There are a lot of terms and acronyms used in the world of SEO. In order to be effective in SEO, it is important to understand what these terms mean. This glossary will define the most common terms used in SEO.
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10x content
10x content is a term that is often used in the SEO world. It is content that is considered to be 10 times better than the content that is currently ranking on the first page of Google. Creating this type of content is a great way to improve your website’s SEO and to help you rank higher in search engine results pages. There are many different ways to create 10x content, and it can be a great way to set yourself apart from the competition.
200 response status code
200 is the code for a successful request.
301 redirect
301 redirect is a SEO technique that is used to forward one URL to another. This is done by creating a 301 redirect message that is sent from the server of the old URL to the server of the new URL. This tells the search engines that the old URL has been permanently moved to the new URL. This is a good way to keep your search engine rankings when you make changes to your website.
302 redirect
302 redirect is a type of HTTP redirect code that is used to indicate that the requested resource has been temporarily moved. It is a response code that is sent by the server in response to a request for a resource that has been temporarily moved to a new location. The 302 redirect code tells the client that the resource has been temporarily moved and that it should request the resource from the new location.
304 not modified
304 not modified in seo is a status code that is returned by a web server when a requested resource has not been modified since the last time it was requested. This status code is primarily used to indicate that a cached copy of the requested resource can be served instead of requesting the resource from the origin server.
404 error
404 error is an HTTP status code that means that the webpage you were trying to reach couldn’t be found. 404 errors can occur for a variety of reasons, including if the website has been deleted or moved, if the URL has been incorrectly typed, or if the page has been removed from the website. If you’re seeing a 404 error, you can try searching for the page again or contacting the website’s owner.
410 gone
410 Gone In Seo is a HTTP response code that is used to indicate that the requested page or resource is no longer available. It can be used to indicate that the page has been deleted, moved, or renamed.
A
Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP)
Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) are a project by Google to improve the performance of the mobile web. AMP pages are built with three core tenets in mind: speed, user experience, and publisher monetisation.
AMP pages are designed to be as fast as possible. They are stripped down of all nonessential elements, use a simplified layout, and prioritise the loading of content above all else.
Alt text
Alt text, also known as alternative text, is a tag that can be inserted into the code of an image to help web crawlers understand what the image is about. The alt text is also displayed when an image is not loaded, so it’s a good way to provide a brief description of the image to users who are visually impaired. In SEO, alt text can be used as a ranking factor for images, as well as a way to improve the overall readability of your website.
Anchor text
Anchor text is a text that is used as a hyperlink to another document or web page. Anchor text is also used to describe the hyperlink. In SEO, anchor text is an important factor in determining the ranking of a web page. The anchor text of a hyperlink helps to determine the relevance of the web page being linked to.
Article spinning
Article spinning is a technique used in SEO (search engine optimisation) to create multiple copies of a single article, with the hope of improving the article’s rank in search engine results pages. The technique involves taking an article and rewriting it using synonyms, different word orders, and other techniques to make the article unique.
Article syndication
Article syndication is the process of distributing articles to different websites and article directories in order to increase exposure and backlinks. When done correctly, article syndication can help to improve a website’s search engine rankings by increasing its link popularity. Additionally, well-written articles can also help to bring more visitors to a website through increased traffic from search engines and other online sources.
Auto-generated content
Auto-generated content is a type of SEO content that is created algorithmically, as opposed to manually. This content is often generated by scraping or extracting information from other sources on the web.
B
Backlinks
Backlinks are links from other websites to your website. They are important for SEO because they help to show Google that your website is a credible source of information. The more high quality backlinks you have, the higher your website will rank in Google search results.
Bing Webmaster Tools
Bing Webmaster Tools is a free service offered by Microsoft that helps you optimise your website for Bing search. It provides you with tools to submit your website to Bing, track your website’s search engine rankings, and analyse your website’s traffic.
Bingbot
Bingbot crawler is a web crawler used by Microsoft’s Bing search engine. It was first released in 2009. Bingbot is designed to index the web and follow links to other pages.
Black-hat SEO
Black-hat SEO is the use of aggressive, unethical techniques to improve a site’s search engine ranking. These techniques can include keyword stuffing, link spamming, and cloaking. Black-hat SEO is in contrast to white-hat SEO, which is the use of ethical techniques to improve a site’s ranking.
Bounce rate
Bounce rate is the percentage of visitors who leave your website after viewing only one page. A high bounce rate can indicate that your website is not providing what the visitor is looking for. It can also indicate that your website is not user-friendly or that your website’s design is not appealing. A high bounce could even show that your web site answers a user’s search query so it’s not always bad!
Branded keywords
Branded keywords are those that are specific to a particular brand. They may be the name of the company, a product name, or a slogan. Branded keywords are often used in advertising and marketing campaigns to help people find the company or product online.
Breadcrumb navigation
Breadcrumb navigation is a design pattern used in web development. The pattern provides a way for users to navigate through the hierarchy of pages on a website. The breadcrumbs are displayed as a series of links, typically at the top of a web page, that represent the user’s location within the website’s hierarchy.
Bridge page
A bridge page is a web page that is designed to funnel traffic from one place to another.
Broken link
A broken link is a hyperlink that no longer directs web users to the desired destination. Broken links can be caused by incorrect or outdated website coding, incorrect or outdated website links, or website server crashes. They can also be caused by website redesigns that result in deleted pages or incorrect links.
C
Cached page
Cached pages are stored copies of web pages that Google has indexed. These cached pages can be used to view a page that may have been taken down or has a broken link. Cached pages are also used to view results when the original page is not available.
