If you are new to the world of SEO, you must be confused by all the jargon used in blogs, articles, and tutorials.

Take a look at our SEO glossary, where we have compiled all the SEO terms that you need to know.

0-9

200 Status Code

Also known as “200 OK,” means that a request made to a web server has been successfully completed. It says that everything went as expected, and the server was able to fulfill the request.

301 Redirect

An HTTP status code that permanently redirects one URL to another.

302 Redirect

Also known as “302 Found,” tells you that the requested page has been temporarily moved to a different URL.

307 Redirect

The requested resource has been temporarily moved to a different URL. But in this case, the client should reuse the same request method (GET, POST, etc.) when requesting the new location.

403 Forbidden

The server understands your request, but cannot authorize it. It is a “no permission” message, meaning that you are not authorized to view the webpage.

404 Not Found

When the server cannot find the webpage you requested.

500 Internal Server Error

The web server ran into an unexpected problem and was unable to fulfill your request. It suggests a broad issue on the server’s side.

502 Bad Gateway

The server you’re trying to access received an invalid response from another server it relies on to fulfill your request.

A

A/B Testing

Comparing two or more versions of a webpage or website element to figure out which one performs better for engagement and rankings. Also known as split testing.

Above the Fold

The visible portion of a webpage that users see without scrolling down.

AdSense

A Google program that allows website owners to display targeted ads on their site and earn revenue when those ads are clicked. It’s a common and highly used method for revenue generation among webmasters.

Affiliate

A webmaster who promotes products or services for others on their website in return for a commission is called an affiliate.

Ahrefs

A powerful all-in-one SEO toolset designed to help you research, analyze, and improve your website’s search engine ranking.

AI

The range of new tools that use artificial intelligence to analyze data, automate tasks, and improve website visibility.

Alt Text

A descriptive text that is added to image tags in HTML code that helps search engines understand the relevance of images to specific search queries.

Anchor Text

The clickable words used to describe a link.

API

API (Application Programming Interface) works as a bridge between a website or an app to an external service for sharing data.

Authority Score

Measures the credibility, trustworthiness, and relevance of a website in the eyes of search engines and users. Websites with high authority are more likely to rank higher and get more backlinks, and organic traffic.

B

B2B SEO

B2B stands for “Business-to-Business”, and B2B SEO is about optimization strategies aimed at attracting and converting visitors who represent other businesses.

B2C SEO

B2C means Business-to-Customer and B2C SEO is optimizing strategies that attract individual customers.

Backlink

A backlink is a link that points from another website to your website. It’s essentially a vote of confidence from the other site, indicating that the linked content is valuable and relevant.

Bait and Switch

A black hat SEO technique where high-quality content is used to attract traffic and gain authority. But then, it switches out to promote unrelated topics. It’s basically luring users in with promises but ultimately delivering something different or unrelated.

Baidu

The dominant search engine in China that contains 75% of Chinese searches.

Bing

The second-largest search engine in the world, holding roughly 6-9% of the search market share.

Black hat SEO

A set of unethical SEO tactics that is used to artificially manipulate a website’s ranking. These tactics violate the guidelines set by search engines like Google and are often short-sighted and risky.

Blog

The most popular method to create high-quality content targeting relevant keywords.

You can explore various formats like articles, guides, tutorials, or reviews, providing valuable information and engaging your audience.

Bounce Rate

The percentage of website visitors who land on a specific page and then leave without interacting with it further.

Breadcrumb

A virtual trail that helps both users and search engines to understand the structure of a website. It’s a navigation aid that shows the path from the homepage to a certain page.

Broken Link

A link on a website that points to a page or resource that no longer exists or is inaccessible. This can happen if the page was deleted, was moved, or the URL is incorrect.

C

Cache

A cache is like a saved copy of a web page that search engines store on their servers.

When a search engine indexes a page, it also saves a cached version. This helps the search engine load and display the page faster in search results when someone clicks on it.

