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60 SEO terms and acronyms · 10 topics · Reviewed Oct 2026

SEO glossary for small business owners.

This SEO glossary explains the terms, acronyms and jargon that turn up in agency proposals, monthly reports, Search Console and Shopify, in plain English for the owner paying for the work. Every entry says why it matters to your revenue and how to check it yourself, free, on your own site.

Showing all 60 terms

0–9

301 redirectA permanent forward from an old address to a new one that also passes the old page's ranking credit along.Technical SEOAlso called: permanent redirect 404 errorThe response a server gives when a page does not exist, which wastes a visit and, left long enough, a ranking.Technical SEOAlso called: page not found

A

AI citationWhen an AI answer names your page as its source for a claim, with a link or a footnote.AI searchAlso called: cited source AI ModeGoogle's chat-style search tab that answers in full sentences and links to a handful of sources instead of ten blue links.AI searchAlso called: Google AI Mode AI OverviewsThe AI-written summary at the top of many Google results, built from a few pages Google chose to cite.AI searchAlso called: Google AI Overview, SGE AI visibilityHow often and how favourably ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and Google's AI answers mention or recommend your business.AI searchAlso called: AI search visibility alt textThe written description attached to an image, read by screen readers and by search engines that cannot see pictures.On-page & contentAlso called: image alt text, alt attribute anchor textThe clickable words of a link, which tell Google what the page on the other end is about.On-page & contentAlso called: link text answer engine optimizationShaping pages so an AI assistant or a featured snippet can lift the answer straight out of them.AI searchAlso called: AEO

B

backlinkA link from someone else's website to yours, which search engines read as a vote for your page.Links & authorityAlso called: inbound link bounce rateThe share of visits that ended on the page they started on, without a click, a scroll or a form.Analytics & reporting

C

canonical tagA line of code that tells search engines which copy of a page is the original when the same content has several addresses.Technical SEOAlso called: rel="canonical", canonical URL, canonical link click-through rateThe percentage of people who saw your listing in search and clicked it. Impressions in, clicks out.Analytics & reportingAlso called: CTR CMSThe software behind a website that lets you edit pages without touching code. WordPress and Shopify are both one.Web design & ShopifyAlso called: content management system conversion rateThe percentage of visitors who did the thing the page exists for: a call, a form, a booking or a purchase.Analytics & reporting Core Web VitalsGoogle's three speed and stability measurements for a page: how fast it shows, how still it stays and how quickly it reacts.Technical SEOAlso called: CWV, LCP, CLS crawlingHow a search engine discovers pages, by following links from one address to the next and reading what it finds.SEO basicsAlso called: web crawler, Googlebot

D

domain authorityA third-party score from 0 to 100 that estimates how strong a site's backlinks are. Not a Google number.Links & authorityAlso called: DA, domain rating, DR

E

E-E-A-TExperience, expertise, authoritativeness and trust: the qualities Google's raters look for when judging whether a page deserves to rank.SEO basicsAlso called: EEAT

G

GA4Google's free analytics tool, the current version, which counts visitors by events rather than page views.Analytics & reportingAlso called: Google Analytics 4 generative engine optimizationGetting your business named in AI-generated answers, the way SEO gets it listed in search results.AI searchAlso called: GEO Google Business ProfileThe free listing that puts your business on Google Maps and in the map pack, with hours, reviews and a phone number.Local SEO & GBPAlso called: GBP, Google My Business, GMB Google Business Profile suspensionWhen Google removes your listing from Maps for a rule it thinks you broke, often without saying which one.Local SEO & GBPAlso called: GBP suspended Google Search ConsoleGoogle's free report on how your site appears in its results: the searches, the clicks, the errors and what is indexed.SEO basicsAlso called: GSC

I

impressionsThe number of times a page of yours appeared in search results, whether or not anyone clicked it.Analytics & reporting indexingWhen a search engine stores a page in its database so it can show it in results. Not indexed means not findable.SEO basicsAlso called: search index internal linkA link from one page of your site to another, which helps visitors and search engines find and rank what matters.On-page & contentAlso called: internal linking

K

keywordThe words someone types or says into a search engine. The whole discipline starts with choosing the right ones.Keywords & intentAlso called: search term, search query keyword cannibalizationWhen two of your own pages chase the same search, so they compete with each other and both rank worse.Keywords & intent keyword difficultyA tool's estimate, usually 0 to 100, of how hard it is to reach page one for a search. Different tools disagree.Keywords & intentAlso called: KD, SEO difficulty