Canonical tag
A canonical tag is a tag used to indicate the preferred URL for a page. The canonical tag tells search engines which page is the original, or “canonical,” version of a page. This tag helps to prevent duplicate content issues, and can also help improve SEO.
Canonical URL
A canonical url is a url that is used to identify the original source of a piece of content. Canonical urls are used to prevent duplicate content from appearing on the web, and to help search engines index content correctly.
Co-citation
When a website is mentioned by two or more websites but not necessarily linked to.
Computer-generated content
Computer-generated content is any content that is not manually created by a human. This can include articles, blog posts, videos, and social media posts. Instead, it is created by a computer program that automatically generates content based on a set of predetermined parameters.
This content is often used for SEO purposes, as it can help to improve website rankings and increase traffic. However, it is important to note that not all computer-generated content is high quality, and it can often be difficult to distinguish from manually created content.
Content Delivery Network (CDN)
A content delivery network (CDN) is a geographically distributed network of proxy servers and their associated content delivery infrastructure. The purpose of a CDN is to deliver web content to users with high availability and high performance.
Content hub
A content hub is a website that is devoted to providing high-quality, original content on a specific topic. Hubs are often created by individuals or teams of writers who are passionate about the topic and have a lot of knowledge to share. The content on a content hub is typically organised into categories so that readers can easily find the information they are looking for.
Co-occurrence
Co-occurrence is a term used in SEO that refers to two or more websites that are likely to be found together when searched. Co-occurrence is determined by analysing the content of websites and how it is related to other websites. When two or more websites are found to have similar content, they are considered to be co-occurring.
Core Web Vitals
Core Web Vitals are made up of three specific page speed and user interaction measurements that Google considers important in a webpage’s overall user experience. The the three Core Web Vitals are largest contentful paint (LCP), first input delay (FID), and cumulative layout shift (CLS).
Cornerstone content
A cornerstone content piece is a high-quality, long-form article that covers a specific topic in great detail. This type of content is often used to attract organic traffic and establish authority on a given topic.
Crawl budget
Crawl budget is the number of pages that a search engine spider can crawl on a website in a given period of time. It is also known as crawl rate. The higher the crawl budget, the more pages a search engine can crawl and index. There are a number of factors that can affect a website’s crawl budget, including the number of pages on the website, the freshness of the content, the number of inbound links, and the number of outbound links.
Crawlability
Crawlability is the ability of a website to be crawled and indexed by search engines. A website with good crawlability will have all of its pages indexed by search engines, which can help improve the site’s search engine ranking.
Crawler
In SEO, a crawler is a program that browses the Web and collects information about websites. Crawlers are used by search engines to build their indexes.
D
Dofollow link
A dofollow link is a hyperlink that passes on the SEO benefits of the link to the website that is being linked to. This is in contrast to a nofollow link, which does not pass on those benefits.
Domain Rating (DR)
Domain Rating (DR) is a metric from Ahrefs that measures the strength of a website’s backlink profile. It is calculated on a scale from 0 to 100, with higher scores corresponding to a more powerful backlink profile. DR is based on the number and quality of backlinks a website has, as well as the authority of those websites.
Doorway page
A doorway page, also known as a landing page, is a web page that is designed to lure internet users to a specific website. Doorway pages are often created with the intention of manipulating search engine results in order to improve the visibility of a website. These pages are often filled with keywords and are designed to rank high in search engine results pages.
Duplicate content
Duplicate content is a term used to describe content that appears on more than one page on a website. This can be caused by a variety of factors, such as when the same content is published on multiple pages or when the same content is published on a website and an affiliated website.
Duplicate content can also occur when the same content is published in different formats, such as when the same article is published on the website’s home page and an interior page.
Dwell time
How much time passes between a user clicking a search result and then clicking back to the search result pages.
Dynamic URL
Dynamic URLs are those that include variable parameters, which changes content on the page using those parameters.
E
Editorial link
An editorial link is a link from a website that is considered to be an authoritative source on the topic of the link. These links are often given as a source of information in articles and are considered to be more valuable than other types of links.
Email outreach
Email outreach is a process of contacting potential customers or clients through email in order to establish a potential business relationship. Outreach emails can be used to promote a product or service, request feedback, or simply introduce yourself and your company.
Email outreach can be a very effective way to connect with potential customers and clients, but it’s important to make sure your emails are well-written and relevant to the recipient.
Entry page
An entry page is the first page that a visitor sees when they land on your website from the search results.
Evergreen content
Evergreen content is a term used to describe content that is always relevant and useful, no matter how much time has passed. Unlike news-based or event-based content, evergreen content is not time-sensitive and can be used and referenced again and again. This type of content is often instructional or informational, providing value to the reader long after it is published.
External link
An external link is a hyperlink on a web page that links to a web page outside of the domain of the document containing the link. When clicked, the user leaves the current document and is taken to the web page specified by the link.
F
Faceted navigation
Faceted navigation is a type of search that lets users filter results by multiple criteria. For example, a user might search for a new pair of shoes on a website. The results might be filtered by color, size, and price. This allows users to find the perfect pair of shoes quickly and easily.
G
Gated content
Gated content is a type of online content that is hidden behind a paywall or registration form. Visitors must provide their contact information or pay to access the content. This type of content is used to generate leads or sell products or services.
Gateway page
A gateway page is a web page like a doorway page are pages created to rank for specific, similar search queries.
Google Alerts
Google Alerts is a free service offered by Google that allows you to track mentions of your name, your company or specific queries online. You can set up alerts to be notified of new results via email, or you can view them on the Google Alerts website.