Canonical URL

The preferred version of a web page among duplicates that you want search engines to index and display in their results. It points search engines to the main version of a webpage, especially when you have duplicate or very similar content across multiple URLs.

ccTLD

ccTLD means country-code top-level domain which is a two-letter domain extension to a website domain that denotes the domain’s country name.

For example, .uk is for the United Kingdom, .de is for Germany, etc.

ChatGPT

ChatGPT is the most popular AI tool in the world for content creation. It is a language model developed by OpenAI and launched on November 30, 2022. It has over 180 million monthly users and reached 1 million users in just five days after its launch.

Citation

A digital shout-out or reference for a business. It happens when other websites or directories mention your business’s name, address, and phone number.

Citations help boost a business’s online presence and can impact its search engine rankings.

Cloaking

A black hat SEO technique that shows different content to search engines and users.

Click Depth

Click Depth measures the distance of a webpage from the homepage of a website.

Clickbait

The deceptive practice of using catchy or engaging headlines to attract clicks and traffic to a website but ultimately not delivering on the promise.

CMS

A CMS, or Content Management System, is where you create, organize, and update your content. For SEOs, a good CMS can make it simple to optimize your site for search engines.

Comment Spam

The unethical practice of posting irrelevant comments on blogs and websites to gain backlinks or promote one’s site.

Competition

When multiple websites try to rank for the same keywords, then they are considered each other’s competition.

Conceptual Searching

Conceptual searching is focusing on the ideas and meanings behind keywords, not just the exact words. It’s about understanding what users really want and providing relevant content.

Conversion

When you turn your website traffic into customers, it’s called conversion.

Core Web Vitals

Essential performance metrics that impact user experience and influence SEO rankings. They include loading speed, interactivity, and visual stability.

CPA

CPA stands for “Cost Per Acquisition”, a metric measuring the cost of acquiring a customer through organic search. It assesses the expenses associated with converting website visitors into a customer.

CPC

Cost Per Click or CPC) is the amount an advertiser pays each time a user clicks on their online ad. It is a metric used in paid search campaigns, such as Google Ads, to measure the cost-effectiveness of driving traffic to a website through paid clicks.

CPM

CPM stands for cost-per-mille or cost-per-thousand. It’s a term that points to the cost of reaching 1,000 visitors, readers, viewers, or listeners for an advertising campaign.

Crawler

Also known as a search engine spider or bot, is a program used by search engines to systematically browse and index web pages. Crawlers analyze website content, structure, and links to provide relevant and up-to-date search results to users.

CRO

CRO or Conversion Rate Optimization focuses on optimizing website elements to boost conversion rate.

Crawl Budget

The number of web pages a search engine bot can or should crawl on a website within a given timeframe.

CTA

CTA, or Call-to-Action are persuasive signals on a webpage that encourage users to take specific actions, such as clicking a button, filling out a form, or making a purchase.

CTR

CTR stands for Click-Through Rate which measures the percentage of clicks a search result receives relative to its total impressions. A higher CTR indicates better relevance to user queries which means it is positively impacting rankings.

Customer Journey

The customer journey is the path a user takes from initial online search to conversion. The process involves stages such as awareness, consideration, and decision-making.

Cybersquatting

Cybersquatting means registering domain names with trademarked terms to deceive or exploit users.

For instance, if someone starts a website with the domain name Walmart1.com to scam people it would be called cybersquatting.

D

Dead-End Page

A Dead-End Page has no internal or external links, meaning it has no navigation options for users or search engine crawlers.

Deep Link

A deep link directs users to a specific page on a website rather than the homepage. By sending users directly to that specific page, they save time and energy searching for it themselves, which makes for a better user experience.

De-listing or De-index

When your whole website or certain web pages are removed from a search engine it’s de-listing or de-indexing. The reason for this is usually search engine guidelines being violated, penalties, or intentional actions by site owners.

Demographics

Specific, measurable characteristics of a target audience, such as age, gender, location, and interests.

Direct Traffic

When people directly type in your website URL instead of searching for it in the search engine.

