1997
1998
Following on the success of A Webmaster’s Guide
to Search Engines, Danny Sullivan launched
Search Engine Watch, a website dedicated to
providing news about the search industry, tips on
searching the web, and information about how to
rank websites better. (Ten years later, after leaving
SEW, Sullivan founded another popular search
publication, Search Engine Land.)Ask Jeeves also debuted and Google.com was
registered.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.20 YEARS OF SEO: A BRIEF HISTORY OF SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION