Technical SEO Glossary for Non-Techies:
A/B Testing
What It Is: Testing two versions of something (like an ad or landing page) to see which one performs better.
Why It Matters: It helps you make data-driven decisions instead of guesses.
Algorithm
What It Is: The secret sauce Google uses to rank websites.
Why It Matters: Understanding it helps you play by Google’s rules — and win!
Alt Text (Alternative Text)
What It Is: Text that describes an image for screen readers and Google.
Why It Matters: Helps with SEO and accessibility. Win-win.
Anchor Text
What It Is: The clickable text in a hyperlink.
Why It Matters: Google uses it to understand what the linked page is about.
Authority (Domain Authority / Page Authority)
What It Is: A score (0–100) that predicts how well a website will rank.
Why It Matters: Higher authority usually means higher rankings.
Backlink
What It Is: A link from another website to yours.
Why It Matters: It’s like a vote of confidence in Google’s eyes.
Bounce Rate
What It Is: The percentage of visitors who leave without interacting.
Why It Matters: A high bounce rate? Your content might need work.
Canonical URL
What It Is: The “official” version of a page when you have duplicates.
Why It Matters: Keeps Google from penalising you for duplicate content.
Click-Through Rate (CTR)
What It Is: The percentage of people who click on your link after seeing it.
Why It Matters: A low CTR? You might need a better headline or meta description.
Content Marketing
What It Is: Creating valuable, relevant content to attract your audience.
Why It Matters: It builds trust, authority, and traffic.
Conversion Rate
What It Is: The percentage of visitors who complete a desired action (like a purchase).
Why It Matters: This is where the money’s made.
Crawl / Crawling
What It Is: When search engines scan your site to understand what’s on it.
Why It Matters: If they can’t crawl it, they can’t rank it.
Duplicate Content
What It Is: Content that appears in more than one place.
Why It Matters: Google doesn’t like it. You shouldn’t either.
Engagement Rate
What It Is: How much people interact with your content (likes, shares, comments).
Why It Matters: High engagement = content that resonates.
Google Analytics
What It Is: A free tool from Google that tracks your website data.
Why It Matters: It tells you what’s working and what’s not.
Google Search Console
What It Is: Another free tool that helps you monitor and maintain your site’s presence in Google.
Why It Matters: It’s like a health report for your SEO.
Header Tags (H1, H2, H3…)
What It Is: HTML tags that structure your content.
Why It Matters: They help users and search engines understand your content’s layout.
Index / Indexing
What It Is: When Google stores and organises your content.
Why It Matters: If it’s not indexed, it can’t be found.
Internal Linking
What It Is: Linking to other pages within your own website.
Why It Matters: It boosts SEO and keeps people on your site longer.
Keyword
What It Is: The word or phrase people type into Google.
Why It Matters: You want to rank for the right ones.
Keyword Density
What It Is: How often a keyword appears in your content.
Why It Matters: Don’t overdo it (keyword stuffing = bad). Be natural.
Keyword Difficulty
What It Is: How hard it is to rank for a keyword.
Why It Matters: Go for a mix of easy and competitive keywords.
Lead Magnet
What It Is: A freebie (like an ebook or checklist) to get people to sign up.
Why It Matters: It helps grow your email list — your business’s goldmine.
Link Building
What It Is: The process of getting other sites to link to yours.
Why It Matters: More quality backlinks = better rankings.
Long-Tail Keyword
What It Is: A longer, more specific keyword phrase.
Why It Matters: Less competition and more targeted traffic.
Meta Description
What It Is: A short summary of your page that appears in search results.
Why It Matters: Good ones increase clicks.
NoFollow Link
What It Is: A link that tells search engines not to pass SEO value.
Why It Matters: Still useful for traffic, but not for SEO juice.
Organic Traffic
What It Is: Visitors who come to your site via unpaid search results.
Why It Matters: It’s free, and it means you’re doing SEO right.
Page Speed
What It Is: How fast your website loads.
Why It Matters: Faster sites = better rankings and user experience.
Ranking
What It Is: Where your page appears in Google’s results.
Why It Matters: Higher = more traffic.
Schema Markup
What It Is: Code that helps search engines understand your content.
Why It Matters: It can get you rich snippets — those fancy extra search features.
Search Engine Results Page (SERP)
What It Is: The page you see after doing a Google search.
Why It Matters: You want to be on page one. Ideally, spot one.
SEO (Search Engine Optimisation)
What It Is: The art of getting free traffic from Google.
Why It Matters: More visibility = more leads, sales, and growth.
Sitemap
What It Is: A file that tells Google which pages are on your site.
Why It Matters: Makes indexing faster and easier.
Title Tag
What It Is: The title of your page as it appears in search results.
Why It Matters: It’s your first impression — make it count.
Traffic
What It Is: The number of people visiting your site.
Why It Matters: More traffic usually means more opportunities.
User Intent
What It Is: What someone really wants when they search.
Why It Matters: Nail the intent, and you’ll dominate the rankings.
UX (User Experience)
What It Is: How enjoyable and easy your site is to use.
Why It Matters: Happy users = more conversions and SEO wins.
White Hat SEO
What It Is: Ethical SEO that follows Google’s rules.
Why It Matters: It’s sustainable and safe long-term.