Welcome to iliassami.com’s comprehensive SEO Industry Glossary. As a leading White Label SEO Expert based in Bangladesh, I’ve compiled this essential resource drawing from experience with 300+ website audits and 700,000+ words of SEO content creation. This glossary serves digital marketing agencies, SEO professionals, and business owners by providing clear definitions of search engine optimization terminology. From technical SEO concepts recognized by Google, Bing, and other major search engines to the latest developments in semantic search and artificial intelligence, this guide covers the crucial terms you need to understand modern SEO practices. Whether you’re managing local SEO campaigns, implementing enterprise-level strategies, or optimizing e-commerce platforms, you’ll find relevant definitions that help clarify the complex world of search engine optimization.

SEO Industry Glossary (A-M)

A

Above the Fold

The portion of a webpage visible without scrolling when the page first loads. Critical for user experience and initial content engagement.

Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP)

A Google-backed project designed to make mobile pages load extremely quickly. Uses stripped-down HTML for speed optimization.

Algorithm

A complex system used by search engines to retrieve data from their search index and instantly deliver the best possible results for a query.

Alt Text (Alternative Text)

HTML attribute used to describe the appearance and function of an image on a page. Critical for image SEO and accessibility.

Anchor Text

The clickable text in a hyperlink. Important for both user experience and sending relevancy signals to search engines.

Authority

A website’s or page’s perceived expertise, trustworthiness, and command of its subject matter by search engines.

B

Backlink

An incoming hyperlink from one web page to another website. Also known as an inbound link or external link.

Black Hat SEO

Unethical SEO practices that violate search engine guidelines, potentially resulting in penalties or bans.

Bounce Rate

The percentage of visitors who navigate away from a website after viewing only one page.

Breadcrumb Navigation

A secondary navigation system showing users their location within a website’s hierarchy.

Broken Link

A hyperlink that no longer works, either because the target page has been moved or deleted.

Brand SERP

Search engine results pages that appear when someone searches for your brand name.

C

Canonical Tag

An HTML element that tells search engines which version of a URL should be considered the master copy.

Citation

An online mention of your business’s name, address, and phone number (NAP). Important for local SEO.

Click-Through Rate (CTR)

The percentage of users who click on a specific link compared to the total users who view a page, email, or advertisement.

Content Management System (CMS)

Software that helps users create, manage, and modify content on a website without specialized technical knowledge.

Crawl Budget

The number of pages a search engine will crawl on your website within a given timeframe.

Core Web Vitals

Google’s metrics for scoring a website’s user experience, including loading performance, interactivity, and visual stability.

D

Domain Authority (DA)

A search engine ranking score that predicts how likely a website is to rank in search engine result pages.

Deep Linking

Creating links that point to specific pages or content within an app or website, rather than just the homepage.

Duplicate Content

Substantive blocks of content within or across domains that completely match or are very similar.

Dynamic URL

A web address that contains parameters and changes based on user behavior or database content.

DMARC

Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting & Conformance – an email authentication protocol.

Dwell Time

The length of time a user spends viewing a webpage after clicking a search result and before returning to the SERPs.

E

E-A-T

Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness – key factors Google uses to evaluate content quality.

Editorial Link

Naturally earned backlinks from other websites, not paid for or artificially created.

Entity SEO

The practice of optimizing content around specific entities (people, places, things, concepts) rather than just keywords.

External Link

A hyperlink that points to a domain different from the domain where the link exists.

Exact Match Domain (EMD)

A domain name that precisely matches a target keyword phrase.

Experience Layer

The combination of elements that affect how users interact with and experience your website.

F

Featured Snippet

A selected search result that appears in a box at the top of Google’s search results, providing a direct answer to a query.

Favicon

A small icon associated with a website, displayed in browser tabs and bookmarks.

Fresh Content

Recently published or updated content that search engines view as more relevant for certain queries.

