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Meta Business PartnerMarketing glossary
SEO terms explained.
From keyword to backlink: the most important SEO concepts explained in plain language, with practical examples.
0-9
- 301 redirectA permanent redirect from an old URL to a new one, for both visitors and search engines.
- 302 redirectA temporary redirect from one URL to another, where the original URL stays the main address.
- 404 errorThe error message shown when a page does not exist or can no longer be found at that URL.
- 410 status codeThe HTTP status code that tells browsers and search engines a page was deliberately removed.
- 500 errorAn error message showing that the server hit an unexpected problem and cannot display the page.
A
- AEO (Answer Engine Optimization)Structuring content so search engines and AI assistants can lift a direct answer from it.
- AI OverviewsAI-generated summaries at the top of Google results, with links to the sources they draw on.
- AI SEOAn umbrella term for SEO in the AI era: being visible in AI answers and using AI in the work.
- AlgorithmThe set of rules and calculations a search engine uses to decide which pages rank higher.
- Alt textA short description of an image, meant for screen readers and search engines.
- Anchor textThe clickable text of a link, which shows visitors and Google where the link leads.
B
- BacklinksLinks from other websites to your website, which search engines use as a trust signal.
- BERTA Google language model, used in Search since 2019, that grasps the context of words in queries.
- Bing Webmaster ToolsA free Microsoft tool that shows how your website performs in Bing search.
- Black hat SEOSEO tactics that break search engine guidelines in order to rank higher faster.
- Brand mentionsMentions of your brand name on other websites, such as articles or reviews, with or without a link.
- Branded keywordsSearch queries that contain the name of a brand or company, such as a company name plus a product.
- BreadcrumbsA navigation trail at the top of a page that shows where you are within the website.
- Broken linksLinks that point to a page that no longer exists or cannot be reached.
C
- Canonical tagA tag that tells Google which URL is the preferred version when content appears more than once.
- Category pageA store page that groups products of the same type, such as all running shoes.
- ccTLDA country-specific domain extension, such as .nl, .de or .uk, showing which country a site targets.
- Citation FlowA Majestic score from 0 to 100 that reflects how many links point to a website.
- Click depthThe number of clicks needed to get from the homepage to a particular page.
- CloakingDeliberately showing search engines and visitors different content, against Google’s guidelines.
- CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift)A Core Web Vitals metric that measures how much a page unexpectedly shifts while it loads.
- Commercial search intentThe intent of someone who researches and compares options before deciding to buy something.
- Content auditA review of all content on your site to decide what to keep, improve or remove.
- Content pruningImproving, merging or removing weak or outdated pages to make your website stronger.
- Core updateA broad change to Google’s ranking systems that reshuffles results for many websites.
- Core Web VitalsThree Google metrics that measure how fast, responsive and visually stable a page is.
- Crawl budgetThe number of pages Googlebot can and wants to visit on your website in a given period.
- CrawlingThe process in which a search engine discovers and fetches web pages by following links.
- CTR (click-through rate)The percentage of people who click your result or ad out of everyone who saw it.
D
- DisavowA Google tool for flagging backlinks that Google should not count against your website.
- DofollowA regular link without nofollow that search engines may follow and take into account.
- Domain AuthorityA Moz score from 1 to 100 that estimates how strong a website is likely to be in search.
- Domain RatingAn Ahrefs score from 0 to 100 for the strength of a website’s backlink profile.
- Doorway pagesPages created only to rank in search, which funnel visitors on without offering real value.
- Duplicate contentThe same or nearly the same content appearing on more than one URL, on one or more websites.
- Dwell timeThe time between a click from search results to a page and the visitor’s return to Google.
E
- E-commerce SEOOptimizing an online store so its products and categories are easier to find in search engines.
- E-E-A-TGoogle’s quality framework: experience, expertise, authoritativeness and trustworthiness.
- Evergreen contentContent that stays relevant for a long time and can bring in traffic for years.
F
- FAQ schemaStructured data that marks up frequently asked questions and answers in a machine-readable way.
- FCP (First Contentful Paint)The time until the first content, such as text or an image, appears on the page.
- Featured snippetA highlighted answer at the top of the search results, taken from a web page.
