Glossary
Understand the technical terms used throughout this course.
Let's explore the following glossary of key terms to deepen our understanding of SEO concepts and terminology.
Key terms | Definitions |
SEO | Stands for Search Engine Optimization |
SERP | Stands for Search Engine Result Page |
Keyword | A word or a phrase that when typed into a search engine, makes your webpage visible to the searchers |
Search query | A word or a phrase that a user types into the search engine to find answers on the topic |
Head-term keyword | A short and popular keyword that can cover a broad range of topics |
Long-tail keyword | A longer, typically less popular keyword that relates to a specific topic |
Keyword research | The process of finding, analyzing and using keywords |
Keyword discovery | The process of finding, new keywords |
Keyword analysis | The process of analyzing the lucrativeness of keywords |
Keyword research tools | Free or paid tools that help SEO professionals find and research keywords |
Keyword research tools | Free or paid tools that help SEO professionals find and research keywords |
Related Searches | Eight search results related to your search term that appear at the bottom of Google's result pages |
Autosuggest | A feature with which Google, or another application, predicts the rest of the word or phrase that a searcher is typing |
Organic keyword | A keyword that attracts free traffic through search engines |
PPC | Stands for Pay Per Click |
Search intent | The goal of the user when making a specific online search |
Navigational keyword | A keyword typed by the user when searching for a specific website or brand |
Informational keyword | A keyword typed by the user when searching for information on a topic |
Transactional keyword | A keyword typed by the user with the intention to make a purchase |
Commercial keyword | A keyword typed by the user with the intention to investigate brands before purchasing |
Search volume | The number of times a keyword was searched over a given time period |
High-volume keyword | A keyword with a high search volume |
Low-volume keyword | A keyword with a low search volume |
Keyword difficulty (KD) | It is the measure of how difficult it is to rank for a particular keyword |
SEO difficulty | Keyword difficulty in organic search |
Paid difficulty | Keyword difficulty in paid campaigns |
CPC | Stands for Cost Per Click. It is the amount that advertisers pay for a single click on an ad that appears for a particular keyword on Google Ads |
Keyword trends | The measure of the popularity of a particular keyword over time |
Seasonal keyword | A keyword that only spikes during a specific time of the year |
SERP features | A result on a Google SERP other than the traditional organic results |
Paid result | An SERP feature that appears on the top or bottom of Google's result page, identified by the small 'Ad' label next to it |
Featured snippet | An SERP feature that appears as an instant answer to the user's search query, near the top of Google's result page |
Images pack | An SERP feature that appears as a series of images related to the user's search query |
Knowledge Panel | An SERP feature that appears as an information card on the right-hand side of Google's result page aimed at delivering basic information on the topic typed by the searcher |
Video carousel | An SERP feature that appears as a list of video results related to the user's search query |
Top stories | An SERP feature that appears as a list of recently published articles, live blogs, and videos related to the user's search query |
Twitter pack | An SERP feature that appears as a row of most trending or recent tweets related to the user's search query |
Rich snippet / Rich result | An SERP feature that displays an enhanced Google organic search result that includes additional information besides the typical URL, title tag, and description |
People also ask | An SERP features that displays a list of questions closely related to the user's search query |
Shopping ad / Product listing ad | A product image advertisement that appears on Google's result page in response to certain product queries |
Hotel pack | An SERP feature that appears as a list of hotels in an area for certain searches related to accommodation |
Flights block | An SERP feature that appears as a table of flight options for certain travel-related search queries |
Job listings | An SERP feature that appears as a list of job postings aggregated from different career websites |
Click-through rate (CTR) | The ratio of the number of clicks a link receives to the number of views for that link |
Organic CTR | The click-through rate for organic search results |
Keyword Priority | A metric to gauge the priority of a keyword, based on other metrics, such as search volume, difficulty, and organic CTR (according to Moz Keyword Explorer) |
Keyword cannibalization | Having multiple webpages optimized for the same or similar keywords and search intent |
Topic clusters | A group of content on related topics that collectively address a broad subject area |
Pillar page | A piece of content that overviews a broad topic and links to the related cluster pages |
Cluster page | A supporting content piece that covers a subtopic of the pillar page in further detail |
Internal link | A hyperlink on a webpage that points to another page on the same website |
Focus keyword | The keyword that a post is optimized to be ranked for |
Keyword stuffing | Concentrating keywords into the webpage in an unfair attempt to rank higher in search engines |
On-page SEO | The practice of optimizing webpages to rank higher in search results |
URL | Universal Resource Locator is the web address used to locate a webpage on the internet |
Protocol | The scheme that defines how data is transferred between a client and a host |
Subdomain | An extension of your main domain name that organizes content separate from the rest of the website |
Domain name | The name of your website |
TLD | Top-level domain is a domain in the highest level of hierarchy in the Domain Name System. It comes after the domain name, separated by a dot in the web address |
Subdirectory | A folder in your website |
Article Permalink | A path that points to a specific piece of information on the internet |
Domain name generator | A tool for finding available domains for your website |
Static URL | A URL that remains the same each time the page is loaded |
Dynamic URL | A URL that results from the query of a database-driven website |
Meta tags | Pieces of information in the HTML code that communicate data about the webpage with search engines |
Metadata | A set of data that provides information about other data |
