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Glossary

SEO and AI search terms A to Z

A plain-English glossary of the SEO terms that actually matter, from technical basics to the AI search concepts shaping 2026. Use it to brief your team, vet an agency, or simply understand what you are being asked to pay for.

  • 48terms defined
  • 21letters in use
  • 19 Aug 2026last reviewed

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48 of 48
A 5 terms
A/B Testing
Running two versions of a page or element against each other to see which one performs better on a specific metric, such as click-through rate or conversions.
Alt Text
A written description added to an image's HTML so search engines and screen readers can understand what the image shows, improving both accessibility and image search visibility.
Anchor Text
The clickable, visible text of a hyperlink. Search engines use anchor text as a signal about what the linked page is about.
Answer Engine OptimizationAEO
Structuring content in clear, self-contained question-and-answer formats so voice assistants and answer boxes can lift a direct response from your page.
Authority
A measure of how trustworthy and credible search engines consider a website or page to be, built up over time through quality content, backlinks, and consistent E-E-A-T signals.
B 2 terms
Backlink
A link from another website pointing to yours. Backlinks act as a vote of confidence and remain one of the strongest ranking signals in organic search.
Bounce Rate
The percentage of visitors who leave a page without taking any further action, such as clicking another page or completing a goal.
C 5 terms
Canonical Tag
An HTML tag that tells search engines which version of a page is the primary one, preventing duplicate content issues when the same content is accessible through multiple URLs.
Click-Through RateCTR
The percentage of people who click your result after seeing it in search results, calculated as clicks divided by impressions.
Content Gap Analysis
Comparing your content against competitors and search demand to find topics, questions, or subtopics you have not covered yet.
Core Web Vitals
A set of Google metrics measuring loading speed, interactivity, and visual stability of a page, used as part of Google's page experience ranking signals.
Crawl Budget
The number of pages a search engine will crawl on your site within a given time period, which matters most for very large websites.
D 1 term
Domain Authority
A third-party metric (originally from Moz) that predicts how likely a domain is to rank in search results, based largely on its backlink profile.
E 1 term
E-E-A-T
Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. Google's framework for evaluating content quality, especially for topics that affect health, finances, or safety.
F 1 term
Featured Snippet
A highlighted answer box shown at the top of Google's search results, pulled directly from a ranking page to answer a query quickly.
G 1 term
Google Search Console
A free Google tool that shows how your site performs in search, including which queries drive traffic, indexing status, and technical issues.
I 2 terms
Indexing
The process by which search engines store and organize pages they have crawled, making them eligible to appear in search results.
Internal Linking
Linking from one page on your site to another, helping search engines understand site structure and distributing authority across pages.
K 3 terms
Keyword Cannibalization
When multiple pages on the same site target the same keyword or search intent, causing them to compete against each other instead of one page ranking strongly.
Keyword Density
The percentage of times a keyword appears relative to the total word count of a page. Largely outdated as a ranking factor in favour of natural, topic-based writing.
Keyword Intent
The underlying goal behind a search query, such as wanting information, comparing options, or being ready to buy.
L 4 terms
Landing Page
A standalone page designed for a specific campaign or offer, built to convert visitors rather than serve general site navigation.
Link Building
The ongoing process of earning backlinks from other websites to build authority and improve rankings.
Local SEO
Optimizing a business's online presence to attract more customers from relevant local searches, typically involving Google Business Profile, citations, and local content.
Long-Tail Keyword
A longer, more specific search phrase, usually with lower search volume but higher intent and less competition than a broad keyword.
M 1 term
Meta Description
The short summary shown under a page's title in search results, written to accurately describe the page and encourage clicks.
N 2 terms
NAP Consistency
Ensuring a business's Name, Address, and Phone number are identical across all online listings and directories, an important local SEO trust signal.
Noindex Tag
An instruction telling search engines not to include a specific page in their index, keeping it out of search results while still allowing it to exist on the site.
O 3 terms
Off-Page SEO
Optimization activities that happen outside your own website, primarily link building, brand mentions, and digital PR.
On-Page SEO
Optimization applied directly on a page, including title tags, headings, content quality, internal links, and technical elements.
Organic Traffic
Visitors who arrive at your site through unpaid search engine results, as opposed to paid ads or referral traffic.
P 2 terms
PageRank
Google's original algorithm for ranking pages based on the quantity and quality of links pointing to them. Still an underlying concept in how authority flows between pages.
Page Speed
How quickly a page loads and becomes usable, a factor in both user experience and Google's ranking systems.
R 3 terms
Rank Tracking
Monitoring where your pages appear in search results for target keywords over time.
Redirect301/302
A 301 redirect permanently sends visitors and search engines from one URL to another, passing most ranking value. A 302 redirect is temporary and does not pass the same value.
Robots.txt
A text file that tells search engine crawlers which parts of a site they are allowed or not allowed to access.
S 5 terms
Schema Markup
Structured data code added to a page that helps search engines understand its content more precisely, enabling rich results like star ratings or FAQ dropdowns.
Search Intent
See Keyword Intent. The reason behind a specific search query and what the user actually wants to find.
SERP
Search Engine Results Page. The page displayed after a user runs a search query.
Sitemap
A file listing the important pages on a website, submitted to search engines to help them discover and crawl content more efficiently.
Structured Data
Standardized code (often schema.org markup) added to a page so search engines and AI systems can extract facts and context more reliably.
T 3 terms
Technical SEO
Optimization work focused on a site's infrastructure, such as crawlability, indexing, site speed, mobile-friendliness, and structured data, rather than content itself.
Title Tag
The HTML element that defines a page's title, shown as the clickable headline in search results and browser tabs.
Topical Authority
The degree to which a website is seen as a comprehensive, trusted source on a given subject, built by covering a topic in depth across multiple related pages.
V 1 term
Voice Search Optimization
Optimizing content to answer the conversational, spoken queries used with voice assistants, typically through natural language and direct answers.
W 1 term
White Hat SEO
SEO techniques that follow search engine guidelines and focus on genuine value to users, as opposed to manipulative black hat tactics.
X 1 term
XML Sitemap
A sitemap formatted specifically for search engines, listing URLs along with metadata like last-modified dates, to help with efficient crawling.
Z 1 term
Zero-Click Search
A search result where the user gets their answer directly on the results page (through a featured snippet or knowledge panel) without clicking through to a website.

No term matches that. Try “Backlink”, “Authority” or “Indexing”.

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