SEO Glossary: search engine optimization terms explained

Most used SEO terms

These twelve terms come up most often across our SEO service, industry and location guides.

All SEO terms from A to Z

Every term in the glossary in alphabetical order, each with a one line definition.

• 10x contentContent so much better than the current best that it earns rankings and links.
• 301 redirectA permanent move from one URL to another that keeps SEO value.
• 302 redirectA temporary redirect from one URL to another.
• 404 errorThe "page not found" response when a URL no longer exists.
• 500 internal server errorA server side failure that stops a page from loading at all.

• AccountingService schemaStructured data that describes an accounting firm and its services.
• AggregatorA site that lists many businesses and ranks above them.
• AI OverviewGoogle's AI written answer box that cites selected sources.
• Alt textA text description of an image for screen readers and search engines.
• Anchor textThe clickable words in a link that describe where it goes.
• AttributesFeature labels on your Google Business Profile.
• AuthorityHow much search engines trust your site on a topic.

• Backlink riskThe danger that bad links could hurt your site.
• BacklinksLinks from other sites to yours, the main signal of authority on the web.
• Black hat SEORule breaking shortcuts that risk penalties and lost rankings.
• Bounce rateThe share of visits that end without any meaningful engagement.
• Branch pageA page for one location with its own hours, services and details.
• Branded searchSearches that name your brand, product or team.
• BreadcrumbsA trail of links showing where a page sits in your site.

• CacheSaved copies of files that make pages load faster.
• Call trackingMeasuring which pages and channels make your phone ring.
• Canonical URLThe preferred URL you tell Google to treat as the original.
• Capability pageA page explaining one manufacturing process you offer.
• Category pageA page listing one type of product, often an online store's strongest ranking page.
• Cause pageA page explaining one issue a charity works on.
• Charge pageA defence firm page about one criminal charge.
• ChildCare schemaStructured data that describes a childcare centre.
• Claim pageA law firm page about one type of claim.
• Click to callA tap to dial button that turns mobile visitors into calls.
• Click-through rateClicks divided by impressions, showing how often people choose your result.
• CloakingShowing Google one page and visitors another, a serious spam tactic.
• CMSThe platform you use to build and edit your website.
• Coin pageA page about one cryptocurrency with price, details and how to buy.
• Comparison pageA page that compares your offer with alternatives for buyers.
• Condition pageA clinic page about one health condition and how you treat it.
• Conversion rateThe share of visitors who take the action you want.
• Core updateA big Google ranking change that reshuffles results across the web.
• Core Web VitalsGoogle's three real user scores for loading, responsiveness and visual stability.
• Course schemaStructured data that describes a course and who offers it.
• Coverage pageA page explaining one type of insurance cover.
• Crawl budgetHow many of your pages Google will crawl in a given time.
• CrawlabilityHow easy it is for search engines to find and read your pages.

• Dentist schemaStructured data that describes a dental practice.
• Digital PREarning online press coverage and links.
• Domain authorityA third party score that estimates a site's link strength.
• Doorway pageA thin page made only to catch a search, which Google treats as spam.
• Duplicate contentThe same or near identical content shown at more than one URL.

• E-E-A-TGoogle's framework for judging whether content comes from a real, trusted source.
• Editorial policyA page explaining how your content is written, checked and corrected.
• Entity SEOHelping search engines and AI recognise your brand as a clear, trusted thing.
• Event schemaStructured data that puts your events into Google event results.
• Evergreen URLOne page address reused every season so its ranking strength keeps building.

• Faceted navigationProduct filters that help shoppers but can create thousands of URLs.
• Featured snippetOne page's answer, lifted out and shown first by Google.
• FinancialProduct schemaStructured data that describes loans, cards, accounts and other financial products.
• FinancialService schemaStructured data that describes a bank, branch or adviser.
• Free booking linksFree Google Hotels listings that show your direct rate beside OTA prices.
• Full-service SEOOne team handling every part of SEO as a single plan.

• Geo grid rankingMap rankings tracked from many points around your business.
• Geo restrictionBlocking access to a product in places it is not allowed.
• Google AnalyticsGoogle's tool for measuring visitors, behaviour and conversions on your site.
• Google Business ProfileYour free listing on Google Search and Maps, and the base of local SEO.
• Google TrendsA free tool showing how interest in a search rises and falls.
• GTINA global product barcode number that identifies an exact item.

• Hospital schemaStructured data that describes a hospital and its departments.
• Hotel schemaStructured data that describes your hotel to search engines.
• HotelRoom schemaStructured data for a single room type.
• Hreflang tagsTags that match each language or country version of a page to the right audience.

• IDXThe feed that shows MLS listings on an agent's website.
• IndexingGoogle storing your page so it can appear in search results.
• InsuranceAgency schemaStructured data that describes an insurance agency.
• Internal linksLinks between your own pages that guide visitors and search engines.
• International targetingTelling Google which country or language each page is for.