Google algorithm
Google algorithm is a set of instructions that determine how a search engine will rank web pages in its search results. The algorithm is constantly changing as Google tweaks it to provide the best possible search results to its users. The exact details of the algorithm are a closely guarded secret, but there are some factors that are known to play a role in how pages are ranked, including the number and quality of links to a page, the relevance of the content on a page to the search terms being used, and the age of the page.
Google Analytics
Google Analytics is a free web analytics service offered by Google that tracks and reports website traffic. It is used to measure the number of visitors to a website, what pages they visit, how long they stay on the site, and where they come from. Google Analytics also provides data on website conversions and how users interact with a website’s content.
Google autocomplete
Google autocomplete is a feature of the Google search engine that provides predicted search phrases as users type into the search bar. Autocomplete is designed to speed up the search process by providing suggested phrases as the user types. The autocomplete feature is based on popular and frequently used search terms.
Google bombing
Google bombing is a technique used to rank pages for irrelevant or unrelated search queries using black-hat SEO tactics.
Google Business Profile
Google business profile is a free online service that allows businesses to create a public profile that includes information such as company name, website, contact information, and business type. The Google business profile also includes a map with the business’s location and directions. The profile can be used to attract customers through Google search and Google Maps.
Google Caffeine
Google caffeine is an update to the Google search engine that was announced on August 18, 2009. The update was designed to improve the speed and accuracy of search results.
Google dance
Google Dance is a term used in the SEO community to describe the periodic fluctuations that occur in the Google search engine results pages (SERPs). The fluctuations are caused by Google’s algorithm updates, which can cause pages to rank higher or lower than they did before.
Google Hummingbird
Google Hummingbird is a search engine algorithm that was introduced in 2013. It was designed to provide more accurate search results by understanding the intent of the user’s search query. Hummingbird is also able to better understand the context of a search query, which can help to provide more relevant results.
Google Knowledge Graph
Google Knowledge Graph is a search engine feature that provides information about certain people, places, things, and concepts. It displays a panel of facts and images on the right side of the search results page. The information is sourced from a variety of online sources, including Wikipedia, Facebook and Twitter profiles.
Google Knowledge Panel
Google Knowledge Panel is a feature of Google search that displays information about certain entities, such as businesses, organisations, people, and places, pulled from a variety of sources on the web.
The information displayed in the Knowledge Panel can include a brief description, contact information, website links, images, and ratings.
Knowledge Panels can be customised to show different information for different entities, depending on what sources Google has access to for that particular entity.
Google My Business
Google My Business is a free online platform offered by Google that helps businesses manage their online presence. It allows businesses to create and manage their own business profile, including contact information, hours of operation, and photos. Businesses can also use Google My Business to create and manage ads, and to track how customers are finding their business online.
Google Panda
Google Panda is a search engine algorithm that was first released in February 2011. The algorithm is designed to penalise websites that are deemed to be of low quality, and to reward websites that are deemed to be of high quality. The algorithm is updated on a regular basis in order to ensure that the quality of websites is constantly being improved.
Google penalty
Google penalty is the term used by webmasters to describe the negative impact that can be caused to a website by Google’s search engine algorithms. The most common type of Google penalty is the manual penalty, which is when a human reviewer at Google determines that a website has violated one or more of the company’s webmaster guidelines.
Google Penguin
Google Penguin is a search engine algorithm that was first released in April 2012. It is designed to penalise websites that engage in spammy or black-hat SEO tactics, such as keyword stuffing, link schemes, and cloaking. Since its release, Penguin has been updated a number of times.
Google Pigeon
Google Pigeon is a Google algorithm that was released in July 2014. It is designed to improve the ranking of local search results.
Google sandbox
Google Sandbox is an alleged filter that Google uses to prevent spam from affecting the search results. The filter is applied to new websites that are created, and it takes a while for the website to be “released” from the filter.
Google Search Console
Google Search Console is a free web service offered by Google that helps webmasters analyse the visibility and performance of their websites in Google search results. Search Console provides tools to submit and check indexing status and coverage, track queries and track impressions and clicks from search.
Google Top Heavy Update
The Google Top Heavy Update is an algorithm change that was announced by Google on May 10, 2012. The update is designed to reduce the ranking of websites that are “top heavy” with ads above the fold.
Google Webmaster Guidelines
Google webmaster guidelines is a set of instructions that helps webmasters to understand how Google crawls and indexes their website. The guidelines also provide tips on how to improve the ranking of a website on Google search engine results pages (SERPs).
Google Webmaster Tools
Google Webmaster Tools was the previous name Google Search Console.
Googlebot
Googlebot is the name of Google’s web crawling bot. It is also sometimes called Googlebot crawler, or simply Googlebot. Googlebot is a program that Google uses to crawl the web, index websites, and build its search engine results pages (SERPs).
Grey-hat SEO
Grey-Hat SEO is a form of SEO that is not considered to be completely ethical. It can be seen as a way to bend or break the rules in order to get an edge on the competition. This type of SEO is often used by those who are looking to quickly rank their website without following all of the proper guidelines.
Guest blogging
Guest blogging is when you write a blog post for someone else’s blog. You can do this to promote your own blog or business, or to get exposure for your writing. When you guest blog, you should always link back to your own blog or website.
Guestographic
Guestographic are infographic created to be published on other websites.
H
H1 tag
An H1 tag is the most important heading on a web page. It is usually the largest and most visually dominant heading on the page. The H1 tag is also used to convey the topic of the page to search engines.
Header tags
Header tags are used to identify and label the most important pieces of text on a web page. There are six different header tags, starting with h1 and going down to h6. The most important text on a page should be labeled with an h1 tag, while the less important text is labeled with progressively smaller header tags.
