You’ve probably noticed that there’s a lot of jargon and abbreviations in SEO. So we curated and categorized all the important SEO terms and their definitions below.
Click to find a particular term you’re interested in, or keep reading for all definitions.
# | A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z
#
10x content
Content that is at least ten times better than the current top-ranking result for the target keyword.
301 redirect
Redirect that takes users to a new URL and tells search engines that the page has moved permanently.
302 redirect
Redirect that takes users to a new URL and tells search engines that the page has moved temporarily.
404 error
HTTP status code indicating that the server couldn’t find the desired page or resource.
A
Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP)
Open-source HTML framework for creating stripped-down versions of web pages that load faster on mobile.
Ahrefsbot
Web crawler that powers Ahrefs’ backlink index and SEO tools.
Alt text
Descriptive text that appears in place of an image if it fails to load.
Anchor text
Clickable word or phrase that links one webpage to another.
Article spinning
Spammy “writing” technique that turns one article into many “new” articles.
Article syndication
When websites republish content that originally appeared on another website.
Auto-generated content
Content that’s automatically generated using a program or code.
B
Backlinks
Links from pages on another website.
Bing Webmaster Tools
Free service from Microsoft that helps you monitor and troubleshoot your website’s appearance in Bing’s search results.
Bingbot
Web crawler that powers Bing’s search engine.
Black-hat SEO
The use of SEO strategies and tactics that violate search engine guidelines.
Bounce rate
The percentage of visitors that take no further action after landing on a website.
Branded keywords
Words and phrases associated with your brand, products, or services.
Breadcrumb navigation
Internal links that give users (and search engines) a clear trail to follow around your site.
Bridge page
Page designed to rank for a keyword and redirect users elsewhere.
Broken link
Link on your site that points to a non-existent resource. They can be internal or external links.
C
Cached page
What a web page looked like the last time Google visited it.
Canonical tag
HTML code that tells Google what you consider to be the “master” version of a page.
Canonical URL
URL that Google sees as the “master” version of a page or set of pages.
Co-citation
When a website is mentioned by two other websites.
Content hub
Interlinked collections of content about a similar topic.
Core Web Vitals
Metrics that are part of Google’s Page Experience signals used to measure user experience.
Cornerstone content
The most important pages or posts on your site.
Crawl budget
How fast and how many pages a search engine wants to crawl on your site.
Crawlability
A search engine’s ability to access content on a page.
Crawler
The computer bot search engines use to discover pages on the web.
D
Dofollow link
Link that transfers PageRank. AKA a “followed” link.
Domain Rating (DR)
The relative strength of a website’s authority based on its backlink profile.
Doorway page
Pages designed to rank for similar search queries.
Duplicate content
Content that appears on the web in more than one place.
Dwell time
How much time passes between you clicking a search result and clicking back to the SERPs.
Dynamic URL
URL with content that depends on variable parameters.
E
Editorial link
Link that points to your site (that you didn’t ask or pay for.)
Email outreach
The process of putting your product or content in front of relevant people by sending them personalized emails.
Entry page
The first page a searcher views on your site.
External link
Link from your site to another site.
F
Faceted navigation
Type of navigation found on category/archive pages of sites that deal with many listings.
G
Gated content
Content that visitors can only access after providing their contact information.
Gateway page
Pages created to rank for specific, similar search queries. Also known as doorway pages.
Google Alerts
Free service from Google that monitors the web for content changes matching a specific search query.
Google algorithm
Set of rules used by Google to rank matching results when a user performs a search.
Google Analytics
Free service from Google for tracking and monitoring website traffic.
Google autocomplete
Search suggestions given by Google when entering a search.
Google bombing
Where you get a website to rank higher in Google for irrelevant or unrelated search queries using black-hat SEO tactics.
Google Business Profile
Free business listing from Google that shows up in maps and web search results.
Google Caffeine
Search index introduced by Google in 2010 that allowed them to index more content and provide fresher search results.
Google dance
Slang term describing the volatility a new website or page experiences when Google is trying to determine where it should rank.
Google Hummingbird
Algorithm update released by Google in 2013 to return better search results. It emphasized the meaning of search queries over individual keywords.
Google Knowledge Graph
Knowledge base of entities and the relationships between them.
Google Knowledge Panel
SERP feature that provides information about the main subject of the query.
Google My Business
Free service from Google that allows business owners to create, manage, and optimize their Google Business Profile.
Google Panda
Algorithm update released in 2011 by Google that rewarded higher-quality sites and downgraded the presence of lower-quality sites in their search results.
Google penalty
Penalty issued by Google to demote a page or site in its search results. Can be algorithmic or manual.
Google Penguin
Algorithm update released in 2012 by Google to downgrade sites that engaged in manipulative link schemes and keyword stuffing.
