SEO 101
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301 Redirect – A permanent redirect that moves most of the ranking power to the new page. Used when merging similar pages or changing web addresses to preserve search engine rankings and improve user experience.
302 Redirect – A 302 redirect is a temporary redirect that doesn’t transfer ranking power to the new web address so that search engines continue indexing the original page. Best for short-term changes like testing different web pages or when a page is being updated.
304 Not Modified – A 304 status code is used to make websites load faster by using the saved version of a page in a browser if the server finds that no changes were made since the last visit.
307 Redirect – A 307 redirect is a temporary redirect status indicating the requested resource has been moved temporarily to a different URL. It’s similar to a 302 but ensures the method and body are not changed.
404 Error – Shows up when a web page can’t be found, usually because of a broken link or a page that’s been removed. Too many 404 errors can be bad for user experience.
409 Conflict – Happens when a request doesn’t work with the current setup of the server. A 409 conflict is rare in SEO but can happen when multiple changes are made at the same time on a website.
500 Internal Server Error – A server-side error indicating the server encountered an unexpected condition that prevented it from fulfilling the request.
502 Bad Gateway – The 502 bad gateway error occurs when one server on the internet receives an invalid response from another server, a gateway, or a proxy server.
A
Above the Fold – Part of a web page you see first without scrolling; important for SEO and making a good first impression. Placing important content and calls to action above the fold can make people more engaged and help your website rank better.
Access Log – Your site’s access log is a file on a web server that records all requests made to the server, including IP addresses, request dates, and pages accessed.
Ad Keyword – Specific words or phrases used in online advertising campaigns to trigger ads when matched with user search queries.
Ad Rank – A value that determines the position of a paid advertisement on a search engine results page based on factors like bid amount and ad quality.
Affiliate Marketing – A way to make money by promoting other companies’ products or services and earning a commission on sales or leads.
AJAX (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML) – A method for updating parts of a web page without reloading the whole page. It can make websites more interactive but may be hard for search engines to fully understand and index in search results.
Algorithm – Rules search engines use to decide how to rank web pages. Knowing algorithm basics, like how they value good content, user experience, and links, is key for good SEO.
Algorithm Change – Updates search engines make to improve search results. Staying updated with these changes is important for SEO, as they can affect how well websites perform in search rankings.
Algorithmic Penalty – An algorithmic penalty happens when a website’s rank drops because of search engine updates. Often comes from using black hat SEO tactics like overusing keywords or having low-quality links.
Alt Attribute (Alt Text) – A description of an image on a website. Helps search engines understand what the image is about and important for making web pages accessible for people who can’t see the image.
AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages) – A way to make mobile web pages load faster. While it can improve the web experience for mobile users, content should be similar to that of the regular site.
Analytics – Involves collecting and studying data on how many people visit and use your website. Important factors to look at include traffic sources, bounce rates, and conversion rates.
Anchor Text – Clickable text in a hyperlink that gives context to linked content. Having a variety of anchor texts that look natural is good for SEO since using the same keywords too much can look suspicious and may lead to penalties.
Anchor Ratio – Refers to using different kinds of anchor texts. A mix of brand names, exact matches, and general terms can make a website look more genuine and improve SEO.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) – Involves using advanced technology, like machine learning, to improve how search engines work, such as analyzing user behavior and personalizing content.
Author Authority – The perceived trustworthiness and expertise of a content creator. Author authority can influence how search engines rank content, especially for sensitive topics.
Authority Site – A website that’s seen as a reliable source in its niche; typically ranks well in search results. Building an authority site involves publishing great content, acquiring good backlinks, and having a strong presence online.
Authority Score – A composite metric used to estimate the overall SEO effectiveness of a website based on factors like backlink data and organic search data.
Auto Generated Content – Content created by software, often low-quality, which can negatively impact a site’s SEO. Google has recently cracked down on purely auto-generated content, preferring unique, human-made content.
Average Difficulty – A metric indicating the average level of difficulty in ranking for a set of keywords in search engine results.
B
B2B (Business-to-Business) – Marketing or sales strategies focused on transactions between businesses, as opposed to direct consumer sales.
B2C (Business-to-Consumer) – Involves selling products or services directly to individual consumers, focusing on personal consumer needs.
Backlink – A link from one website to another. Considered a vote of confidence by search engines, backlinks can improve a site’s ranking.
BERT (Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers) – A Google algorithm update aimed at better understanding the context of search queries.
Beta – A phase in software development where the product is tested in real-world scenarios but may still contain bugs.
Bing – Microsoft’s search engine, offering services similar to Google. Optimizing for Bing can be beneficial due to its unique user base and algorithms.
Black Box – Refers to the undisclosed parts of search engine algorithms, making SEO strategies based on observed outcomes rather than known factors.
Black Hat SEO – Aggressive SEO tactics that violate search engine guidelines, often leading to penalties or bans from search results.
Blog – A regularly updated website or section, typically featuring written content. Blogs are key for SEO, providing fresh content and attracting backlinks.
Bounce Rate – The percentage of visitors who leave a site after viewing only one page. High bounce rates can indicate content that doesn’t meet user needs.
Bot (Crawler, Googlebot) – Automated programs used by search engines to discover and index web content.
Branded Keyword – A branded keyword is a search term that includes a brand’s name. Often used by individuals already familiar with the brand.
Breadcrumb – A navigational aid that shows users their path through a website, beneficial for user experience and SEO.
Broken Link – A hyperlink that leads to an invalid or non-existent page, often resulting in a 404 error. Excessive broken links can harm a site’s usability and SEO.
C
Cache – Stored data that allows web pages to load faster on subsequent visits, enhancing user experience.
Cached Page – A version of a web page saved by a search engine, used to display search results quickly.
