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The second paragraph starts with:

> The acronym SEO stands for “search engine optimization,” which translates into the vernacular as “tricks marketers use to make certain articles appear at the top of Google’s search results.”

That's the description you're looking for; the "why" is fairly self-explanatory from the description. Anyone looking for more information on the term and its history can presumably Google the term.

The author assumes that the reader has some familiarity with the term SEO. Even if they did not describe it well enough, it is not out of malice. If the reader does know what SEO is then the author is stating their point very clearly, unlike the SEO-gamed articles that the author is railing against.

Your comment is taking nit picking to a high art. Are you an SEO?

"When you get past the cats eating blueberries and anal beads parts, the article is mostly a high level recount of the ways SEO has evolved over time and how Google has made changes to its search algorithm to fight spammy websites. The author then concludes that there is still hope, because the EU has fined Google a few times. What?" So the article does in fact explain SEO? But you disagree with the ideas on corporate power?