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SEO TERMS BEGINNERS NEED TO KNOW AND KEEP ON HAND

July 30, 2021

SEO TERMS BEGINNERS NEED TO KNOW AND KEEP ON HAND

July 30, 2021

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a complicated process, but worth all the hard work it takes to learn it. SEO is easier to handle when it’s broken down into sections, and that’s what we’re doing here. Before we even talk about how to use it, we’re going to go over some important SEO terms.

SEO Terms and their Meanings

Without knowing these terms, you’ll get lost pretty quickly. It may be best to keep this nearby, so you can review it at any time. There are a lot, a lot, of SEO terms, but we chose to stick with the basics.

301 Redirect

A permanent redirect from one URL to another URL. Usually, a 301 redirect takes a user from a broken page to a functioning page. Broken pages can negatively affect your SEO.

404 Error

A code for a webpage or document that can no longer be found. When a page can’t be found, it’s been moved or deleted. A 404 error page is what a person will see when a 301 redirect isn’t used.

Astronaut floating in space with page not found at the bottom of the image

Algorithm

A formula that figures out the rank of search engine results. Its goal is to give the searcher the most relevant info based on their search.

Alternative Text

A written description of an image. It’s meant to help with accessibility for those who can’t see, and it helps search engines too because bots can’t see images.

Analytics

A way to gather and analyze data or statistics. With SEO, statistics are website traffic, users, revenue, site goals, and more.

Anchor Text

Words that are highlighted in a hypertext link that brings a user to a webpage when clicked. This could be to another site with more information or another page within your website.

Authority

The use of authority in the SEO world means how strong and trustworthy a website is. Strength is defined by the build-up of backlinks. If you have authority, you’re more trustworthy to the search engine and therefore to people.

Backlinks

When a different website links back to your website it’s called a backlink. It helps build authority because other people are saying you have useful information.

Black Hat SEO

Black hat refers to bad SEO practices that search engines do not like. This can involve hiding text within a site, keyword stuffing, spam link building, and more.

Avoid any practice that breaks a search engine’s quality guidelineAUGUST HOLIDAY TRENDS REPORT: PRODUCT & MARKETING IDEAS AND INSPIRATIONs.

Man in black coat and hat with black hat seo next to him

Bots

Also known as search engine spiders or web crawlers. These bots scan a webpage to decide their search rank.

Bounce Rate

A metric that shows the percentage of users that land on one page of a website and then leave before exploring anything else.

Broken Link

A link that brings a person to a non-existent page (a 404 page). Search engines do not like these since they are dead ends.

Click-Through Rate

Click-through rate is the percentage of clicks on your link when it comes up on a search result page. Higher rates mean more visitors and the higher you’ll appear on a search page.

CMS

Also known as a Content Management System, a.k.a a website builder, like WordPress, Wix, and Squarespace.

Conversion

The process where a visitor does what you want them to on your site. Like making a purchase or signing up for a newsletter.

Crawling

How search engines explore web pages and make choices regarding SEO.

De-Index

This is when a search engine either temporarily or permanently removes a website from search results. This usually happens when the site breaks a search engine’s guidelines.

Duplicate Content

Content that is used more than once on the Internet. It can confuse search engines and cause them not to know who to give the best index to.

Dwell Time

Dwell time is the amount of time when a user picks a search result, goes onto a website, and then returns to the SERP. Short dwell time equals low-quality content to search engines.

E-Commerce SEO

An SEO campaign to increase rankings for e-commerce searches, like a specific brand or a product page. This type tends to focus on a product name or SKU keywords.

External Link

A link that you put within your site that goes to a different website. An example is putting a link to a website within your blog post that has more information on the topic you’re writing about.

Featured Snippets

A SERP feature that gives a quick answer to a question within Google. It’s the first thing listed and has an image along with a summary.

Gray Hat

This is the “gray” area between good (white) and bad (black) SEO techniques. It’s bending a guideline’s rule without breaking it.

Headings

Headings are used within a webpage or document. It’s a way to separate information into easier-to-read sections. There is a hierarchy of importance ranging from H1, the most important, to H6, the least important. Putting keywords in the headings is very important for good SEO.

