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Search Engine Glossary
The world of search engine optimization is jargon heavy, and
we often have to take a step back when speaking with
prospective customers because we are immersed in the
"language" of SEO. The list below has some of the more
common optimization terms used on a daily basis. Note that
SEO terms often have a different definition than the same
terms related to internet practices.
Age − First appearance of site in
Archive.org, or first appearance in search engines. Not to
be confused with domain age, which is the registration date
of the domain name. Older sites have more credibility, but
for SEO purposes the "age" clock starts when a site is
cached by a search engine.
Algorithm − A very complex series of rules
used by a search engine to determine rankings. The
Google
Algorithm uses up to 200 different factors to determine
web rankings.
Analytics − Most often, this is a reference
to
Google Analytics, a free way to measure your site
traffic. Other analytics programs include
ClickTracks,
WebTrends, and
Omniture.
Anchor Text − Linked text on a web page.
Example: This is anchor
text. Anchor text is important because search engines
use it to determine what the destination page is about.
Therefore, anchor text must be topical and relevant.
Backlinks − The number of links from other
websites to your website.
Google
Webmaster Tools will give you the most accurate picture
of your own links, and a search in Yahoo under
link:yourcompetitorsitehere.com will tell you how many links
Yahoo is listing for that site.
Ban − A severe search engine penalty that
takes you completely out of the index. Normally caused by
using black hat techniques.
Black Hat − In reference to search engine
optimization, a technique that is unethical in the eyes of a
search engine, and can get you de-listed.
Bounce Rate − The number of people who come
to a web page from another site (or search engine) and leave
without visiting any other pages. A high bounce rate is
believed to negatively affect search engine rankings over
time. Most often measured using Google Analytics.
Cache − The search engine's stored data
about your site. This information can be weeks or months out
of date, depending on your crawl rate. When you make SEO
changes to your site, it won't be applied until the site
gets re-cached and re-indexed. To see your cache in Google,
type in cache: followed by your website.
Content − All text on your website readable
to the search engine. Usually this is in reference to the
body text on your pages.
Conversion − A visit to your site that
results in an action being completed by the user. This can
be a form fill-out, purchase, or phone call.
Conversion Rate − The number of conversions
divided by the number of visitors. Higher conversion rates
are always preferred. In Google Analytics, this can be
considered "Goal" conversion.
Crawl Rate (Frequency) − The interval
between search engine robot visits to your site. Generally,
sites with frequent changes and more interesting (to a
robot) content get visited more often. Pages with higher
PageRank also get visited more often.
Description − A metatag that allows for a
brief description of the page's content. All description
tags on a site should be unique, and less than 256
characters.
Directory − A website that lists other
websites in categories.
Duplicate Content − Content that is
substantially similar to content on other sites or on
multiple pages of your own site. Non-original content is
generally ignored by search engines, and referred to as a
"duplicate content penalty" when it impacts your site.
Duplicate content is often cached but not presented in
normal search results.
External Link − A link to another site or
online resource from your site.
Google Sitemap − An XML sitemap that lists
pages on your website that you want Google to find. The same
protocol is used by Yahoo and MSN. Several sources online
will create a sitemap
for you. Not to be confused with a sitemap that lists all
the pages on your website.
Filter − A reduction in search engine
ranking for a number of possible reasons. Filters are
different than penalties, in that when the item tripping the
"filter" is removed, then results should bounce back.
Indexing − When a search engine applies
your site results and links to its current index. Web pages
can be cached for some time before the cached results are
applied to the index.
Internal Link − Links from pages on your
site to other pages on your site. How pages link to each
other is known as Navigation.
Keyword Blurring − Using the same keywords
on multiple web pages. This keeps the search engine from
picking a "best" page for the keyword, so multiple pages may
have lower positions that a single page devoted to the
topic.
Keyword Stuffing − Using multiple keyword
repetition on a web page. Search engines prefer text and
keyword use that is more readable and user-friendly.
Keyword Tool − Any tool that helps
determine keyword demand.
Wordtracker and
the
Google Keyword Tool are two popular sources.
Keyword Research − Strategic research into
the demand for keywords relevant to a website's topic. Good
keyword research also uncovers synonyms and search terms
that may improve site traffic.
Link Juice − A way of explaining the
relative power of any link to another page on the same site
or external web page, based on the power of the referring
page and the number of other links on that page. For
example, a powerful page with a single outbound link to your
site would have more "link juice" than the same page a link
to you among 49 other links.
Link Juice Illustrated.
Links − In the world of SEO, "links" is
most commonly a way of referring to inbound links to your
website, given that Google bases a great deal of its
rankings on other sites that link to yours. The value of
links is highly variable, and links from sites trusted by
search engines are more powerful than links from low quality
sites.
Link Popularity − An overall measurement of
a website or web page's link value, as determined by links
from outside sources and links form other pages, which may
themselves be getting good inbound links.
