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301 Redirect - When a web address (URL) is changed to a new one, and visitors are automatically sent to the new address. It helps keep the website’s power and ranking in searches.
404 Error - An error message you see when a webpage doesn’t exist or has been moved. It’s like trying to open a door that isn’t there anymore.
404 Redirect - When you try to visit a page that doesn’t exist, the website sends you to a different page instead.
A
Above the Fold - The part of a webpage you see without scrolling down. It’s important because it’s what people see first.
Alt Attribute (Alt Text) - A short description of an image that helps if the image doesn’t load or for people who can’t see it. It also helps search engines understand the picture.
Anchor Text - The words you can click on in a link. They tell you what the linked page is about.
Anchor Text Optimization - Choosing the right words to use for links to make them more helpful and easier to find in searches.
A/B Testing - Comparing two different versions of something (like a webpage) to see which one works better.
Affiliate Marketing - When a business pays someone else to help sell their products, like when a YouTuber gets paid if you buy something through their special link.
Attribution - Figuring out which marketing tricks actually helped make a sale.
B
Backlinks - Links from other websites that point to your site. They’re like votes that tell search engines your site is important.
Below the Fold - The part of a webpage you have to scroll down to see. It’s usually where less important information goes.
Black Hat SEO - Cheating to try to get your website to show up higher in search results. It can get your site in trouble.
Blacklist - A list of websites that have been banned because they did something bad, like sending spam.
Bounce Rate - The percentage of people who leave a website after looking at just one page. A high bounce rate means visitors didn’t find what they were looking for.
Branding - Creating a unique image and name for your business so people remember it.
C
Canonical URL - The main web address that should be used when multiple pages have the same content, to avoid confusing search engines.
Canonicalization - Making sure there’s only one main web address for the same content to avoid problems with search engines.
Click-Through Rate (CTR) - The percentage of people who click on something (like a link) after seeing it. It shows how interesting or convincing that link is.
Clickbait - A headline or link that’s designed to make you click, but the content doesn’t really deliver what it promised.
Competitive Analysis - Looking at what your competitors are doing to see how you can do better.
Content Audit - Checking all the content on your website to see if it’s still good and useful.
Content Gap Analysis - Finding topics your website is missing that could attract more visitors.
Content Management System (CMS) - A tool that helps you create and manage a website without needing to know how to code.
Content Marketing - Making helpful and interesting content that attracts people to your business.
Content Silo- Grouping similar content together on your website so it’s easier to find and understand.
Conversion Funnel - The steps visitors take on your website before they do something you want, like buying something.
Conversion Rate - The percentage of visitors who do what you want them to do on your website, like signing up or making a purchase.
Crawl Budget - The amount of time a search engine spends looking at your website. If your site is too big or slow, the search engine might not look at all of it.
Crawling - When search engines go through your website to see what’s on it so they can show it in search results.
D
Disavow Tool - A tool that lets you tell Google to ignore certain bad links that point to your site.
Dofollow: - A type of link that tells search engines to follow it and give SEO value to the page it links to.
Domain Authority (DA) - A score that shows how strong and trustworthy a website is. A higher score means it’s more likely to show up in search results.
Domain Name - The name of your website, like "google.com".
Domain Name System (DNS) - The system that turns domain names (like google.com) into IP addresses that computers can read.
Duplicate Content - When the same content appears in more than one place on the internet, which can confuse search engines.
Dynamic Content- Content on a webpage that changes based on who is looking at it, like showing different ads to different people.
E
Engagement Rate- How much people interact with your content, like liking, sharing, or commenting on a post.
Evergreen Content- Content that stays useful and relevant for a long time, like a how-to guide.
External Link Equity- The power or value that a website gains from other sites linking to it.
External Linking- Linking to other websites from your own site, which can help build trust and provide more resources.
F
Featured Snippet- A short piece of information that shows up at the top of Google search results to quickly answer a question.
G
Google Analytics- A free tool from Google that helps you see how people use your website.
Google Knowledge Graph- A big database that helps Google give quick answers and show extra information in search results.
Google Business Profile (GBP)- A free tool that lets you control how your business shows up on Google, like in Maps and search.