Header tags help search engines understand the content of a page, and they also help users scan a page quickly to find the information they need.
Hilltop algorithm
Hilltop algorithm is a search engine optimisation technique that was adopted by Google. The algorithm is designed to help rank websites based on their perceived authority. The Hilltop algorithm uses a variety of factors to determine a website’s authority, including the number and quality of links to the site, the site’s content, and the site’s popularity.
Holistic SEO
Holistic SEO is an approach to SEO that considers the whole website, not just individual pages or keyword placements. It takes into account all of the website’s elements – from the titles and meta descriptions to the images and internal links – and aims to improve them all to create a cohesive, well-optimised website.
Hreflang
Hreflang is a technical SEO tag that tells Google which language and country you are targeting with your website. It is used to indicate to Google which version of your website to serve to users in different countries, and helps to avoid duplicate content issues.
HTTPS
HTTP Secure (HTTPS) is a communications protocol for secure communication over a computer network. HTTPS is essentially the same as HTTP, but with the addition of the TLS (transport layer security) protocol, which provides security and privacy for communications.
I
Inbound link
Inbound links are links on other websites that point to a page on your website. They are also called backlinks. Inbound links are important for two reasons.
First, they help Google and other search engines determine the importance of your website. The more inbound links you have, the more important Google thinks your website is. Second, inbound links help people find your website.
The more high quality inbound links you have, the more likely people are to find your website.
Indexability
Indexability is the quality of being able to be indexed. This means that the content can be found and accessed by search engines. If a website or document is not indexable, it will not show up in search engine results. This is why it is important to make sure your content is optimised for search engines.
Informational query
Informational query is a search for information. The purpose of an informational query is to find information and not products.
Internal link
Internal links are links from one page on a website to another page on the same website. They are often used to help users navigate a website, and to help search engines understand the website’s structure. Internal links can also help improve a website’s search engine ranking, because they can pass signals from one page to another.
Interstitial ad
Interstitial ads are full-screen ads that cover the interface of an app until the user takes an action, such as clicking on the ad or pressing the back button. Interstitial ads are often used to promote a product or service, and they can be very effective at grabbing a user’s attention. Interstitial ads can be used on mobile devices and desktop computers, and they are typically served by ad networks.
J
Javascript SEO
Javascript SEO is the optimising of JavaScript heavy websites.
K
Keyword cannibalisation
Keyword cannibalisation is a term used in search engine optimisation (SEO) to describe the situation where the same keyword or phrase is used on more than one web page, potentially resulting in a loss of ranking for all pages involved. This can be caused by multiple factors, including poor page design, lack of keyword focus, and overuse of keywords.
Keyword density
Keyword density is a measure of how often a keyword is used in relation to the total number of words on a web page.
Keyword Difficulty
Keyword difficulty is a measure of how difficult it is to rank for a particular keyword in search engine results pages (SERPs). It is calculated using a variety of factors, including the number of competing pages and the strength of those pages.
Keyword ranking
The purpose of keyword ranking is to determine where a website ranks in the search results for a particular query. A site’s ranking is determined by a number of factors, including the number and quality of links to the site, the relevance of the site’s content to the query, and the popularity of the site.
Keyword stemming
Keyword stemming is the process of reducing a word to its root form, or the base form of a word. This is done in order to determine the most relevant keywords for a particular search.
Keyword stuffing
Keyword stuffing is the act of filling a web page with keywords or numbers in an attempt to manipulate a site’s ranking in search engine results. Often, website owners will try to add as many keywords as possible to their web pages, sometimes even using them multiple times in the same sentence.
While this used to be an effective way to improve a site’s ranking, search engines have now developed algorithms that can recognise when a page is being artificially manipulated and will penalise the site for doing so.
Keywords
Keywords are the foundation of SEO. They are the words and phrases that people type into search engines to find what they’re looking for. When you optimise your content with the right keywords, you make it easier for people to find your website. That’s why it’s important to choose the right keywords and use them strategically throughout your content.
L
Link bait
Link bait is a technique used in SEO to increase the number of inbound links to a website. It is a piece of content, such as an article, video, or infographic, that is designed to attract links from other websites. The goal is to create something so interesting or valuable that other websites will want to link to it.
Link building
Link building is the process of acquiring hyperlinks from other websites to your own. In order to rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs), it’s important to have a number of high-quality links pointing to your website. This is because search engines use link popularity as one of their factors in determining a website’s rank.
Link equity
Link equity, or “link juice” is the value that a website has in terms of its ability to generate links from other websites. The more links a website has from high-quality websites, the more valuable that website is considered to be by search engines.
This is because search engines believe that if other high-quality websites are linking to a website, then it must be a valuable resource. In order to improve a website’s link equity, it is important to create high-quality content that will attract links from other websites. Additionally, it is important to participate in link building activities such as guest posting, directory submissions, and social media marketing.
Link exchange
Link exchange is the process of exchanging links with other websites to improve a site’s search engine ranking. The process usually involves exchanging links with other websites that are authoriative and are related to the site’s target market.
Link farm
A link farm is a website that exists solely for the purpose of exchanging links with other websites. This is done in an attempt to improve the ranking of the websites involved in the link farm.
Link popularity
Link popularity is the number of links to a website from other websites. The more links a website has, the more popular it is. Link popularity is used by search engines to rank websites in their search results.
Link profile
A link profile is a collection of links that point to a website or web page. The links can come from other websites, blog posts, articles, social media posts, and more. Having a strong link profile can help a website or web page rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs).
