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Avatar Went Hot: October 4, 2008 - 2:15 pm
Posted By: theGypsy 60 days ago
Topic Type: News Story (Jump to http://searchengineland.com)
Category: SEM Industry
SEL - Someone’s trying to trademark the term SEO, which has roiled the SEO community. The someone is named Jason Gambert and he has persistently filed with the Patent and Trademark Office, claiming to have coined the term “SEO” (for Search Engine Optimization) in 2007. SEOMoz and other entities have moved to challenge Gambert’s claim. As the person (along with my partner Leland Harden), who actually did coin the term Search Engine Optimization back in 1995, I feel uniquely qualified to weigh in on the validity of Gambert’s claim.
12 Comments     

Comments

from MiriamEllis 60 days ago #
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This is an interesting story, Jefferson Starship included!

I need clarification, though. Gambert is claiming that he coined the term SEO in the year 2007, or Gambert claimed, last year, that he coined the term of SEO once upon a time? That sentence is problematic. What's the intended meaning of it?

Enjoyable read.
Miriam

from AlanBleiweiss 59 days ago #
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OMG!  LOL  - 2007?  Two Thousand Seven?  hahaha 
Having been in the business of web marketing since January of 95, this one struck a resonous tone, and a computer consultant going back to 1989, it never ceases to amaze me that people are always looking to find ways to grab illicit income opportunities through insane patent, trademark and copyright filings.   This one however fits right up there with Al Gore's political gaff about inventing the Internet! 

from Eish 59 days ago #
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LOL, and black hat SEO was invented simultaneously. "Once Bob had his designers have the words Jefferson Starship recur on the page in tiny black print against a black background the page rank vaulted to number one."

from Jill 59 days ago #
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Is this story a joke? I can't tell.

from BeantownSEO 59 days ago #
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This story has to be a joke, there is no way Jefferson Starship vaulted to number one for anything.

from laurac 57 days ago #
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2007? really? wonder what I was doing between 2000 and 2007... aaahh! that's it, alternate universe... I need to go home

from g1smd 57 days ago #
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Well there was "some" SEO going on at the beginning of 2001... 

http://www.google.com/search2001/search?num=100&q=seo+google

from RobertBolar 56 days ago #
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Ok I just checked in with the way back machine and in Novemver of 1996 I was also working on this subject I was not calling it SEO but Danny S. may have been.  Danny was and is the leading authority on the subject at hand. 
This will be interesting to follow.  The person that is seeking the trademark will benefit how?

from semscholar 56 days ago #
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Sorry, saying you were doing seo in 1995 is one thing but making the leap that you coined the term is quite another. There is a great article and discussion on this at Search Engine Journal by Carsten Cumbroski http://tiny.cc/sp34H


from iBrian 56 days ago #
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search engine placement
search engine positioning

OMG, I remember when people were calling it that. I guess SEO as a term just kind of built up a group consensus for regular use.

from yojpotter2 55 days ago # - show/hide this comment
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I remember my mom whenever I hear SEO..^^..and the hard time I spent explaining to her what it means..^^

from HeadlandDigital 54 days ago #
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According to Danny Sullivan, SEO was first mentioned on a Usenet post. http://forums.searchenginewatch.com/showpost.php?p=2119&postcount=10


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