SEO Glossary

A list of terms and definitions related to search engine optimization and digital marketing. You can use this SEO glossary to understand the most common technical terms in the industry as well as some of the metrics.

# | A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z

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200 Response Code

A 200 response code is an HTTP status code that means the request was successful, and the server has returned the requested content. It indicates that the webpage is working properly and is accessible to users.

301 Redirect

A 301 redirect sends users to a new URL and tells search engines that the old page has moved permanently.

302 Redirect

A 302 redirect sends users to a new URL but tells search engines that the move is only temporary, so the original page should still be treated as the main one.

307 Redirect

A 307 redirect sends users to a new URL temporarily and tells search engines to keep using the original URL because the move is not permanent.

404 Error

A 404 error means the server can’t find the page or resource you’re trying to open, usually because the URL is wrong or the page was removed.

500 Internal Server Error

A 500 Internal Server Error means something went wrong on the website’s server, and it can’t complete your request, even though the URL is correct.

502 Bad Gateway

A 502 Bad Gateway error means one server didn’t get a proper response from another server it relies on, so it couldn’t load the page for you.

A

A/B Testing

A/B testing is when you create two versions of a web page or element and compare them to see which one performs better with users.

Absolute URL

An absolute URL is the full web address of a page, including the protocol (http/https), domain, and path, that points directly to that specific page.

Adobe Analytics

Adobe Analytics is a tool that helps website owners track and analyze visitor behavior, traffic, and engagement to make better marketing and business decisions.

Algorithm

An algorithm is a set of rules or instructions that search engines use to decide which web pages to show and in what order in search results.

Alt Text

Alt text is a short description added to an image so search engines and screen readers can understand what the image shows.

AMPs (Accelerated Mobile Pages)

AMPs are simplified versions of web pages that load much faster on mobile devices to give users a quicker, smoother browsing experience.

Analytics

Analytics is the process of collecting and examining data about website visitors, their behavior, and performance to make informed decisions and improvements.

Anchor Text

Anchor text is the clickable, visible text in a link, and it helps search engines understand what the linked page is about.

Authority Score

Authority Score is a metric that shows how trustworthy and strong a website is, based on factors like backlinks, traffic, and overall SEO performance.

Average Position

Average Position shows the typical ranking of a web page in search results for a specific keyword over time.

B

Backlinks

Backlinks are links from other websites that point to your website, showing search engines that your site is trusted and relevant.

B2B SEO

B2B SEO is search engine optimization focused on helping businesses attract, engage, and convert other businesses as customers through organic search.

B2C SEO

B2C SEO (Business-to-Consumer SEO) is the process of optimizing a website to attract and engage individual customers rather than other businesses. It focuses on driving traffic, improving visibility, and increasing sales for products or services aimed at consumers.

Backlinks

Backlinks are links from other websites that point to your website, showing search engines that your site is trusted and relevant.

Backlink Analysis

Backlink analysis is the process of examining all the links pointing to a website to understand their quality, relevance, and impact on SEO.

Bing Webmaster Tools

Bing Webmaster Tools is a free platform from Microsoft that helps website owners monitor, manage, and optimize their site’s presence in Bing search results.

Bingbot

Bingbot is the web crawler used by Bing to discover and index web pages so they can appear in Bing search results.

Bounce Rate

Bounce rate is the percentage of visitors who leave a website after viewing only one page, without interacting or exploring further.

Black Hat SEO

Black Hat SEO refers to using unethical or spammy tactics to trick search engines for quick rankings, often risking penalties or being removed from search results.

Blog

A blog is a section of a website where regularly updated articles or posts are published, often to share information, news, or opinions.

Branded Content

Branded content is content created by a brand that focuses on storytelling or providing value, rather than directly promoting a product, to build awareness and trust.

Bridge Page

A bridge page is a webpage created to redirect users from one page to another, often used to lead traffic to a specific offer or website.

Business Directory

A business directory is an online or offline listing of companies, often organized by industry or location, to help users find businesses and services.

Broken Link

A broken link is a hyperlink that no longer works because the destination page has been moved or deleted.

C

Call to Action (CTA)

A call to action (CTA) is a prompt on a web page or ad that encourages users to take a specific action, like “Buy Now” or “Sign Up.”

Caffeine

Caffeine is Google’s search infrastructure update designed to index web pages faster and deliver fresher search results by crawling and processing content in real-time.

Cached Page

A cached page is a saved version of a web page stored by a search engine, allowing users to view the page even if the original site is slow or temporarily unavailable.

Cannibalization

Cannibalization occurs when multiple pages on the same website target the same keyword, competing with each other in search rankings, which can hurt overall SEO performance.