Link reclamation
Link reclamation is the process of reclaiming links that were once pointing to your website but are no longer active. This can be due to the website being shut down, the page being deleted, or the link being broken.
Reclaiming these links can help improve your website’s SEO and referral traffic. There are a few ways to reclaim links, including using a link monitoring tool, contacting the website owner, or using a link submission tool.
Link rot
Link rot is the process by which a hyperlink ceases to function. This can be due to the link no longer pointing to the correct page, the site being taken down, or other reasons. In SEO, link rot can be a major issue because it can cause a site to lose ranking and visibility.
Link scheme
Link schemes are a type of SEO technique employed to artificially increase the ranking of a website on search engine result pages (SERPs). There are many different types of link schemes, but some of the most common ones include link exchanges, paid links, and link directories.
Link spam
In SEO, link spam is the act of creating or acquiring links on irrelevant, low-quality, or spammy websites with the intent of artificially boosting a website’s rank in search engine results pages (SERPs).
Link velocity
Link velocity is the rate at which a website accumulates links. It is an important factor in search engine optimisation (SEO) as it can help determine a website’s authority. A high link velocity can indicate that a website is popular and is being linked to by many other websites. This can help improve the website’s ranking in search engine results pages (SERPs).
Local business schema
Local business schema is a markup vocabulary that enables businesses to describe their location and hours of operation on their websites. Using local business schema, businesses can specify their address, phone number, and website. They can also indicate the services they offer and the days and hours they are open.
Local citation
Local citation is a term used in SEO to describe the process of adding your business to online directories. These directories are then used by search engines to help determine the ranking of your website. The more directories you are listed in, the better your chances of ranking higher in search engine results pages.
Local pack
Local pack is a feature in Google search results that displays the addresses and contact information of businesses that are closest to the user’s location. The local pack is displayed as a list of businesses with their corresponding contact information and a map marker indicating their location.
Local search marketing
Local search marketing is the process of optimising a website for local search results. This can include optimising the website for specific keywords, adding local business listings, and creating pages for local events and attractions. Local search marketing can help businesses attract more local customers.
Local SEO
Local SEO is the process of optimising a website for Google search with the intent of earning higher web traffic from a local audience. The focus of local SEO is on optimising a website’s content, structure, and on-page elements like titles, metatags, and anchor text, as well as developing off-page SEO tactics like link building and social media engagement, with the goal of earning higher web traffic from a local audience.
Log file analysis
Log file analysis is the process of examining a server’s log files to determine how search engines are indexing and ranking your website. This information can then be used to improve your website’s search engine optimisation (SEO).
Long-tail keyword
A long-tail keyword is a keyword phrase that is three or more words long. Long-tail keywords are often less competitive than shorter keyword phrases, and they tend to have a higher conversion rate because they are more specific. Long-tail keywords are a great way to target specific customers who are looking for exactly what you are selling.
LSI keywords
LSI keywords are a type of keyword that is used to help improve your website’s search engine ranking. LSI keywords are similar to the keywords that you would target with your website, but they are not exactly the same.
LSI keywords are words and phrases that are related to your target keywords. When you use LSI keywords on your website, you are telling the search engine that your website is not only relevant to the target keyword, but also to the related keywords. This can help to improve your website’s ranking because it tells the search engine that your website is not only relevant to the target keyword, but also to the related keywords.
M
Manual action
In SEO, manual action is a penalty that is applied to a website by a human reviewer at Google. The penalty can be the result of a manual review of the website or a manual action taken against the website as part of an algorithmic update.
Meta description
Meta descriptions are HTML elements that provide concise explanations of the contents of web pages. They are used by search engines to display preview snippets for a given page in search engine results pages (SERPs).
Meta keywords
Meta keywords are a type of meta tag that are used to provide keywords for a web page. They are not as important as they once were, but they can still be used to help improve your ranking in search engine results pages (Google no longer takes the meta keywords tag into consideration).
Meta redirect
Meta redirect is an SEO technique that uses a meta tag to redirect a user from one page to another. This is done by setting the “location” attribute in the meta tag to the URL of the page you want to redirect the user to. When a user clicks on a link to the page with the meta redirect, their browser will automatically follow the redirect and they will be taken to the page you specified.
Meta robots tag
Meta Robots Tag is a snippet of code that you can add to your website’s header in order to tell search engines how you would like them to index your site’s pages. There are a few different options that you can choose from, but the most common are “index,” “follow,” and “noindex.”
The “index” setting tells the search engine to include your page in its search results, while the “follow” setting tells the search engine to follow any links on your page so that it can index those pages as well. The “noindex” setting tells the search engine not to include your page in its search results.
Meta tags
Meta tags are HTML elements that provide information about a web page, such as its title, description, and keywords. Search engines use this information to index web pages and determine how relevant they are to search queries.
Mirror site
A mirror site is a website that is duplicated from another site, usually for the purpose of redundancy or load balancing. Mirror sites are often used to provide an alternate or backup site in the event that the original website is unavailable.
Mobile-first indexing
Mobile-first indexing is the process of prioritising the mobile version of a website for indexing and ranking in search results. With mobile-first indexing, Googlebot will primarily use the mobile version of a website for indexing and ranking, regardless of whether a desktop version or a mobile version exists.
Money-hat
Money-hat SEO uses any techique (White-hat, Grey-hat, Black-hat or any other colour hat!) that gets results and makes money.
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Natural link
Natural links are links that are not created as part of a paid advertising campaign. They are the result of people finding your website and linking to you because they think your content is valuable.
Navigational query
A navigational query is a search query that is used to find a specific website. These queries are often used by people who know the name of the website they are looking for and want to find it quickly.