- Focus keywordThe one keyword you primarily want a page to rank for in search results.
G
- GEO (Generative Engine Optimization)Optimizing your content and brand so AI answers mention you or cite your pages as a source.
- Google penaltyInformal term for a lower ranking or removal from Google for breaking its guidelines.
- Google updateA change to the systems Google uses to compile and rank its search results.
- GooglebotGoogle’s crawler that fetches web pages so they can be assessed and added to the index.
H
- H1The main heading of a web page, which tells visitors and search engines what the page is about.
- Heading tagsHTML elements from H1 to H6 that mark up a page’s headings and structure.
- Helpful content updateA 2022 Google update that rewards content written for people rather than for search engines.
- HreflangA code that tells search engines which language or country version of a page suits which visitor.
- HTTP status codesThree-digit codes a server uses to say whether a page was found, moved or ran into an error.
- HTTPSThe secure version of HTTP, which encrypts the data sent between a browser and a server.
I
- ImpressionsThe number of times your page appears in search results, whether or not anyone clicks on it.
- IndexingStoring a page in a search engine’s database so that it can appear in search results.
- Informational search intentA searcher’s wish to learn or find out something, without an immediate purchase in mind.
- INP (Interaction to Next Paint)A Core Web Vitals metric for how quickly a page responds to clicks, taps and key presses.
- Internal linksLinks between pages of the same website, which help visitors and search engines find their way.
K
- Keyword cannibalizationSeveral pages of one website competing for the same keyword, so that none of them ranks well.
- Keyword densityThe percentage of words in a text that consists of one specific keyword.
- Keyword difficultyA score from an SEO tool that estimates how hard it is to rank high for a keyword.
- Keyword gapThe difference between the keywords your competitors rank for and you do not.
- Keyword mappingAssigning each main keyword to exactly one page of your website and recording it in an overview.
- Keyword researchFinding out which keywords your audience uses, how often, and how hard they are to rank for.
- Keyword stuffingRepeating keywords unnaturally often in a text to rank better, which Google treats as spam.
- KeywordsThe words and phrases people type into a search engine to find something.
- Knowledge GraphGoogle’s knowledge database of facts about entities such as businesses, people and places.
- Knowledge panelThe information box Google shows for a search on a business, person or place.
L
- Lazy loadingA technique where images only load when the visitor is about to scroll to them.
- LCP (Largest Contentful Paint)A Core Web Vitals metric for how quickly the largest visible element of a page loads.
- Link buildingEarning links from other websites to your own site to increase your authority and visibility.
- Link juiceThe informal name for the value a link passes on to the page it points to.
- Link profileThe full set of links pointing to a website, with their sources and anchor texts.
- LLM SEOOptimizing your site and brand to be mentioned in answers from language models such as ChatGPT.
- llms.txtA proposed file that summarizes the most important content of your site for AI language models.
- Local citationsMentions of your business name, address and phone number on other websites.
- Local packThe box with a map and three local businesses that Google shows for searches with local intent.
- Local SEOMaking your business easy to find in Google for searches by people in your area.
- Long-tail keywordsSpecific search phrases of three or more words, with lower volume and less competition.
M
- Manual actionA measure taken by a Google reviewer against a site that violates its spam policies.
- Meta descriptionA short summary of a page that Google can show below the title in search results.
- Meta keywordsAn outdated HTML tag listing keywords that Google does not use to rank pages.
- Meta robotsA tag in a page’s head that tells search engines whether they may index that page.
- Meta tagsPieces of code in a page’s head that give search engines and browsers information about that page.
- MicrodataA way of labeling data in a page’s HTML so that search engines can understand it.
- Mobile-first indexingGoogle uses the mobile version of your website as the starting point for indexing and ranking.
N
- NAP detailsThe name, address and phone number of your business, which should be identical everywhere.
- Navigational search intentSearches where someone wants to reach a particular website or page, often by typing a brand name.
- NofollowA link attribute that tells search engines not to treat a link as an endorsement.
- NoindexAn instruction asking search engines not to include a page in their search results.
O
- Off-page SEOEverything you do outside your own website to increase your visibility and authority.
- On-page SEOOptimizing the text, headings and code of your own pages for search engines and readers.