Canonical Tag

A canonical tag is a piece of code that tells search engines which version of a page is the main one, helping prevent duplicate content issues.

ccTLD

A ccTLD (country code top-level domain) is a domain extension specific to a country or territory, like “.in” for India, “.uk” for the United Kingdom or “.ca” for Canada. It helps indicate the geographic location of the website.

Canonical URL

A canonical URL is the preferred web address of a page that you want search engines to index, especially when there are multiple URLs with similar content.

Cloaking

Cloaking is a black hat SEO technique where a website shows different content to search engines than to users, usually to manipulate rankings.

Click-through Rate (CTR)

Click-through rate (CTR) is the percentage of people who click on a link, ad, or search result compared to the number of people who saw it. A higher CTR indicates better engagement.

Click Depth

Click depth refers to how many clicks it takes for a user to reach a specific page from the homepage. The lower the click depth, the easier it is to access that page.

Co-occurrence

Co-occurrence is when certain words or phrases frequently appear together on web pages, helping search engines understand the topic and context of the content.

Content Delivery Network (CDN)

A Content Delivery Network (CDN) is a network of servers around the world that stores copies of a website’s content to deliver it faster to users based on their location.

Content Gap Analysis

Content gap analysis is the process of identifying topics or keywords your website is missing compared to competitors, helping you create content to fill those gaps.

Content Hub

A content hub is a central location on a website where related content on a specific topic is organized and linked together to provide comprehensive information for users and search engines.

Content Relevance

Content relevance measures how closely a web page’s content matches what users are searching for, helping search engines determine if the page is useful for a specific query.

Core Web Vitals

Core Web Vitals are key metrics from Google that measure a website’s user experience, focusing on loading speed, interactivity, and visual stability.

Cornerstone Content

Cornerstone content is the most important, high-quality content on a website that covers key topics in depth and links to other related pages.

Crawl Budget

Crawl budget is the number of pages a search engine bot will crawl and index on a website within a given time, affecting how quickly new or updated content appears in search results.

Crawlability

Crawlability is how easily search engine bots can access and navigate a website’s pages to index its content.

Customer Journey

The customer journey is the path a person takes from first discovering a brand to becoming a loyal customer, including all interactions along the way.

Crawler

A crawler is a software bot used by search engines to explore, read, and index web pages so they can appear in search results.

D

De-index

De-index refers to the process of removing a webpage or website from a search engine’s index, meaning it will no longer appear in search results. This can be done manually or automatically if the page is deemed low-quality or irrelevant.

Directory

A directory is an online listing or catalog of websites, often organized by category or industry, that helps users find businesses, services, or information on the web.

Direct Traffic

Direct traffic refers to visitors who come to a website by typing the URL directly into their browser or through bookmarks, rather than from search engines, ads, or referral links.

Disavow

Disavow is the act of telling search engines to ignore certain backlinks pointing to your website, usually when those links are low-quality or harmful to your site’s SEO. This is typically done through Google’s Disavow Tool.

DNS (Domain Name System)

DNS is like the phonebook of the internet. It translates human-readable domain names (like example.com) into IP addresses that computers can understand, allowing users to access websites by typing in easy-to-remember URLs.

Dofollow Link

A dofollow link is a regular hyperlink that allows search engines to follow it and pass SEO value (like link juice) to the linked page, helping that page’s ranking.

Domain Rating (DR)

Domain Rating (DR) is a metric from Ahrefs that measures the strength of a website’s backlink profile on a scale from 0 to 100, with higher values indicating stronger authority and trust.

Doorway Page

A doorway page is a low-quality page created specifically to rank for a particular keyword, often with little or no useful content, and designed to redirect users to a different page. This is considered a black-hat SEO tactic.

Duplicate Content

Duplicate content refers to content that appears on more than one page of a website or across different websites, which can confuse search engines and negatively impact rankings.

Dwell Time

Dwell time is the amount of time a user spends on a page after clicking a link from a search engine result before returning to the search results. Longer dwell time typically signals to search engines that the page is relevant and valuable.

Dynamic Content

Dynamic content refers to web content that changes based on user behavior, preferences, location, or other factors. It’s personalized in real-time, like showing different product recommendations or offers based on the user’s browsing history

Dynamic URL

A dynamic URL is a web address that changes based on user interaction or content, often containing parameters like “?” or “&” to display different data, such as search results or product listings.

E

Ecommerce SEO

Ecommerce SEO is the process of optimizing an online store so its products and pages rank higher in search engine results. It helps attract more organic traffic, increase visibility, and boost sales.

Editorial Link

An editorial link is a natural backlink that a website earns because another site finds its content valuable enough to reference. These links are not paid for or requested and are considered highly trustworthy by search engines.

E-E-A-T

E-E-A-T stands for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. It’s a guideline search engines use to evaluate the quality and reliability of content, especially for topics that impact people’s health, finances, or safety.

