In 1997, Google is nowhere to be found. The domineering search engine then was Yahoo and Altavista came close behind. As I retrospect, the web was not as congested as it is today. As such, fine-tuned metas were enough to get improved search engine rankings.

Eventually, the web became more cutthroat and webmasters found ways to manipulate the metas to form part of top search engine results. That was the time when major search engines decided to increase factors in their algorithm. The modifications gave birth to search engine optimization specialists.

After the milestones in the SEO realm, what would the near future be like? Know what, there are some developments in the realm that are fairly evident:

1. Burgeoning SEM or marketing mix
2. Utilization of web 2.0 and interactive technologies
3. Increase in social bookmarking usage
4. Integration of online and offline strategies
5. More pronounced vertical or industry-based search
6. Modification on user generated forums to complement online businesses

There you have it, the face of the future is gradually shaping up!