40 SEO terms,
clearly explained.

A Google search result feature that synthesizes information from multiple web pages into a paragraph answer at the top of the SERP. As of 2026, AI Overviews now appear on a substantial share of all queries. Pages cited by AI Overviews drive disproportionately high-intent traffic compared to traditional organic clicks, making AI Overview citation one of the highest-value visibility goals in modern SEO.

The practice of optimizing content to be cited by answer engines like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews. AEO overlaps heavily with traditional SEO but adds specific tactics: 50-70 word answer summaries at the top of pages, FAQ blocks with FAQPage schema, brand mention saturation across the open web, and citation-ready content patterns. Sometimes called GEO (Generative Engine Optimization).

The clickable text of a hyperlink. Anchor text gives search engines a signal about what the linked page is about. Best practice in 2026: diverse anchor text mix (branded, exact-match, partial-match, generic) rather than exact-match stuffing, which is now a spam signal.

A link from one website to another. Backlinks remain a top-3 ranking signal in 2026. Pages with at least one backlink perform 10x better than pages with zero. The #1 ranked result for a typical query has 3.8x more backlinks than positions 2-10.

A specification (via or HTTP header) of the preferred URL for a piece of content, used to consolidate duplicate-content signals to one URL. Critical for e-commerce, blog tag archives, and any site with multiple URLs serving similar content.

A mention of your business's name, address, and phone number (NAP) on another website. Citations are a local SEO signal. Tier 1 citations (Google Business Profile, Apple Business Connect, Bing Places, Yelp, BBB) are non-negotiable; Tier 2 (data aggregators like Foursquare, Data Axle, Neustar Localeze) distribute to hundreds of downstream directories.

A Core Web Vital that measures visual stability — how much your page layout shifts unexpectedly during load. Target: under 0.1. Common causes of high CLS: images without width/height attributes, font swaps without reserved space, ads and embeds injected after page load.

A topic-organized content structure where one pillar page covers a broad topic and 8-12 cluster posts each cover specific subtopics, all internally linked back to the pillar. The pillar + cluster model is the dominant content architecture in 2026, producing measurably better topical authority signals than scattered blog posts.

A set of three user-experience metrics Google uses as a ranking signal: LCP (Largest Contentful Paint), INP (Interaction to Next Paint, which replaced FID in March 2024), and CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift). Target thresholds: LCP under 2.5 seconds, INP under 200ms, CLS under 0.1. a substantial share of sites fail INP.

The number of pages Google will crawl on your site in a given period. Most small business sites do not need to worry about crawl budget — it becomes a real constraint only at hundreds of thousands of URLs or more. For most sites, crawl budget is not the bottleneck; content quality is.

The percentage of search impressions that result in a click. Improving CTR (through better titles, descriptions, schema rich results, and relevance) is one of the highest-leverage SEO levers because it improves traffic without requiring rank improvements.

A formal request to Google via Search Console to ignore certain backlinks pointing to your site. Useful for sites with toxic backlink profiles from previous black-hat tactics or negative SEO attacks. In 2026, disavow files are used less aggressively than they were in 2015-2018 because Google's spam filtering has improved.

Google's framework for evaluating content quality, especially for YMYL (Your Money or Your Life) topics. The "Experience" was added in 2022. Signals that build E-E-A-T: named author bios with credentials, real case studies, third-party validation, accurate citations, and demonstrable first-hand experience. E-E-A-T is the most important content-quality signal in 2026.

Structured data markup that tells search engines a page contains FAQ-formatted Q&A content. Google removed FAQ rich results from SERPs in May 2026, but the schema is still highly valuable: pages marked with FAQPage schema are cited by AI Overviews and Perplexity 2.1x more often than unmarked pages.

A search result format where Google extracts a direct answer from a page and displays it above the traditional organic results. Featured snippets are declining in frequency as AI Overviews replace them, but they still appear on a meaningful share of queries in 2026.

Google's free business listing platform, formerly called Google My Business. GBP is the foundation of local SEO — the local pack rankings depend primarily on GBP signals (category, completeness, reviews, photos) plus proximity to the searcher. Optimizing GBP is the single highest-leverage local SEO action.

Synonymous with AEO. The practice of optimizing content to be cited by generative AI engines.

Google's free tool for monitoring your site's search performance. Provides data on impressions, clicks, CTR, average position, indexed pages, crawl errors, manual actions, and Core Web Vitals. Every site we work with has GSC verified as Phase 0 prerequisite.

