SEO Dictionary
Get clear definitions of key SEO terms and concepts to help enhance your SEO knowledge
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301 redirect
A 301 redirect is an HTTP status code that redirects users (and search engines) from one page to another. It indicates that a page has moved permanently.
302 redirect
A 302 redirect is a temporary way to divert users from one page on your site to a different page. It helps make sure users and bots can still access your site if a specific page or resource is unavailable.
Learn more about difference between 301 and 302 redirect.
404
The Web server returns the http 404 - File not found error message, when it cannot retrieve the page that was requested.
A
Alexa Certify Javascript
Alexa Certify Javascript is a tool provided by Amazon's Alexa service that helps improve SEO by monitoring and optimizing the performance of JavaScript code on a website.
Alt
Alternative. Image alt provides alternative information for an image on a webpage if the image fails to load on a user's screen.
Audit
Audit: to make an official examination and produce a report. SEO Audit means the process of analyzing all the factors that affects your website's visibility on search engines.
B
Baidu Webmaster Tools
Baidu Webmaster Tools is the equivalent of Google Search Console for optimizing websites specifically for Baidu, the leading search engine in China.
Bing Webmaster Tools
Bing Webmaster Tools is similar to Google Search Console, but it is designed for optimizing websites specifically for Bing, the search engine developed by Microsoft.
Breadcrumb
A breadcrumb trail on a page indicates the page's position in the site hierarchy, and it may help users understand and explore a site effectively.
C
Competition
Competition referring to keyword competition which is a difficulty metric representing how easy or difficult it will be to rank on Google's organic search results for a specific keyword.
F
Favicon
A favicon is a small icon displayed in the browser tab or next to the page title in search results, serving as a visual representation or logo for a website.
G
Google Analytics
Google Analytics is a free tool by Google that helps website owners understand their website's performance by providing data on visitors, traffic sources, and user behavior.
Google Search Console
Google Search Console is a free tool by Google that helps website owners monitor and optimize their website's presence in Google search results by providing insights, alerts, and tools for managing website indexing and performance.
Google Structured Data
Google Structured Data refers to a standardized format for organizing and marking up website content, providing search engines with additional context and making it easier for them to understand and display relevant information in search results.
Google tag manager
Google Tag Manager is a free tool by Google that simplifies the process of managing and deploying various tracking tags and code snippets on a website without the need for manual coding.
H
HTML sitemap
A sitemap is a file in format HTML where you provide information about the pages, videos, and other files on your site, and the relationships between them.
I
Index
Index is a process of Google that analyzes the text, images, and video files on the page, and stores the information in the Google index, which is a large database.
Instant page
Instant Page is a technique that preloads webpages in the background, reducing the loading time when a user clicks on a link, resulting in faster page loads and a smoother browsing experience.
Internal link
An internal link is a hyperlink that connects one page of a website to another page within the same website, allowing users to navigate between different sections or content within the site.
J
JavaScript (JS)
JavaScript is a programming language that adds interactivity and dynamic behavior to web pages, enabling features like animations, form validation, and interactive content.
K
Keyword density
Keyword density refers to the percentage or frequency of a specific keyword or phrase appearing within a piece of content, indicating its relevance and potential impact on search engine optimization.
Google’s search results sometimes show information that comes from our Knowledge Graph, our database of billions of facts about people, places, and things. The Knowledge Graph allows us to answer factual questions such as “How tall is the Eiffel Tower?” or “Where were the 2016 Summer Olympics held.”
L
Lazy loading
Lazy loading is an optimization technique that defer the loading of images to a later point in time than loading them all upfront and allow a user gets to your site and doesn't bounce before your site fully load.
Largest Contentful Paint (LCP)
Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) is one of the core web vitals from Google. It measures the time to when the largest element on a webpage is rendered and is visible to the users.
Local business
Local Business on Google Search refers to the feature that displays business listings and information specific to a user's location, making it easier for users to find and engage with local businesses directly in search results.
M
Meta description
Meta description on Google Search is a brief summary or snippet of text displayed below the page title in search results, providing a concise preview of the webpage's content to help users understand what the page is about.
Meta title
Meta title on Google Search is the title displayed as the clickable headline in search results, representing the main title or name of a webpage to attract users' attention and indicate the page's content.
Minification
Minification is the process of removing unnecessary characters, spaces, and formatting from code files like HTML, CSS, and JavaScript to reduce their file size and improve website performance.
N
No follow links
A "no follow" link in SEO is a hyperlink that includes a special attribute instructing search engines not to pass any authority or ranking signals to the linked website, essentially indicating that the link should not be considered for search engine optimization purposes.
no-index
"No index" refers to an instruction or meta tag that signals search engines not to include a specific webpage in their search index, preventing it from appearing in search engine results pages (SERPs).
Norton Safe Web
Norton Safe Web is a website reputation service that scans and evaluates websites for potential security risks, malware, and other threats, providing users with information to make informed decisions about website safety.
O
Outbound link
An outbound link is a hyperlink on a webpage that directs users to another website or domain, providing additional resources or references beyond the current website.
Open Graph meta tags
Open Graph meta tags are special HTML tags that provide structured data to social media platforms, allowing for better control over how web pages are displayed when shared on social media networks, including titles, descriptions, and images.
P
Page respond
It is the time it takes for a web page to load and fully respond to a user's request, affecting user experience and search engine rankings.
R
Robots.txt
It is a text file that tells search engine crawlers which pages or sections of a website should or should not be crawled and indexed, helping control the visibility of website content in search results.
S
SEO score
SEO Score is a metric that shows how well your website is optimized for search engines. It is a measure of the factors that Google and other search engines use to rank their websites in search result page. An SEO Score from 0-49 is considered bad, from 50-79 is medium, and from 80 upwards is good
SEO checklist
The SEO checklist is a list of specific tasks and recommendations derived from the audit, outlining what aspects are performing well and what needs to be fixed or improved to enhance the website's search engine visibility and overall optimization.
Snippet code
It is a small piece of code or markup that provides structured data or specific instructions to search engines, influencing how search results are displayed and enhancing the visibility and relevance of the webpage.
Speed score
It is a measure of how quickly a website loads. This is important for both your website users and search engines.
Stop word
They're commonly used words like "and," "the," "but," "how," "or," "what," "when," which search engines typically ignore when indexing content for search results.
T
Title tag
A title tag is an HTML element that specifies the title or headline of a webpage, displayed as the clickable headline in search engine results, conveying the page's content and attracting users' attention.
Transition word
Transition words show the relationship between sentences and parts of sentences. They can show things like comparison (words like "similarly" or "likewise"), contrast ("however," "on the other hand"), or show time sequences ("first," "after," "finally") and much more.
U
URL slug
URL slug is the user-friendly and human-readable part of a website's URL that identifies a specific webpage or content, typically derived from the page title and used to improve URL structure and search engine visibility.
User-agent
User agents are like different types of search engine bots. Each bot has a unique name in robots.txt. For example, Google's bot is called "Googlebot".
V
Variables
Variables act as placeholders that you fill in with actual information as the workflow happens, such as who's buying and what they're buying. They help describe the key parts of the process you're working on.
For example:
Variables: {{collection name}}
What visitors see: Valentine Flower Bouquet
Volume search
This refers to the number of times a specific keyword or phrase is searched for within a given time period, indicating the popularity and potential traffic for that particular search term.
Y
Yandex Webmaster Tools
Yandex Webmaster Tools is similar to Google Search Console, but it is designed for optimizing websites specifically for Yandex, the leading search engine in Russia and other countries in the region.
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