Sign Up Projects
  2. SEO Glossary

SEO Glossary

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.

Anchor text

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

B

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.

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.

C

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.

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.

D

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.

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.

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.

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.

F

Featured snippet

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

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 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.

H

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.

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.

I

Inbound link

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

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.

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 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.

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 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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

PBN

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

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.

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.

Redirect

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

S

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 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.

T

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

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-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.

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.