Call to Action (CTA) – A prompt on a website or ad that encourages users to take a specific action, like signing up or making a purchase.
Canonicalization – The process of selecting the best URL when multiple options exist for a page, helping search engines avoid duplicate content issues.
Canonical URL – The preferred URL for a webpage, used to consolidate link signals for similar or duplicate pages.
Carousel – A rotating set of images or content on a website used to showcase multiple items within a single space.
ccTLD (Country-Code Top-Level Domain) – A domain extension indicating a website’s association with a specific country, like .uk or .ca.
Citation – An online reference to a business’s name, address, and phone number, important for local SEO.
Click Bait – Misleading or sensationalized headlines designed to attract clicks but often lacking in substance.
Click Depth – Click depth is he number of clicks required to reach a particular page from the homepage, influencing its accessibility and SEO value.
Click Potential – Click potential is the likelihood of a keyword or ad to generate clicks based on factors like search volume and relevance.
Clickstream Data – The recording of where a user clicks while browsing. Clickstream data is used to analyze browsing behavior and patterns.
Click-Through Rate (CTR) – The percentage of users who click on a specific link out of the total users who view a webpage, email, or advertisement.
Cloaking – A deceptive SEO technique where different content is presented to search engines than to users, violating guidelines.
CMS (Content Management System) – Software that helps users create, manage, and modify content on a website without needing specialized technical knowledge.
Co-Citation – A co-citation refers to the association of one website with another due to being mentioned together on a third website, influencing SEO.
Code To Text Ratio – The code to text ratio is the amount of text on a webpage compared to the code, used as a measure of content quality and relevance.
Comment Spam – Comment spam are unwanted comments posted on blogs, forums, or websites, often for the purpose of creating backlinks.
Competition – Refers to other websites that rank for similar keywords and target similar audiences.
Content – The text, images, videos, and other materials on a website, crucial for engaging users and ranking in search results.
“Content is King” – The “Content is King” phrase emphasizes the importance of high-quality, relevant content for successful SEO.
Content Aggregation – The collection and display of content from different sources on a single platform. Content aggregation is often used for providing comprehensive information.
Content Management System (CMS) – Software that allows users to create, manage, and modify website content without specialized technical knowledge.
Content Marketing – A marketing strategy focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly defined audience.
Contextual Linking – Contextual linking is placing links within content in a way that is relevant to the content’s context, enhancing user experience and SEO.
Conversion – The action of a website visitor completing a desired goal, such as making a purchase or signing up for a newsletter.
Conversion Funnel – The conversion funnel is a path a user follows on a website leading to conversion, important for understanding user behavior.
Conversion Rate – The percentage of visitors who complete a desired action on a website, a key measure of its effectiveness.
Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) – The process of improving a website to increase the percentage of visitors who convert into customers.
Core Update – Significant changes made by a search engine to its core algorithm, affecting how websites are ranked.
Core Web Vitals – A set of metrics by Google measuring the speed, responsiveness, and visual stability of a webpage, important for user experience.
Correlation – The relationship between different variables and their impact on search rankings.
CPC (Cost Per Click) – The amount paid by an advertiser each time a user clicks on their online advertisement. It’s a common pricing model in digital advertising.
CPM (Cost Per Thousand Impressions) – A metric in advertising where the cost is calculated per thousand views of an advertisement. It’s used to price banner ads and other display advertising.
Crawl Budget – The number of pages a search engine bot will crawl on a website within a certain timeframe, important for large websites.
Crawl Error – Problems encountered by search engine bots while trying to access a webpage, potentially impacting SEO.
Crawling – The crawling process is how search engine bots discover and index new and updated web pages.
CRM (Customer Relationship Management) – A system or software that helps businesses manage and analyze customer interactions and data throughout the customer lifecycle, aiming to improve customer relationships and drive sales growth.
Cross Group Negatives – Keywords in digital advertising campaigns that are used to prevent ads from showing in certain ad groups, ensuring ads are more targeted and relevant.
Cross-Linking – The practice of linking between two sites, often used to provide additional information or resources.
CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) – A language used to style and layout web pages. It controls how HTML elements are displayed on screen, paper, or other media.
Customer Journey – The complete experience a customer goes through when interacting with a brand or website, from initial awareness to conversion.
D
Data – Information collected about website performance, user behavior, and other metrics, used to inform SEO strategies.
Dead-End Page – A webpage without any outbound links, potentially limiting user engagement and site navigation.
Deep Link – A hyperlink that directs to a specific, often buried page on a website rather than the homepage.
Deep Link Ratio – The proportion of deep links to total inbound links, indicating the spread of content reach across a website.
De-index – The removal of a webpage or website from a search engine’s index. De-indexing is often done due to violations of guidelines or poor quality.
Destination Site – The website a user reaches after clicking on a hyperlink. It’s the target site in digital marketing, where advertisers aim to lead potential customers.
Direct Traffic – Direct traffic is web traffic that arrives at a site directly, typically by users typing the website URL into their browser or using a bookmark, as opposed to being referred by another website or source.
Directory – An online list or catalog of websites, categorized for easy navigation and sometimes used for obtaining backlinks.
Display Ads – A type of online advertising that includes various formats, such as banner ads, rich media, and more. These ads rely on visual elements to convey an advertising message.
Disavow – A tool provided by search engines that allows webmasters to tell search engines to ignore certain harmful or spammy links pointing to their site. It’s used to prevent negative SEO impacts.
Disavowing – The process of telling search engines to ignore certain backlinks to your site. Disavowing in SEO is typically done to avoid negative impacts.
Do-follow – A type of link that passes SEO value from one site to another, as opposed to “no-follow” links which do not.
Domain – The main web address of a website (e.g., www.example.com), serving as its unique identifier on the internet.