Google Pigeon
Algorithm update released in 2013 by Google to improve search results for local search queries.
Google sandbox
Alleged filter by Google that prevents new websites from ranking in Google’s top results.
Google Search Console
Free service from Google that helps you monitor and troubleshoot your website’s appearance in their search results.
Google Webmaster Guidelines
Best practices from Google to help them find, index, and rank your site.
Google Webmaster Tools
Old name of Google Search Console.
Googlebot
Web crawler that powers Google’s search engine.
Grey-hat SEO
The use of SEO strategies and tactics that blur the line between white-hat and black-hat.
Guest blogging
When you create content for another website.
Guestographic
Infographic created by you but published on other websites.
H
H1 tag
HTML heading that’s most commonly used to mark up a web page title.
Header tags
HTML elements used to define headings and subheadings on a page.
Hilltop algorithm
Algorithm adopted by Google in 2003 to identify authoritative web pages to rank.
Holistic SEO
The practice of improving all aspects of a website to rank higher in search engines.
Hreflang
HTML attribute used to tell Google about alternate versions of a web page for different languages and regions.
HTTPS
Encrypted version of HTTP that protects the communications between your browser and server from being intercepted and tampered with by attackers.
I
Inbound link
Link from another site to your website.
Indexability
A search engine’s ability to analyze and store a web page in its database.
Informational query
Query where someone wants to find information, not products.
Internal link
Link from another page on the same website.
Interstitial ad
Full-screen interactive ads that cover the interface of the website or app.
K
Keyword cannibalization
When a single website unintentionally targets the same keyword across multiple posts or pages.
Keyword density
Percentage of total words on a page that are a specific keyword or phrase.
Keyword Difficulty
Metric used by SEO tool providers to estimate a keyword’s ranking difficulty.
Keyword ranking
Your position in organic search for a particular keyword.
Keyword stemming
Process of reducing a word to its ‘stem’ or ‘root’ (e.g., flowers, flowery -> flower).
Keyword stuffing
Repeating the same keywords (or similar phrases) in your content to try to manipulate rankings.
Keywords
Words and phrases that people type into search engines to find what they’re looking for.
L
Link bait
Content specifically formulated to attract links.
Link building
The process of getting other websites to link to pages on your website.
Link equity
‘Authority’ that is passed when one page links to another.
Link exchange
Agreement between two websites to link to each other.
Link farm
Group of websites created to link to each other to improve search engine rankings.
Link popularity
The number of backlinks that point to a website.
Link profile
Assessment of all the backlinks (quantity, quality, diversity, etc.) a website has.
Link reclamation
The process of trying to get back lost links.
Link rot
Natural tendency for links to become broken on the web over time.
Link scheme
Links intended to manipulate PageRank or a site’s ranking in Google search results.
Link spam
Irrelevant links placed on pages to try and improve search engine rankings.
Link velocity
The rate at which a website’s backlink profile is growing.
Local business schema
Type of structured data markup to help local businesses optimize for local SEO.
Local citation
Any mention of your business’s name, address, and phone number (NAP) online.
Local pack
SERP feature that appears for local queries and displays local Google business listings.
Local search marketing
The process of improving your presence in local search using SEO or paid ads.
Local SEO
The process of ‘optimizing’ your online presence to show up and rank higher in relevant local searches.
Log file analysis
Where you analyze the crawl behaviour of search engine bots in server logs to discover opportunities to improve SEO.
Long-tail keyword
A low-volume search query.
LSI keywords
Misnomer for semantically-related words and phrases. (LSI keywords don’t exist.)
M
Manual action
Demotion or removal of websites/webpages issued by Google to sites that do not comply with their webmaster guidelines.
Meta description
HTML attribute used to describe what a page is about.
Meta keywords
Meta tags that give some search engines (not Google) more information about a page’s content.
Meta redirect
Code that tells the web browser to redirect the user to a different URL after a set amount of time.
Meta robots tag
HTML snippet that tells search engines how to crawl or index a page.
Meta tags
Snippets of code that tell search engines important information about your web page.
Mirror site
A copy of a website hosted on another server.
Mobile-first indexing
Google’s shift to using the mobile version of content for indexing and ranking.
N
Natural link
A link that occurs organically.
Navigational query
Query where someone is looking for a specific website.
Negative SEO
When a competitor uses black-hat tactics to attempt to sabotage the rankings of a competing website or web page.
Nofollow
Tag that tells Google not to take a link into account for ranking purposes.
Noindex tag
Tag that instructs search engines not to index a page.
Noreferrer
HTML attribute that prevents referrer information passing through a link.
Not provided
Keyword data that Google omits from sharing with you in Google Analytics.
O
Off-page SEO
Any efforts taken outside of a website to improve its search engine rankings.
