Purpose
This document defines commonly used SEO terms that will aid your understanding of SEO concepts and practices. Additionally, answers to frequently asked SEO questions will be recorded here.
How to Use
Table of Contents
Glossary
A list of defined SEO terms that you may encounter.
SEO Basics
Algorithm | 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.) |
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). |
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. |
Mobile-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: |
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. |
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. |
Keywords
Keywords | Words or phrases that a user types into a search engine to find results for. |
Keyword Stuffing | The detrimental practice of adding an unnecessary amount of keywords and phrases into on-site content. |
Keyword Cannibalization | When various webpages on a website target the same exact keywords, causing those pages to compete against each other for rankings in search results. |
Keyword Density/Frequency | The number of times a certain keyword appears on a webpage in relation to the overall word count of the webpage’s content. |
Search Volume | The number of searches users are performing for a certain keyword within a determined timeframe. |
Long-tail Keywords | Longer and more specific keyword phrases that may target niche topics or demographics. |
LSI/Latent Semantic Indexing Keywords | A set of keywords that are conceptually related that search engines use to understand content on a webpage in detail. |
Keyword Audit | Evaluating the keywords/keyword group on a website or in our tracking and monitoring list to determine their value to the website. This can mean new keywords are added, non-relevant keywords are removed, or certain keywords across a website are updated. |
Analytics
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. |
SEO Package Services
RM/Rep Mgmt/Reputation Management | A service for aiding a website’s online reputation through requesting customer reviews via email solicitation. |
Local Page | A location-based landing page that targets broad inventory and service keywords, as well as a location (outside of the hometown) for a dealership. A Local page is a location-based webpage that highlights an area OUTSIDE of the dealership’s hometown/physical location. The information on this page talks about the dealership’s inventory and services, as it relates to the location of focus. |
Campaign Plan | A plan of action that determines the goals and direction of a website for the next 7 months. |
Business Directory | An online listing of a business' information, such as hours of operation, address, and phone number (see NAP citation as well). |
NAP Citation | A listing on an online directory that includes the business Name, Address, and Phone number. |
Glossary Terms to Define
A list of requested SEO terms to be defined.
Term | Notes | Submission Date |
Terms outside SEO Scope
A list of requested definitions for terms that do not involve SEO. An SEO team member will update the Reason section.
Non-SEO Term | Reason |
FAQs
A list of frequently asked SEO-related questions that are gathered from communication with clients or have surfaced through your own research.
Frequently Asked Questions
FAQs to Answer
Question Submission | Notes | Submission Date |
FAQs outside SEO Scope
Non-SEO Question | Reason |
Related Resources
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