Search history

There are 5 principles at the heart of Plaudit:

• Technical fundamentals matter: Fast, crawlable, mobile-friendly sites have been the foundation throughout every algorithm change
• Quality, user-focussed content wins: Whether it’s 2008 or 2025, content that genuinely helps people find what they’re looking for wins out every time
• Genuine relationships: From building quality links to solid client partnerships, authentic connections drive sustainable results
• Understand your audience: Knowing how your customers actually search and behave online trumps keyword density every time
• Ethical practices lead to long-term success: Cowboys might get quick wins, but principled approaches build lasting results

These principles have evolved over nearly two decades in the industry. As I launch Plaudit, I thought I’d reminisce on how they emerged from a constantly shifting SEO landscape.

It’s 2008, I’m an intern chasing Page Rank

The goal is to get the company I interned for higher in Google.

The main method is link building: reciprocal links, directories, forum links (in relevant discussions). On-page keyword density and exact match anchor text played a big role.

The metrics we used to track link value and campaign success were Page Rank (PR) and Google rankings for keyword terms.

A lingering memory is paintsakingly Googling each keyword every Friday and updating a spreadsheet with rankings over time so we could spot trends, then tweaking keyword densities on key pages accordingly.

My main sources or SEO intel: were V7N and other forums, along with a very fledgling Moz blog.

Another memory: black hat SEO was massive: cowboys could deliver very impressive results in the short term, then disappear when things inevitably came crashing down. Some forums were rife with warnings and horror stories, others were rife with how-tos to help would-be cowboys get started.

It’s 2010: I joined an agency, part time alongside uni

In retrospect I’m really glad I got this job: initially they turned me down, then 2 months later they got in touch to invite me in. Having the internship on my CV stood me above other applicants.

The goal was getting our clients higher in Google.

The main method was still link building: directories, reciprocal links (less so), and for the first time, building links to specially-created content pieces. Cramming keywords into web content in a way that aimed to sound natural was still a priority.

The main metrics were still rankings and PR, with number of links built being the main way the agency tracked our progress.

My colleagues and an increasingly-established Moz blog were my sources of SEO intel. I remember black hat SEO was waning slightly: Google was starting to get better at penalising bad actors, there was more awareness in the industry of the right way to do things, but lots of people still tried to game the system. I felt proud to work for an agency who took care to do things the right way.

In 2012 I joined the agency full time

This was a significant moment for the industry: just before Google’s major algorithm updates really started reshaping things. Penguin launched in April 2012, targeting link spam and the SEO practitioners who’d been playing fast and loose with the rules were freaking out.

It was the first time it felt like dodgy SEOs (or rather, their clients) would actually face consequences for, rather than being told “please don’t do that!” while zooming to the top of the rankings.

Our goal? Unchanged: getting our clients higher in Google.

The main method was still link building – guest blogging was huge, reciprocal links were dead. We were being encouraged to think more about the human experience of the link rather than just pure metrics, so spending longer to get a good link from a relevant page was better than a high PR directory link. Reporting was still based on number of links though, so there was a slight disconnect.

The main reporting metrics were number of links and site authority, but user experience and human-first SEO were being pushed more and more.

My sources of SEO intel were evolving: more blogs (the Google Webmaster Blog, anything Matt Cutts said, the MOZ blog, etc) with a big focus on content about updates and their impact, along with more structured SEO training and conversations with ever-more experienced team of colleagues.

In 2013-14 Google’s Penguin and Panda updates really hit. Guest blogging networks collapsed – a pivotal moment in the industry – and there was an even bigger shift towards doing things right.

In 2015 I started freelancing

Working for a big, now-global agency meant the distance between me and my clients was getting bigger every time. I wanted the flexibility and agility to deal with them directly, so we parted ways amicably and I’ve never looked back.

The goal – you guessed it – was getting my clients higher in Google.

I implemented a rule that my main methods would only include things I’d do for my own website. This was a guiding principle at the agency, but sometimes expectations from clients or higher-ups and reporting pressures influenced what we could do.

For link building the focus was things like high-quality guest content on relevant sites, submissions to relevant, local, human-facing directories, alumni link profiles, essay competitions, link building to high-value assets like infographics and extended guides, and so on.

I got much more heavily involved in the technical side of things at this point. I’d always been aware of it but where before the technical SEO team took care of everything, now it was up to me to advise on and make these changes and monitor their impact. My toolkit expanded and I got a kick out of learning how to use them all to get better results for my clients.

