SEO is full of jargon that sounds more complicated than it needs to be. This is our plain English glossary: the terms you’ll actually come across, explained without the waffle. If you spot a word in one of our reports or on a call with us that isn’t here, just ask, we’re happy to explain.
# A B C D E F G H I K L M N O R S T U V
#
404 error
A “page not found” message. It shows up when a link points to a page that’s been moved or deleted. A few are normal, but lots of them can put visitors, and Google, off your site.
A
Algorithm
The set of rules Google uses to decide which pages to show, and in what order, for a given search. It changes often, and nobody outside Google knows exactly how it works.
Alt text
A short written description of an image, mainly for people using screen readers. It also helps Google understand what the image shows, since it can’t actually see it.
Anchor text
The clickable words in a link. “Click here” tells Google nothing useful. “Our SEO audit page” tells it exactly what’s on the other end.
B
Backlink
A link from another website to yours. Google treats these a bit like word of mouth: the more decent quality sites vouch for you, the more it tends to trust you.
Black hat and white hat SEO
White hat SEO plays by Google’s rules. Black hat SEO tries to cheat the system with shortcuts like buying links or hiding text. Black hat might work briefly, but it tends to end in a penalty.
Bounce rate
The percentage of visitors who land on a page and leave without doing anything else. Not always a bad sign, someone might have found exactly what they needed and left happy, but a very high bounce rate is worth a look.
C
Canonical tag
A bit of code that tells Google “this is the main version of this page” when you’ve got similar or duplicate content elsewhere. Stops Google getting confused about which one to rank.
Click-through rate (CTR)
The percentage of people who see your page in search results and actually click on it. A better title and meta description can improve this without your ranking changing at all.
Conversion rate
The percentage of website visitors who do the thing you actually want, whether that’s making an enquiry, booking, or buying something.
Core Web Vitals
Google’s measurements of how fast and smooth your website feels to use, covering things like loading speed and whether the page jumps around while it loads. Poor scores can hold your rankings back.
Crawlability
Whether search engines can actually get around your website properly and find all your pages. If Google can’t crawl a page, it won’t show up in search results, however good it is.
D
Domain authority
A score, created by SEO tools rather than Google itself, that estimates how likely a website is to rank, based mostly on its backlinks. Useful as a rough guide, not gospel.
Duplicate content
The same, or very similar, content appearing on more than one page, either on your own site or copied elsewhere. It can confuse Google about which page to show, so it’s worth avoiding.
E
E-E-A-T
Stands for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness and Trustworthiness. It’s how Google thinks about whether content is genuinely credible, especially for topics that affect people’s health, money or safety.
F
Featured snippet
The box that sometimes appears above the normal search results, pulling out a direct answer from one of the ranking pages. Landing here can mean more visibility even without being ranked first.
G
Google Analytics
A free tool from Google that shows you what happens once people land on your website: how many visitors you get, where they came from, and what they do while they’re there.
Google Business Profile
Your free business listing on Google, the one that shows your opening hours, reviews and location on Maps. Essential if you want to show up in local search results.
Google Search Console
A free tool from Google that shows how your website is actually performing in search: what you’re showing up for, how often people click, and any technical problems Google has spotted.
H
HTTPS
The secure version of a website address, shown as a padlock icon in your browser. Google prefers secure sites, and visitors trust them more too.
I
Impressions
The number of times your website appeared in search results, whether anyone clicked on it or not.
Indexing
Once Google has crawled a page, indexing is when it gets added to Google’s enormous library of pages it can potentially show in search results. A page has to be indexed before it can rank for anything.
Internal linking
Links from one page on your website to another. It helps visitors, and Google, find their way around, and spreads authority between your pages.
K
Keyword
A word or phrase someone types into Google. Understanding which keywords your customers actually use is the backbone of most SEO work.
Keyword research
The process of finding out what people are actually searching for, and how often, so you can write about the things your customers are looking for rather than guessing.
