SEO​ ​Glossary

Definition​ ​of​ ​Common​ ​SEO​ ​Terms​ ​With​ ​their​ ​Meaning

By
 1

301​ ​Moved​ ​Permanently

“301​ ​Moved​ ​permanently”​ ​is​ ​an​ ​HTTP​ ​protocol​ ​which​ ​indicates​ ​that​ ​the​ ​resource​ ​being
requested​ ​has​ ​moved​ ​to​ ​a​ ​new​ ​location,​ ​the​ ​location​ ​being​ ​given​ ​in​ ​the​ ​“Location”​ ​headers.​ ​This
protocol​ ​is​ ​generally​ ​given​ ​by​ ​a​ ​web​ ​server​ ​to​ ​a​ ​“Client”​ ​which​ ​is​ ​often​ ​the​ ​web​ ​browser​ ​of​ ​a
person’s​ ​computer​ ​requesting​ ​a​ ​page​ ​on​ ​a​ ​given​ ​website.

If​ ​the​ ​page​ ​on​ ​the​ ​website​ ​has​ ​moved​ ​to​ ​a​ ​new​ ​URL​ ​and​ ​the​ ​web​ ​server​ ​is​ ​configured​ ​in​ ​a​ ​way
to​ ​pass​ ​the​ ​“301​ ​moved​ ​permanently”​ ​header​ ​on​ ​specific​ ​pages,​ ​then​ ​the​ ​web​ ​server​ ​will​ ​throw
this​ ​response​ ​when​ ​that​ ​specific​ ​resource​ ​is​ ​being​ ​requested.​ ​A​ ​typical​ ​example​ ​of​ ​“301​ ​moved
permanently”​ ​is​ ​given​ ​below

Client​ ​(Web​ ​browser)

GET​ ​/index.php​ ​HTTP/1.1

Host:​ ​www.example.com

Server​ ​(Web​ ​server)

HTTP/1.1​ ​301​ ​Moved​ ​Permanently

Location:​ ​http://www.example.com/home.php
 2

301​ ​Redirect
A​ ​“301​ ​redirect”​ ​is​ ​a​ ​permanent​ ​redirect​ ​from​ ​one​ ​webpage​ ​to​ ​another.​ ​The​ ​redirect​ ​can​ ​point​ ​to
an​ ​existing​ ​resource​ ​on​ ​the​ ​same​ ​domain​ ​or​ ​a​ ​new​ ​resource​ ​on​ ​the​ ​same​ ​domain​ ​or​ ​may​ ​point
to​ ​a​ ​resource​ ​outside​ ​the​ ​domain.​ ​A​ ​301​ ​redirect​ ​is​ ​simply​ ​assigning​ ​a​ ​new​ ​address​ ​for​ ​the
existing​ ​resource.

Pages​ ​with​ ​301​ ​redirect​ ​are​ ​automatically​ ​pointed​ ​to​ ​the​ ​new​ ​resource​ ​by​ ​the​ ​web​ ​browser​ ​and
also​ ​by​ ​search​ ​engines.​ ​The​ ​difference​ ​between​ ​301​ ​redirect​ ​and​ ​301​ ​moved​ ​permanently​ ​is
that​ ​the​ ​former​ ​redirects​ ​the​ ​browser​ ​without​ ​giving​ ​any​ ​further​ ​information​ ​while​ ​the​ ​latter​ ​gives
information​ ​in​ ​the​ ​form​ ​of​ ​headers​ ​and​ ​then​ ​re-directs​ ​the​ ​browser.

302​ ​Found
“302​ ​Found”​ ​is​ ​an​ ​HTTP​ ​protocol​ ​which​ ​indicates​ ​that​ ​the​ ​requested​ ​resource​ ​has​ ​moved​ ​to​ ​a
new​ ​URL​ ​but​ ​only​ ​temporarily.​ ​The​ ​visitor’s​ ​browser​ ​redirects​ ​to​ ​the​ ​temporary​ ​page​ ​for​ ​the​ ​time
being,​ ​but​ ​search​ ​engines​ ​are​ ​instructed​ ​not​ ​to​ ​update​ ​the​ ​temporary​ ​URL​ ​because​ ​the​ ​original
URL​ ​is​ ​supposed​ ​to​ ​return​ ​in​ ​due​ ​course.

A​ ​“302​ ​found”​ ​status​ ​code​ ​is​ ​used​ ​when​ ​the​ ​web​ ​server​ ​is​ ​performing​ ​some​ ​maintenance​ ​and​ ​a
certain​ ​part​ ​of​ ​the​ ​website​ ​is​ ​moved​ ​to​ ​another​ ​part​ ​for​ ​specific​ ​reasons​ ​but​ ​only​ ​temporarily.
After​ ​the​ ​operation​ ​is​ ​resolved,​ ​the​ ​302​ ​status​ ​code​ ​is​ ​lifted​ ​from​ ​those​ ​pages​ ​and​ ​things​ ​are
back​ ​to​ ​normal.
 3

302​ ​Redirect
A​ ​“302​ ​redirect”​ ​is​ ​a​ ​temporary​ ​redirect​ ​to​ ​a​ ​new​ ​resource​ ​and​ ​the​ ​directive​ ​is​ ​given​ ​both​ ​to​ ​web
browsers​ ​and​ ​search​ ​engines.​ ​What​ ​this​ ​means​ ​is​ ​that​ ​the​ ​web​ ​server​ ​tells​ ​search​ ​engines​ ​that
the​ ​redirect​ ​is​ ​only​ ​temporary,​ ​while​ ​the​ ​original​ ​URL​ ​is​ ​not​ ​available​ ​at​ ​this​ ​moment,​ ​it​ ​is​ ​most
likely​ ​to​ ​return​ ​in​ ​near​ ​future.​ ​However,​ ​the​ ​web​ ​server​ ​gives​ ​no​ ​directives​ ​to​ ​search​ ​engines
whether​ ​to​ ​crawl​ ​and​ ​index​ ​the​ ​new​ ​URL​ ​or​ ​whether​ ​to​ ​keep​ ​the​ ​old​ ​URL​ ​in​ ​its​ ​index,​ ​thereby
giving​ ​search​ ​engines​ ​the​ ​freedom​ ​to​ ​choose​ ​which​ ​URL​ ​to​ ​keep​ ​in​ ​their​ ​index​ ​and​ ​show​ ​to
users.

In​ ​general,​ ​when​ ​you​ ​are​ ​sure​ ​that​ ​the​ ​old​ ​resource​ ​will​ ​no​ ​longer​ ​be​ ​available​ ​and​ ​the​ ​content
will​ ​only​ ​be​ ​available​ ​in​ ​the​ ​new​ ​resource,​ ​you​ ​should​ ​use​ ​a​ ​301​ ​redirect.​ ​However,​ ​if​ ​your
redirect​ ​is​ ​only​ ​temporary​ ​for​ ​maintenance​ ​or​ ​other​ ​temporary​ ​issues,​ ​a​ ​302​ ​redirect​ ​makes
more​ ​sense.

404​ ​Not​ ​Found

“404​ ​not​ ​found”​ ​is​ ​an​ ​HTTP​ ​protocol​ ​which​ ​indicates​ ​that​ ​the​ ​requested​ ​resource​ ​was​ ​not​ ​found
on​ ​the​ ​server.​ ​It​ ​means​ ​that​ ​the​ ​requested​ ​resource​ ​has​ ​either​ ​been​ ​removed​ ​or​ ​the​ ​requested
resource​ ​never​ ​existed​ ​on​ ​the​ ​server.​ ​This​ ​directive​ ​is​ ​given​ ​to​ ​both​ ​search​ ​engines​ ​and​ ​web
browsers​ ​and​ ​in​ ​general,​ ​this​ ​results​ ​in​ ​a​ ​blank​ ​page​ ​with​ ​no​ ​content​ ​in​ ​it.​ ​A​ ​404​ ​not​ ​found
means​ ​a​ ​dead​ ​end​ ​and​ ​the​ ​visitor​ ​has​ ​to​ ​go​ ​back​ ​and​ ​navigate​ ​through​ ​the​ ​website​ ​to​ ​find
content.​ ​Please​ ​note​ ​that​ ​there​ ​is​ ​no​ ​redirect​ ​associated​ ​with​ ​a​ ​404​ ​not​ ​found,​ ​it​ ​is​ ​just​ ​an​ ​error
message​ ​which​ ​communicates​ ​that​ ​the​ ​requested​ ​resource​ ​no​ ​longer​ ​exists.
 4

410​ ​gone
“410​ ​gone”​ ​is​ ​an​ ​HTTP​ ​protocol​ ​which​ ​indicates​ ​that​ ​the​ ​requested​ ​resource​ ​is​ ​no​ ​longer
available​ ​on​ ​the​ ​server​ ​and​ ​the​ ​condition​ ​is​ ​most​ ​likely​ ​to​ ​be​ ​permanent.​ ​The​ ​difference​ ​between
410​ ​gone​ ​and​ ​404​ ​not​ ​found​ ​is​ ​that​ ​the​ ​status​ ​code​ ​“404​ ​not​ ​found”​ ​does​ ​not​ ​acknowledge
whether​ ​this​ ​resource​ ​ever​ ​existed​ ​on​ ​the​ ​server​ ​or​ ​not.​ ​It​ ​simply​ ​says​ ​that​ ​the​ ​resource​ ​was​ ​not
found.​ ​However,​ ​the​ ​status​ ​code​ ​“410​ ​gone”​ ​acknowledges​ ​that​ ​the​ ​resource​ ​did​ ​existed​ ​on​ ​the
server​ ​some​ ​time​ ​back​ ​but​ ​for​ ​some​ ​reason,​ ​it​ ​is​ ​no​ ​longer​ ​available​ ​and​ ​it​ ​will​ ​not​ ​be​ ​available
in​ ​near​ ​future​ ​as​ ​well.

The​ ​directive​ ​is​ ​passed​ ​both​ ​to​ ​web​ ​browsers​ ​and​ ​to​ ​search​ ​engines.

500​ ​Internal​ ​Server​ ​Error

“500​ ​Internal​ ​server​ ​error”​ ​is​ ​an​ ​HTTP​ ​status​ ​code​ ​which​ ​indicates​ ​that​ ​something​ ​has​ ​gone
wrong​ ​with​ ​the​ ​web​ ​server​ ​without​ ​giving​ ​any​ ​details​ ​on​ ​what​ ​the​ ​specific​ ​problem​ ​might​ ​be.​ ​The
details​ ​of​ ​the​ ​specific​ ​problem​ ​is​ ​not​ ​shared​ ​with​ ​the​ ​search​ ​engines​ ​and​ ​the​ ​regular​ ​visitors​ ​and
since​ ​the​ ​Error​ ​code​ ​is​ ​generally​ ​public​ ​in​ ​nature,​ ​the​ ​details​ ​of​ ​the​ ​error​ ​is​ ​not​ ​even​ ​shown​ ​to
the​ ​owner​ ​of​ ​the​ ​website.

500​ ​Internal​ ​server​ ​error​ ​status​ ​code​ ​can​ ​be​ ​shown​ ​in​ ​a​ ​variety​ ​of​ ​occasions​ ​when​ ​a
misconfiguration​ ​has​ ​taken​ ​place​ ​or​ ​some​ ​setting​ ​has​ ​been​ ​malfunctioned.​ ​It​ ​is​ ​often​ ​restored​ ​by
performing​ ​a​ ​thorough​ ​check​ ​of​ ​all​ ​the​ ​systems​ ​running​ ​in​ ​the​ ​web​ ​server.

ALT​ ​Tag
The​ ​term​ ​“Alt​ ​tag”​ ​is​ ​an​ ​acronym​ ​for​ ​“Alternate​ ​tag”​ ​or​ ​“Alternate​ ​text”​ ​associated​ ​with​ ​images​ ​on
a​ ​webpage.​ ​The​ ​Alt​ ​tag​ ​is​ ​used​ ​to​ ​communicate​ ​what​ ​an​ ​image​ ​is​ ​all​ ​about​ ​since​ ​Search
engines​ ​cannot​ ​read​ ​images​ ​and​ ​understand​ ​what​ ​they​ ​are​ ​all​ ​about.​ ​The​ ​alternate​ ​tag​ ​or
“Alternate​ ​text”​ ​is​ ​also​ ​used​ ​by​ ​screen​ ​readers​ ​and​ ​text-only​ ​browsers​ ​that​ ​do​ ​not​ ​support
images,​ ​browsers​ ​for​ ​visually​ ​impaired​ ​people.​ ​An​ ​Alternate​ ​tag​ ​has​ ​good​ ​SEO​ ​value​ ​since​ ​it
also​ ​conveys​ ​information​ ​about​ ​the​ ​content​ ​of​ ​the​ ​page​ ​where​ ​the​ ​image​ ​is​ ​used.
 5

Above​ ​the​ ​fold

Above​ ​the​ ​fold​ ​refers​ ​to​ ​the​ ​portion​ ​of​ ​a​ ​webpage​ ​which​ ​is​ ​visible​ ​without​ ​having​ ​to​ ​scroll.
Different​ ​devices​ ​will​ ​have​ ​different​ ​pixel​ ​size​ ​and​ ​hence​ ​there​ ​is​ ​no​ ​set​ ​definition​ ​of​ ​the​ ​number
of​ ​pixels​ ​that​ ​defines​ ​the​ ​above​ ​the​ ​fold​ ​section​ ​on​ ​any​ ​given​ ​device.

It​ ​is​ ​sometimes​ ​considered​ ​a​ ​bad​ ​practice​ ​to​ ​place​ ​ads,​ ​banners​ ​and​ ​other​ ​“Non-content”
elements​ ​above​ ​the​ ​fold​ ​since​ ​it​ ​is​ ​considered​ ​a​ ​major​ ​distraction​ ​for​ ​the​ ​user​ ​and​ ​does​ ​not​ ​lead
to​ ​a​ ​good​ ​user​ ​experience.​ ​It​ ​is​ ​also​ ​worth​ ​noting​ ​that​ ​ads,​ ​banners​ ​or​ ​elements​ ​placed​ ​above
the​ ​fold​ ​section​ ​lead​ ​to​ ​better​ ​conversions​ ​and​ ​more​ ​clicks,​ ​thereby​ ​converting​ ​to​ ​more​ ​sales,
subscriptions,​ ​and​ ​clicks​ ​and​ ​other​ ​things​ ​which​ ​a​ ​website​ ​owner​ ​wants​ ​to​ ​achieve​ ​from​ ​his
visitors.

Accelerated​ ​Mobile​ ​Pages​ ​(AMP)

Accelerated​ ​mobile​ ​pages​ ​is​ ​a​ ​project​​ ​initiated​ ​by​ ​Google​ ​to​ ​have​ ​an​ ​open​ ​standard​ ​for​ ​website
owners,​ ​webmasters,​ ​developers,​ ​designers,​ ​and​ ​publishers​ ​to​ ​ensure​ ​web​ ​pages​ ​load​ ​quickly
on​ ​mobile​ ​devices.​ ​Basically,​ ​it​ ​is​ ​a​ ​standard​ ​to​ ​create​ ​a​ ​very​ ​fast​ ​responsive​ ​version​ ​of​ ​a
webpage​ ​to​ ​ensure​ ​that​ ​the​ ​content​ ​of​ ​the​ ​page​ ​loads​ ​quickly​ ​when​ ​specifically​ ​viewed​ ​in​ ​a
mobile​ ​device​ ​which​ ​has​ ​a​ ​slow​ ​internet​ ​connection.

AdWords
Google​ ​AdWords​​ ​is​ ​an​ ​online​ ​advertising​ ​service​ ​developed​ ​by​ ​Google,​ ​where​ ​advertisers​ ​pay
to​ ​display​ ​brief​ ​advertising​ ​copy,​ ​product​ ​listings,​ ​and​ ​video​ ​content​ ​within​ ​the​ ​Google​ ​ad
network​ ​to​ ​web​ ​users.​ ​Google​ ​AdWords’​ ​system​ ​is​ ​based​ ​partly​ ​on​ ​cookies​ ​and​ ​partly​ ​on
keywords​ ​determined​ ​by​ ​advertisers.​ ​Google​ ​uses​ ​these​ ​characteristics​ ​to​ ​place​ ​advertising
copy​ ​on​ ​pages​ ​where​ ​they​ ​think​ ​it​ ​might​ ​be​ ​relevant.​ ​Advertisers​ ​pay​ ​when​ ​users​ ​divert​ ​their
browsing​ ​to​ ​click​ ​on​ ​the​ ​advertising​ ​copy.​ ​Partner​ ​websites​ ​receive​ ​a​ ​portion​ ​of​ ​the​ ​generated
income
 6

Add​ ​-on​ ​domains

An​ ​Add-on​ ​domain​ ​is​ ​an​ ​“extra”​ ​domain​ ​which​ ​has​ ​been​ ​added​ ​to​ ​your​ ​web​ ​hosting​ ​account.
Typically,​ ​when​ ​you​ ​create​ ​your​ ​web​ ​hosting​ ​account​ ​with​ ​a​ ​web​ ​hosting​ ​company,​ ​you​ ​have​ ​a
main​ ​domain​ ​associated​ ​with​ ​your​ ​account.​ ​However,​ ​if​ ​you​ ​have​ ​enough​ ​disk​ ​space​ ​on​ ​your
web​ ​hosting​ ​package,​ ​most​ ​web​ ​hosting​ ​companies​ ​allow​ ​you​ ​the​ ​flexibility​ ​to​ ​add​ ​multiple
domains​ ​to​ ​the​ ​same​ ​web​ ​hosting​ ​account,​ ​without​ ​having​ ​to​ ​create​ ​a​ ​separate​ ​web​ ​hosting
account​ ​for​ ​each​ ​domain.

When​ ​you​ ​add​ ​secondary​ ​domains​ ​to​ ​the​ ​same​ ​web​ ​hosting​ ​package,​ ​the​ ​secondary​ ​domains
are​ ​called​ ​“Add-on​ ​Domains”.

Algorithm
An​ ​algorithm​ ​is​ ​a​ ​sequence​ ​of​ ​formulas​ ​or​ ​procedures​ ​which​ ​has​ ​been​ ​set​ ​to​ ​achieve​ ​a​ ​given
objective.​ ​An​ ​algorithm​ ​considers​ ​all​ ​the​ ​use​ ​cases,​ ​scenarios,​ ​and​ ​other​ ​parameters​ ​before
arriving​ ​at​ ​its​ ​objective.​ ​In​ ​general,​ ​an​ ​algorithm​ ​is​ ​built​ ​to​ ​solve​ ​a​ ​complex,​ ​recurring​ ​problem.

In​ ​SEO,​ ​algorithm​ ​generally​ ​refers​ ​to​ ​search​ ​engine​ ​algorithms​ ​which​ ​determine​ ​the​ ​relevance
of​ ​a​ ​webpage​ ​to​ ​visitor’s​ ​query.​ ​Then​ ​there​ ​are​ ​algorithms​ ​which​ ​determine​ ​the​ ​quality​ ​of​ ​web
pages,​ ​the​ ​authority​ ​of​ ​domains​ ​and​ ​lots​ ​of​ ​other​ ​things​ ​on​ ​a​ ​recurring​ ​basis.​ ​These​ ​algorithms
are​ ​often​ ​updated​ ​to​ ​include​ ​newer​ ​parameters​ ​and​ ​often​ ​result​ ​in​ ​big​ ​shake-ups,​ ​resulting​ ​in
traffic​ ​gains​ ​for​ ​websites​ ​and​ ​traffic​ ​loss​ ​for​ ​websites.

