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SEO Glossary

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10 blue links

10 blue links refers to the traditional format of Google search results, where the main search page displays 10 clickable website links in blue text, each with a brief description underneath.

410 Gone

An HTTP status code indicating that the requested resource has been permanently removed and will not return.

5xx status codes

5xx status codes signal a problem on the website’s server that prevents it from fulfilling a visitor’s request.

304 Not Modified

304 Not Modified is an HTTP status code that tells a browser it can use a saved version of a file instead of downloading it again.

A

A/B testing

A method of comparing two versions of a webpage or app to determine which one performs better, based on user reactions.

Absolute link

A URL that specifies the full path to a webpage, including the protocol and domain name, ensuring it leads to the same location regardless of where it’s used.

ADA website compliance

ADA website compliance means making a website accessible to people with disabilities, ensuring everyone can use it.

Amplification

Amplification is boosting your message to reach a wider audience, like sharing on social media.

Anchor text

The clickable text in a link that helps users and search engines understand the linked page’s content.

Async

A way for tasks to run at the same time without waiting for each other, improving speed by allowing independent completion.

Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP)

AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages) is an open-source project originally developed by Google. Its main goal is to make mobile web pages load almost instantly, even on slow internet connections.

B

B2B SEO

B2B SEO is optimizing a website to attract businesses as customers through search engines.

Back-end

The back-end is the part of a website or application that handles data storage, processing, and management, which users do not see directly.

Backlink

A link from one website to another, serving as a recommendation that can help improve the linked website’s search engine ranking.

Backlink authority

Backlink authority is the credibility of a linking website, affecting how it impacts a site’s search ranking.

Bait and switch

Bait and switch is when a company attracts customers with a great offer, then tries to sell them something else.

Bing webmaster tools

Bing webmaster tools provides features to improve your website’s performance on the Bing search engine.

Blended search

Blended search combines results from different sources like web pages, images, videos, and news into a single search engine results page.

Bot (Robot, Spider, Crawler)

Software that visits websites automatically to gather data, often helping search engines understand and rank content.

Branded content

Branded content is content created by a brand to engage its audience by providing value or entertainment rather than directly promoting its products or services.

Breadcrumbs

A navigation tool on websites that shows the user’s location within the site, usually displayed as a trail of links to previous pages or sections.

Bridge page

A bridge page serves as a gateway, directing users to another website instead of offering useful information on its own, often for marketing purposes.

C

Cached link

A cached link shows a saved snapshot of a webpage, stored by search engines for quick access if the live page is unavailable.

Cached page

A backup copy of a webpage saved by a search engine, displaying content as it appeared during the last crawl.

Call-to-Action (CTA)

A prompt on a website that encourages users to take a specific action, such as signing up, buying, or learning more.

Cart abandonment rate

Cart abandonment rate is the percentage of online shoppers who add items to their cart but leave the website without completing the purchase.

ccTLD

A two-letter domain suffix that represents a specific country or region, such as .uk for the United Kingdom or .au for Australia.

Click fraud

Click fraud is when someone falsely clicks on online ads, often to waste an advertiser’s money.

Click-through rate

Click-through rate (CTR) measures how often people click on a link as a percentage of the times it’s displayed.

Cloaking

A technique where a website displays different content to search engines than to users, often used to manipulate search rankings.

Co-citation

Co-citation happens when a third-party site mentions two other sites together, indicating a potential connection in content or relevance.

Compression

Compression is the process of reducing the file size of website elements like images or code to help pages load faster.

Content delivery network (CDN)

A network of servers that helps deliver website content to users faster by storing copies of the data in different locations around the world.

Content hub

A central place on a website where related articles, guides, or resources on a specific topic are organized for easy access.

Content Gap Analysis

Content Gap Analysis is a process that helps you find missing or weak content on your website compared to what your competitors offer, so you can improve SEO and better meet user needs.

Content is King

A phrase emphasizing that high-quality, valuable content is the most important factor for success in online marketing and SEO.

Conversion rate

Conversion rate shows how many website visitors turn into customers or take another desired action.

Conversion rate optimization (CRO)

Conversion rate optimization (CRO) is the process of improving a website to increase the percentage of visitors who complete a desired action, like making a purchase or signing up.

Core web vitals

Core web vitals are key website speed and user experience measurements that Google uses for ranking.