Fuzzy Match

A technique used in search algorithms to find strings that match a pattern approximately rather than exactly.

Follow Link

A link that passes SEO value and authority from one page to another.

Frequency

How often a keyword appears in a piece of content relative to the total word count.

G

Google Business Profile

Google’s free tool for businesses to manage their online presence across Google services (formerly Google My Business).

Google Search Console

A free service from Google helping website owners monitor and maintain their site’s presence in search results.

Geographic Targeting

The practice of delivering different content to users based on their geographic location.

Grey Hat SEO

SEO practices that fall between white hat and black hat, often pushing the boundaries of search engine guidelines.

Guest Posting

Writing and publishing content on other websites to gain exposure and backlinks.

Google Dance

Historical term referring to the fluctuation of search results during Google’s monthly index update.

H

Heading Tags (H1-H6)

HTML elements used to define headings and subheadings, creating a hierarchical structure for content.

Hidden Content

Text that is present in the HTML but not visible to users, often considered manipulative by search engines.

Heatmap

A visual representation of user behavior on a webpage, showing where users click, scroll, and spend time.

Host

A computer that serves content for a website or application.

HTTP/HTTPS

Hypertext Transfer Protocol (Secure) – the protocol over which data is sent between browser and website.

HTML Sitemap

A webpage listing all pages on a website in a hierarchical structure, designed for human visitors.

I

Index

The database of web pages and content that search engines use to generate search results.

Internal Linking

The practice of linking to other pages within the same website.

Image Optimization

The process of delivering high-quality images in the right format, dimension, and resolution while keeping file size minimal.

Impressions

The number of times a webpage appears in search results that users see.

Inbound Marketing

A strategy focusing on creating valuable content that pulls people toward your company and product naturally.

International SEO

The practice of optimizing websites for users in different countries or speaking different languages.

J

JavaScript

A programming language that enables interactive web content and is crucial for modern web development and SEO.

JSON-LD

JavaScript Object Notation for Linked Data – a method of implementing structured data that Google prefers.

Junk Traffic

Low-quality website traffic that doesn’t contribute to your business goals.

Jump Link

An anchor link that takes users to a specific section of a webpage.

Juice (Link Juice)

SEO term referring to the SEO value passed from one page to another through links.

Java Indexing

The process of search engines crawling and indexing JavaScript-generated content.

K

Keyword

A word or phrase that describes the content on your page and what users might search for.

Keyword Cannibalization

When multiple pages on your website target the same keyword, potentially competing with each other.

Keyword Density

The percentage of times a keyword appears on a webpage compared to the total number of words.

Keyword Difficulty

A metric indicating how hard it would be to rank for a specific keyword in organic search results.

Keyword Intent

The purpose behind a user’s search query (informational, navigational, transactional, or commercial).

Keyword Research

The process of finding and analyzing search terms that people enter into search engines.

L

Landing Page

A webpage specifically designed to receive and convert traffic from marketing campaigns.

Latent Semantic Indexing (LSI)

A system search engines use to analyze relationships between terms and concepts in content.

Link Building

The process of acquiring hyperlinks from other websites to your own.

Link Equity

The SEO value that one page passes to another through links (also known as link juice).

Local Pack

The group of local business listings that appear in Google search results for location-based queries.

Long-Tail Keywords

Longer, more specific keyword phrases that visitors are more likely to use when closer to point-of-purchase.

M

Meta Description

HTML attribute providing a brief summary of a webpage for search result snippets.

Mobile-First Indexing

Google’s practice of predominantly using the mobile version of content for indexing and ranking.

Manual Action

A penalty applied by Google when it determines a site violates its webmaster quality guidelines.

Market Segmentation

The practice of dividing a target market into approachable groups based on demographics, needs, priorities, or other factors.

MozRank

A link popularity score ranging from 0 to 10, developed by Moz as an alternative to PageRank.

Meta Robots Tag

An HTML tag that provides crawlers instructions about how to crawl or index webpage content.