Ego Bait

Ego bait is content created to flatter or highlight specific people, encouraging them to share or link to it. This strategy helps attract attention, backlinks, and social engagement from the featured individuals.

Entity-Based SEO

Entity-based SEO focuses on optimizing content around clearly defined “entities,” such as people, places, brands, or concepts that search engines can understand. It helps search engines better interpret meaning and context, which can improve visibility and relevance in search results.

Entry Page

An entry page is the first page a visitor lands on when entering your website. It’s often the page that shapes the user’s first impression and determines whether they continue exploring your site.

Evergreen Content

Evergreen content is content that stays useful, relevant, and valuable for a long time. It continues to attract traffic and engagement long after it’s published because the information doesn’t quickly become outdated.

Exit Rate

Exit rate is the percentage of visitors who leave your website from a specific page. It shows which pages cause users to leave, helping identify content that may need improvement.

External Link

An external link is a hyperlink on your website that points to a page on a different website. These links help provide additional information and can improve your site’s credibility with search engines.

F

Featured Snippet

A featured snippet is a summary of an answer to a user’s query that appears at the top of search results. It often includes text, lists, or tables pulled directly from a webpage to provide quick information.

Findability

Findability is how easily users and search engines can discover your website or specific content. Higher findability improves traffic and ensures your content reaches the right audience.

First Input Delay

First Input Delay (FID) measures the time it takes for a page to respond when a user first interacts with it, like clicking a button or link. Lower FID indicates a more responsive and user-friendly website.

Focus Keyword

A focus keyword is the main word or phrase you want a page or post to rank for in search engines. It guides your content, headings, and SEO efforts to target that specific search term.

Follow Links

Follow links are hyperlinks that pass SEO value, or “link juice,” from one website to another. They help search engines recognize and improve the ranking authority of the linked page.

Freshness

Freshness refers to how recently content was published or updated on a website. Search engines often favor fresh content, especially for topics that change frequently or require up-to-date information.

G

Gated Content

Gated content is content that requires users to provide information, like an email address, before accessing it.

Gateway Page

A gateway page is a low-quality page created to rank for specific keywords and funnel users to another page. These pages offer little value on their own and are generally considered spammy by search engines.

Google Alerts

Google Alerts is a free tool that sends notifications when new content matching your chosen keywords appears online. It helps you monitor your brand, competitors, or topics of interest in real time.

Google Algorithm

A Google algorithm is a set of rules and processes that Google uses to determine the ranking of web pages in search results. It evaluates relevance, quality, and user experience to show the most useful content for a query.

Google Analytics

Google Analytics is a free tool that tracks and reports website traffic and user behavior. It helps website owners understand how visitors interact with their site to improve performance and marketing strategies.

Google Bombing

Google bombing is the practice of manipulating search engine rankings so that a specific page ranks for unrelated or targeted keywords. It is usually done by creating many links with the same anchor text pointing to that page.

Google Knowledge Panel

A Google Knowledge Panel is the box that appears on the right side of search results, showing key information about a person, business, or entity. It pulls data from the Knowledge Graph to provide a quick overview without needing to visit a website.

Google Knowledge Graph

The Google Knowledge Graph is a system that organizes information about people, places, and things to provide quick, structured answers in search results. It helps users find relevant facts without needing to click through multiple websites.

Google Hummingbird

Google Hummingbird is a search algorithm update designed to better understand the meaning behind queries. It focuses on context and intent, rather than just matching individual keywords, to deliver more relevant search results.

Google Business Profile

A Google Business Profile is a free listing that helps businesses appear in Google Search and Maps. It displays key information like address, phone number, hours, and reviews to attract local customers.

Google Panda

Google Panda is a search algorithm update that targets low-quality or thin content. It lowers the rankings of sites with poor or duplicate content and rewards websites with valuable, high-quality content.

Google Penalty

A Google penalty is a negative impact on a website’s search rankings caused by violating Google’s guidelines. It can result from spammy SEO practices, low-quality content, or unnatural backlinks.

Google Penguin

Google Penguin is a search algorithm update that targets websites using spammy or manipulative link-building practices. It lowers rankings for sites with unnatural backlinks and rewards sites with high-quality, legitimate links.

Google RankBrain

Google RankBrain is an AI-based component of Google’s search algorithm that helps understand the meaning behind queries. It improves search results by interpreting user intent and delivering more relevant pages.

Google Sandbox

The Google Sandbox is an alleged filter by Google that prevents new websites from ranking in top search results for a certain period. It’s thought to give Google time to evaluate the site’s quality and trustworthiness before ranking it highly.

Google Search Console

Google Search Console is a free tool that helps website owners monitor and optimize their site’s performance in Google Search. It provides insights on indexing, search traffic, errors, and overall SEO health.

