Reference · updated 2026-10-21

SEO glossary: 43 terms, explained plainly

Each term gets a short definition, what it means for your site, and what to do about it. Claims about how Google works come from Google's own documentation, linked on every page. Where popular SEO advice disagrees with Google (meta keywords, "LSI keywords"), we say so.

B

Backlink analysis: Backlink analysis means reviewing which sites link to a website, how good those links are, and how they compare with competitors' links.
Backlinks: A backlink is a link from another website to a page on yours. Google uses links to discover pages and as one signal of their importance.

C

Canonical tag: A canonical tag (rel="canonical") tells search engines which URL is the main version of a page when the same content is available at several addresses.
Cloaking: Cloaking is showing search engines different content from what human visitors see, in order to manipulate rankings or mislead users.
Core Web Vitals: Core Web Vitals are three metrics for real-world page experience: Largest Contentful Paint (loading), Interaction to Next Paint (responsiveness) and Cumulative Layout Shift (visual stability).
Crawling: Crawling is the process where search engine bots (crawlers or spiders) discover and download pages on the web, mostly by following links.

D

Dofollow and nofollow links: A dofollow link is simply a normal link. A nofollow link carries rel="nofollow", asking Google not to associate the two pages or pass ranking credit.
Doorway pages: Doorway pages are sites or pages made to rank for specific, similar searches that funnel visitors to a less useful page, which Google's spam policies call doorway abuse.

G

Google Business Profile: Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business) is Google's free listing for local businesses, shown in Google Maps and local search results.
Google ranking: Your Google ranking is the position a page holds in Google's results for a search. Google's ranking systems order pages by relevance, quality, usability and context.

H

H1 tag: The H1 is the main visible heading of a page. H2 and H3 headings divide the content into sections and subsections.

I

Indexing: Indexing is when a search engine analyzes a crawled page and stores it in its index, the database it draws search results from.
International SEO: International SEO is setting up a multilingual or multi-country website so search engines show each visitor the right language and regional version.

J

JavaScript SEO: JavaScript SEO is making sure content and links that depend on JavaScript can be found, rendered and indexed by search engines and AI crawlers.

K

Keyword research: Keyword research is finding the words and questions people type into search engines when they look for what you offer, and deciding which page should target each.

L

Landing page optimization: Landing page optimization means improving the page a visitor arrives on, whether from search, ads or email, so it matches their intent and leads them to act.
Lighthouse SEO score: Lighthouse is Google's open-source page auditing tool. Its SEO category runs a short list of basic checks and gives a 0 to 100 score.
Link building: Link building is the work of getting other websites to link to yours, ideally because your pages are worth citing.
Long-tail keywords: Long-tail keywords are longer, more specific search phrases, such as "emergency plumber open sunday kothrud", that each get few searches but show clear intent.
LSI keywords: "LSI keywords" is an SEO term for related words to add to a page. It borrows the name of latent semantic indexing, a 1980s technique Google doesn't document using.

M

Meta tags: Meta tags are snippets of HTML in a page's head that describe the page to browsers and search engines, such as the meta description and robots tag.
Mobile SEO: Mobile SEO is making sure your site works well on phones, because Google mainly crawls and indexes the mobile version of pages (mobile-first indexing).

N

NAP: NAP stands for name, address and phone number: the core business details that should be identical on your website, Google Business Profile and directory listings.

O

Off-page SEO: Off-page SEO covers actions outside your own website that affect how search engines see it, mainly links, brand mentions, reviews and profiles.
On-page SEO: On-page SEO is everything you optimize on the page itself: content, title, headings, links, images and HTML, so search engines and readers understand it.
On-page vs off-page SEO: On-page SEO is what you optimize on your own pages; off-page SEO is what happens on other sites, such as links, mentions and reviews.
Organic search: Organic search results are the unpaid listings a search engine ranks by relevance and usefulness, as opposed to paid ads.

P

PageRank: PageRank is the link analysis system Google launched with: it estimates a page's importance from the number and importance of pages linking to it.
Parasite SEO: Parasite SEO is publishing content on a powerful third-party website so it ranks on that site's reputation. Google's spam policies call this site reputation abuse.
Programmatic SEO: Programmatic SEO is publishing many pages generated from a database and a template, each targeting a specific search, such as one page per city or product.

R

Rich results: Rich results are Google search results with extra visual features, such as review stars, prices or event dates, usually powered by structured data on the page.

S

SEM (search engine marketing): SEM, or search engine marketing, usually means buying ads on search engines such as Google Ads and Microsoft Advertising; sometimes it's used for all search marketing.
SEO copywriting: SEO copywriting is writing web content that's useful to readers, uses the words they search with, and is structured so search engines and AI systems understand it.
SEO meaning: SEO stands for search engine optimization: improving a website so search engines can find, understand and show its pages for relevant searches.
SEO reputation management: SEO reputation management (or search engine reputation management) is improving what appears when people search for your name or brand, usually by strengthening accurate, positive pages.
SERP: SERP stands for search engine results page: the page a search engine shows in response to a query, with organic results, ads and other features.
Social signals: Social signals are engagement on social media, such as likes, shares and comments. Google hasn't documented them as a ranking signal, but social activity can help SEO indirectly.

T

Technical SEO: Technical SEO is making sure search engines can crawl, render and index your pages, and index the right version of each one.
Title tag: The title tag is the HTML <title> element that names a page. Google usually uses it as the clickable headline in search results.
Toxic backlinks: "Toxic backlinks" is an industry term for spammy or manipulative links pointing at your site, usually from link schemes, paid link packages or automated tools.

V

Voice search SEO: Voice search optimization means making your content easy for voice assistants such as Google Assistant, Siri and Alexa to find and read aloud as an answer.

W

Website optimization: Website optimization is improving a site's speed, structure, content and technical setup so it serves visitors well and search engines can crawl and understand it.

Y

YMYL: YMYL (Your Money or Your Life) is Google's term for topics that could significantly affect people's health, financial stability, safety or society.

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