Negative SEO
Negative SEO is the deliberate attempt to harm the visibility of a competitor’s website by using black-hat SEO techniques. These techniques can include spamming a competitor’s site with links from low-quality websites, creating fake social media profiles to post negative comments about the competitor, or even hacking into the competitor’s site to damage its ranking.
Nofollow
Nofollow is a link attribute that can be added to links to tell search engines not to count the link’s authority when ranking the page it points to. Nofollow is often used on paid or sponsored links, as well as links within comment sections and forums, in order to prevent those links from passing along any of their authority.
Nofollow can also be set in the robots meta tag, robots.txt file and also as a HTTP header.
Noindex tag
The Noindex tag is an attribute that can be added to thesection of a web page. When it is used, the page will not be included in the search engine results pages (SERPs) when someone searches for information on that topic.
Noindex can also be set in the robots meta tag, robots.txt file and also as a HTTP header.
Noreferrer
Noreferrer is a HTML attribute that prevents the browser from passing on referrer information through a link.
Not provided
Not provided is Keyword data that Google stops from sharing with you in Google Analytics.
O
Off-page SEO
Off-page SEO is the process of optimising a website through external methods, in order to improve its search engine ranking. This can include link building, social media marketing, and other promotional tactics.
Off-page SEO is often seen as more important than on-page SEO, as it can be more difficult to control.
However, by using the right techniques, off-page SEO can be a very powerful tool for improving your website’s visibility.
On-page SEO
On-page SEO is the practice of optimising individual webpages in order to rank higher and earn more relevant traffic in search engines. On-page SEO involves optimising a webpage’s title, meta description, header tags, images, and other elements that contribute to a page’s search engine visibility and ranking.
Open Graph meta tags
Open Graph meta tags are a set of HTML tags that you can use to control how your content is displayed on social media platforms like Facebook and LinkedIn. When someone shares your content on one of these platforms, the Open Graph meta tags will determine how it is displayed. You can use the tags to control things like the title, description, and image that are displayed.
Organic search results
Organic search results are the unpaid search results that are displayed on a web page. They are the results that are not sponsored by a company or organisation.
Organic traffic
Organic traffic is the unpaid traffic that comes to your website from search engines. This traffic is the result of your website’s ranking in search engine results pages (SERPs). Organic traffic can be a great source of leads and customers for your business, but it can take time and effort to achieve a high ranking in SERPs.
Orphan page
An orphan page is a web page that is not linked to from any other pages on the web site. Orphan pages are often found in large web sites with extensive navigation menus. They can be difficult for search engine crawlers to find and index, which can result in lower search engine rankings.
Outbound link
An outbound link is a hyperlink on a web page that points to a different website. Outbound links are used to help visitors navigate the web and find information. They can also help improve a website’s search engine ranking by increasing the number of links to other websites.
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Page speed
Page speed is one of the most important ranking factors in SEO. A faster page means a better user experience, and that’s what Google is always striving for pages that load quickly will be rewarded with better rankings and improved click-through rates.
PageRank
PageRank is a link analysis algorithm used by Google that assigns a numerical weighting to each element of a hyperlinked set of documents, such as the World Wide Web, with the purpose of “measuring” its relative importance. The algorithm may be applied to any collection of objects, but is most commonly used to assess the relative importance of web pages.
Paid link
A paid link is a link on a web page that is purchased in order to increase the rank of a website on search engine results pages (SERPs). Paid links are often sold through online advertising exchanges, where website owners can buy and sell links from and to other websites.
People also ask
People Also Ask (PAA) is a SERP feature that shows a list of related questions and queries that Google users have asked about a particular topic. The PAA box is located at the top of the SERP, and it typically contains between four and six questions.
Pogo-sticking
Pogo-sticking is when a user bounces back and forth between the search result pages and websties in search of the information they need. Pogo-sticking can be caused by a number of factors, including slow website loading times, irrelevant search results, and a lack of trust in the website’s content.
Private Blog Network (PBN)
Private blog network (PBN) is a group of websites that are owned and operated by a single individual or organisation. PBN sites are typically used to improve the ranking of other websites by increasing their link popularity.
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Query
Query in SEO is the term used for the act of searching on the internet. When someone types in a keyword or phrase into a search engine, they are running a query. The results that are displayed after running the query are the search engine’s response to that query.
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RankBrain
RankBrain is a machine learning artificial intelligence system that Google uses to help process its search results. RankBrain helps Google better understand the intent of searchers’ queries and determine the best results to show them.
Reciprocal link
Reciprocal link is a link exchange between two websites. Websites exchange links to increase their link popularity and search engine ranking.
Reconsideration request
A reconsideration request in SEO is a formal way of asking Google to review your website’s ranking after being penalised for violating their Webmaster Guidelines. If you feel that your website has been unfairly penalised or you have fixed issues with your website, you can submit a reconsideration request to Google for review.
Related searches
Related searches are a way for Google to show the searcher other related topics that they may be interested in. Related searches can be found at the bottom of the search results page and can be a great way to find new content to write about or to get ideas for new products or services to offer.
Resource pages
Resource pages are pages on a website that are dedicated to listing links to other websites on a specific topic. They are often used as a way to improve the SEO of a website by providing links to other websites that are related to the topic of the page. Resource pages can also be used to provide information about a specific topic or to provide a list of resources for people who are looking for more information about a specific topic.
Rich snippet
Rich snippets are a form of structured data that allows webmasters to markup their pages with specific data that helps define the content of the page. This additional data can then be used by search engines to help improve the display of search results. Rich snippets can be used for a variety of content types, including articles, reviews, products, and events.
