The Ultimate Glossary of SEO terms

Permanent redirection from one URL to another. 301 redirects are often used when reorganizing a website or moving content to a new URL.

Both are URL redirect methods, but 301 is a permanent redirect while 302 is temporary. The difference can affect SEO because a permanent redirect (301) will transfer most of the SEO value to the new page, while a temporary redirect (302) will not.

An image caption used by search engines to understand what the image shows. Alt tags are important for SEO because they help search engines better understand the content of the page.

A project supported by Google to speed up the loading of web pages on mobile devices.

Visible, clickable text in the link. Anchor text is important for SEO because search engines use this text to understand the content of the linked page.

A link to a web page from another web page. Backlinks are crucial for SEO because they can improve a page's authority and credibility.

Practices that attempt to manipulate or trick search engine algorithms to achieve better results in the SERPs. These methods are often considered unethical and can lead to a penalty or even removal of the site from search results.

The percentage of visitors who leave a page after viewing just one page. A high bounce rate can signal problems with user experience or content relevance.

A navigation element that helps users navigate the page and helps search engines better understand the structure of the page.

A tag that tells search engines which version of a page is the "main" or preferred version when there are multiple similar or identical pages.

A Black Hat SEO technique where a website shows different content to search engines than it does to users. This practice is a violation of Google guidelines and may result in a penalty.

The ability of a search engine to crawl and index the content of a web page. If a search engine can't crawl a page, it can't include it in its search results.

The percentage of users who see a search result, ad or link and actually click on it. CTR is an important metric for evaluating the effectiveness of a PPC ad, an email marketing campaign, or the success of headlines and descriptions in SERPs.

A tool provided by Google that allows webmasters to tell Google that it should ignore certain links to their site. This can be useful if a site has many poor quality or harmful links.

The opposite of NoFollow, meaning that the link does not have the 'nofollow' attribute and should be crawled by search engines when ranking the linked page.

A metric created by Moz that predicts how well a website will rank on SERPs. Scores range from 1 to 100, with higher numbers indicating higher authority.

Domain authority refers to the entire domain (web page) while page authority refers to a specific page. Higher values ​​mean that the domain or page is more likely to rank in search results.

Occurrence of the same or very similar content in multiple locations (URLs) on the Internet. Duplicate content can cause SEO problems because search engines can have trouble deciding which content is original and how to index it.

The time between when a user clicks on a search result and when they return to the search results page. This can be considered as a signal about the quality and relevance of the site's content.

A framework used by Google to evaluate the quality of pages. Pages with a high E-A-T rating are considered high quality and may rank higher in the SERPs.

A Google tool that allows webmasters to track and analyze traffic on their sites. This includes information about where visitors came from, how long they stayed on the page, what pages they visited, and more.

A Google algorithm update based on machine learning technology that helps Google better understand the context of search queries, especially those that use natural language and prepositions.

An older term used to describe the period when Google updates its index, which can lead to dramatic fluctuations in the SERPs.

The unofficial name for a series of Google algorithm updates that target sites that violate Google's webmaster guidelines, especially those that use excessive advertising or create low-quality content to generate revenue.

An update to Google's algorithm that focuses on understanding user intent and keyword context, rather than just the literal meaning of keywords.

Google's database that collects information from many different sources and uses it to create quick answers and richer search results.

A 2015 Google algorithm update that favors mobile-optimized websites in mobile search results.

A free tool from Google that allows business owners to manage how their business appears on Google Search and Google Maps. This may include information about the business, customer reviews, photos and more.

A Google algorithm update that was aimed at reducing the presence of websites with low quality content in the SERPs.

A penalty given by Google to a page that violates its webmaster guidelines. Penalties can cause a page to drop in SERPs or even be removed from search results.

A Google algorithm update that was aimed at penalizing websites that violate Google's webmaster guidelines regarding link building.

A Google algorithm update aimed at improving the relevance and accuracy of local search results.

A 2016 Google algorithm update that changed the way Google handled local search results in a way that favored a user's proximity to a business.

Google's machine learning algorithm that helps process search queries and provide relevant search results. RankBrain focuses on understanding user intent and the context of search queries.

A tool provided by Google that allows webmasters to monitor and resolve issues with their website in Google search.

Special characters and commands that can be used when searching Google to narrow down results or get specific information.

A service from Google that allows you to manage and monitor JavaScript and HTML tags on a website without having to change the page code.

A Google tool that shows how the popularity of a particular search term changes over time. This can help with content planning and understanding seasonal trends.

Search engine optimization practices that technically comply with Google's webmaster guidelines, but may be considered unethical or risky.

