Search Engine Optimization Glossary
25 essential terms — because precise language is the foundation of clear thinking in Search Engine Optimization.
Showing 25 of 25 terms
A complex set of rules and calculations used by search engines to determine the relevance and ranking of web pages for a given query.
A text description added to an image's HTML tag that helps search engines understand the image content and improves accessibility for screen readers.
The visible, clickable text in a hyperlink that provides context to search engines about the content of the linked page.
An incoming hyperlink from one website to another, serving as a signal of trust and authority to search engines.
The percentage of visitors who leave a website after viewing only a single page without taking any further action.
The preferred version of a web page specified via the rel='canonical' tag to consolidate ranking signals when duplicate content exists at multiple URLs.
The automated process by which search engine bots discover web pages by following links across the internet.
Substantive blocks of content that appear at more than one URL, which can confuse search engines and dilute ranking signals.
A selected search result displayed in a special box at the top of Google's organic results, providing a direct answer extracted from a web page.
A free tool provided by Google that helps website owners monitor, maintain, and troubleshoot their site's presence in Google search results.
Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure, an encrypted version of HTTP that secures data transfer between a user's browser and a website. It is a confirmed Google ranking factor.
The process by which search engines store and organize web page content in their database for retrieval when users perform relevant searches.
Hyperlinks that connect one page of a website to another page on the same website, helping distribute page authority and aiding navigation.
The percentage of times a target keyword appears on a web page relative to the total word count. Excessive density is considered keyword stuffing.
The practice of acquiring hyperlinks from external websites to your own in order to improve search engine rankings and domain authority.
A longer, more specific search phrase (typically three or more words) that usually has lower search volume but higher conversion rates.
An HTML element that provides a brief summary of a page's content, displayed in search results below the title tag.
Google's approach of predominantly using the mobile version of a website's content for indexing and ranking.
Visitors who arrive at a website through unpaid search engine results rather than through paid advertisements.
How quickly the content on a web page loads, measured through metrics like Time to First Byte and Largest Contentful Paint. A confirmed ranking factor.
A text file in a website's root directory that instructs search engine crawlers which URLs they are allowed or disallowed from accessing.
Structured data code using Schema.org vocabulary added to web pages to help search engines understand content and enable rich results.
Search Engine Results Page. The page displayed by a search engine in response to a user's query, containing organic results, ads, and various features.
An HTML element that specifies the title of a web page, appearing in browser tabs and as the clickable headline in search engine results.