Search Engine Optimization has been a practice over 20 years in the making now. While most working in web development, advertising and related fields will say that SEO is just a developer’s tool to make your site show up higher in Google rankings, the concept has expanded to so much more than that. SEO has evolved alongside other technology.

 

Let’s break down some of the more recent transformations that have shifted and shaped SEO today:

 

The Rise of Mobile

Smartphones are prevalent in our society today; it’s hard to believe they only recently surpassed desktop computers in the number of inquiries on search engines. 2015 was the first year that more people searched Google on a phone than on their desktop; that’s only four years ago now. When people search on their cell phones, they use shorter phrases with more intention. This makes sense seeing as they’re mobile and on the move, lacking extra time on their hands. This shortened vernacular changed search algorithms to how they operate today.

 

The Introduction of AI

Search engines began with a primary function: to refer links to consumers ranked in the order that best matches the content of the request. The original search engine layout was pages with one blue URL after the other. This function has changed over time. Yes, Google and Bing still compile related links to your search phrase. Yet, the immediate directive of search engines today is to inform, not to refer a page that will inform. You don’t have to search for a website of a dictionary anymore. You look up the word, and the search engine tells you the definition itself.

 

This showcases how artificial intelligence (AI) technology has become so rooted in search engine technology, it has completely changed the core function of the platform. More recent aspects of life integrated into SEO including geography, information cards, and vertical sorting of results into categories like video, image, news, etc. are all due in part to AI.

 

Voice & Visual Search Power

Ever since the debut of vertical search results in 2007, Google has opened the door for other ways to initiate a search rather than only enhancing the results after the fact. Now, there are options for downloading an image online and searching the web with criteria taken directly from the visual graphic. Someone can speak into the microphone of their device and receive a streamlined, simplified answer to their question repeated back. Working developments in this field have been available to consumers for less than five years.

 

Voice recognition software (alongside AI) helped reshape the way SEO algorithms sort data and respond. As more innovation in this field comes to light, we can expect development in the SEO parameters and results as well.

 

SEO will never stop evolving, and this means web developers and communication professionals have to reshape their approach to the technology often. By understanding the causes for change, we can strategize for the road ahead.

 

For a voice you can trust on changes in the industry, partner with Mopdog. Our team includes professionals from all corners of the marketing and advertising processes. Contact us today for more information.