Google My Business (GMB)- The old name for Google Business Profile, which helps businesses manage their presence online.
Google Search Console- A free tool from Google that shows how your website is doing in search results and helps you fix problems.
Googlebot- The program Google uses to look at and index websites for search results.
H
Heading Tag Optimization- Using headings (like H1, H2) correctly on your webpage to make it easier to read and understand, both for people and search engines.
Heading Tags- Labels that organize content on a webpage, like titles and subtitles.
HTTP Status Codes- Numbers that tell you what happened when a webpage was requested, like 404 for "page not found."
I
Indexing- When search engines save a copy of your website so it can show up in search results.
Internal Link Equity- The power or value passed from one page to another within your own website through links.
Internal Linking- Creating links between different pages on your own website to help visitors and search engines find their way around.
Internal Linking Structure- How the links between the pages on your website are organized to help visitors and search engines.
J
Javascript- A programming language used to make websites interactive and fun, like adding animations or forms.
K
Keyword- Words or phrases people use to search for things online. Using the right keywords helps people find your website.
Keyword Cannibalization- When different pages on your website compete for the same keyword, making it harder for any of them to rank well.
Keyword Density- How often a keyword appears on a page compared to the total number of words.
Keyword Difficulty- How hard it is to rank for a keyword based on how many other websites are also trying to rank for it.
Keyword Grouping- Putting similar keywords together to help organize content on your website.
Keyword Intent- The reason why someone is searching for a keyword, like looking for information or wanting to buy something.
Keyword Mapping- Deciding which keywords should go on which pages of your website.
Keyword Proximity- How close together the keywords are in your content. Closer keywords can sometimes be more relevant to searches.
Keyword Research- Finding out which words people use in search engines to help you create content that matches those searches.
Keyword Research Tools- Tools that help you find the best keywords to use for your content.
Keyword Stemming- Recognizing different forms of a word, like "run," "running," and "ran."
Keyword Stuffing- Unnaturally cramming keywords into your content to try to rank higher in searches. This can hurt your ranking.
Keyword Stuffing Penalty- A punishment from Google for overusing keywords, which can make your site rank lower.
Keyword Variations- Different ways of saying the same thing, like "shoes for running" and "running shoes."
L
Landing Page- The first page someone sees when they click on a link to your website. It’s usually designed to get them to take action, like buying something.
Link Bait- Content designed to attract lots of links from other websites, like a really useful article or fun quiz.
Link Building- Getting other websites to link to yours to improve your site’s reputation and ranking.
Link Juice- The power or value passed from one website to another through links. When a popular website links to yours, it gives your site more "juice," making it more likely to rank higher in search results.
Link Reclamation- Fixing broken or lost links that once pointed to your website. It's like finding a lost treasure that used to help your website’s ranking.
Link Velocity- How fast your website gets new links. Getting links too quickly might look suspicious, while getting them steadily is a good sign.
Local Citation- When your business's name, address, and phone number show up on other websites or directories. These mentions help your business appear in local search results.
Local Pack- The small box at the top of Google search results that shows local businesses related to what you searched for, usually with a map.
Local SEO- Improving your website so it shows up when people search for businesses near them, like "pizza near me."
Long-Form Content- Longer, detailed content like guides or research papers that provide a lot of information on a topic.
Long-Tail Keywords- Specific, longer phrases people search for, like "best running shoes for women with flat feet." These keywords usually have less competition.
M
Meta Description- A short summary of what your webpage is about that shows up under the title in search results. It helps people decide if they want to click on your page.
Meta Tags- Pieces of code that give information about a webpage to search engines, like the page’s title and description.
Mobile Optimization- Making sure your website works well on phones and tablets, not just computers.
Mobile Responsiveness- How well your website adapts to different screen sizes, like phones and tablets.
Mobile-First Indexing- When Google checks the mobile version of your site first when deciding how to rank it.
N
Negative SEO- Doing bad things, like creating spammy links, to hurt a competitor’s website ranking. This is against the rules and can get you in trouble.
Nofollow- A type of link that tells search engines not to pass any "juice" or value to the page it links to.
