The Evolution of Technology and How it Has Evolved SEO Best Practices

Search engine optimization (SEO) has changed over the years. The evolution of technology has been the reason for much of this transformation and has influenced the way that a specialist SEO agency can help clients accomplish their goals.

This article takes a look into some of the ways how technology has influenced SEO best practices to develop,

The beginning of a new era

Desktops became more popular in households in the 1980s. But it was the internet that truly changed the way people used desktops. Tim Berners-Lee proposed the World Wide Web project for the first time in 1989. But the mass adoption of the technology kicked off over the past three decades. As web users began increasing in the mid-90s, search engines started to appear to help users navigate it. Yahoo! came about in 1994 and Google launched its services in 1998. Search engines began cataloging websites and made finding information easier.

At the start, SEO featured a lot of practices now deemed bad behavior by both the engines and SEO agencies. Things like keyword stuffing and excessive tagging used to lead to higher search engine ranking. These days, the engines would penalize you for doing so. Content marketing wasn't about quality but quantity.

Refining keyword practices

Data generation continued to increase as internet usage kept growing. Technology advanced to the point where collecting data became easier. Focus shifted to sharing information online with the introduction of social media sites in the early 2000s. We started using the internet more to share things. The internet and computers, in general, didn't just mean to find information or do business. They were tools to entertain and connect.

It's no wonder that SEO best practices began to focus on data. Google introduced its first algorithms to filter search engine results at the start of the 2000s. While keywords and other early practices were still a thing, the quality of your content started to increase in importance.

In 2005, personalization also entered the equation. It was at this time people began to see different search engine results depending on their personal web usage and preferences.

Google began to incorporate results from various sources into its website ranking in the early hours of data generation. This meant SEO wasn't only about optimizing your website. Companies had to make sure they optimized their social media, images, and video as well. The idea of having an SEO agency helps your business become more prominent.

Introducing smart devices

Smartphones have been another major technology shaping SEO best practices. The devices entered the mass market after the release of the iPhone in 2007. The technology didn't immediately change how companies had to optimize for SEO. But as smartphone technology kept improving, these devices started to change online marketing.

It was the device together with technologies like the 4G that transformed SEO. If you look at current data, around 90% of the global Internet population use mobile to connect. This means websites have to adjust to different devices. Optimizing your content for mobiles is one of the most recommended practices in the industry. You won't find an SEO agency that won't recommend it.

Voice search is another interesting technological development that has become more prominent. Google announced Voice Search in 2011 which is the same time Apple's version entered the market. Best SEO practices started focusing on localization, conversational tones, and structured data.

You can check the level of optimization of your site for mobile devices, using special SEO tools. For example, one such tool is the SEO Page Checker by Sitechecker. 

Enter artificial intelligence (AI)

The most recent technological advance impacting SEO practices is AI. Most smart devices utilize AI, and different AI technologies are part of the business world. Companies can use smart AI tools to collect and analyze data on a massive scale. These technologies are more affordable, too.

AI's impact on SEO has been best showcased in the personalization of websites and marketing. Content marketing is not aimed at the masses any longer. You can create a more personalized influence where individuals are targeted. AI can be a powerful part of building a stronger SEO strategy. You can use it to learn about your campaigns and market trends.

What will SEO practices look like in the future?

Technology has always played a role in how you should practice SEO. It will continue to transform best practices in the years to come. Predicting the future is not an easy thing to do. But there are trends already shaping SEO.

AI and especially deep learning are technologies that'll continue to influence SEO. Most SEO agencies have been reactive in their implementation of SEO in the past. But deep learning will turn SEO into a more predictive practice. It's not hard to imagine real-time SEO taking over in the future. Real-time data can help companies optimize their content creation and marketing practices. A specialist SEO agency can see trends happening and help your business take advantage of them before the competition.