Domain Age – The length of time a domain has been registered and active. Domain age is often considered by search engines as a factor of trustworthiness.
Domain Authority – Moz’s Domain Authority metric estimates how well a website will rank on search engine result pages (SERPs).
Domain History – The record of a domain’s ownership, registration, and changes over time, which can impact its SEO value.
Domain Rating – A metric, often used by Ahrefs, indicating the strength of a website’s backlink profile compared to others in their database.
Doorway Page – Doorway pages are webpages created to rank highly for specific search queries, often poor in quality and seen as manipulative by search engines.
DuckDuck – GoA search engine known for protecting user privacy, not tracking search history, and providing unbiased search results.
Duplicate Content – Content that appears on the internet in more than one place, which can negatively impact a site’s search engine rankings.
Dwell Time – Dwell time is the amount of time a visitor spends on a page after clicking a link in search results, before returning to the SERPs.
E
E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness) – Factors Google uses to assess the quality of a webpage’s content, especially for YMYL (Your Money, Your Life) topics.
E-commerce – The buying and selling of goods or services using the internet, and the transfer of money and data to execute these transactions.
Editorial Link – An editorial link is naturally given by sites that want to link to your website, without any specific action from the site owner.
.edu Links Backlinks from educational institution websites, often seen as high-authority due to their .edu domain.
Engagement Metrics – Engagement metrics show how users interact with a website, such as time on site, pages per session, and bounce rate.
Engagement Rate (Social Analytics) – A metric used in social media analytics to measure the level of engagement that content receives from the audience, typically calculated as the total engagement (likes, shares, comments) divided by the total number of followers or impressions.
Engagement Rate (Social Tracker) – Similar to social analytics, this measures how actively involved with your content your audience is, crucial for understanding the effectiveness of social media campaigns.
Entities – Distinct and well-defined concepts or objects that search engines use to understand user queries and content, like people, places, or things.
Evergreen Content – Content that remains relevant and useful over a long period, continually attracting traffic.
External Link (Outbound Link) – A link on a website that points to a page on a different website.
F
Featured Snippet – A special box appearing at the top of Google’s search results, providing a quick answer or summary to a user’s query.
Findability – How easy it is for users and search engines to discover content on a website.
First Link Priority – The idea that search engines give more value to the first link they find on a webpage when multiple links lead to the same destination.
Follow Links – Hyperlinks that allow search engines to follow them and reach other web pages. They pass on link equity and are beneficial for SEO.
Footer Link – Footer links are located in the most bottom section of a webpage, often used for navigation but less valuable for SEO.
Freshness – Freshness is a factor in search engine algorithms that gives preference to more recent and updated content for certain queries.
G
GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) – A regulation in EU law on data protection and privacy in the European Union and the European Economic Area. It also addresses the transfer of personal data outside the EU and EEA areas.
Geo-Targeting – The practice of delivering content or advertisements to a user based on their geographic location.
Google – The world’s largest search engine, offering a wide range of internet-related services and products.
Google Alerts – A tool by Google that notifies users about new search results for specified keywords, useful for monitoring web mentions.
Google AdSense – A program run by Google through which website publishers in the Google Network of content sites serve text, images, video, or interactive media advertisements that are targeted to the site content and audience. These advertisements are administered, sorted, and maintained by Google.
Google Algorithm – A complex system used by Google to retrieve data from its search index and instantly deliver the best possible results for a query. It uses a combination of algorithms and numerous ranking signals to deliver webpages ranked by relevance on its search engine results pages (SERPs).
Google Analytics – A web analytics service offered by Google that tracks and reports website traffic.
Google Bomb – The practice of manipulating search results by creating many links with specific anchor text to influence a page’s ranking for that text.
Googlebot – Google’s web crawling bot, used to discover new and updated pages to be added to the Google index.
Google Business Profile – A free tool by Google allowing businesses to manage their online presence across Google, including Search and Maps.
Google Caffeine – An update to Google’s indexing system, making it faster and more efficient, introduced around 2010.
Google Dance – The fluctuation of website rankings on Google due to updates in its algorithm. The term “Google Dance” was more common in the early days of SEO.
Google Hummingbird – An update to Google’s search algorithm introduced in 2013, focusing on understanding the intent and contextual meaning of queries.
Google Knowledge Graph – A database used by Google to enhance its search results with semantic-search information gathered from various sources.
Google Knowledge Panel – An information box appearing in Google search results, providing a snapshot of information about a person, place, or thing.
Google Looker Studio – A data visualization tool by Google (formerly known as Google Data Studio) that turns data into informative, easy-to-read, easy-to-share, and fully customizable dashboards and reports.
Google Panda Algorithm – A Google algorithm update focused on reducing the prevalence of low-quality content in search results.
Google Penalty – A negative impact on a website’s search rankings based on Google’s algorithms or manual review, often due to black-hat SEO.
Google Penguin Algorithm – An update to Google’s algorithm aimed at decreasing search engine rankings of websites that violate Google’s Webmaster Guidelines by using black-hat SEO techniques.
Google Pigeon Update – The Google Pigeon update is an update to Google’s local search algorithm, improving the relevance and accuracy of local search results.
Google Sandbox – A hypothetical filter that prevents new websites from ranking in Google’s top results until they establish credibility.
Google SE Traffic – Refers to the traffic a website receives from Google’s search engine. It includes users who click on both organic search results and paid ads shown in Google’s search results.
Google Search Console – A free service offered by Google that helps you monitor, maintain, and troubleshoot your site’s presence in Google Search results.
Google Search Text Ads (formerly Google AdWords) – A platform provided by Google for advertisers to display ads on Google’s search results pages and its advertising network. Advertisers bid on keywords for their clickable ads to appear in Google’s search results.
