A
Above the Fold
Content visible without scrolling....
Ahrefs
Popular SEO toolset for backlink and keyword analysis....
Algorithm
A set of rules and calculations used by search engines to determine the ranking ...
Alt Text
Alternative text descriptions added to images that help search engines understan...
AMP
Accelerated Mobile Pages for fast mobile loading....
Anchor Text
The clickable text in a hyperlink. Anchor text helps search engines understand w...
B
Backlink
A link from one website to another. Backlinks are one of the most important rank...
Black Hat SEO
Unethical SEO practices that violate search engine guidelines to manipulate rank...
Blog
Regularly updated website section with articles....
Bounce Rate
The percentage of visitors who leave a website after viewing only one page....
Branded Keywords
Search terms including brand names....
Breadcrumbs
A navigation aid that shows users their location within a website's hierarchy....
Broken Link
A hyperlink that no longer works....
C
Call to Action (CTA)
Prompt encouraging users to take action....
Canonical URL
The preferred version of a web page when multiple URLs contain similar content....
Click-Through Rate (CTR)
The percentage of users who click on a search result after seeing it....
Cloaking
Showing different content to users and search engines....
Content Audit
Systematic review of website content....
Content Gap
Topics competitors cover that you don't....
Content Marketing
A strategic approach focused on creating valuable content to attract and retain ...
Conversion Rate
The percentage of website visitors who complete a desired action....
Core Web Vitals
A set of metrics measuring real-world user experience for loading, interactivity...
Cornerstone Content
Most important, comprehensive content....
Crawl Budget
The number of pages a search engine will crawl on a website within a given timef...
Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS)
Core Web Vital measuring visual stability....
D
Deep Link
Link to a specific page rather than homepage....
Disavow Tool
Google tool to ignore certain backlinks....
Domain Authority
A metric that predicts how likely a website is to rank in search engine results....
Domain Authority (DA)
A Moz metric predicting how well a website will rank. Scores range from 1 to 100...
Domain Name
The address used to access a website....
Duplicate Content
Content that appears on the internet in more than one place....
Dwell Time
The amount of time a user spends on a page after clicking a search result....
E
F
G
Geo-Targeting
Delivering content based on location....
Google Algorithm Update
Changes to Google's ranking algorithm....
Google Analytics
A free web analytics service that tracks and reports website traffic....
Google Business Profile
A free tool for managing business presence across Google Search and Maps....
Google Discover
Personalized content feed on mobile....
Google Penalty
Punishment for violating guidelines....
Google Search Console
A free Google tool for monitoring site presence in search results....
Guest Posting
Writing content on another website to build backlinks and brand awareness....
H
H1 Tag
The main heading tag on a webpage. Each page should have one H1....
Header Tags
HTML tags (H1-H6) for content structure....
Hreflang
An HTML attribute for specifying language and geographic targeting....
HTTP Status Codes
Server response codes like 200, 301, 404....
HTTPS
Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure - encrypted connection between browser and se...
I
Image Optimization
Reducing image sizes and adding alt text....
Impressions
The number of times a page appears in search results....
Indexing
The process by which search engines add web pages to their database....
Information Architecture
Structural design of website content....
Internal Link
A hyperlink pointing to another page on the same website....
J
K
Keyword
A word or phrase users type into search engines to find information....
Keyword Cannibalization
When multiple pages compete for the same keyword....
Keyword Density
The percentage of times a keyword appears compared to total word count....
Keyword Difficulty
A metric estimating how hard it is to rank for a keyword....
Keyword Research
The process of discovering search terms for SEO and content strategy....
Knowledge Graph
Google's knowledge base for entities....
Knowledge Panel
Info box in search results for entities....
L
Landing Page
A standalone page created for marketing campaigns to convert visitors....
Largest Contentful Paint (LCP)
A Core Web Vital measuring largest content element load time....
Link Bait
Content created to attract backlinks....