Disavow

A disavow file is submitted to search engines to formally disassociate your website from certain inbound links. You submit a disavow file to prevent your website from low-quality or spammy backlinks.

Do-follow

Do-follow are links that allow search engines to follow and pass authority or link juice to the linked webpage. These links can contribute to a site’s search engine ranking.

Domain

The domain is the unique name and address of your website.

In the URL, https://www.example.com/, example.com is the domain.

Doorway Page

A web page that is created to rank for specific keywords while sending visitors to a different page. Doorway pages are considered black-hat SEO and are considered web spam by Google because they have no value for the searcher.

Dwell Time

The time a user spends on a webpage.

E

E-commerce SEO

Optimizing online stores for search engines to improve visibility and rankings.

Editorial Link

Backlinks that are earned naturally based on the merit of the content.

E-E-A-T

Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. The four pillars of Google’s quality content guidelines. Content that has these qualities is likely to rank higher.

Engagement Metrics

Engagement metrics measure the user’s interaction with a website, which includes time on site, bounce rate, and click-through rate.

Enterprise SEO

The strategic and comprehensive SEO for large-scale businesses.

EPMV

EPMV stands for “Earnings Per Thousand Visitors,” which is a metric used to measure the revenue generated from every thousand visitors to a website.

Exit Rate

The percentage of website visitors who leave a certain page without interacting.

External Link

Links that point to another website, preferably one with higher authority. Also known as an outbound link.

F

Favicon

A small, iconic image displayed in a web browser’s address bar or tabs.

Featured Snippet

A concise summary of information displayed at the top of most Google search results, extracted directly from a webpage.

First Link Priority

It is believed that search engines often pay more attention to the anchor text and destination of the first link of a web page. This is referred to as the first link priority.

Focus Keyword

Also known as primary keyword; a keyword that defines a content’s primary purpose.

Footer Link

Links that are placed in the footer of a webpage so that the users can navigate to other important pages easily.

Forum

Online discussion platforms where users ask questions, share information, and engage in conversations related to specific topics. For example, Quora and Reddit.

G

Generative Engine Optimization

The process of improving and refining content for AI-powered search.

Geo-targeting

The practice of optimizing online content to target a specific geographic location or audience.

Googlebot

The web crawling bot that is used by Google to index and analyze websites.

Google Algorithm

The complex set of rules and calculations that determine the ranking of web pages in search results.

Google Analytics

A web analytics tool by Google that helps SEO professionals track and analyze website traffic. It provides insights into user behavior, site performance, and key metrics

Google Bomb

An SEO tactic where many websites link to specific anchor text to rank the target page prominently for that term. This can be done to influence search engine results and to raise awareness.

An example of a Google Bomb is the 2004 campaign where the phrase “miserable failure” was linked to George W. Bush’s official biography, causing it to rank highly in Google search results for that term.

Google Business Profile

GBP is essential, especially for online businesses, where the owners can showcase important information about their businesses. Optimizing GBP enhances local search visibility, boosts online presence, and fosters customer engagement.

Google Hummingbird

A search algorithm introduced by Google in August 2013 to enhance search results by focusing on context and user intent.

Google Keyword Planner

A keyword tool that helps users discover relevant keywords for their content. It provides insights into search volumes, competition, and suggested bid amounts for advertising.

Google Panda

An algorithm that assesses and ranks websites based on the content quality which was introduced in 2011. It penalizes sites with low-quality or duplicate content.

Google Partner

A certified SEO professional or agency recognized by Google for expertise in SEO.

Google Penguin

An algorithm that targets and penalizes websites for manipulative link-building practices.

Google Pigeon

A local search algorithm change introduced in 2014 aimed to provide more accurate and relevant local search results by considering location and distance factors.

Google RankBrain

A machine learning algorithm that aids Google in understanding and ranking search queries. It interprets user intent, providing more accurate search results.

Google Sandbox

A specific range of time when new websites don’t rank well in Google search results. However, this has not yet been confirmed by Google.

Google Search Console

A vital SEO tool provided by Google that enables website owners to monitor and optimize their site’s visibility in search results.