The dominant metrics shifted slightly when I was in charge of reporting: for link building, some cross-section of number of links, and justification of why I pursued that angle. For the technical side: domain authority, ranking changes, traffic to key pages, number of leads, conversions and so on.

My main sources of SEO intel were fairly similar but I spent a lot more time reading and learning to strengthen my offering as much as possible.

In 2016 I joined a startup agency

I’ll start with a memory here: this was the first time that SEO was fun. I got a genuine buzz working with Colm and the small team he was building: it felt like we were doing something that delivered tangible value for local businesses, rather than the work for agency clients that I never got to speak to directly.

The goal was still getting clients higher in Google, but the methods were refined and streamlined: we were building a service offering from the ground-up and it was exciting. Colm encouraged experimentation and education, as long as what we delivered was solid, justified, and presented to the client in a professional way.

The dominant metrics were more comprehensive than anything I’d been involved in until this point: polished slide decks with keyword volumes, ranking movement, traffic to key pages, conversions, and any other ad hoc insights relevant to the campaign.

Mobile-first search also starting becoming dominant at this point: Google announced that speed on mobile devices would be a key ranking factor, and that non-responsive sites would drop in the rankings. Another significant turning point for the industry.

My main sources of SEO intel were conversations with Colm and the team, along with direct client feedback. We went to SEO conferences to watch presentations and absorb as much knowledge as possible. There was a shelf of SEO and digital marketing books on the office bookshelf that we were encouraged to read.

In 2017 I went back to freelancing

I parted ways with the startup agency because of circumstances and geography (firstly: cycling across Canada; secondly: moving back to London).

Going back to freelancing focussed my mind: I wanted to bring everything I’d learned together to deliver targetted, strategic improvements for my clients to achieve that ever-constant goal: getting them higher in Google.

My main methods were more varied than ever: technical SEO, link building, email marketing, web design, content strategy, content creation. I expanded my sources of intel to places like StackOverflow, WPBeginner, the WP Codex, blogs of SEO gurus like Neil Patel, Brian Dean and so on, myriad YouTube channels, all sorts. My goal was strengthening all aspects of my service offering to deliver maximum value.

The dominant metrics were client-specific. Each campaign was bespoke depending on client needs, so some got email engagement reports, others got granular SEO metrics, others got ranking data for strategic content pieces

This period saw more major shifts, all of which aligned with Google serving content in a way that rewarded webmasters for following best practice – a vindicating moment for people who’d been in the industry a while and followed the rules the whole time. 2017-2025 is a long time so here’s a summary of the main developements:

• Core Web Vitals introduced: page speed and user experience became more prominent ranking factors
• Mobile-first indexing rolled out – mobile versions became the primary ranking signal
• Featured snippets exploded – position zero became the new position one
• Google’s E-A-T (Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) became critical
• BERT algorithm launched – Google got much better at understanding search intent
• Google’s “Your Money or Your Life” (YMYL) content faced stricter scrutiny
• Helpful Content Update penalised content written purely for search engines
• Semantic SEO replaced keyword-focused strategies
• Google’s spam updates got even more sophisticated – low-quality content purged
• Later, Core Web Vitals became official ranking factors
• Google’s AI Overviews began appearing in search results
• Quality vs quantity became more important as AI content was made possible
• Link building evolved to focus on digital PR and genuine relationship building

Like the startup, this phase was fun and exciting: working directly with founders and decision-makers created an agile environment where actions could be implemented quickly and their impact noticed soon after – very different to the sluggish many-layers-of-approval approach at the big agency.

In 2025 I started Plaudit

The goal is to get our clients higher in Google, of course, but it’s also to run the type of agency that distils and embodies the lessons learned over the long time I’ve been in the industry.

Our main methods and the metrics we report on are taken from our extensive toolkit and industry knowledge, refined into a bespoke reporting dashboard that maps everything to individual client APIs.

Through nearly two decades in SEO, the techniques have evolved dramatically – from keyword stuffing to semantic search, from PageRank to Core Web Vitals, from directory submissions to digital PR. But those five principles I mentioned at the start have, in my opinion, been the constants that separate lasting success from short-term gains.

As we move into a future being redefined by AI, it’s hard to know exactly what SEO will look like next year, let alone 5 or 10 years from now. But I’m confident that following these principles (or working with an agency who embody them) will stand your business in good stead for online success.