• by Rob Garner , October 8, 2008

A story last week on Search Engine Land ("Who Coined The Term SEO?" by Bob Heyman) got me to thinking about the somewhat nebulous origins of the term "search engine optimization," or "SEO," as well other common search terms such as "SEM" and "SEA."   There are a number of claimants and facts around the term "SEO," so I revisited a few of them, and found some interesting facts along the way.

 

Before I go into the SEO claims, the origins of the terms "SEM" and "SEA" are pretty clear.  In 2001 Danny Sullivan achieved a consensus with the readership of Search Engine Watch on the term "search engine marketing," noting that the organic-centric SEO no longer covered the full range of tactics in the search space, given the rise of pay-per-click.  "The phrase "search engine marketing," or "SEM," very logically covered a wide range of tactics related to search engine visibility, and somewhat relegated SEO as a subtheme within the overall practice of search marketing (see "Congratulations, You're A Search Engine Marketer"). 

"SEA," or "search engine advertising," is another term that I find to be a very logical extension of SEM, covering the paid aspect of search (and of course there's nothing wrong with "PPC").  Short mentions of the phrase "SEA" aside, perhaps the most credit for this term should go to Catherine Seda, who wrote an entire book under the name in 2004.  As the engines continue to increase varying types of search-centric media placements beyond the simple text ad, or even an ad that should be clicked, this term becomes more and more relevant within the scope of SEM.  And if you've read my column before, you know that SEM encompasses multiple tactics, not just PPC/SEA, though it is often used only as a reference to paid search.  Paid search needs a new term, and "SEA" fits the bill.   

There were multiple claimants to the origins of the term "SEO" in the '90s, and I think it is quite likely that most grew originally and independently of each other.   Bob Heyman (whom I had the pleasure of speaking with at the Search Insider Summit in Captiva last May), is a pioneering Internet marketer, and also an entertainment attorney who worked with many notable musical acts, including Jefferson Airplane/ Starship, and Ray Manzarek of The Doors.  He gives some very interesting details of his story at Search Engine Land, and says he started using the term some time between 1995 and 1997 on a Web design project for Jefferson Starship.   Another person to have used the term early on is Bruce Clay, though there is no definitive date of his first published first use of the phrase. 

In a 2004 thread at Search Engine Watch forums, Danny Sullivan took a deeper dive and found the earliest archived reference to the phrase in a July 27, 1997 Internet marketing sales pitch posted on Usenet, and archived in Google Groups.  Here are parts of the message:

"SECOND METHOD - This is what we call Search Engine Optimization...Results are often noticeable in 48 hours.    In 99% of the cases there is no noticeable change in the appearance or function of your actual website and there is no need to move your website to another location.

If you're concerned about keeping your position, we offer low cost maintenance service, but it is very common to hold the FIRST TEN spots in major search engines for 3-6 months. We are so confident in our abilities we even guarantee our work.

For more information on our search engine Optimization service,
Go To: http://www.ascella.net/gotham/search.html"

The domain name "ascella.net" was run by a company named "American Academy of Practice Marketing," at least according to the Usenet message.  I looked up various registrants of the name "ascella.net," and found that it was registered to Per Dahlin of Sweden as early as 2001, under the name of "Online Marketers Association." The archived 2001 record showed that the name was originally registered on February 11, 1997, so it is possible that Dahlin was the registrant of the domain at the time of the Usenet post. 

The domain later changed registrants, most likely through a registry drop, and was picked up by RareNames/BuyDomains.  The domain "ascella.net" again changed registrants during the week of April 20 - 27, 2007, from RareNames/Buydomains.com, to "Modern Consulting Solutions," a company that is currently applying for a US trademark on the term "SEO."

So we have three early claims (or evidence of use) to the specific term from Bob Heyman, Bruce Clay, and the 1997 Usenet post.  It is should be noted that the concept itself was not originally claimed by these three, and went by many other names practiced by many other marketers, but it was the term "SEO" and phrase "search  engine optimization" that stuck.  As search marketing continues to evolve, it will be interesting to see if the terms continue to stick.