Robots.txt
Robots.txt is a text file that is placed on your web server to help guide web crawlers as to which pages on your website they are allowed to crawl and index. The file is also used to provide instructions to the crawlers on how frequently they can crawl your website and how deep they are allowed to index the pages.
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Schema markup
Schema markup is a form of structured data that allows webmasters to markup their pages with specific data that helps define the content of the page. This additional data can then be used by search engines to help improve the display of search results. Schema markup can be used for a variety of content types, including articles, reviews, products, and events.
Search algorithm
A search algorithm is a set of rules that a computer uses to decide which websites to show in response to a search query. The algorithm takes into account a variety of factors, including the relevance of the website to the search query, the number of links to the website, and the authority of the website.
Search engine poisoning
Search engine poisoning is an attack method in which cybercriminals create malicious websites and use search engine optimisation tactics to make them show up prominently in search results.
Search intent
In SEO, search intent is the reason why someone is searching for a particular topic. There are three types of search intent: informational, commercial, and navigational.
Informational search intent is when someone is looking for information about a particular topic. Commercial search intent is when someone is looking to buy a product or service. Navigational search intent is when someone is looking for a specific website or web page.
Knowing the type of search intent can help you better understand what the person is looking for and tailor your content to match their needs.
Search query
A search query is the text that a person types into a search engine in order to find information on the internet. The search query is used to generate a list of results that are returned by the search engine in response to the query. The search query is also used to determine the ranking of the results that are returned.
Search visibility
Search visibility is one of the most important aspects of SEO. If your site isn’t visible in search engine results pages (SERPs), you’re not going to get very many visitors. In order to improve your site’s visibility, you’ll need to make sure your site is optimised for search engines.
Search volume
Search volume is the number of times a particular keyword phrase is searched for on the internet in a given month. Knowing the search volume for a particular keyword can help you determine how popular that keyword is and how competitive the search results are for that keyword.
Secondary keywords
Secondary keywords are those keywords that are not the main focus of a website’s SEO campaign but are still important. They may be used to target a specific audience or to help improve the ranking of a website for a specific keyword. Secondary keywords should be relevant to the main keyword and should be used in the same manner.
Seed keywords
A seed keyword is a word or phrase that you target to rank your website for in search engine results pages (SERPs). Seed keywords are the foundation of any SEO campaign to define your industry and help you identify your competitors.
SEO
Search engine optimisation (SEO) is the practice of improving the ranking of a website on search engines. The higher the ranking, the more likely people are to find the website. SEO can be done through on-page and off-page techniques. On-page techniques include optimising the website content and structure, while off-page techniques includes link building.
SEO audit
An SEO audit is the process of evaluating a website to determine how well it is optimised for search engine visibility. The purpose of an SEO audit is to identify areas of improvement so that a website can rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs).
SEO silo
In SEO, silo is a structure of a website where all the content is organised around one topic. This is done to improve the site’s ranking in search engine results pages (SERPs). When a website is well-structured with silo pages, it is easier for search engine crawlers to index the content and understand the topic of the website. As a result, the website is likely to rank higher for relevant keywords.
Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs)
SERPs, or search engine results pages, are the pages that are displayed after a user enters a query into a search engine. The SERPs are populated by the results of the search engine’s indexing of the web.
SERP features
SERP features are other elements displayed on the search engine results pages along side the organic search results. SERP features include paid search results, direct answer box, featured snippets and local pack.
Share of voice
Share of voice (SOV) is a metric used in search engine optimisation (SEO) to measure the relative visibility of a brand or product in search engine results pages (SERPs). It is calculated by dividing the number of webpages that mention a brand or product by the total number of webpages returned for a given search query.
Short-tail keywords
Short-tail keywords are those that are typically one or two words long, and they are the most common type of keyword phrase. Because they are so common, they are also the most competitive. However, short-tail keywords can still be valuable for SEO purposes, as they can help to attract more traffic to your site.
Sitelinks
Site links are additional links that show up below the main website link in the search engine results pages (SERP). These links can be to other pages on the same website or to pages on other websites. Site links are a way for Google to show the user more information about the website that they are searching for and can be a valuable addition to your SEO strategy.
Sitemap
A sitemap is a XML file that lists the URLs for a website. It also includes information about each URL such as when it was last updated, how often it is updated, and how important it is. Sitemaps are used by search engines to help index websites.
Sitewide link
In SEO, a sitewide link is a link that appears on every page of a website. Sitewide links are often used as a way to improve a website’s search engine ranking, as they are seen as a sign of trust and authority. However, because sitewide links are often abused by spammers, they can also have a negative effect on a website’s SEO.
Spamdexing
Spamdexing is a technique to manipulation search engine results using techniques that are against their guidelines.
Sponsored link attribute
Sponsored link attribute is a tag used in SEO to identify links that are paid for placement.
Srcset
Srcset is a HTML attribute that allows developers to specify multiple image sources for a single image element. This is done by providing a comma-separated list of images in the srcset attribute, along with their respective pixel densities. When the browser renders the image, it will select the most appropriate source from the list, based on the device’s pixel density and screen size.
Secure Sockets Layer (SSL)
SSL is a security protocol that provides a secure connection between a web server and a browser. SSL is the most common security protocol on the internet and is used by millions of websites. When you visit a website that uses SSL, you will see a green padlock in your browser’s address bar.
Structured data
Structured data is a way of organising information on a web page so that it can be read and understood by search engine robots. Structured data is also called schema markup, and it’s a way of telling search engines about the content of your web pages.