Most​ ​people​ ​are​ ​generally​ ​afraid​ ​of​ ​“Algorithmic​ ​updates”​ ​because​ ​it​ ​results​ ​in​ ​extreme
conditions​ ​for​ ​business​ ​who​ ​depend​ ​on​ ​organic​ ​traffic​ ​from​ ​search​ ​engines​ ​(Especially​ ​Google)

Anchor​ ​text
Anchor​ ​text​ ​is​ ​the​ ​word​ ​which​ ​is​ ​used​ ​to​ ​hyperlink​ ​an​ ​internal​ ​or​ ​external​ ​page​ ​on​ ​a​ ​webpage.
Anchor​ ​text​ ​carries​ ​good​ ​“SEO​ ​value”​ ​because​ ​it​ ​is​ ​a​ ​way​ ​search​ ​engines​ ​figure​ ​out​ ​what​ ​the
target​ ​page​ ​is​ ​all​ ​about.​ ​Learn​ ​how​ ​to​ ​create​ ​saeo​ ​friendly​ ​anchor​ ​texts
 7

Authority
Authority​ ​generally​ ​refers​ ​to​ ​the​ ​“Authority​ ​of​ ​a​ ​webpage”​ ​or​ ​“Authority​ ​of​ ​a​ ​website”​ ​or​ ​“Authority
of​ ​a​ ​domain”.​ ​Though​ ​this​ ​is​ ​not​ ​an​ ​official​ ​term,​ ​it​ ​is​ ​a​ ​common​ ​one​ ​used​ ​within​ ​the​ ​webmaster’s
community​ ​to​ ​refer​ ​to​ ​websites​ ​who​ ​have​ ​a​ ​high​ ​amount​ ​of​ ​“Trust”,​ ​“Popularity”,​ ​“Fan​ ​following”
and​ ​considered​ ​one​ ​of​ ​the​ ​mainstream​ ​websites​ ​in​ ​its​ ​niche.

Search​ ​engines​ ​do​ ​have​ ​a​ ​segregation​ ​of​ ​websites​ ​according​ ​to​ ​“Authority”​ ​(it​ ​is​ ​also​ ​referred​ ​as
“Pagerank”)​ ​and​ ​in​ ​general,​ ​websites​ ​with​ ​higher​ ​authority​ ​have​ ​higher​ ​rankings​ ​on​ ​Search
results​ ​compared​ ​to​ ​websites​ ​with​ ​low​ ​or​ ​no​ ​authority.

Backlinks
Backlink​ ​refers​ ​to​ ​incoming​ ​links​ ​to​ ​a​ ​webpage,​ ​either​ ​from​ ​an​ ​internal​ ​page​ ​on​ ​the​ ​website​ ​or
from​ ​a​ ​totally​ ​different​ ​website​ ​altogether.​ ​Although​ ​internal​ ​links​ ​are​ ​considered​ ​backlinks,​ ​a
backlink​ ​is​ ​often​ ​referred​ ​to​ ​a​ ​link​ ​which​ ​is​ ​obtained​ ​from​ ​another​ ​website​ ​to​ ​an​ ​internal​ ​page​ ​on
your​ ​website.

Backlinks​ ​have​ ​very​ ​high​ ​value​ ​in​ ​the​ ​search​ ​engine​ ​optimization​ ​of​ ​a​ ​website​ ​and​ ​in​ ​general,
the​ ​higher​ ​quality​ ​backlinks​ ​you​ ​acquire​ ​for​ ​your​ ​website,​ ​the​ ​better​ ​your​ ​rankings​ ​will​ ​become
over​ ​time.
 8

Bad​ ​neighbor
Also​ ​referred​ ​as​ ​“Bad​ ​neighborhood”,​ ​a​ ​“Bad​ ​neighbor”​ ​means​ ​getting​ ​linked​ ​from​ ​a​ ​website
which​ ​has​ ​been​ ​penalized​ ​by​ ​Google.​ ​Typically,​ ​“a​ ​bad​ ​neighbor”​ ​refers​ ​to​ ​a​ ​website​ ​that​ ​has
content​ ​related​ ​to​ ​Gambling,​ ​Casinos,​ ​Adult​ ​pornography​ ​or​ ​any​ ​other​ ​content​ ​which​ ​violates
Google​ ​webmaster​ ​quality​ ​guidelines.

If​ ​your​ ​website​ ​gets​ ​a​ ​backlink​ ​from​ ​one​ ​of​ ​these​ ​sites,​ ​then​ ​it​ ​is​ ​sometimes​ ​referred​ ​that​ ​your
website​ ​just​ ​got​ ​a​ ​“Bad​ ​Neighbour”.​ ​There​ ​is​ ​no​ ​need​ ​to​ ​panic​ ​if​ ​you​ ​are​ ​getting​ ​links​ ​from​ ​Bad
neighbors,​ ​but​ ​one​ ​should​ ​be​ ​aware​ ​if​ ​that​ ​number​ ​increases​ ​too​ ​much​ ​for​ ​no​ ​reason​ ​and​ ​take
preventive​ ​measures​ ​to​ ​ensure​ ​that​ ​your​ ​website​ ​does​ ​not​ ​get​ ​classified​ ​as​ ​one​ ​of​ ​the​ ​bad
neighbors.

Baidu
Baidu​​ ​is​ ​a​ ​Chinese​ ​internet​ ​search​ ​engine​ ​which​ ​is​ ​most​ ​popular​ ​in​ ​China​ ​and​ ​for​ ​Chinese
language​ ​queries.​ ​It​ ​is​ ​the​ ​equivalent​ ​of​ ​Google​ ​in​ ​China,​ ​although​ ​Baidu​ ​is​ ​not​ ​owned​ ​by
Google​ ​or​ ​it’s​ ​parent​ ​company​ ​Alphabet​ ​Inc.

Bing
Bing​ ​is​ ​a​ ​web​ ​search​ ​engine​ ​owned​ ​and​ ​operated​ ​by​ ​Microsoft,​ ​Inc.​ ​It’s​ ​chief​ ​rival​ ​being​ ​Google,
Bing​ ​was​ ​Microsoft’s​ ​counter​ ​to​ ​offer​ ​some​ ​competition​ ​to​ ​Google​ ​in​ ​the​ ​search​ ​market.​ ​After
Google,​ ​Bing​ ​is​ ​the​ ​most​ ​popular​ ​search​ ​engine​ ​but​ ​used​ ​only​ ​by​ ​a​ ​small​ ​fraction​ ​of​ ​users
across​ ​the​ ​globe.
 9

Blackhat
Blackhat​ ​generally​ ​means​ ​“Some​ ​which​ ​is​ ​not​ ​legitimate​ ​or​ ​legal​ ​to​ ​do”.​ ​Blackhat​ ​generally
refers​ ​to​ ​“Blackhat​ ​SEO”​ ​which​ ​means​ ​violating​ ​the​ ​directives​ ​of​ ​Search​ ​engines​ ​to​ ​establish
search​ ​rankings​ ​for​ ​a​ ​website​ ​by​ ​Brute​ ​force,​ ​often​ ​coming​ ​up​ ​with​ ​shallow​ ​content,​ ​low-quality
pages​ ​and​ ​building​ ​links​ ​from​ ​tons​ ​of​ ​spam​ ​sites​ ​and​ ​trying​ ​to​ ​game​ ​the​ ​system.

The​ ​opposite​ ​of​ ​Blackhat​ ​SEO​ ​is​ ​Whitehat​ ​SEO​ ​which​ ​refers​ ​to​ ​Legitimate​ ​measures​ ​to​ ​gain
search​ ​rankings​ ​on​ ​Google​ ​and​ ​other​ ​search​ ​engines.​ L
​ earn​ ​the​ ​differences​ ​between​ ​Blackhat
and​ ​Whitehat​ ​SEO

Blogger​ ​outreach
Blogger​ ​outreach​ ​typically​ ​means​ ​reaching​ ​out​ ​to​ ​Bloggers​ ​in​ ​a​ ​specific​ ​niche​ ​and​ ​asking​ ​them
to​ ​write​ ​about​ ​your​ ​product​ ​or​ ​service​ ​on​ ​their​ ​websites.​ ​This​ ​is​ ​considered​ ​a​ ​“Promotional
reaction”​ ​to​ ​gain​ ​more​ ​eyeballs​ ​and​ ​audience​ ​for​ ​your​ ​own​ ​website​ ​and​ ​a​ ​“Blogger​ ​outreach
campaign”​ ​is​ ​often​ ​done​ ​to​ ​attract​ ​a​ ​critical​ ​mass​ ​of​ ​customers,​ ​followers​ ​or​ ​audiences​ ​in​ ​a​ ​small
amount​ ​of​ ​time.

Blogger​ ​outreach​ ​has​ ​become​ ​really​ ​popular,​ ​especially​ ​with​ ​hi-tech​ ​companies​ ​who​ ​sell
gadgets,​ ​computers,​ ​and​ ​smartphones.​ ​These​ ​companies​ ​reach​ ​out​ ​to​ ​popular​ ​blogs​ ​and​ ​often
consider​ ​giving​ ​away​ ​some​ ​goodies​ ​for​ ​free​ ​to​ ​entice​ ​people​ ​and​ ​spread​ ​the​ ​brand​ ​deep​ ​into​ ​the
consumer’s​ ​heart.

Boolean​ ​operators
The​ ​boolean​ ​operator​ ​is​ ​a​ ​term​ ​from​ ​“Computer​ ​science”​ ​which​ ​refers​ ​to​ ​“Operators”​ ​which​ ​can
be​ ​combined​ ​in​ ​a​ ​statement.​ ​The​ ​standard​ ​operators​ ​are​ ​“AND”,​ ​“NOT”,​ ​“OR”.

In​ ​SEO,​ ​the​ ​Boolean​ ​operator​ ​generally​ ​refers​ ​to​ ​Google​ ​search​ ​operators​ ​which​ ​let​ ​a​ ​user
refine​ ​his​ ​search​ ​results​ ​to​ ​find​ ​more​ ​specific​ ​sites​ ​with​ ​specific​ ​attributes​ ​and​ ​parameters.​ ​It​ ​is
not​ ​considered​ ​mainstream​ ​and​ ​is​ ​only​ ​an​ ​advanced​ ​mechanism​ ​to​ ​fine​ ​tune​ ​the​ ​result​ ​of​ ​a
Google​ ​search.​ ​Learn​ ​more​ ​about​ ​Google’s​ ​Boolean​ ​operators.
 10

Bot
A​ ​“Bot”​ ​is​ ​a​ ​short​ ​form​ ​of​ ​“Robot”​ ​which​ ​is​ ​an​ ​algorithm​ ​or​ ​a​ ​software​ ​application​ ​which​ ​is​ ​used​ ​to
run​ ​automated​ ​tasks​ ​and​ ​achieve​ ​a​ ​given​ ​result.​ ​The​ ​task​ ​performed​ ​by​ ​a​ ​“Bot”​ ​is​ ​recurring​ ​and
repetitive​ ​and​ ​is​ ​mostly​ ​beyond​ ​the​ ​scope​ ​of​ ​“Human​ ​labor”.​ ​A​ ​most​ ​common​ ​example​ ​of​ ​a​ ​Bot
is​ ​a​ ​“Search​ ​bot”​ ​which​ ​routinely​ ​crawls​ ​and​ ​indexes​ ​content​ ​from​ ​all​ ​the​ ​websites​ ​available​ ​on
the​ ​world​ ​wide​ ​web.​ ​Learn​ ​more​ ​about​ ​Google’s​ ​search​ ​bot​ ​–​ ​Googlebot

Bounce​ ​rate
“Bounce​ ​rate”​ ​is​ ​a​ ​fancy​ ​name​ ​given​ ​to​ ​the​ ​percentage​ ​of​ ​people​ ​on​ ​a​ ​website​ ​who​ ​move​ ​away
from​ ​the​ ​website​ ​after​ ​viewing​ ​only​ ​one​ ​page.​ ​Typically,​ ​bounce​ ​rate​ ​refers​ ​to​ ​the​ ​rate​ ​of​ ​people
who​ ​“bounce”​ ​from​ ​a​ ​website​ ​as​ ​soon​ ​as​ ​arrive​ ​at​ ​the​ ​website.

For​ ​example,​ ​if​ ​100​ ​people​ ​come​ ​to​ ​your​ ​website​ ​and​ ​out​ ​of​ ​those​ ​100,​ ​97​ ​people​ ​visit​ ​only​ ​one
page​ ​and​ ​go​ ​away​ ​from​ ​your​ ​website,​ ​the​ ​bounce​ ​rate​ ​of​ ​your​ ​website​ ​is​ ​97%.

Bounce​ ​rate​ ​is​ ​considered​ ​an​ ​important​ ​SEO​ ​signal​ ​and​ ​usually,​ ​the​ ​lower​ ​the​ ​bounce​ ​rate​ ​of
web​ ​pages,​ ​the​ ​higher​ ​their​ ​rankings​ ​on​ ​Search​ ​results.

Branded​ ​link
A​ ​“Branded​ ​link”​ ​is​ ​a​ ​website​ ​domain​ ​name​ ​which​ ​contains​ ​the​ ​name​ ​of​ ​the​ ​Brand​ ​in​ ​it.​ ​Branded
links​ ​are​ ​often​ ​as​ ​short​ ​as​ ​possible​ ​and​ ​used​ ​as​ ​short​ ​links​ ​to​ ​main​ ​pages​ ​on​ ​the​ ​main​ ​“brand
website”.

For​ ​example,​ ​youtu.be​​ ​is​ ​a​ ​branded​ ​link​ ​and​ ​so​ ​is​ ​bbc.in.

Both​ ​these​ ​domains​ ​reflect​ ​the​ ​“Brand”​ ​from​ ​the​ ​URL.

 11

Breadcrumbs
A​ ​“breadcrumb”​ ​is​ ​a​ ​type​ ​of​ ​navigation​ ​unit​ ​on​ ​a​ ​webpage​ ​which​ ​reveals​ ​the​ ​location​ ​of​ ​the​ ​user
in​ ​the​ ​website​ ​and​ ​allows​ ​him​ ​to​ ​navigate​ ​higher​ ​to​ ​other​ ​sections​ ​quickly,​ ​depending​ ​on​ ​how
the​ ​breadcrumb​ ​navigation​ ​is​ ​structured.​ ​A​ ​breadcrumb​ ​simply​ ​puts​ ​the​ ​hierarchy​ ​of​ ​a​ ​website​ ​in
front​ ​of​ ​the​ ​user​ ​and​ ​lets​ ​the​ ​user​ ​decide​ ​how​ ​he​ ​wants​ ​to​ ​navigate​ ​on​ ​the​ ​website.

Breadcrumbs​ ​have​ ​a​ ​very​ ​high​ ​value​ ​from​ ​the​ ​SEO​ ​perspective,​ ​although​ ​not​ ​all​ ​sites​ ​are
required​ ​to​ ​use​ ​Breadcrumbs.​ ​If​ ​it​ ​is​ ​a​ ​simple​ ​blog​ ​with​ ​only​ ​posts​ ​and​ ​pages​ ​with​ ​no​ ​definitive
hierarchy​ ​needed​ ​for​ ​navigation,​ ​there​ ​is​ ​no​ ​use​ ​case​ ​of​ ​putting​ ​Breadcrumbs.​ ​However,​ ​if​ ​the
website​ ​in​ ​question​ ​is​ ​an​ ​eCommerce​ ​Store​ ​or​ ​a​ ​product​ ​listing​ ​website​ ​with​ ​many​ ​possible
products,​ ​categories,​ ​and​ ​other​ ​choices,​ ​it​ ​helps​ ​to​ ​add​ ​“Breadcrumbs”​ ​so​ ​that​ ​the​ ​user​ ​can
easily​ ​navigate​ ​the​ ​website​ ​and​ ​arrive​ ​at​ ​the​ ​point​ ​which​ ​interests​ ​him.

Here​ ​is​ ​a​ ​very​ ​useful​ ​article​ ​on​ ​Breadcrumbs​ ​and​ ​their​ ​best​ ​practices.

Broad​ ​match
“Broad​ ​match”​ ​refers​ ​to​ ​the​ ​common​ ​theme​ ​of​ ​search​ ​which​ ​a​ ​user​ ​performs​ ​on​ ​Search​ ​engines
such​ ​as​ ​Google,​ ​Yahoo,​ ​Bing,​ ​and​ ​others.​ ​It​ ​is​ ​used​ ​by​ ​advertisers​ ​to​ ​target​ ​serving​ ​ads​ ​to
people​ ​who​ ​perform​ ​searches​ ​around​ ​a​ ​theme​ ​of​ ​keywords.

For​ ​example,​ ​the​ ​keywords​ ​–​ ​“shoes​ ​for​ ​men”,​ ​“best​ ​summer​ ​footwear​ ​for​ ​men”,​ ​“casual​ ​shoes
for​ ​men”​ ​all​ ​form​ ​a​ ​“Broad​ ​match”​ ​keyword​ ​set​ ​for​ ​“Men’s​ ​shoes”.​ ​Broad​ ​match​ ​keywords​ ​contain
all​ ​possible​ ​keyword​ ​searches​ ​for​ ​a​ ​phrase,​ ​related​ ​search​ ​terms,​ ​related​ ​sentences​ ​or​ ​phrases,
all​ ​possible​ ​keyword​ ​combinations,​ ​similar​ ​words,​ ​plurals,​ ​and​ ​misspellings.
 12

CTR​ ​(Click​ ​Through​ ​Rate)

CTR​ ​is​ ​an​ ​acronym​ ​which​ ​stands​ ​for​ ​“Click-through​ ​rate”.​ ​It​ ​refers​ ​to​ ​the​ ​rate​ ​of​ ​clicks​ ​received
on​ ​a​ ​hyperlink​ ​or​ ​an​ ​advertisement​ ​which​ ​contains​ ​a​ ​link.​ ​For​ ​example,​ ​if​ ​your​ ​advertisement​ ​is
shown​ ​to​ ​100​ ​people​ ​and​ ​only​ ​13​ ​people​ ​click​ ​the​ ​advertisement,​ ​the​ ​click-through​ ​rate​ ​or​ ​CTR
is​ ​13%.

Click​ ​through​ ​rate​ ​is​ ​measured​ ​to​ ​observe​ ​the​ ​conversion​ ​rate​ ​of​ ​an​ ​advertisement,​ ​hyperlink​ ​or
a​ ​marketing​ ​campaign.​ ​It​ ​is​ ​generally​ ​a​ ​measure​ ​of​ ​success​ ​or​ ​failure​ ​for​ ​a​ ​campaign​ ​and​ ​it’s
objectives.

Canonical​ ​Tag
A​ ​canonical​ ​tag​ ​or​ ​a​ ​canonical​ ​meta​ ​tag​ ​is​ ​a​ ​directive​ ​to​ ​search​ ​engines​ ​to​ ​point​ ​them​ ​to​ ​the
original​ ​content​ ​that​ ​a​ ​webpage​ ​contains.​ ​If​ ​two​ ​or​ ​more​ ​web​ ​pages​ ​on​ ​the​ ​same​ ​domain​ ​contain
exactly​ ​the​ ​same​ ​content​ ​for​ ​some​ ​specific​ ​reason,​ ​the​ ​canonical​ ​tag​ ​is​ ​the​ ​only​ ​way​ ​to​ ​tell
search​ ​engines​ ​which​ ​of​ ​the​ ​pages​ ​using​ ​the​ ​content​ ​is​ ​the​ ​main​ ​page​ ​and​ ​should​ ​be​ ​shown​ ​in
search​ ​engine​ ​result​ ​pages.

A​ ​Canonical​ ​tag​ ​is​ ​very​ ​useful​ ​in​ ​resolving​ ​duplicate​ ​content​ ​issues​ ​and​ ​avoiding​ ​being
penalized​ ​by​ ​search​ ​engines​ ​for​ ​duplicate​ ​content.​ ​Please​ ​note​ ​that​ ​canonical​ ​tags​ ​can​ ​be
across​ ​multiple​ ​domains.
 13

Cloaking
Cloaking​ ​refers​ ​to​ ​the​ ​practice​ ​of​ ​serving​ ​different​ ​content​ ​to​ ​search​ ​engines​ ​and​ ​different
content​ ​to​ ​human​ ​readers,​ ​solely​ ​for​ ​the​ ​purpose​ ​of​ ​getting​ ​ranked​ ​in​ ​search​ ​engines​ ​for​ ​specific
keywords.​ ​If​ ​your​ ​webpage​ ​is​ ​about​ ​“Shoes”​ ​and​ ​you​ ​are​ ​trying​ ​to​ ​rank​ ​in​ ​Search​ ​engines​ ​for​ ​the
term​ ​“Best​ ​wallets​ ​for​ ​men”,​ ​you​ ​may​ ​be​ ​tempted​ ​to​ ​create​ ​a​ ​doorway​ ​page​ ​or​ ​some​ ​other
mechanism​ ​that​ ​presents​ ​a​ ​particular​ ​page​ ​only​ ​to​ ​search​ ​engines​ ​which​ ​contains​ ​lots​ ​of
keywords​ ​related​ ​to​ ​“Best​ ​wallets​ ​for​ ​men”.​ ​However,​ ​that​ ​specific​ ​pages​ ​do​ ​not​ ​even​ ​contain
any​ ​keywords​ ​related​ ​to​ ​“Best​ ​wallets​ ​for​ ​men”,​ ​because​ ​your​ ​website​ ​is​ ​all​ ​about​ ​“Shoes”.
However,​ ​when​ ​a​ ​search​ ​bot​ ​crawls​ ​your​ ​website,​ ​it​ ​finds​ ​those​ ​specific​ ​words​ ​because​ ​you
have​ ​been​ ​practicing​ ​cloaking.

