Learn the language of SEO. No jargon, just clear explanations to help you navigate with confidence.
A/B testing compares two versions of a page to see which performs better. It’s often used for improving conversions or click rates. Tools like Google Optimize help run these experiments.
Ad extensions are extra bits of information in your Google Ads, like phone numbers, links, or reviews. They make ads more useful and improve CTR. Use them to increase visibility and trust.
A search algorithm is a complex system determining which webpages appear for each query. Google’s algorithm evaluates relevance, quality, authority, and hundreds of other factors.
Alt text describes images, improving accessibility and helping search engines index images. Clear, concise alt text can boost image search rankings.
AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages) is a Google-backed framework for building fast-loading mobile web pages. AMP improves mobile performance but has limitations on design and interactivity. It’s less critical today due to Core Web Vitals.
Anchor text is the clickable part of a link. Relevant anchor text helps search engines understand linked content and can influence your rankings.
Backlinks are links from other sites pointing to yours, signaling authority and relevance to search engines. Quality backlinks from trusted sites improve your rankings and visibility.
Blog SEO is optimizing blog posts to rank well in search engines. It includes using the right keywords, formatting with headings, optimizing images, and linking internally. Well-optimized blogs drive consistent organic traffic.
Bounce rate is the percentage of users who leave your website after viewing only one page. A high bounce rate may suggest poor content, slow load times, or irrelevant traffic. Improving site design, content relevance, and internal linking can reduce bounce rate.
Broken link building involves finding broken (dead) links on other websites and suggesting your content as a replacement. It’s a smart way to earn backlinks while helping site owners fix errors. Tools like Ahrefs or Check My Links help find these opportunities.
A canonical tag tells search engines which version of a duplicate page is the main one. It helps prevent SEO issues caused by duplicate content. Use it to consolidate ranking signals across similar URLs.
A CDN (Content Delivery Network) is a network of servers that delivers your content faster based on a user’s location. It improves load times and reliability. Faster pages lead to better SEO and user experience.
CTR (Click-Through Rate) is the percentage of users who click on a search result or ad after seeing it. A higher CTR means your title and description are compelling and relevant to the user’s search. It’s a key metric for both SEO and paid ads.
CSR (Client-Side Rendering) loads content using JavaScript in the user’s browser after the page loads. If not optimized, it can delay what search engines see. SEO fixes include dynamic rendering or prerendering.
Content gap analysis identifies keywords or topics your competitors rank for but you don’t. It helps uncover new content opportunities. Use tools like Ahrefs or Semrush to compare keyword coverage.
A CMS (Content Management System) is software that lets you create, edit, and publish website content without needing to code. WordPress, Wix, and Shopify are popular examples. A good CMS supports SEO by allowing easy customization of titles, URLs, and metadata.
Content marketing is the practice of creating valuable, relevant content to attract and retain an audience. It supports SEO by building topical authority and earning backlinks. Common formats include blogs, videos, and guides.
Conversion rate is the percentage of visitors who complete a desired action, like making a purchase or filling out a form. It measures how effective your website is at turning traffic into results. Strong calls-to-action, fast load times, and clear messaging help improve conversions.
Core Web Vitals are Google’s metrics for page experience: Largest Contentful Paint (LCP), First Input Delay (FID), and Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS). They measure loading, interactivity, and visual stability. Optimizing these improves both UX and rankings.
CPC (Cost Per Click) is the amount you pay each time someone clicks on your paid ad. It varies based on keyword competition and ad quality. Managing CPC effectively keeps your PPC campaigns profitable.
Crawling is how search engines discover new or updated webpages, using bots to follow links and gather information. Effective internal linking and sitemaps aid the crawling process.
Direct traffic comes from users typing your URL directly or using a saved bookmark. It often reflects brand familiarity. It’s not influenced by search engine rankings.
Duplicate content is text that appears on multiple URLs, either within your site or across others. It can confuse search engines and dilute ranking signals. Canonical tags and content rewrites help resolve it.
