This dictionary provides an explanation of essential terms you’ll encounter in the world of SEO.
On-Page Optimization
- Keywords: Words and phrases users type into search engines. Your content should target relevant keywords.
- Keyword Research: Identifying the keywords users search for related to your content.
- Keyword Cannibalization: When multiple pages on your site compete for the same keyword ranking.
- Meta Description: A concise summary of your webpage content, displayed in search results.
- Title Tag: The title of your webpage, displayed in search results and browser tabs.
- Header Tags (H1-H6): Headings that structure your content and signal importance to search engines.
- Content: High-quality, informative content that addresses user search intent.
- Image SEO: Optimizing images with relevant alt text and file size for search engines.
- Internal Linking: Linking to other relevant pages on your website.
- Mobile-friendliness: Ensuring your website is optimized for mobile devices.
- Page Speed: The loading speed of your webpages. Faster speeds improve SEO.
Technical SEO
- Crawling: The process by which search engines discover and index your website’s content.
- Crawl Budget: The number of pages search engines prioritize crawling on your site.
- Robots.txt: A file that instructs search engines which pages to crawl and index.
- Sitemap: A file that lists all the important pages on your website for search engines.
- Schema Markup: Structured data that provides search engines with additional information about your content.
- 301 Redirect: Permanently redirecting a URL to a new location.
- 404 Error: Indicates a page not found on your website. Create custom 404 pages for a better user experience.
Off-Page Optimization
- Backlinks: Links from other websites to your website. High-quality backlinks improve your website’s authority.
- Link Building: The process of acquiring backlinks to your website.
- Link Juice: The value passed on by a website through backlinks.
- Anchor Text: The text used to link to your website.
- Domain Authority (DA): A score that predicts how likely a website is to rank in search results.
- E-A-T: Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness – factors Google considers when ranking websites.
SEO Analysis
- Search Engine Results Page (SERP): The page that displays search results for a particular query.
- Search Intent: The reason behind a user’s search query (informational, transactional, etc.).
- Organic Traffic: Visitors who come to your website through search engines.
- Click-Through Rate (CTR): The percentage of users who click on your website in search results.
- Bounce Rate: The percentage of users who leave your website after viewing only one page.
- Average Time on Page: The average amount of time users spend on a webpage.
- SEO Tools: Software applications that help with keyword research, backlink analysis, and other SEO tasks.
- Google Search Console: A free tool from Google that provides valuable insights into your website’s search performance.
Other Important Terms
- Black Hat SEO: Practices that violate search engine guidelines and can lead to penalties.
- White Hat SEO: Techniques that follow search engine guidelines and improve your website’s organic ranking.
- Grey Hat SEO: Techniques that exist in a grey area between black hat and white hat practices.
- Local SEO: Optimizing your website for local search results.
This is not an exhaustive list, but it covers many of the key terms you’ll encounter in the world of SEO. As you delve deeper into SEO, you’ll discover additional terms specific to different strategies and algorithms.