Google Trends

A tool that analyzes the popularity of search queries over time. It helps identify trending topics and keywords.

Google Webmaster Guidelines

A set of rules is provided by Google to help website owners optimize their sites for search engines. Following these guidelines, webmasters can ensure ethical SEO practices.

Gray Hat SEO

Gray Hat SEO involves tactics that fall between ethical and unethical practices. While not explicitly violating guidelines, gray hat methods push ethical boundaries and may result in penalties from search engines.

Guest Blogging

Refers to the practice of writing and publishing content on another website to gain exposure and backlinks.

H

HARO

HARO, or Help a Reporter Out, is a platform connecting journalists with expert sources. It’s a valuable tool for building organic backlinks.

Hilltop Algorithm

The Hilltop Algorithm enhances search engine rankings by assessing webpage authority based on topical relevance and links from authoritative “hilltop” pages.

HITS Algorithm

The “Hyperlink-Induced Topic Search” Algorithm evaluates webpage authority based on both outgoing links and incoming links. It helps search engines identify relevant and influential pages.

Homepage

The main or introductory web page of a website that serves as the primary entry point for visitors and often includes essential information, navigation links, and key elements.

HTML

HTML (HyperText Markup Language) is a fundamental coding language for creating webpages. In SEO, proper HTML structure and tags are crucial for search engines to understand content.

Hub Page

A central webpage that serves as a focal point for related content.

You can build topical authority by creating a hub page that tells search engines how your site’s pages relate to one another.

I

Impressions

The number of times a webpage appears in search results, irrespective of user clicks.

Inbound Marketing

A marketing strategy that involves creating content to engage with potential customers.

Index

A search engine’s database where web pages are stored and organized for retrieval. Indexing involves the process of adding and categorizing pages.

Infographic

A visual representation of information or data designed to enhance content and improve user engagement.

Information Architecture

The organization and structure of a website’s content.

Internal Link

Links that interconnect different pages or content within the same website. It helps search engines understand the site’s structure, enhances user navigation, and builds topical authority.

Invisible Web

The collection of web pages that are published but not indexed by search engines is called the invisible web.

IP Address

The Internet Protocol address is a unique numerical label assigned to each device connected to the Internet. When multiple websites share the same IP address, it can potentially influence search engine rankings.

K

Keywords

A specific set of words or phrases that users enter into search engines.

Keyword Cannibalization

The unintentional competition between multiple pages of the website for the same target keyword. This can lead to a diluted online presence and hinder search engine rankings.

Keyword Density

The percentage of times a target keyword appears in a piece of content relative to the total word count. It’s a metric used to optimize content for search engines.

Keyword Difficulty

The level of competition a specific keyword faces in search engine rankings.

Keyword Research

The process of identifying and analyzing the specific search terms and phrases people use in search engines to optimize website content. One of the fundamentals of SEO and content creation.

Keyword Stuffing

The unethical practice of overloading a webpage with excessive keywords in an attempt to manipulate search engine rankings.

L

Landing Page

A specific web page is designed to attract and convert visitors, often through a targeted call-to-action. Serves as the entry point for users from search engine results.

Lazy Loading

Lazy loading is an SEO technique that defers the loading of non-essential content, such as images or scripts, until they are about to be viewed. This improves page load times, which improves search performance.

LCP

LCP, or Largest Contentful Paint, is a key metric in SEO measuring the loading time of the largest element on a webpage.

Lead

A potential customer or client who shows interest in a company’s products or services through their online behavior.

For example, a lead is someone who visits an online store, reads a blog post about the latest smartphones, and then fills out a form to receive more information or subscribes to the store’s newsletter.

Link Baiting

Link baiting is the process of creating high-quality content to attract backlinks naturally.

Link Building

The process of acquiring backlinks from other websites to your own. It’s a strategy used to increase a site’s authority and improve its ranking

Link Churn

When there’s a sudden drop in the backlinks pointing to a website it’s called link churn.