Dwell time is how long a visitor stays on your page before returning to the search results. Longer dwell times typically indicate your content is useful and engaging. It’s not a direct ranking factor but reflects content quality.
E-E-A-T stands for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. It’s part of Google’s quality guidelines used to assess content credibility. High E-E-A-T is especially important for health, finance, and YMYL sites.
Evergreen content stays relevant over time and continues to attract traffic long after publication. Examples include how-to guides and FAQs. It’s ideal for SEO because it earns links and ranks steadily.
Exit rate shows the percentage of users who leave your site from a specific page. It helps identify which pages lose visitors most often. High exit rates on key pages may signal content or UX issues.
A featured snippet is a special search result shown above regular listings that directly answers a user’s query. It pulls content from a webpage and often boosts visibility and CTR. Structured, clear answers improve your chances of appearing here.
Google Analytics tracks and reports website traffic and user behavior. It provides insights into who your users are, how they find your site, and what they do once there. This data helps improve SEO, marketing, and content strategies.
BERT (Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers) helps Google better understand language and context in search queries. It improved results for conversational and long-tail searches. Write clearly and naturally to align with BERT.
This update rewards content written to help users—not just to rank. It targets low-value, SEO-first content and boosts genuine, people-focused pages. Focus on real user needs and original insights.
Hummingbird improved Google’s understanding of natural language and user intent. It focused less on exact-match keywords and more on meaning. This update made content relevance and context more important.
GMB (Google My Business / Google Business Profile) is a free tool to manage your business info in Google Search and Maps. It’s essential for local SEO and includes features like reviews, photos, and business hours. Verified listings rank higher in local results.
The Panda update targeted low-quality content, like thin or duplicate pages. It penalized sites with poor user experience and rewarded those with helpful, original content. It pushed SEOs to prioritize quality over quantity.
A Google penalty is a negative impact on your site’s rankings due to guideline violations. It can result from spammy backlinks, thin content, or black hat tactics. Fixing issues and submitting a reconsideration request can lift manual penalties.
The Penguin update penalized manipulative link-building tactics, especially spammy or irrelevant backlinks. It emphasized the importance of natural, high-quality link profiles. Sites hit by Penguin needed to disavow bad links.
RankBrain is an AI component of Google’s algorithm that helps process search queries and deliver more relevant results. It interprets user behavior to fine-tune rankings. Optimizing for RankBrain means creating engaging, useful content.
Google Search Console (GSC) is a free tool by Google that helps monitor, maintain, and troubleshoot your site’s visibility. It shows which pages are indexed, what keywords bring traffic, and any crawl errors. SEOs use it to optimize performance and fix technical issues.
An HTML sitemap is a user-facing page listing all main pages of a website. It helps visitors find content and supports site navigation. While less common today, it can still assist in SEO.
HTTPS encrypts data between your website and the user’s browser, ensuring secure browsing. It’s a trust signal and a confirmed Google ranking factor. Sites without HTTPS are marked “Not Secure” and may lose traffic.
Impression share is the percentage of times your ad appears compared to the total available impressions for that keyword. A low impression share may mean you need a higher bid or better ad quality.
Indexing is when search engines store crawled pages in their database, making them available in search results. If a page isn’t indexed, it won’t rank or appear in search.
Internal linking connects pages within your own site. It helps users navigate your site, distributes ranking power, and helps search engines understand your site’s structure.
JavaScript SEO ensures that content rendered via JavaScript is crawlable and indexable by search engines. If search bots can’t access your JS-based content, it may not rank. Use server-side rendering or prerendering to help.
A keyword is a term people use in search engines to find information. Identifying the right keywords helps you create relevant content that ranks well and meets user intent.
Keyword cannibalization happens when multiple pages on your site target the same keyword, causing them to compete in search results. It can confuse search engines and dilute rankings. Fix it by consolidating pages or updating keyword focus.
Keyword density is the percentage of times a keyword appears in content compared to the total word count. While no ideal number exists, overuse (stuffing) can hurt SEO. Use keywords naturally and focus on relevance.