Subdomain
A subdomain is a domain that is part of a larger domain. It is often used to create separate websites within a domain. For example, a subdomain might be used to create a website for a specific department within a company or to create a website for a specific country. Subdomains are also often used to create test versions of websites before they are launched.
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Taxonomy SEO
Taxonomy SEO is optimising for search engines by organising the structure of content according to predefined classifications. The goal is to make it easier for search engines to understand the meaning of content and to group related pages together. This makes it easier for users to find what they are looking for.
Technical SEO
Technical SEO is the process of optimising a website for Google search with the goal of earning higher web traffic levels and improving the visibility of the site. Technical SEO is the practice of optimising a website using the latest techniques to improve site speed, indexation, and overall user experience.
TF-IDF
TF-IDF or Term Frequency-Inverse Document Frequency, is a numerical statistic that is used to determine the importance of a word or phrase in a document or collection of documents. The TF-IDF value is calculated by multiplying the term frequency, or the number of times a word appears in a document, by the inverse of the document frequency, which is the number of documents in which the word appears divided by the total number of documents in the collection.
Thin content
In SEO, thin content is a web page or article that doesn’t provide enough information to be useful to users. Thin content is often created as a result of low-quality, automated content generation tools, or by copying and pasting content from other sources without adding any originality or value. Thin content can also refer to pages that are only marginally longer than the average social media post, and don’t offer any real value or insight to users.
Title tag
Title tags are one of the most important on-page SEO elements. They are the text that appears in the top bar of a web browser and in the search engine results pages (SERPs). Title tags tell both users and search engines what the page is about.
Top level domain (TLD)
Domain names are assigned to computers on the internet so they can be easily located. The domain name is made up of two parts: the top level domain (TLD) and the second level domain. The TLD is the part of the domain name that is at the end and identifies the type of domain. For example, .com is a TLD that indicates a commercial website, .gov is a TLD for a government website, and .edu is a TLD for an educational website.
Transactional query
In SEO, transactional query is a type of query that is used to find information about a product or service that is being considered for purchase. These queries usually include specific terms related to the product or service being searched for, such as the brand name, model number, or price.
Transport Layer Security (TLS)
Transport Layer Security (TLS) is a security protocol used to protect data that is being sent between two devices. TLS is used to create a secure connection between the devices, which helps to keep the data that is being sent confidential. TLS is commonly used to protect information that is being sent over the internet, such as credit card information.
TrustRank
TrustRank is an algorithm that conducts link analysis to separate useful webpages from spam pages. TrustRank is used by search engines to determine the trustworthiness of a website. TrustRank takes into account a variety of factors, such as the number of links from high-quality websites, the number of links from relevant websites, and the age of the website.
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UGC link attribute
The UGC (User Generated Content) Link attribute is used to identify links that have been created by users e.g. comments and forum posts.
Unnatural links
An unnatural link is a link that has been created with the intent of manipulating a site’s search engine rankings. This type of link is generally created by someone who is trying to increase the visibility of a website for which they are not the rightful owner. Unnatural links are often created by using black-hat SEO techniques, such as link farms, paid links, and blog spam.
URL Rating (UR)
URL Rating (UR) is an ahrefs metric that measures the overall strength of a URL’s backlink profile. URL Rating is based on the number and quality of backlinks a URL has.
URL slug
A URL slug is the name of a web page after the domain name and before the file extension.
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Vertical search
Vertical search is a type of search engine that specialises in a particular area or topic. For example, a vertical search engine might focus exclusively on finding jobs, or finding information about a specific topic. Vertical search engines can be very useful for finding specific information quickly and easily.
Voice search
Voice search is a technology that allows users to search for information by speaking into a device, such as a phone or computer. The technology uses natural language processing and speech recognition to convert the user’s spoken words into text, which is then used to search for information on the internet. Voice search is often used to find information on specific topics, such as the weather or a news story, or to ask questions about a particular subject.
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Website structure
A website’s structure is important for both visitors and search engines. The structure should be easy for visitors to navigate and find the information they are looking for. The structure should also be easy for search engines to crawl and index the content.
Webspam
Ssearch engine spamming, involves the use of automated programs or services to produce large quantities of low-quality or irrelevant content, or to engage in other activities that are intended to mislead or deceive search engines into ranking a site higher than it would otherwise merit.
Website authority
Website authority is a measure of how influential a website is in the online space. There are a number of factors that contribute to a website’s authority, including the number of links it has, the quality of those links, and the overall engagement of the website’s audience. Websites with high authority are more likely to rank higher in search engine results pages, and they’re also more likely to be cited by other websites.
White-hat SEO
White-hat SEO is the ethical and moral practice of optimising a website for Google search with the intent of earning high-quality traffic. It is the practice of optimising a website through optimising its content, structure, and on-page elements with the goal of earning Google’s trust. White-hat SEO practitioners believe that if they follow Google’s Webmaster Guidelines and best practices, their website will be rewarded with high rankings and organic traffic.
X
X‑robots-tag
X-Robots-Tag is a directive used by webmasters to instruct search engines on how to handle specific content on their websites. The directive can be used to tell search engines not to index or crawl specific content, or to provide instructions on how to handle content that has been removed from the website.
XML Sitemap
XML sitemaps are a way to tell Google and other search engines about the pages on your website. They are an important part of SEO, because they help search engines find and index your pages faster and more accurately.
Y
YMYL pages
Your Money or Your Life (YMYL) are web pages that could potentially impact a person’s future happiness, health, financial stability, or safety.
Conclusion
SEO can be a complex and ever-changing field. But with a little understanding of the basics, you too can start optimising your website for better search engine visibility and results. We hope this glossary of SEO terms has been helpful in demystifying some of the most important aspects of SEO.