Link Hoarding

The practice of gaining a large number of backlinks without linking back to other sites. This tactic is considered unethical as it contradicts the principle of fair link exchange and can lead to penalties from search engines.

Link Juice

The value or authority a backlink passes from one webpage to another. Also known as link equity.

Link Popularity

A website’s link popularity measures the number and value of backlinks that point to it.

Link Profile

The collection of backlinks pointing to a website. It includes the quantity, quality, and diversity of these links

Link Reputation

The overall credibility and authority of a website’s outbound and inbound links.

Link Rot

The process where links on a website become obsolete or broken over time.

Local SEO

Local SEO is the SEO campaign that focuses on a business’s local online presence to attract more local customers.

Long Tail Keywords

Specific, longer, and detailed search phrases that typically have lower search volumes but higher conversion potential.

LSI Keywords

LSI stands for Latent Semantic Indexing. These are phrases that are not exactly a keyword but related to a primary keyword.

M

Manual Penalty

The manual penalty is a punishment taken by search engine moderators, such as Google, to punish a website for violating its guidelines. It involves human reviewers manually assessing and penalizing the website.

Manual Review

A manual review is when a search engine moderator assesses and analyzes a website’s content, links, and overall quality to verify its search engine compliance.

Metadata

Metadata is data about your web page’s content, for example, meta title, meta descriptions, etc.

Search engines like Google use metadata to figure out what your webpage is about.

Meta Description

A meta description is a brief summary of a web page’s content, typically under 160 characters.

Meta Keywords

A now-outdated SEO element that was once used to include a list of relevant keywords in a webpage’s HTML code.

Meta Tags

Meta tags are a specific type of metadata that give information about certain parts of web page content. For example, meta description is a meta tag that provides a short description of a web page’s content.

Metric

A metric is a quantifiable measurement used to assess and analyze various aspects of a website’s performance and visibility on search engines.

Common SEO metrics include organic traffic, keyword rankings, click-through rates, and backlink quality, and more.

Microblogging

Microblogging is the practice of posting brief, concise updates about products, services, or website content on social media platforms.

Minification

The process of reducing the size of a web page or website code by removing unnecessary characters, spaces, and line breaks.

Mirror Site

A duplicate or identical copy of a website hosted on a different domain or server. Mirror sites are used for load balancing or disaster recovery purposes but can raise SEO issues if search engines view them as duplicate content.

Mobile SEO

Optimizing websites and content for better visibility and user experience on mobile devices.

Mobile-first Indexing

Google’s practice of prioritizing the mobile version of a website’s content for indexing and ranking.

Money Content

A content specifically designed to generate revenue or sales. It focuses on products, services, or offers, aiming to convert visitors into paying customers.

Multivariate Testing

Simultaneously testing multiple variations of webpage elements, such as headlines, images, or call-to-action buttons, to find which combination delivers the best performance.

N

Navigation

The design and structuring of a website’s menu and linking system, which allows users and search engines to easily find and access content.

Negative SEO

Unethical tactics that are used to harm a competitor’s website’s search engine rankings. These tactics can include spammy backlinks, content scraping, and other malicious activities meant to trigger penalties from search engines

Niche

A niche is a specific topic area that a website focuses on to attract a particular group of people interested in that topic.

NLP (Natural Language Processing)

The use of AI and machine learning techniques by search engines to analyze and understand the natural language content of websites. This helps search engines better interpret and rank web pages based on user intent and context.

Noarchive Tag

The noarchive tag is an HTML meta tag that webmasters use to instruct search engines not to save a cached copy of a page.

Nofollow

Nofollow is an HTML attribute that instructs search engines to pass link equity to a webpage.

Noindex Tag

The “Noindex tag” is an HTML meta tag used to instruct search engines not to index a specific webpage.

Nosnippet Tag

The “nosnippet” tag in SEO is an HTML tag instructing search engines not to display snippets (short previews) of a page’s content in search results.

Not–provided

“Not Provided” is the hiding of specific keyword data in Google Analytics because of encrypted searches in Google’s search engine, so marketers can’t see what keywords people use to find their website organically.

