What Is...?

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→

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→

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→

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→

EEATExperience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness→ Ecommerce SEOSEO strategies tailored for online stores and product pages→ EventA tracked user interaction (click, scroll, form submit) in analytics→

FredInformal name for Google updates targeting low-quality, ad-heavy content→

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-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→

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→

JavaScript SEOEnsuring JavaScript-rendered content is properly crawled and indexed→

KeywordA word or phrase that users type into search engines→ Keyword DensityThe percentage of times a keyword appears relative to total word count→

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→

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→

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→

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→

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→

QueryThe word or phrase a user types into a search engine→

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→

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→

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→

URLUniform Resource Locator — the web address of a specific page→ UTMURL parameters used to track traffic sources in analytics tools→

Voice Search OptimizationOptimizing content to appear as spoken answers in voice search results→

Web 2.0The era of user-generated, interactive web content→

XML SitemapA machine-readable sitemap for search engine consumption→

YMYLYour Money or Your Life — pages Google holds to the highest quality standards→