Cloaking​ ​is​ ​a​ ​serious​ ​offense​ ​and​ ​is​ ​a​ ​violation​ ​of​ ​Google’s​ ​search​ ​quality​ ​guidelines.​ ​Practicing
Cloaking​ ​will​ ​get​ ​your​ ​website​ ​de-listed​ ​from​ ​Google​ ​search.​ L
​ earn​ ​more​ ​about​ ​Cloaking​.

Content​ ​Delivery​ ​Network​ ​(CDN)

A​ ​content​ ​delivery​ ​network​ ​is​ ​a​ ​system​ ​of​ ​distributed​ ​web​ ​servers​ ​or​ ​“computer​ ​systems”​ ​which
helps​ ​accelerate​ ​the​ ​delivery​ ​of​ ​web​ ​pages,​ ​depending​ ​on​ ​the​ ​location​ ​of​ ​the​ ​visitor​ ​who​ ​is
accessing​ ​the​ ​website.​ ​In​ ​general,​ ​a​ ​content​ ​delivery​ ​network​ ​is​ ​a​ ​geographically​ ​distributed
data-center​ ​spread​ ​across​ ​the​ ​world​ ​in​ ​different​ ​locations​ ​and​ ​depending​ ​on​ ​the​ ​location​ ​of​ ​the
visitor’s​ ​computer,​ ​his​ ​IP​ ​address​ ​and​ ​Internet​ ​service​ ​provider,​ ​the​ ​CDN​ ​decides​ ​from​ ​which
data​ ​center​ ​the​ ​data​ ​is​ ​to​ ​be​ ​provided.

If​ ​your​ ​website​ ​uses​ ​a​ ​content​ ​delivery​ ​network​ ​which​ ​has​ ​data​ ​centers​ ​across​ ​all​ ​the​ ​major
countries,​ ​it​ ​will​ ​greatly​ ​improve​ ​the​ ​page​ ​loading​ ​time​ ​of​ ​your​ ​website.​ ​A​ ​user​ ​in​ ​Brazil​ ​will​ ​get
the​ ​page​ ​fetched​ ​from​ ​a​ ​data​ ​center​ ​in​ ​Brazil​ ​while​ ​a​ ​user​ ​in​ ​Japan​ ​will​ ​get​ ​the​ ​page​ ​fetched
from​ ​a​ ​data​ ​center​ ​in​ ​Japan​ ​or​ ​Korea​ ​or​ ​Russia.

Large​ ​websites​ ​use​ ​content​ ​delivery​ ​networks​ ​to​ ​provide​ ​a​ ​better​ ​user​ ​experience​ ​to​ ​their​ ​users
across​ ​the​ ​globe.
 14

Content​ ​marketing
“Content​ ​marketing​ ​is​ ​a​ ​marketing​ ​approach​ ​in​ ​which​ ​the​ ​business​ ​creates​ ​high-quality​ ​content
which​ ​is​ ​exclusive,​ ​useful,​ ​solves​ ​a​ ​problem​ ​or​ ​helps​ ​in​ ​the​ ​awareness​ ​of​ ​a​ ​product,​ ​service​ ​or
brand.​ ​Content​ ​marketing​ ​usually​ ​means​ ​creating​ ​high-quality​ ​content​ ​and​ ​attracting​ ​“Organic
traffic”​ ​from​ ​search​ ​engines,​ ​and​ ​converting​ ​that​ ​organic​ ​traffic​ ​into​ ​loyal​ ​users,​ ​sales,​ ​or
customers.

If​ ​you​ ​are​ ​serious​ ​about​ ​the​ ​success​ ​of​ ​your​ ​website​ ​and​ ​your​ ​online​ ​brand,​ ​you​ ​just​ ​cannot
afford​ ​to​ ​ignore​ ​content​ ​marketing.​ ​In​ ​fact,​ ​it​ ​is​ ​the​ ​most​ ​cost-effective​ ​way​ ​to​ ​attract​ ​customers
naturally​ ​to​ ​your​ ​website.​ ​Content​ ​marketing​ ​is​ ​one​ ​of​ ​the​ ​fundamental​ ​pillars​ ​of​ ​SEO​ ​(Search
Engine​ ​Optimization).

Conversion​ ​Rate​ ​Optimisation​ ​(CRO)

Conversion​ ​rate​ ​optimization​ ​is​ ​a​ ​procedure​ ​to​ ​improve​ ​the​ ​conversions​ ​around​ ​a​ ​business
process.​ ​It​ ​could​ ​mean​ ​improving​ ​signups​ ​on​ ​a​ ​website,​ ​improving​ ​signups​ ​for​ ​an​ ​email
newsletter,​ ​improving​ ​the​ ​number​ ​of​ ​clicks​ ​made​ ​on​ ​a​ ​specific​ ​button​ ​or​ ​improving​ ​page​ ​views​ ​of
a​ ​particular​ ​page​ ​on​ ​the​ ​website.

Basically,​ ​CRO​ ​stands​ ​for​ ​optimizing​ ​whatever​ ​the​ ​website​ ​owner​ ​calls​ ​a​ ​“Conversion”​ ​and
improving​ ​that​ ​procedure​ ​as​ ​far​ ​as​ ​possible​ ​to​ ​yield​ ​maximum​ ​business​ ​output.​ ​Conversion​ ​rate
optimization​ ​is​ ​the​ ​core​ ​of​ ​any​ ​business​ ​process​ ​and​ ​is​ ​not​ ​limited​ ​to​ ​only​ ​“Internet​ ​assets”​ ​but
applies​ ​to​ ​“Real​ ​world”​ ​assets​ ​as​ ​well.
 15

Crawl​ ​Errors
Crawl​ ​errors​ ​refer​ ​to​ ​the​ ​errors​ ​which​ ​a​ ​Search​ ​bot​ ​encounters​ ​while​ ​trying​ ​to​ ​“Crawl”​ ​or​ ​discover
the​ ​pages​ ​of​ ​your​ ​website​ ​or​ ​blog​ ​or​ ​domain.​ ​To​ ​see​ ​the​ ​crawl​ ​errors,​ ​one​ ​needs​ ​to​ v​ erify​ ​his
website​ ​in​ ​Google​ ​search​ ​console​​ ​and​ ​then​ ​Google​ ​will​ ​tell​ ​the​ ​website​ ​owner​ ​what​ ​difficulties​ ​it
is​ ​facing​ ​in​ ​finding​ ​the​ ​content​ ​and​ ​pages​ ​of​ ​the​ ​website.​ ​The​ ​business​ ​owner​ ​is​ ​supposed​ ​to​ ​fix
those​ ​mistakes​ ​in​ ​order​ ​to​ ​ensure​ ​Google​ ​search​ ​bot​ ​has​ ​no​ ​difficulties​ ​in​ ​finding​ ​the​ ​content
and​ ​the​ ​search​ ​bot​ ​can​ ​easily​ ​navigate​ ​from​ ​one​ ​page​ ​to​ ​another​ ​page​ ​and​ ​discover​ ​more​ ​and
more​ ​content​ ​without​ ​any​ ​hindrances.

Crawler
A​ ​“Crawler”​ ​is​ ​a​ ​“Computer​ ​program”​ ​or​ ​a​ ​software​ ​application​ ​or​ ​a​ ​script​ ​which​ ​finds​ ​websites
on​ ​it’s​ ​own​ ​and​ ​discovers​ ​all​ ​the​ ​content​ ​on​ ​the​ ​website.​ ​Next,​ ​the​ ​crawler​ ​passes​ ​that
information​ ​to​ ​the​ ​application​ ​and​ ​stores​ ​it​ ​in​ ​an​ ​“index”​ ​so​ ​that​ ​it​ ​can​ ​fetch​ ​results​ ​from​ ​that
index​ ​when​ ​people​ ​search​ ​for​ ​terms​ ​in​ ​Search​ ​engines.

A​ ​Crawler,​ ​also​ ​known​ ​as​ ​a​ ​search​ ​spider​ ​is​ ​often​ ​a​ ​specialized​ ​bot​ ​whose​ ​job​ ​is​ ​to​ ​discover​ ​as
much​ ​content​ ​as​ ​possible​ ​from​ ​a​ ​website​ ​on​ ​a​ ​recurring​ ​basis.

Crawling
“Crawling”​ ​is​ ​the​ ​process​ ​followed​ ​by​ ​a​ ​search​ ​engine​ ​bot​ ​to​ ​discover​ ​content​ ​on​ ​a​ ​website​ ​or
domain.
 16

De-indexing
“De-indexing”​ ​is​ ​the​ ​process​ ​of​ ​removing​ ​specific​ ​web​ ​pages​ ​from​ ​the​ ​“Index”​ ​which​ ​a​ ​search
engine​ ​maintains​ ​to​ ​serve​ ​search​ ​results​ ​to​ ​visitors​ ​who​ ​use​ ​a​ ​search​ ​engine​ ​to​ ​discover
content.​ ​A​ ​Search​ ​engine​ ​uses​ ​a​ ​“Crawler”​ ​to​ ​find​ ​as​ ​much​ ​content​ ​as​ ​possible​ ​from​ ​different
websites.​ ​Over​ ​time,​ ​the​ ​index​ ​of​ ​a​ ​search​ ​engine​ ​becomes​ ​really​ ​big​ ​and​ ​then​ ​it​ ​figures​ ​out​ ​a
way​ ​to​ ​store​ ​only​ ​the​ ​good​ ​results​ ​and​ ​ignore​ ​the​ ​ones​ ​which​ ​is​ ​irrelevant​ ​and​ ​not​ ​useful.

De-indexing​ ​is​ ​the​ ​process​ ​of​ ​removing​ ​specific​ ​web​ ​pages​ ​from​ ​the​ ​index​ ​of​ ​Seach​ ​engines.
Just​ ​like​ ​accumulating,​ ​search​ ​engines​ ​also​ ​love​ ​to​ ​clean​ ​up​ ​things​ ​which​ ​are​ ​not​ ​useful.

Deep​ ​links
Deep​ ​links​ ​are​ ​the​ ​hyperlinks​ ​which​ ​link​ ​to​ ​internal​ ​pages​ ​of​ ​your​ ​website​ ​from​ ​the​ ​home​ ​page
and​ ​other​ ​“main”​ ​pages.​ ​It​ ​is​ ​a​ ​way​ ​to​ ​create​ ​a​ ​natural​ ​flow​ ​of​ ​“Links”​ ​from​ ​the​ ​most​ ​popular
section​ ​of​ ​your​ ​website​ ​to​ ​the​ ​least​ ​popular​ ​one,​ ​thereby​ ​allowing​ ​people​ ​and​ ​search​ ​engines​ ​to
discover​ ​great​ ​content​ ​which​ ​may​ ​otherwise​ ​not​ ​get​ ​found.

It​ ​is​ ​a​ ​good​ ​practice​ ​to​ ​deep​ ​link​ ​the​ ​content​ ​of​ ​the​ ​pages​ ​as​ ​much​ ​as​ ​possible​ ​to​ ​provide
relevant​ ​and​ ​useful​ ​information​ ​to​ ​people​ ​and​ ​search​ ​engines​ ​which​ ​they​ ​would​ ​otherwise​ ​miss
out​ ​on.​ ​However,​ ​overdoing​ ​“deep​ ​linking”​ ​is​ ​bad​ ​and​ ​results​ ​in​ ​a​ ​very​ ​bad​ ​user​ ​experience.​ ​For
example,​ ​linking​ ​each​ ​and​ ​every​ ​word​ ​in​ ​an​ ​article​ ​to​ ​internal​ ​pages​ ​of​ ​your​ ​website​ ​may​ ​be
classified​ ​as​ ​“Spamming”.
 17

Dofollow​ ​link
A​ ​“Dofollow​ ​link”​ ​is​ ​a​ ​normal​ ​hyperlink​ ​which​ ​does​ ​not​ ​have​ ​the​ ​“Nofollow”​ ​attribute​ ​in​ ​it.​ ​You​ ​can
use​ ​the​ ​rel=”nofollow”​ ​attribute​​ ​in​ ​a​ ​link​ ​to​ ​tell​ ​search​ ​engines​ ​not​ ​to​ ​pass​ ​any​ ​value​ ​to​ ​the
outgoing​ ​link​ ​or​ ​webpage.​ ​If​ ​you​ ​do​ ​not​ ​use​ ​the​ ​re=”nofollow”​ ​attribute​ ​in​ ​a​ ​link,​ ​then​ ​that​ ​link​ ​is​ ​a
dofollow​ ​link.

Dofollow​ ​links​ ​can​ ​be​ ​internal​ ​links​ ​or​ ​external​ ​links​ ​or​ ​both.​ ​Note​ ​that​ ​it​ ​is​ ​a​ ​good​ ​practice​ ​to
keep​ ​most​ ​of​ ​the​ ​links​ ​“Dofollow”​ ​and​ ​mark​ ​“Sponsored​ ​links”​ ​or​ ​“Advertisements”​ ​or​ ​“Affiliate
links”​ ​as​ ​“Nofollow”.

Domain​ ​age
The​ ​age​ ​of​ ​a​ ​domain​ ​name​ ​is​ ​referred​ ​to​ ​as​ ​domain​ ​age.​ ​If​ ​you​ ​registered​ ​your​ ​domain​ ​10​ ​years
ago,​ ​the​ ​domain​ ​age​ ​would​ ​be​ ​10.​ ​Note​ ​that​ ​domain​ ​age​ ​is​ ​not​ ​equal​ ​to​ ​website​ ​age.​ ​If​ ​you
registered​ ​your​ ​domain​ ​10​ ​years​ ​ago​ ​and​ ​built​ ​the​ ​website​ ​only​ ​yesterday,​ ​the​ ​domain​ ​age
would​ ​still​ ​be​ ​10​ ​years​ ​while​ ​website​ ​age​ ​will​ ​be​ ​only​ ​1​ ​day.

In​ ​general,​ ​domain​ ​age​ ​has​ ​no​ ​effect​ ​on​ ​SEO​ ​but​ ​website​ ​age​ ​has​ ​a​ ​considerable​ ​effect​ ​on​ ​the
SEO​ ​of​ ​a​ ​website.​ ​Domain​ ​age​ ​used​ ​to​ ​be​ ​a​ ​factor​ ​in​ ​the​ ​early​ ​days​ ​but​ ​not​ ​anymore​ ​since
Search​ ​engines​ ​have​ ​gotten​ ​really​ ​really​ ​smart​ ​to​ ​figure​ ​out​ ​patterns​ ​used​ ​by​ ​spammers​ ​to
game​ ​search​ ​engines​ ​for​ ​rankings.

Doorway​ ​page
A​ ​“Doorway​ ​page”​ ​is​ ​a​ ​common​ ​black​ ​hat​ ​technique​ ​which​ ​is​ ​used​ ​by​ ​website​ ​owners​ ​to​ ​create
pages​ ​with​ ​specific​ ​keywords​ ​in​ ​it​ ​to​ ​obtain​ ​search​ ​rankings.​ ​Once​ ​the​ ​rankings​ ​are​ ​obtained,
the​ ​doorway​ ​page​ ​usually​ ​redirects​ ​to​ ​another​ ​page​ ​on​ ​the​ ​website.​ ​In​ ​short,​ ​the​ ​objective​ ​of​ ​a
doorway​ ​page​ ​is​ ​to​ ​catch​ ​a​ ​specific​ ​type​ ​of​ ​traffic​ ​and​ ​channel​ ​that​ ​traffic​ ​to​ ​another​ ​page​ ​on​ ​the
same​ ​website​ ​or​ ​to​ ​another​ ​website,​ ​if​ ​needed,

For​ ​example,​ ​if​ ​you​ ​have​ ​a​ ​page​ ​on​ ​your​ ​website​ ​–​ ​men-shoes.html,​ ​and​ ​you​ ​are​ ​not​ ​getting
enough​ ​traffic​ ​to​ ​this​ ​page,​ ​you​ ​can​ ​create​ ​a​ ​similar​ ​doorway​ ​page​ ​on​ ​the​ ​same​ ​website​ ​with​ ​the
name​ ​–​ ​boys-shoes.html.​ ​Next,​ ​you​ ​can​ ​build​ ​tons​ ​of​ ​links​ ​towards​ ​this​ ​page​ ​to​ ​ensure​ ​it​ ​ranks
 18

higher​ ​on​ ​search​ ​engines.​ ​Once​ ​that​ ​is​ ​done,​ ​you​ ​can​ ​do​ ​a​ ​301​ ​redirect​ ​to​ ​the​ ​men-shoes.html
page​ ​and​ ​your​ ​objective​ ​of​ ​driving​ ​traffic​ ​to​ ​the​ ​original​ ​page​ ​through​ ​the​ ​doorway​ ​page​ ​has
been​ ​achieved.

A​ ​doorway​ ​page​ ​is​ ​considered​ ​a​ ​violation​ ​of​ ​Google​ ​webmaster​ ​quality​ ​guidelines​ ​and​ ​is​ ​best
avoided.​ ​Building​ ​too​ ​many​ ​doorway​ ​pages​ ​may​ ​cause​ ​your​ ​website​ ​to​ ​be​ ​de-listed​ ​from​ ​Google
search​ ​altogether.​ ​Learn​ ​more​ ​about​ ​Doorway​ ​pages​ ​here​.

Duplicate​ ​content
Duplicate​ ​content​ ​is​ ​content​ ​which​ ​is​ ​accessible​ ​from​ ​more​ ​than​ ​1​ ​resource,​ ​either​ ​in​ ​the​ ​same
domain​ ​or​ ​across​ ​domains​ ​owned​ ​by​ ​same​ ​or​ ​different​ ​individuals.​ ​If​ ​the​ ​exact​ ​same​ ​content​ ​or
similar​ ​content​ ​is​ ​available​ ​on​ ​multiple​ ​web​ ​pages,​ ​then​ ​one​ ​of​ ​those​ ​content​ ​is​ ​considered
“Original”​ ​or​ ​the​ ​“main​ ​source”​ ​while​ ​everything​ ​else​ ​is​ ​considered​ ​ ​“Duplicate​ ​content”​ ​or
“Plagiarized​ ​content”.

Duplicate​ ​content​ ​is​ ​considered​ ​a​ ​serious​ ​offense​ ​and​ ​having​ ​duplicate​ ​content​ ​on​ ​your​ ​website
is​ ​considered​ ​a​ ​violation​ ​of​ ​Google​ ​Search​ ​quality​ ​guidelines.

Dynamic​ ​URL
A​ ​URL​ ​which​ ​contains​ ​query​ ​parameters​ ​or​ ​which​ ​results​ ​from​ ​a​ ​dynamic​ ​query​ ​from​ ​a​ ​database
is​ ​often​ ​referred​ ​to​ ​as​ ​a​ ​“Dynamic​ ​URL”.​ ​A​ ​static​ ​page​ ​on​ ​a​ ​website​ ​is​ ​not​ ​supposed​ ​to​ ​change
its​ ​URL​ ​but​ ​dynamic​ ​pages​ ​or​ ​dynamic​ ​URL’s​ ​do​ ​not​ ​really​ ​exist​ ​on​ ​the​ ​website​ ​but​ ​are
generated​ ​on​ ​the​ ​Fly,​ ​depending​ ​upon​ ​what​ ​query​ ​was​ ​made​ ​by​ ​the​ ​user​ ​in​ ​the​ ​website’s
database.​ ​Typically,​ ​search​ ​result​ ​pages,​ ​comparison​ ​pages,​ ​product​ ​catalog​ ​or​ ​e-commerce
sites​ ​have​ ​dynamic​ ​URL.

As​ ​long​ ​as​ ​practicable,​ ​it​ ​is​ ​considered​ ​a​ ​good​ ​practice​ ​to​ ​use​ ​static​ ​URL’s​ ​and​ ​avoid​ ​dynamic
ones​ ​since​ ​static​ ​URL’s​ ​are​ ​considered​ ​more​ ​friendly​ ​from​ ​the​ ​search​ ​engine​ ​perspective.
 19

Exact​ ​match
Exact​ ​match​ ​could​ ​refer​ ​to​ ​“Exact​ ​match​ ​domain”​ ​or​ ​“Exact​ ​match​ ​keyword”.​ ​An​ ​exact​ ​match
domain​ ​is​ ​a​ ​domain​ ​name​ ​which​ ​contains​ ​an​ ​exact​ ​match​ ​of​ ​the​ ​keyword​ ​for​ ​which​ ​the​ ​website
wants​ ​to​ ​rank​ ​for​ ​in​ ​search​ ​engines.

