Mr Branding: Google Claims SEO Has Stayed the Same for 20 Years

Friday, July 14, 2023

Google Claims SEO Has Stayed the Same for 20 Years

Individuals working in the field of search engine optimization are often sitting around and waiting for the next big change to drop. Doing so can be crucial because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up allowing them to adjust their methodologies accordingly. However, Google’s liaison of search, Danny Sullivan, has claimed that the manner by which you can climb the rankings on Google’s SERP has not changed all that dramatically in the past two years.

With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that there is at least some veracity to his statement. If you were to take a look at Google’s guidelines back in 2002, you might notice a section that tells people to create content for users instead of the algorithm. Even now, this can help you rank higher than might have been the case otherwise, so it might be a useful thing to keep in mind.

"Make pages for users, not for search engines." -- Google, 2002

Our good advice then remains the same over two decades later. To succeed in Google Search, focus on people-first content.https://t.co/NaRQqb1SQx pic.twitter.com/bibv53icz9
— Google SearchLiaison (@searchliaison) July 6, 2023

Many website owners try to manipulate the algorithm, but in spite of the fact that this is the case, creating content precisely for the search engine is never going to help you get a high enough ranking with all things having been considered and taken into account. People first approaches are the name of the game, and it has clearly been that way for at least two decades if not longer.

It will be interesting to see how this affects people’s approaches to SEO in the near future. Some are saying that this is the harbinger of a major change that is to come, although Danny Sullivan himself has claimed that this is just a useful piece of information to provide. SEO professionals who try to game the system are always going to end up with subpar results, since their webpages simply won’t contain the type of authoritative information that Google is trying to provide to people.

The core advice has stayed the same, and it is not likely going to change anytime soon. Only a major seismic shift can change such a foundational element to SEO.