SEO Glossary: 100+ Essential SEO Terms Marketers Should Know in 2022

Do you wish to optimize your website however have hassle speaking with the technical of us operating it? Then, you want an SEO glossary.

Jargon alone should not cease you from making your website the highly effective advertising device it may be.

This is a listing of essentially the most important search engine marketing (SEO) phrases to assist entrepreneurs talk with builders and perceive the best way to optimize their web sites.

# | A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | W | X |

40 SEO Terms You Must Know!


Numbers

2xx standing codes – Code despatched by the server to say that the request was profitable.

301 Redirect– The strategy of completely redirecting a webpage from one URL to a different.

302 Redirect– The strategy of briefly redirecting a webpage from one URL to a different.

4xx standing codes – Code despatched by the server to say that the request was unsuccessful and the knowledge was not discovered.

5xx standing codes – Code despatched by the server to say that there was an issue with the server.

A

Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP) – An open supply venture by Google to assist publishers create webpages and content material which are optimize for all gadgets.

ALT Text/Alt Attribute – An outline of a picture in your website’s HTML. Unlike people, serps learn solely the ALT textual content of pictures, not the photographs themselves. Add ALT textual content to pictures at any time when attainable.

Anchor Text – The precise textual content of a hyperlink to an online web page. On most web sites, this textual content is often darkish blue and underlined, or purple when you’ve visited the hyperlink in the previous. Anchor textual content helps serps perceive what the vacation spot web page is about, it describes what you will note when you click on by.

Authority – How dependable an internet site relies on search engine’s algorithm.

B

Backlink – A hyperlink pointing to an exterior webpage.

Black Hat – Practices that go in opposition to Google’s webmaster pointers.

Blog– A webpage that features weblog posts associated to particular subjects and/or trade.

Bookmark – A hyperlink to an internet site saved for later reference in your internet browser or pc.

Bot – A software program utility that’s programmed to finish particular duties.

Bounce Rate– The quantity of customers who go away a webpage after solely viewingone web page.

Branded Keyword – A search question (key phrase) that refers to a selected model. E.g.: “Nike sneakers”

Breadcrumb – An internet hyperlink that allows you to know the place you might be on an internet site and the way far you might be from the homepage.

Broken Link – A hyperlink that results in a 404 error web page. This can occur if a webpage is eliminated with out a redirect. (See 4xx status codes)

Browser – Software that permits you to entry info and knowledge on the web. The commonest browsers embrace Google Chrome, Safari, and FireFox.

C

Cache – A storage location that collects non permanent knowledge to assist web sites, apps, and browsers load sooner.

Canonical URL – The canonical URL is the most effective tackle on which a consumer can discover a piece of data. Sometimes you may need a scenario the place the identical web page content material could be accessed at multiple tackle. Specifying the canonical URL helps serps perceive which tackle for a bit of content material is the most effective one.

ccTLD – Stands for country-code top-level area and is used to outline the area for a selected nation or area. E.g. www.mysite.co.uk

Cloaking – A black hat follow used to show totally different info on a webpage than what was anticipated.

Conversion Form – A kind by which you acquire details about your website customer. Conversion forms convert site visitors into leads. Collecting contact info helps you observe up with these leads.

Crawler – A program utilized by serps to assemble info on web sites and precisely index them.

CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) – The a part of your code that defines how totally different components of your website look (examples: headers, hyperlinks).

D

Deep Link – This can refer to 2 issues: A hyperlink pointing to content material on a cell utility or a hyperlink pointing a webpage apart from a homepage.

De-Index – When a search engine removes an internet site or webpage from search outcomes.

Disavow – When you inform Google to disregard hyperlinks as a result of they’re low-quality, spam, or synthetic.

Do-follow– A hyperlink that instructs serps to observe the hyperlink as an alternative of the “nofollow” attribute. (See nofollow)

Domain – The primary internet tackle of your website (instance: www.yoursite.com).

E

External hyperlink – A hyperlink that factors to a webpage on one other area. This is often known as a backlink. (See backlink).

F

Featured Snippet – Highlighted excerpts that seem on the high of some Google search outcomes, referred to as place 0.