SEO Industry Glossary (N-Z)

N

Natural Language Processing (NLP)

Technology that helps search engines understand and process human language, crucial for modern SEO and content optimization.

Navigation Structure

The organization and hierarchy of links on a website that allows users and search engines to find content.

Negative SEO

Malicious attempts to lower a competitor’s rankings through black hat techniques like toxic backlinks.

No-Follow Link

A link with a rel=”nofollow” attribute that doesn’t pass PageRank or SEO value.

Natural Links

Backlinks earned organically through high-quality content rather than through direct requests or payments.

NAP Citation

Name, Address, and Phone Number information listed consistently across the web, crucial for local SEO.

O

Organic Search Results

The unpaid search engine listings that appear because of their relevance to search terms.

On-Page SEO

Optimization of individual webpage elements including content, title tags, meta descriptions, and internal linking.

Off-Page SEO

Actions taken outside of your website to impact search rankings, primarily through backlinks and social signals.

Orphan Page

A webpage that has no internal links pointing to it from other pages on the same website.

Outbound Links

Links from your website to other websites, also known as external links.

Open Graph Tags

Meta tags that control how URLs are displayed when shared on social media.

P

PageRank

Google’s original algorithm for ranking web pages based on the quantity and quality of links pointing to them.

Page Experience

A Google ranking factor that measures how users perceive the experience of interacting with a webpage.

Panda Update

A Google algorithm update focused on content quality and targeting content farms.

Penguin Update

A Google algorithm update targeting link spam and manipulative link building practices.

Page Speed

The time it takes for a webpage to load, a crucial ranking factor and user experience element.

Progressive Web App (PWA)

A website that functions like a mobile app, offering better engagement and offline capabilities.

Q

Query

The word, phrase, or question a user types into a search engine.

Query Deserves Freshness (QDF)

A Google algorithm component that determines when search results should prioritize recent content.

Quality Content

Content that provides value to users, answers their questions, and satisfies search intent.

Quality Raters

Human evaluators who assess the quality of search results following Google’s guidelines.

Quick Answer Box

A featured snippet appearing at the top of search results providing a direct answer to a query.

Qualitative Data

Non-numerical data that helps understand user behavior and preferences in SEO analysis.

R

Ranking Factors

Elements that search engines consider when determining search result positions.

Responsive Design

Web design approach making pages render well across various devices and screen sizes.

Rich Snippets

Enhanced search results displaying extra information through structured data markup.

Robots.txt

A text file that tells search engines which pages they can and cannot crawl.

Referral Traffic

Visitors coming to your website from links on other websites.

Root Domain

The highest level of a domain name, excluding subdomains.

S

Schema Markup

Structured data vocabulary that helps search engines understand website content.

Search Intent

The goal behind a user’s search query (informational, navigational, transactional, or commercial).

Semantic Search

Search engines’ ability to consider context and user intent beyond exact keyword matches.

Site Architecture

The organization and structure of a website’s content and navigation.

SSL Certificate

Security protocol that encrypts data between server and browser (https://).

Search Volume

The average number of times a particular keyword is searched for in a given time period.

T

Technical SEO

Optimization of website and server elements to help search engine spiders crawl and index your site.

TLD (Top Level Domain)

The last segment of a domain name (.com, .org, .net, etc.).

Title Tag

HTML element specifying the title of a webpage, crucial for SEO and user experience.

Traffic

Visitors to a website, measured in various metrics including pageviews and unique visitors.

Trust Flow

A metric indicating the quality of websites linking to your site.

Taxonomy

The classification and organization of website content into categories and subcategories.

U

URL Structure

The format and organization of website addresses, important for both SEO and user experience.

Universal Search

Search results featuring various content types (images, videos, news, etc.).

User Experience (UX)

How users interact with and perceive their experience on a website.

User Generated Content (UGC)

Content created by website users rather than the site owners.