Google Search Text Ads Keywords – Specific words or phrases that advertisers bid on within Google Ads. When these keywords match user search queries, the ads may be displayed.
Google Search Text Ads Top – Refers to the placement of Google Search Text Ads at the top of the search engine results page, above the organic search results.
Google Search Text Ads Bottom – Refers to the placement of Google Search Text Ads at the bottom of the search engine results page, below the organic search results.
Google Search Text Ads Traffic – The number of visitors that come to a website by clicking on Google Search Text Ads.
Google Search Text Ads Traffic Price – The cost associated with the traffic coming from Google Search Text Ads, often calculated as CPC or CPM
Google Top Heavy Update – The Google Top Heavy update is an algorithm update targeting websites with excessive ads above the fold, affecting their search rankings.
Google Trends – A website by Google that analyzes the popularity of top search queries in Google Search across various regions and languages.
Google Webmaster Guidelines – Official rules and best practices provided by Google for making a website more search engine friendly.
Google Webmaster Tools – A free service offered by Google to help website owners monitor and maintain their site’s presence in Google Search results.
.gov Links – Backlinks from government websites (.gov domains), highly valued in SEO for their authority and trustworthiness.
Grey Hat SEO – Techniques that fall in between white hat (ethical) and black hat (unethical) SEO. Grey hat SEO is not fully endorsed nor directly penalized by search engines.
Guest Blogging – Writing and publishing a blog post on someone else’s website or blog to build relationships, exposure, authority, and links.
H
Head Term – A head term is a popular, often short and broad keyword with high search volume, but usually more competitive.
Heading Tag – HTML tags (like H1, H2, H3, etc.) used to define headings and subheadings within web content. These tags help structure the content, making it easier for users and search engines to read and understand the text.
Heading – Text on a webpage marked with heading tags (like H1, H2) for structure, important for both SEO and user experience.
Headline – The title of an article or webpage, crucial for attracting readers and relevant for search engine rankings.
Heatmap – A visual representation showing where users click, move, and scroll on a webpage, used for improving user experience and design.
Helpful Content Update – Google’s Helpful Content Update is designed to prioritize content that provides genuine value to users; initially rolled out in August 2022 and again in September 2023.
Hidden Text – Text on a webpage that is invisible to visitors but readable by search engines. Having hidden text is considered a black hat SEO technique.
Historical Data – Data collected over time about a website’s performance. In SEO, this includes information like past traffic, keyword rankings, and backlink profiles, which can be used to inform future strategies.
Hreflang Tags – HTML attributes used to specify the language and geographical targeting of a webpage. They help search engines serve the correct language or regional URL in search results.
HSTS (HTTP Strict Transport Security) – A web security policy mechanism that helps to protect websites against man-in-the-middle attacks such as protocol downgrade attacks and cookie hijacking. It allows web servers to declare that web browsers should interact with it using only secure HTTPS connections.
Homepage – The main page of a website, often serving as the starting point for navigation and a summary of site content.
htaccess File – A configuration file used on web servers running the Apache Web Server software, for various settings like redirects and URL rewriting.
HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) – The standard markup language for documents designed to be displayed in a web browser.
HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) – The foundation of data communication for the World Wide Web.
HTTP 200 Response Code – A server response code indicating that a request was successful and the requested content is being sent to the browser.
HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure) – An extension of HTTP, used for secure communication over a computer network.
Hub Page – A central page that links to related content on a topic, useful for organizing a website and improving SEO.
Hypertext – Text displayed on a computer or other electronic device with references (hyperlinks) to other text that the reader can access immediately.
I
Image Compression – The process of reducing the file size of an image, which helps in faster webpage loading times and improved SEO.
Impression – A count of how many times a webpage is viewed or appears in search results.
Improved Keywords – Keywords that have shown an increase in rankings or performance metrics like click-through rates (CTR) in search engine results over time.
IP Address – A unique string of numbers separated by periods that identifies each computer using the Internet Protocol to communicate over a network. It can be used to track the location and other data about a user.
Indexed Pages – Webpages that have been discovered by search engines and are included in their search results.
Index – The collection of webpages and content found by search engines, used to provide search results.
Inbound Link (or Backlinks) – A link from another site to yours; important for SEO as they act like votes of confidence and can improve your site’s authority and ranking.
Internal Link – A link that goes from one page on a website to a different page on the same website, used for navigation and spreading link equity.
Internet Protocol (IP) Address – A unique string of numbers separated by periods that identifies each computer using the Internet Protocol to communicate over a network.
Interstitial Ads – Interstitial ads are full-page ads that appear before or after the expected content, often used in mobile web design but can be intrusive.
J
JavaScript – A programming language used to create dynamic and interactive effects on websites; essential for modern web design but can impact SEO if not implemented correctly.
K
Keyword (Google Ads) – Specific words or phrases that advertisers bid on in Google Ads. When these keywords match user search queries, the ads may be displayed alongside search results.
Keyword (Organic) – Words or phrases that users type into search engines to find information. Organic keywords are used naturally within content to attract search engine traffic without paid advertising.
Keyword Cannibalization – When multiple pages on the same website compete for the same keywords. This can dilute your SEO efforts and make it harder for the right page to rank.
Keyword Density – The percentage of times a keyword or phrase appears on a web page compared to the total number of words on the page. It’s an aspect of keyword optimization in SEO but is less important than content quality and relevance.
Keyword Difficulty – A measure of how hard it is to rank for a specific keyword. Higher keyword difficulty means more competition and effort needed to rank well.
Keyword Research – The process of finding and analyzing relevant keywords that people search for; a fundamental part of SEO strategy to target the right terms.
