Purpose

In commercial web search engine results rankings, four stakeholder groups are involved: search engine providers, users, content providers and search engine optimizers. Search engine optimization (SEO) is a multi-billion-dollar industry and responsible for making content visible through search engines. Despite this importance, little is known about its role in the interaction of the stakeholder groups.

Design/methodology/approach

We conducted expert interviews with 15 German search engine optimizers and content providers, the latter represented by content managers and online journalists. The interviewees were asked about their perspectives on SEO and how they assess the views of users about SEO.

Findings

SEO was considered necessary for content providers to ensure visibility, which is why dependencies between both stakeholder groups have evolved. Despite its importance, SEO was seen as largely unknown to users. Therefore, it is assumed that users cannot realistically assess the impact SEO has and that user opinions about SEO depend heavily on their knowledge of the topic.

Originality/value

This study investigated search engine optimization from the perspective of those involved in the optimization business: content providers, online journalists and search engine optimization professionals. The study therefore contributes to a more nuanced view on and a deeper understanding of the SEO domain.

中文翻译：

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搜索引擎优化人员和内容提供商看到的“行业之外，没人知道我们做什么”

目的

在商业网络搜索引擎结果排名中，涉及四个利益相关者组：搜索引擎提供商，用户，内容提供商和搜索引擎优化器。搜索引擎优化（SEO）是一个价值数十亿美元的行业，负责通过搜索引擎显示内容。尽管具有如此重要的意义，但对其在利益相关者团体之间的互动中的作用知之甚少。

设计/方法/方法

我们对15家德国搜索引擎优化商和内容提供商进行了专家访谈，后者由内容经理和在线记者代表。受访者被问及他们对SEO的看法以及他们如何评估用户对SEO的看法。

发现

SEO被认为是内容提供商确保可见性所必需的，这就是两个利益相关者群体之间的依赖关系不断发展的原因。尽管SEO非常重要，但用户对其基本上还是不了解。因此，假定用户无法现实地评估SEO的影响，并且用户对SEO的看法在很大程度上取决于他们对主题的了解。

创意/价值

这项研究从涉及优化业务的人员（内容提供商，在线记者和搜索引擎优化专业人员）的角度调查了搜索引擎优化。因此，该研究有助于对SEO领域有更细微的了解和更深入的理解。