So​ ​if​ ​you​ ​have​ ​a​ ​website​ ​on​ ​shoes​ ​and​ ​you​ ​want​ ​to​ ​rank​ ​for​ ​the​ ​word​ ​“Men’s​ ​shoes”,​ ​you​ ​buy​ ​a
domain​ ​name​ ​–​ ​www.menshoes.com​ ​and​ ​try​ ​to​ ​rank​ ​for​ ​it​ ​thinking​ ​that​ ​it​ ​is​ ​easier​ ​to​ ​rank​ ​for
particular​ ​keywords​ ​if​ ​you​ ​have​ ​the​ ​exact​ ​keyword​ ​domain​ ​name.​ ​It​ ​used​ ​to​ ​be​ ​so​ ​in​ ​the​ ​early
days​ ​of​ ​the​ ​Internet​ ​but​ ​it​ ​is​ ​no​ ​longer​ ​the​ ​case​ ​and​ ​search​ ​engines​ ​give​ ​no​ ​preference​ ​to​ ​exact
match​ ​domains​ ​for​ ​keyword​ ​rankings​ ​(after​ ​the​ E
​ MD​ ​update​ ​by​ ​Google​).

An​ ​“Exact​ ​match​ ​keyword”​ ​is​ ​often​ ​a​ ​long​ ​phrase​ ​which​ ​exactly​ ​matches​ ​a​ ​word​ ​or​ ​phrase.​ ​So
for​ ​example,​ ​–​ ​“Summer​ ​shoe​ ​collection​ ​for​ ​men”​ ​is​ ​an​ ​exact​ ​match​ ​keyword​ ​which​ ​is​ ​used​ ​in
the​ ​copy​ ​of​ ​a​ ​webpage,​ ​just​ ​to​ ​ensure​ ​the​ ​webpage​ ​ranks​ ​for​ ​that​ ​exact​ ​match​ ​keyword.

External​ ​Link
An​ ​external​ ​link​ ​is​ ​a​ ​hyperlink​ ​on​ ​a​ ​website​ ​which​ ​links​ ​to​ ​a​ ​page​ ​outside​ ​the​ ​website.​ ​An
external​ ​link​ ​can​ ​point​ ​to​ ​anything​ ​and​ ​not​ ​necessarily​ ​another​ ​webpage.​ ​For​ ​example,​ ​an
external​ ​link​ ​can​ ​link​ ​to​ ​an​ ​image,​ ​a​ ​social​ ​profile,​ ​a​ ​PDF​ ​document,​ ​a​ ​Word​ ​Document,​ ​a
Search​ ​query​ ​and​ ​even​ ​an​ ​email​ ​address.

One​ ​has​ ​to​ ​be​ ​careful​ ​with​ ​their​ ​external​ ​links​ ​and​ ​link​ ​to​ ​only​ ​legitimate​ ​sites​ ​who​ ​do​ ​not​ ​post
spam​ ​content​ ​and​ ​are​ ​considered​ ​authority​ ​websites.​ ​If​ ​not​ ​careful,​ ​careless​ ​external​ ​linking​ ​can
severely​ ​harm​ ​the​ ​SEO​ ​profile​ ​of​ ​a​ ​website.
 20

Fetch​ ​as​ ​Google

“Fetch​ ​as​ ​Google”​ ​is​ ​a​ ​tool​ ​provided​ ​by​ ​Google​ ​search​ ​quality​ ​team​ ​through​ ​Google​ ​webmaster
console​ ​which​ ​allows​ ​you​ ​to​ ​see​ ​how​ ​Google​ ​crawls​ ​different​ ​pages​ ​on​ ​your​ ​site​ ​and​ ​what​ ​is
rendered​ ​once​ ​Googlebot​ ​starts​ ​crawling​ ​different​ ​pages​ ​of​ ​your​ ​site.​ ​This​ ​is​ ​a​ ​very​ ​useful​ ​way
to​ ​figure​ ​out​ ​if​ ​a​ ​particular​ ​page​ ​is​ ​accessible​ ​by​ ​search​ ​engines​ ​or​ ​not​ ​and​ ​how​ ​they​ ​render​ ​it​ ​at
their​ ​end.

You​ ​can​ ​do​ ​this​ ​to​ ​ensure​ ​that​ ​the​ ​content​ ​of​ ​the​ ​page​ ​is​ ​rendered​ ​exactly​ ​the​ ​same​ ​way​ ​as​ ​it​ ​is
rendered​ ​at​ ​your​ ​end,​ ​thereby​ ​ending​ ​any​ ​confusion​ ​on​ ​how​ ​search​ ​engines​ ​see​ ​your​ ​content.
Learn​ ​more​ ​about​ ​Fetch​ ​as​ ​Google​ ​in​ ​Google​ ​Webmaster​ ​help​.

Flash
Adobe​ ​Flash​ ​is​ ​a​ ​software​ ​which​ ​is​ ​used​ ​to​ ​create​ ​animated​ ​content​ ​such​ ​as​ ​images,​ ​videos,
presentations​ ​or​ ​other​ ​rich​ ​media​ ​content.​ ​Browsers​ ​who​ ​want​ ​to​ ​display​ ​Flash​ ​content​ ​must
install​ ​a​ ​plugin​ ​by​ ​Adobe​ ​Flash.​ ​In​ ​the​ ​initial​ ​days​ ​of​ ​the​ ​internet,​ ​Youtube​ ​videos​ ​were​ ​encoded
in​ ​Flash​ ​but​ ​later​ ​they​ ​moved​ ​to​ ​HTML5.

Search​ ​engines​ ​cannot​ ​read​ ​Flash​ ​content,​ ​like​ ​images​ ​and​ ​videos​ ​and​ ​there​ ​is​ ​no​ ​added
advantage​ ​of​ ​using​ ​Flash​ ​over​ ​videos.​ ​As​ ​long​ ​as​ ​practicable,​ ​one​ ​should​ ​avoid​ ​Flash​ ​content
because​ ​not​ ​every​ ​browser​ ​may​ ​have​ ​the​ ​Flash​ ​plugin​ ​installed.​ ​It​ ​is​ ​sometimes​ ​better​ ​to​ ​use
other​ ​universal​ ​rich​ ​media​ ​content​ ​types​ ​over​ ​Flash.​ ​Flash​ ​content​ ​also​ ​increases​ ​the​ ​loading
time​ ​of​ ​web​ ​pages​ ​which​ ​is​ ​often​ ​times,​ ​not​ ​the​ ​best​ ​user​ ​experience.
 21

Frames​ ​(iFrame)
An​ ​iFrame​ ​(Inline​ ​Frame)​ ​is​ ​an​ ​HTML​ ​document​ ​embedded​ ​inside​ ​another​ ​HTML​ ​document​ ​on
a​ ​website.​ ​The​ ​IFrame​ ​HTML​ ​element​ ​is​ ​often​ ​used​ ​to​ ​insert​ ​content​ ​from​ ​another​ ​source,​ ​such
as​ ​an​ ​advertisement,​ ​a​ ​widget,​ ​an​ ​infographic​ ​or​ ​anything​ ​else​ ​into​ ​a​ ​Web​ ​page.

Using​ ​an​ ​iFrame​ ​will​ ​not​ ​cause​ ​duplicate​ ​content​ ​issues​ ​because​ ​search​ ​engines​ ​know​ ​that​ ​the
content​ ​within​ ​the​ ​iFrame​ ​is​ ​from​ ​another​ ​source​ ​and​ ​you​ ​simply​ ​not​ ​copy​ ​pasting​ ​the​ ​content
into​ ​your​ ​own​ ​website.​ ​However,​ ​iFrames​ ​are​ ​often​ ​discouraged​ ​for​ ​design​ ​reasons​ ​because​ ​the
way​ ​they​ ​render​ ​in​ ​devices​ ​with​ ​smaller​ ​screens​ ​is​ ​not​ ​good.​ ​As​ ​long​ ​as​ ​possible,​ ​stay​ ​away
from​ ​iFrames​ ​and​ ​use​ ​it​ ​if​ ​you​ ​have​ ​no​ ​other​ ​choice​ ​of​ ​embedding​ ​some​ ​content​ ​in​ ​your
webpage.

Gateway​ ​page
A​ ​gateway​ ​page​ ​is​ ​also​ ​called​ ​a​ ​“Doorway​ ​page”​ ​which​ ​has​ ​been​ ​explained​ ​above.​ ​It​ ​is​ ​a
common​ ​black​ ​hat​ ​technique​ ​which​ ​is​ ​used​ ​by​ ​website​ ​owners​ ​to​ ​create​ ​pages​ ​with​ ​specific
keywords​ ​in​ ​it​ ​to​ ​obtain​ ​search​ ​rankings.​ ​Once​ ​the​ ​rankings​ ​are​ ​obtained,​ ​the​ ​gateway​ ​page
usually​ ​redirects​ ​to​ ​another​ ​page​ ​on​ ​the​ ​website.​ ​In​ ​short,​ ​the​ ​objective​ ​of​ ​a​ ​gateway​ ​page​ ​is​ ​to
catch​ ​a​ ​specific​ ​type​ ​of​ ​traffic​ ​and​ ​channel​ ​that​ ​traffic​ ​to​ ​another​ ​page​ ​on​ ​the​ ​same​ ​website​ ​or​ ​to
another​ ​website,​ ​if​ ​needed,

For​ ​example,​ ​if​ ​you​ ​have​ ​a​ ​page​ ​on​ ​your​ ​website​ ​–​ ​men-shoes.html,​ ​and​ ​you​ ​are​ ​not​ ​getting
enough​ ​traffic​ ​to​ ​this​ ​page,​ ​you​ ​can​ ​create​ ​a​ ​similar​ ​gateway​ ​page​ ​on​ ​the​ ​same​ ​website​ ​with​ ​the
name​ ​–​ ​boys-shoes.html.​ ​Next,​ ​you​ ​can​ ​build​ ​tons​ ​of​ ​links​ ​towards​ ​this​ ​page​ ​to​ ​ensure​ ​it​ ​ranks
higher​ ​on​ ​search​ ​engines.​ ​Once​ ​that​ ​is​ ​done,​ ​you​ ​can​ ​do​ ​a​ ​301​ ​redirect​ ​to​ ​the​ ​men-shoes.html
page​ ​and​ ​your​ ​objective​ ​of​ ​driving​ ​traffic​ ​to​ ​the​ ​original​ ​page​ ​through​ ​the​ ​gateway​ ​page​ ​has
been​ ​achieved.

A​ ​gateway​ ​page​ ​is​ ​considered​ ​a​ ​violation​ ​of​ ​Google​ ​webmaster​ ​quality​ ​guidelines​ ​and​ ​is​ ​best
avoided.
 22

Geotargeting
Geo-targeting​ ​refers​ ​to​ ​the​ ​practice​ ​of​ ​delivering​ ​different​ ​content​ ​or​ ​advertisements​ ​to​ ​a​ ​website
user​ ​based​ ​on​ ​his​ ​or​ ​her​ ​geographic​ ​location.​ ​Geo-targeting​ ​can​ ​be​ ​used​ ​to​ ​target​ ​local
customers​ ​through​ ​paid​ ​search​ ​campaigns.

Geotargeting​ ​can​ ​be​ ​applied​ ​to​ ​various​ ​procedures.​ ​You​ ​can​ ​use​ ​Geotargeting​ ​to​ ​serve​ ​different
versions​ ​of​ ​the​ ​same​ ​page​ ​to​ ​different​ ​users​ ​across​ ​different​ ​parts​ ​of​ ​the​ ​globe.​ ​Users​ ​from
Spain​ ​see​ ​the​ ​Spanish​ ​version​ ​while​ ​users​ ​from​ ​Japan​ ​see​ ​the​ ​Japanese​ ​version​ ​of​ ​the​ ​same
content.​ ​You​ ​can​ ​again​ ​use​ ​Geotargeting​ ​to​ ​ensure​ ​an​ ​advertisement​ ​is​ ​shown​ ​to​ ​particular
users​ ​of​ ​a​ ​country.​ ​You​ ​can​ ​use​ ​Geotargeting​ ​to​ ​serve​ ​different​ ​ads​ ​to​ ​different​ ​users​ ​of​ ​different
countries​ ​–​ ​it​ ​all​ ​depends​ ​on​ ​your​ ​business​ ​requirement​ ​and​ ​what​ ​you​ ​want​ ​to​ ​achieve.

Google
Google​ ​is​ ​a​ ​search​ ​engine​ ​started​ ​by​ ​students​ ​of​ ​Stanford​ ​students​ ​Larry​ ​Page​ ​and​ ​Sergey​ ​Brin.
As​ ​of​ ​now,​ ​Google​ ​is​ ​the​ ​most​ ​popular​ ​search​ ​engine​ ​used​ ​by​ ​millions​ ​of​ ​people​ ​across​ ​the
globe.​ ​It​ ​is​ ​Google​ ​that​ ​drives​ ​most​ ​of​ ​the​ ​traffic​ ​to​ ​different​ ​websites​ ​through​ ​its​ ​search​ ​engine.

Google​ ​Analytics
Google​ ​Analytics​ ​is​ ​a​ ​free​ ​website​ ​analytics​ ​solution​ ​which​ ​helps​ ​website​ ​owners​ ​track​ ​and
measure​ ​key​ ​metrics​ ​of​ ​their​ ​websites​ ​or​ ​online​ ​property.​ ​As​ ​of​ ​now,​ ​Google​ ​Analytics​ ​is​ ​the
most​ ​popular​ ​website​ ​analytics​ ​solution​ ​available​ ​and​ ​it​ ​is​ ​also​ ​the​ ​most​ ​comprehensive​ ​and
detailed​ ​website​ ​analytics​ ​solution​ ​for​ ​tracking​ ​performance​ ​and​ ​metrics​ ​of​ ​a​ ​website​ ​with
absolutely​ ​no​ ​cost​ ​whatsoever.
 23

Google​ ​News​ ​Sitemap

Google​ ​News​ ​sitemap​ ​is​ ​a​ ​special​ ​sitemap​ ​file​ ​on​ ​your​ ​website​ ​which​ ​tells​ ​Google​ ​the​ ​latest
content​ ​on​ ​your​ ​website​ ​and​ ​helps​ ​your​ ​website​ ​rank​ ​for​ ​search​ ​results​ ​in​ ​the​ ​“News”​ ​section​ ​of
Google.com.​ ​It​ ​is​ ​very​ ​similar​ ​to​ ​the​ ​normal​ ​XML​ ​sitemap,​ ​the​ ​only​ ​difference​ ​is​ ​that​ ​it​ ​is​ ​seen​ ​by
the​ ​Google​ ​News​ ​crawler​ ​and​ ​not​ ​the​ ​regular​ ​Google​ ​Bot​ ​crawler.

Google​ ​News​ ​sitemap​ ​is​ ​often​ ​used​ ​by​ ​large​ ​websites​ ​which​ ​post​ ​a​ ​lot​ ​of​ ​content​ ​on​ ​a​ ​daily
basis​ ​and​ ​smaller​ ​sites​ ​which​ ​update​ ​once​ ​or​ ​twice​ ​a​ ​month​ ​do​ ​not​ ​actually​ ​need​ ​a​ ​Google
News​ ​Sitemap.

Google​ ​Webmaster​ ​Guidelines

Google​ ​Webmaster​ ​guidelines​ ​is​ ​a​ ​set​ ​of​ ​directives​ ​and​ ​best​ ​practices​ ​shared​ ​by​ ​Google​ ​search
quality​ ​and​ ​webspam​ ​team.​ ​It​ ​lays​ ​out​ ​the​ ​principles​ ​and​ ​best​ ​practices​ ​which​ ​website​ ​owners
should​ ​follow​ ​to​ ​create​ ​a​ ​high-quality​ ​website​ ​and​ ​thus​ ​rank​ ​higher​ ​in​ ​search​ ​results​ ​for​ ​key
phrases​ ​and​ ​terms.​ ​Read​ ​more​ ​about​ ​Google​ ​webmaster​ ​guidelines​ ​here.

Googlebot
Googlebot​ ​is​ ​Google’s​ ​web​ ​crawling​ ​bot​ ​(sometimes​ ​also​ ​called​ ​a​ ​“spider”).​ ​Crawling​ ​is​ ​the
process​ ​by​ ​which​ ​Googlebot​ ​discovers​ ​new​ ​and​ ​updated​ ​pages​ ​to​ ​be​ ​added​ ​to​ ​the​ ​Google
index.​ ​It​ ​is​ ​nothing​ ​but​ ​a​ ​“software​ ​application”​ ​which​ ​goes​ ​to​ ​each​ ​website​ ​it​ ​finds​ ​through​ ​links
on​ ​the​ ​web,​ ​crawls​ ​the​ ​content​ ​and​ ​then​ ​stores​ ​the​ ​content​ ​in​ ​Google’s​ ​index.
 24

Grey​ ​Hat
“Grey​ ​hat”​ ​refers​ ​to​ ​practices​ ​which​ ​are​ ​neither​ ​legitimate​ ​not​ ​illegitimate.​ ​It​ ​is​ ​the​ ​use​ ​of​ ​those
practices​ ​which​ ​have​ ​not​ ​been​ ​defined​ ​yet​ ​and​ ​nobody​ ​knows​ ​if​ ​they​ ​are​ ​right​ ​or​ ​wrong.​ ​Some
people​ ​think​ ​it​ ​is​ ​good​ ​to​ ​do​ ​so​ ​while​ ​something​ ​it​ ​is​ ​not​ ​good​ ​to​ ​do​ ​so.​ ​While​ ​a​ ​lot​ ​is​ ​known
about​ ​Blackhat​ ​SEO​ ​and​ ​White​ ​Hat​ ​SEO,​ ​very​ ​little​ ​is​ ​known​ ​about​ ​Grey​ ​hat​ ​SEO​ ​and​ ​the​ ​things
which​ ​were​ ​Grey​ ​hat​ ​at​ ​some​ ​point​ ​in​ ​time​ ​are​ ​no​ ​longer​ ​grey​ ​hat​ ​because,​ ​with​ ​each
algorithmic​ ​update,​ ​some​ ​grey​ ​hat​ ​concepts​ ​are​ ​either​ ​absorbed​ ​in​ ​white​ ​hat​ ​SEO​ ​or​ ​black​ ​hat
SEO.

Growth​ ​Hacking
Growth​ ​hacking​ ​is​ ​a​ ​process​ ​of​ ​rapid​ ​experimentation​ ​across​ ​marketing​ ​channels​ ​and​ ​product
development​ ​to​ ​identify​ ​the​ ​most​ ​efficient​ ​ways​ ​to​ ​grow​ ​a​ ​business.​ ​It​ ​involves​ ​finding​ ​the​ ​right
market​ ​at​ ​the​ ​right​ ​stage​ ​of​ ​business,​ ​figuring​ ​out​ ​what​ ​kind​ ​of​ ​consumers​ ​the​ ​business​ ​should
go​ ​after,​ ​figure​ ​out​ ​the​ ​costs​ ​and​ ​do​ ​whatever​ ​it​ ​takes​ ​to​ ​run​ ​and​ ​accelerate​ ​the​ ​business
maintaining​ ​a​ ​lean​ ​setup

Simply​ ​put,​ ​Growth​ ​hacking​ ​is​ ​a​ ​concept​ ​of​ ​conducting​ ​marketing​ ​experiments​ ​to​ ​help
accelerate​ ​the​ ​business​ ​in​ ​the​ ​right​ ​direction.

HTML​ ​Sitemap
An​ ​HTML​ ​sitemap​ ​is​ ​a​ ​simple​ ​HTML​ ​page​ ​placed​ ​at​ ​the​ ​root​ ​of​ ​the​ ​website​ ​which​ ​contains​ ​links
to​ ​all​ ​the​ ​pages​ ​of​ ​the​ ​websites,​ ​neatly​ ​organized​ ​by​ ​sections,​ ​hierarchies,​ ​and​ ​other
differentiators.​ ​It​ ​is​ ​like​ ​an​ ​open​ ​index​ ​which​ ​human​ ​visitors​ ​can​ ​refer​ ​to​ ​navigate​ ​all​ ​the​ ​content
available​ ​on​ ​a​ ​website.