An HTML attribute that indicates to search engines the language and geographic focus of a given page. This is important for sites with content in multiple languages.

The process by which a search engine collects, analyzes, and stores data for fast and accurate content information. Indexing is crucial for a site to appear in search results.

A word or phrase that users enter into a search engine. SEO strategies involve optimizing pages for specific keywords to improve their visibility.

A situation where multiple pages on the same website target the same keyword, which can lead to search engine optimization problems.

The percentage that a keyword or phrase makes up of the total number of words on a page. Too high keyword density can lead to keyword stuffing penalties.

A Black Hat SEO technique that involves overusing keywords on a web page in order to manipulate the page's position in the SERPs. This technique is against Google's webmaster guidelines.

The process of getting new links (backlinks) to your website from other sites. This is a key element of off-page SEO, as links can increase a page's authority and visibility.

An informal term used in SEO that refers to the value or authority that is transferred from one page to another through a link.

The process of optimizing a website to improve visibility in local search results. This is especially important for businesses that rely on physical locations, such as restaurants or shops.

Specific and highly targeted keywords or phrases that typically have lower search volume but can bring higher quality traffic.

An HTML tag that tells search engines how to index or crawl a particular page.

Information that describes the content of a page and that search engines use to understand what the page contains. This information is not displayed on the page, but is contained in its code.

Google now preferentially indexes the mobile version of websites. This means that when evaluating the content and structure of a page, Google first takes its mobile version into account.

A link that contains the 'nofollow' attribute, meaning that search engines should not crawl the link when ranking the linked page.

This strategy involves activities outside of a website that can improve its position in search engine results. Examples include backlinks, social signals, and online ratings.

This strategy focuses on optimizing the elements on the website itself, such as its content, meta tags, URL structure, images and much more.

Search results that are not paid ads. Their position on SERPs is determined by search engine algorithms based on relevance and authority.

Visitors who come to your website naturally through search engines, not through paid ads. Organic traffic is often the main goal of SEO.

Also a metric from Moz, similar to Domain Authority, but specific to individual pages of a website.

The time a page takes to load. Page loading speed is an important factor for SEO, as search engines prefer fast loading pages, and also for UX, as users tend to abandon pages that load slowly.

An algorithm formerly used by Google to rank web pages in its search results. PageRank ranks the importance of a page based on the number and quality of links that point to it.

An Internet advertising model where advertisers pay for each click on their ad. While PPC is not directly part of SEO, it is often part of a broader digital marketing strategy along with SEO.

An enhanced result on a SERP that provides more information than a standard result. This may include star ratings, images, product information and more.

A file that tells search engines which pages on the web to crawl and index and which not to. This can be important for controlling what content you want search engines to display in search results.

Code (structured data) that is added to a web page to help search engines provide more information to users. Schema markup can help you get richer search results like star ratings, images, and more.

This practice includes various methods and strategies aimed at improving a website's visibility in search engine results to attract more visitors.

A process for assessing the "health" of a website in terms of SEO. An audit can include analysis of content, technical aspects, backlinks, page loading speed and many other factors.

The page displayed by a search engine in response to a user's search query. SERPs can include links to organic results, paid ads, and other information such as local search results or knowledge graph results.

Special display of results on the search results page (SERP). They can include rich snippets, site search boxes, local packs, ads, and more.

Additional links that may appear below a Google search result that allow users to go directly to specific parts of a website.

A file that provides information about the structures and content of a web page. Sitemaps help search engines crawl and index your site better.

Interactions on social media such as likes, shares, comments that can affect SEO because they indicate the popularity and relevance of content.

Technology that secures the connection between the website and the user. Sites with an SSL certificate start with "https" instead of "http". SSL is important for SEO because Google prioritizes secure pages.

Code that can be added to a web page to help search engines better understand and interpret the page's content. Structured data can help improve page visibility and can enable rich snippets to appear in search results.

Spam generated by users, often in blog comments, forums, or other user content platforms. Google may penalize websites that host user-generated spam.

The degree to which users interact with a website. It can include bounce rate, time spent on page, click-through rate and more. Higher user engagement can signal to search engines that the page is high quality and relevant.

The overall impression a user gets when using a website. UX affects how long visitors stay on a page and whether they take desired actions (such as purchasing a product). Good UX is important not only for SEO, but also for the overall success of a website.

A technology that allows users to search the web using voice commands instead of typing queries using a keyboard.

Practices that comply with search engine guidelines and focus on providing quality and relevant information to users. These methods are considered ethical and long-term sustainable.

A term used by Google to refer to sites that may affect the financial stability, health, happiness or safety of users. These pages are subject to a higher quality assessment.