less of More is published by Chris Anderson.[58]
2006 Google Product launch Google launches Google Webmaster Tools, a suite of SEO tools that provides data and configuration control and lets webmasters view crawling errors, see what searches the user's site showed up for, and request reinclusion.[19]
2006 Product launch XML sitemaps are introduced, soon acquiring a great support from the search engines. XML sitemaps allow webmasters to display to the search engines, every URL on their website that is available for crawling. An XML sitemap contains not only a list of URLs but a range of further information, which help search engines to crawl more intelligently.[19][22]
2006 Google Spamdexing BMW is banned and utterly removed from Google’s search results for using a technique called cloaking, which means showing one type of content for search engines and another one for users.[6]
2006 SEO contest Redscowl Bluesingsky SEO contest takes place. It is sponsored by SEOLogs.[44]
2006 Google SEO tool launch Google Webmaster Central is launched. It is a free portal from that notifies the user of major technical issues with his/her website.[20][59]
2006 Notable update Since 2006, better methods of accessibility, including progressive enhancement, become available, so cloaking is no longer necessary for regular SEO.[60]
2006 Website launch BlackHatWorld launches as a forum[1] aimed at discussing the latest trends in internet marketing. [61]
2006 September 15 SEO tool launch DeepCrawl is founded. It offers a SEO platform aimed at helping brands to accelerate growth and mitigate losses in organic search performance.[62]
2006 October Google Background Google acquires YouTube for US$1.65 billion. Youtube would ultimately become the second most used search property in the world.[19]
2006 December 11 Website launch Search Engine Land, often stylized SearchEngineLand, launches at searchengineland.com as a new search news blog. It is run by SEO expert Danny Sullivan.[63]
2006 End of year Spamdexing According to EURid statistics, over 50% of the registrations could be considered at best speculative and at worst domain name warehousing, a practice by registrars obtaining control of expired domain names already under their management, with the intent to hold or “warehouse” names for their own use and/or profit.[64]
2007 January 15 SEO contest SEO World Championship launches. It is sponsored by European Internet Marketing company Eastpoin.[44]
2007 March 20 Google Product launch Google announces Plus Box, a new search feature that lets users see more information about individual search results.[65]
2007 May 2 Concept development Jason Gambert attempts to trademark the term SEO by convincing the Trademark Office in Arizona that SEO is a "process" involving manipulation of keywords and not a "marketing service."[66]
2007 May 16 Google Product launch Google undertakes the most radical change to its search results ever, with the introduction of its Universal Search system that blends listings from its news, video, images, local and book search engines among those it gathers from crawling web pages.[67]
2007 Google Spamdexing Google starts a campaign against paid links affecting PageRank.[4]
2007 August SEO tool launch SimilarWeb is founded.[68] It gives users the ability to see their competitors' traffic sources.[69]
2007 September Spamdexing Ralph Tegtmeier and Ed Purkiss coin the term "mosaic cloaking", which consists in only cloaking parts of the website in an effort to be more stealth.[70]
2008 February–April SEO contest seocontest2008 launches. It is sponsored by the UK Webmaster World Community.[44]
2008 March 31 Literature Search Engine Optimization is published by Kristopher B. Jones.[71]
2008 June–August SEO contest Busby SEO Challenge 2008 is held. It is sponsored by Busby Web Solutions based in Australia.[44][72][73]
2008 August 3 SEO tool launch SEMrush launches.[74] It provides an all-in-one tool suite for improving online visibility and discovering marketing insights.[75]
2008 Product launch Yoast SEO starts operations as a SEO tool.[76][77] It is a WordPress plugin that makes it easy for users to do things like control titles and meta descriptions, set their targeted keywords and track how often they're using them, manage sitemaps, and other tasks.[78]
2009 January 18 Google Notable update Google Vince Update is released. It favors brand websites when it comes to search results for traffic-rich keywords.[19][79][80]