See​ ​an​ ​example​ ​of​ ​an​ ​HTML​ ​sitemap​ ​of​ ​this​ ​website.
 25

Heading​ ​Tags
Heading​ ​tags​ ​are​ ​HTML​ ​tags​ ​which​ ​are​ ​used​ ​to​ ​create​ ​headings​ ​in​ ​a​ ​webpage.​ ​Most​ ​common
heading​ ​tags​ ​are​ ​<h1>,​ ​<h2>,​ ​<h3>​ ​and​ ​<h4>.​ ​The​ ​most​ ​important​ ​heading​ ​tag​ ​is​ ​the​ ​<h1>​ ​tag
which​ ​contains​ ​the​ ​title​ ​of​ ​the​ ​page​ ​or​ ​the​ ​“Main​ ​heading”.

Heading​ ​tags​ ​do​ ​carry​ ​good​ ​SEO​ ​value​ ​and​ ​one​ ​should​ ​learn​ ​how​ ​to​ ​create​ ​SEO​ ​optimized
heading​ ​tags​ ​that​ ​are​ ​attractive​ ​and​ ​compelling​ ​enough​ ​to​ ​human​ ​visitors​ ​as​ ​well.

Homepage
Homepage​ ​often​ ​refers​ ​to​ ​the​ ​“Front​ ​page”​ ​or​ ​the​ ​“Main​ ​page”​ ​of​ ​a​ ​website.​ ​It​ ​is​ ​usually​ ​placed
at​ ​the​ ​root​ ​of​ ​a​ ​website​ ​but​ ​some​ ​websites​ ​have​ ​the​ ​homepage​ ​placed​ ​in​ ​a​ ​subfolder.​ ​For
example,​ ​this​ ​website’s​ ​homepage​ ​is​ ​at​ ​www.cultofweb.com/blog/​ ​and​ ​not​ ​www.cultofweb.com

Hreflang​ ​Tag
The​ ​Hreflang​ ​Tag​ ​is​ ​a​ ​directive​ ​to​ ​the​ ​Google​ ​search​ ​engine​ ​to​ ​specify​ ​what​ ​languages​ ​are
being​ ​used​ ​in​ ​a​ ​given​ ​webpage​ ​and​ ​to​ ​which​ ​specific​ ​set​ ​of​ ​the​ ​user​ ​who​ ​speaks​ ​a​ ​language​ ​this
webpage​ ​is​ ​for.​ ​For​ ​example,​ ​you​ ​may​ ​have​ ​a​ ​page​ ​on​ ​your​ ​website​ ​which​ ​has​ ​three​ ​version.
One​ ​for​ ​people​ ​who​ ​speak​ ​German,​ ​one​ ​for​ ​people​ ​who​ ​speak​ ​French​ ​and​ ​one​ ​for​ ​people​ ​who
speak​ ​English.

You​ ​can​ ​use​ ​the​ ​hreflang​ ​tag​ ​to​ ​tell​ ​search​ ​engines​ ​which​ ​version​ ​of​ ​the​ ​page​ ​is​ ​to​ ​be​ ​served​ ​to
people​ ​who​ ​speak​ ​French,​ ​German​ ​and​ ​English​ ​respectively.​ ​You​ ​can​ ​also​ ​tell​ ​search​ ​engines
the​ ​location​ ​of​ ​these​ ​users​ ​and​ ​you​ ​can​ ​combine​ ​both​ ​language​ ​and​ ​location​ ​to​ ​fine​ ​tune​ ​the
version​ ​of​ ​the​ ​page​ ​which​ ​is​ ​needed​ ​to​ ​be​ ​shown​ ​to​ ​different​ ​language​ ​speaking​ ​users​ ​across
the​ ​globe.​ ​Learn​ ​more​ ​on​ ​hreflang​ ​for​ ​language​ ​and​ ​regional​ ​URL.
 26

Hummingbird
Hummingbird​ ​is​ ​the​ ​codename​ ​given​ ​to​ ​a​ ​significant​ ​algorithm​ ​change​ ​in​ ​Google​ ​Search​ ​in
2013.​ ​Unlike​ ​previous​ ​search​ ​algorithms,​ ​which​ ​would​ ​focus​ ​on​ ​each​ ​individual​ ​word​ ​in​ ​the
search​ ​query,​ ​“Hummingbird”​ ​considers​ ​the​ ​context​ ​of​ ​the​ ​different​ ​words​ ​together,​ ​with​ ​the​ ​goal
that​ ​pages​ ​matching​ ​the​ ​meaning​ ​do​ ​better,​ ​rather​ ​than​ ​pages​ ​matching​ ​just​ ​a​ ​few​ ​words

Hyperlink
A​ ​hyperlink​ ​is​ ​a​ ​text,​ ​graphic,​ ​image​ ​or​ ​document​ ​which​ ​links​ ​to​ ​another​ ​webpage​ ​on​ ​an​ ​object.
The​ ​Link​ ​can​ ​lead​ ​to​ ​a​ ​page​ ​on​ ​the​ ​same​ ​website​ ​or​ ​a​ ​page​ ​on​ ​a​ ​different​ ​website.​ ​A​ ​Link​ ​or​ ​a
“Hyperlink”​ ​is​ ​generally​ ​a​ ​clickable​ ​text​ ​on​ ​a​ ​webpage,​ ​clicing​ ​which​ ​takes​ ​the​ ​user​ ​to​ ​the​ ​target
page.

Image​ ​Sitemap
Similar​ ​to​ ​an​ ​XML​ ​sitemap​ ​for​ ​content​ ​pages,​ ​an​ ​image​ ​sitemap​ ​helps​ ​Googlebot​ ​discover
images​ ​more​ ​quickly​ ​and​ ​in​ ​a​ ​better​ ​way.​ ​It​ ​is​ ​simply​ ​an​ ​XML​ ​file​ ​containing​ ​all​ ​the​ ​URL​ ​of
images​ ​that​ ​are​ ​used​ ​in​ ​your​ ​website.​ ​You​ ​can​ ​use​ ​Google​ ​image​ ​extensions​ ​for​ ​Sitemaps​ ​to
give​ ​Google​ ​more​ ​information​ ​about​ ​the​ ​images​ ​available​ ​on​ ​your​ ​pages.​ ​Image​ ​sitemap
information​ ​helps​ ​Google​ ​discover​ ​images​ ​that​ ​they​ ​might​ ​not​ ​otherwise​ ​find.

Inbound​ ​links
An​ ​Inbound​ ​link​ ​is​ ​a​ ​hyperlink​ ​from​ ​another​ ​website​ ​to​ ​your​ ​own​ ​website.​ ​It​ ​is​ ​also​ ​sometimes
referred​ ​to​ ​as​ ​a​ ​“Backlink”​ ​or​ ​an​ ​“Incoming​ ​link”.
 27

Index
An​ ​index​ ​could​ ​refer​ ​to​ ​different​ ​things.​ ​The​ ​most​ ​common​ ​usage​ ​of​ ​“index”​ ​in​ ​the​ ​SEO​ ​world​ ​is
referred​ ​to​ ​as​ ​“Google’s​ ​search​ ​index”​ ​which​ ​is​ ​a​ ​huge​ ​database​ ​of​ ​URL’s​ ​that​ ​Googlebot​ ​has
crawled​ ​and​ ​“indexed”.​ ​It​ ​contains​ ​billions​ ​and​ ​trillions​ ​of​ ​URL’s​ ​which​ ​Google​ ​has​ ​found​ ​after
crawling​ ​the​ ​web.

Index​ ​could​ ​also​ ​refer​ ​to​ ​a​ ​“list”​ ​i.e​ ​an​ ​index​ ​of​ ​pages​ ​on​ ​the​ ​website​ ​could​ ​simply​ ​mean​ ​a​ ​list​ ​of
pages​ ​on​ ​a​ ​website.​ ​Index​ ​could​ ​also​ ​refer​ ​to​ ​the​ ​homepage​ ​or​ ​the​ ​“index”​ ​page​ ​of​ ​a​ ​website.

Indexing
Indexing​ ​is​ ​the​ ​procedure​ ​used​ ​by​ ​search​ ​engines​ ​to​ ​find​ ​content​ ​on​ ​different​ ​web​ ​pages​ ​and
save​ ​that​ ​reference​ ​to​ ​its​ ​own​ ​database​ ​so​ ​that​ ​when​ ​users​ ​type​ ​for​ ​words​ ​in​ ​a​ ​search​ ​engine,
the​ ​System​ ​can​ ​tally​ ​those​ ​words​ ​in​ ​its​ ​index,​ ​find​ ​the​ ​best​ ​possible​ ​match​ ​and​ ​show​ ​it​ ​to​ ​the
user​ ​in​ ​search​ ​result​ ​pages.

Internal​ ​links
Internal​ ​links​ ​are​ ​hyperlinks​ ​to​ ​other​ ​internal​ ​pages​ ​of​ ​a​ ​website.​ ​If​ ​you​ ​link​ ​to​ ​an​ ​existing​ ​page
on​ ​your​ ​website​ ​from​ ​a​ ​page​ ​on​ ​your​ ​website,​ ​that​ ​link​ ​is​ ​called​ ​an​ ​external​ ​link.​ ​On​ ​the​ ​contrary,
if​ ​you​ ​link​ ​to​ ​a​ ​page​ ​outside​ ​your​ ​website,​ ​that​ ​link​ ​will​ ​be​ ​an​ ​external​ ​link.

JavaScript
Javascript​ ​is​ ​a​ ​programming​ ​language​ ​which​ ​is​ ​used​ ​to​ ​develop​ ​software​ ​applications,
especially​ ​those​ ​that​ ​run​ ​in​ ​a​ ​web​ ​browser.​ ​Javascript​ ​is​ ​a​ ​scripting​ ​language​ ​which​ ​is​ ​used​ ​to
alter​ ​the​ ​behavior​ ​of​ ​web​ ​pages​ ​and​ ​make​ ​them​ ​more​ ​interactive.
 28

Keyword
In​ ​the​ ​context​ ​of​ ​Search​ ​engine​ ​optimization,​ ​a​ ​keyword​ ​is​ ​defined​ ​as​ ​a​ ​single​ ​word​ ​or​ ​a​ ​group
of​ ​words​ ​which​ ​describe​ ​“The​ ​intent​ ​of​ ​search”.​ ​It​ ​clearly​ ​explains​ ​what​ ​the​ ​person​ ​might​ ​be
looking​ ​for.

For​ ​example,​ ​if​ ​someone​ ​searches​ ​for​ ​“Gifts​ ​or​ ​Christmas”,​ ​this​ ​is​ ​a​ ​keyword​ ​phrase​ ​which
clearly​ ​explains​ ​his​ ​intent​ ​of​ ​the​ ​search.​ ​He​ ​could​ ​be​ ​looking​ ​to​ ​buy​ ​gifts​ ​for​ ​Christmas,​ ​see​ ​gift
choices​ ​and​ ​then​ ​decide,​ ​maybe​ ​he​ ​is​ ​doing​ ​some​ ​research​ ​or​ ​looking​ ​for​ ​ideas.

A​ ​keyword​ ​is​ ​a​ ​central​ ​block​ ​of​ ​Search​ ​engine​ ​optimization​ ​and​ ​everything​ ​derives​ ​out​ ​of
“Keywords​ ​and​ ​their​ ​usage”.

Keyword​ ​density
Keyword​ ​density​ ​is​ ​the​ ​percentage​ ​of​ ​times​ ​a​ ​keyword​ ​or​ ​phrase​ ​appears​ ​on​ ​a​ ​web​ ​page
compared​ ​to​ ​the​ ​total​ ​number​ ​of​ ​words​ ​on​ ​the​ ​page.​ ​In​ ​the​ ​context​ ​of​ ​search​ ​engine
optimization,​ ​keyword​ ​density​ ​can​ ​be​ ​used​ ​to​ ​determine​ ​whether​ ​a​ ​web​ ​page​ ​is​ ​relevant​ ​to​ ​a
specified​ ​keyword​ ​or​ ​keyword​ ​phrase.

Keyword​ ​density​ ​plays​ ​a​ ​major​ ​role​ ​in​ ​the​ ​SEO​ ​of​ ​a​ ​website​ ​or​ ​webpage​ ​but​ ​it​ ​is​ ​a​ ​double-edged
sword.​ ​If​ ​you​ ​overdo​ ​it,​ ​it​ ​may​ ​do​ ​more​ ​harm​ ​than​ ​good.

Keyword​ ​planner
Keyword​ ​planner​ ​(earlier​ ​known​ ​as​ ​Google​ ​Adwords​ ​keyword​ ​tool)​ ​is​ ​a​ ​free​ ​tool​ ​provided​ ​by
Google​ ​Adwords​ ​team​ ​to​ ​advertisers​ ​who​ ​want​ ​to​ ​show​ ​advertisements​ ​on​ ​Google​ ​search​ ​and
Google’s​ ​display​ ​network.​ ​It​ ​is​ ​like​ ​a​ ​palette​ ​where​ ​advertisers​ ​can​ ​search​ ​for​ ​keywords,​ ​see​ ​the
amount​ ​that​ ​is​ ​required​ ​to​ ​purchase​ ​an​ ​advertisement,​ ​figure​ ​out​ ​how​ ​much​ ​competition​ ​is​ ​there
in​ ​the​ ​space​ ​and​ ​do​ ​lots​ ​of​ ​other​ ​interesting​ ​things​ ​related​ ​to​ ​search​ ​engine​ ​marketing.​ ​Learn
more​ ​about​ ​Google​ ​Adwords​ ​keyword​ ​planner
 29

Keyword​ ​research
Keyword​ ​research​​ ​is​ ​a​ ​practice​ ​which​ ​a​ ​website​ ​owner​ ​or​ ​a​ ​professional​ ​uses​ ​to​ ​find​ ​out​ ​popular
words​ ​and​ ​phrases​ ​which​ ​people​ ​type​ ​in​ ​search​ ​engines​ ​around​ ​a​ ​particular​ ​topic.​ ​Keyword
research​ ​is​ ​used​ ​to​ ​figure​ ​out​ ​what​ ​people​ ​are​ ​searching​ ​for​ ​around​ ​a​ ​given​ ​topic.​ ​Once
keyword​ ​research​ ​is​ ​done,​ ​the​ ​website​ ​owner​ ​or​ ​the​ ​blogger​ ​figures​ ​out​ ​what​ ​type​ ​of​ ​content
needs​ ​to​ ​be​ ​created​ ​to​ ​get​ ​more​ ​traffic,​ ​customers,​ ​leads​ ​or​ ​sales​ ​of​ ​products​ ​and​ ​services.

Keyword​ ​stuffing
“Keyword​ ​stuffing”​ ​refers​ ​to​ ​the​ ​practice​ ​of​ ​loading​ ​a​ ​webpage​ ​with​ ​keywords​ ​or​ ​numbers​ ​in​ ​an
attempt​ ​to​ ​manipulate​ ​a​ ​site’s​ ​ranking​ ​in​ ​Google​ ​search​ ​results.​ ​Often​ ​these​ ​keywords​ ​appear​ ​in
a​ ​list​ ​or​ ​group,​ ​or​ ​out​ ​of​ ​context​ ​(not​ ​as​ ​natural​ ​prose).​ ​Filling​ ​pages​ ​with​ ​keywords​ ​or​ ​numbers
result​ ​in​ ​a​ ​negative​ ​user​ ​experience​ ​and​ ​can​ ​harm​ ​your​ ​site’s​ ​ranking.​ ​Focus​ ​on​ ​creating​ ​useful,
information-rich​ ​content​ ​that​ ​uses​ ​keywords​ ​appropriately​ ​and​ ​in​ ​context.

Knowledge​ ​Graph
Also​ ​known​ ​as​ ​Google​ ​Knowledge​ ​Graph,​ ​The​ ​Knowledge​ ​Graph​ ​is​ ​a​ ​knowledge​ ​base​ ​used​ ​by
Google​ ​to​ ​enhance​ ​its​ ​search​ ​engine’s​ ​results​ ​with​ ​information​ ​gathered​ ​from​ ​a​ ​variety​ ​of
sources.​ ​This​ ​information​ ​is​ ​presented​ ​to​ ​users​ ​in​ ​a​ ​box​ ​to​ ​the​ ​right​ ​of​ ​search​ ​results.
Knowledge​ ​Graph​ ​boxes​ ​were​ ​added​ ​to​ ​Google’s​ ​search​ ​engine​ ​in​ ​May​ ​2012.
 30

Landing​ ​page
A​ ​Landing​ ​page​ ​is​ ​a​ ​page​ ​on​ ​a​ ​website​ ​which​ ​acts​ ​as​ ​an​ ​entry​ ​point​ ​for​ ​a​ ​new​ ​visitor​ ​or
“potential​ ​customer”​ ​or​ ​“sales​ ​lead”.​ ​By​ ​definition,​ ​any​ ​page​ ​on​ ​a​ ​website​ ​can​ ​be​ ​a​ ​landing​ ​page
because​ ​every​ ​page​ ​is​ ​a​ ​potential​ ​entry​ ​point.​ ​However,​ ​some​ ​pages​ ​are​ ​built​ ​with​ ​specific​ ​focus
and​ ​objectives​ ​to​ ​acquire​ ​a​ ​specific​ ​type​ ​of​ ​user​ ​and​ ​that​ ​is​ ​what​ ​separate​ ​landing​ ​pages​ ​from
other​ ​generic​ ​web​ ​pages.​ ​A​ ​Landing​ ​page​ ​has​ ​a​ ​focus​ ​and​ ​purpose​ ​–​ ​to​ ​acquire​ ​users​ ​of​ ​a
specific​ ​segment​ ​or​ ​type.

Link​ ​Bait
A​ ​“Linkbait”​ ​is​ ​a​ ​specific​ ​article​ ​or​ ​page​ ​on​ ​a​ ​website​ ​which​ ​attracts​ ​links​ ​and​ ​citations​ ​from​ ​other
sites​ ​naturally,​ ​without​ ​you​ ​having​ ​to​ ​tell​ ​them​ ​to​ ​link​ ​to.​ ​Most​ ​people​ ​will​ ​not​ ​link​ ​to​ ​your​ ​website
unless​ ​the​ ​resource​ ​in​ ​question​ ​is​ ​very​ ​exclusive​ ​in​ ​nature.​ ​Hence,​ ​a​ ​Linkbait​ ​article​ ​is​ ​carefully
crafted​ ​and​ ​deployed​ ​to​ ​attract​ ​links​ ​from​ ​other​ ​sites​ ​and​ ​improve​ ​the​ ​search​ ​engine
optimization​ ​of​ ​a​ ​website.

Link​ ​building
Link​ ​building​ ​is​ ​the​ ​process​ ​of​ ​building​ ​backlinks​ ​to​ ​your​ ​website​ ​(both​ ​the​ ​home​ ​page​ ​and
internal​ ​pages).​ ​Link​ ​building​ ​is​ ​considered​ ​a​ ​good​ ​practice​ ​for​ ​search​ ​engine​ ​optimization​ ​as​ ​it
helps​ ​in​ ​improving​ ​the​ ​authority​ ​of​ ​your​ ​website​ ​and​ ​increases​ ​the​ ​rankings​ ​in​ ​search​ ​results,
which​ ​results​ ​in​ ​more​ ​traffic​ ​and​ ​hence​ ​more​ ​business.

Link​ ​building​ ​has​ ​to​ ​be​ ​done​ ​carefully​ ​and​ ​objectively,​ ​by​ ​adhering​ ​to​ ​the​ ​Google​ ​webmaster
quality​ ​guidelines.​ ​Failure​ ​to​ ​abide​ ​by​ ​the​ ​quality​ ​guidelines​ ​may​ ​lead​ ​to​ ​adverse​ ​results.
 31

Link​ ​exchange
A​ ​Link​ ​exchange​ ​is​ ​a​ ​“deal”​ ​between​ ​two​ ​website​ ​owners​ ​wherein​ ​one​ ​website​ ​links​ ​to​ ​the​ ​other
and​ ​vice​ ​versa.​ ​It​ ​is​ ​naturally​ ​very​ ​hard​ ​to​ ​attract​ ​links​ ​naturally​ ​towards​ ​your​ ​website.​ ​Hence,
some​ ​website​ ​owners​ ​participate​ ​in​ ​link​ ​exchange​ ​programs​ ​in​ ​order​ ​to​ ​gain​ ​links​ ​by​ ​linking​ ​to
each​ ​other’s​ ​website.​ ​There​ ​are​ ​portals​ ​and​ ​forums​ ​where​ ​website​ ​owners​ ​discuss​ ​and​ ​share
links​ ​to​ ​each​ ​other’s​ ​websites.​ ​Please​ ​note​ ​that​ ​Link​ ​exchange​ ​is​ ​purely​ ​a​ ​blackhat​ ​technique
and​ ​should​ ​be​ ​avoided​ ​if​ ​you​ ​want​ ​to​ ​stay​ ​compliant​ ​with​ ​Google​ ​webmaster​ ​quality​ ​guidelines.

