The complete SEO glossary

A complex set of rules and calculations used by search engines to determine the relevance and quality of web pages. Google algorithm processes billions of pages to rank them for any given query.

Alternative text describing an image for accessibility and SEO. Search engines use alt text to understand image content and rank pages in image search results.

The clickable text portion of a hyperlink. Search engines use anchor text as a signal for the topic of the linked page. Over-optimization can trigger penalties.

A measure of a website overall quality and trustworthiness. Domain authority is influenced by backlinks, content quality, and site age. Higher authority sites rank more easily.

A hyperlink from one website pointing to another. Backlinks are a major ranking factor — quality and relevance matter more than quantity.

The percentage of visitors who leave a website after viewing only one page. A high bounce rate may indicate poor content quality or mismatched search intent.

An HTML element that tells search engines which version of a page is the master copy. Prevents duplicate content issues when similar pages exist.

The number of pages a search engine will crawl on your site within a given timeframe. Large sites must optimize crawl budget by eliminating low-value pages.

The process by which search engine bots systematically browse the web to discover and index new or updated content. Done by automated programs called spiders or crawlers.

Google set of specific metrics measuring real-world user experience: Largest Contentful Paint, First Input Delay, and Cumulative Layout Shift. Direct ranking factors.

A score from 1 to 100 developed by Moz that predicts how well a website will rank on search engines. Higher scores indicate greater ranking potential.

A standard hyperlink that passes link equity to the destination page. Dofollow is the default link type and contributes to the linked page authority.

Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. Google framework for evaluating content quality, especially important for Your Money or Your Life pages.

A summary of an answer displayed at the top of Google search results. Also called position zero, featured snippets can dramatically increase click-through rates.

A free Google tool that helps monitor and maintain site presence in search results. Provides data on indexing, search queries, clicks, and technical issues.

Google web crawling bot that discovers new and updated pages to be added to the Google index. It follows links from page to page to build the web map.

HTML elements H1 through H6 that create a content hierarchy. H1 is the main title, H2s are section headers, and H3s are subsections. Critical for SEO structure.

The process of storing and organizing web page content in a search engine database after crawling. Only indexed pages can appear in search results.

Hyperlinks connecting pages within the same website. Strategic internal linking distributes page authority and helps search engines discover content.

A word or phrase that users type into search engines. Keywords are the foundation of SEO — they connect user intent with relevant content.

The percentage of times a keyword appears on a page compared to total word count. Natural usage of 1-2% is recommended; over-optimization is penalized.

The practice of unnaturally overloading a page with keywords to manipulate rankings. A black-hat tactic that triggers search engine penalties.

A specific page designed to receive traffic from search results or ads. Optimized landing pages match search intent and drive conversions.

A highly specific search phrase, typically 3+ words. Long-tail keywords have lower search volume but higher conversion rates and less competition.

An HTML attribute providing a brief summary of a page. Displayed in search results under the title. Optimal length is 150-160 characters.

HTML elements in the page head section that provide metadata about the page. Include title, description, robots, and Open Graph tags.

A link attribute that tells search engines not to pass link equity. Used for paid links, user-generated content, and untrusted sources.

Visitors who arrive at a website through unpaid search engine results. Organic traffic is the primary goal of SEO and is free unlike paid search traffic.

A score predicting how well a specific page will rank on search engines. Influenced by backlinks, content quality, and internal linking structure.

The time it takes for a web page to fully load. A confirmed Google ranking factor, especially on mobile. Optimizing page speed improves user experience and rankings.

The exact words or phrases a user types into a search engine. Also called a search query. Understanding query intent is essential for SEO.

A text file in the root directory that instructs search engine crawlers which pages to crawl and which to ignore. Controls crawler access at the site level.

Structured data vocabulary that helps search engines understand page content. Enables rich results like star ratings, breadcrumbs, and FAQ accordions.

Search Engine Results Page. The page displayed after a user enters a query. Includes organic results, ads, featured snippets, and other SERP features.

A file listing all important pages on a website for search engines. XML sitemaps help crawlers discover content efficiently. Submitted via Google Search Console.

An HTML element specifying the title of a web page. Displayed as the clickable headline in search results. Optimal length is 50-60 characters.

The number of visitors coming to a website. SEO focuses on organic traffic from search engines, but traffic also comes from direct, referral, and social sources.

Uniform Resource Locator — the web address of a page. SEO-friendly URLs are short, descriptive, and use hyphens to separate words.

SEO techniques that follow search engine guidelines and focus on user experience. Contrasts with black hat SEO which uses manipulative tactics.

Extensible Markup Language used for sitemaps and data feeds. XML sitemaps are the standard format for communicating page URLs to search engines.