On-page SEO
The practice of optimizing a web page’s visible content and source code to rank higher.
Organic search results
Non-paid search results from a search engine that can’t be bought or influenced by advertisers.
Organic traffic
Traffic from a search engine’s organic results.
Orphan page
Page with no internal links pointing to it.
Outbound link
Link that points to a page not on your website.
P
Page speed
The amount of time it takes for a web page to load.
PageRank
A formula that judges the value of a page by looking at the quantity and quality of other pages that link to it.
Paid link
A backlink that you pay for.
People also ask
SERP feature that answers questions related to the user’s search query.
Pogo-sticking
Back-and-forth process between the SERPs and its results when a searcher is unable to find the content they want.
Private Blog Network (PBN)
A network of websites designed specifically for linking to and improving the rankings of other websites.
R
RankBrain
Component of Google’s algorithm that uses sophisticated machine learning algorithms to understand the meaning of unfamiliar words and phrases.
Reciprocal link
When two websites link to each other.
Reconsideration request
Request to have Google review your site after fixing problems identified in a manual action or security issues notification.
Related searches
Search suggestions related to your query that appear at the bottom of the SERPs.
Resource pages
Web pages that curate and link out to useful industry resources.
Rich snippet
Google search result with additional data shown alongside it, usually from structured data on the page.
Robots.txt
A file that tells search engines where they can and can’t go on your site.
S
Schema markup
Code that helps search engines to better understand and represent your content in the search results.
Search algorithm
List of rules used by search engines to rank matching results when a user performs a search.
Search engine poisoning
When malicious hackers create dummy websites that appear to be legitimate search engine results. Their goal is to steal personal information or install malware.
Search intent
The reason behind a search.
Search query
The words and phrases that people type into search engines to find what they’re looking for.
Search visibility
How visible your website and its related pages are in a search engine’s organic results.
Search volume
How many times per month, on average, people in a given country search for your target keyword.
Secondary keywords
Terms closely related to the keyword you want to target.
Seed keywords
Keywords that define your niche and help you identify your competitors.
SEO
The practice of optimizing a website or webpage to get more high-quality traffic from a search engine’s organic results.
SEO audit
The process of evaluating and assessing your website to see how well it’s performing in search engines.
SEO silo
The grouping together of topically-related web pages via internal links.
Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs)
Pages that search engines show in response to a user’s search query.
SERP features
Non-traditional search results that provide information directly within the SERP, so users do not have to click.
Share of voice
How visible your brand is in the market.
Short-tail keywords
Terms with high search volumes.
Sitelinks
Links to other pages or sections of a page that appear under some Google search results.
Sitemap
XML file listing all the important content on your website.
Sitewide link
Outbound link that appears on every page of a website.
Spamdexing
Deliberate manipulation of search engine results using techniques that are against their guidelines.
Srcset
HTML attribute that allows you to display different versions of an image for different screen sizes and resolutions.
SSL
Protocols for establishing authenticated and encrypted links between networked computers.
Structured data
A standardized way to provide information about a web page.
Subdomain
The part of a URL on the left of the root domain, e.g., help.ahrefs.com
T
Taxonomy SEO
Optimizing for search engines by organizing the structure of content.
Technical SEO
Making technical adjustments to help search engines find, crawl, understand, and index your pages.
TF-IDF
Statistical measure that aims to judge the relative importance of a word in a document.
Thin content
Content that has little or no value for the user.
Title tag
HTML element used to specify the title of a webpage.
Top level domain (TLD)
Last segment of a domain name, like .com or .org.
Transactional query
Query where someone is looking to purchase something but hasn’t yet decided where to buy it from.
TrustRank
Algorithm that analyzes links to separate useful web pages from spam.
U
Unnatural links
Links in a page’s content that are not editorially placed or vouched for by the site’s owner.
URL Rating (UR)
The strength of a target page’s backlink profile on a 0–100 scale, with 100 being the strongest.
URL slug
The end part of the URL that (typically) explains a page’s content.
v
Vertical search
Search engine dedicated to a specific area of focus.
Voice search
The use of voice to interact with a search engine (rather than searching by text).
W
Website structure
How a site is organized and its web pages interlinked.
Webspam
Web pages created to manipulate search engine rankings.
Website authority
A metric from SEO tool providers that measures the relative strength of a site. (Ours is Domain Rating.)
White-hat SEO
The use of Google-approved website SEO strategies, techniques, and tactics.
X
X‑robots-tag
HTTP header sent from a web server that controls indexing of a page.
Y
YMYL pages
Pages about topics that could impact a person’s future happiness, health, financial stability, or safety.
Keep learning
If you’re just getting started with SEO and want to learn the basics, check out our beginner’s guide to SEO. It covers everything you need to know, including:
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