SEO Glossary: 320+ Key Terms Explained One by One
New to SEO? This glossary breaks down the most important terms and acronyms—like SEO, CRO, PPC, and CMS—so you can understand and navigate the world of search with confidence.
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410 Gone
410 Gone is an HTTP status code that tells browsers and search engines a page was deleted on purpose and will not come back.
404 Error
A 404 error is a Not Found message that shows when a page is missing, and fixing it helps visitors and search engines reach the right content.
304 Not Modified
304 Not Modified is a web status code that tells the browser a page has not changed, so it can safely use its saved copy to load faster.
302 Redirect
A 302 redirect is a way to send people and search engines from one web page to another for a short time without changing the original page address.
301 Redirect
A 301 redirect is a permanent way to send people and search engines from one web page address to a new one without losing traffic or SEO value.
10x Content
10x content is online content that is ten times more helpful, clear, and interesting than anything else that already exists on the same topic.
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Auto-Generated Content
Auto generated content is text, images or videos made by software or AI tools, not typed by a person, and it can help or hurt your website if used wrongly.
Authority
Authority in SEO is how much people and search engines trust a website or page, which helps it rank higher and get more visitors.
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is when computers and machines learn to think, decide and solve problems in smart ways that usually need human brains.
Article Syndication
Article syndication means sharing the same article on many websites so more people can read it and visit your site.
Article Spinning
Article spinning means taking one article and changing words to make many new versions, usually to trick search engines, but it often hurts quality and SEO.
Anchor text
Anchor text is the clickable words in a link that tell people and search engines what the linked page is about.
Analytics
Analytics means using data and numbers to understand what is happening so you can make smarter decisions and improve results.
Alt text
Alt text is a short written description of an image that helps people and search engines understand what the picture shows.
Algorithm
An algorithm is a clear list of steps that tells a computer or person exactly how to solve a problem or finish a task in the right order.
AhrefsBot
AhrefsBot is a computer program that visits web pages and collects data so Ahrefs can show SEO tools and reports about your website.
ADA Website Compliance
ADA website compliance means making your site easy to use for people with disabilities so everyone can read, watch, buy, or contact you online.
Ad Impressions
Ad impressions show how many times an online ad is loaded on a screen, helping you measure how many people might have seen your message.
Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP)
Accelerated Mobile Pages AMP is a way to build very fast loading web pages for phones so visitors enjoy quick and smooth reading.
Absolute URL
An absolute URL is a full web address that shows the exact location of a page or file on the internet so people and search engines can reach it.
Above the fold
Above the fold is the part of a web page you see first without scrolling, so it is key for grabbing attention fast.
A/B testing
A B testing is a way to compare two versions of something to see which one works better so you can make smarter choices.
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Backlink
A backlink is a link from another website to your site, and it helps search engines see your pages as more trusted and important.
B2C SEO
B2C SEO is how a business gets more shoppers from Google search by making its website easy to find, easy to read and trusted by everyday people.
B2B SEO
B2B SEO is search engine optimization that helps companies sell to other businesses by making their website easy to find on Google and other search engines.
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Crawl budget
Crawl budget is the amount of attention search engine bots give your site which affects how many pages they visit and keep updated in search results.
Cornerstone Content
Cornerstone content is the most important and helpful pages on your site that cover a topic in depth and help visitors and search engines understand what you are about.
Core Web Vitals
Core Web Vitals are three Google speed and stability scores that show how fast and smooth a page feels to visitors and help your site rank better in search.
Cookie
A cookie is a small text file that websites save in your browser to remember things about you, like your login or what is in your shopping cart.
Conversion rate optimization
Conversion rate optimization is the way you improve a website so more visitors do what you want, like buy, sign up or contact you.
Conversion rate
Conversion rate shows what percent of visitors do an important action, like buying or signing up, so you can measure how well your website or marketing turns visits into results.
Conversion
Conversion is when a visitor does what you want, like buying, signing up or clicking, and it shows how well your website or marketing turns visitors into results.
Content Relevance
Content relevance means how well a page matches what a person is searching for so search engines can show the most useful and correct information.
Content marketing
Content marketing is when a business shares helpful stories, articles, or videos to attract people, build trust, and gently guide them to become customers.
Content Delivery Network (CDN)
A content delivery network CDN is a group of servers that work together to load websites, videos, and files faster and safer for people around the world.
Click depth
Click depth shows how many clicks it takes to move from your homepage to any other page, and it helps you check if your site is easy to explore.
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Web Hosting
Web hosting is a service that stores your website files on a special computer so people can visit your site anytime from anywhere.
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Web Hosting
Web hosting is a service that stores your website files on a special computer so people can visit your site anytime from anywhere.