Your A–Z Guide to SEO & Web Jargon
A
Accessibility – Accessibility means designing and building websites so everyone can use them, including people with visual, hearing, motor, or cognitive disabilities. Modern accessible websites support screen readers, keyboard navigation, captions, colour contrast standards, and mobile usability.
Anchor Text – The clickable words in a hyperlink. Search engines use anchor text to understand what the linked page is about. Clear, descriptive anchor text helps both users and SEO.
B
Backlinks – Links from other websites pointing to your website. High-quality backlinks from trusted, relevant websites can improve search engine visibility and authority.
Black Hat SEO – SEO techniques that attempt to manipulate search engine rankings unfairly, often against search engine guidelines. Examples include keyword stuffing, hidden text, and buying spammy links. These tactics can lead to ranking penalties or removal from search results.
Blog – A regularly updated section of a website containing articles, news, guides, or opinion pieces. Blogs are valuable for SEO because they help target keywords, answer customer questions, and keep content fresh.
Browser – Software used to access websites and web applications. Popular browsers include Google Chrome, Safari, Microsoft Edge, and Firefox.
C
Cache – A temporary storage area where browsers save website files to help pages load faster when revisited.
CMS (Content Management System) – Software that allows users to manage website content without needing advanced coding knowledge. Popular CMS platforms include WordPress, Shopify, Webflow, Drupal, and Joomla.
Conversion Rate – The percentage of visitors who complete a desired action on a website, such as making a purchase, filling out a form, or booking a consultation.
Core Web Vitals – Google’s performance metrics focused on user experience, including loading speed, visual stability, and responsiveness.
CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) – The code used to control the design and layout of a website, including colours, fonts, spacing, and responsive layouts.
CTR (Click-Through Rate) – The percentage of people who click on a search result, advert, or link after seeing it.
D
Domain Name – The web address people type into a browser to visit a website, such as example.com.
Duplicate Content – Content that appears in more than one place online. Excessive duplicate content can confuse search engines and weaken SEO performance.
E
E-E-A-T – Google’s quality framework standing for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. Strong E-E-A-T signals can improve credibility and rankings.
F
Featured Snippet – A highlighted search result shown at the top of Google that attempts to answer a question directly.
FTP (File Transfer Protocol) – A method used to upload and transfer website files between computers and servers. Tools like FileZilla and Cyberduck are commonly used for FTP access.
G
Google Analytics – A platform used to track website traffic, user behaviour, conversions, and marketing performance.
Google Business Profile – A free Google listing that helps local businesses appear in Maps and local search results.
H
Hosting – The service that stores website files and makes them available online.
HTML (HyperText Markup Language) – The standard coding language used to structure web pages and content online.
I
Indexing – The process search engines use to store and organise website pages so they can appear in search results.
Internal Links – Links connecting one page of a website to another page on the same website. They help users navigate and help search engines understand site structure.
ISP (Internet Service Provider) – A company that provides internet access to homes and businesses.
K
Keyword – A word or phrase people type into search engines when looking for information, products, or services.
Keyword Research – The process of discovering what terms people search for online so content can be optimised accordingly.
L
Landing Page – A standalone web page created specifically for a marketing campaign or conversion goal.
Local SEO – SEO strategies focused on improving visibility in location-based searches, especially for businesses serving specific geographic areas.
M
Meta Description – The short summary that appears beneath a page title in search results. While not a direct ranking factor, it can improve click-through rates.
Mobile Optimisation – Ensuring a website works smoothly and looks good on smartphones and tablets.
N
NoFollow Link – A link that tells search engines not to pass ranking authority to the linked page.
O
On-Page SEO – Optimising individual pages using content, keywords, headings, images, internal links, and technical improvements.
Organic Traffic – Website visitors who arrive through unpaid search engine results.
P
Page Speed – How quickly a website loads. Faster websites generally provide a better user experience and perform better in search rankings.
PPC (Pay-Per-Click) – Online advertising where advertisers pay each time someone clicks on their advert. Google Ads is a common PPC platform.
PageRank – Google’s original algorithm for measuring the importance of pages based on links. While the public PageRank score is no longer visible, link authority remains important in SEO.
PDF – A document format commonly used for downloadable files, brochures, forms, and reports.
Q
Query – A word or phrase entered into a search engine.
R
Redirect – Automatically sending visitors from one URL to another. Commonly used when pages are moved or websites are redesigned.
Responsive Design – A website design approach that adapts layouts to different screen sizes and devices.
S
Schema Markup – Structured code added to websites to help search engines better understand content and create enhanced search results.
Search Engine – A platform like Google or Bing that helps users find information online.
SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) – The process of improving a website’s visibility in search engines through technical improvements, content, user experience, and authority building.
SERP (Search Engine Results Page) – The page displayed by a search engine after a user performs a search.
Sitemap – A file that helps search engines discover and understand website pages.
SSL Certificate – Security technology that encrypts data between a website and its users. Websites using SSL display “https://”.
T
Technical SEO – The optimisation of backend website elements such as speed, crawlability, indexing, structured data, and security.
Traffic – The number of visitors coming to a website.
U
UI (User Interface) – The visual layout and interactive elements of a website or app.
UX (User Experience) – How easy, enjoyable, and effective a website is for visitors to use.
Usability – How simple and intuitive a website is for users to navigate and interact with.
W
Web Hosting – A service that stores and serves website files online.
White Hat SEO – Ethical SEO practices that follow search engine guidelines and focus on long-term, sustainable growth.
WordPress – The world’s most widely used CMS platform for building websites and blogs.
X
XML Sitemap – A structured sitemap designed specifically for search engines to help them crawl website content efficiently.
Y
YMYL (Your Money or Your Life) – Google’s term for websites covering topics that can affect health, finances, safety, or wellbeing. These pages are held to higher quality standards.
Z
Zero-Click Search – A search result where users get the answer directly on the results page without needing to click through to a website.