common seo / online marketing phrases

Comprehensive glossary of essential SEO terms to boost digital marketing knowledge and online success strategies.

The average time a user spends on your website during a single session.

A section of your website for regularly publishing content like articles, events, photos, or videos. Each post creates a new page, enhancing search engine visibility. Ensure your blog resides within your main domain.

The percentage of visitors who navigate away from your site after viewing only one page.

The percentage of visitors who complete a desired action, such as making a purchase or filling out a form.

Visitors who arrive at your site by typing the URL directly into their browser, using bookmarks, or clicking on untracked email links.

Online listings of websites categorized by subject. Submitting your site can enhance visibility and provide valuable inbound links. Notable examples include Yahoo! Directory and DMOZ.

Your website’s main address (e.g., www.yoursite.com). Longer domain registrations can signal commitment, potentially boosting search engine rankings.

A free service by Google that tracks and reports website traffic, offering insights into user behavior.

The total number of files (e.g., images, scripts) loaded on your site. Note: ‘Hits’ differ from ‘visits’; a single page view can generate multiple hits.

Web pages that search engines have stored and can display in search results.

A hyperlink from another site to yours. High-quality inbound links can improve your SEO, especially from sites with high authority.

The number of times your ad or page is displayed to users. Each appearance counts as one impression.

A term or phrase that users enter into search engines. Optimizing your pages for relevant keywords can attract targeted traffic.

The ratio of a keyword’s occurrences to the total word count on a page. While once a significant SEO factor, its importance has diminished over time.

Specific, less common keyword phrases (typically three or more words) that target niche demographics. They often have lower competition and higher conversion rates.

The process of acquiring inbound links from other websites to improve search engine rankings.

The percentage of first-time visits to your website.

Optimization of individual web pages, including meta tags and content, to rank higher in search results.

External optimization efforts, primarily focused on building backlinks to enhance a site’s authority.

Traffic that comes to your site through unpaid search engine results.

The average number of pages viewed during a session. Repeated views of a single page are counted.

An advertising model where advertisers pay a fee each time their ad is clicked. Google AdWords is a prominent example.

A numerical value (0-10) assigned by Google indicating the importance of a page. Note: The relevance of PageRank has evolved over time.

The total number of pages viewed on your site. Repeated views of a single page are counted.

Visitors who come to your site through links on other websites, social media, or tracked email campaigns.

A design approach ensuring your website displays correctly on various devices, including mobile phones. With mobile searches comprising a significant portion of total searches, having a responsive site is crucial.

Stands for ‘Really Simple Syndication.’ It’s a subscription-based method for users to receive updates when you publish new content.

A file in your website’s root directory that guides search engine crawlers on which pages to index or avoid.

Elements that search engines consider when determining a page’s position in search results, such as inbound links or title tag content.

The practice of enhancing a website’s visibility in organic search engine results.

A broader term encompassing both SEO and paid search advertising strategies.

A group of interactions a user takes on your website within a given time frame.

Platforms where users create and share content. Engaging on sites like Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Twitter can drive traffic and improve SEO.

A program that crawls the internet, collecting information about websites for search engines.

The page displayed by search engines in response to a user’s query, typically showing a list of relevant links.

A file that lists all the pages on your website, aiding search engines in indexing your content.

The visitors who come to your website.

The origins of your website’s visitors, such as search engines, direct visits, or referral links.

Also known as a spider or bot, it’s a program that systematically browses the web to index pages for search engines.

Ok this one is not an SEO phrase. We just thought it was funny. It’s definition is:  “The act of being hospitable to strangers.”

It’s amusing because it’s such a rare and obscure word for something so simple!

SEO

Boost online visibility, increase traffic, and drive business growth.

local SEO

Improving visibility for businesses in local search results.

reputation management

Managing online presence to build trust and credibility.

social media

profiles created & optimized to target your perfect customer.