2009 March–August SEO contest Net Builders SEO Contest is held. The targeted keyword is "sulumits retsambew" which is webmaster stimulus backwards. Backwards seems to be a common trend in these contests.[44]
2009 April Literature Search Engine Optimization All-in-One for Dummies is published by Bruce Clay and Susan Esparza.[81]
2009 June 3 Bing SEO tool launch Bing Webmaster Tools launches along with Bing.[82]
2009 August 10 Google Notable update Google announces Caffeine, which would become one of the most important updates in the search engine’s history.[83]
2009 SEO tool launch AuthorityLabs launches as a SEO rank tracking software.[84][85]
2009 Bing Background After Microsoft Live Search becomes Bing, in an unsuccessful attempt to challenge Google’s nearly 70 percent grip of the U.S. search market, Yahoo! and Microsoft join forces to partner on a 10-year search deal (though it would end up being reworked five years later).[19]
2009 September–December SEO contest OES Tsetnoc SEO Contest is held.[44]
2009 October Literature The Art of SEO is published by Eric Enge, Stephan Spencer, Rand Fishkin, and Jessie Stricchiola.[86]
2009 Year round Google Notable update Google executes between 350 and 550 adjustments to its search algorithm along the year, meaning at least once a day, showing the "rapid advancement required to stay on top if playing the game of SEO at the highest level".[6]
2009 Google Spamdexing Google announces attempt to stop the effects of PageRank sculpting that come as a result of nofollow links.[4]
2009 SEO tool launch Rank Ranger (often written as RankRanger), a SEO tool, launches. Their analyses would be frequently referenced in Search Engine Land posts on Google algorithm updates.[87]
2010 January SEO tool launch WooRank launches.[88] It is an automated website reviewing tool offering SEO auditing and monitoring.[89]
2010 April 25 Google, (eventually) Bing Product launch (search rankings flux) SERPMetrics launches its Flux page that provides charts of search rankings flux.[90][91]
2010 SEO tool launch Screaming Frog launches.[92] It offers SEO and pay-per-click (PPC) advertising services.[93]
2010 Spamdexing A tactic appears where websites are created from large amounts of low-quality textual content, frequently updated and specifically designed to lure search engine algorithms. These sites are linked together forming so-called ‘content farms’ whose only purpose is to drive search engine traffic and, just like doorway pages before them, sending the incoming traffic to the final destination.[6]
2010 SEO tool launch SEOPanel is released. It is an open source multi-website SEO monitoring application.[94]
2010 December Google Notable update Both Google and Bing add "social signals," which first display any written Facebook posts, for example, from the user's own network that matches his/her query.[5]
2010 Year round Statistics 52% of the companies are estimated to spend more on SEO, 39% Spending about the same, and 9% Spending less.[20]
2011 February 12 Google Spamdexing The New York Times publishes an article claiming that retailer JCPenney ranks unusually high in Google searches and that this is due to a large number of unnatural links to the JCPenney site with strategically selected anchor text. Google's Matt Cutts confirms that this violates Google's policies and Google starts applying a corrective "manual action" against JCPenney that leads to the site dropping significantly in search rankings.[95][96]
2011 February 14 Google Notable update Google launches the Google Chrome extension "Personal Blocklist", as part of countermeasures against content farming.[97]
2011 February 23 Google Notable update Google launches Google Panda, a algorithm update aimed at combating content farms by rewarding high-quality websites and diminishing the presence of low-quality websites in Google’s organic search engine results. Google Panda is initially known as "Farmer." The algorithm also combats keyword stuffing.[98][99]
2011 June 3 Literature The first edition of the SEO Periodic Table is released by Search Engine Land.[100][101] The SEO Periodic Table would continue to receive annual updates.
2011 SEO tool launch Ahrefs launches. It is a toolset for backlinks and SEO analysis.[102][103]
2012 February 28 Literature Content Strategy for the Web is published by Kristina Halvorson and Melissa Rach.[104]
2012 April 24 Google Notable update Google Penguin launches as a Google algorithm update.[5][2] It is aimed at decreasing search engine rankings of websites that violate Google's Webmaster Guidelines.[105]