Keyword difficulty estimates how hard it is to rank for a keyword based on competition and domain authority. High-difficulty keywords often require stronger backlinks and content to rank. Tools like Semrush and Ahrefs provide difficulty scores.
Keyword research is finding the best keywords your audience searches for. It helps guide content creation, SEO strategy, and targeting. Effective research balances volume, difficulty, and intent.
The Knowledge Graph is Google’s system for displaying structured facts about people, places, and things in a panel on the SERP. It’s powered by data sources like Wikipedia and structured markup. Optimizing for it improves brand visibility.
A landing page is the first page a visitor sees after clicking a link in search, an ad, or an email. It should match user intent and guide them toward a goal, like signing up or buying. Optimizing landing pages improves conversions and SEO.
Lazy loading delays loading of images or videos until the user scrolls to them. It speeds up initial page load and enhances performance. This is beneficial for SEO, especially on media-heavy pages.
Link building is proactively earning backlinks from other reputable sites to enhance your site’s authority. Techniques include guest blogging, content creation, and outreach.
Link equity refers to the value or authority passed from one webpage to another through hyperlinks. High-quality backlinks pass more equity, helping improve a page’s rankings. Internal links can also distribute equity across your own site.
A link farm is a group of websites that excessively link to each other to manipulate search rankings. Google considers them a black-hat tactic. Getting links from such networks can lead to penalties.
Local SEO optimizes your website to appear in location-based searches. It involves optimizing Google Business profiles, gathering reviews, and targeting local keywords.
Long-tail keywords are longer, more specific search phrases (e.g., “best running shoes for flat feet”). They attract fewer searches but typically lead to higher conversions and lower competition.
A meta description is a brief summary beneath the title tag in SERPs. Though not directly ranking factors, compelling descriptions significantly increase click-through rates.
Meta robots tags tell search engines whether to index a page or follow its links. “noindex” prevents the page from appearing in results; “nofollow” stops link equity from being passed. Useful for managing crawl budgets and controlling SEO visibility.
A mobile-friendly (Responsive Design) site adjusts to different screen sizes for a smooth experience. Google prioritizes mobile-first indexing, meaning your mobile site matters most for rankings. Test your site’s mobile usability with Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test.
Nofollow links tell search engines not to pass ranking power, while dofollow links do. Most links are dofollow by default. Both types can bring traffic, but dofollow links are more valuable for SEO.
Off-page SEO refers to external actions impacting your site’s rankings, primarily earning backlinks, building your reputation, and enhancing visibility through social signals.
On-page SEO involves optimizing elements directly on your website, such as content quality, keywords, titles, meta tags, and user experience, improving rankings and engagement.
Organic search results are unpaid listings that appear on SERPs based on relevance and quality. Good SEO boosts your visibility in organic results, driving consistent, free traffic to your site.
Organic traffic comes from unpaid search engine results. It’s a primary goal of SEO, delivering consistent, cost-effective visitors. High-quality content and good SEO practices grow this channel.
Page speed measures how fast your content loads. Google uses Core Web Vitals (LCP, FID, CLS) to evaluate load performance and user experience. Fast-loading pages keep users engaged and improve rankings.
PageRank was Google’s original algorithm for measuring the importance of web pages based on backlinks. Though no longer publicly updated, it still influences how links impact rankings. More high-quality links typically equal higher PageRank.
A pillar page is a comprehensive resource covering a broad topic, linking to related subtopics (cluster content). It improves site structure and boosts topical authority. Example: a full SEO guide linking to keyword research, link building, and on-page SEO.
Progressive Web App (PWA) combine the best of web and mobile apps—fast, offline-capable, and installable. While not SEO-specific, PWAs improve UX, which can positively impact engagement and rankings.
Redirects automatically send users and search engines from one URL to another. A 301 redirect is permanent and passes SEO value, while a 302 is temporary. They’re used for site migrations, page deletions, and fixing broken links.
Referral traffic comes from users clicking links to your site from other websites. It can boost authority and signal relevance to search engines. Building high-quality backlinks helps increase referrals.