Google's machine-learning system that evaluates whether content is genuinely helpful to people or written primarily to game search rankings. Originally launched 2022, absorbed into core ranking algorithm in March 2024. Pages judged unhelpful can drag down rankings sitewide.

An HTML attribute or HTTP header that tells search engines which language and region a page targets. Critical for multi-language or multi-region sites. Used by masLabor Iberia (Spanish localization) to signal Castilian Spanish version of Spanish-speaking audience.

The process by which Google crawls a page and adds it to its searchable index. A page must be indexed before it can rank. Indexing is not guaranteed — Google chooses what to index based on perceived quality and usefulness.

A Core Web Vital that replaced FID (First Input Delay) in March 2024. INP measures the responsiveness of every user interaction with your page, not just the first. Target: under 200ms. a substantial share of sites fail INP.

Links from one page on your site to another. Internal linking distributes ranking signals across pages, helps Google understand site structure, and guides users through related content. Best practice in 2026: silo-based architecture with cross-silo links permitted when natural.

A score (typically 0-100) estimating how hard it is to rank for a given keyword based on backlink profiles of currently-ranking pages. Different tools calculate KD differently. We use it as one input among many, not the sole factor in keyword selection.

A Core Web Vital that measures how quickly the largest content element (typically a hero image or headline) renders. Target: under 2.5 seconds. The single biggest LCP improvement is preloading the LCP image and NOT lazy-loading it.

The map + 3 business listings that appear in Google search results for local-intent queries (like "electrician near me"). The local pack captures the largest share of clicks on local-intent queries, making it the single most valuable SERP feature for local service businesses.

A structured data type that identifies a web page as belonging to a local business. Includes properties for NAP, hours, geo coordinates, service area, and more. Properly marked LocalBusiness schema is a strong local SEO signal.

A 150-160 character HTML attribute that summarizes a page's content. Meta descriptions are not a ranking factor but heavily influence CTR. Google sometimes rewrites them in search results based on query relevance.

Your business's name, address, and phone number. NAP consistency across the web is a local SEO foundation — inconsistent NAP causes Google to lose confidence in your business's legitimacy.

A long-form (2,500-4,000 word) page covering a broad topic comprehensively. Pillar pages anchor content clusters and serve as definitive resources Google can rank for high-volume head terms.

The practice of generating large numbers of pages from a template, typically combining variables like service + city or product + use case. Programmatic SEO can work when each page has genuine unique content; it gets penalized under the 2026 scaled content abuse policy when pages are templated with no real differentiation.

Monitoring where your pages rank in search results for specific keywords over time. Daily rank tracking via DataForSEO or similar tools is standard in 2026 because rankings fluctuate constantly with personalization, location, and SERP feature changes.

Structured data (typically in JSON-LD format) that tells search engines what content on a page means. Schema enables rich results, helps Google understand entity relationships, and is critical for AI Overview citation pickup. Pages with valid schema are cited by AI engines 3.2x more often than unmarked pages.

The page Google displays in response to a search query. Modern SERPs include traditional organic results plus features: AI Overviews, local pack, knowledge panel, featured snippet, People Also Ask, Image pack, video pack, news, shopping. The traditional "10 blue links" SERP is increasingly rare in 2026.

A machine-readable list of URLs on your site that helps search engines discover and index pages. Critical for new sites and sites with many pages. Submitted to GSC, can be auto-regenerated by SEO plugins like Yoast.

The portion of a URL that identifies a specific page (the part after the domain). Best practice: short, descriptive, keyword-relevant slugs in lowercase with hyphens (not underscores).

The depth and breadth of a site's coverage on a given topic. Sites with high topical authority rank for more keywords across the topic and earn easier rankings on new content within the topic. Building topical authority is a 6-18 month effort centered on pillar + cluster content + named-author E-E-A-T signals.

How quickly your server starts sending the first byte of response data. TTFB is a component of LCP. A meaningful share of WordPress sites fail TTFB benchmarks — usually due to slow hosting or unoptimized backend code.

Content created by users rather than the site owner — reviews, comments, forum posts. UGC can be a major SEO asset (review-rich pages) or a major liability (spam, low-quality content). Moderation matters.

The most popular WordPress SEO plugin. Handles XML sitemaps, meta titles + descriptions, basic schema markup, breadcrumbs, and SEO-related settings. We use Yoast on every WordPress site we build.