2012 May Google Product launch Google unveils the Knowledge Graph, a new visual interface that provides popular facts about people, places and things alongside Google's traditional results. This constitutes a major shift away from interpreting keywords strings to understanding semantics and intent.[19][106] The Knowledge Graph would become popular in knowledge representation and knowledge management applications widely across search engine, biomedical, media and industrial domains.[107][108][109]
2012 July 26 Google Product launch (search rankings flux) Moz launches MozCast, the "Google weather report". The tool, available online at mozcast.com, tracks the "temperature" of changes to Google's search algorithm and rankings on a day-to-day basis, helping provide better context to search algorithm changes beyond just the biggest ones.[110][111][112]
2012 September 10 SEO tool launch Backlink is founded as a SEO firm offering website optimization, search engine optimization and social media internet marketing solutions.[113]
2012 SEO tool launch Kerboo launches as LinkRisk. It offers link audits, SEO, content marketing, and link building.[114][115]
2013 June (before June 12, likely June 9) Google Product launch (search rankings flux) Rank Ranker's Rank Risk Index becomes publicly available around this time. Google Search gives a creation date of June 9; the first Wayback Machine snapshot is from June 12.[116][117]
2013 June 27 Literature Google Semantic Search is published by David Amerland.[118]
2013 August Google Notable update Google Hummingbird launches as an update, helping to combat keyword stuffing.[119]
2013 October Google System launch Google App Indexing is launched for a limited set of publishers. It is a system that allows searchers to click on listings in Google's search results, taking them into apps on their Android and iOS smartphones and tablets.[6] [120][121]
2013 November 28 Literature SEO Made Easy: Everything You Need to Know about SEO and Nothing More is published by Evan Bailyn.[122]
2013 SEO tool launch Serpstat is founded.[123] IT offers a tool for keyword research, PPC analysis and competitor research.[124]
2014 Google Notable update Google releases "Pigeon", an algorithm update whose goal is to improve local search rankings.[5][125][126]
2014 September Bing Notable update Bing launches update aimed at combating keyword stuffing.[127]
2014 September Google Spamdexing Google targets private blog networks (also known as link farms) with manual action ranking penalties.[128]
2014 October 5 Google Notable update Google launches Penguin 3.0, a new algorithm update aimed to penalize those sites who use black hat link building tactics to build unnatural links to manipulate search engines. The update affects 0.3% English Language queries all over the world.[129] Black hat link building tactics are methods used to direct people to a site by exploiting website loopholes, enabling a site to rank higher than it should through "organic" search means.[130]
2014 November Google Notable update Google adds a "mobile-friendly" label for search results that are optimized for such platforms, where text is readable without zooming or horizontal scrolling, and links are spaced well enough so that there’s a reduced chance of mis-tapping.[5][131]
2014 November 7 Google Product launch (search rankings flux) The oldest Wayback Machine snapshot of Advanced Web Ranking's page for Google's search rankings flux is for this date. The underlying data goes back to August 10, 2014.[132]
2015 February Google Notable update Google announces a change, with a mobile-friendly test that allows webmasters to view potential issues and make changes before the rollout.[5]
2015 March 16 Google Notable update Google introduces a new penalty algorithm to decrease the likelihood of doorway pages ranking in search results.[133][134] Doorway pages are low-quality pages, optimized to rank well for specific keywords that act as a door between users and content.[135]
2015 April 21 Google Notable update Google introduces search engine algorithm update so-called ‘Mobilegeddon’, which makes website mobile friendliness a ranking signal in searches.[6][136]
2015 April Google Notable update Google introduces mobile update. Since then, non-mobile-friendly websites would start getting lower rankings. This means SEO is no longer about keywords and content, with responsive design as new factor.[5]
