SEO Glossary

If you have ever sat in a meeting about your website and felt like everyone was speaking a different language, this page is for you. Search has its own vocabulary, and a lot of it gets thrown around without anyone stopping to explain it.

We put this glossary together so you can walk into any conversation about getting found online and actually know what the words mean. No jargon for the sake of jargon. Just plain definitions for the terms that come up most, grouped so they are easy to find.

These are the same ideas we work with every day for the businesses we serve. If you would rather someone just handle all of this for you, that is what we are here for.

• SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
  Making your website and online presence easier for search engines to understand and for potential customers to find. It is not only about ranking high anymore. It also covers showing up in maps, images, shopping results, and AI generated answers.

• SERP (Search Engine Results Page)
  The page you see after you type something into a search engine. A modern results page can include website links, ads, maps, images, videos, business profiles, featured answers, and AI generated summaries.

• Organic Search Result
  An unpaid result. You cannot buy your way to a higher organic spot, though you can pay for ads that appear near it.

• PPC (Pay Per Click)
  A form of advertising where you pay each time someone clicks your ad. It can get you visible quickly, but it is separate from organic SEO.

• Search Query
  The actual words someone types or speaks into a search engine, like "emergency plumber near me."

• Keyword
  A word, phrase, or topic that describes what people are searching for and what your page is about. Keywords should show up naturally in useful content, not get stuffed onto a page to trick the system.

• Search Intent
  The reason behind a search. Someone might want to learn something, compare their options, find a business nearby, or buy right now. Good SEO answers the intent, not just the exact words.

• Crawling
  How search engines discover your pages, images, and videos. Automated programs move around the web following links and taking note of what they find.

• Indexing
  After a search engine crawls your content, it analyzes it and may store it in a giant searchable library called an index. If your page is not indexed, it cannot show up.

• Ranking
  How a search engine decides which results to show, and in what order, for a particular search. Rankings shift based on the search, the person, their location, their device, and who else is competing.

• Search Visibility
  How often and how prominently your business shows up across all the places people search. That can be a website link, a map listing, an image, a product result, or a mention inside an AI answer.

• On Page SEO
  Improving what people and search engines see on a page itself, including the title, the headings, the written content, the images, and the links.

• Technical SEO
  The behind the scenes work that lets search engines reach and understand your site. Think page speed, mobile friendliness, secure connections, and clean links.

• Internal Link
  A link from one page of your website to another page on the same site. It helps visitors get around and helps search engines understand how your pages relate.

• Backlink
  A link from another website to yours. Real, relevant backlinks can build trust and help people discover you. Buying links just to game rankings can get you penalized.

• Off Page SEO
  The reputation building work that happens away from your own website. Earning links, collecting reviews, keeping your listings accurate, and being active in your community all count.

• Structured Data (Schema Markup)
  A standardized bit of code that spells out details on your page, like your hours, address, or services, in a way search engines can read easily. It can make your page eligible for richer search displays, though it does not guarantee them.

• Rich Result
  A search result with extra information built in, such as star ratings, prices, availability, or event details.

• Core Web Vitals
  Google's measurements of the real experience of using your site, including how fast it loads, how quickly it responds, and how stable it is as it loads.

• Local SEO
  Everything that helps your business show up for people searching in your area.

• Google Business Profile
  The business listing you manage for Google Search and Google Maps. It holds your name, category, address or service area, hours, photos, and contact information, and it is often the first thing a customer sees.

• Local Pack (Map Pack)
  The group of local business results and the small map that appear when someone searches for something nearby.

• Relevance
  How closely your business matches what someone is actually searching for.

• Distance
  How far your business is from the location tied to the search.

• Prominence
  How well known and established your business appears to be. Google says local results come down mostly to relevance, distance, and prominence.

• Citation (Business Listing)
  Any online mention of your business details, like your name, address, phone number, and website. Keeping these accurate and consistent helps customers and search engines trust that they have the right business.

• Online Review
  A customer's public rating or comment about your business. Reviews shape decisions and your local reputation, which is why they should be earned honestly, never bought or faked.

• People First Content
  Content created to genuinely help a real person, not just to attract search engines. It is the kind of content search platforms are built to reward.

• Topical Authority
  An industry term for showing real, useful knowledge on a subject through accurate, well connected content over time. It is not a score Google hands out. It is a reputation you build.

• Conversion
  A valuable action someone takes after finding you, like calling, booking, filling out a form, or making a purchase. Good SEO is measured by these outcomes, not by rankings alone.

• Google Search Console
  A free Google tool that shows how your pages are performing in search, including what people searched, how often you appeared, how many clicked, and any problems getting your pages indexed.

• AI Overview
  An AI generated summary that can appear at the top of Google results, usually with links to the pages it drew from.

• AI Mode
  A more conversational version of Google Search that can handle complex questions, follow up questions, and still link out to relevant pages.

• Generative AI Search
  Any search experience that uses AI to pull together and summarize information from multiple sources instead of only handing you a list of links.

• AEO (Answer Engine Optimization)
  Making your content clear and trustworthy enough that search and answer tools can use it to respond to questions directly.

• GEO (Generative Engine Optimization)
  A newer term for improving the odds that your business gets found, understood, and mentioned inside AI experiences. It is not a replacement for SEO. It builds on the same fundamentals.