Are you tired of looking for the meanings of SEO terms you hear daily? No need to Worry! This blog post is an SEO glossary that covers 35 essential SEO terms. 

If you are familiar with SEO or search engine optimization, you know that it is a wide area with many concepts, terms, abbreviations & definitions. To get the maximum outcome from your SEO efforts, you should have an idea of the SEO glossary. In this blog post, you can see 35 essential SEO terms with definitions.

SEO glossary :40 SEO terms

Let’s start our SEO glossary.

1.SEO (Search Engine Optimization)

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. It is the practice of optimizing a website to enhance its visibility and rankings in search engine results pages (SERPs). In simple terms, SEO involves changing a website’s design, structure, and content to make it more appealing to search engines like Google.

The main goal of SEO is to increase organic (non-paid) traffic to a website. When a website ranks higher in search results, it receives more clicks and visitors. SEO helps businesses & website owners draw relevant and targeted traffic to their websites, & increase brand visibility, engagement, and possible conversions.

2.SERP (Search Engine Results Page)

The page that Search engines display as the response to a user’s search query is known as the SERP. The SERP consists of a list of related websites, featured snippets, ads & other elements.

In SEO, the SERP is important because the ultimate goal of optimizing a website is to rank it higher on SERP & get more visibility & organic traffic. 

Understanding the layout and elements of SERPs is crucial for crafting effective SEO strategies and optimizing a website’s performance in search results.

3.SERP Features

SERP features are extra elements shown on a search engine results page alongside standard organic listings. These features give brief information or other options to users. These SERP features contain image carousals, local packs, featured snippets, knowledge panels & more. 

SERP features offer options to improve visibility and grab user attention beyond organic listings. Optimizing content for these features increases a website’s visibility and engagement.

 

4.Organic Traffic

Organic traffic is the visitors who come to a website through unpaid search engine results. Organic traffic depends on the relevancy & visibility of website content. When a website is in search results & a person clicks on it, that generates organic traffic. 

Implementing effective SEO strategies helps website owners increase their organic traffic. And it results in higher visibility, engagement, and potential conversions. Organic traffic is valuable because it is free and provides long-term benefits. 

5.301 Redirect

A 301 redirect is a permanent redirect from one URL to another. 301 appears when a web page has been moved or permanently removed. And it ensures that users and search engines are directed to the new URL. 

For example, if a website changes its domain name, implementing a 301 redirect will automatically send visitors and search engine bots to the new page. That helps preserve the SEO value and ranking of the original page.

6.Alt Text

Alt text is known as Alt attribute & Alt tag as well. Alt text (alternative text) is descriptive text added to an image tag in HTML. In simple terms, Alt-text is a description of an image you put on your website.

It delivers information about the image’s content to search engines and helps improve accessibility for visually impaired users. Alt text should be straightforward, clarifying, and relevant to the image. 

For example, if there is an image of a black car on a white background, the alt text could be ” A black car on a white background.”

Try to use your focus keyword as Alt text to optimize the image for search results. Alt-text is an amazing way to boost the search engine ranking of your website. 

 

7.Backlink

A backlink is a hyperlink from one specific website to another website. It is an essential factor in SEO, as search engines consider backlinks as a vote of confidence for a website’s credibility and authority. When a reputed website links to another site, it means to search engines that the linked site is reliable and valuable. For example, if a popular technology blog links to a software company’s website, search engines analyze this as an endorsement of the software company’s expertise. The more high-quality backlinks a website receives, the higher its chances of ranking well in search engine results.

 

8.Canonical URL

This URL is the preferred version of a webpage that search engines should treat as the authoritative source. It helps prevent duplicate content & consolidates ranking signals for a single URL. Duplicate content happens when the same or similar content appears on multiple web pages. By specifying a canonical URL, you can indicate the primary version of the content that search engines should consider for indexing and ranking. 

 

9.Crawlability

Crawlability is the search engine’s ability to crawl and index web pages. Search engine bots, also known as crawlers or spiders, visit websites to find and explore their content. If a website is crawlable, the bots can access and navigate its pages efficiently. 

A clear website structure, fewer technical issues & proper internal linking helps to have good crawlability. When a website is easily crawlable, search engines can index its pages and show them in search results. On the other hand, if a website is not crawlable, search engines will struggle to comprehend its content & it leads to poor visibility and lower rankings.

 

10.Crawler

Crawlers, often known as spiders or bots, are programs that search engines utilize to investigate and index web pages. Crawlers are automated software agents that surf the web in a systematic way, tracking links from one website to the next. Their main goal is to find fresh content, update old data, and collect information about websites.

A crawler analyzes the content of a webpage, including text, graphics, and links, when it visits it. Following such links to other pages, the crawler builds a network of interconnected web pages. This approach enables search engines to uncover and index a massive volume of material on the internet.