Google Webmaster Guidelines

Google Webmaster Guidelines are a set of best practices provided by Google to help websites improve their search visibility. They cover topics like quality content, proper site structure, and ethical SEO techniques to avoid penalties.

Googlebot

Googlebot is Google’s web crawling bot that scans websites to collect information for indexing. It helps Google understand your site’s content so it can appear in search results.

Grey Hat SEO

Grey hat SEO refers to optimization techniques that fall between ethical (white hat) and unethical (black hat) practices. These methods aren’t outright banned but still carry risks because they may violate search engine guidelines.

Guest Blogging

Guest blogging is the practice of writing and publishing content on another website to reach a new audience. It can help build backlinks, increase brand exposure, and improve SEO authority.

Guestographic

A guestographic is a type of content that combines guest blogging with an infographic. It’s shared on another website to attract backlinks, increase visibility, and provide valuable, easily digestible information.

H

H1 Tag

An H1 tag is the main heading on a webpage that tells users and search engines what the page is about. It helps organize content and improves clarity for both readers and crawlers.

Header Tags

Header tags are HTML elements like H1, H2, and H3 used to structure and organize webpage content. They help search engines understand the importance of different sections and improve readability for users.

Heat Map

A heat map is a visual representation of data that shows where users click, scroll, or spend the most time on a webpage. It uses color coding to highlight popular areas, helping website owners optimize user experience and design.

Holistic SEO

Holistic SEO means improving your whole website—not just one part—to help it rank better. It focuses on making your site useful, fast, and easy for people to enjoy.

Hreflang

Hreflang is an HTML tag used to tell search engines which language and region a webpage is targeted at. It helps ensure the right version of your site shows up in search results for users in different countries or who speak different languages.

HTTPS

HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure) is a secure version of HTTP that encrypts data between a user’s browser and a website. It helps protect sensitive information, like passwords or payment details, from being intercepted.

I

Image Compression

Image compression is the process of reducing the file size of an image without losing too much quality. It helps speed up website loading times and improves overall user experience, which is also beneficial for SEO.

Image SEO

Image SEO is the practice of optimizing images on a website to improve search rankings. It involves using descriptive file names, adding alt text, compressing images for faster load times, and ensuring images are mobile-friendly.

Impression

An impression occurs when a webpage or ad is displayed to a user in search results or on a website. It counts each time the page is shown, even if the user doesn’t click on it.

Index Bloat

Index bloat refers to the excessive number of low-quality or irrelevant pages in a search engine’s index. It can negatively impact a website’s SEO performance by diluting the focus of important content and wasting crawl budget.

Indexability

Indexability refers to how easily search engines can crawl and add a page to their index. If a page is indexable, it means search engines can discover it and include it in search results.

Information Architecture (IA)

Information architecture (IA) refers to the way content is organized and structured on a website. It helps users navigate the site easily and ensures that search engines can crawl and index the content efficiently.

Informational Query

An informational query is a search made by users looking for information on a specific topic, rather than a product or service. Examples include questions like “How to fix a leaky faucet” or “What is SEO?”

Intent

Intent refers to the goal behind a user’s search query. It helps search engines understand whether the user is looking for information, making a purchase, or seeking a specific service, allowing them to deliver the most relevant results.

Internal Link

An internal link is a hyperlink that points from one page on your website to another page on the same site. It helps users navigate your site and allows search engines to crawl and index your content more effectively.

Interstitial Ad

An interstitial ad is a full-screen advertisement that appears between two pages or before a user can access content on a website. These ads are often displayed while a page is loading and can be either static or interactive.

J

JavaScript SEO

JavaScript SEO is the practice of optimizing a website that relies on JavaScript to ensure search engines can crawl and index its content. It involves making sure that dynamic content generated by JavaScript is accessible to search engines, often by using techniques like server-side rendering or dynamic rendering.

JSON-LD

JSON-LD (JavaScript Object Notation for Linked Data) is a lightweight data format used to structure data on a webpage in a way that search engines can easily understand. It’s commonly used for adding structured data to help search engines display rich snippets like reviews, events, or products.

K

Keyword Clustering

Keyword clustering is the process of grouping similar keywords together based on their intent or topic. This helps organize content and target multiple related search terms in one piece of content, improving SEO performance.

Keyword Density

Keyword density refers to the percentage of times a keyword appears on a webpage compared to the total number of words. It helps search engines understand the relevance of the content but should be used naturally to avoid keyword stuffing.

Keyword Golden Ratio

The Keyword Golden Ratio is a method for finding low-competition keywords by comparing the number of results targeting a phrase to its monthly search volume. When the ratio is low, the keyword is easier to rank for quickly.