• Keyword cannibalizationYour own pages competing for the same search.
• Keyword difficultyAn estimate of how much competition stands between you and page one.
• Keyword rankingsWhere your pages appear in search results for the terms you target.
• Keyword stuffingCramming keywords into a page until it reads badly and looks spammy.
• KeywordsThe search terms that connect what people need with the pages you publish.
• Knowledge panelGoogle's fact box about a brand, person or place.
• KPIsThe handful of numbers that show whether SEO is working for the business.

• Lane pageA page for one freight route you run.
• Legal directoryA website listing lawyers by practice area and location.
• LegalService schemaStructured data that describes a law firm's details and services.
• Link buildingEarning links from other sites so search engines trust your pages more.
• Local citationAn online mention of your business details that helps Google confirm you are real.
• Local packGoogle's block of nearby businesses for searches that need a local answer.
• LocalBusiness schemaCode that describes your business details to search engines in a standard format.
• Long tail keywordA specific, lower volume search that is easier to rank for and closer to buying.

• Medical reviewerA qualified clinician who checks health content is correct.
• MedicalBusiness schemaStructured data that describes a clinic's details and specialties.
• MedicalProcedure schemaStructured data that describes a medical procedure.
• MedicalWebPage schemaStructured data for pages with medical information.
• Menu schemaStructured data that lets search engines read your dishes and prices.
• Merchant CenterGoogle's product feed hub for free and paid shopping listings.
• Meta keywordsAn old tag for listing keywords that Google ignores.
• Meta tagsHead tags that describe a page to search engines and browsers.
• Model pageA page about one exact model, built for model specific searches.

• NAP consistencyMatching business name, address and phone details across the whole web.
• Negative SEOAttacks from outside meant to push your rankings down.
• Niche pageA page that speaks to one client industry with tailored content.
• NofollowA link tag that says "do not count this as a vote".
• NoindexAn instruction that keeps a page out of search results.
• Non branded searchSearches that do not mention your brand name.

• Offense pageA defence page about one offense level or situation.
• Optician schemaStructured data for an optician or eye care shop.
• Organization schemaStructured data that defines who your organisation is.

• Person schemaStructured data that describes a person.
• Physician directoryA hospital's searchable list of doctors with a page for each.
• Pillar pageA main topic page that links out to all related detailed pages.
• Plan your visit pageA page that answers first time visitor questions before they arrive.
• Practice area pageA law firm page focused on one type of case.
• Product led contentHelpful content that shows your product solving the problem.
• Product pageA page about one product, built to rank and convert.
• Product schemaCode that lets Google show price, stock and stars for your products.
• Program pageA page for one study program, built to rank for course searches.
• Programmatic SEOBuilding many useful pages from data and templates at scale.

• RealEstateAgent schemaStructured data that describes a real estate agent.
• RenderingTurning code into the finished page that people and bots see.
• Restaurant schemaStructured data that describes a restaurant's details and menu.
• Review velocityHow often new reviews arrive, not just how many you have.
• Robots.txtA file that guides which parts of your site bots can crawl.

• Search crawlerThe bot that discovers and reads your pages for a search engine.
• Search intentThe goal behind a query, which decides what kind of page Google wants to rank.
• SEOImproving your site so more of the right people find it in search.
• SEO due diligenceChecking SEO health before buying or investing.
• SERPThe results page you see after searching, with all its features.
• Service area businessA business that travels to customers instead of serving them at a shop.
• Service pageA dedicated page for one service, built to rank and convert.
• Share of searchHow much of the search market you own compared with rivals.
• State licensure pageA page showing which states you are licensed in.
• Structured dataStandard code that labels what your content is so machines understand it.

• Text menuA menu written as real text on your website.
• Things to DoGoogle's feature showing tours and attractions to book.
• Thought leadership contentOriginal expert insight that others want to reference.
• Topic clusterA pillar page plus linked pages on one subject.
• Topic hubA central page that organises all your content on one subject.
• Topical authorityBeing the site that covers a subject more completely than anyone else.
• TouristTrip schemaStructured data that describes a tour or trip.
• Town pageA page about your service in one town, built for local searches.

• URL slugThe readable end of a URL that names the page.
• User experienceHow easy and pleasant your site is to use.

• VariantA size, colour or other version of the same product.
• Vertical pageA page built for one industry you serve.
• Visa landing pageA dedicated page for one visa type.
• Visual searchSearching with a photo instead of typing words.

• Website trafficHow many visits your site gets, and where they come from.
• White hat SEOSEO done by the rules, built to last.

• XML sitemapA list of your important URLs, written for search engines.

• YMYLHigh stakes topics where Google demands the strongest trust signals.

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