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A list of defined SEO terms that you may encounter.
SEO Basics
SEO/Search Engine Optimization | The practice of improving the presence of a website in search results through keyword research, content curation, technical configuration, and site performance tracking and monitoring. The higher up a website appears in search results, the more likely it is to be clicked on by users. SEO provides a non-paid approach to achieving rankings and improving the potential for generating website traffic. | |
SERPs/Search Engine Result Pages | The list of search results that appear when a user types in a search query. | |
Organic Traffic | Site visitors that enter into a website through unpaid search resultsAlgorithm | A system for search engines to find web content to that is useful and relevant for users. |
Black Hat SEO/Techniques | Detrimental practices to improve website rankings that does not align with search engine guidelines. | |
Crawlers/Bots | The programs that search engines use to crawl a website; collecting and evaluating content on the websites. | |
Crawling | The process of search engine bots reading the code of a website to store in an index for relevant keyword searches. (Crawled does not mean it is Indexed or Ranked.) | Crawlers/Bots | The programs that search engines use to crawl a website; collecting and evaluating content on the websites
Domain | A website’s address on the internet that is contained in the URL (i.e., | |
Domain Age | How long a domain has existed and been in use, which search engines can examine to determine a website’s credibility and garnered authority. | |
Domain Authority | A score that measures a website’s probability to rank in SERPs for relevant keyword searches. | |
Indexing | The process for search engines to store website data acquired during a crawl of a website to use as reference to relevant keyword searches. (Indexed does not mean it is Ranked). | |
Mobile-First Indexing | Google’s approach to predominantly evaluate the content from the mobile view/version of a website to assign rankings. | |
Rank/Rankings | A website’s position/appearance within search results. | |
Organic Search | Any unpaid marketing content that users can find naturally through searching/browsing. | |
Algorithm | A system for search engines to find web content to that is useful and relevant for users. | |
Local SEO | The inclusion of a business' physical location in optimization strategies in order to improve the rankings of the website in the business' local search results. | |
Meta Description | A description of a webpage’s content that is 250-300 characters long (for mobile-friendliness) and gets displayed in search results. It is not viewable on the webpage itself, but exists in the source code of the page.  | |
Metadata | Includes the title tag and meta description; the content that appears in search results as a listing. | |
Black Hat SEO/Techniques | Detrimental practices to improve website rankings that does not align with search engine guidelines. | |
Domain | A website’s address on the internet that is contained in the URL (i.e., | |
Domain Authority | A score that measures a website’s probability to rank in SERPs for relevant keyword searches. | |
Domain Age | How long a domain has existed and been in use, which search engines can examine to determine a website’s credibility and garnered authorityMobile-First Indexing | Google’s approach to predominantly evaluate the content from the mobile view/version of a website to assign rankings. |
Organic Search | Any unpaid marketing content that users can find naturally through searching/browsing. | |
Organic Traffic | Site visitors that enter into a website through unpaid search results. | |
Rank/Rankings | A website’s position/appearance within search results. | |
SEF/Search Engine Friendly URLs | A URL structure that defines a clear path to a webpage by using language that is readable to both users and search engines. An example is non-SEF: | |
Local SEO/Search Engine Optimization | The inclusion of a business' physical location in optimization strategies in order to improve the rankings of the website in the business' local search results. | |
Meta Description | A description of a webpage’s content that is 250-300 characters long (for mobile-friendliness) and gets displayed in search results. It is not viewable on the webpage itself, but exists in the source code of the page. | |
practice of improving the presence of a website in search results through keyword research, content curation, technical configuration, and site performance tracking and monitoring. The higher up a website appears in search results, the more likely it is to be clicked on by users. SEO provides a non-paid approach to achieving rankings and improving the potential for generating website traffic. | ||
SERPs/Search Engine Result Pages | The list of search results that appear when a user types in a search query. | |
Linking
External Link | A hyperlink on a website that directs users off that domain and onto a different website. |
Internal Link | A link on a website that directs users to another webpage on that same domain. |
Link Hierarchy | A tiered structure of webpages that link together from more authoritative webpages to less authoritative webpages. |
Link Equity | A level of authority/value that is passed by interlinking relevant webpages to each other. |
Backlinks | Links that direct to a website from other websites. These can benefit the SEO health of a website but need to be from legitimate/relevant sources in order to create credibility and trustworthiness. |
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Clicks | When a website appears in search results and a user clicks into it. |
Impressions | The amount of times a website appears in search results. |
Session | The period of time a user is actively engaged with the website (not measuring how long they spend on-site - i.e., Session Duration). |
Session Duration | The timeframe of how long a user interacts with the website. |
Return Visits | Users who have previously visited the website (based on browser cookies) and has initiated another session with the same browser and device. |
New Visits | Users who have never visited the website before (as determined by the lack of any browser cookies from the new visitor) and now has initiated their first session. |
Total Visits | The total amount of visits, by new or returning visitors, the website receives within a designated timeframe. |
Bounce Rate | The percentage of users who enter into a webpage, but immediately back out without any further action. |
Organic Leads | Users who have reached a website by locating it in search results, as opposed to PPC ads or direct search. |
CTR/Click-Through Rate | The number of times a user click into a webpage based on the number of times that webpage is shown in search results. |
Google Analytics | A web analytics tool for gathering data on user interaction while on a client website. |
Google Search Console | A web performance tool for monitoring, maintaining, and troubleshooting a website’s presence in Google’s search results. |
Google Tag Manager | A web tag management tool for installing tags on webpages to track and store user actions on a website. |
Conversion | When a defined goal of a website is accomplished by the visitor. A goal can be defined as a sale, an inquiry email, service request, etc. The more optimized a website is, the more organic traffic it gets, and the more likely users will convert. |
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