The Fold – The “fold” is the purpose in your web site the place the web page will get lower off by the underside of a consumer’s monitor or browser window. Anything beneath the fold could be scrolled to however is not seen immediately. Search engines place some precedence on content material above the fold since it is going to be seen immediately by new guests.

G

Google My Business – An area business directory from Google.

Google Search Console – A free Google device that permits you to monitor how an internet site is performing.

Guest Blogging – The follow of publishing a weblog submit on an internet site owned by another person.

H

Header tag – Code used to designate headings and subheadings from paragraphs.

Headings – Section headers in your web site which are positioned within a header tag, akin to an H1 or H2. This textual content is usually introduced in a bigger and stronger font than different textual content on the web page.

HTML – The code a part of your web site that serps learn. Keep your HTML as clear as attainable in order that serps learn your website simply and sometimes. Put as a lot layout-related code as attainable in your CSS as an alternative of your HTML.

I

Image Compression – The follow of cut back a picture’s file dimension to hurry up an online web page.

Indexing – A course of utilized by serps to research the content material of web site and catalog information.

Inbound Link – A hyperlink from one other web site to yours.

Internal Link – A hyperlink from one web page to a different on the identical web site, akin to out of your homepage to your merchandise web page.

Indexed Pages – The pages of your web site which are saved by serps.

J

Javascript– A scripting language that enables web site directors to use numerous results or modifications to the content material of their web site as customers browse it.

Ok

Keyword – A phrase {that a} consumer enters in search. Each internet web page needs to be optimized with the objective of drawing in guests who’ve searched particular key phrases.

Keyword Difficulty – Refers to how aggressive a key phrase is and the way tough it is going to be to rank for it.

Keyword Research – The strategy of trying to find key phrases to focus on in your content material primarily based on quantity, key phrase problem, and different components.

Keyword Stuffing – The overuse of key phrases in your content material in an try to rank increased.

L

Lazy Loading – A way used to enhance web page pace by deferring the loading of an object till it is wanted. An instance of that is the infinite scroll on web sites.

Link Building – The exercise and strategy of getting more inbound links to your web site for improved search engine rankings.

Link Juice – The worth or authority an internet site positive factors when receiving a backlink from a high-authority web site. (See backlink.)

Link Schemes – What Google defines as spammy techniques used to trick Google’s PageRank and improve search rankings by shopping for or promoting hyperlinks, extreme cross-linking, or different manipulative techniques.

Long Tail Keyword – Longer, extra particular queries that embrace greater than three phrases.

M

Metadata – Data that tells serps what your web site is about.

Meta Description – A short description of fewer than 160 characters of the contents of a web page and why somebody would wish to go to it. This is displayed on search engine outcomes pages beneath the web page title as a pattern of the content material on the web page.

Meta Keywords – Previously utilized by serps in the 90s and early 00s to assist decide what an online web page was about, the meta key phrases tag is not utilized by any main serps.

Minification – The follow of eradicating pointless characters in the supply code to assist a web page load sooner with out affecting performance.

Mobile-first Indexing – This refers to Google primarily utilizing the cell model of a webpage for indexing and rating. In the previous, desktop was the go-to.

N

Nofollow – When a hyperlink from one website doesn’t move SEO credit score to a different.

O

Organic traffic– Refers to guests who uncover your web site on the SERPs as an alternative of a paid advert.

P

Page Speed – Refers to how quickly a webpage loads. Influencing components embrace file sizes, the supply code, and the online server.

Page Title – The title you give your internet web page, which is seen on the high your browser window. Page titles ought to include key phrases associated to your online business. Words initially of your web page title are extra extremely weighted than phrases on the finish.

PageRank – A quantity from 0-10, assigned by Google, indicating how good your general SEO is. It is technically referred to as ‘Toolbar PageRank.’

Pagination – When a sequence of content material is damaged up right into a multi-page record. Think of class pages on e-commerce websites.

Panda – Was beforehand a separate Google algorithm to trace down black hat techniques however now’s a part of Google’s core algorithm.