Link​ ​farm
A​ ​Link​ ​farm​ ​is​ ​a​ ​website​ ​which​ ​creates​ ​a​ ​set​ ​of​ ​pages​ ​on​ ​one​ ​section​ ​of​ ​the​ ​website,​ ​solely​ ​for
the​ ​purpose​ ​of​ ​linking​ ​to​ ​a​ ​key​ ​page​ ​or​ ​section​ ​of​ ​the​ ​same​ ​website​ ​or​ ​another​ ​website.​ ​This​ ​is
done​ ​in​ ​order​ ​to​ ​improve​ ​search​ ​rankings​ ​for​ ​a​ ​specific​ ​landing​ ​page​ ​on​ ​the​ ​same​ ​website​ ​or​ ​on
some​ ​other​ ​website.​ ​A​ ​typical​ ​link​ ​farm​ ​website​ ​generates​ ​hundreds​ ​of​ ​thousands​ ​of​ ​pages​ ​with
auto​ ​generated​ ​content​ ​and​ ​links​ ​to​ ​a​ ​specific​ ​page​ ​or​ ​section​ ​over​ ​and​ ​over​ ​again​ ​with​ ​a​ ​variety
of​ ​anchor​ ​texts​ ​to​ ​achieve​ ​search​ ​rankings.​ ​This​ ​is​ ​a​ ​blackhat​ ​technique​ ​and​ ​is​ ​best​ ​avoided​ ​if
you​ ​want​ ​to​ ​adhere​ ​to​ ​Google’s​ ​webmaster​ ​quality​ ​guidelines.

Link​ ​spam
Link​ ​spam​ ​is​ ​the​ ​most​ ​common​ ​way​ ​website​ ​owners​ ​try​ ​to​ ​create​ ​backlinks​ ​towards​ ​their
websites.​ ​This​ ​includes​ ​posting​ ​irrelevant​ ​links​ ​in​ ​portals,​ ​forums,​ ​blog​ ​comments,​ ​discussion
boards​ ​and​ ​every​ ​possible​ ​place​ ​to​ ​ensure​ ​the​ ​backlink​ ​helps​ ​in​ ​search​ ​engine​ ​optimization​ ​of
the​ ​website​ ​in​ ​question.​ ​Link​ ​spam​ ​is​ ​not​ ​a​ ​good​ ​way​ ​to​ ​improve​ ​the​ ​SEO​ ​of​ ​a​ ​website​ ​and​ ​in
some​ ​extreme​ ​cases,​ ​the​ ​website​ ​may​ ​get​ ​penalized​ ​in​ ​Google​ ​Search.
 32

Local​ ​SEO
Local​ ​SEO​ ​is​ ​the​ ​procedure​ ​to​ ​optimize​ ​your​ ​website​ ​to​ ​show​ ​up​ ​for​ ​local​ ​searches.​ ​If​ ​you​ ​have
a​ ​business​ ​which​ ​has​ ​some​ ​local​ ​presence​ ​and​ ​you​ ​want​ ​your​ ​business​ ​to​ ​get​ ​discovered​ ​in
local​ ​searches​ ​such​ ​as​ ​Google​ ​Maps,​ ​Google​ ​Local​ ​search​ ​and​ ​other​ ​places​ ​with​ ​an​ ​emphasis
on​ ​local​ ​listings,​ ​then​ ​you​ ​should​ ​optimize​ ​your​ ​website​ ​for​ ​Local​ ​SEO.

Local​ ​search
Local​ ​search​ ​refers​ ​to​ ​the​ ​concept​ ​of​ ​searching​ ​for​ ​content,​ ​businesses,​ ​and​ ​listings​ ​confined​ ​to
a​ ​particular​ ​location.​ ​For​ ​example,​ ​the​ ​search​ ​term​ ​“restaurants”​ ​is​ ​not​ ​a​ ​local​ ​search​ ​keyword
but​ ​someone​ ​who​ ​is​ ​searching​ ​for​ ​“best​ ​restaurants​ ​in​ ​New​ ​York”​ ​is​ ​probably​ ​looking​ ​for​ ​a
restaurant​ ​to​ ​dine​ ​out​ ​in​ ​New​ ​York.​ ​He​ ​is​ ​only​ ​interested​ ​in​ ​content​ ​and​ ​businesses​ ​that​ ​are​ ​in
New​ ​York,​ ​hence​ ​this​ ​search​ ​term​ ​is​ ​perfectly​ ​a​ ​“Local​ ​search​ ​term”.

Google​ ​understands​ ​which​ ​keyword​ ​is​ ​a​ ​local​ ​search​ ​term​ ​and​ ​which​ ​one​ ​is​ ​not​ ​and​ ​depending
on​ ​the​ ​type​ ​of​ ​query,​ ​local​ ​search​ ​results​ ​are​ ​sometimes​ ​shown​ ​in​ ​Google​ ​Search,​ ​Google​ ​Maps
and​ ​other​ ​places​ ​where​ ​the​ ​search​ ​is​ ​performed.

Long​ ​tail​ ​keywords

A​ ​Long​ ​tail​ ​keyword​ ​is​ ​a​ ​long​ ​search​ ​term​ ​which​ ​contains​ ​at​ ​least​ ​3​ ​words.​ ​For​ ​example,​ ​the
keyword​ ​–​ ​“barbershop”​ ​is​ ​not​ ​a​ ​long​ ​tail​ ​keyword​ ​but​ ​the​ ​phrase​ ​“Barbershops​ ​in​ ​New​ ​Jersey
with​ ​Spa”​ ​is​ ​a​ ​long​ ​tail​ ​keyword.

Long​ ​tail​ ​keywords​ ​are​ ​a​ ​good​ ​indicator​ ​of​ ​what​ ​people​ ​are​ ​looking​ ​for​ ​in​ ​your​ ​website.​ ​Your
website​ ​analytics​ ​logs​ ​will​ ​show​ ​you​ ​a​ ​lot​ ​of​ ​data​ ​with​ ​respect​ ​to​ ​long​ ​tail​ ​keywords​ ​and​ ​it​ ​is
considered​ ​a​ ​goldmine​ ​as​ ​far​ ​as​ ​optimizing​ ​your​ ​website​ ​for​ ​the​ ​long​ ​tail​ ​of​ ​search​ ​is​ ​considered.

Long​ ​tail​ ​keywords​ ​also​ ​help​ ​you​ ​find​ ​new​ ​content​ ​ideas​ ​and​ ​create​ ​more​ ​useful​ ​and​ ​engaging
content​ ​on​ ​your​ ​website.
 33

Meta​ ​description
Meta​ ​description​ ​is​ ​a​ ​website​ ​meta​ ​tag​ ​which​ ​is​ ​included​ ​in​ ​the​ ​<head>​ ​section​ ​of​ ​a​ ​webpage.​ ​It
is​ ​basically​ ​a​ ​text​ ​string​ ​of​ ​165​ ​characters​ ​which​ ​explains,​ ​in​ ​brief,​ ​the​ ​content​ ​of​ ​a​ ​webpage.
Sometimes,​ ​Google​ ​may​ ​choose​ ​to​ ​show​ ​a​ ​different​ ​meta​ ​description​ ​than​ ​specified​ ​by​ ​the
owner​ ​of​ ​a​ ​webpage.​ ​This​ ​happens​ ​because​ ​Google​ ​thinks​ ​another​ ​snippet​ ​of​ ​content​ ​is​ ​better
relevant​ ​to​ ​the​ ​query​ ​of​ ​the​ ​user.

Recently,​ ​for​ ​selected​ ​search​ ​results​ ​the​ ​length​ ​of​ ​meta​ ​description​ ​has​ ​been​ ​increased​ ​to
include​ ​up​ ​to​ ​300​ ​characters.​ ​Meta​ ​descriptions​ ​are​ ​important​ ​elements​ ​of​ ​SEO​ ​and​ ​good​ ​meta
descriptions​ ​make​ ​it​ ​a​ ​little​ ​easier​ ​for​ ​websites​ ​to​ ​rank​ ​in​ ​search​ ​result​ ​pages​ ​and​ ​at​ ​the​ ​same
time,​ ​it​ ​attracts​ ​more​ ​click-throughs​ ​from​ ​the​ ​users.​ L
​ earn​ ​how​ ​to​ ​write​ ​a​ ​good​ ​meta​ ​description.

Meta​ ​keywords
Similar​ ​to​ ​meta​ ​description,​ ​meta​ ​keyword​ ​is​ ​a​ ​meta​ ​tag​ ​which​ ​is​ ​included​ ​in​ ​the​ ​<head>​ ​section
of​ ​a​ ​webpage.​ ​It​ ​is​ ​basically​ ​a​ ​list​ ​of​ ​comma​ ​separated​ ​words​ ​which​ ​signals​ ​search​ ​engines
what​ ​are​ ​the​ ​most​ ​important​ ​words​ ​on​ ​a​ ​given​ ​page.​ ​Meta​ ​keywords​ ​have​ ​relatively​ ​less​ ​value
compared​ ​to​ ​meta​ ​title​ ​and​ ​meta​ ​description​ ​and​ ​Google​ ​gives​ ​little​ ​to​ ​no​ ​importance​ ​to​ ​meta
keywords​ ​when​ ​evaluating​ ​the​ ​relevance​ ​of​ ​a​ ​webpage​ ​to​ ​the​ ​user’s​ ​query.

Meta​ ​tag
Meta​ ​tags​ ​are​ ​snippets​ ​of​ ​text​ ​that​ ​describe​ ​a​ ​page’s​ ​content​ ​and​ ​other​ ​attributes​ ​about​ ​the
page​ ​but​ ​do​ ​not​ ​contain​ ​the​ ​content​ ​of​ ​the​ ​page​ ​itself.​ ​Also,​ ​the​ ​meta​ ​tags​ ​are​ ​only​ ​meant​ ​for​ ​the
search​ ​engines,​ ​bots,​ ​and​ ​spiders​ ​and​ ​not​ ​meant​ ​for​ ​the​ ​user​ ​browsing​ ​the​ ​page.​ ​The​ ​meta​ ​tags
don’t​ ​appear​ ​in​ ​the​ ​body​ ​of​ ​the​ ​page​ ​and​ ​is​ ​placed​ ​in​ ​the​ ​source​ ​code​ ​within​ ​the​ ​<head>​ ​section.
 34

Mobile​ ​first​ ​indexing

Mobile​ ​first​ ​indexing​ ​is​ ​a​ ​concept​ ​introduced​​ ​by​ ​Google​ ​which​ ​puts​ ​greater​ ​emphasis​ ​on​ ​pages
which​ ​are​ ​mobile​ ​friendly.​ ​Until​ ​2016,​ ​Google’s​ ​index​ ​of​ ​web​ ​pages​ ​consisted​ ​of​ ​pages​ ​that​ ​were
rendered​ ​from​ ​the​ ​desktop​ ​point​ ​of​ ​view.​ ​Post-2016,​ ​the​ ​Google​ ​bot​ ​has​ ​become​ ​more
intelligent​ ​and​ ​will​ ​now​ ​prefer​ ​to​ ​render​ ​pages​ ​from​ ​a​ ​mobile​ ​device​ ​point​ ​of​ ​view.​ ​Henceforth,
preference​ ​is​ ​to​ ​be​ ​given​ ​to​ ​those​ ​websites​ ​who​ ​are​ ​mobile​ ​friendly​ ​and​ ​whose​ ​content​ ​can​ ​be
read​ ​in​ ​even​ ​a​ ​mobile​ ​device​ ​with​ ​small​ ​screen​ ​size.

Mobile​ ​usability​ ​report

Mobile​ ​Usability​ ​report​ ​is​ ​a​ ​report​ ​generated​ ​by​ ​Google​ ​search​ ​console​ ​which​ ​shows​ ​you​ ​the
issues​ ​and​ ​errors​ ​Google​ ​has​ ​found​ ​while​ ​trying​ ​to​ ​render​ ​your​ ​website’s​ ​pages​ ​on​ ​a​ ​mobile
device.​ ​It​ ​focuses​ ​on​ ​the​ ​problems​ ​you​ ​need​ ​to​ ​fix​ ​to​ ​ensure​ ​your​ ​website​ ​loads​ ​correctly​ ​in​ ​all
possible​ ​mobile​ ​devices​ ​used​ ​for​ ​accessing​ ​your​ ​content.

Mod_rewrite
Mod_rewrite​ ​is​ ​a​ ​way​ ​to​ ​rewrite​ ​the​ ​URL​ ​at​ ​the​ ​server​ ​level​ ​and​ ​showing​ ​output​ ​to​ ​the​ ​user
without​ ​any​ ​intervention​ ​of​ ​the​ ​browser.​ ​It​ ​is​ ​a​ ​technical​ ​concept​ ​which​ ​comes​ ​with​ ​your
website’s​ ​web​ ​hosting​ ​package.​ ​One​ ​has​ ​to​ ​use​ ​Mod_rewrite​ ​carefully​ ​in​ ​his​ ​web​ ​server,​ ​and
not​ ​mess​ ​up​ ​the​ ​URL​ ​structure​ ​of​ ​the​ ​website​ ​and​ ​its​ ​internal​ ​pages.​ ​Mod_rewrite​ ​is​ ​not​ ​to​ ​be
practiced​ ​if​ ​you​ ​don’t​ ​know​ ​what​ ​you​ ​are​ ​doing.
 35

Navigation
Navigation​ ​refers​ ​to​ ​that​ ​design​ ​element​ ​or​ ​design​ ​unit​ ​of​ ​a​ ​website​ ​which​ ​lets​ ​the​ ​visitor
navigate​ ​to​ ​other​ ​parts​ ​of​ ​a​ ​website.​ ​In​ ​general,​ ​the​ ​navigation​ ​consists​ ​of​ ​a​ ​menu​ ​with​ ​links​ ​to
important​ ​pages​ ​and​ ​sections​ ​of​ ​the​ ​website​ ​which​ ​allows​ ​the​ ​user​ ​to​ ​hop​ ​from​ ​one​ ​page​ ​to
another​ ​page​ ​without​ ​having​ ​to​ ​look​ ​for​ ​individual​ ​pages​ ​all​ ​the​ ​time.

In​ ​general,​ ​the​ ​navigation​ ​menu​ ​is​ ​placed​ ​at​ ​the​ ​t0p​ ​of​ ​a​ ​website​ ​in​ ​the​ ​Above​ ​the​ ​fold​ ​section.

Negative​ ​SEO
Negative​ ​SEO​ ​refers​ ​to​ ​the​ ​practice​ ​of​ ​using​ ​a​ ​black​ ​hat​ ​and​ ​unethical​ ​techniques​ ​to​ ​sabotage​ ​a
competitor’s​ ​rankings​ ​in​ ​search​ ​engines.​ ​It​ ​is​ ​typically​ ​used​ ​by​ ​spammers​ ​and​ ​lazy​ ​people​ ​who
do​ ​not​ ​want​ ​to​ ​put​ ​the​ ​effort​ ​in​ ​building​ ​a​ ​good​ ​and​ ​useful​ ​website​ ​themselves​ ​but​ ​want​ ​to​ ​harm
other​ ​people’s​ ​website​ ​by​ ​doing​ ​all​ ​the​ ​wrong​ ​things​ ​on​ ​behalf​ ​of​ ​them.

For​ ​example,​ ​if​ ​I​ ​am​ ​not​ ​able​ ​to​ ​build​ ​good​ ​links​ ​towards​ ​my​ ​website​ ​and​ ​improve​ ​the​ ​rankings,​ ​I
will​ ​build​ ​bad​ ​links​ ​towards​ ​my​ ​competitor’s​ ​website​ ​and​ ​ensure​ ​they​ ​get​ ​delisted​ ​from​ ​Google
search.​ ​Negative​ ​SEO​ ​rarely​ ​works​ ​and​ ​there​ ​is​ ​no​ ​need​ ​to​ ​worry​ ​about​ ​it​ ​since​ ​there​ ​is​ ​nothing
you​ ​can​ ​do​ ​to​ ​stop​ ​it.​ ​All​ ​you​ ​should​ ​be​ ​doing​ ​and​ ​focussing​ ​is​ ​working​ ​on​ ​your​ ​own​ ​website​ ​and
improving​ ​it​ ​day​ ​by​ ​day​ ​with​ ​useful​ ​content​ ​people​ ​love​ ​to​ ​read.

Noarchive
The​ ​noarchive​ ​meta​ ​tag​ ​is​ ​a​ ​directive​ ​to​ ​search​ ​engines​ ​not​ ​to​ ​store​ ​the​ ​cache​ ​of​ ​the​ ​webpage
in​ ​their​ ​index​ ​or​ ​server.​ ​When​ ​a​ ​webpage​ ​is​ ​crawled​ ​by​ ​a​ ​search​ ​bot​ ​or​ ​a​ ​search​ ​crawler,​ ​it
stores​ ​a​ ​cached​ ​copy​ ​of​ ​the​ ​page​ ​in​ ​it’s​ ​index​ ​for​ ​faster​ ​retrieval.​ ​If​ ​you​ ​are​ ​not​ ​happy​ ​about​ ​this
and​ ​want​ ​to​ ​stop​ ​it,​ ​you​ ​can​ ​use​ ​the​ ​noarchive​ ​meta​ ​tag​ ​in​ ​the​ ​source​ ​code​ ​of​ ​your​ ​website’s
pages.
 36

Noindex
The​ ​noindex​ ​meta​ ​tag​ ​is​ ​a​ ​directive​ ​to​ ​search​ ​engines​ ​not​ ​to​ ​crawl​ ​and​ ​store​ ​the​ ​content​ ​of​ ​the
webpage​ ​in​ ​it’s​ ​index.​ ​A​ ​webpage​ ​with​ ​the​ ​noindex​ ​meta​ ​tag​ ​is​ ​most​ ​likely​ ​not​ ​to​ ​be​ ​seen​ ​in
search​ ​result​ ​pages​ ​because​ ​the​ ​website​ ​owner​ ​has​ ​explicitly​ ​told​ ​search​ ​engines​ ​not​ ​to​ ​index
the​ ​content​ ​of​ ​this​ ​page​ ​at​ ​all.

No​ ​referrer
Rel=noreferrer​ ​tells​ ​the​ ​browser​ ​not​ ​to​ ​send​ ​referer​ ​information​ ​to​ ​the​ ​server​ ​when​ ​requesting​ ​a
Web​ ​page.​ ​No​ ​browser​ ​supports​ ​this​ ​protocol​ ​at​ ​the​ ​time​ ​of​ ​writing​ ​this​ ​and​ ​this​ ​has​ ​no​ ​effect​ ​on
SEO​ ​or​ ​link​ ​value.​ ​More​ ​information​ ​about​ ​noreferrer​ ​meta​ ​tag.

Open​ ​Graph​ ​Protocol

The​ ​Open​ ​Graph​ ​protocol​​ ​enables​ ​any​ ​web​ ​page​ ​to​ ​become​ ​a​ ​rich​ ​object​ ​in​ ​a​ ​social​ ​graph.
While​ ​many​ ​different​ ​technologies​ ​and​ ​schemas​ ​exist​ ​and​ ​could​ ​be​ ​combined​ ​together,​ ​there
isn’t​ ​a​ ​single​ ​technology​ ​which​ ​provides​ ​enough​ ​information​ ​to​ ​richly​ ​represent​ ​any​ ​web​ ​page
within​ ​the​ ​social​ ​graph.​ ​The​ ​Open​ ​Graph​ ​protocol​ ​builds​ ​on​ ​these​ ​existing​ ​technologies​ ​and
gives​ ​developers​ ​one​ ​thing​ ​to​ ​implement.​ ​Developer​ ​simplicity​ ​is​ ​a​ ​key​ ​goal​ ​of​ ​the​ ​Open​ ​Graph
protocol
 37

Organic​ ​Traffic
Organic​ ​traffic​ ​is​ ​that​ ​traffic​ ​which​ ​a​ ​website​ ​receives​ ​from​ ​search​ ​engines​ ​through​ ​natural
searches​ ​made​ ​by​ ​users​ ​who​ ​are​ ​using​ ​the​ ​search​ ​engine​ ​across​ ​the​ ​globe.​ ​Organic​ ​traffic​ ​is
“Free”​ ​which​ ​means​ ​website​ ​owners​ ​do​ ​not​ ​have​ ​to​ ​pay​ ​for​ ​this​ ​traffic​ ​and​ ​can​ ​get​ ​visitors​ ​and
customers​ ​for​ ​free.​ ​The​ ​other​ ​form​ ​of​ ​traffic​ ​is​ ​direct​ ​traffic,​ ​which​ ​is​ ​that​ ​section​ ​of​ ​traffic​ ​which
directly​ ​comes​ ​to​ ​a​ ​website​ ​and​ ​not​ ​from​ ​a​ ​search​ ​engine.