Index(ing)

Indexing is a search engine’s process for gathering and storing data. A search engine is consistently looking around for updated and new pages to add to their databases. When a new page is found, the search engine “indexes” it, meaning they copy it so they can show them in search results.

Internal Links

Links to other pages within your site, like the homepage or contact us page.

Keywords

This may be one of the most important SEO terms. These are specific words that people put into search engines. Using these words helps your page appear to people faster. An example would be, “What is a Keyword?” Both “keyword” and “what is a keyword” are considered keywords.

Keyword Density

This is how often a keyword shows up within content.

Keyword Stuffing

A bad practice of putting too many keywords on one page. An example is putting a keyword in a sentence that it doesn’t belong in. Or using it over and over again close together.  It creates a bad reading experience for users and will make search engines mad.

two hands squeezing the phrase keyword stuffing

KPI

This stands for Key Performance Indicator, which is a measurement of how well your marketing did for your overall campaign goal.

Landing Page

Any page that a visitor will see, there can be more than one depending on your needs.

Link Building

This is a process to get different, trusted, websites to link back to your website. This helps with your organic search rank and visibility. It also increases your authority.

You can link build by reaching out to other sites, creating high-quality content, and a few other approaches.

Long-Tail Keywords

A keyword that falls into the “long tail” of a search demand curve. They tend to be phrases more than individual words.

They have a low monthly search volume but have a specific audience that’s looking for this info. They’re also great because they have less competition and higher conversion rates.

Meta Descriptions

A short description of a webpage. Usually a summary of what the page is about and is meant to entice someone to click. You see this on search engine pages under the link.

Meta Tags

Information that’s in the HTML source code and tells a search engine what your content is about.

Negative SEO

Negative SEO is rare but important to know about. It’s a terrible practice where webspam techniques are used to harm the search rankings of a competitor’s website.

Nofollow Attribute

This is a meta tag that tells search engines not to follow a specific external link. This is usually because a person doesn’t want to give authority to another webpage or it’s a paid link.

No-Index Tag

A meta tag that tells search engines not to show a description with a search listing.

Organic

This means getting good SEO results without having to pay for any advertisements.

Page Title

Of all the SEO terms on this list, this may be the easiest to understand. It’s pretty self-explanatory, it’s the title of a webpage. It can also be known as a title tag.

You’ll see the title on tabs of any browser or in the headline of a search result. Examples being an About Us page or the title of a blog post. Page titles can influence people to click.

Pay-Per-Click (PPC)

An advertising model specifically created to drive traffic to a site by using ads. The owner of the site literally pays the advertiser per click to their page.

Query

Another word for what someone types into a search engine.

Ranking

The order of search engine results. The higher up on a page you are the better. Your goal is to be on the first page.

gold trophy with a white star with blue background

Relevancy

How relevant your content is to what someone is searching for. The more relevant your content is, the higher on the search page your link will be.

Search Volume

A number of monthly searches on a search engine. Each keyword gets its own search volume.

SEM

Also known as Search Engine Marketing, is a professional service that brings more traffic to a website through digital marketing. The marketing can include pay-per-click advertising, Google Shopping, social media marketing, SEO, and more.

SEO

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the practice of getting your website found using keywords. You bring more organic traffic to your site through keywords and search engines.

SERP

Search Engine Results Page, aka, the list of websites that pop up after a query.

Short-Tail Keywords

Short phrases or single words put into a search bar. They are high in competition and search volume.

Stop Word

Stop words are words that are often used and connect other words together. Examples being a, at, for, is, of, on, and the. Search engines usually ignore these words to save time while indexing.

White Hat SEO

Good SEO practices are within a search engine’s quality guidelines.

man in white shirt and hat sitting at a computer with white hat seo next to him

Going Beyond SEO Terms

Wondering why we are giving you such a large list of SEO terms? That’s because we’ll be posting a whole series of blogs about the process and practice of SEO and how it can improve your business. Stay tuned!

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