SEO Glossary
SEO Terms and Their Meanings
Here, we explain everything from the most basic SEO terms—such as keywords, meta descriptions, and links—to more advanced concepts like technical SEO, content strategies, and algorithm updates. The goal is to provide a clear overview of both the terms that often come up when you start working with search engine optimization and the terms used more frequently by experienced specialists.
SEO
Stands for Search Engine Optimization. This means optimizing a website so that it appears higher in search engine results, such as Google.
Search Engine
A digital tool (such as Google or Bing) where you can enter words and find relevant pages.
SERP
It's the page you see when you've searched for something on a search engine. It displays both organic results (free listings) and ads.
Organic Results
The links that appear in search results without anyone paying for them.
Paid Results (SEA / SEM)
Ads that appear at the top or bottom of the search results page. They are labeled "Ad.".
Keywords
The words or phrases that people type into search engines. Example: "best coffee maker.".
long-tail keywords
More specific searches that often consist of several words, such as "best coffee maker for small offices.".
Search volume
How many times a particular keyword is searched for during a specific time period (often per month).
Search intent
Why does a person search for a word? Do they want information, to buy something, or to find a specific page?
On-page SEO
Everything you do on the website itself to improve visibility. Examples: headings, text, internal links.
Off-page SEO
Anything you do outside the website to strengthen it, such as links from other sites (backlinks).
Technical SEO
This refers to the technical aspects of the website, such as page load time, mobile-friendliness, and proper code structure.
Title (title tag)
The clickable title that appears in search results. It should clearly describe the page's content.
Meta Description
The short text below the title in the search results that summarizes the content.
H1, H2, H3 (headings)
Heading levels in a text. H1 is used for the page's main heading, H2 for subheadings, and so on.
Alt text
A description of an image that search engines and people with visual impairments can read. Important for SEO and accessibility.
Internal linking
When linking between different pages on your own website. This helps both users and search engines find what they're looking for.
External links
Links from your page to other websites.
Backlinks (inbound links)
When other websites link to yours, it sends a strong signal to Google that your site is trustworthy.
Anchor text
The clickable word or phrase in a link. Example: In the text "read more about coffee makers," the anchor text is "coffee makers.".
Crawl / Crawling
When search engine "robots" (bots) crawl the web looking for new or updated pages.
Indexing
Once the search engine has found a page and added it to its database so that it can appear in the search results.
Ranking
The position a page achieves in the search results for a specific keyword.
Bounce rate
How many people leave a page immediately without clicking further.
CTR (Click-Through Rate)
How many people click on your link compared to how many see it.
Domain Authority (DA)
A score (0–100) that indicates how strong or reliable a website is, based on links and other factors.
Page Authority (PA)
Similar to Domain Authority, but measures the strength of an individual page.
Sitemap
A list (often a file) that shows which pages are on the website. It helps search engines understand the site's structure.
Robots.txt
A file that tells search engines which parts of the page they are allowed or not allowed to read.
Canonical tag
A marker that indicates which version of a page is the "correct" one if there are several similar versions.
Duplicate content
When the same or nearly identical content appears on multiple pages, it can confuse search engines.
Core Web Vitals
Google metrics that measure user experience on a page, such as load time, stability, and interactivity.
Core Web Vitals
Google metrics that measure user experience on a page, such as load time, stability, and interactivity.
Featured snippet
A special result that Google sometimes displays at the top of the search results, such as a fact box.
Rich snippets
Search results that include more than just the title and description, such as ratings, prices, or images.
Schema markup
(Structured data) Code that helps search engines better understand the content and generate rich snippets.
Crawl Budget
The number of pages Google is willing to crawl on your website within a given time period. Important for large websites.
Link juice
An informal term for the SEO value passed through links.
Black Hat SEO
Methods that attempt to deceive search engines, such as stuffing text with keywords or buying links. These can result in penalties.
White Hat SEO
Ethical methods that follow Google's guidelines, such as high-quality content and natural links.
Grey Hat SEO
Methods that fall somewhere between black hat and white hat—a bit risky but not strictly prohibited.
Core Updates
When Google changes the way it evaluates and ranks web pages. Examples: Panda, Penguin, Hummingbird.
E-E-A-T
Google's method of evaluating content based on expertise, authority, and credibility.
YMYL (Your Money, Your Life)
Categories of pages that affect finances, health, or safety. These are scrutinized particularly closely by Google.
SEO Audit
An analysis of a website to determine what works well and what could be improved.
A/B Testing
When comparing two versions of a page (e.g., different headlines) to see which one works best.
Conversion
When a visitor does what you want them to do, such as buying a product or filling out a form.
CRO
(Conversion Optimization) Optimizing a page so that more visitors will complete a conversion.
Crawl errors
Problems that arise when a search engine bot cannot read a page, such as broken links or incorrect redirects.
Broken link
A link that no longer works because the page it leads to has been deleted or moved.
Redirect
When a visitor or search engine is redirected from one page to another. Common types are 301 (permanent) and 302 (temporary).
Link Building
The strategy of getting other websites to link to yours, in order to increase your authority and visibility.
Link Farm
A network of pages that exist solely to link to each other or to other pages. Google considers this to be manipulative.
NoFollow link
A link that has been marked so that it does not pass on SEO strength (link juice).
DoFollow link
Default setting for links that pass on SEO weight.
Keyword cannibalization
When multiple pages on the same website compete with each other by being optimized for the same keywords.
Thin content
Pages with very little or superficial content that do not add value. This can negatively impact SEO.
Duplicate title tags
When multiple pages have exactly the same title, which can confuse search engines.
Cloaking
A black-hat technique in which one version of content is shown to search engines and another to users.
Doorway pages
Pages created solely to rank for a keyword and then redirect the visitor. This is viewed negatively by Google.
LSI keywords
Related words and concepts that search engines use to understand the context of a text.
Search Console
A free tool from Google that shows how a website performs in search results and whether there are any technical errors.
Google Analytics
An analytics tool that displays data about the website's visitors, such as traffic, behavior, and conversions.
Crawl depth
How many clicks away a page is from the home page. The deeper it is, the harder it may be for search engines to find it.
Orphan page
A page that has no internal links pointing to it. Search engines may have trouble finding it.
Keyword Difficulty
A measure of how difficult it is to rank for a specific keyword based on the competition.
SERP features
Additional elements that can be displayed on the search results page, such as maps, images, questions, or videos.
People Also Ask (PAA)
A section on Google that displays common follow-up questions related to a search.
Knowledge Graph
The information box that Google sometimes displays on the right-hand side with facts, for example, about a company or a person.
Local SEO
SEO that focuses on appearing in local search results, often linked to Google Maps and geographic searches.
Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business)
A free tool that allows businesses to control how they appear in local search results and on Google Maps.
HTTPS
A secure version of HTTP that encrypts data. Google considers it a positive ranking factor.
Mobile-first indexing
Google's method in which the mobile version of a website is used as the primary version for indexing and ranking.
Responsive Design
A website design that automatically adapts to different screen sizes, such as mobile phones, tablets, and computers.
Session duration
How long a visitor stays on a page before leaving it.
Dwell time
The amount of time a user spends on a page after clicking on it in the search results, before returning to the previous page.
Panda, Penguin, Hummingbird
Google's names for major algorithm updates that focused on content, links, and understanding search queries.
Subject Matter Expert
When a website is regarded as an authority on a particular subject area because of its content and structure.
Content cluster
A method in which content is structured around a main topic (pillar page) with the support of related subpages.
Disavow
A tool that lets you tell Google to ignore certain links pointing to your website.