11.Off-Page SEO

Off-page SEO refers to actions taken outside of a website to raise its visibility and search engine rankings. Creating backlinks, promoting on social media, reaching out to influencers, and managing your online reputation are all included in this. Off-page SEO signals show search engines how popular, authoritative, and relevant a website is. 

Off-page SEO tactics improve a website’s standing and authority in the online community, which will ultimately improve its search engine ranks.

 

12.On-Page SEO

On-page SEO entails improving specific web pages to raise their visibility and search engine rankings. It involves improving the content, headings, URLs, and internal links. Search engines can comprehend the content and context of a web page thanks to on-page SEO techniques. 

By matching a website’s content to search engine algorithms and user expectations, on-page SEO can boost ranks and enhance user experience.

 

13.Keyword

A keyword is a word or phrase that people type into search engines to obtain information. Finding the most useful and relevant keywords for a website’s content is made easier by keyword research. SEO success depends on selecting the right keywords because they help match a website’s content with users’ search intentions. 

Website owners improve their chances of ranking in search results when visitors type in relevant keywords by focusing those keywords on their content. For instance, appropriate keywords for a website selling running shoes may be “best-running shoes” or “athletic footwear.”

The website can draw organic traffic from those looking for terms by properly including these keywords across its content.

 

14.Long-tail Keywords

Longer and more precise keyword phrases are known as long-tail keywords. They are useful for focusing on a certain audience, and as there is frequently less competition, it is simpler to rank higher in search engine results. Long-tail keywords are more precise and represent users’ exact search intentions as opposed to generic or broad keywords. 

The broad keyword “shoes,” for instance, might be used, but a long-tail keyword might be “men’s blue running shoes with arch support.” 

By including long-tail keywords in content, website owners can target a more focused audience and capture useful traffic that is more likely to convert into customers.

 

15.Schema Markup

Structured data that is inserted into HTML code, known as schema markup, aids search engines in comprehending the content of a web page. It can increase visibility and enrich search results with rich snippets. Schema markup gives various items on a web page, such as products, reviews, events, and organizations, more context and meaning. 

Website owners can employ schema markup to enhance their content’s appeal and usefulness to both users and search engines, potentially boosting click-through rates and exposure.

16.Anchor Text 

Anchor text is clickable text within a hyperlink. The purpose of an anchor text is to give an idea about the website/webpage that is linked. For example, if you want to guide people to one of your previous blog articles, you can use the name of that blog article.

example: Ultimate SEO checklist you must know

17.Authority website

An authority website is a website that has gained the trust of its audience. Search engines, industry experts & other websites also trust these websites. Since authority websites produce high-quality content, search engines give a high domain ranking for them. 

It takes a lot of effort to create an authoritative website. Webmasters have to publish high-quality content continuously for the target audience.

18.Authority

The capacity of a website to appear higher on search engine result pages is known as authority. There are five factors to take into account while determining the authority rating. backlink profile, page age, traffic patterns, the caliber of the content on the page, and technical SEO

Government and educational websites typically have more authority.

19.Algorithm 

Advanced computer software search engines employ to extract data and present results for a query. Based on many ranking elements and signals, search engines use a combination of algorithms to display rated web pages via a results page.

 

20.Black hat SEO

Black hat SEO is a process of increasing web page ranking by using things that violate search engine guidelines. These strategies generate content to manipulate search engines while ignoring humans and their experiences.

Following are some black hat SEO tactics,

• Keyword stuffing
• Doorway pages
• Content Automation
• Hidden links or texts
• Cloaking
• Paid links
• Article Spinning
• Duplicate Content

 

21.Bounce Rate 

The percentage of people who leave the webpage without interacting is known as the bounce rate. These people left the webpage without taking actions like clicking a link, filling out a form, or making a purchase.

The average bounce rate could be between 26% & 70%. If you can, it would be better to bring it between 26% & 40%. You must keep a lower bounce rate for your website. The causes for a higher bounce rate can be slow loading, low-quality content, too many ads on the page, no relevant content, or an unresponsive landing page.

 

22.Blog Commenting

Commenting on blogs was a common link-building strategy used by many. Website owners used to find blog posts relevant to their industry & posted comments with a link to their websites. 

But this strategy is a cause for debate these days. Now Google bans links from useless & spam websites. 

As you can see, this strategy can do more harm than good. Having said that, there are still times when this is suitable. Leaving an insightful comment on a blog post can help you create connections in your market segment and lead to guest posting opportunities. You may not receive link equity, but you can expect increased traffic.

 

23.Core Web vitals

A group of specialized website performance measures known as Core Web Vitals is used to gauge user satisfaction and page load times. Core Web Vitals are crucial for SEO since search engines like Google take them into account when assessing the quality and user experience of websites. Search engine results are more likely to favor websites that offer a rapid and seamless browsing experience, with quick page loads and few layout changes. By optimizing Core Web Vitals, a website can increase customer satisfaction, lower bounce rates, and eventually achieve higher organic rankings.