Keyword Stuffing (Keyword Spam) – Overusing keywords on a webpage. This outdated SEO tactic can lead to penalties as it creates a poor user experience and is seen as manipulative by search engines.
Knowledge Graph – A knowledge base used by Google to enhance its search results with semantic-search information gathered from a wide variety of sources. It aims to provide more meaningful and contextual information in response to search queries.
L
Landing Page – A specific web page that a visitor typically reaches after clicking on a link or ad. This page is designed to achieve a marketing outcome, like generating sales or capturing leads.
Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) – A metric that reports the render time of the largest image or text block visible within the viewport. It’s one of the Core Web Vitals used by Google to measure user experience quality on a webpage.
Lazy Loading – A method where non-essential elements of a webpage are loaded only when needed. It improves page speed and user experience, which are important for SEO.
Link – A hyperlink that connects one web page to another. In SEO, links are used to navigate between pages on the internet, and they also serve as a way to pass authority from one site to another, which can impact search rankings.
Linkbait – Content created with the primary goal of attracting backlinks from other websites. It’s often informative, controversial, or highly entertaining to encourage sharing and linking.
Link Building – The process of getting other websites to link to your site. Quality backlinks remain a major factor in improving your site’s ranking and authority..
Link Farm – A group of websites that all link to each other, usually for manipulative SEO purposes. A link farm is often used to boost rankings artificially but can lead to negative consequences in the long run.
Link Juice – The SEO value passed from one page to another through links. Link juice is an informal term describing how links contribute to a page’s authority and ranking.
Link Reclamation – The process of fixing or reclaiming lost or broken links. Link reclamation helps regain lost link value and can improve your site’s SEO.
Link Schemes – Link schemes are attempts to create links in a way that manipulates search rankings. These practices are against search engine guidelines and can result in penalties.
Link Spam – Unwanted or manipulative links often used in an attempt to improve a site’s ranking. Such practices are considered black-hat SEO and can lead to penalties.
Local Citation – A mention of a local business’s name, address, and phone number online. Local citations are important for local SEO as they help improve local search rankings.
Local Finder – A feature in Google Maps and Google Search that displays local business listings relevant to a user’s query. It’s part of Google’s local search results, showing detailed information about local businesses.
Local Pack – The local pack is a section in Google’s search results that displays local business listings most relevant to the search query. It typically shows a map with pinned locations, along with business details like names, ratings, and addresses. Local Pack is different from Local Finder.
Local Search Marketing – SEO strategies tailored for improving visibility in local search results. It’s crucial for businesses targeting customers in specific geographic areas, like restaurants, retail stores, or service providers.
Local SEO – SEO practices focused on ranking in local search results. It involves optimizing your online presence to attract more business from relevant local searches.
Local Teaser – A preview snippet shown in local search results, typically including key information like business name, ratings, and a brief description. It teases the user with enough information to encourage a click-through.
Long Tail Keyword – Longer and more specific keyword phrases; usually less competitive and more targeted, making them valuable for attracting specific audiences.
M
Manual Sanctions (Manual Actions) – Penalties imposed by search engine evaluators (like Google) on websites that violate their guidelines. These actions can significantly affect a site’s visibility in search results and require direct resolution.
Market Consolidation (in Market Explorer) – A process in market analysis where the number of competitors in a market decreases, often due to mergers, acquisitions, or businesses exiting the market. It’s analyzed to understand market dynamics and competition.
Match Score (in Market Explorer) – A metric used in market analysis tools to indicate how closely a company or product matches a specific market segment or customer profile, based on various data points.
Metadata – Information that describes other data on a webpage. In SEO, metadata like meta descriptions and meta tags helps search engines understand your page’s content.
Meta Description – A short description of a webpage’s content shown in search results. It doesn’t directly impact rankings but is crucial for click-through rates.
Meta Keywords – Once used to tell search engines what a page is about, now largely obsolete and not used by most search engines due to misuse.
Meta Tags – Snippets of text that describe a webpage’s content. They are important for SEO as they help search engines understand what the page is about.
Meta Title – An HTML element that specifies the title of a web page. The meta title is displayed on search engine results pages (SERPs) as the clickable headline for a given result and is important for SEO and user experience.
Microdata – A type of structured data used to annotate content on web pages to help search engines understand and process the information more effectively, often used for rich snippets in search results.
Minification – The process of removing unnecessary characters from code; reduces file size, leading to faster page load times, which is beneficial for SEO.
Mirror Site – A mirror site is a website’s replica hosted on a different server, often used to reduce network traffic, improve access speed, or provide a backup of the original site.
Mobile-First Indexing – Google’s method of prioritizing the mobile version of a site for indexing and ranking. It highlights the importance of having a mobile-friendly website.
Mobile Optimization – Adjusting your website to ensure it provides a good experience on mobile devices; now highly essential as more users access the web on their phones or tablets.
N
NAP (Name, Address, and Phone) – An acronym for the basic information about a business. Consistency of NAP information across the web is crucial for local SEO.
National Level Data – Data and statistics that are specific to a whole country. In SEO, this can refer to search trends, user behavior, and market analysis at the national level.
Negative Keywords – In digital advertising (like Google Ads), these are keywords where you don’t want your ad to show. They help refine targeting and improve the relevance of ad campaigns.
Negative SEO – Malicious tactics aimed at harming a competitor’s search rankings. Negative SEO can include building spammy links to their site, hacking their site, or spreading false information about their business.
Nofollow – A link attribute that tells search engines not to pass authority from the linking page. It’s used to mark links that shouldn’t influence the linked page’s ranking.
Noindex – An instruction in a web page’s header telling search engines not to include that page in their index. It’s used to prevent certain pages from appearing in search results.
Not–provided – A term used in analytics when search engines withhold certain user query data. It’s commonly seen in Google Analytics where specific keyword data is not provided.