Keyword Ranking

Keyword ranking is the position a webpage holds in search engine results for a specific keyword. The higher the ranking, the more visible the page is to users searching for that keyword.

Keyword Stemming

Keyword stemming is when search engines recognize different forms of a word—like “run,” “running,” or “runner”—as related. This helps your page rank for variations of a keyword without needing to use each one separately.

Keyword Stuffing

Keyword stuffing is the overuse of keywords in content in an attempt to manipulate search rankings. Search engines can penalize pages that do this, so keywords should be used naturally.

Keywords

Keywords are the words or phrases people type into search engines. They help search engines understand what your content is about and match it to user searches.

Knowledge Graph

A knowledge graph is a system search engines use to understand facts about people, places, and things and how they’re connected. It helps deliver quick, accurate answers in search results.

KPI

A KPI is a measurable value that shows how well a strategy or activity is performing. In SEO, KPIs help track progress toward goals like traffic, rankings, or conversions.

L

Landing Page

A landing page is a webpage designed to receive visitors from a specific link, ad, or campaign. Its goal is usually to get users to take an action, like signing up, buying, or downloading something.

Latent Semantic Analysis (LSA)

LSA is a technique search engines use to understand the relationships between words and concepts in content. It helps them determine what a page is really about, even if exact keywords aren’t used.

Lazy Loading

Lazy loading is a technique that delays loading images or videos on a webpage until they are needed. This improves page speed and user experience, which can also benefit SEO.

Link Bait

Link bait is content created specifically to attract links from other websites. Its goal is to increase traffic and improve SEO by encouraging others to share or reference it.

Link Building

Link building is the process of getting other websites to link to your site. High-quality links improve your site’s authority and help it rank higher in search engines.

Link Equity

Link equity, also called “link juice,” is the value or authority passed from one page to another through links. Pages with high link equity can help improve the rankings of the pages they link to.

Link Exchange

A link exchange is when two websites agree to link to each other. While it can drive traffic, search engines may view excessive exchanges as manipulative for SEO.

Link Farm

A link farm is a group of websites created solely to link to each other to boost SEO. Search engines consider them spammy and may penalize sites involved.

Link Juice

Link juice is the value or authority a webpage passes to another page through a hyperlink. It helps improve the linked page’s SEO and ranking in search results.

Link Rot

Link rot happens when a webpage’s links stop working because the target page is removed or the URL changes. Broken links can hurt user experience and SEO.

Link Spam

Link spam is the practice of creating low-quality or irrelevant links to manipulate search rankings. Search engines may penalize sites that use link spam.

Link Velocity

Link velocity is the speed at which a website gains or loses backlinks over time. A natural, steady link growth is favored by search engines, while sudden spikes may look suspicious.

Large Language Model (LLM):

A large language model is an AI trained on massive amounts of text to understand and generate human-like language. It can answer questions, write content, and assist with various language tasks.

Local Citation

A local citation is any online mention of a business’s name, address, and phone number (NAP). They help improve local SEO by boosting a business’s visibility in local search results.

Local SEO

Local SEO is the practice of optimizing a website to rank better in local search results. It helps businesses attract nearby customers searching for products or services in their area.

Log File Analysis

Log file analysis is the process of examining a website’s server logs to see how search engines and users interact with it. It helps identify crawling issues, errors, and opportunities to improve SEO.

Long-tail Keyword

A long-tail keyword is a longer, more specific search phrase. These keywords usually have lower competition and attract highly targeted traffic.

LSI Keywords

LSI (Latent Semantic Indexing) keywords are words and phrases related to your main keyword. They help search engines understand the context of your content and improve relevancy.

M

Manual Action

A manual action is a penalty applied by a search engine when a human reviewer determines a site violates guidelines. It can lower rankings or remove the site from search results until the issues are fixed.

Meta Description

A meta description is a short summary of a webpage’s content that appears under the page title in search results. It helps users decide whether to click and can influence click-through rates.

Meta Keywords

Meta keywords are a type of HTML tag used to list important keywords for a webpage. Most search engines no longer use them for ranking, but they were once meant to help with SEO.

Meta Redirect

A meta redirect is a type of HTML instruction that automatically sends users from one webpage to another after a set time. It can be used for page updates, but excessive use may harm SEO.

Meta Robots Tag

The meta robots tag is an HTML code that tells search engines how to crawl or index a webpage. It can be used to allow or block indexing, following links, or showing a page in search results.

Meta Tags

Meta tags are snippets of HTML that provide information about a webpage to search engines and browsers. They include elements like the title tag, meta description, and meta robots tag.

Mobile-First Indexing

Mobile-first indexing means search engines primarily use the mobile version of a website for ranking and indexing. This reflects the growing number of users who access the web via mobile devices.

