Search systems
Algorithm
An algorithm is a set of rules and calculations a system uses to process information and make decisions.
Plain-English reference
SEO Dictionary
SEO contains enough jargon to make a simple idea sound like it requires clearance from mission control. This dictionary translates important terms into plain English, practical examples and useful next steps.
22 terms available22 terms shown
A2 terms
Page structure
Alt text
Alt text is a written alternative that communicates the purpose of a meaningful image when the image cannot be seen.
B2 terms
Connections
Backlink
A backlink is a link to a webpage from a different website.
Measurement
Bounce rate
Bounce rate is the percentage of measured sessions that do not meet an analytics platform’s engagement criteria.
C3 terms
Technical SEO
Canonical URL
A canonical URL identifies the preferred version of a page when multiple URLs contain the same or substantially similar content.
Technical SEO
Core Web Vitals
Core Web Vitals are Google-defined metrics that assess loading performance, interaction responsiveness and visual stability.
Search systems
Crawling
Crawling is the process of an automated search crawler requesting webpages and following accessible links and resources.
D1 term
Measurement
Domain authority
Domain Authority is a proprietary third-party score from Moz that estimates a domain’s ability to rank; it is not a Google metric or direct Google ranking factor.
F1 term
Search presentation
Featured snippet
A featured snippet is a prominent search result that may extract a short answer from a webpage above or among standard results.
I2 terms
Search systems
Indexing
Indexing is the processing and potential storage of information about a page so it can be considered for retrieval in search results.
Connections
Internal link
An internal link connects one page to another page on the same website.
K1 term
Content
Keyword
A keyword is a word or phrase used to describe a topic or the language people use when searching for it.
L1 term
Content
Long-tail keyword
A long-tail keyword is a relatively specific search phrase, often with a narrower context or intent than a broad topic.
M1 term
Search presentation
Meta description
A meta description is a short HTML summary that may be used to describe a page in search results.
O1 term
Measurement
Organic traffic
Organic traffic is visits attributed by an analytics system to unpaid search results.
R2 terms
Search systems
Ranking
Ranking is the query-specific ordering of eligible results by a search system.
Technical SEO
Robots.txt
`robots.txt` is a file that provides crawling instructions for compliant automated crawlers.
S4 terms
Content
Search intent
Search intent is the task or need behind the words someone enters into a search system.
Search presentation
SERP
SERP stands for search engine results page: the page or interface a search engine presents in response to a query.
Technical SEO
Sitemap
A sitemap is a file or page that lists important website URLs to help search systems or visitors discover them.
Technical SEO
Structured data
Structured data is machine-readable information added to a page using a recognised vocabulary to describe certain types of visible content.
T1 term
Search presentation
Title tag
A title tag is HTML text that names a webpage and may provide the main link text in a search result.
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