SolveYourProblem
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Series
SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
Glossary of Terms
Algorithm. A set of rules that a search
engine uses to rank the pages contained within its index
in response to a particular query. No search engine reveals
exactly how its algorithm works, to protect itself both from
competitors and from those who wish to spam the search engine.
Back
links. These are links to a website from external sources,
including other web pages, directories, and advertising.
Banned. When pages are removed from a search engine's index
because the search engine has deemed them to be spamming,
or violating one of the search engine’s other rules.
Click-through
rate (CTR). How many people clicked on a link,
as a percentage of the total number of people that saw
the link.
Cloaking. The act of serving content to search engine spiders
that is different to what normal visitors would see. Search
engines will ban you if they find you doing this.
Contextual
links. Contextual links are displayed on web
pages when the content on the page indicates to an ad server
that the page is a good match for specific keywords or phrases.
Conversion
rate. The percentage of visitors to a website
who buy something.
Cost
per click (CPC). A system where an advertiser pays
an agreed amount for each click someone makes on a link leading
to their website.
Cost
per mille (CPM). A system where an advertiser pays
an agreed amount for the number of times an ad is seen, regardless
of how many people actually click through. The ‘mille’ refers
to one thousand viewings of the ad.
Crawler. A component of a search engine that gathers listings
by automatically ‘crawling’ the web, following links to understand
how pages are connected.
De-listing. This is when pages are removed from a search
engine’s index, usually because they haven’t been updated
for a long time.
Directories. A type of search engine where listings are
gathered by humans, rather than by automated web crawlers.
Doorway
page. A web page created in the hope of improving
another page’s ranking in a search engine’s listings. Doorway
pages don’t give much information to the people viewing them.
Graphical
inventory. Banners and other ads that appear depending
on the keywords a page contains. This includes pop-ups, browser
toolbars and rich media.
Index. The collection of information a search engine has
that searchers can query.
Landing
page. The web page that a visitor reaches after
clicking your search engine listing.
Link
popularity. A count of how ‘popular’ a page is based
on the number of other pages that link to it.
Link. A link is text that you can click on to go to another
website, or another page on the same website.
Listings. The information that appears on a search engine's
results page in response to a search.
Meta-search
engine. A search engine that returns listings
from two or more other search engines, instead of using its
own index.
Meta
tags. Tags placed in a web page’s code that pass information
to search engine crawlers, browser software and some other
applications.
Meta
description tag. This meta tag allows pages to provide
descriptions to search engines.
Meta
keywords tag. Allows authors to add text to a page
to help with the search engine ranking process.
Meta
robots tag. Allows page authors to keep some web pages
from being indexed by search engines. Similar to a robots.txt
file.
Natural
listings. The listings that search engines do not
sell. Instead, sites appear solely because a search engine
believes it is important for them to be included, regardless
of payment. Note that paid inclusion listings are still treated
as natural listings by many search engines.
Outbound
links. Links on one website that lead to other
websites.
Paid
inclusion. An advertising program where pages are guaranteed
to be spidered and included in a search engine's index in
exchange for payment.
PPC. Pay-per-click – means the same as cost per click (CPC).
Paid
listings. Listings that search engines sell to advertisers,
usually through paid placement or paid inclusion programs.
Pay-for-performance. A term popularized by
some search engines as a synonym for pay-per-click. It
stresses to advertisers
that they are only paying for ads that "perform" in
terms of delivering traffic, as opposed to CPM-based ads,
where ads cost money even if no-one clicks on them.
Paid
placement. An advertising program where listings appear
in response to particular search terms, with higher rankings
typically obtained by paying more than other advertisers.
Rank. The order in which web pages are listed in search
engine results.
Reciprocal
link. A ‘link exchange’ in which two sites link
to each other.
Results
page. The page that appears after a user enters
their search terms.
Robots.txt. A file used to keep web pages from being indexed
by search engines.
Search
engine. A service designed to allow users to search
the web, or another database of information.
Search
engine marketing (SEM). Marketing a website using
search engines, whether you’re improving your ranking in
natural listings, purchasing paid listings or some combination
of the two.
Search
engine optimization (SEO). Altering a website so
that it ranks higher in the search engines.
Search
terms. The words a searcher enters into a search
engine's search box.
Shopping
search. Shopping search engines allow shoppers
to search the web for products and their prices.
Spam. Any search engine marketing method that a search engine
decides is detrimental to its efforts to deliver relevant
search results.
Spider. See crawler.
Submission. The act of sending a URL to a search engine,
for inclusion in its index.
XML
feeds. A process in which information about a page is
fed to the index without using a crawler, for example using
RSS.
The best advice is to follow a good search engine promotion
system. Keep track of when you submit your sites and how
soon they’re indexed -- checking once a week is sufficient.
Ranking systems can be confusing and there are often complex
factors involved, but you do not need to be an expert in
the field to achieve top results. Take a chance – after all,
you have nothing to lose.
Many thanks to Danny Sullivan, Kevin Lee, Ikonya Nginyo,
and all the other volunteers who contributed.