Mirror Site

A mirror site is an exact copy of another website, often hosted on a different server or domain. It can improve site speed and availability but duplicate content can harm SEO if not managed properly.

N

Natural Link

A natural link is a backlink given voluntarily by another website because they find your content valuable. It’s considered high-quality and helps improve SEO without any manipulation.

NAP

NAP stands for Name, Address, and Phone number of a business. Consistent NAP information across the web helps improve local SEO and trust with search engines.

Navigational Query

A navigational query is a search where the user is looking for a specific website or page. For example, typing a brand name to go directly to its official site.

Niche

A niche is a specific segment of a market or audience with focused interests or needs. Targeting a niche helps create specialized content and attract highly relevant traffic.

Negative SEO

Negative SEO is the practice of using harmful tactics to lower a competitor’s search rankings. This can include building spammy backlinks, copying content, or hacking their site.

Nofollow

Nofollow is an HTML attribute added to a link to tell search engines not to pass ranking credit (link juice) to the linked page. It’s often used for sponsored links or untrusted content.

Noreferrer

noreferrer is an HTML attribute for links that prevents the browser from sending the referring page’s URL to the destination site. It also improves security and privacy when opening links in a new tab.

Noindex Tag

A noindex tag is an HTML instruction that tells search engines not to include a webpage in their search results. It’s used to keep certain pages private or prevent low-value content from being indexed.

O

Off-page SEO

Off-page SEO refers to actions taken outside your website to improve its search rankings. This includes backlinks, social signals, and brand mentions that show your site’s authority and trustworthiness.

On-page SEO

On-page SEO is the practice of optimizing individual webpages to rank higher in search results. It includes elements like content quality, keywords, meta tags, headings, and internal linking.

Open Graph Meta Tags

Open Graph meta tags are HTML tags that control how your webpage appears when shared on social media. They can define the title, description, image, and other content for better visibility and engagement.

Organic Search Results

Organic search results are the listings on a search engine that appear naturally, not paid for. They are ranked based on relevance and SEO rather than ads.

Orphan Page

An orphan page is a webpage that has no internal links pointing to it, making it hard for users and search engines to find. These pages can hurt SEO if not properly linked within the site’s structure.

Organic Snippet

An organic snippet is the text or information displayed in search engine results for a webpage, typically showing the page title, URL, and meta description. It gives users a preview of the content before they click.

Organic Traffic

Organic traffic is the visitors who reach your website through unpaid search results. It comes from people finding your site naturally via search engines.

Outbound Link

An outbound link is a hyperlink that points from your website to an external site. When used wisely, outbound links can provide value, reference credible sources, and improve SEO.

P

Page Speed

Page speed is how quickly a webpage loads its content. Faster-loading pages improve user experience and can help boost search rankings.

PageRank

PageRank is Google’s system for measuring the importance of a webpage based on the number and quality of links pointing to it. Pages with stronger, trustworthy backlinks typically earn higher PageRank.

People Also Ask (PAA)

People Also Ask is a Google search feature that shows common, related questions users frequently search. Each question expands to reveal a short answer pulled from a webpage.

People-First Content

People-first content is content created to genuinely help readers, not just to rank in search engines. It focuses on usefulness, clarity, and meeting real user needs.

Pillar Page

A pillar page is a comprehensive guide that covers a broad topic and links to more detailed subtopic pages. It helps organize content for users and improves site structure for search engines.

Pogo-Sticking

Pogo-sticking happens when a user clicks a search result, quickly returns to Google, and clicks another result. It usually signals the first page didn’t meet the user’s needs.

Primary Keyword

A primary keyword is the main search term a page is optimized for. It reflects the main topic of the content and helps search engines understand what the page is about.

Private Blog Network (PBN)

A Private Blog Network is a group of websites created to build backlinks to another site and manipulate search rankings. Google considers PBNs a black-hat tactic and may penalize sites that use them.

Q

Query

A query is the word or phrase a user types into a search engine. It tells the search engine what information the user wants to find.

Query Deserves Freshness (QDF)

Query Deserves Freshness is a Google concept that boosts newer content when a search topic is trending or rapidly changing. It helps users see the most up-to-date information for time-sensitive queries.

R

RankBrain

RankBrain is Google’s AI system that helps understand the meaning behind search queries. It improves search results by learning which pages best match a user’s intent.

Reciprocal Link

A reciprocal link is when two websites link to each other. While it can share traffic, excessive reciprocal linking may be seen as manipulative by search engines.

Reconsideration Request

A reconsideration request is a submission to Google asking them to review your site after a manual penalty. It explains the changes you’ve made to fix any issues and regain search ranking.

Redirect

A redirect automatically sends users and search engines from one URL to another. It’s used when a page is moved, deleted, or replaced to ensure visitors and ranking signals go to the right page.