URL Parameters

Variables added to URLs to track or filter content.

Unnatural Links

Artificial or manipulative links created primarily for SEO purposes.

V

Virtual Reality Markup Language (VRML)

A language for creating 3D spaces in web browsers, increasingly important for modern SEO.

Visual Search

Technology allowing users to search using images rather than text.

Vertical Search

Search engines or results focused on specific content types or industries.

Visibility

The overall presence of a website in search engine results.

Voice Search

Search queries spoken to devices rather than typed.

Viral Content

Content that spreads rapidly through social media and other channels.

W

White Hat SEO

Ethical SEO practices that follow search engine guidelines.

Webpage

A single document on the World Wide Web, typically written in HTML.

WordPress

Popular content management system often used for SEO-friendly websites.

Web Core Vitals

Google’s metrics for measuring user experience on web pages.

Webmaster Guidelines

Rules and best practices provided by search engines for website optimization.

Word Count

The number of words on a webpage, a potential factor in content quality assessment.

X

XML Sitemap

A file listing important pages on your website to ensure proper search engine crawling.

X-Robots-Tag

HTTP header allowing robots directives for non-HTML resources.

XHTML

Extended HTML that follows more stringent syntax rules.

XFN (XHTML Friends Network)

HTML markup for representing human relationships.

XML Feed

Structured data format used for distributing content.

X-Default

Hreflang attribute value for international SEO indicating default language version.

Y

Yahoo

A major search engine and web services provider.

Yandex

Russia’s largest search engine, important for international SEO.

YouTube SEO

Optimization of video content for YouTube’s search algorithm.

Yield

The value or return obtained from SEO efforts.

YSlow

Tool for analyzing webpage performance.

YMYL (Your Money or Your Life)

Google’s classification for pages that could impact users’ future happiness, health, or wealth.

Z

Zero-Click Search

Search queries resolved directly in SERPs without clicking any results.

Z-Index

CSS property affecting how elements stack on a page, important for technical SEO.

Zombie Page

Low-traffic, outdated pages that may harm overall site quality.

Zip Code Targeting

Local SEO technique focusing on specific geographic areas.

Zero Position

Featured snippet position above regular search results.

Zone File

DNS file containing records for a domain, important for technical SEO setup.

Purpose of This Glossary

This resource has been carefully crafted to serve multiple audiences:

• Digital marketing agencies looking to expand their SEO knowledge
• Business owners wanting to understand SEO services better
• Marketing professionals seeking to refine their technical understanding
• Anyone interested in learning about search engine optimization

How to Use This Glossary

The glossary is organized alphabetically and divided into two main sections:

1. Terms A-M
2. Terms N-Z

Each entry includes:

• A clear, concise definition
• Practical context for real-world application
• Relevance to modern SEO practices
• Related terms where applicable

Understanding the Context

While reading through the terms, keep in mind that:

• SEO is an evolving field, and meanings may shift as search engines update their algorithms
• Many terms are interconnected and work together in SEO strategy
• Some terms may have slightly different interpretations depending on the context
• Technical terms are explained in accessible language while maintaining accuracy

Staying Updated

SEO terminology evolves with:

• Search engine algorithm updates
• New technological developments
• Changes in user behavior
• Emerging digital marketing trends

We regularly update this glossary to reflect current industry standards and best practices.

Quick Navigation Tips

• Use the alphabetical sections to quickly locate specific terms
• Look for related terms mentioned within definitions
• Consider how terms interact with each other in practical applications
• Focus on terms most relevant to your specific needs

Additional Resources

For deeper understanding, consider:

• Exploring our SEO blog posts
• Checking our technical guides
• Reading case studies
• Reviewing our service offerings

This glossary is part of our commitment to transparency and education in the SEO industry. Whether you’re a client, partner, or curious learner, we hope this resource helps you better understand the language of SEO and its application in digital marketing strategies.