A
7 terms
AEOAnswer Engine Optimization — optimizing for direct AI answers→
AI OptimizationTailoring content and structure for AI-driven search results→
AI OverviewGoogle's AI-generated summaries shown above organic results→
AlgorithmThe rules and systems search engines use to rank pages→
AllowRobots.txt directive that permits crawlers to access specific paths→
Alt AttributeHTML attribute describing an image to search engines and screen readers→
Anchor TextThe visible, clickable text of a hyperlink→
B
7 terms
BacklinkA link from one website pointing to another→
BERTGoogle's NLP model that understands context and query intent→
Black Hat SEOManipulative tactics that violate search engine guidelines→
BotsAutomated programs that crawl, index, and interact with websites→
Brand MentionAny reference to a brand online, linked or unlinked→
BreadcrumbsNavigational trail showing a user's location within a website→
Broken LinksHyperlinks that lead to non-existent or unavailable pages→
C
12 terms
Canonical TagHTML tag that designates the preferred version of a page→
ClicksThe number of times users click your result in Google Search→
CLSCumulative Layout Shift — Core Web Vital measuring visual stability→
CloakingShowing different content to users versus search engine bots→
Content PruningRemoving or consolidating low-quality pages to strengthen a site→
Core Web VitalsGoogle's key metrics measuring real-world user experience→
Crawl BudgetThe number of pages Googlebot will crawl within a given timeframe→
Crawl DelayA robots.txt setting controlling the pause between bot requests→
Crawl StatsData on how Googlebot crawled your site in a given period→
CrawlingThe process by which search engine bots discover and scan pages→
CROConversion Rate Optimisation — increasing the % of visitors who convert→
CTRClick Through Rate — percentage of impressions that result in a click→
D
4 terms
DisallowRobots.txt directive blocking crawlers from specific paths→
Do Follow BacklinkA standard backlink that passes link equity to the target page→
Domain AuthorityMoz's 0–100 score predicting how well a domain will rank in search→
Domain RatingAhrefs' 0–100 score measuring the strength of a website's backlink profile→
E
3 terms
EEATExperience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness→
Ecommerce SEOSEO strategies tailored for online stores and product pages→
EventA tracked user interaction (click, scroll, form submit) in analytics→
G
9 terms
GEOGenerative Engine Optimization — optimizing for AI-generated answers→
Google AnalyticsGoogle's free platform for tracking and analyzing website traffic→
Google Business ProfileGoogle's free tool for managing a business's presence in local search→
Google Core UpdateMajor changes to Google's ranking algorithm released periodically→
Google DiscoverGoogle's personalized content feed on Android and mobile Chrome→
Google Looker StudioGoogle's free data visualization and reporting tool→
Google Ranking SystemsThe collection of algorithms Google uses to rank search results→
Google Tag ManagerA tag management system for deploying marketing and analytics tags→
Guest PostAn article written for another site to earn backlinks and reach new audiences→
H
5 terms
H-TagHTML heading elements (H1–H6) that structure page content→
Helpful Content SystemGoogle's system rewarding content made for people, not search engines→
HTML SitemapA page listing all links on a website for users and search engines→
HTTPSSecure protocol encrypting data between browser and server→
Hummingbird2013 Google update focused on conversational and semantic search→
I
6 terms
ImpressionsThe number of times your page appears in Google search results→
Inbound LinksLinks pointing to your site from other websites — same as backlinks→
IndexingThe process by which search engines store and organize discovered pages→
INPInteraction to Next Paint — Core Web Vital measuring responsiveness→
IntentThe underlying goal behind a user's search query→
Internal LinkA hyperlink pointing from one page to another on the same website→
K
2 terms
KeywordA word or phrase that users type into search engines→
Keyword DensityThe percentage of times a keyword appears relative to total word count→
L
3 terms
LCPLargest Contentful Paint — Core Web Vital measuring load speed→
Link JuiceThe ranking power passed from one page to another via backlinks→
Local SEOOptimizing a website to appear in local and map-based search results→
M
6 terms
Manual ActionA human-applied Google penalty for violating webmaster guidelines→
Meta DataHTML tags providing information about a page to search engines→
Meta DescriptionA brief HTML summary of a page shown in search results→
Meta TitleThe HTML title tag that appears as the headline in search results→
Mobilegeddon2015 Google update boosting mobile-friendly pages in mobile search→
MUMMultitask Unified Model — Google's AI for understanding complex queries→
N
3 terms
Neural MatchingGoogle's system for understanding the meaning behind search queries→
NLPNatural Language Processing — AI that understands human language→
No Follow BacklinkA backlink with rel="nofollow" that doesn't pass link equity→
O
4 terms
Off-Page SEOSEO activities done outside your website, like link building and PR→
On-Page SEOOptimizing content and HTML elements within individual webpages→
Orphan PagesPages with no internal links pointing to them from other site pages→
Outbound LinksLinks from your site pointing to external websites→
P
12 terms
Page Experience Update2021 Google update incorporating Core Web Vitals as ranking factors→
PageRankGoogle's original algorithm measuring a page's authority via backlinks→
Panda2011 Google update targeting thin, duplicate, and low-quality content→
Parasite SEOPublishing on high-authority platforms to rank faster via borrowed domain authority→
PBNPrivate Blog Network — a black hat link-building scheme→
Penguin2012 Google update targeting manipulative link-building practices→
People Also AskSERP feature showing related questions with expandable answers→
Pigeon2014 Google update that improved local search results→
PositionThe average ranking position of your page in Google search results→
Press ReleaseAn official statement distributed to media to announce news→
Programmatic SEOAuto-generating large numbers of pages from structured data to rank at scale→
Public RelationsManaging a brand's reputation and media coverage to support SEO→
R
4 terms
RankBrainGoogle's machine learning system for interpreting search queries→
Review SnippetsStar ratings and review data displayed in search results→
Review SystemsGoogle's algorithms for evaluating and ranking review content→
Robots.txtA file that tells search bots which pages to crawl or skip→
S
10 terms
SchemaStructured data markup that helps search engines understand content→
Search EngineA system (like Google or Bing) that indexes and ranks web pages→
SemanticRelating to the meaning and context of words in content→
SEOSearch Engine Optimization — improving visibility in search results→
SitemapA file listing all pages of a website to help search engines crawl it→
Skyscraper TechniqueFind top-linked content, create better version, outreach to earn those links→
SlugThe URL-friendly part of a web address identifying a specific page→
Social GraphThe network of relationships between users on social platforms→
SpiderAnother name for a search engine bot that crawls the web→
SSL CertificateA digital certificate enabling HTTPS and encrypting connections→
T
5 terms
TagA code snippet used to track user behavior or fire marketing pixels→
Technical SEOOptimizing the infrastructure of a website for search engine crawling→
TitleThe HTML title tag identifying a page's topic in search results→
Topical AuthorityA site's depth of expertise and coverage on a specific subject area→
TriggerA rule in Google Tag Manager determining when a tag fires→
U
2 terms
URLUniform Resource Locator — the web address of a specific page→
UTMURL parameters used to track traffic sources in analytics tools→