SEO Glossary

Content that goes far beyond what currently ranks, offering much more depth and value.

A permanent redirect that sends visitors and search engines to a new page.

A temporary redirect letting search engines know the move is not permanent.

A server response telling the browser the saved version is still valid.

A message that the page cannot be found on the server.

A response saying a page was intentionally removed and will not return.

The number of times an ad is displayed, whether users click or not.

Ensuring a website is accessible to users with disabilities.

Ahrefs’ crawler that scans the web for links and pages.

A written description of an image for search engines and screen readers.

The clickable text in a hyperlink that provides context.

Rewriting content repeatedly to create many versions of the same article.

Republishing an article on other websites with permission.

Content created automatically by scripts or tools.

Links from one website to another that signal authority and trust.

Microsoft’s platform for monitoring how your site performs in Bing.

Bing’s crawler that gathers website data for its search index.

Tactics that break search engine rules to gain rankings quickly.

The percentage of visitors who leave without interacting with the page.

Content created by a brand to reflect its message or identity.

Keywords that include your brand or product names.

A navigation trail showing users where they are within a site.

A page created mainly to send users to another URL.

A link that points to a page that no longer exists.

A stored version of a page saved by search engines.

Code that tells search engines which version of a page is the main one.

The preferred version of a page among similar or duplicate ones.

Showing search engines one version of a page and users another.

When two pages are mentioned together on another page.

Keywords that frequently appear together around a topic.

Content created by software instead of a human.

A network of servers that deliver your site faster to users worldwide.

Identifying topics competitors cover that your site does not.

How closely a page matches what the user wants.

A group of related pages connected around a main topic.

Google’s measurements of loading, interactivity, and visual stability.

Your most important, authoritative pages on key topics.

The number of pages a search engine will crawl on your site.

How easily search engines can access your pages.

Software that scans the internet to collect and index pages.

The full path someone takes from discovering your brand to becoming a customer.

A link that passes ranking value to the page it points to.

A score estimating a site’s backlink strength.

How a domain and its folders or subdomains are arranged.

A page created just to rank and send traffic elsewhere.

Identical or very similar content found in multiple places.

How long a visitor stays before returning to search results.

A URL that changes based on filters or parameters.

Filters on large sites that help users narrow choices.

Content available only after submitting details.

A page created to rank but offering little useful content.

A tool that notifies you about new content matching chosen topics.

Google’s system for ranking pages.

A tool that tracks visitor behavior on your website.

Suggested search terms as you type.

Manipulating search results for humorous or political purposes.

A listing showing business information on Google Search and Maps.

An update that let Google index the web faster.

An update targeting thin or low quality content.

A ranking drop for violating guidelines.

An update targeting spammy or manipulative links.

An update improving local search accuracy.

The idea that new sites may initially rank lower.

A tool that helps monitor how your site performs in Google Search.

A change affecting pages overloaded with ads near the top.

Best practices recommended by Google.

The old name for Google Search Console.

Google’s primary web crawler.

SEO methods that fall between ethical and unethical.

SEO methods that fall between ethical and unethical.

An infographic pitched to other sites for publishing.

The main heading of a webpage.

The H1 to H6 tags used for structuring content.

A method used to identify expert pages.

Improving your site from all angles, not just keywords.

Code showing which language or region a page targets.

A server message confirming the request was successful.

A secure version of HTTP that encrypts data.

Another term for a backlink pointing to your site.

Too many unimportant pages getting indexed.

How well search engines can store and understand your pages.

A search intended to learn something.

A link pointing to another page on the same website.

A full screen ad that appears between content.

Making JavaScript heavy sites easier for search bots to read.

When multiple pages compete for the same keyword.

Grouping related keywords for stronger content.

How often a keyword appears in the content.

How hard it is to rank for a keyword.

Your position in the search results for a keyword.

Google identifying different forms of a root word.

Overloading content with keywords to manipulate rankings.

Words or phrases people search for.

The page a visitor arrives on after clicking a link or ad.

A technique for understanding relationships between words and content.

