While there are plenty of great articles on the Search Engine Journal website that dissect current SEO best practices and provide excellent recommendations to current webmasters, all the advice in the world won\u2019t make a difference in your website\u2019s success if you don\u2019t understand the terminology that\u2019s being used in the first place!<\/p>\n
Use the following list of SEO lingo to get up to speed or as reference material whenever you encounter a word you don\u2019t understand:<\/p>\n
URL<\/strong> \u2013 A \u201cURL\u201d (or uniform resource locator) refers to the specific string of characters that lead to an internet resource.\u00a0 In most cases, the word URL is used to describe the letter-based web addressed entered into a browser in order to access a web page.<\/p>\n TLD<\/strong> \u2013 \u201cTLD\u201d stands for top-level domain and refers to the extension of a given web address.\u00a0 The most popular TLDs from an SEO perspective include .com, .org and .net, although dozens of other industry\/country-specific options are available as well.<\/p>\n SEO \/ SEM \/ PPC<\/strong> \u2013 Search engine optimization (SEO) refers to the on-page and off-page activities designed to help a website appear more prominently in the natural search results, while pay-per-click advertising (PPC) involves bidding for high placements within the sponsored search results provided by the search engines.\u00a0 Search engine marketing (SEM) incorporates both of these techniques to refer to a website\u2019s overall promotional plan.<\/p>\n Links<\/strong> \u2013 A link (or backlink) is a connection between two websites that is built using HTML code and enables visitors to move between different web pages.<\/p>\n Social Signals<\/strong> \u2013 Social signals are any factors that demonstrate authority and influence on popular social networking websites.\u00a0 A few examples include a person\u2019s number of Facebook followers, how frequently his Twitter updates are re-tweeted and the number of times articles on his site are shared across the most popular social media sites.<\/p>\n Optimization<\/strong> \u2013 \u201cOptimization\u201d refers to the process of intentionally manipulating website content in order to secure higher rankings within the natural search results pages.<\/p>\n White Hat \/ Grey Hat \/ Black Hat<\/strong> \u2013 These three terms refer to the acceptability of various optimization techniques.\u00a0 \u201cWhite hat\u201d techniques are wholesome, search engine approved tactics, \u201cblack hat\u201d techniques are those that intentionally mislead or subvert the search engines\u2019 indexation processes (and that could lead to future penalties if discovered), and \u201cgrey hat\u201d techniques are those that fall into the grey area between acceptable and unacceptable.<\/p>\n Organic Search Results \/ SERP<\/strong> \u2013 A search engine results page (SERP) is the specific set of website listings that appear whenever a user enters a search query into Google, Bing, Yahoo or any of the other lower-tier search engines.\u00a0 To secure maximum traffic and exposure, most webmasters use SEO in order to have their websites appear in the Top 10 results on any given SERP.<\/p>\n Algorithm \/ Algo <\/strong>\u2013 Each of the search engines maintain their own algorithms, which are the sets of calculations that weigh different factors in order to automatically determine which websites should be displayed in the SERPs. \u00a0Algorithms (frequently abbreviated in the SEO world as \u201calgos\u201d) are constantly being updated, which makes it important for webmasters to stay on top of SEO industry news.<\/p>\n Search Engine Spider \/ Crawling \/ Robots<\/strong> \u2013 In order to display your website in the SERPs, the search engines must first capture the content that\u2019s stored on your site in order to determine what it\u2019s related to and how it should be ranked \u2013 a process that\u2019s referred to as \u201cindexing\u201d or \u201ccrawling.\u201d\u00a0 To accomplish this task, the search engines use automated programs known as \u201cspiders\u201d or \u201crobots\u201d to assess and index the text-based content on your website.<\/p>\n Indexability<\/strong> \u2013 Many commonly-used website enhancements (including images, Flash animations and Javascript codes) can prevent the search engine spiders from indexing a website properly.\u00a0 Indexability refers to how well these programs can understand your website, as well as the presence of any website elements that might prevent proper indexation.<\/p>\n Keyword \/ Keyword Phrase<\/strong> \u2013 Keywords and keyword phrases are the specific combinations of words that users enter into the search engines.\u00a0 Because having your site appear for specific keyword SERPs results in a number of different website advantages, webmasters must invest time into keyword research to find the exact keyword combinations to target with their sites, based on the overall search volume each keyword receives and how competitive its SERP is.<\/p>\n Keyword Stuffing <\/strong>\u2013 Keyword stuffing refers to the process of incorporating target keywords into website content or code sections in order to increase rankings.\u00a0 Many specific keyword stuffing methods (for example, stuffing the meta keywords tag or CSS pages) have been detected and accounted for in the search algorithms.\u00a0 For this reason, it\u2019s best to focus on providing quality content to readers, instead of optimizing website text to a specific keyword density.<\/p>\n PageRank (PR)<\/strong> \u2013 PageRank is a value assigned to every web page in the Google index, based on the page\u2019s relative merit.\u00a0 A number of different factors contribute to a page\u2019s PR, including site age, number of inbound links, inbound link quality and more.\u00a0 Though actual PageRank is constantly being updated by Google\u2019s algorithm, these calculations are not made public.\u00a0 Instead, the PageRank scores pushed out to PR measurement tools are known as \u201cToolbar PageRank\u201d and represent only a general approximation of a page\u2019s actual PR.<\/p>\n Navigation \/ Site Architecture<\/strong> \u2013 A website\u2019s navigation structure or site architecture refers to the specific way its pages are set up.