Referring Domain

A referring domain is a website that links to your site. The number and quality of referring domains can influence your site’s authority and search rankings.

Regex (in Google Search Console):

Regex is a pattern you can use in Search Console filters to match groups of queries or URLs. It helps you find specific search terms or pages—such as all keywords containing a certain word, all queries that start or end a certain way, or multiple versions of a phrase—without having to type each one manually.

rel=”ugc”

The rel="ugc" attribute indicates a link was created by a user, like in comments or forum posts. It helps search engines distinguish user-generated content from editorial links.

rel=”sponsored”

The rel="sponsored" attribute tells search engines that a link is paid or part of an advertisement. It helps prevent the link from passing SEO value as an organic endorsement.

rel=”canonical”

The rel="canonical" tag tells search engines which version of a page is the main one. It helps prevent duplicate content issues by consolidating ranking signals to a single URL.

Related Searches

Related Searches are suggestions shown by Google at the bottom of the search results. They help users explore similar or connected topics.

Relative URL

A relative URL is a web address that links to a page using a path relative to the current page. It doesn’t include the full domain, making it shorter and easier to manage within a site.

Resource Pages

Resource pages are web pages that list useful links, tools, or information on a specific topic. They help users find valuable content and can attract backlinks from other sites.

Rich Snippet

A rich snippet is an enhanced search result that shows extra information like ratings, reviews, or images. It makes your listing more noticeable and can improve click-through rates.

Robots.txt

Robots.txt is a file on your website that tells search engines which pages to crawl or avoid. It helps control what content appears in search results.

RSS Feed

An RSS feed is a file that delivers website updates, like blog posts, to subscribers automatically. It helps users and apps stay updated without visiting the site directly.

Root Domain

A root domain is the main part of a website’s URL, without subfolders or subdomains. For example, in blog.example.com/page, the root domain is example.com.

S

Schema Markup

Schema markup is code added to a webpage that helps search engines understand its content. It can enhance search results with rich snippets like ratings, events, or FAQs.

Search Engine Poisoning

Search Engine Poisoning is when hackers manipulate search results to promote malicious or spammy websites. It can trick users into visiting harmful sites through seemingly legitimate search results.

Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs)

SERPs are the pages displayed by search engines in response to a user’s query. They show organic results, paid ads, and other features like featured snippets or knowledge panels.

Search Intent

Search intent is the reason behind a user’s query—what they want to find or achieve. Understanding it helps create content that matches user needs and improves rankings.

Search Results

Search results are the list of webpages, images, videos, or other content that a search engine shows in response to a query. They help users find the information they are looking for.

Search Visibility

Search visibility measures how easily a website or page can be found in search engine results. Higher visibility means more of your pages appear for relevant searches, increasing traffic potential.

Search Volume

Search volume is the number of times a specific keyword is searched for in a given period. Higher search volume indicates more potential traffic if you rank for that keyword.

Secondary Keywords

Secondary keywords are related terms that support the main (primary) keyword. They help search engines understand your content better and can attract additional traffic.

Secure Sockets Layer (SSL)

SSL is a security technology that encrypts data between a user’s browser and a website. Sites with SSL use “https://” and are trusted more by users and search engines.

Seed Keywords

Seed keywords are basic, broad terms used as a starting point for keyword research. They help generate more specific, long-tail keywords for content optimization.

SEO Audit

An SEO audit is a comprehensive review of a website’s SEO performance. It identifies issues and opportunities to improve rankings, traffic, and overall search visibility.

SEO Silo

An SEO silo is a way of organizing a website’s content into themed sections. It helps search engines understand your site structure and improves relevance for specific topics.

SERP Features

SERP features are special elements on search engine results pages beyond standard links, like featured snippets, maps, or reviews. They make results more informative and can increase click-through rates.

Share of Voice (SOV)

Share of Voice measures how much a brand appears in search results compared to competitors for specific keywords. Higher SOV means greater visibility and presence in the market.

Sitelinks

Sitelinks are additional links shown below a website’s main search result that lead to important pages. They help users navigate directly to relevant sections of a site.

Sitemap

A sitemap is a file that lists all the pages on a website. It helps search engines crawl and index the site more efficiently.

Spamdexing

Spamdexing is the practice of manipulating search engine rankings with deceptive or excessive tactics. It includes keyword stuffing, hidden text, or link schemes, and can lead to penalties.

Structured Data

Structured data is a standardized format for providing information about a page to search engines. It helps enhance search results with rich snippets like ratings, events, or product details.

Subfolder

A subfolder is a directory within a website that organizes content under the main domain. For example, in example.com/blog, “blog” is the subfolder.

