SEO Terms and Lingo Explained

Alt Text (Alternative Text) (article): A description of an image in your site's HTML, alt text improves accessibility for visually impaired users and helps search engines understand the image content. For instance, "a woman lifting weights" is more descriptive than "image1.jpg".

Anchor Text: The clickable text in a hyperlink that should be relevant to the page you're linking to. For example, using "get the definition of 'Backlink'" instead of a generic "click here" can help with SEO.

Audience Research: The process of gathering and analyzing information about your website's prospective and current visitors to understand their behaviors, preferences, and needs. This research helps tailor your content strategy to better engage with your audience and improve SEO outcomes. Our Audience Attraction Audit is an example of doing audience research.

Audience Segment: A subgroup of your target audience defined by more specific characteristics or behaviors. Segmenting your audience allows for more personalized and effective marketing strategies, which can lead to higher engagement and conversion rates.

Authority: In SEO terms, authority refers to the level of trust that a site is viewed with by search engines, which can affect its ranking. Sites with high authority are typically well-established and have lots of high-quality content and backlinks.

Backlink: A link from one website to another that can significantly boost your site's authority if it comes from a reputable source. Think of backlinks as votes of confidence from other sites.

Black Hat SEO: Disapproved practices that may provide short-term gains in rankings but can lead to penalties or bans from search engines. An example is keyword stuffing, which creates a poor user experience.

Breadcrumb Navigation: A type of text-based website navigation that allows users to track their path from the current page to the home page, enhancing usability and contributing to SEO structure.

Canonical Tag: An HTML element that helps prevent duplicate content issues by specifying the "canonical" version of a web page, telling search engines which page is the master copy.

Churn Rate: A critical metric for subscription-based services, the churn rate measures the percentage of customers who discontinue their service over a certain period.

Click-Through Rate (CTR): The ratio of users who click on a specific link to the number of total users who view a page or ad, with a higher CTR indicating that your content is resonating with users.

Content Calendar: A schedule that outlines when and which content will be published, ensuring a consistent and strategic approach to content marketing and SEO.

Content Cluster: A collection of interlinked articles or content pieces around a central topic that provides a comprehensive look at that topic. Clusters help establish authority on a subject and improve search engine visibility for a set of related keywords. Content clusters are a big part of the Precision Reach SEO^TM strategy.

Content Management System (CMS): A software that allows users to create, edit, and manage web content, with popular systems like Wordpress and Webflow offering various SEO plugins to optimize your site.

Content Optimization: The process of making your web pages more attractive by improving elements like text and images. We cover content quality extensively in this article, with guidelines like using relevant keywords can help search engines understand your content better.

Content Siloing: The practice of organizing related content together to establish the website's keyword-based topics, much like books sorted by genre in a library. You can see examples in the footer of our site, where we have the categories like 'On-Page SEO', 'SEO for Home Service Businesses', and others.

Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO): The process of increasing the percentage of users who perform a desired action, which can include A/B testing different elements on a page to see which leads to more conversions.

Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC): The average cost incurred to gain a new customer, including all marketing and sales expenses. Reducing CAC while maintaining quality leads is a key goal in SEO marketing.

Domain Authority: A search engine ranking score that predicts how well a website will rank. A higher domain authority suggests that your website has the potential to rank well in SERPs.

Duplicate Content: Content that appears in more than one place online can confuse search engines and dilute your site's ranking potential.

E-A-T (Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness): Google's quality standard for assessing web page content. Sites that demonstrate a high level of expertise and trustworthiness tend to rank higher. (In December 2022 it was revised to E-E-A-T, to include 'Experience'. Our blog article goes much more in depth.)

Engagement: In digital marketing, engagement refers to the ways in which users interact with your website and content. High levels of engagement, such as comments, shares, and time on site, can positively influence SEO.

Evergreen Content: Content that remains relevant and fresh over time, such as "how-to" guides or FAQs, which can continue to attract traffic and remain valuable in SEO terms.

External Linking (article): The practice of linking from your website to other relevant and authoritative sites. External links can provide context and additional value to your readers, and can also signal to search engines that your content is well-researched and informative. While the link to our article is an example of an 'internal' link, the links below to Google Analytics and Search Console are examples of external links.

Featured Snippet: A summary of an answer to a user query displayed at the top of Google search results, often pulled from a webpage that provides a clear and concise answer.

Google Analytics: A tool that tracks and reports website traffic, providing insights into user behavior that can inform your SEO strategy and content decisions. Find Google Analytics here.

Google Business Profile (formerly 'Google My Business'): A free and incredibly important tool designed to help business owners manage their online presence across Google, including Search and Maps. Get the free 'Complete 2024 Business Owner's Guide to Google Business Profile' here.

Google Search Console: A service that helps you monitor, maintain, and troubleshoot your site's presence in Google search results, essential for understanding your SEO performance. You can find it here.

Header Tags (H1, H2, H3, etc.)(article): HTML elements that help structure your content for both readability and SEO. An H1 tag should be used for your main title, with H2 and H3 tags for subheadings.

Image Optimization (article): The process of reducing the file size of images on your website without sacrificing quality to improve page load times, which is vital for both SEO and user experience. This includes using the correct file format and compressing images, as well as adding descriptive alt text and file names.

Internal Linking: Linking to other pages on your website can help search engines crawl your site more effectively and keep users engaged longer, reducing bounce rates. This is an internal link to our article that goes in depth about internal linking.