Cornerstone content

Cornerstone content is the most important content on a website, covering key topics in depth to help attract and inform visitors.

Cost per acquisition

Cost per acquisition is the amount a business spends to get one new customer or lead through advertising or marketing.

Cost per action (CPA)

Cost per action (CPA) is the amount a business pays when a user completes a specific action, like clicking a link or filling out a form.

Cost per click (CPC)

Cost per click (CPC) is the amount a business pays each time someone clicks on its online ad.

Cost per thousand impressions (CPM)

Cost per thousand impressions (CPM) is the amount a business pays for every 1,000 times its ad is shown to people online.

Crawl budget

Crawl budget refers to the number of pages a search engine bot will crawl and index on a website within a certain time frame.

Crawl depth

Crawl depth is the number of clicks it takes from a website’s homepage for search engines to reach a specific page.

Crawlability

Website’s ability to allow search engine bots to access and explore its pages for indexing.

Crawler

An automated program that visits websites to collect information, helping search engines index and rank pages.

Cross-linking

Cross-linking is linking different pages of your own website together.

Curated content

Content chosen from multiple sources, organized, and shared to match the needs and interests of a specific audience.

Customer journey

Customer journey refers to the complete process a customer goes through, from first discovering a product or service to making a purchase and beyond.

Cybersquatting

Cybersquatting is the practice of registering, selling, or using a domain name with the intent to profit from someone else’s trademark or brand name.

CPM Advertising

CPM Advertising (Cost Per Mille) is a digital advertising model where you pay a set price for every 1,000 times your ad is shown, regardless of whether it’s clicked or not.

D

Data Nosnippet Attribute

Data-nosnippet Attribute is a piece of code you can add to parts of your web page to stop Google from showing that content in a search result snippet.

Deep link

A URL that directs users to a specific page or location within a website or app, bypassing the homepage.

De-indexing

De-indexing is the removal of a webpage or website from a search engine’s index, making it no longer appear in search results.

Directory link

A website link featured in an online directory, making it easier for users to locate sites by topic or industry.

Disavow

To disavow is to formally reject or deny association with unwanted backlinks to your website, telling search engines not to consider them in assessing your site’s ranking.

Domain authority (DA)

A score that predicts how well a website is likely to rank in search engine results.

Domain rating (DR)

A metric that measures the strength of a website’s backlink profile on a scale from 0 to 100.

Dwell time

Dwell time is the amount of time a visitor spends viewing a webpage before returning to search results.

Dynamic URL

A web address that changes based on user actions, search parameters, or database content.

E

E-E-A-T

Stands for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness, which are criteria used by search engines to evaluate the quality and reliability of website content.

Editorial link

A link added to content by another website as a natural reference, helping to boost a site’s backlink authority and overall visibility in search results.

Error 404

A message that appears when a webpage cannot be found on a server, indicating that the link used is broken or the page has been removed.

Evergreen content

Evergreen content is information that’s always helpful and doesn’t go out of date.

Exact match keyword

A specific word or phrase used exactly as it appears in searches.

Excerpt

An excerpt is a short summary or snippet taken from a longer piece of writing.

F

Favicon

A small icon displayed in a browser’s address bar and bookmarks to represent a website.

Featured snippet

A brief excerpt from a webpage that appears at the top of search engine results to quickly answer a user’s query.

Fetch as Google

A tool in Google Search Console that checks how Google crawls and views a webpage.

File compression

File compression is the process of reducing a file’s size by encoding data to use less storage space.

First contentful paint (FCP)

First contentful paint (FCP) measures the time it takes for a browser to display the first visible content on a web page.

First input delay (FID)

First input delay (FID) measures the time it takes for a website to respond to a user’s first interaction, like clicking a button.

Flesch reading ease

A score that measures how easy a text is to read based on sentence length and word complexity.

Focus keyphrase

A specific word or phrase that you target in your webpage content to improve its visibility and ranking on search engines.

G

Google analytics tracking code

A snippet of JavaScript code added to a website to collect and send data about visitor interactions to Google Analytics.

Google Hummingbird

A Google system that focuses on understanding the meaning behind search queries.

Google MapMaker

Google MapMaker was a platform where users could contribute to and edit map data, such as adding new places or correcting details, to improve Google Maps.

Google Possum

Google Possum was a 2016 update to Google’s algorithm that changed how local search results were filtered and ranked, focusing on the user’s location and reducing duplicate listings.