Meta title | An HTML element that defines the title of the webpage |
Meta description | An HTML element that provides a summary of the contents on the webpage |
Meta robots | A tag that tells search engines how to crawl and index the webpage |
Meta viewport | A tag that controls the visible area of the webpage on different screen sizes |
Content SEO | A technique for creating content optimized for the purpose of ranking high in search engines |
SEO Content | The content designed to rank high in search engines |
Landing page | A dedicated page that a potential customer lands on after clicking on a paid ad |
Homepage | The first page that users will see when they land on a website |
Product page | A webpage that showcases a particular product or service |
Structured data | The standard format to provide data about a page to classify it for rich results |
Blog post | A piece of content posted in a regular blog |
Alt text | A concise, written copy of an image that appears in case the image fails to load |
Anchor text | The visible, clickable text of a hyperlink |
LSI keywords | Words or phrases that are semantically related to the target keyword |
Keyword Density | The frequency at which a keyword appears on the web page in relation to the overall content amount on the page |
Visual content | Image-based content |
Accessibility | The practice of making online content usable to everyone, regardless of their ability and education |
Resize image | Changing the dimensions of an image |
Compress image | Reducing the size in bytes of an image file |
Infographic | A collection of imagery and minimal text to represent data |
Embed code | A short code, typically in HTML, that allows users to copy and paste content on their website |
Self-hosted video | A video file that is uploaded on the same web server as your website |
Thumbnail image | A still image that serves as the preview of the video |
Transcript | The text version of an audio or video content |
Sitemap | A file that lists website's pages, helping search engines crawl and index your website |
Video sitemap | A sitemap that provides additional information about a video hosted on a webpage |
Internal link | A hyperlink that points from one page on a website to another page on the same website |
PageRank | An algorithm used by Google to rank webpages in search results |
Page authority | A metric that predicts how high a page will rank in SERPs |
Navigational internal link | A link that appears in the navigation bars, headers, or footers of the website |
Contextual internal link | A link that appears in the body content of the page and points to other relevant content on the website |
Technical SEO | The practice of optimizing the technical aspects of a website to improve its crawlability, indexability, renderability, and performance |
Page experience | A set of metrics that measure the satisfaction level of visitors on a webpage |
Website architecture | The hierarchical structure that links a website's pages |
Orphan page | A page with no internal link pointing to it |
Breadcrumb navigation | A secondary navigation system that allows users to retrace their journey through a website |
XML sitemap | An XML file that lists all the pages on a website |
Duplicate content | Content that appears identical or near-identical on multiple pages of the same site or different sites |
Canonical tag | An HTML element to specify the master copy of identical or near-identical pages on a website |
Broken link | A link that directs users to a webpage that is no longer available |
HTTP | HyperText Transfer Protocol—An application protocol for communication between web clients and servers |
HTTPS | Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure—A combination of Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) and Secure Socket Layer (SSL) for a secure connection between web clients and servers |
SSL certificate | A piece of code that encrypts the connection between a web server and a client |
Site speed | A measure of how quickly content appears on the webpages of a site when it loads on a browser |
CDN | Content Delivery Network—A network of geographically distributed servers aimed at faster content delivery to users |
Browser caching | Temporary storage of webpages or parts of pages in the user's web browser |
Mobile-friendliness | A measure of how easy it is to use the website on a mobile device |
Mobile-first indexing | The update in Google's algorithms whereby mobile version of the content is predominantly used for indexing and ranking |
Responsive web design | A web design where the layout automatically adjusts to fit the screen size on which it is viewed |
Crawl Budget | The number of pages on your site that search bots will crawl and index within a given timeframe |
Redirect chain | A chain of redirects between the initial URL that the user clicks and the destination URL |
Robots.txt | A text file that instructs search engines crawlers on which URLs they can and cannot access on the website |
Hreflang | An HTML tag that specifies the language used on a webpage and the geographical region targeted by the page |
Off-page SEO | Activities carried out outside the scope of your website to rank higher in search engines |
Link building | The process of getting backlinks |
Backlink | A link on a webpage of a domain other than your own pointing to a page on your website |
Referral traffic | Audience that comes to your website from another site without clicking on your link in search results |
Website authority | The metric to gauge the likelihood of a website to rank in SERPs |
Nofollow | An HTML tag that directs search engines not to follow the tagged external link |
Dofollow link | A link without the nofollow tag, allowing search engines to crawl the referenced site |
Link spam | A manipulative technique to generate backlinks and raise search engine rankings, regardless of the context of the referencing page or user experience |
Link scheme | A term used by Google to identify any practice that generates links aimed at manipulating PageRank or the site's ranking in SERPs |
Link exchanging | A settlement between two websites to offer backlinks to each other |
Comment spam | The practice of posting irrelevant comments on webpages solely to generate links to the commenter's site |
Guest posting | The practice of publishing a post to a website other than your own |
Web-directory | An online catalog of websites organized by subject |
Site-wide link | A link that is present on all or most of the pages of a website |
Social bookmarking site | A website that allows users to store and share webpages |
PBN | A network of websites that solely exists to generate backlinks for a single website |