L

landing pageA page built for one purpose and one audience, usually where an ad or a campaign sends people.Web design & Shopify link buildingThe work of earning links from other websites, one of the strongest ranking signals and the easiest to do badly.Links & authority link insertionPaying a site owner to add a link to you inside an existing article. Common, rarely disclosed and against Google's rules.Agency & pricingAlso called: niche edit, paid link llms.txtA plain-text file at your site's root that gives AI tools a guided list of your most important pages.AI search local citationsMentions of your business name, address and phone number on other websites, such as directories and maps.Local SEO & GBPAlso called: business citations, NAP local SEOSearch work aimed at people near you: the map pack, your Google Business Profile, reviews and area pages.Local SEO & GBP long-tail keywordA longer, more specific search with fewer people typing it and a much clearer idea of what they want.Keywords & intent

M

map packThe block of three businesses with a map that Google shows for searches with local intent, above the normal results.Local SEO & GBPAlso called: local pack, local 3-pack meta descriptionThe short summary under your page title in search results. It does not affect ranking but it decides the click.On-page & content

N

nofollow linkA link marked so search engines should not treat it as an endorsement. Its opposite, a followed link, passes credit.Links & authorityAlso called: rel="nofollow"; see dofollow, sponsored, UGC

O

on-page SEOEverything you control on the page itself: titles, headings, words, images, links and speed.SEO basicsAlso called: on-site SEO

P

page-one guaranteeA promise to rank you on the first page by a date. Google says nobody can make it, so ask which search it covers.Agency & pricingAlso called: SEO guarantee, guaranteed rankings

R

referring domainA website that links to yours at least once. Ten links from one site count as one referring domain.Links & authorityAlso called: linking domain responsive designA site that rearranges itself to fit any screen, so the phone version is the same site, not a separate one.Web design & ShopifyAlso called: mobile-friendly design retainerA fixed monthly fee for ongoing work. The question to ask is what the month actually contains.Agency & pricingAlso called: monthly retainer, SEO retainer robots.txtA small file at your site's root that tells crawlers which parts of the site they may and may not visit.Technical SEO

S

schema markupCode added to a page that labels its facts for machines: this is a business, these are its hours, this is a review.Technical SEOAlso called: structured data, JSON-LD scope of workThe written list of what an agency will deliver, by when and for what fee. If it is not in here, it is not included.Agency & pricingAlso called: SOW search intentWhat the person typing a search actually wants: an answer, a comparison, a shop or a specific site.Keywords & intentAlso called: keyword intent, user intent SEOThe work of making a website easier for search engines to find, understand and recommend, so more of the right people arrive.SEO basicsAlso called: search engine optimization SEO auditA structured review of a site's technical health, content and links, ending in a list of what to fix first.Agency & pricingAlso called: website audit SERPThe page of results you see after a search, including ads, maps, AI summaries and the ordinary listings.SEO basicsAlso called: search engine results page service area businessA business that travels to its customers, such as a plumber, and hides its address on Google Maps while still ranking locally.Local SEO & GBPAlso called: SAB ShopifyA hosted platform for online stores that handles the shop, checkout and payments so you manage products rather than servers.Web design & Shopify staging siteA private copy of your website where changes are built and tested before anyone sees them on the live site.Web design & ShopifyAlso called: staging environment

T

title tagThe page title search engines show as the blue link in results, and one of the strongest on-page signals.On-page & contentAlso called: meta title, SEO title

U

URL slugThe last part of a web address that names the page, such as /canonical-tag/. Short and readable beats long and numbered.On-page & contentAlso called: permalink, slug

W

white-label SEOSEO work done by one company and sold under another's name. Ask who is actually doing the work on your site.Agency & pricingAlso called: white label agency

X

XML sitemapA machine-readable list of the pages on your site, handed to search engines so they do not have to find each one by chance.Technical SEOAlso called: sitemap

Z

zero-click searchA search that ends without a click because the answer appeared on the results page itself, often in an AI summary.AI searchAlso called: no-click search
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Agency & pricinglink insertion

Paying a site owner to add a link to you inside an existing article. Common, rarely disclosed and against Google's rules.

 Agency & pricingpage-one guarantee

A promise to rank you on the first page by a date. Google says nobody can make it, so ask which search it covers.

 Agency & pricingretainer

A fixed monthly fee for ongoing work. The question to ask is what the month actually contains.

 Agency & pricingscope of work

The written list of what an agency will deliver, by when and for what fee. If it is not in here, it is not included.

 Agency & pricingSEO audit

A structured review of a site's technical health, content and links, ending in a list of what to fix first.

 Agency & pricingwhite-label SEO

SEO work done by one company and sold under another's name. Ask who is actually doing the work on your site.

Every term here links to the matching line on the price list, where the retainer, the scope and the no-lock-in terms are published rather than quoted on a call.

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