Google Local Service Ads

Google Local Services Ads (LSAs) are ads that help local businesses appear at the top of Google search results when people look for services in their area — like plumbers, electricians, or cleaners.

Google updates

Google Updates are changes made by Google to its search algorithms, which can affect how websites are ranked in search results.

Grey Hat SEO

Grey Hat SEO refers to techniques that fall between ethical (White Hat) and unethical (Black Hat) SEO practices, where the rules are unclear or slightly bent, but not fully broken.

gTLDs

gTLDs (generic top-level domains) are the common endings of website addresses, like .com, .org, or .net, used to categorize websites by type or purpose.

Guest blogging

Guest blogging is writing and publishing content on someone else’s website to reach a new audience and build backlinks.

H

Hamburger button

A menu icon with three horizontal lines that opens navigation options when clicked.

Headings

Headings are titles and subtitles used in digital content to organize information and help both users and search engines understand the structure of a webpage.

Helpful content update (HCU)

A search engine update aimed at prioritizing content that is useful and relevant to users.

Hidden text

Hidden text is used either to manipulate search engine rankings or for legitimate technical purposes like accessibility.

Holistic SEO

Focuses on optimizing every aspect of a site, from content to technical structure, to create a positive user experience and increase search visibility.

Hreflang

An HTML attribute that tells search engines which language and region a webpage is intended for, helping to serve the right version to users.

HTTP 200 Response сode

A status code indicating that a request to a website was successful and the page loaded properly.

I

Impression

An impression is the number of times a piece of online content is shown to users, regardless of whether they interact with it.

Inbound link

An inbound link or incoming link is a link from another website to your website.

Index bloat

The presence of excess, low-value pages in a website’s index, which may hinder its overall search effectiveness.

Indexability

Indexability refers to a website’s ability to be discovered, crawled, and included in a search engine’s index so it can appear in search results.

Information architecture

Information architecture is how a website is organized and structured to make information easy to find.

Inverted index

A database structure that stores words and lists of documents where each word appears, allowing search engines to retrieve relevant content efficiently.

J

JavaScript

A programming language used to create interactive and dynamic features on websites.

JSON

A simple format used to store and exchange data, often between a server and a website, in a way that’s easy for both humans and machines to understand.

K

Keyword cannibalization

Keyword cannibalization happens when multiple pages on the same website target the same keyword, causing them to compete with each other in search rankings.

Keyword clustering

Keyword clustering is the practice of grouping similar keywords together to optimize multiple related terms on a single webpage, improving its relevance for search engines.

Keyword gap analysis

A comparison of keywords between your website and competitors to find content opportunities.

Keyword mapping

Keyword mapping is the process of assigning specific keywords to individual pages on a website to improve their relevance and ranking in search engine results.

Keyword stuffing

The excessive use of keywords in content to manipulate search rankings, often leading to poor readability and potential penalties.

Knowledge panel

A box that appears in Google search results, providing a summary of information about a person, place, or thing, often sourced from various online databases.

L

Landing page

A standalone webpage designed specifically to capture visitors’ attention and encourage them to take a specific action, such as signing up or making a purchase.

Latent Semantic Analysis (LSA)

A technique that identifies relationships between words and concepts in text by analyzing their patterns of use.

Latent semantic indexing (LSI)

A method used by search engines to understand the relationship between words in a document and their context, helping improve search accuracy by identifying related terms and concepts.

Lazy loading

A technique that delays loading images or other content on a webpage until the user scrolls down to them, improving page speed and performance.

Link equity

Link equity is the search ranking value that one webpage passes to another through hyperlinks

Link juice

Link juice refers to the value or authority that a website passes to another through hyperlinks, helping improve the receiving site’s search engine ranking.

Linkable Asset

Linkable Asset refers to a piece of content on your website that is valuable, informative, or unique enough that other websites naturally want to link to it.

Link redirect trace

Link redirect trace is the process of tracking and analyzing the sequence of redirects a link goes through before reaching its final destination.

Link rot

Link rot is when hyperlinks stop working because the linked webpages have been moved or deleted.

Local business schema

A structured data markup that helps search engines understand and display key information about a local business in search results.

Local SEO

Local SEO is the practice of optimizing a website to rank higher in search results for location-specific queries.

M

Meta description

A brief summary of a webpage’s content that may appear in search engine results to help users understand what the page is about.