Retargeting (aka Remarketing) shows ads to people who previously visited your website. It keeps your brand top-of-mind and increases conversions. It’s widely used in Google Ads and social platforms.
Render-blocking resources are scripts (often CSS or JavaScript) that delay page loading. They can negatively impact user experience and SEO. Minimize or defer them to improve site speed.
ROAS (Return on Ad Spend) measures the revenue earned for every dollar spent on advertising. A ROAS of 400% means you earned $4 for every $1 spent. It’s essential for evaluating PPC campaign profitability.
Robots.txt is a file instructing search engines which pages not to crawl. Proper setup prevents indexing issues and preserves crawl budget.
Structured data (Schema Markup) is code that helps search engines understand your content better. Using schema markup can enhance search listings with rich results like reviews or FAQs. It doesn’t boost rankings directly but improves visibility and CTR.
Search intent is the reason behind a user’s search. It’s crucial to match your content to intent—informational, navigational, transactional, or commercial—to rank better and satisfy users.
Search volume is how many times a keyword is searched in a given timeframe, usually monthly. It helps prioritize which keywords to target. High-volume keywords bring more traffic but often more competition.
Seed keywords are basic terms related to your niche used as the starting point in keyword research. For example, “coffee” could be a seed keyword for finding long-tail terms like “best coffee makers.” They help build keyword lists.
SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is improving your website to rank higher in search engine results like Google, driving organic (unpaid) traffic. Good SEO helps your content appear when people search for relevant topics. It involves optimizing your content, structure, and backlinks.
SSR (Server-side Rendering) means your server generates the full HTML before sending it to the browser. It makes your content visible to search bots immediately. SSR helps with SEO on JavaScript-heavy sites.
SERP (Search Engine Results Page) is the page you see after entering a query into a search engine. It includes organic results, paid ads, and special features like featured snippets. Higher positions on the SERP increase visibility and clicks.
A session is a group of user interactions with your website in a single visit. It ends after 30 minutes of inactivity by default. Sessions help analyze user behavior in tools like Google Analytics.
A sitemap lists your site’s URLs, helping search engines discover and index your content quickly. An XML sitemap is submitted to search engines, while HTML sitemaps are for users.
The Skyscraper Technique involves finding high-ranking content, creating something better, and promoting it for backlinks. It works well for link building when backed by outreach. Quality and promotion are key to success.
Spam score is a metric (by tools like Moz) that predicts how likely a site is to be penalized by search engines. It’s based on signals like low-quality backlinks and shady practices. Monitoring it helps you maintain a healthy backlink profile.
Technical SEO ensures search engines can efficiently crawl and index your site. It includes improving site speed, mobile compatibility, security (HTTPS), and structured data.
Thin content has little or no value to users—like short pages with no depth or scraped text. It can hurt rankings and trigger penalties. SEO best practices encourage creating unique, helpful content.
A title tag specifies a webpage’s title, appearing as the clickable link in search results. Effective titles are concise, descriptive, and keyword-rich to attract clicks.
A topic cluster is a group of interlinked pages built around a central pillar page. It signals to search engines that your site covers a subject in-depth. Clustering improves navigation and rankings.
A traffic source tells you where your visitors are coming from: organic search, social media, direct, or referrals. It’s essential for tracking marketing performance. SEO aims to grow organic traffic.
A URL slug is the part of a web address that comes after the domain (e.g., /seo-glossary). Clean, keyword-rich slugs help with both SEO and user clarity. Avoid unnecessary words or symbols.
User behavior refers to how people interact with your website—clicks, scrolls, time on page, etc. Understanding this helps optimize UX and conversion paths. Behavior data also informs SEO and CRO.
UX is how easy and satisfying it is for users to interact with your site. Good UX includes fast load times, mobile-friendliness, and intuitive design. Better UX often leads to higher engagement and rankings.
An XML sitemap lists all important pages on your website to help search engines discover and index them. Submit it through Google Search Console. It’s especially useful for large or complex sites.