Whether you're new to SEO or refining your strategy, this glossary breaks down key concepts, metrics, and tools across all major areas of search optimization.
The practice of improving a website’s visibility in search engines to attract more organic traffic.
Traffic that comes from unpaid search results on Google or other search engines.
The page users see after performing a search — includes organic results, paid ads, and featured snippets.
The goal behind a user’s search — informational, navigational, transactional, or commercial investigation.
The process by which search engines store and organize website content to deliver in search results.
When search engine bots scan webpages to discover and update content for indexing.
A file that lists all important URLs on a website, helping search engines crawl more efficiently.
A file that tells search engine crawlers which pages or files they can or cannot access on your site.
The preferred version of a webpage when duplicate or similar content exists across URLs.
HTML elements providing metadata like title, description, and keywords for each page.
The page’s title shown in search results and browser tabs — a key on-page ranking factor.
Used to structure content and signal topic hierarchy to both readers and search engines.
Links connecting pages within your site to guide users and distribute ranking power.
Descriptive text for images that improves accessibility and helps search engines understand visuals.
Clean, descriptive URLs improve click-through rates and make pages easier to index.
A Google quality concept emphasizing Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness.
Highlighted answer box shown at the top of some Google results, pulled from a website’s content.
A link from another website pointing to your site — crucial for authority and rankings.
A score (0–100) predicting how well a site will rank, influenced by backlinks and trust signals.
The clickable text in a hyperlink that provides context to users and search engines.
The process of earning quality backlinks from reputable websites to improve authority.
Attributes that tell search engines whether or not to pass ranking value through a link.
Visitors arriving at your site through external links from other domains.
Website optimizations that help search engines crawl, index, and render your pages efficiently.
Google’s performance metrics that assess page speed, interactivity, and visual stability.
A ranking factor based on how well your site performs on mobile devices.
A secure connection protocol that encrypts user data and signals site trustworthiness to Google.
Code that helps search engines understand your content and display rich snippets in SERPs.
Used to send visitors and search engines from one URL to another. 301 = permanent; 302 = temporary.
Content that appears in multiple places on your site or across the web, which can confuse crawlers.
HTML tag that identifies the preferred version of a page to avoid duplicate content issues.
A free business listing that helps your company appear in local search and map results.
Ensuring your Name, Address, and Phone number are identical across all directories and listings.
Mentions of your business information on other websites, directories, or platforms.
The set of three highlighted local business listings displayed in Google’s map results.
Search terms that include geographic locations (e.g., “SEO consultant Toronto”).
Pages optimized for specific cities or regions to target local search visibility.
Percentage of users who click your search result compared to how often it’s shown.
The percentage of visitors who complete a desired action — like filling a form or making a purchase.
The percentage of visitors who leave your site after viewing only one page.
How many times your website or page appears in search results, regardless of clicks.
Visitors arriving through unpaid search engine results.
Your position in search results for a given keyword — tracked over time to measure progress.
A metric showing how competitive a keyword is to rank for, based on authority and backlinks of top pages.
The average number of times a keyword is searched per month.
A more specific, lower-competition keyword phrase that often converts better than broad terms.
A group of related content pages connected to a central pillar page to strengthen topical authority.
Missing topics or keywords your competitors rank for but you don’t — an opportunity to expand coverage.
A free Google tool to track site performance, monitor indexing, and identify search issues.
Tracks visitor behavior, traffic sources, and conversion data for your website.
An advanced SEO toolset for backlink analysis, keyword research, and content audits.
A comprehensive SEO and PPC suite for competitive research, audits, and keyword tracking.
A website crawler used to identify technical SEO issues, broken links, and redirect chains.
A popular WordPress plugin that helps optimize on-page content and metadata.
An advertising model where you pay each time someone clicks on your ad.
The amount paid per ad click — varies based on competition and keyword demand.
A Google Ads metric based on ad relevance, CTR, and landing page experience.
Determines your ad’s position on a search results page — influenced by bid and quality score.
The percentage of times your ads are shown compared to the total available impressions.