Search engine optimization evolves and changes all the time. Every year, certain methods are embraced by the SEO community as “must-have tactics,” while others get pushed to the brink of history thanks to Google’s algorithm updates.

In light of this, SEO is perceived by many as a never-ending battle between search engines and SEO professionals who continue to puzzle out updates to gain more traffic and increase SERP visibility for a short while.

But is that really the case? How exactly does SEO work?

In this article, I will provide my perspective on the SEO landscape today, list several fundamental principles that search engines adhere to, and share my understanding about the inner workings of SEO, and why combining multiple tactics through trial and error is the only way to successfully drive your campaign.

SEO is a never-ending, ever-evolving, multidimensional science. Every SEO would love to find the magic formula that could once and for all explain how SEO works, with specific rules and concrete equations on the table.

Unfortunately, SEO is too complex to fit into a template. Although it does evolve around principles and certain rules, its inner workings are all about analyzing and applying tactics that work and sifting out tactics that do not.

Bear this in mind, and keep a close eye on your competitors, and you will definitely succeed in search results. This is how SEO works, and will continue to work, until the process is completely outsourced to AI.