Keyword stuffing
Cramming a page full of the same keyword over and over in the hope of ranking higher. It reads badly, Google spots it, and it can do more harm than good.
L
Link farm
A network of low quality websites built purely to link to each other, or to sites that pay to be included. Google’s got wise to these schemes, and getting caught up in one, even by accident, can do your rankings more harm than good.
Local citation
A mention of your business name, address and phone number on another website, like a directory. Consistent citations help search engines trust that your business is real and where you say it is.
Local pack
The block of three local businesses, often shown with a map, that appears for searches like “plumber near me”. Getting into it usually depends heavily on your Google Business Profile and reviews.
Local SEO
The part of SEO focused on showing up for searches near you, like “plumber in Doncaster” rather than just “plumber”. Your Google Business Profile, reviews and NAP consistency all play a big part in it.
Long-tail keyword
A longer, more specific search phrase, like “affordable SEO audit for a small shop” rather than just “SEO”. Usually less competitive, and often more likely to convert.
M
Meta description
The short snippet of text under your page title in search results. It doesn’t directly affect rankings, but a good one can be the difference between someone clicking your result or a competitor’s. Check yours with our free meta description checker.
Meta title
The clickable headline for your page in search results, also called a title tag. One of the most important on-page elements for both rankings and getting the click. You can preview yours with our free meta description checker.
Mobile-first indexing
Google mostly looks at the mobile version of your website to decide how to rank it, even for searches done on a desktop. If your site doesn’t work properly on a phone, that’s a real problem.
N
NAP consistency
Keeping your business Name, Address and Phone number identical everywhere it appears online. Mismatched details across your website, Google Business Profile and directories can quietly damage local rankings.
Nofollow link
A link with a bit of code attached telling Google not to pass any ranking credit through it. Common on comments sections and paid content, so it doesn’t count as an endorsement.
Noindex tag
A small instruction added to a page that tells Google not to include it in search results, even though it can still find and read the page. Useful for pages you genuinely don’t want showing up, like a thank you page, but easy to leave switched on by accident and end up hiding a page you actually wanted found.
O
Organic traffic
Visitors who arrive at your website through unpaid search results, as opposed to adverts. Growing this is what most SEO work is trying to do.
Orphaned page
A page on your website that no other page links to, so the only way to find it is by knowing the exact address. Even a genuinely good page can struggle to rank if it’s sitting orphaned with nothing pointing to it.
R
Ranking factor
Anything Google takes into account when deciding where to place a page in search results. There are hundreds, and Google keeps most of them under wraps.
Redirect (301 redirect)
A permanent instruction that sends visitors and search engines from an old web address to a new one. Essential when you delete or rename a page, otherwise people land on a dead end.
Robots.txt
A small file on your website that tells search engines which parts of your site they’re allowed to look at. Handy, but easy to get wrong and accidentally block something important.
S
Schema markup
Extra code added to a page that helps search engines understand exactly what the content means, like which bit is a price, a review or an opening time. Can help you show up with fancier looking search results, like star ratings.
Search intent
What someone actually wants when they type a search into Google, whether that’s to buy something, find information, or find a specific website. Matching your content to the right intent matters more than just using the right keyword.
SEO
Short for search engine optimisation. The practice of improving your website so it shows up higher in search results like Google, without paying for adverts.
SERP
Short for search engine results page, the page you see after typing something into Google. SEO is essentially the work of trying to appear higher up one of these.
Sitemap
A file that lists every page on your website, handed to search engines to help them find and understand your content. Think of it as a map you hand to Google rather than making it explore blind. Here’s how to submit your sitemap to Google.
T
Thin content
A page with very little useful information on it. Google tends to rank thin pages poorly, since they don’t offer much for someone to actually find helpful.
U
URL slug
The bit of a web address after your domain name, like “/affordable-seo-audits/”. Short, readable slugs that describe the page tend to work better than long strings of random numbers.
V
Voice search
Searching by speaking to a device instead of typing, through things like Google Assistant or Alexa. Tends to favour longer, more conversational phrases and direct answers.