O

Off-page SEO

Optimization efforts and strategies that are conducted outside of a website to improve its search engine ranking. This includes building high-quality backlinks, social media engagement, online reputation management, etc.

On-page SEO

Optimizing individual web pages to rank higher in search engines, focusing on elements like content quality, keyword placement, etc.

Opt-in

Voluntarily subscribing or agreeing to receive content, such as newsletters or updates, from a website.

Opt-out

The opposite of opt-in. That means unsubscribing to receive content from a website.

Organic Search Results

Non-paid listings that appear on search engine results pages based on their relevance to the user’s query and the search engine’s algorithm.

Organic SEO

Optimizing a website to naturally rank higher in search engine results through tactics like keyword research, content creation, and backlink building, focusing on unpaid, algorithm-driven strategies rather than paid advertising.

Organic Traffic

Website visitors who arrive at a site through unpaid, natural search engine results.

Orphan Page

Pages that do not have any internal links.

Outreach

The communication efforts made by website owners to connect with other website owners, bloggers, or influencers to secure backlinks and build relationships.

P

Page Speed

The time it takes for a web page to load completely.

PageRank

PageRank is an algorithm developed by Google to assess the importance and relevance of web pages in search engine results. It evaluates the quality and quantity of links pointing to a page, with higher-quality and relevant links boosting a page’s ranking.

Penalty

Penalty is an action taken by search engines against a website for violating their guidelines, typically resulting in reduced search rankings or de-indexing.

Persona

Personas are fictional representations of target audiences and customer segments that SEOs use to better understand and optimize their content. Also known as user persona.

Piracy Update

A search engine algorithm change to combat copyright infringement and online content piracy is referred to as a piracy update. Those websites that host or distribute copyrighted content illegally are penalized with lower search engine rankings.

Pillar Content

Detailed, in-depth articles or pages that serve as the core resource for a specific topic. It forms the foundation for a cluster of related content, interlinked to improve website structure and SEO. Also known as mother content.

Pogo Rate

The percentage of users that click on a site and then immediately leave.

Popup

A web page element that appears over the main content, which is often used for lead generation, advertisements, or notifications.

Q

QDF

QDF or Query Deserves Freshness, refers to Google’s algorithm favoring recently updated or new content for certain search queries, particularly those where fresh information is likely more relevant or valuable to users.

Quality Content

A content that is engaging, relevant, provides valuable information that meets users’ needs and intentions, incorporates keywords naturally, and aligns with search engine guidelines.

Quality Link

A backlink from a reputable and authoritative website.

Query

Any phrase or keyword (usually a question) a user types into a search engine to find information, products, or services.

R

Rank

A web page’s position in search engine results pages for a specific keyword.

Rank Math

A WordPress SEO plugin that helps optimize websites for search engines.

Ranking Factor

Any element or criteria that search engines use to evaluate and determine the position of a web page in their search results. For reference, Google has over 200 ranking factors.

Readability Score

How easily a piece of content can be understood by the target audience. A low readability score indicates an easier reading experience for the readers.

Reciprocal Links

When two websites mutually exchange backlinks.

Redirect

A technique used to send website visitors and search engine crawlers from one URL to another. It’s typically used when a page has moved or been deleted.

Referrer

A referrer is the URL of a previous web page from which a user navigated to reach the current page.

Relevancy

The degree to which a webpage’s content and keywords align with a user’s search intent.

Reinclusion

The process of requesting a search engine to reconsider and reindex a website or webpage that was previously penalized or removed from its search results.

Relative Link

A web address that points to a page or resource on the same website without including the full website domain.

For example, www.example.com/products is the full URL, whereas /products is the relative link.

Repeat Visits

The number of times a user returns to a specific website. High repeat visits indicate user satisfaction and site relevance.

Reputation Management

Monitoring and influencing online perceptions of a brand or individual to maintain a positive image.

Responsive Design

When a website’s design is adaptable to smaller screen sizes.