\u00a0 For best results, it\u2019s important to use a \u201cwide\u201d navigation structure (in which every page on your site can be reached within three clicks) instead of a \u201cdeep\u201d architecture.<\/p>\n Analytics<\/strong> \u2013 Website analytics refers to the process of tracking website usage data and analyzing relevant metrics to determine how well a website is performing.\u00a0 Google Analytics is the program used most frequently for this pursuit, though there are several other options for obtaining website data.\u00a0 The following are a few specific metrics that can be tracked through website analytics programs:<\/p>\n Usability<\/strong> \u2013 Compared to site indexability, usability refers to how easy it is for people to engage with your website.\u00a0 Site design, browser compatibility, disability enhancements and other features all play a role in improving usability and making your site accessible for as many people as possible.<\/p>\n HTML Tags<\/strong> \u2013 HTML tags represent specific website code elements that can be manipulated in order to improve a site\u2019s SEO.<\/p>\n Google Panda<\/strong> \u2013 Google Panda is a major Google algorithm update which was initially rolled out in February 2011 (though several subsequent updates have occurred since then).\u00a0 The stated goal of Google Panda was to rid the SERPs of the low-value content provided by sites deemed to be \u201ccontent farms.\u201d<\/p>\n Google Penguin<\/strong> \u2013 Google Penguin is a more recent algorithm update (initially launched in April 2012) that was designed to penalized over-optimized sites.\u00a0 Specific factors that may have implicated over-optimized sites include low-quality backlinks, keyword stuffing and consistent evidence of on-page optimization schemes.<\/p>\n CTR<\/strong> \u2013 \u201cCTR\u201d stands for clickthrough rate and indicates the percentage of visitors that click on a given link out of the total impressions the link receives.\u00a0 This metric is used in a number of different circumstances, including the total clicks a PPC ad receives compared to its total views and the number of times an in-article link on a website is clicked compared to the site\u2019s total number of visitors.<\/p>\n Penalties<\/strong> \u2013 Search engine penalties may be assessed to discourage webmasters from acting in ways that violate the search engines\u2019 terms of service.\u00a0 Penalties may be manually assessed on a site-by-site basis, or they may occur automatically as a result of algorithm changes.\u00a0 Penalties can be temporary or permanent in nature, and they can be assessed in various degrees of severity, from a loss in SERPs rankings to total removal from an engine\u2019s index.<\/p>\n Webmaster Tools<\/strong> \u2013 Google\u2019s Webmaster Tools page offers website owners a number of helpful features, including the ability to monitor sites for indexing errors and site speed.\u00a0 These pages are also used to communicate penalty notifications to webmasters, when appropriate.<\/p>\n Google Dance<\/strong> \u2013 The \u201cGoogle Dance\u201d refers to the variability in SERPs rankings that occur whenever a new web page is added to the Google index or whenever new link building campaigns are carried out.\u00a0 The specific rankings of these new pages may vary by as many as 300-800 positions in the SERPs as Google determines where exactly the page should fall, with the process typically leveling off within a few weeks.<\/p>\n Google Sandbox<\/strong> \u2013 The \u201cGoogle Sandbox\u201d is an often-hypothesized, never-confirmed phenomenon that prevents new websites from seeing the full benefit of their optimization efforts within the first few months of their lives.\u00a0 Typically, this effect is witnessed most often with young sites targeting competitive keywords and can only be overcome when the site surpasses Google\u2019s trust barrier.<\/p>\n Landing Page<\/strong> \u2013 A landing page refers to the first page a new visitor sees when he arrives on your website.\u00a0 Any page on your site can be a landing page for traffic from various sources, although the specific term \u201clanding page\u201d is often used to refer to specially-designed pages that are constructed to encourage new visitors to take a specific action right away.<\/p>\n Opt-in Form \/ Email Marketing<\/strong> \u2013 Email marketing is the process of capturing visitor email addresses for future solicitations, which is carried out through the use of opt-in forms.\u00a0 These forms enable specific pieces of information (for example, visitor name and email address) to be automatically added to list management software for future follow-up and can be optimized to increase sign-ups in a number of different ways.<\/p>\n Microdata \/ Rich Snippets<\/strong> \u2013 Microdata is a method approved by Google, Bing and Yahoo for adding extra information to the HTML of a website for use in indexing by the search engine spiders.\u00a0 The information captured by microdata (as described on the Schema.org website) may be displayed in the SERPs, resulting in an enhanced listing known as a \u201crich snippet.\u201d<\/p>\n Split Testing<\/strong> \u2013 Split testing refers to the process of producing multiple variations of a web page and displaying them randomly to website visitors in order to determine which specific combination of elements is most effective at increasing conversions.\u00a0 Split testing can be carried out using the A\/B format (in which only two versions testing a single element are displayed) or conducted as multivariate tests, in which several variables are tested at once).<\/p>\n You will gain access to my Bootcamp course and 45 day traffic lead generation PDF free of charge to ramp up your traffic, leads and sales online.<\/p>\n While there are plenty of great articles on the Search Engine Journal website that dissect current SEO best practices and provide excellent recommendations to current webmasters, all the advice in the world won\u2019t make a difference in your website\u2019s success if you don\u2019t understand the terminology that\u2019s being used in the first place! 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