- Organic trafficVisitors who reach your website through unpaid search results, such as those of Google or Bing.
- Orphan pageA page that no internal link points to, which makes it hard for people and crawlers to find.
P
- Page experienceHow pleasant and trustworthy a page feels to visitors, according to Google.
- Page speedHow quickly a page loads and becomes usable, which affects both visitors and visibility.
- PageRankGoogle’s algorithm that estimates the importance of a page based on the links pointing to it.
- PaginationSplitting a long list across several pages, such as pages 1, 2 and 3 of a category.
- People Also AskA Google block of clickable questions related to your search, each with a short answer.
- Pillar pageA comprehensive page on a broad topic that links to in-depth articles on its subtopics.
R
- RankBrainA self-learning Google system that helps interpret searches and match them to useful results.
- RedirectAn automatic forwarding from one URL to another, for both visitors and search engines.
- Redirect chainA series of redirects one after another, from URL A to B and on to C instead of direct.
- Redirect loopRedirects that keep sending each other on forever, so the page never loads.
- Referring domainsThe number of unique websites that have placed at least one link to your website.
- Rel="sponsored"A link attribute used to mark paid links, ads and sponsored placements.
- Rel="ugc"A link attribute for links in content that visitors post themselves, such as comments.
- RenderingTurning code into the page that a visitor or search engine actually gets to see.
- Rich resultsSearch results with extra visual information, such as stars, prices or images.
- Rich snippetsSearch results with extra information under the title, such as review stars or a price.
- Robots.txtA text file that tells search engines which parts of your website they may or may not crawl.
S
- Schema markupCode that tells search engines what a page contains, using the schema.org vocabulary.
- Search engineAn online system that scans the web and shows relevant pages in response to a search.
- Search intentThe goal behind a search: what someone wants to know, find, do or buy.
- Search volumeThe average number of times a keyword is searched for in a search engine each month.
- Semantic SEOSEO that focuses on meaning, topics and context instead of isolated keywords.
- SEO auditA thorough check of your website for technical, content and link-related SEO problems.
- SEO contentContent written to be found in search engines while genuinely helping the reader.
- SEO copywritingWriting copy that both persuades readers and gets found in search engines.
- SEO strategyA plan that sets out how you reach business goals through SEO, with choices and priorities.
- SEO titleThe title of a page as search engines read it and show it in the search results.
- SEO visibilityHow often and how prominently your website appears in organic search results.
- SEO-friendly URLA short, readable web address that makes clear what the page is about.
- SERPThe page of results a search engine shows after someone enters a search query.
- SERP featuresExtra elements in the search results beyond the regular blue links, such as maps and snippets.
- Short-tail keywordsShort, broad search terms of one or two words with high search volume and strong competition.
- Silo structureA way of grouping a website into topic clusters, with internal links mostly inside each cluster.
- Site architectureThe way the pages of a website are organized and connected to each other.
- SitelinksExtra links under a search result that lead directly to important pages of that website.
- SitemapA file listing the key pages of your website to help search engines find them.
- SlugThe final part of a URL that identifies the page, such as seo-audit in example.com/seo-audit.
- Soft 404A page that says nothing was found but still returns a normal 200 status code.
- Structured dataStandardized code on a page that helps machines understand its content.
- SubdomainA separate part of your domain name placed before the main domain, such as blog.example.com.
- SubfolderA folder in the URL of your website, such as example.com/blog/, used to group pages.
T
- Technical SEOMaking your website technically sound so search engines can crawl and index it.
- Thin contentPages that offer little or no added value to visitors, such as empty or copied text.
- Title tagThe page title in the HTML code that shows in the browser tab and in search results.
- TLDThe last part of a domain name, after the final dot, such as .com or .co.uk.
- Topic clusterA set of interlinked pages around one main subject, built around a central pillar page.
- Toxic backlinksIncoming links from low-quality or spammy websites that may harm your link profile.
- Transactional search intentSearches by people who are ready to buy, order, book or request something.
- Trust FlowA Majestic score (0 to 100) for how trustworthy the links pointing to a website are.
- TTFB (Time to First Byte)The time between a request to the server and the first byte the browser receives back.
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