O
Online Visibility – A measure of how prominently a brand or website appears in online search results, social media, and other digital platforms. Online visibility is crucial for brand awareness and attracting web traffic.
Open Graph – A protocol that allows web pages to become rich objects in a social graph. It’s used for controlling how content appears when shared on social networks, particularly Facebook.
Organic Link – An organic link to your site is given naturally by other sites without any direct action from you. These are valuable for SEO as they are seen as genuine endorsements.
Organic Search Results – Listings on search engine results pages that appear because of their relevance to the search terms, as opposed to being advertisements.
Organic Traffic – Visitors who come to your site from unpaid search engine results. It’s considered high-quality traffic because it shows that users are actively searching for what you’re offering.
Orphaned Pages – Web pages that are not linked to from other pages on the same site. They are hard for users and search engines to find and can negatively impact SEO.
Outreach – The process of reaching out to other individuals or organizations, typically for the purpose of building relationships, acquiring backlinks, or promoting content.
P
Page Authority – A score predicting how well a specific page will rank. Developed by Moz, page authority is based on factors like link profiles and is used to compare pages’ potential to rank.
Page Speed – How quickly a webpage loads. Fast page speed is crucial for a good user experience and a significant SEO factor.
Page Title – The title of a webpage shown in the browser tab and search results. The page title is important for SEO and user experience as it indicates the page’s content.
Page View – A metric in web analytics that represents a single viewing of a web page. Page views are used to gauge the popularity and engagement level of the page.
PageRank – Google’s algorithm for ranking web pages based on the quality and quantity of links to the page. It’s one of many factors used to determine page ranking.
Pagination – Dividing content across multiple pages. Often used on e-commerce and content-heavy sites; important for SEO to ensure all content is accessible.
Passage Indexing – A Google update allowing the indexing of specific sections of a page. It improves the ability to find relevant information in search queries.
PBN (Private Blog Networks) – Networks of websites created to build links and influence rankings. PBNs are considered a black-hat SEO strategy and can harm your site’s reputation.
People Also Ask – A feature in Google’s search results showing related questions and answers. The People Also Ask section provides users with additional information related to their search query.
Position or Pos (SERP) – Refers to the ranking of a website on a search engine results page. A lower position number indicates a higher ranking and greater visibility for a specific keyword.
PPA (Pay Per Action) – An advertising model where advertisers pay only when a specific action, such as a sale or sign-up, is completed. It’s a performance-based approach focusing on conversions rather than clicks or impressions.
PPC (Pay-Per-Click) – An advertising model where advertisers pay each time their ad is clicked. It’s a way to drive traffic to a site alongside organic SEO efforts.
Predictive Search – Search engines’ ability to predict queries based on AI and historical data. Predictive search helps users find information faster and influences SEO strategies by taking into account the predicted search queries.
Public Relations – The practice of managing and guiding perceptions of your business to attract and retain customers. In digital marketing, it often involves content strategy, media outreach, and reputation management.
Purchase Conversion (in Market Explorer and Traffic Analytics) – A metric that measures the percentage of visitors who complete a purchase. It’s used to assess the effectiveness of marketing strategies and website design in converting visitors into customers.
Q
Quality Score – A rating in Google Ads that estimates the quality of your ads, keywords, and landing pages. Higher scores can lead to lower prices and better ad positions.
Query – The term or phrase a user types into a search engine. Understanding user queries is essential for creating content that meets their needs.
Quick Links – Links on a website that provide quick access to important pages. They improve user experience and can help with site navigation.
R
Rank Brain – A part of Google’s algorithm using machine learning to determine the most relevant search results. It helps interpret complex queries and user intent.
Ranking Factor – Elements search engines use to decide where to place webpages in search results. Understanding these factors, including quality content, links, and user engagement, is crucial for optimizing a website’s ranking.
Ranking Visibility – How visible a website is in search engine results; used to measure a site’s SEO success and its ability to attract organic traffic.
Readability Score – A measure of how easy it is to read and understand the content on a webpage. High readability can improve user experience and potentially impact SEO.
Redirect – A method to send users and search engines to a different URL from the one they originally requested. It’s used for various reasons, including site restructuring and moving to a new domain.
Redirection – Forwarding one URL to another. Used for various reasons like site migration; important for maintaining SEO value and user experience.
Referral Traffic – Visitors who come to your website from direct links on other websites, as opposed to direct traffic or search engines. Referral traffic is an important metric for understanding how users find your site.
Referrer – The URL of the previous webpage from which a link was followed. In analytics, it identifies the source of traffic to a website.
Referrer String – Information sent by a browser telling a website where the user came from; used for tracking and understanding traffic sources.
Relevancy – The degree to which content or ads on a webpage match the user’s intent and expectations. High relevancy improves user experience and is crucial for effective SEO and PPC campaigns.
Rel=canonical – An HTML element specifying the preferred version of a web page; helps prevent duplicate content issues and consolidates SEO efforts.
Responsive Design – Designing web pages to work well on various devices and screen sizes. It’s crucial for user experience and a factor in SEO.
Results – In SEO, the number of results refers to the listings on a search engine results page (SERP) in response to a query. It includes both organic and paid listings.
Reviews – User-generated evaluations or ratings of products, services, or businesses. Reviews can significantly impact consumer decisions and SEO, especially for local businesses.
Rich Snippet – Enhanced search results with extra information like ratings or images. They make listings more attractive and can improve click-through rates.
Robots.txt – A file that tells search engine bots how to crawl a website; used to control access to certain areas of the site.
ROI (Return On Investment) – A measure of the profitability of an investment. In digital marketing, it calculates the return generated from digital campaigns relative to their cost.
