We often hear and use the term Search Engine Optimization (SEO) with regards to blogging / website designing, and getting content on Google. But what is the first thing that comes to mind when you hear this word? A lot of people picture link building and other such practices, which kind of limits their imagination and their field. But comparing its actual meaning to the way it is used today, do you think there's any difference between the two? And do you think the name is descriptive of the way it is used these days? Or should it be renamed appropriately? Here's Google's viewpoint on the matter.
You can think of it as Search Experience optimization rather than Search Engine Optimization, with focus on the user experience, i.e. whether a user likes a content on your page, does he convert well once landing on your page, does he bookmark your page and tell his friends about it, all those kinds of things. So unlike the viewpoint some people have, SEO is much more than link-building now, and has more focus on quality.
Unfortunately, Search Engine Optimizers these days have a pretty bad name. This is mostly because of some of the SEOs who practice black-hat techniques to give themselves an unfair advantage. And even though a lot of people do create good content, and create a good user-experience, they still get a bad name because of some rotten apples.
So even if the field is given a new name, it doesn't really matter. Those who practice shady techniques will still be in the same field as those who don't. So isn't it unfair to paint both of them with the same brush? The only solution is to broaden one's perspective of how this field works. Again, there's a lot more to it than just building links.
So tell us, do you think the term Search Engine Optimization should be changed to something else? What do you think it should be called? Leave your interesting responses in the comments below :)