O
Off-Page Optimization- Improving your website’s ranking by doing things outside of your website, like getting other sites to link to you.
On-Page Optimization- Making changes to your website to help it rank better in search results, like using the right keywords.
Organic Results- The natural search results that show up because they’re relevant, not because someone paid for them.
Organic Traffic- Visitors who come to your website through search results, not through ads.
P
Page Authority (PA)- A score that predicts how well a specific page on your website will rank in search results.
Page Speed- How fast your webpage loads. A fast page makes people happy and helps you rank higher in searches.
Page Speed Optimization- Making your webpage load faster by improving the code, content, or server.
PageRank- Google’s system for ranking web pages based on how many other pages link to them and how important those links are.
Panda Algorithm- A Google update that penalizes websites with thin or low-quality content, making them rank lower.
Penguin Algorithm- A Google update that penalizes websites using spammy or fake links to try to rank higher.
R
Rank- Your website’s position in search results for a certain keyword.
Rank Checker- A tool that helps you see where your website ranks in search results for specific keywords.
Rank Tracker- A tool that monitors how your website’s rankings change over time.
RankBrain Algorithm- Google’s system that uses machine learning to better understand what people are searching for and provide more relevant results.
Redirect- Sending visitors from one web address to another, like if a page has moved.
Redirect Chain- When one page redirects to another, and then that page redirects to another, and so on. Too many redirects can slow down your website.
Rich Media- Interactive or multimedia content, like videos or animations, that make a webpage more engaging.
Rich Snippet- Extra information shown in search results, like star ratings or images, that makes your listing stand out.
Robots Meta Tag- A tag that tells search engines how to treat a webpage, like whether to index it or follow its links.
Robots.txt- A file that tells search engines which parts of your website they can or can’t look at.
S
Schema Markup- Code that helps search engines understand the content on your website better, so they can show rich results like reviews or event details.
Search Engine Marketing (SEM)- Paying for ads to appear in search engine results.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)- Making changes to your website to help it show up higher in search results for certain keywords.
Search Engine Results Page (SERP) Features- Special sections in search results like featured snippets, maps, or "people also ask" boxes.
Site Architecture- The way your website is organized, which helps both visitors and search engines navigate it easily.
Sitemap- A list of all the pages on your website that helps search engines find and understand your content.
Social Media Marketing- Using social media platforms like Facebook or Instagram to promote your business and engage with customers..
Social Proof- Evidence that other people like or trust your business, like customer reviews or social media likes.
Social Signals- The activity your website gets on social media, like shares or comments, which can help your SEO.
Spider- A program that search engines use to crawl and index websites.
SSL Certificate- A security feature that encrypts data on your website, which is important for keeping information safe and for ranking well in searches.
Structured Data- Extra code that helps search engines understand your content and can lead to better search results.
T
Thin Content- Content that doesn’t provide much value, like a page with only a few sentences. It can hurt your website’s ranking.
Title Tag- The title of your webpage that shows up in search results. It should be short, clear, and include important keywords.
Topical Authority- How much expertise your website shows on a certain topic. The more expert content you have, the higher you can rank.
TrustRank- A measure of how trustworthy your website is, based on the quality of sites linking to it.
U
URL- The web address you type in to visit a site, like "www.example.com"
User Experience (UX)- How easy and enjoyable it is for people to use your website.
User Intent- What the person is really looking for when they type something into a search engine.
User-Generated Content (UGC)- Content that your users create, like reviews or social media posts, which can help your site’s ranking.
V
Voice Search- Using your voice to search for something online, like asking Siri or Alexa.
W
Website Speed- How quickly your website loads. Faster is better for both users and search engines.
White Hat SEO- Good, ethical practices to improve your website’s ranking, like writing great content and getting quality links.
White Paper- A detailed report or guide on a topic that shows you’re an expert. It’s usually used to get new leads or customers.
X
XML Sitemap- A special file that lists all the pages on your website so search engines can find and index them.
Y
YouTube SEO- Optimizing your videos so they show up higher in YouTube search results.
Z
Zero-Click Search- When you get your answer directly from the search results without clicking on any links.
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