Root Domain – A root domain is the main part of a website’s URL, excluding subdomains or paths. It’s the primary address of your site on the web.
RSS Feed – A web feed allowing users to receive updates from a website or blog; helps users stay informed about new content.
S
SaaS (Software as a Service) – A software distribution model where applications are hosted by a service provider and made available to customers over the internet, typically on a subscription basis.
SAB (Service Area Business) – A type of business that serves customers at their locations rather than having a physical business address. This is common for businesses like plumbing or cleaning services.
Schema.org – A collaborative community that creates, maintains, and promotes schemas for structured data on the Internet. It helps search engines understand content and provide richer search results.
Schema Markup (Structured Data) – Code added to HTML to help search engines understand and display webpage content. It’s used for rich snippets and improves how information is presented in search results.
Scraping – The process of extracting data from websites, often using automated tools. It’s used for various purposes, including market research and content creation.
SE Traffic Price – The estimated cost of organic traffic if it were to be bought through paid search. It’s a way to quantify the value of organic search engine traffic.
Search Engine (SE) – A system that searches the internet for content based on user queries. Google, Bing, and Yahoo are examples of search engines.
Search Intent – The reason behind a user’s search query. Understanding search intent is crucial for creating content that meets users’ needs and expectations.
Search Traffic – The segment of traffic that arrives at a website from search engine results. It’s a key metric for assessing the effectiveness of SEO strategies.
Search Volume – The number of times a keyword is searched for over a certain period. It’s a key metric in keyword research to gauge popularity and competition.
Seasonal Trends – Changes in search behavior and volume related to specific times of the year, such as Juneteenth or Halloween. Recognizing seasonal keyword trends is important for timely and relevant SEO strategies.
Seed Keyword – Basic keywords used as a starting point in keyword research. They help find more specific and targeted long-tail keywords.
SEM (Search Engine Marketing) – A form of digital marketing that involves the promotion of websites by increasing their visibility in search engine results pages, primarily through paid advertising.
Semantic Core – A set of keywords and phrases that define the main topics of a website. It’s used in SEO and content strategy to ensure relevance and improve search rankings.
Semrush Rank – A ranking system by Semrush that rates domains based on their visibility in organic search. It’s based on the number of keywords a domain ranks for and their respective traffic.
SEO (Search Engine Optimization) – The practice of improving a website to increase its visibility in search engine results. It involves optimizing content, structure, and other elements to attract more organic traffic.
SERP (Search Engine Results Page) – SERP results pages are shown by a search engine in response to a user’s query includes both organic results and paid ads.
SERP Features – SERP features are additional elements in search results, like featured snippets or knowledge panels. They enhance the traditional list of results and can impact visibility and click-through rates.
SERP Source – The origin or type of content displayed in search engine results, such as organic listings, paid ads, featured snippets, or knowledge panels.
SERP Volatility – The degree of change or fluctuation in search engine results over time. High volatility can indicate updates to search engine algorithms or shifts in market trends.
Serviceable Available Market (SAM) – The serviceable available market (SAM) is a segment of the total available market that your product or service can realistically reach and serve.
Share of Voice (in Semrush) – A metric that measures the visibility of a brand or website in search results compared to competitors. It’s used to gauge market presence and competitiveness.
Sitelinks – Additional links displayed under the main URL in search engine results, providing shortcuts to important pages on a website. They enhance user experience and can improve click-through rates.
Sitemap.xml – A file that lists the URLs of a website, along with additional metadata. It helps search engines crawl and index the site more effectively.
Sitemap.html – An HTML version of a sitemap, designed for human visitors to easily navigate and find pages on a website.
SMM (Social Media Marketing) – The use of social media platforms to promote a product, service, or brand. It involves creating and sharing content to engage audiences and achieve marketing goals.
Social Media – Online platforms where users create, share, and interact with content. Social media can influence SEO indirectly through brand exposure and traffic.
Social Signals – Indicators of a website’s social media presence, like shares and likes. While not direct ranking factors, social signals can reflect content popularity and reach.
Social Traffic – Web traffic that comes from social media platforms. Social traffic is an important metric for understanding the impact of social media marketing efforts.
Spamdexing – Spamdexing aims to trick search engines, like keyword stuffing or link schemes. These practices violate guidelines and can lead to penalties.
Spider (Web Crawler) – A program that visits websites to read and index their content. Spiders are essential for search engines to gather information for search results.
Split Testing – Also known as A/B testing, it’s a method of comparing two versions of a webpage or app to determine which one performs better in terms of user engagement or conversions.
Sponsored – Content or links that are paid for and promoted by a brand or advertiser. Sponsored content should be clearly labeled to maintain transparency with users.
SSL Certificate – A security technology that creates an encrypted connection between a web server and a browser. It’s important for website security and can impact SEO.
Status Code – A server response to a browser’s request, indicating whether a webpage is accessible. Common codes include 404 (not found) and 200 (successful).
Structured Data (Markup) – Code added to HTML to help search engines understand and process the information on web pages more effectively. It’s used for rich snippets and enhanced search results.
Subdomain – A secondary domain that is part of a main domain, like blog.example.com. Subdomains can host separate content but is still part of the overall website.
Subfolder – A directory within the main domain of a website. It’s used to organize content and can impact SEO, particularly in site structure and hierarchy.
T
TF-IDF (Term Frequency — Inverse Document Frequency) – A statistical measure used to evaluate the importance of a word in a document, which is part of a corpus. It’s often used in search engine optimization and text mining.
Tiered Link Building – A strategy of creating backlinks to your backlinks. It aims to strengthen the overall link profile and improve the main site’s SEO by boosting the authority of the backlinks. Tiered link building involves creating multiple tiers of backlinks, with each tier supporting the one above it. This technique can help increase the ranking power of the main website and improve its visibility in search engine results.
