It feels like a lifetime ago, and I now remember it all in black and white. But it was in 1996, when I worked at the University College in Tromsø, and the long, boring evening shifts became my learning arena for building websites in Notepad, before Netscape released a version with a WYSIWYG editor (What You See Is What You Get), like the ones we use today. I quickly learned what it took to attract visitors, and every change I made could almost be measured in real time, which gave me an immediate sense of achievement.
Updated May 26, 2026
Some time after I had left the job, I received a phone call from the IT manager. He laughed and asked if I had published a website on the university college’s server, a possibility all employees had access to. “Yes,” I replied, wondering what he was getting at. He then revealed that they had spent quite some time trying to figure out why internet traffic across the university and college sector in Northern Norway had almost collapsed. It turned out that my website had generated traffic from all over the world and overloaded the supposedly supermodern network lines heading north.
Today, a few well-chosen keywords and a catchy title are no longer enough. The algorithms have become smarter, the competition tougher, and my old SEO knowledge needed a proper update. When I started diving into today’s SEO world, I quickly discovered that a lot has changed. SEO is no longer about tricking search engines. It is about understanding people.
SEO has evolved from a technical exercise into a holistic strategy that puts the user at the center. In the past, it was mostly about satisfying the requirements of search engines, but today the goal is to create content that is relevant, valuable and easily accessible to readers. With artificial intelligence already affecting both search engines and how we find information, SEO has gained new dimensions that make it both more challenging and more exciting to master.
What is SEO (Search Engine Optimization)?
SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is about improving a website’s visibility in search engines such as Google, Bing and Yahoo. The goal is to attract organic, unpaid traffic by ranking higher for relevant searches. This is achieved through technical, creative and analytical processes that make it easier for search engines to understand, index and rank your content.
Whether you are a beginner or experienced, SEO requires continuous effort. Here are some important terms and strategies you should know.
SEO terms you should know
To build a solid SEO foundation for your website, it is important to start with the most critical aspects, such as search intent, keywords and backlinks. Once these are in place, you can work your way further down the list to make sure the entire website is optimized for both search engines and users.
Search intent
Understanding what users want is fundamental. If your content does not match the search intent, it will struggle to rank well, even with technical or on-page optimization.
Backlinks
External links from authoritative websites have a major impact. They function as a “vote of trust” and are among the strongest signals Google uses for ranking.
Keywords
Choosing and using the right keywords is one of the foundations of SEO. They help search engines understand the topic of your page and connect it to the user’s search.
On-page SEO
This includes optimizing titles, headings, meta descriptions, URL structure and images. It helps both users and search engines understand and navigate your content.
Experience and credibility (E-E-A-T)
Search engines increasingly value content that demonstrates experience, expertise, authoritativeness and trustworthiness. Personal experience, sources and documentation can help strengthen the value of your content.
Technical SEO
Technical SEO ensures that your website is accessible to search engines and provides a good user experience. This includes site speed, mobile friendliness and correct use of HTML tags. It can also include structured data, or schema markup, which helps search engines and AI understand the content better.
Crawling and indexing
If search engines cannot index your pages, everything else is wasted. This is a prerequisite for your content to be ranked at all.
Title tag
The title tag is one of the first things search engines and users see, and it has a major impact on both ranking and click-through rate.
Responsive design
A mobile-friendly design is essential for providing a good user experience, especially since Google prioritizes mobile-friendly pages in its ranking.
Bounce rate
A high bounce rate may indicate that the content is not relevant or engaging enough. Reducing bounce rate improves the user experience and can contribute to better rankings.
Alt text
Alt text helps with both SEO and accessibility. Search engines use alt text to understand the content of images on your website.
Ranking
Understand how your pages rank for selected keywords and work to improve those positions. Ranking is the result of many factors on this list.
Meta description
Although the meta description does not directly affect ranking, a well-written and relevant description can increase the click-through rate (CTR) on search result pages.
SERP (Search Engine Results Page)
Understanding how SERPs work is important for adapting your content for better visibility. This includes featured snippets, local searches and other elements that may appear in search results.
SEO audit
Regular SEO audits help you find and fix errors, as well as identify areas that can be improved for better ranking.
Canonical URL
Canonical URLs help avoid duplicate content, which is important for SEO, although they have less direct impact on ranking than some other factors.
Why does it pay to optimize SEO for Google?
Google is still the most important search engine for most people, but the way we find information is changing. Search engines, AI assistants and other platforms increasingly overlap. At the same time, Google still has more than 90 percent of the global market share and largely sets the standard for how search engine optimization works. Its advanced algorithms are developed to deliver relevant, user-friendly and quality-focused content, which has also made Google a benchmark for other search engines such as Bing and Yahoo.
By optimizing for Google, you also increase the likelihood that your website will perform well on other platforms, since many of them build on similar principles. In addition, factors such as usability, speed and mobile friendliness are prioritized, which can not only improve your ranking but also create a better experience for your visitors.
Images and videos increase visibility in search engines
Visual content can be crucial for communicating your message. In industries such as travel, real estate and art, images and videos can literally sell the product for you. They allow you to highlight details, moods and stories that text alone cannot convey.
Images and videos are among the most effective tools for strengthening your marketing and increasing visibility in search engines. They capture attention, appear in dedicated search results such as Google Images and YouTube, and make your content more attractive to users. This increases the chance that your page will be clicked.
Why does Google value visual content?
Google values visual content because it creates engagement. Videos are especially effective because they keep users on your website longer and signal to Google that your content is valuable. When you combine videos with strong images, you build a strategy that appeals to users while also improving your ranking in search results.
To maximize the effect of visual content, you should:
- Use alt text for images that describes the subject and media type.
- Add relevant video descriptions to explain the content.
- Optimize content for fast loading and high quality.
- Add subtitles to videos for both accessibility and SEO.
- Include clear calls to action to encourage users to act.
The combination of well-described, optimized content and strong visual elements can be what separates you from your competitors. When the content works well for users and is easy for search engines to understand, the chances of better visibility and engagement increase.
Which SEO measures can you take today?
Sometimes the simplest things are also the most effective. Instead of starting from scratch, you can, like me, focus on what you already have and make it better. Here are three concrete measures that can produce quick results:
- Update old content
Revise articles to include updated keywords, meta descriptions and more relevant information.
Write clear and concrete content that answers questions directly. More and more searches are answered directly in search results and AI services, which makes it important to be clear and structured.
- Use SEO tools
Tools such as Google Analytics and Search Console can help you monitor performance and identify improvement potential.
- Experiment with visual content
Images and videos can produce immediate results, both for traffic and ranking.
Summary
SEO is evolving quickly, and so is the way we search for information. Several developments already affect how content is found and ranked:
- Artificial intelligence: AI is already used in search engines to better understand context, user intent and content. At the same time, more people are using AI tools as part of the search process itself.
- Voice search and natural language: More searches are being phrased as questions and conversations instead of short keywords.
- User-focused content: High quality, relevance and good user experiences remain among the most important factors.
SEO is both an art and a science. It is a balance between creativity, technical understanding and the ability to adapt to continuous change. Whether you are taking your first steps into the world of SEO or simply need a refresher, there is always room for improvement. The key is to meet the needs of both users and search engines in the best possible way.
If you have the opportunity to invest in services, tools and plugins, SEO does not have to be rocket science. For the rest of us, it is an ongoing effort where the goal is to become a little better every week.