Subdomain

A subdomain is a subsection of a main domain, appearing before the root domain in a URL. For example, in blog.example.com, “blog” is the subdomain.

T

Taxonomy (SEO)

In SEO, taxonomy refers to how your website’s content is organized into categories, tags, or topics. A clear taxonomy helps search engines understand your site structure and makes it easier for users to find what they need.

Technical SEO

Technical SEO focuses on improving the behind-the-scenes parts of your website—like speed, crawling, indexing, and site structure—so search engines can easily access and understand your pages. It helps your site perform better and rank higher in search results.

Thin Content

Thin content is content that provides little to no value for users, such as very short pages or pages with copied or low-quality information. Search engines may rank these pages poorly because they don’t satisfy user needs.

Tiered Link Building

Tiered link building is an SEO strategy where you build links in layers, with high-quality links pointing to your website (Tier 1) and additional lower-tier links pointing to those Tier-1 links. This helps strengthen the authority passed to your site while keeping risk lower.

Top-Level Domain (TLD)

A top-level domain is the last part of a web address, like .com or .org. It helps identify the purpose or location of a website.

Topical Relevance

Topical relevance means how closely a piece of content or a website matches the subject someone is searching for. Search engines use it to decide if your page is truly helpful for a specific topic.

Tracking Code

A tracking code is a small piece of script added to a website to collect data about visitors and their actions. It helps you measure traffic, behavior, and conversions.

Transactional Query

A transactional query is a search made when someone plans to buy something or complete an action, like “buy running shoes online.” It shows strong commercial intent.

Transport Layer Security (TLS)

Transport Layer Security is a protocol that encrypts data sent between a user’s browser and a website. It helps keep information private and secure during online communication.

U

Unnatural Links

Unnatural links are links that violate search engine guidelines, like paid links or spammy backlinks. They can harm a website’s rankings if detected.

URL Rating (UR)

URL Rating (UR) is a score that shows the strength of a specific webpage’s backlink profile. Higher UR usually means the page is more likely to rank well in search results.

User Intent

User intent is the goal or reason behind a person’s search query. Understanding it helps create content that matches what users are really looking for.

URL Slug

A URL slug is the part of a web address that comes after the domain name, usually describing the page. It should be short, clear, and include relevant keywords for SEO.

UTM Code

A UTM code is a small snippet added to a URL to track where website traffic comes from. It helps marketers see which campaigns or sources drive visitors.

UX (User Experience)

UX is how easy and enjoyable it is for people to use a website or app. Good UX keeps visitors engaged and helps them find what they need quickly.

V

Vertical Search

Vertical search focuses on searching within a specific category, like images, jobs, or travel. It delivers more targeted results than a general search engine.

Voice Search

Voice search lets users speak their queries instead of typing them. Search engines interpret the spoken words and return results that match the intent.

Visibility %

Visibility % measures how often your website appears in search results for relevant keywords. A higher percentage means your site is more likely to be seen by users.

W

Website Authority

Website authority is a measure of how trustworthy and strong a site appears to search engines. Higher authority usually means a better chance of ranking well in search results.

Website Hit

A website hit is a server request for any file on a page, like an image or script. It’s not the same as a pageview, so hits don’t accurately show how many people visited a site.

Website Structure

Website structure is how your pages are organized and linked together. A clear structure helps users and search engines find content more easily.

Webspam

Webspam is any shady tactic used to trick search engines, like keyword stuffing or buying links. It can lead to penalties that hurt a website’s rankings.

White-hat SEO

White-hat SEO uses honest, search-engine-approved methods to improve rankings. It focuses on quality content, good user experience, and following search engine guidelines.

WordPress

WordPress is a popular platform for building websites without needing advanced coding skills. It’s flexible, beginner-friendly, and supports many themes and plugins.

WPR

WPR usually refers to Weighted PageRank, a version of Google’s PageRank algorithm that gives more weight to stronger or more relevant links. It’s used to estimate how important a webpage is based on the quality of links pointing to it.

X

X-Robots-Tag

The X-Robots-Tag is an HTTP header that tells search engines how to index a webpage or file. It can control indexing, following links, or preventing content from appearing in search results.

XML (eXtensible Markup Language)

XML is a file format used to store and transport structured data. In SEO, it’s often used for sitemaps to help search engines understand a website’s structure.

Y

YMYL (Your Money or Your Life):

YMYL refers to websites or content that can impact a person’s health, finances, or safety. Google holds these pages to higher quality standards because mistakes can have serious consequences.

Yoast

Yoast is a popular SEO plugin for WordPress that helps optimize website content for search engines. It provides tools for keywords, readability, meta tags, and more.

Z

Zero-Click Searches

Zero-click searches are search results where users get the answer directly on the search page without clicking any links. They often appear in featured snippets, knowledge panels, or answer boxes.