Long Tail − A keyword that contains a long
search phrase. Long tail keywords usually have a lower
search volume but a higher conversion rate, because the
people who type them in have a very specific idea about what
they want.
Metatags − Page code not normally visible
to a site visitor which describes the content of the page.
The Meta Title, Keywords, and Description tags are the most
common, but metatags can contain many different fields of
data not important to search engines.
Navigation − The way links are configured
on a website to allow people to get to other pages. Search
engines like to follow navigation and use it to determine
the relative importance of pages on a site.
PageRank − (1) a numerical representation
applied by Google showing the link value of any given page.
This is completely determined by links from other websites
and internal links. It is not a representation of the
relevance of the site. There is a logarithmic scale of 1 to
ten for PageRank, and higher numbers may require millions of
links. This can be found using the
Google
Toolbar. (2) The
algorithm at
Google, not completely known to the public, that
determines part of how links impact rankings.
Pay-Per-Click (PPC) − Paid search engine
advertisements that appear next to search results. PPC can
be very expensive, but can be executed within hours, while
SEO can take months.
Penalty − A change in search engine
rankings caused by breaking one or more "rules" of search
engine ethics. A search engine "filter" is a less strict
penalty, but a "penalty" can be applied for a longer time
period and is generally a sign that you are believed to be
deliberately violating webmaster guidelines for search
engines.
Ranking − A keyword position on a search
engine, anywhere from #1 to somewhere in the billions.
Usually you want your site to show on the first page for
your keywords.
Ranking Report − A listing that shows
positions on search engines (usually Google, MSN/Bing, and
Yahoo) for a list of preferred keywords. Monthly ranking
reports will show you your progress over time.
Reinclusion Request − A request to a search
engine that a site be reexamined for inclusion back into
listings. This is most commonly done when a site has been
penalized or banned.
Relevance − The key to good SEO. More
relevant sites are preferred by search engines because they
confirm the search engine user's trust in the ability of the
engine to deliver results. SEO practices help format a site
in such a way that the engine can understand its relevance.
Robot − An automated program that visits
your website.
Robots.txt − A file on your website that
can either allow robots or restrict them. Robots files can
be useful when you want duplicate pages to be ignored, or
search engines are crawling unnecessary pages.
Sandbox (AKA
Sandbox Penalty or Google Sandbox) − An artificially low
ranking due to having a new website. The existence of the
sandbox penalty is debated, but generally a new site will
get lower rankings. Search engines use this to prevent junk
sites from getting rankings. There are ways to get out of
the "sandbox" by being relevant, but customers with new
sites are still advised that search engines may take some
time to show good rankings.
Search Volume − How many times (usually per
month) that a keyword search is made in a given search
engine, or all engines. High search volume indicates a
competitive keyword which may be more profitable.
Short Tail − A one or two word search term
like "auto parts" that gets a high search volume, but is not
very specific. A "long tail" version of the same term would
be "used auto parts free shipping."
Spider − Essentially a search engine robot
that "crawls" your website for information.
SEM − Search Engine Marketing. This most
often refers to Pay-Per-Click initiatives, but can also
include SEO as part of an online marketing strategy.
SEO − Search Engine Optimization, or the
practice of getting websites ranked on search engines
through a variety of specialized methods.
SERP − Search Engine Results Page. The list
of websites that you get when you make a search on a search
engine.
Silo − A way of structuring categories on
your website and individual web pages. Normally all the
pages and navigation links in a silo are relevant to each
other, and the
"silo" structure helps improve rankings by structuring
similar items into easily navigated categories. This
benefits search engines and site users.
SPAM − In search engine parlance, Spam is
not junk email but site content and linking practices that
are keyword stuffed, automated, or created to get undeserved
rankings for search terms.
Submission − The act of submitting a site
to search engines or directories. For new sites, submission
is still useful, but any site cached in a search engine
would not need to be re-submitted.
Title − Also known as the meta title, the
title of each web page appears at the top of the browser
window. It tells search engines about the topic of each
page. A well written title can have the fastest impact on
search engine rankings if all other factors are good.
Webmaster Tools −
Google
Webmaster Tools is a free program that will help the
average user understand how Google sees the website, if
there are any problems, and if the site is penalized. Highly
recommended to any webmaster.
White Hat − Search Engine Optimization
techniques that are approved by search engines.
XML Sitemap − A "Google Sitemap" or a list
of pages that you want search engines to find. This normally
gets placed in your root directory in an XML format and
named "sitemap.xml." The sitemap contains information about
pages, their relative priority, and how often they are
updated.
It should be noted that this list is by no means complete,
and different people in the SEO industry use different
terminology. The purpose of this glossary is to make the
language of optimization more transparent to the average
user or potential search engine optimization customer, so
terms may be added or edited later.
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