Authority Building
The process of acquiring hyperlinks from other websites....
Link Equity
The value passed from one page to another through hyperlinks....
Link Outreach
Contacting sites for backlinks....
Link Profile
Complete collection of backlinks to a site....
Link Reclamation
Finding and fixing lost backlinks....
Local Citation
Any online mention of a business's name, address, and phone number (NAP)....
Local Pack
A SERP feature displaying local business results with maps....
Local Pack Ranking
Position in local business results....
Local SEO
Optimizing business presence to attract local customers....
Long-Tail Keyword
Longer, specific keyword phrases with higher conversion intent....
M
Manual Action
Google penalty from human review....
Meta Description
An HTML attribute providing a brief summary of page content....
Meta Tags
HTML elements providing metadata about a webpage....
Minification
Removing unnecessary code characters....
Mobile SEO
Optimizing for mobile search....
Mobile-First Indexing
Google using mobile version for indexing and ranking....
Mobile-Friendly
Website that works well on mobile devices....
N
NAP
Name, Address, Phone - basic business contact information for citations....
Natural Link
Backlink earned organically....
Negative SEO
Malicious tactics to harm competitor rankings....
Nofollow
A link attribute telling search engines not to pass authority....
Noindex
A directive telling search engines not to index a page....
O
Off-Page SEO
Optimization activities outside your website, primarily earning authority signals....
On-Page SEO
Optimizing individual pages including content and HTML....
Organic Search
Unpaid search results based on relevance to the query....
Organic Traffic
Visitors from unpaid search results....
Orphan Page
A page with no internal links pointing to it....
P
Page Authority
Moz metric for specific page ranking potential....
Page Experience
Overall user experience signals....
Page Speed
How fast a web page loads - a ranking factor....
Passage Ranking
Google ranking specific passages....
People Also Ask
SERP feature with related questions....
Pillar Content
Comprehensive hub pages for topics....
Position Zero
Featured snippet position....
PPC
Pay-Per-Click advertising where you pay for each click....
Product Schema
Structured data for products....
R
Ranking Factor
A criterion search engines use to rank pages....
Redirect
Sending users and search engines to a different URL....
Referral Traffic
Visitors from other websites....
Rel Canonical
HTML element for preferred URL....
Responsive Design
Web design that works well on all devices....
Review Schema
Structured data for reviews....
Rich Snippet
Enhanced search results with additional information....
Robots.txt
A file telling crawlers which pages to crawl or not....
ROI
Return on Investment - measuring SEO profitability....
S
Schema Markup
Structured data helping search engines understand content....
Search Intent
The purpose behind a search query....
Search Query
The word or phrase a user types into a search engine....
Search Volume
Number of monthly searches for a keyword....
SEM
Search Engine Marketing including paid advertising....
Semantic Search
Understanding meaning and context of queries....
SEMrush
SEO and marketing tool suite....
SEO
Search Engine Optimization - improving organic rankings....
SERP
Search Engine Results Page displayed after a query....
Site Architecture
Hierarchical structure of pages....
Site Audit
Comprehensive SEO health analysis....
Site Speed
Overall website loading performance....
Sitelinks
Additional links below main search result....
Sitemap
A file listing all important pages for search engines....
Snippet
Brief text in search results....
Social Signals
Social media engagement metrics....
Spam Score
Metric for penalty likelihood....
SSL Certificate
Digital certificate enabling HTTPS encryption....
Structured Data
Standardized format for page information....
Subdomain
Subdivision of a domain name....
T
Target Keyword
Primary keyword for a page....
Technical SEO
Optimizing technical aspects for better crawling and indexing....
Thin Content
Pages with little valuable content....
Time on Page
How long visitors spend on a page....
Title Tag
HTML element specifying the title of a web page....
Top of Funnel
Awareness stage of customer journey....
Topical Authority
Expertise in a subject area....
Trust Flow
Majestic metric for link trustworthiness....