In 1997, the Webstep Marketing Agency was the first group to use the phrase “search engine optimization” in its marketing materials. Around 1998, Danny Sullivan, founder of the search engine Watch, began popularizing the term and helping customers optimize their content to rank well in search engine results. In 1998, Sergei Brin and Lawrence Page, the creators of Google, published an article entitled “The Anatomy of a Large-Scale Hypertextual Web Search Engine” as part of their research project while studying at Stanford University. In it, they wrote that “the predominant business model for commercial search engines is advertising.
The objectives of the advertising business model do not always correspond to offering quality search to users. It's important to note here that you did this based on the quality of the content and not just the search keyword. Many search engines have risen and dusted over the years, unlike Google, which seems to be going from strength to strength. Here's a comparison of SEO tactics over the centuries and the impact they've had on the way searches work on all devices.