Referral​ ​traffic​ ​is​ ​the​ ​traffic​ ​which​ ​a​ ​website​ ​receives​ ​from​ ​other​ ​referring​ ​sites​ ​and​ ​Paid​ ​traffic​ ​is
the​ ​traffic​ ​that​ ​a​ ​website​ ​receives​ ​from​ ​sponsored​ ​advertisements.

Organic​ ​search
Organic​ ​search​ ​results​ ​are​ ​listings​ ​on​ ​search​ ​engine​ ​results​ ​pages​ ​that​ ​appear​ ​because​ ​of​ ​their
relevance​ ​to​ ​the​ ​search​ ​terms,​ ​as​ ​opposed​ ​to​ ​their​ ​being​ ​advertisements.​ ​In​ ​contrast,
non-organic​ ​search​ ​results​ ​may​ ​include​ ​pay​ ​per​ ​click​ ​advertising.

Outbound​ ​links
Outbound​ ​links​ ​are​ ​external​ ​links​ ​from​ ​a​ ​website​ ​to​ ​a​ ​different​ ​website.​ ​Outbound​ ​links​ ​are
sometimes​ ​also​ ​referred​ ​as​ ​“External​ ​links”.
 38

Page​ ​Rank
PageRank​ ​(PR)​ ​is​ ​an​ ​algorithm​ ​used​ ​by​ ​Google​ ​Search​ ​to​ ​rank​ ​websites​ ​in​ ​their​ ​search​ ​engine
results.​ ​PageRank​ ​is​ ​a​ ​way​ ​of​ ​measuring​ ​the​ ​importance​ ​of​ ​website​ ​pages.

PageRank​ ​works​ ​by​ ​counting​ ​the​ ​number​ ​and​ ​quality​ ​of​ ​links​ ​to​ ​a​ ​page​ ​to​ ​determine​ ​a​ ​rough
estimate​ ​of​ ​how​ ​important​ ​the​ ​website​ ​is.​ ​The​ ​underlying​ ​assumption​ ​is​ ​that​ ​more​ ​important
websites​ ​are​ ​likely​ ​to​ ​receive​ ​more​ ​links​ ​from​ ​other​ ​websites.

Please​ ​note​ ​that​ ​this​ ​does​ ​not​ ​necessarily​ ​mean​ ​that​ ​pages​ ​with​ ​higher​ ​PageRank​ ​will​ ​always
be​ ​on​ ​the​ ​first​ ​page​ ​of​ ​Google​ ​and​ ​pages​ ​with​ ​lower​ ​PageRank​ ​will​ ​never​ ​show​ ​up​ ​in​ ​Google
search​ ​results.​ ​That​ ​said,​ ​PageRank​ ​is​ ​Google’s​ ​measuring​ ​scale​ ​for​ ​weighing​ ​the​ ​importance
of​ ​web​ ​pages.

Paid​ ​links
Paid​ ​Links​ ​are​ ​“Sponsored​ ​links”​ ​which​ ​an​ ​advertiser​ ​buys​ ​on​ ​a​ ​website,​ ​blog,​ ​forum,​ ​portal​ ​or
any​ ​other​ ​domain.​ ​Since​ ​links​ ​are​ ​a​ ​differentiating​ ​factor​ ​in​ ​determining​ ​search​ ​rankings,​ ​a​ ​lot​ ​of
advertisers​ ​won’t​ ​mind​ ​paying​ ​some​ ​websites​ ​money​ ​in​ ​order​ ​to​ ​create​ ​a​ ​backlink​ ​from​ ​that
website​ ​to​ ​theirs.​ ​Sometimes,​ ​it​ ​also​ ​means​ ​that​ ​an​ ​advertiser​ ​wants​ ​to​ ​insert​ ​a​ ​“Text​ ​link
advertising”​ ​in​ ​one​ ​of​ ​your​ ​posts​ ​not​ ​for​ ​the​ ​SEO​ ​benefit​ ​but​ ​only​ ​to​ ​get​ ​referring​ ​traffic​ ​from​ ​your
page.

Paid​ ​links​ ​are​ ​not​ ​bad​ ​but​ ​should​ ​be​ ​dealt​ ​with​ ​carefully.

Google​ ​Panda
Google​ ​Panda​ ​is​ ​a​ ​change​ ​to​ ​Google’s​ ​search​ ​results​ ​ranking​ ​algorithm​ ​that​ ​was​ ​first​ ​released
in​ ​February​ ​2011.​ ​The​ ​change​ ​aimed​ ​to​ ​lower​ ​the​ ​rank​ ​of​ ​“low-quality​ ​sites”​ ​or​ ​“thin​ ​sites”,​ ​in
particular,​ ​“content​ ​farms”,​ ​and​ ​return​ ​higher-quality​ ​sites​ ​near​ ​the​ ​top​ ​of​ ​the​ ​search​ ​results.
Google​ ​published​ ​an​ ​official​ ​guideline​​ ​on​ ​creating​ ​high-quality​ ​sites.
 39

Google​ ​Penguin
Google​ ​launched​ ​the​ ​Penguin​ ​Update​ ​in​ ​April​ ​2012​ ​to​ ​better​ ​catch​ ​sites​ ​deemed​ ​to​ ​be
spamming​ ​its​ ​search​ ​results,​ ​in​ ​particular,​ ​those​ ​doing​ ​so​ ​by​ ​buying​ ​links​ ​or​ ​obtaining​ ​them
through​ ​link​ ​networks​ ​designed​ ​primarily​ ​to​ ​boost​ ​Google​ ​rankings.​ ​The​ ​changes​ ​in​ ​Google
Penguin​ ​algorithm​ ​were​ ​later​ ​incorporated​​ ​in​ ​Google’s​ ​main​ ​algorithm.

Poison​ ​words
Poison​ ​words,​ ​or​ ​forbidden​ ​words,​ ​is​ ​the​ ​name​ ​given​ ​to​ ​words​ ​or​ ​phrases​ ​that​ ​trigger​ ​suspicion,
mistrust​ ​and​ ​loss​ ​of​ ​respect,​ ​or​ ​are​ ​of​ ​inappropriate​ ​character​ ​for​ ​a​ ​given​ ​web​ ​site​ ​in​ ​its
consideration​ ​for​ ​a​ ​search​ ​engine.

Preferred​ ​Domain
The​ ​preferred​ ​domain​ ​is​ ​the​ ​one​ ​that​ ​you​ ​would​ ​like​ ​used​ ​to​ ​index​ ​your​ ​site’s​ ​pages​ ​(sometimes
this​ ​is​ ​referred​ ​to​ ​as​ ​the​ ​canonical​ ​domain).​ ​Links​ ​may​ ​point​ ​to​ ​your​ ​site​ ​using​ ​both​ ​the​ ​www​ ​and
non-www​ ​versions​ ​of​ ​the​ ​URL​ ​(for​ ​instance,​ ​http://www.example.com​ ​and​ ​http://example.com).
The​ ​preferred​ ​domain​ ​is​ ​the​ ​version​ ​that​ ​you​ ​want​ ​to​ ​be​ ​used​ ​for​ ​your​ ​site​ ​in​ ​the​ ​search​ ​results.
Learn​ ​more​ ​about​ ​using​ ​Preferred​ ​domains​.

Proximity
The​ ​keyword​ ​proximity​ ​refers​ ​to​ ​the​ ​distance​ ​between​ ​the​ ​search​ ​term’s​ ​individual​ ​keywords.​ ​It
is​ ​not​ ​necessary​ ​that​ ​keywords​ ​in​ ​the​ ​target​ ​webpage​ ​have​ ​to​ ​appear​ ​in​ ​the​ ​same​ ​order​ ​of​ ​the
search​ ​query.​ ​For​ ​example,​ ​if​ ​the​ ​query​ ​is​ ​–​ ​“best​ ​summer​ ​collection​ ​for​ ​men”,​ ​then​ ​a​ ​webpage
may​ ​appear​ ​in​ ​search​ ​results​ ​which​ ​contains​ ​the​ ​phrase​ ​–​ ​“Here​ ​is​ ​a​ ​list​ ​of​ ​summer​ ​clothes​ ​for
men​ ​which​ ​we​ ​hope​ ​you​ ​will​ ​enjoy”.

Keyword​ ​proximity​ ​is​ ​a​ ​very​ ​complex​ ​concept​ ​and​ ​one​ ​need​ ​not​ ​worry​ ​too​ ​much​ ​about​ ​Keyword
proximity​ ​and​ ​let​ ​the​ ​content​ ​flow​ ​naturally​ ​in​ ​the​ ​webpage​ ​to​ ​achieve​ ​desired​ ​results.
 40

Query
A​ ​Query​ ​is​ ​the​ ​total​ ​search​ ​phrase​ ​used​ ​by​ ​a​ ​user​ ​to​ ​search​ ​for​ ​something​ ​in​ ​a​ ​Search​ ​engine.​ ​A
Query​ ​may​ ​contain​ ​keywords​ ​and​ ​it​ ​may​ ​not​ ​contain​ ​keywords​ ​but​ ​in​ ​general,​ ​99%​ ​queries
contain​ ​keywords​ ​because,​ ​without​ ​keywords,​ ​it​ ​does​ ​not​ ​make​ ​much​ ​sense​ ​to​ ​search​ ​for
something.​ ​For​ ​example,​ ​“Buy​ ​Classic​ ​footwear​ ​offer​ ​discount​ ​code”​ ​is​ ​a​ ​query​ ​while​ ​“Classic
footwear”​ ​is​ ​the​ ​keyword​ ​inside​ ​the​ ​query.

Note​ ​that​ ​all​ ​keywords​ ​are​ ​queries​ ​but​ ​not​ ​all​ ​queries​ ​are​ ​keywords.

Rankings
Rankings​ ​refer​ ​to​ ​“Search​ ​rankings”​ ​of​ ​a​ ​webpage​ ​in​ ​Google​ ​search​ ​results​ ​for​ ​specific
keywords,​ ​phrases​ ​or​ ​queries.​ ​When​ ​someone​ ​says​ ​he​ ​has​ ​a​ ​search​ ​ranking​ ​1​ ​for​ ​the​ ​keyword
“ABC”,​ ​he​ ​means​ ​that​ ​if​ ​anyone​ ​searches​ ​for​ ​the​ ​keyword​ ​“ABC”​ ​in​ ​Google​ ​Search,​ ​his​ ​website
will​ ​show​ ​up​ ​as​ ​the​ ​first​ ​link​ ​(not​ ​counting​ ​links​ ​from​ ​ads).

Rankings​ ​mean​ ​traffic​ ​and​ ​traffic​ ​mean​ ​business.​ ​A​ ​loss​ ​in​ ​rankings​ ​means​ ​a​ ​loss​ ​in​ ​business
value​ ​and​ ​hence​ ​website​ ​owners​ ​are​ ​very​ ​careful​ ​with​ ​maintaining​ ​their​ ​website​ ​rankings​ ​at​ ​all
costs.

Reciprocal​ ​links
When​ ​two​ ​websites​ ​exchange​ ​links​ ​with​ ​each​ ​other,​ ​the​ ​links​ ​are​ ​called​ ​“Reciprocal​ ​links”.​ ​It​ ​is​ ​a
typical​ ​link​ ​exchange​ ​which​ ​has​ ​been​ ​in​ ​practice​ ​since​ ​the​ ​beginning​ ​of​ ​internet​ ​and​ ​search
engines.​ ​It​ ​is​ ​not​ ​considered​ ​a​ ​good​ ​practice​ ​to​ ​have​ ​too​ ​many​ ​reciprocal​ ​links​ ​and​ ​that​ ​too​ ​from
too​ ​many​ ​low-quality​ ​websites.​ ​That​ ​said,​ ​if​ ​the​ ​two​ ​websites​ ​are​ ​genuine​ ​and​ ​legitimate​ ​sites,​ ​it
won’t​ ​hurt​ ​to​ ​have​ ​some​ ​reciprocal​ ​links​ ​in​ ​some​ ​pages​ ​but​ ​one​ ​must​ ​be​ ​careful​ ​and​ ​not​ ​overdo
it​ ​across​ ​all​ ​pages.
 41

Redirect
A​ ​redirect​ ​is​ ​a​ ​URL​ ​forwarding​ ​technique​ ​which​ ​is​ ​used​ ​to​ ​forward​ ​a​ ​webpage​ ​to​ ​a​ ​new​ ​address.
That​ ​means,​ ​the​ ​existing​ ​old​ ​address​ ​of​ ​the​ ​webpage​ ​automatically​ ​takes​ ​the​ ​visitor​ ​to​ ​its​ ​new
address.​ ​URL​ ​redirection​ ​is​ ​achieved​ ​on​ ​the​ ​server​ ​side​ ​through​ ​various​ ​mechanisms
depending​ ​on​ ​the​ ​technology​ ​used​ ​to​ ​deploy​ ​the​ ​website​ ​and​ ​the​ ​type​ ​of​ ​web​ ​server​ ​used.

When​ ​you​ ​see​ ​the​ ​term​ ​“Redirect”​ ​or​ ​“301​ ​redirects”,​ ​it​ ​usually​ ​means​ ​that​ ​the​ ​page​ ​is​ ​forwarded
to​ ​another​ ​URL​ ​and​ ​is​ ​accessible​ ​through​ ​both​ ​the​ ​URL’s,​ ​the​ ​older​ ​URL​ ​being​ ​forwarded​ ​to​ ​the
newer​ ​one​ ​automatically.

Reinclusion
“Re-inclusion”​ ​or​ ​a​ ​“Reconsideration​ ​request”​ ​is​ ​the​ ​process​ ​of​ ​asking​ ​search​ ​engines​ ​to
re-include​ ​a​ ​website​ ​or​ ​specific​ ​pages​ ​of​ ​a​ ​website​ ​in​ ​search​ ​results​ ​after​ ​the​ ​website​ ​has​ ​been
penalized​ ​by​ ​Search​ ​engines​ ​for​ ​not​ ​adhering​ ​to​ ​Google​ ​Webmaster​ ​quality​ ​guidelines.​ ​Google
and​ ​other​ ​search​ ​engines​ ​continuously​ ​filter​ ​websites​ ​with​ ​low​ ​quality​ ​content​ ​and​ ​those​ ​who
practice​ ​link​ ​spam​ ​and​ ​violate​ ​content​ ​quality​ ​guidelines.​ ​Websites​ ​what​ ​are​ ​de-listed​ ​from
Google​ ​get​ ​no​ ​traffic​ ​from​ ​Google​ ​and​ ​are​ ​pretty​ ​much​ ​considered​ ​“Dead”.

However,​ ​if​ ​the​ ​websites​ ​correct​ ​all​ ​the​ ​wrong​ ​things​ ​at​ ​their​ ​end,​ ​cleans​ ​up​ ​all​ ​the​ ​technical
things​ ​on​ ​their​ ​website,​ ​removes​ ​bad​ ​links​ ​and​ ​low-quality​ ​content​ ​from​ ​their​ ​sites,​ ​they​ ​can​ ​file
a​ ​“Reconsideration​ ​request”​ ​from​ ​Google​ ​search​ ​console.

Rich​ ​Cards
Rich​ ​Cards​ ​are​ ​a​ ​display​ ​option​ ​for​ ​specific​ ​content​ ​in​ ​the​ ​mobile​ ​Google​ ​search.​ ​A​ ​webmaster
can​ ​choose​ ​this​ ​type​ ​of​ ​presentation​ ​by​ ​marking​ ​up​ ​content​ ​such​ ​as​ ​recipes​ ​and​ ​movies​ ​with​ ​the
JSON-LD​ ​format.​ ​The​ ​content​ ​will​ ​then​ ​be​ ​displayed​ ​in​ ​a​ ​visual​ ​format​ ​which​ ​improves​ ​the
mobile​ ​user​ ​experience​ ​and​ ​interaction.​ ​Rich​ ​cards​ ​can​ ​be​ ​viewed​ ​as​ ​an​ ​evolution​ ​of​ ​rich
snippets​ ​and​ ​build​ ​on​ ​the​ ​vocabulary​ ​of​ ​Schema.org.​ ​Learn​ ​more​ ​about​ ​Rich​ ​Cards
 42

Rich​ ​snippets
A​ ​“snippet”​ ​is​ ​a​ ​search​ ​result​ ​displayed​ ​on​ ​Google​ ​search​ ​result​ ​page.​ ​A​ ​“Rich​ ​snippet”​ ​is​ ​a
search​ ​result​ ​which​ ​contains​ ​more​ ​than​ ​just​ ​the​ ​title​ ​and​ ​the​ ​meta​ ​description​ ​of​ ​the​ ​page
displayed​ ​in​ ​the​ ​search​ ​result.​ ​A​ ​rich​ ​snippet​ ​can​ ​contain​ ​a​ ​small​ ​thumbnail​ ​image​ ​from​ ​the
page,​ ​a​ ​rating​ ​information,​ ​author​ ​information​ ​and​ ​much​ ​more​ ​content​ ​in​ ​it.​ ​A​ ​rich​ ​snippet​ ​is
shown​ ​in​ ​the​ ​webpage​ ​in​ ​question​ ​is​ ​using​ ​structured​ ​data​ ​in​ ​its​ ​source​ ​code.​ ​Learn​ ​more​ ​on
rich​ ​Snippets​ ​and​ ​structured​ ​data.

SEO
SEO​ ​stands​ ​for​ ​“Search​ ​engine​ ​optimization”.​ ​It​ ​is​ ​the​ ​process​ ​of​ ​optimizing​ ​the​ ​content​ ​and
structure​ ​of​ ​a​ ​website​ ​for​ ​ranking​ ​in​ ​search​ ​engines​ ​for​ ​specific​ ​keywords​ ​and​ ​phrases​ ​so​ ​that
the​ ​website​ ​can​ ​attract​ ​organic​ ​traffic,​ ​the​ ​traffic​ ​that​ ​is​ ​free​ ​and​ ​large​ ​in​ ​number.

SERP
“SERP”​ ​stands​ ​for​ ​“Search​ ​engine​ ​result​ ​pages”.​ ​When​ ​a​ ​user​ ​performs​ ​a​ ​search​ ​on
Google.com,​ ​he​ ​is​ ​shown​ ​results​ ​on​ ​a​ ​page​ ​and​ ​this​ ​page​ ​is​ ​called​ ​“SERP”​ ​or​ ​(Search​ ​engine
result​ ​pages).​ ​Each​ ​SERP​ ​contains​ ​10​ ​links​ ​and​ ​the​ ​goal​ ​of​ ​a​ ​website​ ​is​ ​to​ ​rank​ ​on​ ​the​ ​1st
SERP,​ ​preferably​ ​on​ ​the​ ​1st​ ​position​ ​to​ ​attract​ ​maximum​ ​traffic​ ​organically.

Sandbox
A​ ​Sandbox​ ​is​ ​a​ ​typical​ ​testing​ ​environment​ ​which​ ​is​ ​used​ ​to​ ​debug​ ​or​ ​test​ ​something.​ ​When
people​ ​refer​ ​to​ ​a​ ​“Sandbox”,​ ​it​ ​generally​ ​means​ ​that​ ​there​ ​is​ ​a​ ​specific​ ​“testing​ ​tool”​ ​that​ ​is​ ​being
used​ ​to​ ​test​ ​or​ ​debug​ ​something.
 43

Search​ ​Console
Search​ ​console​ ​refers​ ​to​ ​the​ ​free​ ​tool​ ​Google​ ​provides​ ​to​ ​webmasters​ ​and​ ​website​ ​owners​ ​to​ ​fix
issues​ ​with​ ​their​ ​website​ ​and​ ​improve​ ​the​ ​structure​ ​of​ ​their​ ​website​ ​that​ ​makes​ ​it​ ​easy​ ​for​ ​search
engines​ ​to​ ​crawl​ ​and​ ​index​ ​the​ ​content​ ​of​ ​the​ ​website​ ​on​ ​a​ ​regular​ ​basis.​ ​If​ ​you​ ​have​ ​a​ ​website
and​ ​you​ ​want​ ​to​ ​make​ ​it​ ​friendlier​ ​to​ ​Google,​ ​it​ ​is​ ​strongly​ ​recommended​ ​to​ c​ reate​ ​a​ ​Google
search​ ​console​ ​account​ ​and​ ​verify​ ​your​ ​website​.