Reverse Index

A database that stores the relationships between keywords and the web pages where they appear.

Rich Snippet

A concise summary of a web page’s content displayed in search results. It includes additional information like ratings, reviews, or event details, providing users with more context.

Robots.txt

A file on a website that instructs search engine crawlers which pages or sections should not be crawled or indexed.

ROI

ROI refers to how much value is gained from SEO efforts. The ROI of SEO is calculated by comparing traffic and conversions to the costs involved.

Root Domain

The main and highest-level domain of a website, excluding any subdomains or specific page addresses.

For example, in the URL “www.example.com,” “example.com” is the root domain. Subdomains, such as “blog.example.com,” are distinct sections under the root domain.

S

SAB

SAB means Service Area Business which refers to businesses that operate in specific geographical areas, offering products or services without a physical storefront.

SaaS SEO

SEO strategies that are tailored specifically for SaaS (Software as a Service) businesses.

Schema

Structured data markup that helps search engines understand and interpret content on web pages.

Scraping

The automated extraction of data from websites.

Search Engine

Web-based tools that enable users to find information on the internet.

Search Intent

Specific purpose or goal a user has when entering a search query. Also known as user intent.

Search Traffic

The volume of visitors a website receives from search engine results.

Search Volume

The number of times a specific keyword is searched on a search engine within a given time frame.

SEMRush

An SEO tool that enables website analysis, keyword research, and competitive intelligence.

SEO-friendly URL

A web address that is optimized for search engines, featuring clear and relevant keywords, organized structure, and user-friendly format.

SERP

SERP, or Search Engine Results Page, refers to the page displayed by search engines in response to a user’s query.

Seasonal Trends

Recurring patterns of search behavior influenced by specific times of the year, events, or holidays.

Seed Keyword

The foundational term used to initiate keyword research in SEO. It represents the core topic or idea from which related keywords and phrases are identified.

Semantic Search

When search engines understand the meaning behind words to provide more accurate and relevant results, focusing on user intent rather than just specific keywords.

Server

The system that hosts websites and responds to user requests.

Siphoning

The unauthorized extraction or diversion of traffic, often through unethical practices like content scraping or link manipulation.

Sitemap

A file that lists the pages of a website to help search engines understand its structure.

Sitelinks

Links that appear beneath the main search result that provides direct access to specific pages within a website.

Spam

The unethical use of techniques to manipulate search engine rankings. This can include keyword stuffing, cloaking, and other deceptive practices aimed at artificially boosting a website’s visibility.

Spider

A web crawler or bot used by search engines.

Splash Page

A design-heavy, visually engaging but usually brief introductory webpage with minimal content.

Status Codes

HTTP response messages from a web server indicating the success or failure of a requested page. Common codes include 200 (OK), 404 (Not Found), and 301 (Redirect).

Static Content

Web page elements like text, images, or codes that remain constant.

Stop Word

Stop words are common words, such as “and,” “the,” or “in,” that are typically excluded from search queries to optimize search engine performance. Search engines often ignore stop words to focus on keywords

Structured Data

Organized information marked up in a standardized format (like Schema.org) to help search engines understand and display content.

Subdomain

A subdomain is a distinct section of a website that is treated as a separate entity for organizational or content purposes.

For example, in “blog.example.com,” the subdomain is “blog.”

Syndication

The distribution and publication of content across multiple platforms or websites. It enhances visibility, builds backlinks, and widens audience reach.

T

Technical SEO

Optimizing website infrastructure and design to enhance search engine visibility and performance.

Text Link Ads

Text Link Ads are links in website content that are sold to promote other websites. In SEO, they affect search rankings by influencing link profiles, but manipulative practices can lead to penalties.

Thin Content

Content that doesn’t satisfy the user intent.

Time on Page

The duration a user spends on a specific webpage before navigating away. It is a metric used to gauge content engagement and relevance.

TLD (Top-Level Domain)

A TLD is the last segment of a domain name, such as .com or .org.