Time on Page – A metric in web analytics that measures the average amount of time visitors spend viewing a specific page. Time on page is an indicator of content relevance and engagement.
Title Tag – An HTML element that specifies a webpage’s title. It’s important for SEO and user experience, as it describes the page’s content and appears in search results.
TLD (Top Level Domain) – The last segment of a domain name, located after the last dot, indicating the highest level in the domain name system. Examples include .com, .org, and .net.
Topic Clusters – A content strategy focusing on related topics instead of individual keywords. It involves creating a network of interlinked content to boost authority and relevance.
Topic Efficiency (in Topic Research) – A metric that evaluates how effective a particular topic or keyword is in terms of potential traffic, competition, and relevance to the audience in content marketing and SEO.
Total Addressable Market (TAM) – The overall revenue opportunity available for a product or service, assuming 100% market share. It helps businesses understand the full potential of a market.
Total Blocking Time (TBT) – A metric used in web performance that measures the total amount of time between First Contentful Paint (FCP) and Time to Interactive (TTI) where the main thread was blocked long enough to prevent input responsiveness.
Total Engagement (Social Tracker) – The sum of all interactions (likes, shares, comments) on a social media platform. It measures how actively users are interacting with the content.
Tracking Code – A snippet of JavaScript code that tracks the activity of users on a website. It’s used in web analytics to gather data about website traffic and user behavior.
Traffic % (in the Organic Positions & Advertising Positions reports) – A metric indicating the percentage of total traffic driven to a website from organic search results or paid ads, as reported in SEO and advertising analysis tools.
Traffic – The number of people visiting a website. Often measured in visits or sessions and is a key indicator of a site’s popularity and reach.
Traffic Cost (found in Domain Analytics) – An estimated value of organic traffic to a website if the same traffic was bought through paid search. It’s used to assess the monetary value of organic search performance.
Traffic Rank – A measure of how a website ranks compared to others, based on traffic and engagement metrics. It helps gauge a site’s visibility and popularity.
U
Unnatural Links – Artificially created links intended to manipulate page rankings. Unnatural links are often penalized by search engines as they violate guidelines.
URL (Uniform Resource Locator) – The web address of a page, consisting of a domain name and path. It’s how users and search engines locate and identify pages on the internet.
The different parts of the URL are:
1. Protocol – also known as scheme; used to access the webpage, such as HTTP or HTTPS.
2. Subdomain – a secondary domain that is part of the main domain. Example: “blog” in blog.yourwebsite.com
3. Domain – main part of the URL, typically known as the name of your site. Also called second-level domain if you have a subdomain. Example: “yourwebsite” in www.yourwebsite.com
4. Top-Level Domain – The last segment of a domain name, located after the last dot, indicating the highest level in the domain name system. Most popular ones are .com, .org, and .net. Example: “.com” in “www.yourwebsite.com”
5. Path – the specific location of a webpage within a website. Example: “/blog/article” in https:www.yourwebsite.com/blog/article
6. Query Parameters – additional information appended to a URL that provides data to the server. Example: ?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic
URL Optimization – The practice of making URLs more user-friendly and relevant to the content of the page, important for SEO.
URL Slug – The part of a URL that identifies a specific page in a readable format. The URL slug is important for SEO and user experience, as it helps indicate what the page is about.
URL Structure – The format of a URL, including the domain and path. A clear and descriptive URL structure is beneficial for SEO and user experience.
User Engagement – The interaction between a user and a website, such as clicking links, filling out forms, and reading content. High user engagement is often a sign of effective content and good user experience.
User-Generated Content (UGC) – Content created by users of a website or service, like comments, reviews, or forum posts. UGC can add value to a site but needs to be monitored for quality and relevance.
User Intent – The purpose or goal behind a user’s search query. Understanding user intent is crucial for creating relevant content that meets their needs and improves SEO.
User Experience (UX) – The overall experience a person has when using a website, including ease of use and satisfaction. Good UX is essential for keeping visitors on your site and can positively impact SEO.
V
Vertical Search – A search engine that focuses on a specific industry, type of content, or media, like images or news. Vertical search can provide more targeted results.
Visibility % (in Position Tracking) – A metric in SEO tools that represents the percentage of clicks a website is estimated to receive based on its organic search positions for tracked keywords.
Visual Search – Searching using images instead of text. It uses AI to understand and interpret visual content, offering a different way for users to find information.
Voice Search Optimization – Adapting content and SEO strategies for voice search queries. It involves understanding how people naturally speak and phrase questions.
Volatility (in Semrush) – A measure of the fluctuations and changes in search engine rankings over time. High volatility often indicates updates to search engine algorithms or significant changes in a specific industry’s online landscape.
Volume (Search Volume) – The number of times a specific keyword is searched for in search engines over a given time period. It’s a crucial metric in SEO for assessing the popularity and potential traffic of keywords.
W
Website Navigation – The system that allows users to move around a website, including menus, links, and other navigational elements. Effective navigation improves user experience and helps with SEO.
Webspam – Content created to manipulate search engine rankings, often violating guidelines. It includes tactics like keyword stuffing and hidden text.
Web Accessibility – The practice of making websites usable by as many people as possible, including those with disabilities. It’s important for inclusivity and can also benefit SEO.
White Hat SEO – Ethical SEO practices that adhere to search engine guidelines. These practices focus on providing value to users and building long-term SEO success.
X
XML (Extensible Markup Language) – A markup language used to encode documents in a format readable by both humans and machines. XML is often used for sitemaps to help search engines crawl a website.
XML Sitemap – A file listing a website’s important pages, ensuring that search engines can find and index them. It’s a key tool for SEO, helping search engines understand the site structure.