Created by Ethan Lazuk
Last updated:
A new historical analysis every week (or so)! 🐹
About Hamsterdam History
Hamsterdam History is a place dedicated to remembering (and appreciating) the knowledge contributions SEOs made years ago while also using those historical perspectives to enrich our present understanding of SEO.
This project is a spin-off of Hamsterdam weekly SEO recaps, where instead of reading about the latest news, articles, and resources, we’ll be looking at ones from years ago!
Each week Hamsterdam History will analyze a vintage SEO article or case study to explore which of its themes are more timeless but also what’s changed since. (“Vintage” in this context means something older of enduring interest or quality, which in our field of SEO could be articles from around 10 or more years ago.)
In many respects, SEO progresses at a fast clip. Google’s ranking systems, SERP features, and webmaster guidelines can evolve constantly, not to mention the rate of AI advancements and all that means for new search or answer engines, SEO tools and techniques, and users’ search behavior.
Yet we also have timeless fundamentals. Websites need to be technically sound, have helpful content that satisfies users, and earn outside authority signals to support domains and associated entities.
In Hamsterdam History, we’ll strive to highlight this balance between what’s old and new about SEO. Through the analysis of a different vintage SEO article each week, we’ll reinforce what are timeless and evergreen fundamentals while also celebrating how SEO has evolved for today’s modern users and search landscapes.
Latest historical analyses:
*Note: The first “official” Hamsterdam History article is Lesson #1. However, an article that kind of inspired the idea was, “Why SEOs “Still” Shouldn’t Fixate on Keyword Rankings,” published March 15th. Reading that article will give you insight into the thinking behind this project and a hint at things to come!
The origins of Hamsterdam History
You may already be familiar with Hamsterdam weekly news recaps, where the purpose is to spread the joys of SEO to all through educational updates about current affairs. Well, this Hamsterdam History project is the perfect complement to that.
Hamsterdam was named after Season 3 of The Wire, while the premise of Hamsterdam History is Season 4. 😉
In Season 4 of The Wire, Major Colvin, the character who created Hamsterdam, is now retired from the police department and working as a teacher at a middle school.
In Episode 8, called “Corner Boys,” Mr. Colvin and other educators have a breakthrough with a troubled group of students (“the corner kids”) by applying the subject matter they learn about on the corner to an educational classroom context.
Those types of fusions of knowledge domains appeal to me. I was introduced to SEO (and digital marketing) as a content specialist, a job I got by happenstance after having a social sciences academic writing background, including studying history.
By blending an academic history approach with practical SEO learning, I believe we can make something special, a project that helps us reference SEO’s past while acknowledging our modern era’s progress.
The exact idea for Hamsterdam History came to me while walking around downtown Orlando and listening to TOOL, a creative and inspirational band, and my favorite. 😉
However, the raw kernel of the idea came a couple of days earlier, while I was using Internet Archive for a client project. That led me down a rabbit hole of looking at vintage sites and eventually SEO articles:
Like all great things, Hamsterdam History will be an evolving project as I see what works best for readers.
But for right now, here are a few aspects to expect:
- I’ll use Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine to include original screenshots of the article or website(s) involved. This will help us contextualize the era being described.
- I’ll avoid the unfair judgment of people’s past opinions based on today’s standards of SEO. The focus here is on learning, not criticizing.
- I’ll also cite sources for any claims about SEO best practices and do my best to give original credit to people for their ideas.
It’s also worth pointing out that I got started in SEO in 2015. (You can read more about my background on my About page.) That means I’ll be referencing past SEO articles from eras that in most cases were before my time.
If you happen to have firsthand knowledge about a topic or time period in an article, please feel free to comment or contact me. I’d be more than happy to include your perspective!
Related reading
If you enjoy the topic of SEO history, here are more articles to check out (published over the years). 😉
- History of Google Algorithm Updates – Search Engine Journal (2024)
- Search Through Time – Google Search, How Search Works (2023)
- Google Search at 25: SEO experts share memorable moments – Laura James, SEL (2023)
- 20+ Years of SEO: A Brief History of Search Engine Optimization – Loren Baker, SEJ (2021)
- Google and SEO: The Adversarial and Evolutionary Tale – Barry Schwartz, SER (2021)
- A visual history of Google SERPs: 1996 to 2017 – Clark Boyd, Search Engine Watch (2017) (Graphic better viewed on Internet Archive here.)
- The Brief History of SEO – Patrick Sexton, Moz (2007)
- What was the First Search Engine? – Bill Slawski, SEO by the Sea (2006)
- Where Are They Now? Search Engines We’ve Known & Loved – Danny Sullivan, SEW (2003)
Where else can you learn about SEO history?
Here are some other places to learn about the legacy of search marketing:
- SEO Pioneers: The History of SEO – Shelley Walsh (YouTube Playlist)
- Reflecting on SEO and Web Development History w/ Simon Cox – Simon Cox on Edge of the Web (Podcast)
Thanks for visiting Hamsterdam History. I hope you enjoy the learning adventure!