Topical Authority

A website’s expertise and credibility on a specific subject or topic. It is built through high-quality, relevant content and backlinks.

Traffic

The visitors a website receives from search engines.

TrustRank

A measure of a website’s credibility and trustworthiness. It assesses the reliability of a site based on the quality and relevance of its content, backlinks, and overall user experience.

U

Universal Search

Universal Search, also known as “Blended Search” or “Enhanced Search”, is a search engine’s ability to combine results from different indexes, such as images and videos into a single search.

Unnatural Link

A backlink that is not organically acquired or relevant to the content, often created for the sole purpose of manipulating search engine rankings.

URL

A web address that specifies the location of a resource on the internet.

URL Hijacking

The malicious practice of diverting a website’s URL to another unauthorized destination. This unethical tactic can manipulate search engine rankings, deceive users, and harm the original site’s reputation.

URL Slug

A URL slug in SEO is a user-friendly, concise text snippet that forms part of a webpage’s URL.

In the website (www.example.com), for a blog post titled “10 Tips for Healthy Living,” the URL could be “www.example.com/healthy-living-tips.”, where the URL slug would be “/healthy-living-tips”

Usage Data

The information collected on how visitors interact with a website. It includes metrics like page views, time spent on pages, and click-through rates.

Usability

Usability means enhancing a website’s user experience for optimal navigation and accessibility. It involves creating a user-friendly interface, clear site structure, and responsive design.

User Agent

The software (e.g., web browser or search engine crawler) that accesses and interacts with a website.

User Experience (UX)

The overall satisfaction and usability that website visitors experience. It involves optimizing design, content, and navigation.

User Interface

The design and presentation of a website that contributes to user experience.

User-Generated Content

Online content created by unbiased users who do not usually gain any benefits. It includes reviews, comments, forum discussions, and social media posts.

V

Vanity URL

A customized and user-friendly web address that redirects to a specific page.

For instance, instead of using a long and complex URL like “www.bookstore.com/products/item/12345,” a bookstore might use a Vanity URL like “www.bookstore.com/summer-reads” for their seasonal promotion.

Vertical Search

Vertical search refers to search engines that focus on a specific segment of online content, unlike general search engines like Google which crawl and index the entire web.

Visibility

A website’s dominance in search engine results. It measures how easily a site can be found by users searching for relevant keywords.

Voice Search

The practice of users speaking commands or queries into devices like smartphones or virtual assistants instead of typing.

W

Web Directory

An online catalog of websites organized into categories and subcategories.

Whois

A domain registration database that provides information about the owner, registration date, and contact details of a website.

White Hat SEO

Ethical and legitimate optimization practices that comply with search engine guidelines.

WooCommerce

A WordPress plugin that enables seamless e-commerce functionality.

WordPress

WordPress is the most popular content management system (CMS) that simplifies website creation and management.

X

XHTML

XHTML (Extensible Hypertext Markup Language) is a web development language that conforms to XML standards. Using well-structured and valid XHTML code helps improve search engine visibility by ensuring cleaner, error-free markup.

XML

XML (eXtensible Markup Language) serves as a structured format for data exchange between web applications. It aids search engines in understanding and indexing website content efficiently.

XML Sitemap

A structured file in XML format, designed for search engines to understand and index a website’s content efficiently.

Y

Yahoo!

One of the most popular search engines in the early Internet era before Google took over.

Yandex

Yandex is a Russian search engine, similar to Google, with a focus on serving the Russian-speaking audience.

YMYL

YMYL, or “Your Money or Your Life,” is an SEO concept emphasizing content that directly impacts users’ financial, health, or safety decisions. To ensure user trust and well-informed decision-making, Google prioritizes high-quality, authoritative YMYL content.

Z

Zero Click Searches

When users gain the necessary information directly from featured snippets, knowledge panels, and other instant answers without clicking on any specific link.

Become an Expert With These Newly Learned SEO Definitions

After reading our SEO glossary, did you learn anything new?

Learning these new SEO terms will pave the way for your journey to becoming an SEO expert.