 

24.Direct Traffic

Direct traffic in Google Analytics refers to visitors who arrive at the website by typing the URL into their browser or clicking on a bookmark. Google will also count any traffic sources it doesn’t recognize as direct traffic.

 

25.Directory 

A directory is a collection of web pages typically organized into comparable topics and edited by people. Included listings may be free or paid, depending on the directory.

 

26.Google Analytics

Google Analytics is a tool from Google that you can use to monitor your audience behavior, traffic sources & more. Since it is a free tool, you can use it to enhance your website. 

 

27.Google

In 1998, Larry Page & Sergey Brin founded Google. Google is the most popular search engine in almost every country on Earth. Google has become a part of millions of people daily. 

 

28.Google Panda Algorithm

Google Panda Algorithm is a major algorithm update by Google in 2011. The purpose of this algorithm was to reduce the visibility of low-quality content. In 2016, this algorithm became a core ranking algorithm.

 

29.Link Juice 

Link juice is a slang term for the amount of authority a backlink gives to another website, strengthening it. Links from other websites are viewed by search engines as endorsements of the importance and quality of your page.

Link building on the web can be done in many ways, both directly and indirectly. The term “direct effort” describes link-building techniques including sharing, guest blogging, social media marketing, news release distribution, and others. The indirect effort is obtained by providing compelling material on your website that encourages people to automatically distribute it over the internet, linking the pages.

 

30.Meta Description

Meta descriptions are the snippets of information under the blue link of search results. The purpose of meta descriptions is to explain the content of a webpage to the searcher. Meta descriptions persuade people to click through your website. 

Meta descriptions are essential because they tell Google what your webpage is. If Google can read and understand the content of your meta description, they will have a better chance of ranking your page to respond to search queries.

According to Google, a meta description must tell people about the web page. The search engine ranks results depending on the info in the meta description.

Consider meta descriptions to be a sales pitch for your website. Mention why the page will benefit the reader and ensure that it describes what’s on the page. If readers do not find what the meta description promises, they will most likely click away.

 

31.Outbound links

Outbound links are links that direct visitors from one website to another.

They are frequently used within the content to add context and to direct readers to another origin that contains additional important information about the subject at hand.

Outbound links are known as authority links. It is a term derived from the fact that authors frequently use outbound links to back up details in their blog posts and link out to credible sources.

 

32.Pay-Per-Click (PPC)

A form of advertising in which the advertiser puts an ad online and pays the website each time a user clicks on it. The most famous example of this is Google AdWords.

 

33.Query

The phrases or words that users type into search engines to get information are known as a query.

 

34.Ranking Factor

A search engine utilizes a ranking factor to determine the optimum arrangement of related, indexed results returned for a search query.

The quality and relevancy of the search results are sorted by ranking factors, which are signals used by search engines.

To increase rankings, search engine optimization essentially involves improving websites by these signals.

 

35.Title Tag

The title tag of a webpage is an HTML component that clarifies the title. A title tag is part of a search snippet on a search engine result page (SERP). It is a clickable headline on the search snippet. 

A title tag is essential for search engine optimization, user experience & social sharing. A title tag should clearly & correctly explain the content of the page.

Google hasn’t specifically said the optimum length of a title tag. But as a standard, most websites keep the title tag between 50-60 characters. If your title tag is within 60 characters, there is a 90% chance your title displays properly on SERP. 

Writing precise title tags is essential for human readability. Plus, search engine crawlers look at the title tag when they crawl the page. 

 

36.Webpage 

A web page is a document you can access through web browsers & it is available on the world wide web.

 

37.Website 

A collection of web pages with a common domain name is known as a website. A website is the central location of web pages that you can access by going to the homepage. 

38.WordPress 

WordPress is an open-source content management system (CMS). You can use this software to create websites & blogs without any coding skills. WordPress is a free tool anyone can use. 

39.XML 

Extensible Markup Language, sometimes known as XML, is a popular markup language that establishes a set of guidelines for encoding texts in a way that is both machine- and human-readable. It is a common option for describing and transmitting information between various systems and platforms since it offers a structured manner to store and convey data. XML employs tags to define items and attributes to give those elements further details. Users can create their own unique tags and data structures thanks to its flexibility and extensibility.

40.XML Sitemap

Conclusion

Search Engine Optimization is a collection of techniques you can use to improve the ranking of your website. This topic may be a complex area for you to understand. That is why we have created this SEO glossary which contains 35 essential SEO terms. I hope this SEO glossary helped you to understand the SEO terms you need for your SEO efforts. 

If you need any assistance on your company’s  SEO efforts, our team at DigiFix is more than happy to help you. Contact us for more information.

You may like following articles as well, 

Google Ranking Factors for SEO : 200 FACTORS

Ultimate SEO checklist you must know : with 11 practices