Reliable data has been the primary driver for defining search engine optimization practices since the very beginning. Until recently, the reliability of SEO data available to marketers has improved to the point where SEO approached the realm of becoming an exact science.

The search engine giant, Google, however, recently started encrypting all searches and withholding referral data in an unprecedented move. The surprising decision has left hundreds of internet marketers scrambling to regain control and has left many more with little to answer the question, “Why?”

A December 30 article by Wired’s correspondent, Ryan Connor, sheds great insight on the matter and brilliantly explains the rationale behind what has been seen by some as Google’s most shocking curveball since Panda and Penguin. Listed below are the reasons Connor cites:

1. Encrypting searches is a great way for the search engine company to show good faith following the turmoil surrounding the NSA spying scandal.
2. It allows AdWords, which is unaffected by the change, to gain even more prominence in the industry.
3. It serves as a reminder of Google’s philosophy on content and SEO, and allows the search engine to regain control of the market that has become riddled with sites trying to game the system with less-than-ethical tactics:

“‘…make sure that you’ve got high-quality content, the sort of content that people really enjoy, that’s compelling, the sort of thing that they’ll love to read that you might see in a magazine or in a book, and that people would refer back to, or send friends to, those sorts of things…’

– Matt Cutts (Head of Google Webspam)”

Cutting edge, “white hat” internet marketing companies, like Champion Online Marketing, which gained prominence for providing a reliable Folsom SEO service, have quickly adapted to the new change. In fact, reputable companies happily greet Google’s efforts to weed out unscrupulous competition through such updates.

Champion notes that the business of providing search engine optimization in Folsom is likely to continue to evolve in the near future, but legitimate businesses relying on their services should not be alarmed. In fact, the move has been seen as vindication for relying on SEO companies that make quality and following best practices their first priority.

(Article Information and Image from The Best and Worst Thing to Ever Happen to SEO, Wired, December 30, 2013)