Black hat link building | A practice to generate links that defies the search engine guidelines |
White hat link building | A practice to generate links that aligns with search engine guidelines |
Editorial link | A link that is earned naturally, without paying or asking for it |
Link bait | Content created to attract backlinks |
Email outreach | The process of creating and sending emails to build partnerships, acquire backlinks or promote content |
Resource page | A webpage that lists resources on a specific topic |
Broken link building | The practice of finding broken links and contacting webmasters, requesting them to replace the link with a resource you have created on the topic |
Backlink analysis | A comprehensive audit of the number and quality of your website’s backlinks |
Referring domain | An external website that links to your website |
Top pages | The pages on your website that receive the most backlinks |
Social media SEO | The set of activities performed on social media to boost your website’s rank in search engines |
Brand awareness | The measure of how familiar customers are with a brand |
Share button | A small, clickable icon that lets you share content on social media |
Open graph tags | Snippets of code present in the <head> section of the page’s HTML that displays the URL as a rich object when shared on social media |
Reach | The number of potential viewers for your content |
Impression | The number of times your content appears in timelines |
Brand mentions | The number of times people mention your brand name in posts |
Share of voice | The number of mentions of your brand compared to the total brand mentions in the industry |
Engagement | All the metrics that signal how the audience interacts with your content, such as likes, comments, and shares |
Average engagement rate | Total engagements on the post divided by the impressions or reach of the post |
Audience growth | The measure of how quickly your audience is growing on social media |
Conversion | The point at which a visitor to your website completes a desired action |
Conversion rate | The conversions driven by a post on a page compared to the total visitors to the page |
Customer response rate | The number of responses by your brand compared against the total engagements with your brand |
Local SEO | The set of efforts that can help increase your business’s visibility in local search results |
Local Pack | An SERP feature that appears for a search query with local intent in the form of a list of businesses |
GMB | Google My Business—A free online business listing service offered by Google |
Bing Places for Business | A free online business listing service offered by Bing |
Review site | A site where reviews can be posted about businesses |
NAP | Name, address, and phone |
Local landing page | A webpage created on a site to attract customers in the local market |
Local business schema | The type of structured data markup that when added to a page helps search engines understand the type of business you run and the location you serve |
Testimonial | A customer statement that attests the superior quality of a brand's product or service |
Local keywords | Location-specific phrases that prompt search results related to that location |
Local citation | Mentions of your business, usually in the form of the name, address, and phone (NAP), on sites other than your own |
Structured citation | Citations of your business on websites that are specifically designed to display a directory of local businesses |
Unstructured citation | Mentions of your business data on websites other than the ones specifically designed for displaying business listings |
Duplicate listing | More than one listing representing a business on a single platform |
Local link building | The process of acquiring inbound links from location-specific blogs and websites |
Customer Review | A feedback of a product or service by a customer who has used it |
Customer rating | A numerical rating given by a customer for a brand, product or service expressing their satisfaction upon its use |
Review Response | The response posted by the business to a customer review |
Web Analytics | The process of measuring and analyzing data related to users’ behavior on a website |
Pageviews | The total number of times a page was loaded in a browser |
Unique pageviews | The number of visits to a webpage, where multiple visits by a single visitor during a session are counted as one |
Session | The set of interactions a user has with a website during a given timeframe |
New users | Also called new visitors or unique visitors is a user who visits a website for the first time |
Returning Users | A visitor who has visited your website before in a different session during a specified timeframe |
Active Users | The number of active users on the website in real-time |
Audience Age | A study of what age groups take most interest in the content |
Audience Gender | A study of what gender take most interest in the content |
Landing Page metric on Google Analytics | The first page that a user opens when they land on a website |
Exit Page | The page where a user leaves the site |
Frequently Visited Pages | Or top viewed pages are the most popular pages on the site |
Average Time on Site | Or average session duration is the time, on average, a visitor spends on a website |
Average Time on Page | The time, on average, that visitors spend on a specific page on a site |
Bounce Rate | The number of visitors who bounce expressed as a percentage of the total number of people who visit a specific page |
Conversion Rate | The percentage of visitors who complete a desired action on a website |
Traffic Sources | The channels that drive traffic to a website |
Total Clicks | A metric available on Google Search Console that counts the number of clicks on Google Search that take users to your property |
Total Impressions | A metric on Google Search Console that counts the total number of times that a site’s pages appear on Google Search results |
Average Position | A metric on Google Search Console that gives the average ranking of the page or keyword during a specified time period |
Core Web Vitals | A set of metrics available on Google Search Console that determine how well a page loads once a user clicks on its link |
Largest Contentful Paint | The time it takes for a page’s main content to load |
Cumulative Layout Shift | A metric to measure the stability of a page |
First Input Delay | The time it takes for the page to become interactive to the user |
Intrusive Interstitials | Page elements, such as pop-up ads, that obstruct the user’s view of the webpage |
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