2015 May 1 SEO tool launch Rank Tracker launches. This tool automatically tracks the users' daily keyword positions movements across all major search engines.[137]
2015 May Background Mobile search surpasses desktop search.[138]
2015 June 23 Google Product launch (search rankings flux) Data for AccuRanker's "Google Grump" rating, a measure of Google's search rankings flux, goes back to this date.[139]
2015 Google Background 2015 is known as the Year of Mobile, the point at which mobile searches overtake desktop search for the first time on Google.[19]
2015 October Google System launch Google RankBrain is announced. It is a machine learning (AI) algorithm initially used to try to interpret the 15 percent of searches that Google has never seen before, based on the words or phrases the user has entered.[19][140]
2015 November 19 Google Guidelines release Google releases the full versions of its search quality raters guidelines (QRG), a 160-page-long handbook that it previously only gave human evaluators to rate websites. The guidelines help websites understand what qualities Google Search would like to see in websites, although ratings made by raters based on these guidelines do not directly change search engine rankings. The release follows a leak in October 2015 of the same guidelines[141] Two important pieces of jargon that gain currency in the SEO world due to these guidelines are: YMYL (your money or your life), a term for websites that offer information or allow people to take actions that have the potential to negatively impact the end user's health and wealth (examples include sites related to e-commerce, financial advice, medical advice, and legal advice), and E-A-T (expertise, authoritativeness, and trust), factors that are important to Google Search for ranking sites, and even more important for YMYL sites.[142] The guidelines are described as "160 pages of wonderful SEO knowledge."[141]
2015 Google Standard development According to a study, the top-ranking factors for search engines and their algorithms (including Google’s core algorithm) are ranked in order of importance as:
  • Domain-level link features
  • Page-level link features
  • Page-level keyword and content-based features
  • Page-level keyword agnostic features
  • Engagement and traffic/query data
  • Domain-level brand metrics
  • Domain-level keyword usage
  • Domain-level keyword-agnostic features
  • Page-level social metrics[2]
2016 March–June SEO contest Apex Forum SEO Contest is held.[44]
2016 September 13 Literature SEO for Growth: The Ultimate Guide for Marketers, Web Designers & Entrepreneurs is published by John Jantsch and Phil Singleton.[143]
2016 December 27 Literature Digital Marketing For Dummies is published by Russ Henneberry and Ryan Deiss.[144]
2017 January Google Notable update Google introduces an algorithmic change called the “Intrusive Interstitial Penalty” in order to “punish aggressive interstitials and pop-ups that might damage the mobile user experience.”[2]
2017 March Google Notable update Google introduces update informally known as “Fred”, which would have a major impact on the SEO community.[2]
2017 July 20 / 21 Google Product launch (search rankings flux) Data for Algoroo, a Google algorithm flux tracking tool, is available going back to this date. Algoroo is available for google.com and google.com.au.[145]
2018 June Google Market distribution As of date, Google accounts for over 72.47% of all global desktop search traffic, followed by Baidu at 13.47%, Bing at 7.64%, and Yahoo! at 4.74%.[146]
2018 July Google Notable update Google announces that from then on, page speed would be a ranking factor for mobile searches.[6][147]
2018 August 30 Google Product launch (search rankings flux) Data for cognitiveSEO Signals Google search ranking flux is available starting this date.[148]
2019 January 26 Spamdexing XRumer is released is a piece of software made for spamming online forums and comment sections. "It is marketed as a program for search engine optimization and was created by BotmasterLabs."[149]

Meta information on the timeline

How the timeline was built

The initial version of the timeline was written by User:Sebastian.

Funding information for this timeline is available.

Feedback and comments

Feedback for the timeline can be provided at the following places:

  • FIXME

What the timeline is still missing

Timeline update strategy

See also

External links

References

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