Meta robots tag

An HTML tag that tells search engines how to crawl or index a webpage, such as whether to include it in search results or follow its links.

Minification

The practice of deleting unneeded spaces and characters in code to improve website loading speed.

N

NAP

NAP stands for Name, Address, and Phone number, and it refers to the basic business information that should be consistent across online directories to improve local search visibility.

Negative SEO

Negative SEO involves trying to harm another website’s search ranking, rather than improving your own.

Nofollow

A tag used in links to tell search engines not to pass any ranking value or authority to the linked page.

Noindex

A tag used to tell search engines not to include a specific page in their search results.

Non-Reciprocal Link

Non-Reciprocal Link is a one-way link from one website to another, where the receiving site does not link back in return.

Noopener

An HTML attribute that prevents a new tab from accessing the original page, improving security when links open in a new tab.

Noreferrer

Used in links to stop the destination page from tracking the original site’s URL, ensuring referrer information stays private.

Not provided

“Not provided” in Google Analytics refers to the absence of specific keyword data in reports due to Google’s encryption of search queries for privacy.

NSR

A Google algorithm that measures a website’s trustworthiness and quality based on factors like performance, user behavior, and linked site reliability.

O

Organic search results

Organic search results are the listings on a search engine results page that appear naturally based on relevance, not paid advertisements.

Orphan page

A webpage that isn’t linked to by any other page on the same website, making it difficult for users and search engines to find.

Outbound links

Outbound links are hyperlinks from your website that lead to external web pages.

P

Page authority

A score that predicts how well a specific webpage is likely to rank in search engine results based on various factors like link quality.

PageRank

An algorithm used by Google to measure the importance of a webpage based on the quantity and quality of links pointing to it.

PBN

A group of websites used to build links to a main site for improving its search engine rankings.

Permalink

A permalink is the permanent web address (URL) of a specific page or post on a website.

PII

PII is data that directly or indirectly identifies a person, such as name or email address.

Pillar page

A comprehensive webpage that covers a broad topic in detail and links to related, more specific content on the same subject.

Pogo-sticking

Pogo-sticking is when a user quickly jumps back and forth between search results after clicking on a link, indicating the clicked page didn’t meet their needs.

Primary keyword

A primary keyword is the main word or phrase a webpage is optimized for to rank in search results.

Q

Quality backlink

A link from a reputable, relevant website that points to your site, boosting its credibility and search rankings.

Query

A word or phrase that a user types into a search engine to find information.

Query deserves freshness (QDF)

A Google algorithm that prioritizes recent content for time-sensitive search queries.

R

Reciprocal link

A reciprocal link is when two websites agree to link to each other, often to boost their visibility and search engine rankings.

Reconsideration request

A formal appeal to Google to review and potentially lift a penalty on a website that violated its guidelines.

Redirect

A way to send users and search engines from one URL to another, typically used when a webpage has moved or been replaced.

Referral traffic

Referral traffic is visitors who come to your website by clicking a link on another website.

Related search

A suggestion for additional search terms similar to the one entered, shown to help users refine or expand their query.

Relevance

Relevance is how closely content matches what a user is searching for or needs.

Rendering

Rendering is the process of displaying a webpage’s content and design in a browser.

Reputation management

Reputation management is the practice of monitoring and improving how a person or business is perceived online.

Responsive web design

A method of building websites that adapt automatically to different screen sizes for easier viewing.

Robots.txt

A file that tells search engines which pages or sections of a website to crawl or avoid.

S

Short-Tail Keywords

Short-tail keywords are search terms that contain only one or two words. They are broad, general, and often searched by a large number of people on Google.

Scrum board

A visual tool that tracks tasks through different stages in a Scrum process.

Search console

A free tool from Google that helps website owners monitor and improve their site’s presence in search results.

Search engine marketing (SEM)

Search engine marketing (SEM) is the practice of promoting a website through paid advertisements on search engines to increase visibility and attract more visitors.

Search Engine Results Page (SERP)

A Search Engine Results Page (SERP) is the list of results displayed by a search engine in response to a user’s query.

Search intent

Search intent refers to the purpose or goal behind a user’s search query, helping to determine what kind of information or action they are seeking.

Secondary keywords

Secondary keywords are additional words or phrases that support the primary keyword and help provide context to a webpage.