People Also Ask– A function that may present up on the SERP to indicate associated questions and solutions to a question.

PPC (Pay-Per-Click) – Advertising methodology in which an advertiser places an advert in an internet promoting venue and pays that venue every time a customer clicks on his/her advert. Google AdvertWords is the traditional instance of this.

Q

Query – The phrases or phrases a consumer enters right into a search engine.

R

Rank Brain – Machine studying element of Google’s algorithm which works to know queries and ship the most effective outcomes.

Ranking Factor – The components that affect an internet site’s rating on serps.

Redirection – When a URL is moved from one location to a different. (See 301 and 302 Redirect).

Referrer String – A bit of data despatched by a consumer’s browser once they navigate from web page to web page on the net. It contains info on the place they got here from beforehand, which helps site owners perceive how customers are discovering their web site.

Rel=canonical – An HTML tag that tells serps which model of a webpage is unique and which is duplicate when there are a number of pages with related content material. (See canonical)

Responsive design – A design follow that enables an internet site to adapt to any machine it is considered on, making it a greater consumer expertise.

Robots.txt – A textual content file that tells search engine crawlers which areas of your web site are accessible and which of them they need to ignore.

RSS Feed – RSS stands for ‘actually easy syndication.’ It is a subscription-based method to get updates on new content material from an online supply. Set up an RSS feed to your web site or weblog to assist your followers keep up to date if you launch new content material.

S

Search Intent – Refers to the explanation why a consumer conducts a search.

Search Volume – The variety of instances a key phrase is searched in a given interval, often a month.

Seasonal Trends – Natural improve and reduce of key phrases throughout particular instances of the yr. E.g.: The key phrase “Halloween costume” sees a rise in the autumn months and a dip in the spring and summer season.

Seed Keyword – Short-tail key phrase, often known as a root key phrase, which is the first key phrase you wish to rank for and regarded the umbrella time period.

SEO– Stands for search engine marketing and refers back to the techniques used to optimize your web site web page to achieve and keep a excessive rating on serps for specific key phrases.

SERP (Search Engine Ranking Page) – The web page that you’re despatched to after you run a question in a search engine. It usually has 10 outcomes on it, however this will range relying on the question and search engine in query.

Sitemap – A particular doc created by a webmaster or a bit of software program that gives a map of all of the pages on an internet site to make it simpler for a search engine to index that web site.

Social Media – Online social networks used to create on-line communities.

Spider – Also referred to as an online crawler, it is a pc program that browses the web and collects details about web sites. (See crawler)

SSL Certificate – Stands for “Secure Sockets Layer” and is used to encrypt knowledge that passes between an online server and the browser. A web site with out an SSL certificates is susceptible to hackers who could achieve entry to confidential info.

Status Code – The response code despatched by a server following a request. (See common status codes)

Structured Data – Any set of knowledge that’s organized and tagged to assist serps perceive the knowledge.

Subdomain – A subsection of a main area used to raised set up your web site and permit simpler navigation.

T

Traffic – The quantity of visits to your web site.

Title Tag – The title of a web page in your web site, which is enclosed in a HTML tag, within the top part of the web page. It seems in search engine outcomes and on the high of a consumer’s internet browser when they’re on that web page.

Traffic Rank – The rating of how a lot site visitors your website will get in comparison with all different websites on the web.

U

Unnatural Links – What Google describes as creating hyperlinks {that a} website proprietor would not vouch for or place for editorial causes. (See link schemes).

URL – The internet tackle of a web page in your website (instance: www.yoursite.com/contact).

User Experience (UX) – Refers to the sensation customers have when interacting with a product, service, or (in the context of SEO) an internet site or cell utility.

W

White Hat – SEO techniques that adjust to finest practices and do not manipulate serps.

Website Navigation– The components and elements on a web page that assist you to simply entry the varied webpages on an internet site.

X

XML– Stands for extensible markup language which is utilized by serps to know web site knowledge.

XML Sitemap – A file that lists an internet site’s vital pages in order that serps can simply discover and crawl them.

Editor’s Note: This submit was initially revealed in Dec. 2011 and has been up to date for comprehensiveness.