Content designed to attract backlinks.

Earning links from other websites.

Value passed from one page to another through links.

Two sites agreeing to link to each other.

A group of sites created just for link building.

The authority passed through links.

How quickly a site gains backlinks.

Structured data for local business details.

Mentions of your name, address, and phone number.

The group of local business results shown for local searches.

Improving visibility for local customers.

Optimizing your online presence for local search results.

Reviewing server logs to study search bot behaviors.

A very specific phrase with lower search volume.

A misunderstood term often used to mean related keywords.

The complete set of backlinks pointing to a site.

Recovering lost or broken links.

Links breaking over time.

Tactics used to manipulate PageRank.

Irrelevant links added to manipulate rankings.

Another word for anchor text.

A penalty given manually by Google.

A short summary of a page shown in search results.

Older tags used by some search engines.

A redirect triggered after a timed delay.

Instructions for search engines on how to treat a page.

HTML elements providing information about a webpage.

An identical copy of a site hosted elsewhere.

Google using the mobile version of your site for ranking.

Your business name, address, and phone number.

A computer’s ability to interpret human language.

A link given voluntarily without prompting.

A search intending to reach a specific site.

Attempts to harm a competitor’s rankings.

A link attribute telling search engines not to count it.

A directive preventing a page from being indexed.

A link attribute that improves security in new tab openings.

Keyword data that Google hides for privacy reasons.

SEO work done away from your website.

Optimization done directly on your site’s pages.

Code controlling how your content looks when shared socially.

Listings earned naturally instead of through ads.

Visitors arriving through unpaid search results.

A page with no internal links to it.

A link pointing from your site to another site.

How long your page takes to load.

Google’s original formula for evaluating link value.

A link purchased for placement.

A box showing related questions in search results.

A broad page covering a central topic.

Users bouncing between results when they cannot find what they want.

The main keyword a page targets.

A network of sites built solely for link building.

Google showing fresher content when relevant.

A machine learning system that helps Google interpret queries.

Two sites linking to each other.

A request asking Google to lift a penalty.

Suggested related queries shown in search results.

A shorter URL path that omits the full domain.

Pages listing useful external links.

A search result with extra details pulled from structured data.

A file telling search engines where they can crawl.

Code that helps search engines understand your content.

The rules search engines use to decide rankings.

How much of the potential clicks you capture in rankings.

The words a user types into a search engine.

The list of pages returned for a query.

What a user hopes to achieve with their search.

The pages displayed after a search.

Creating fake sites that look legitimate in search.

Structuring content into related groups.

Evaluating your site’s SEO performance.

Improving your site to gain organic traffic.

Basic starting keywords for research.

A protocol for secure connections.

Additional supportive keywords for a topic.

The average number of monthly searches for a keyword.

How often your brand appears in search compared to others.

Broad keywords with high search volumes.

Extra links that show up under some search results.

Files listing all pages you want indexed.

A link appearing across all pages.

Manipulating search results with spammy tactics.

A tag marking paid or sponsored links.

Image code for choosing the right version based on screen size.

Standardized code describing content to search engines.

A separate section of a site before the main domain.

Organizing content structures for better visibility.

Improving your site’s technical foundation.

A measure showing how important a word is in a document.

Content with little helpful value.

Building links to pages that already link to your site.

The title shown in search results.

The last part of a domain such as .com or .org.

A search with purchase intent.

A security protocol replacing SSL.

A system that distinguishes trustworthy sites from spam.

How closely related two pieces of content are.

Tag used on user generated content links.

Search results including videos, news, images, and more.

Links that seem forced or manipulative.

A score showing the strength of a page’s link profile.

The part of a URL that comes after the slash.

The real purpose behind the search.

A search engine focused on one niche.

Searching by speaking out loud.

A metric estimating how strong a domain is.

Any request made to the server, including loading files.

How pages are arranged and linked.

Content created to cheat search engines.

Ethical SEO practices that follow guidelines.

A server directive that tells search engines how to treat a file.

Pages that affect a person’s money, life, health, or safety.

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