📚 How to Use This Glossary

This glossary is laid out from A to Z, covering all essential terms and phrases used in the world of SEO. Each entry includes:

• ✅ A clear and simple definition
• ✅ Where and why it’s used
• ✅ Tips or examples where useful

You don’t need to read it all in one go — bookmark this page and come back any time you stumble across a confusing SEO term.

🧠 The SEO Glossary

A Simple Guide to SEO Terms (Without the Jargon)

🔍 A

Algorithm
A set of rules used by search engines to decide which pages appear in search results, and in what order. Google’s algorithm changes regularly to improve relevance and combat spam.

Alt Text (Alternative Text)
Describes images on a webpage. Important for accessibility and also helps search engines understand what the image is about.

Anchor Text
The clickable words in a hyperlink. For example, in “learn more about SEO,” the phrase “learn more about SEO” is the anchor text.

📈 B

Backlink
A link from one website to another. If another site links to yours, that’s a backlink. More high-quality backlinks usually mean better SEO.

Bounce Rate
The percentage of visitors who leave your site after viewing just one page. A high bounce rate can indicate that your content isn’t engaging or relevant.

Broken Link
A link that no longer works — maybe the page has been deleted or the URL has changed. Broken links harm user experience and SEO.

🧱 C

Canonical URL
Tells search engines which version of a page is the “main” one if you have duplicate or similar pages. Helps avoid SEO penalties.

Click-Through Rate (CTR)
The percentage of people who click your website link after seeing it in search results. A higher CTR can lead to better rankings.

Content Management System (CMS)
Software used to build and manage websites. WordPress is the most popular CMS.

Crawl / Crawling
Search engines send out bots (called crawlers) to scan websites and collect data. If your site can’t be crawled, it won’t appear in search results.

🧠 D

Domain Authority (DA)
A score (from 1 to 100) that predicts how likely your site is to rank well in search engines. The higher the score, the better.

Duplicate Content
Content that appears in more than one place on the web. It can confuse search engines and hurt your rankings.

📧 E

E-A-T (Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness)
A key concept in Google’s guidelines. Pages written by experts, hosted on trusted sites, and with accurate information tend to rank better.

External Link
A link that goes from your website to another website. Linking to high-quality sources can improve your site’s credibility.

🔍 F

Featured Snippet
A special box at the top of Google search results that highlights a quick answer to a question. Getting this spot is great for visibility.

Focus Keyword
The main word or phrase you want a specific page or post to rank for.

📁 G

Google Analytics
A free tool from Google that helps you understand who’s visiting your site, how they found it, and what they’re doing there.

Google Search Console
Another free tool from Google. It helps you monitor your site’s SEO health, submit sitemaps, and fix indexing issues.

💡 H

Header Tags (H1, H2, H3, etc.)
Used to structure your content. H1 is your main title, H2 is a subheading, and so on. Helps both users and search engines understand your content.

HTML (HyperText Markup Language)
The basic code that structures your website. Search engines read HTML to understand your pages.

🔧 I

Index / Indexing
Once a search engine crawls your site, it adds your pages to its “index” — meaning it can now show them in search results.

Internal Link
A link from one page on your website to another page on the same site. Helps users navigate and improves SEO.

🔑 K

Keyword
The word or phrase someone types into Google. Good SEO means including the right keywords on your pages in a natural way.

Keyword Difficulty
How hard it is to rank for a particular keyword. Highly competitive keywords are harder to rank for.

Keyword Stuffing
Overusing keywords in your content in an attempt to rank higher. It makes content hard to read and can lead to penalties.

🧭 L

Landing Page
A page specifically designed to get a visitor to take an action — like signing up or buying something. Often used in ads and SEO.

Link Building
The process of getting other websites to link to your site. It’s a key part of SEO.

Local SEO
SEO that helps your business show up in local search results — especially important for physical shops or local services.

📍 M

Meta Description
A short summary of your page that appears under your link in search results. It doesn’t directly affect rankings, but a good one improves clicks.

Meta Tags
Bits of code that give search engines info about your site. Includes meta titles, meta descriptions, and others.

Mobile Optimisation
Making sure your website looks and works well on smartphones. Google prioritises mobile-friendly websites in search results.

📦 N

NoFollow Link
A link that tells search engines not to pass any SEO value to the site being linked to. Used in certain cases, like paid links.

🌍 O

Off-Page SEO
Things you do outside of your website to improve rankings — like link building, social media mentions, and online reviews.

On-Page SEO
SEO strategies applied directly to your website — like keyword use, headings, meta tags, and image optimisation.

Organic Traffic
Visitors who find your site through search engines — not through ads.

🧩 P

Page Speed
How fast your webpage loads. A slow site frustrates users and hurts rankings.

PPC (Pay Per Click)
A form of online advertising where you pay every time someone clicks your ad. Google Ads is the most common platform.

🔁 R

Redirect
A way to send users and search engines from one URL to another — useful when moving or deleting pages.

Robots.txt
A small file that tells search engines which pages or sections of your site they can and can’t crawl.

🧪 S

Schema Markup
Special code that helps search engines understand your content better — often used for reviews, recipes, events, etc.

Search Intent
The reason behind a search query. Are they looking to buy, learn, or find something? Good SEO matches content to intent.

SERP (Search Engine Results Page)
The page you see after typing a query into Google. Includes organic results, ads, snippets, and more.

Sitemap
A file that lists all the important pages on your site so search engines can find and index them easily.

Slug
The part of a URL that comes after the domain — e.g. in example.com/about-us, “about-us” is the slug.

📉 T

Title Tag
The clickable headline shown in search results. It’s one of the most important on-page SEO factors.

Traffic
The number of visitors coming to your website.

📚 U

URL (Uniform Resource Locator)
The web address of a page. Short, clear URLs are better for SEO and user experience.

User Experience (UX)
How easy and enjoyable your website is to use. Good UX improves engagement and SEO.

🔐 W

White Hat SEO
SEO practices that follow search engine guidelines. Long-term, ethical, and sustainable — exactly what this site promotes.

WordPress
The world’s most popular website builder. Great for SEO and flexible enough for beginners and experts alike.

❌ X

XML Sitemap
A file that lists all the important pages on your website in a format search engines can easily read. It helps search engines crawl your site more efficiently and ensures your pages get indexed.

🟡 Y

YouTube SEO
Optimising videos on YouTube so they appear in both YouTube and Google search results. This includes using relevant titles, descriptions, tags, and encouraging engagement (likes, comments, and watch time).

YMYL (Your Money or Your Life)
Pages that affect a person’s financial situation, health, or safety. Google holds these pages to higher standards for quality and trustworthiness due to their impact on users’ lives.

🦓 Z

Zero-Click Search
When a user gets the answer to their search query directly on the results page—often via a featured snippet, map, or calculator—without clicking through to any website. It’s useful for users, but can mean less traffic for websites.

🧠 Final Thoughts

Understanding SEO jargon doesn’t need to be overwhelming. This glossary is here to make sense of it all, so you can feel confident navigating your website’s optimisation — whether you’re doing it yourself or working with an expert.

Refer back to this page anytime you’re confused by an SEO term — and if we’ve missed a word or you want something explained even more clearly, feel free to get in touch!

🔁 Up Next!

How to use this site – This site is organised into easy-to-follow sections that build on each other. You can jump straight to what you need or follow the guides step-by-step — it’s completely up to you.