KPIs (Key Performance Indicators): Metrics used to assess the effectiveness of your SEO strategy, such as organic traffic, SERP rankings, and conversion rates. Monitoring KPIs helps to make informed decisions about future SEO efforts.

Keyword Density: The frequency of a keyword appearing on a web page. A natural keyword density, as opposed to keyword stuffing, is preferred by search engines and users alike.

Keyword Research: The process of discovering the terms and phrases users are entering into search engines, with tools like Google's Keyword Planner providing valuable insights. KeywordShitter is a a good free tool also. No, it really is.

LSI Keywords (Latent Semantic Indexing): These keywords help search engines understand the context of your content. For example, a page about "email marketing" might also include terms like "newsletters" and "subscriber list."

Local SEO: A search engine optimization strategy that helps your business be more visible in local search results on Google. Any business that has a physical location or serves a geographic area can benefit from local SEO. Examples are HVAC businesses, swimming pool service businesses, and other local small businesses.

Long-Tail Keywords: Specific phrases that are highly relevant to a particular niche or audience, such as "women's trail running shoes" instead of just "shoes," which can attract more qualified traffic.

Meta Description (article): A brief description that summarizes a web page's content, providing context and enticing users to click through from the search engine results page. Keep it under 156 characters.

Meta Keywords: Once used by search engines to determine the topic of a web page, meta keywords have become obsolete due to overuse and manipulation by black hat SEO practices.

Mobile Optimization (or Mobile-Friendly Design (article)): Ensuring your website provides a good experience on mobile devices, which is critical as search engines increasingly prioritize mobile-friendly sites.

Niche Market: A specialized segment of the market for a particular kind of product or service. Websites targeting niche markets can focus their SEO efforts on specific keywords to attract a more defined and engaged audience.

Online Presence/Total Online Presence (Deep Dive Article): The collective digital visibility of a business or individual across all online platforms, including websites, social media, directories, and forums. A robust online presence is vital for SEO as it helps to establish brand authority, increase reach, and engage with a broader audience. A well-managed online presence that is consistent and active can lead to higher organic search rankings and greater trust among potential customers.

On-Page Ranking Factors: The aspects of a web page that influence its ability to rank in search engines, including content quality, keyword use, and usability factors like page speed.

On-Page SEO (great article on *what you need to know*): The practice of optimizing individual web pages to rank higher and earn more relevant traffic in search engines, encompassing both the content and HTML source code.

Organic Traffic: Visitors who come to your website from unpaid search engine results, typically seen as high-quality traffic since it comes from users actively searching for your content.

Page Authority: A score indicating how well a specific page is likely to rank in search engine results, with higher scores suggesting a greater ability to rank.

Page Speed (article): How quickly a web page loads, with faster speeds providing a better user experience and contributing to higher search engine rankings.

Pillar Content: A single, broad piece of content that provides a thorough answer to a core topic and is linked to related subtopic content. Pillar content serves as the foundation for a content cluster and helps organize and link your content for better SEO.

Schema Markup (or Structured Data (article)): Code that helps search engines understand the content of your website, potentially leading to richer search results and better rankings.

Search Intent: The reason behind a user's search query, with content that aligns with user intent (informational, navigational, transactional) likely to rank higher.

Search Volume: The number of times a specific keyword is searched for in a given period, with high-volume keywords indicating a greater potential for traffic.

SEO (Search Engine Optimization): The practice of increasing both the quality and quantity of website traffic, as well as exposure to your brand, through organic search engine results.

SEO Audit: An evaluation of how well a website adheres to best practices for SEO, with an audit typically identifying issues affecting search performance.

SEO Copywriting: Writing that aims to rank well in search engines and compels readers to take action, with a focus on creating content that is both informative and persuasive.

SEO Strategy: A detailed plan for improving a website's search engine rankings, typically involving a combination of on-page, off-page, and technical SEO tactics.

SEO-Friendly Content: Content created with the goal of ranking well in search engines, often by focusing on providing value to the user and including relevant keywords.

SERP Ranking (Search Engine Results Page Ranking): The position of a website's page on the search engine results page, with higher rankings typically leading to more visibility and traffic.

Social Signals: The collective likes, shares, and overall social media visibility of a webpage, which can contribute to a page's organic search ranking and indicate content quality.

Target Audience: A specific group of people that your website or content is aimed at, identified by characteristics like age, gender, interests, and behavior. Knowing your target audience is crucial for creating content that resonates and performs well in search engine results. Our Audience Attraction Audit is built to help you understand your audience better.

Targeted Traffic: Visitors to your website who are considered most likely to convert into customers or leads because they are searching for products or services that you offer. Achieving targeted traffic requires a well-planned SEO strategy focused on relevant keywords and user intent.

Title Tag (article): The HTML element that defines the title of a web page, which is displayed on search engine results pages and should accurately reflect the content of the page.

URL Structure (article): The format of a website URL, which should be concise, easy to read, and include relevant keywords to improve SEO and user experience.

User Experience (UX): The overall experience a user has when interacting with a website, with a positive UX potentially leading to better search rankings.

White Hat SEO: Ethical SEO practices that focus on providing value to the user and adhering to search engine guidelines, often resulting in sustainable rankings. SEOContentSurge.com is a white hat agency.

White label content writing: White label content writing refers to content that is produced by one company (the content provider) and sold to another company (your business or agency), which then rebrands the content to make it appear as if it was created in-house.

‍