Search​ ​Operators
Search​ ​operators​ ​are​ ​typical​ ​words​ ​used​ ​in​ ​Google​ ​search​ ​engine​ ​to​ ​create​ ​an​ ​advanced​ ​search
query​ ​on​ ​Google.​ ​For​ ​example,​ ​you​ ​can​ ​put​ ​$​ ​in​ ​front​ ​of​ ​a​ ​number​ ​to​ ​search​ ​for​ ​the​ ​price.​ ​A
typical​ ​example​ ​is​ ​“soccer​ ​price​ ​$50”​ ​–​ ​this​ ​will​ ​refine​ ​search​ ​results​ ​which​ ​contain​ ​prices​ ​of
soccer​ ​balls.​ ​Search​ ​operators​ ​are​ ​used​ ​to​ ​refining​ ​search​ ​results​ ​and​ ​restrict​ ​search​ ​results​ ​of​ ​a
particular​ ​type​ ​that​ ​precisely​ ​match​ ​your​ ​search​ ​query​ ​and​ ​the​ ​refinements​ ​you​ ​have​ ​provided
with​ ​it.​ ​Learn​ ​more​ ​about​ ​Google​ ​search​ ​operators.

Search​ ​engine
A​ ​Search​ ​engine​ ​is​ ​a​ ​website​ ​that​ ​runs​ ​a​ ​“Crawler”​ ​program​ ​which​ ​“Crawls”​ ​the​ ​internet​ ​to​ ​find
content​ ​and​ ​websites​ ​through​ ​links.​ ​Once​ ​a​ ​website​ ​is​ ​found,​ ​the​ ​crawler​ ​tries​ ​to​ ​crawl​ ​all​ ​the
available​ ​content​ ​inside​ ​it​ ​and​ ​then​ ​stores​ ​that​ ​content​ ​in​ ​it’s”index”​ ​so​ ​that​ ​if​ ​a​ ​relevant​ ​search
occurs,​ ​it​ ​can​ ​show​ ​that​ ​page​ ​to​ ​a​ ​potential​ ​user​ ​who​ ​would​ ​benefit​ ​from​ ​that​ ​content.
 44

Sitemap
A​ ​Sitemap​ ​is​ ​a​ ​list​ ​of​ ​all​ ​the​ ​pages​ ​that​ ​a​ ​website​ ​has.​ ​A​ ​sitemap​ ​can​ ​be​ ​in​ ​XML​ ​or​ ​HTML​ ​format.
XML​ ​Sitemaps​ ​are​ ​meant​ ​for​ ​only​ ​search​ ​engines​ ​while​ ​HTML​ ​sitemaps​ ​are​ ​meant​ ​for​ ​both
users​ ​and​ ​search​ ​engines.​ ​It​ ​is​ ​recommended​ ​to​ ​have​ ​both​ ​the​ ​XML​ ​and​ ​HTML​ ​sitemaps​ ​in​ ​a
website​ ​since​ ​it​ ​showcases​ ​all​ ​the​ ​content​ ​of​ ​the​ ​website​ ​at​ ​one​ ​place​ ​and​ ​allows​ ​the​ ​user​ ​to
discover​ ​content​ ​and​ ​pages​ ​which​ ​they​ ​may​ ​not​ ​otherwise​ ​find.

Spider
A​ ​Spider​ ​is​ ​another​ ​name​ ​of​ ​a​ ​“Search​ ​bot”​ ​or​ ​a​ ​“Web​ ​crawler”​ ​which​ ​“Crawls”​ ​or​ ​discovers
content​ ​from​ ​different​ ​websites​ ​and​ ​stores​ ​them​ ​in​ ​its​ ​index​ ​so​ ​that​ ​it​ ​can​ ​fetch​ ​the​ ​same​ ​page
for​ ​a​ ​relevant​ ​search​ ​query​ ​made​ ​by​ ​someone​ ​else​ ​at​ ​a​ ​later​ ​point​ ​in​ ​time.

Splash​ ​page
The​ ​page​ ​of​ ​a​ ​Web​ ​site​ ​that​ ​the​ ​user​ ​sees​ ​first​ ​before​ ​being​ ​given​ ​the​ ​option​ ​to​ ​continue​ ​to​ ​the
main​ ​content​ ​of​ ​the​ ​site.​ ​Splash​ ​pages​ ​are​ ​used​ ​to​ ​promote​ ​a​ ​company,​ ​service​ ​or​ ​product​ ​or
are​ ​used​ ​to​ ​inform​ ​the​ ​user​ ​of​ ​what​ ​kind​ ​of​ ​software​ ​or​ ​browser​ ​is​ ​necessary​ ​in​ ​order​ ​to​ ​view​ ​the
rest​ ​of​ ​the​ ​site’s​ ​pages.

A​ ​Splash​ ​page​ ​is​ ​often​ ​used​ ​as​ ​a​ ​marketing​ ​weapon​ ​and​ ​deployed​ ​to​ ​entice​ ​the​ ​user​ ​into​ ​buying
something​ ​or​ ​subscribe​ ​them​ ​to​ ​a​ ​newsletter​ ​campaign​ ​or​ ​achieve​ ​other​ ​marketing​ ​objectives.

Title​ ​tag
Title​ ​tag​ ​stands​ ​for​ ​the​ ​Content​ ​placed​ ​inside​ ​the​ ​<title>​ ​</title>​ ​tags​ ​used​ ​in​ ​the​ ​HTML​ ​source
code​ ​of​ ​a​ ​webpage.​ ​Title​ ​tags​ ​are​ ​extremely​ ​important​ ​for​ ​Search​ ​engine​ ​optimization​ ​since​ ​the
content​ ​of​ ​the​ ​title​ ​tags​ ​is​ ​shown​ ​in​ ​Search​ ​result​ ​pages​ ​and​ ​Search​ ​engines​ ​pay​ ​extra
importance​ ​in​ ​the​ ​content​ ​of​ ​the​ ​title​ ​tag.​ ​Learn​ ​more​ ​about​ ​creating​ ​SEO​ ​friendly​ ​Title​ ​Tags.
 45

URL​ ​rewrite
URL​ ​rewrite​ ​is​ ​the​ ​process​ ​of​ ​“rewriting”​ ​or​ ​“changing”​ ​the​ ​URL​ ​of​ ​web​ ​pages​ ​by​ ​the​ ​web​ ​server
where​ ​the​ ​website​ ​is​ ​hosted.​ ​If​ ​you​ ​have​ ​a​ ​website​ ​with​ ​dynamic​ ​URL’s​ ​that​ ​are​ ​genarated​ ​by
the​ ​content​ ​management​ ​system​ ​used​ ​in​ ​the​ ​website,​ ​you​ ​must​ ​consider​ ​using​ ​URL​ ​re-writing​ ​to
create​ ​better,​ ​prettier​ ​URL’s​ ​which​ ​are​ ​friendly​ ​to​ ​search​ ​engines​.

Unique​ ​Content
Unique​ ​content​ ​refers​ ​to​ ​content​ ​that​ ​is​ ​unique​ ​to​ ​a​ ​website​ ​and​ ​available​ ​nowhere​ ​else.​ ​Unique
content​ ​is​ ​carefully​ ​written​ ​content​ ​by​ ​an​ ​editorial​ ​team​ ​and​ ​often​ ​takes​ ​lots​ ​of​ ​time​ ​to​ ​develop
and​ ​brainstorm​ ​through.​ ​Google​ ​and​ ​other​ ​search​ ​engines​ ​love​ ​unique​ ​content​ ​and​ ​the​ ​more
unique​ ​the​ ​content​ ​is,​ ​the​ ​better​ ​it​ ​is​ ​for​ ​the​ ​long-term​ ​success​ ​of​ ​your​ ​website.

Unique​ ​content​ ​does​ ​not​ ​mean​ ​that​ ​the​ ​topic​ ​or​ ​the​ ​subject​ ​of​ ​a​ ​page​ ​has​ ​to​ ​be​ ​unique.​ ​What​ ​it
means​ ​is​ ​that​ ​the​ ​idea​ ​presented​ ​must​ ​be​ ​original​ ​in​ ​nature​ ​and​ ​not​ ​taken​ ​from​ ​somewhere​ ​else.
100​ ​Bloggers​ ​can​ ​present​ ​the​ ​same​ ​idea​ ​in​ ​their​ ​own​ ​words​ ​and​ ​all​ ​of​ ​the​ ​blog​ ​posts​ ​will​ ​be
unique​ ​content​ ​since​ ​each​ ​blog​ ​post​ ​contains​ ​the​ ​facts​ ​and​ ​theories​ ​about​ ​the​ ​idea​ ​from​ ​an
individual​ ​author’s​ ​perspective.

User​ ​agent
A​ ​user​ ​agent​ ​is​ ​a​ ​software​ ​that​ ​is​ ​acting​ ​on​ ​behalf​ ​of​ ​a​ ​user.​ ​One​ ​common​ ​use​ ​of​ ​the​ ​term​ ​refers
to​ ​a​ ​web​ ​browser​ ​telling​ ​a​ ​website​ ​information​ ​about​ ​the​ ​browser​ ​and​ ​operating​ ​system.​ ​This
allows​ ​the​ ​website​ ​to​ ​customize​ ​content​ ​for​ ​the​ ​capabilities​ ​of​ ​a​ ​particular​ ​device,​ ​but​ ​also​ ​raises
privacy​ ​issues.​ ​Learn​ ​more.
 46

Vertical​ ​search
A​ ​vertical​ ​search​ ​engine​ ​as​ ​distinct​ ​from​ ​a​ ​general​ ​web​ ​search​ ​engine​ ​focuses​ ​on​ ​a​ ​specific
segment​ ​of​ ​online​ ​content.​ ​They​ ​are​ ​also​ ​called​ ​specialty​ ​or​ ​topical​ ​search​ ​engines.​ ​The​ ​vertical
content​ ​area​ ​may​ ​be​ ​based​ ​on​ ​topicality,​ ​media​ ​type,​ ​or​ ​genre​ ​of​ ​content.​ ​Common​ ​verticals
include​ ​shopping,​ ​the​ ​automotive​ ​industry,​ ​legal​ ​information,​ ​medical​ ​information,​ ​scholarly
literature,​ ​job​ ​search,​ ​and​ ​travel.​ ​Learn​ ​more​.

Web​ ​hosting
Web​ ​hosting​ ​stands​ ​for​ ​using​ ​a​ ​service​ ​to​ ​host​ ​your​ ​website​ ​so​ ​that​ ​the​ ​content​ ​of​ ​the​ ​website​ ​is
accessible​ ​by​ ​anyone.​ ​In​ ​general,​ ​web​ ​hosting​ ​implies​ ​to​ ​web​ ​hosting​ ​companies​ ​who​ ​sell​ ​web
hosting​ ​plans​ ​to​ ​customers​ ​in​ ​exchange​ ​of​ ​giving​ ​them​ ​all​ ​the​ ​necessary​ ​tools​ ​and​ ​services​ ​to
host​ ​and​ ​develop​ ​their​ ​websites.​ ​Most​ ​common​ ​web​ ​hosting​ ​providers​ ​are​ H
​ ostgator​,​ ​Bluehost​,
Dreamhost​,​ ​Wp​ ​Engine​​ ​and​ ​so​ ​on.

There​ ​are​ ​free​ ​web​ ​hosting​ ​providers​ ​who​ ​will​ ​let​ ​you​ ​create​ ​your​ ​basic​ ​website​ ​for​ ​free,​ ​at​ ​no
cost​ ​at​ ​all.​ ​Premium​ ​web​ ​hosting​ ​is​ ​used​ ​by​ ​people​ ​who​ ​want​ ​to​ ​go​ ​the​ ​extra​ ​mile.​ ​If​ ​you​ ​are
really​ ​serious​ ​about​ ​building​ ​a​ ​quality​ ​website,​ ​you​ ​can​ ​go​ ​premium​ ​at​ ​some​ ​point​ ​or​ ​other​ ​and
choose​ ​a​ ​reliable​ ​and​ ​trustworthy​ ​web​ ​hosting​ ​company​ ​to​ ​host​ ​your​ ​website​ ​with.

White​ ​Hat
White​ ​hat​ ​refers​ ​to​ ​the​ ​practice​ ​of​ ​applying​ ​legitimate​ ​SEO​ ​principles​ ​and​ ​strategies​ ​to​ ​naturally
grow​ ​the​ ​traffic​ ​and​ ​presence​ ​of​ ​a​ ​website​ ​in​ ​Google​ ​search​ ​results.​ ​White​ ​hat​ ​generally​ ​means
that​ ​the​ ​website​ ​owner​ ​has​ ​not​ ​broken​ ​any​ ​guideline​ ​mentioned​ ​by​ ​Google​ ​webmaster​ ​search
console​ ​and​ ​has​ ​not​ ​tried​ ​to​ ​game​ ​the​ ​system​ ​by​ ​going​ ​out​ ​of​ ​his​ ​way​ ​to​ ​do​ ​whatever​ ​it​ ​takes​ ​to
improve​ ​the​ ​traffic​ ​of​ ​his​ ​website.
 47

Widget
A​ ​Widget​ ​is​ ​a​ ​small​ ​element​ ​on​ ​a​ ​website​ ​which​ ​performs​ ​a​ ​specific​ ​action​ ​or​ ​displays​ ​a​ ​specific
content,​ ​either​ ​from​ ​the​ ​same​ ​website​ ​or​ ​from​ ​another​ ​third​ ​party​ ​website.​ ​Widgets​ ​are​ ​used​ ​for
a​ ​variety​ ​of​ ​purposes.​ ​Sometimes,​ ​widgets​ ​are​ ​used​ ​to​ ​display​ ​ads,​ ​banner​ ​ads,​ ​banners,
normal​ ​text,​ ​a​ ​list​ ​of​ ​posts​ ​from​ ​another​ ​website,​ ​Tweets​ ​from​ ​Twitter.com,​ ​Facebook​ ​fan​ ​page
box​ ​–​ ​all​ ​these​ ​are​ ​some​ ​good​ ​examples​ ​of​ ​widgets.

XML​ ​Sitemaps
An​ ​XML​ ​Sitemap​ ​is​ ​an​ ​XML​ ​file​ ​placed​ ​at​ ​the​ ​root​ ​of​ ​a​ ​website​ ​which​ ​contains​ ​all​ ​the​ ​URL’s​ ​of
the​ ​website​ ​listed​ ​so​ ​that​ ​search​ ​engines​ ​can​ ​use​ ​this​ ​file​ ​as​ ​a​ ​reference​ ​to​ ​find​ ​all​ ​the​ ​content
available​ ​on​ ​the​ ​website.​ ​A​ ​search​ ​bot​ ​can​ ​discover​ ​and​ ​“Find”​ ​content​ ​on​ ​its​ ​own​ ​but​ ​an​ ​XML
sitemap​ ​provides​ ​an​ ​easy​ ​roadmap​ ​to​ ​the​ ​search​ ​engine​ ​to​ ​discover​ ​content​ ​quickly​ ​and​ ​more
efficiently,​ ​one​ ​URL​ ​at​ ​a​ ​time​ ​without​ ​having​ ​to​ ​discover​ ​those​ ​URL’s​ ​the​ ​hard​ ​way.

It​ ​is​ ​strongly​ ​recommended​ ​to​ ​have​ ​an​ ​XML​ ​sitemap​ ​in​ ​your​ ​website​ ​and​ ​add​ ​that​ ​sitemap​ ​in
your​ ​Google​ ​search​ ​console​ ​account​ ​to​ ​see​ ​statistics​ ​and​ ​reports​ ​about​ ​the​ ​“Crawl​ ​status”​ ​of​ ​all
the​ ​pages​ ​on​ ​your​ ​website.

Yahoo
Yahoo​ ​is​ ​a​ ​search​ ​engine​ ​which​ ​was​ ​one​ ​of​ ​the​ ​primitive​ ​ways​ ​to​ ​discover​ ​content​ ​on​ ​the
internet.​ ​Before​ ​Google​ ​became​ ​popular,​ ​it​ ​was​ ​Yahoo​ ​which​ ​was​ ​used​ ​by​ ​almost​ ​everyone​ ​for
everything​ ​–​ ​search,​ ​email,​ ​web​ ​chat,​ ​IRC,​ ​and​ ​other​ ​internet​ ​activities.
 48

Nofollow
Nofollow​ ​is​ ​an​ ​attribute​ ​used​ ​in​ ​the​ ​source​ ​code​ ​of​ ​a​ ​hyperlink​ ​which​ ​is​ ​used​ ​to​ ​tell​ ​search
engines​ ​that​ ​this​ ​hyperlink​ ​is​ ​not​ ​necessarily​ ​an​ ​endorsement​ ​to​ ​the​ ​target​ ​website​ ​and​ ​it​ ​should
not​ ​influence​ ​the​ ​ranking​ ​of​ ​the​ ​target​ ​website​ ​in​ ​search​ ​engine​ ​result​ ​pages.​ ​Nofollow​ ​attribute
is​ ​used​ ​to​ ​control​ ​the​ ​flow​ ​of​ ​link​ ​juice​ ​from​ ​your​ ​site​ ​to​ ​other​ ​sites​ ​and​ ​to​ ​even​ ​other​ ​internal
pages​ ​of​ ​your​ ​website.​ ​It​ ​is​ ​also​ ​used​ ​to​ ​link​ ​to​ ​sites​ ​you​ ​necessarily​ ​do​ ​not​ ​endorse​ ​but​ ​must
have​ ​to​ ​link​ ​to​ ​for​ ​necessary​ ​reasons.​ ​Learn​ ​more​ ​on​ ​using​ ​Rel​ ​Nofollow​ ​for​ ​Search​ ​engine
optimization​ ​of​ ​your​ ​website.

Robots.txt
A​ ​Robots.txt​ ​file​ ​is​ ​a​ ​simple​ ​text​ ​file​ ​placed​ ​at​ ​the​ ​root​ ​of​ ​a​ ​website​ ​which​ ​is​ ​used​ ​to​ ​instruct
search​ ​engine​ ​bots​ ​on​ ​which​ ​pages​ ​to​ ​crawl​ ​and​ ​index​ ​and​ ​which​ ​pages​ ​they​ ​are​ ​not​ ​allowed​ ​to
crawl​ ​and​ ​index.​ ​It​ ​is​ ​a​ ​way​ ​to​ ​restrict​ ​search​ ​engines​ ​from​ ​crawling​ ​specific​ ​pages​ ​or​ ​sections​ ​of
your​ ​website.​ ​The​ ​purpose​ ​of​ ​robots.txt​ ​is​ ​not​ ​to​ ​have​ ​unimportant​ ​pages​ ​being​ ​indexed​ ​by
search​ ​engines.​ ​See​ ​an​ ​example​ ​of​ ​a​ ​Robots.txt​ ​file.​ ​Learn​ ​more​ ​on​ ​using​ ​a​ ​Robots.txt​ ​file​ ​for
search​ ​engine​ ​optimization​ ​of​ ​your​ ​website​.
 49

We​ ​hope​ ​you​ ​have​ ​liked​ ​this​ ​detailed​ ​SEO​ ​glossary.​ ​If​ ​you​ ​feel​ ​we​ ​have​ ​missed​ ​something,​ ​feel
free​ ​to​ ​write​ ​to​ ​us​ ​at​ ​[email protected]​​ ​and​ ​we​ ​will​ ​incorporate​ ​your​ ​suggestions​ ​in​ ​the
GLossary.

Be​ ​sure​ ​to​ ​check​ ​out​ ​our​ ​Blogging​ ​glossary​​ ​and​ ​read​ ​our​ ​SEO​ ​Guide​​ ​which​ ​contains​ ​useful
information​ ​about​ ​SEO​ ​and​ ​we​ ​have​ ​discussed​ ​in​ ​detail​ ​key​ ​SEO​ ​Concepts​ ​with​ ​examples.