Reference
SEO Glossary
60 essential SEO terms explained in plain English.
A
Alt Text (Alternative Text)
A text description added to images in HTML that helps search engines understand image content and improves accessibility.
Anchor Text
The visible, clickable text of a hyperlink that tells search engines and users what the linked page is about.
AEO (Answer Engine Optimization)
Optimizing content to be directly cited as answers by AI-powered search engines like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews.
B
C
Core Web Vitals
Three Google metrics — LCP, CLS, and INP — that measure loading speed, visual stability, and interactivity.
CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift)
A Core Web Vital measuring visual stability — how much page content shifts unexpectedly during loading. Good: under 0.1.
Crawlability
A measure of how easily search engine bots can access and navigate your website's pages.
Canonical URL
An HTML element that tells search engines which version of a page is the 'master' copy when duplicate or similar content exists.
Crawl Budget
The number of pages a search engine will crawl on your site within a given timeframe, determined by crawl capacity and demand.
Content Gap Analysis
Identifying topics and keywords your competitors rank for that your website doesn't cover yet.
CTR (Click-Through Rate)
The percentage of people who click on your search result after seeing it, calculated as clicks divided by impressions.
D
Domain Authority (DA/DR)
A third-party metric (by Moz/Ahrefs) predicting how likely a domain is to rank in search results, scored 1-100.
Duplicate Content
Substantially similar content appearing at multiple URLs, which can confuse search engines and dilute ranking signals.
Dwell Time
The amount of time a user spends on a page after clicking a search result before returning to the SERP.
G
GEO (Generative Engine Optimization)
The practice of optimizing content to be cited and recommended by AI-powered search engines like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity.
Google Algorithm
The complex ranking system Google uses to evaluate and rank web pages in search results based on hundreds of signals.
Google Search Console
A free Google tool that helps website owners monitor, maintain, and troubleshoot their site's presence in Google Search results.
Google Analytics
A free web analytics platform that tracks website traffic, user behavior, conversions, and marketing performance.
H
HTTPS (SSL/TLS)
A secure protocol that encrypts data between a user's browser and your website — a confirmed Google ranking signal since 2014.
Hreflang
An HTML attribute that tells search engines which language and regional version of a page to show to users in different locations.
HTTP Status Codes
Three-digit response codes from web servers indicating whether a request succeeded, was redirected, or failed.
I
INP (Interaction to Next Paint)
A Core Web Vital measuring responsiveness — the delay between user interaction and visual response. Good: under 200ms.
Internal Linking
Links between pages on the same website that distribute ranking power and help users and search engines navigate your content.
Indexing
The process by which search engines store and organize web pages in their database so they can be retrieved for search queries.
K
Keyword Density
The percentage of times a keyword appears in content relative to the total word count.
Keyword Stuffing
The practice of overloading a page with keywords in an attempt to manipulate rankings — a violation of Google's spam policies.
Keyword Research
The process of finding and analyzing search terms people enter into search engines to use for SEO and content strategy.
Keyword Cannibalization
When multiple pages on your site compete for the same keyword, diluting ranking potential and confusing search engines.
L
LCP (Largest Contentful Paint)
A Core Web Vital that measures how long it takes for the largest visible content element to render. Good: under 2.5s.
Link Equity (Link Juice)
The ranking value that flows from one page to another through hyperlinks, distributing authority across your site.
Long-Tail Keywords
Specific, multi-word search phrases with lower volume but higher conversion rates and less competition.
Local SEO
Optimizing your online presence to attract more customers from relevant local searches on Google and maps.
M
O
On-Page SEO
Optimizing individual web pages — content, HTML tags, headings, and internal links — to rank higher in search results.
Open Graph (OG Tags)
HTML meta tags that control how your pages appear when shared on social media platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn, and Slack.
Off-Page SEO
SEO activities performed outside your website — primarily link building and brand mentions — to improve search rankings.
Organic Traffic
Website visitors who arrive through unpaid search engine results, as opposed to paid ads or direct visits.
R
Rich Snippets (Rich Results)
Enhanced search results that display additional information like ratings, images, prices, or FAQs beyond the standard title and description.
Robots.txt
A text file at your site's root that tells search engine crawlers which pages they can and cannot access.
Redirect Chain
A series of multiple redirects between an initial URL and the final destination, causing SEO and performance issues.
S
SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
The practice of optimizing websites to rank higher in search engine results and drive organic traffic.
Schema Markup (Structured Data)
Code added to your HTML that helps search engines understand your content and display rich results.
SERP (Search Engine Results Page)
The page displayed by a search engine in response to a query, containing organic results, ads, featured snippets, and more.
Search Intent (User Intent)
The underlying purpose behind a search query — whether the user wants to learn, find a specific site, compare options, or buy something.
Structured Data
Standardized code formats (like JSON-LD) that help search engines understand page content and generate rich results.
Sitemap Index
A master sitemap file that references multiple individual sitemaps, used by large websites with more than 50,000 URLs.
Site Architecture
The hierarchical structure and organization of pages on a website, affecting both user navigation and search engine crawling.
SSL Certificate
A digital certificate that encrypts data between a browser and web server, enabling HTTPS and showing a padlock icon.
T
Technical SEO
The practice of optimizing a website's infrastructure so search engines can crawl, index, and render it effectively.
Title Tag
An HTML element that specifies the title of a web page, shown as the clickable headline in search results.
Topical Authority
A website's perceived expertise on a specific subject, built through comprehensive, interlinked content covering all aspects of a topic.