Secure hypertext transfer protocol (HTTPS)

A secure version of HTTP that encrypts data between a user’s browser and a website to protect privacy and security.

Semantic search

A search method that understands the meaning behind words to deliver more accurate results.

SEO citations

SEO citations are online mentions of a business’s name, address, and phone number that help improve local search rankings.

SEO Site Audit

SEO Site Audit is a complete checkup of your website to find problems that might hurt its performance in search engines like Google.

SERP Shaker

SERP Shaker is a WordPress plugin that helps users quickly create large numbers of web pages aimed at ranking on Google for many different keywords—especially local search terms.

SERP Volatility

SERP Volatility refers to how much the search results on Google (also called the SERP—Search Engine Results Page) change from day to day.

Skyscraper SEO

A strategy of creating better content than existing popular content to attract more links and traffic.

Spamdexing

Spamdexing is the practice of using unethical methods to manipulate search engine rankings, such as keyword stuffing or creating fake backlinks.

Spam score

A measure of how likely a website is to be considered spam by search engines.

Sponsored Link Attribute

The sponsored link attribute is a tag used in the HTML code of a link to tell search engines that the link is part of a paid or sponsored placement.

Static URL

A web address that stays the same and does not change based on user input or interactions.

Status code

A number sent by a server to indicate the result of a request, such as 200 for success or 404 for not found.

Status Code 401

Status Code 401 is an HTTP response code that means “Unauthorized”. It appears when a user tries to access a webpage or resource but hasn’t provided the correct login credentials.

Status Code 502

Status Code 502, also known as a “502 Bad Gateway” error, is an HTTP response code that appears when one server acting as a gateway or proxy gets an invalid response from another server.

Syndicated content

Syndicated content is material that is republished on other websites with permission.

T

Taxonomy SEO

Taxonomy SEO is the practice of organizing a website’s content in a clear, structured way using categories, tags, and other labels. It helps search engines and users easily understand how your content is connected.

Tiered Link Building

Tiered link building is an SEO strategy where backlinks are built in multiple layers (or “tiers”) to strengthen the links pointing to your main website.

Title

A title (page title) is the main heading of a webpage that appears in search engine results and at the top of a browser, summarizing the page’s content.

Top level domain (TLD)

A Top Level Domain (TLD) is the last part of a website address, like “.com” or “.org,” that helps identify its purpose or origin.

U

Uniform resource locator (URL)

A Uniform Resource Locator, or URL, is the full web address used to find a specific page or file on the internet. It tells your browser where to go and what to load.

Unnatural Link

An unnatural link is a backlink that is created in a way that violates search engine guidelines, especially Google’s. These links are often placed to manipulate a website’s ranking in search results rather than to provide real value to users.

User agent

A user agent is software, like a web browser, that tells a website information about the device or application being used to access it.

User engagement

User engagement refers to how users interact with a website, such as clicking, scrolling, or spending time on a page.

User-generated content (UGC)

User-generated content (UGC) refers to any content, like reviews, comments, or photos, that is created and shared by users rather than the website owners.

UTM code

A UTM code (Urchin Tracking Module) is a short piece of text added to the end of a URL to help track where your website traffic is coming from.

UX

UX, or User Experience, refers to how easy and satisfying it is for people to use a website or app, including aspects like design, navigation, and functionality.

V

Vertical search

A type of search engine that focuses on a specific category, such as images, news, or shopping, rather than general web search results.

Visibility

Visibility in SEO refers to how often and prominently a website appears in search engine results, influencing its chances of being seen by users.

W

Website navigation

Website navigation refers to the system of links and menus that help users move around and find content within a website.

White-hat SEO

White-hat SEO refers to ethical optimization practices that follow search engine guidelines to improve a website’s ranking in search results.

Whois

A public database that provides information about the ownership and registration details of a domain name.

X

XML sitemap

A file that lists all the important pages on a website, helping search engines crawl and index the site more effectively.

X-robots-tag

X-robots-tag is an HTTP header that tells search engines how to crawl or index specific pages or parts of a website.

Y

Yahoo

A web portal and search engine that offers various services, including email, news, and online search.

YMYL pages

YMYL (Your Money or Your Life) pages are websites that can significantly impact a person’s health, happiness, safety, or financial stability.

Z

Zero-click search

A Zero-Click Search is when a user gets their answer directly on the search results page without needing to click through to a website.