The words we
actually use.
36 terms defined by practitioners — including AI-search vocabulary you won't find in older references. Every definition includes an example and, where useful, cross-links.
A
AEO (Answer Engine Optimization)
AI SearchOptimising content to be cited by answer engines like Google's AI Overviews, Perplexity, and ChatGPT.
AI Overviews
AI SearchGoogle's AI-generated summary panel at the top of many SERPs.
Alt text
On-PageText alternative for images, used by screen readers and search engines.
Anchor text
Off-PageThe visible, clickable text of a hyperlink.
C
Canonical tag
Technical SEOAn HTML tag that tells search engines which URL is the master version of a page.
Citation (local)
LocalA mention of a business's NAP on a third-party site.
CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift)
Technical SEOHow much visible layout shifts during a page's lifetime.
Content cluster (pillar & spokes)
ContentA pillar page plus supporting pages, all internally linked around a single entity.
Conversion
AnalyticsA user action of business value: purchase, lead form, phone call, booking.
Core Web Vitals
Technical SEOGoogle's field-measured page-experience metrics: LCP, INP, and CLS.
Crawl budget
Technical SEOThe number of URLs a search engine will crawl on a site in a given window.
CTR (Click-Through Rate)
AnalyticsThe percentage of search impressions that result in a click — clicks divided by impressions.
E
G
GA4 (Google Analytics 4)
AnalyticsGoogle's event-based analytics platform.
GEO (Generative Engine Optimization)
AI SearchOptimising for large-language-model-powered search surfaces.
Google Business Profile
LocalA free business listing that drives visibility in Google Maps and the local pack.
Google Search Console
AnalyticsGoogle's free reporting and diagnostic tool for organic search performance.
I
Impression
AnalyticsA count of times a page URL appeared in search results for a user.
INP (Interaction to Next Paint)
Technical SEOThe Core Web Vitals metric that measures how quickly a page responds to user interactions.
Internal linking
On-PageLinks between pages on the same domain — a primary lever for ranking and crawl distribution.
M
S
T
A working vocabulary, not a copy-pasted dictionary.
Search vocabulary has fractured faster than most reference sites have kept up with. Classic SEO terms — crawl budget, canonical tag, domain authority — now sit alongside AI-search terms like AEO, GEO, and AI Overviews citation behaviour, and the two vocabularies overlap in ways older glossaries don't capture. This page tracks both.
It's written for people who hit an unfamiliar term mid-conversation and need a precise answer, not a marketing paragraph: an in-house marketer briefing a developer, a business owner reading an agency proposal, or a junior practitioner building their own vocabulary. Each definition is short enough to read in under a minute and specific enough to actually settle an argument.
Categories — AI search, technical, on-page, off-page, local, analytics, and content — group terms by the part of an SEO programme they belong to, so you can browse a discipline rather than the alphabet if that's more useful.
How definitions are researched and maintained
- Practitioner-written, not scraped
Every definition is drafted by someone who has applied the concept on a live account, then checked against the current, official source — Google's documentation, schema.org, or the relevant standards body.
- One example per term
Wherever a term benefits from a concrete illustration, we include one drawn from real work rather than a hypothetical scenario.
- Cross-referenced, not isolated
Related terms are linked explicitly — E-E-A-T links to trust signals and author bios, canonical tag links to duplicate content — so you build a map, not a list.
- Revised when the underlying concept changes
When Google or a standards body changes what a term means in practice, we rewrite the definition rather than appending a caveat at the bottom.
- No invented jargon
We don't coin new terminology to sound proprietary; every entry reflects vocabulary genuinely in use across the industry or in official documentation.
Building vocabulary in the right sequence
The glossary is designed for lookup, not linear reading, but if you're building SEO literacy from scratch, this order avoids the most common confusion points:
- Step 1 — Core mechanics
Start with the technical category — crawling, indexation, Core Web Vitals — since nearly every other term assumes you understand these first.
- Step 2 — Content and authority
Move to on-page and off-page terms, including E-E-A-T, to understand how content and reputation feed the ranking systems described in step one.
- Step 3 — AI search and local
Finish with AI-search terms like AEO and GEO, and local-specific terms like Google Business Profile — the two fastest-moving corners of the vocabulary.
The glossary is the foundation layer
Every pillar guide and most blog posts assume the vocabulary defined here rather than re-explaining it inline — that's why the individual term pages link back out to the guide chapters and posts that apply the concept in practice. Several terms also map directly to a service: if a definition describes a deliverable we build for clients, the term page links through to where that work is actually scoped.
What people get wrong about SEO terminology
- “AEO and GEO are the same thing with different names.” AEO targets structured answer boxes and voice results; GEO targets how generative AI models synthesise and cite sources — related, but distinct disciplines.
- “Domain authority is a Google ranking factor.” It's a third-party metric built by an SEO tool vendor, not a number Google uses internally, even though it correlates loosely with ranking strength.
- “E-E-A-T is a score you can check.” It's a set of quality guidelines Google's raters and systems assess qualitatively, not a numeric score you can look up anywhere.
- “Core Web Vitals thresholds are fixed forever.” Google has changed the specific metrics measured — Cumulative Layout Shift and the retirement of First Input Delay in favour of Interaction to Next Paint are recent examples.
- “Schema markup guarantees rich results.” Structured data makes a page eligible for a rich result; it doesn't guarantee the SERP will actually render one.
Questions readers ask about the glossary
- How is a glossary term different from a dictionary definition?
- Each entry pairs a plain-language definition with a worked example from actual SEO work, plus cross-references to related terms — closer to a technical reference than a dictionary listing.
- Why do some terms include an FAQ and others don't?
- Terms that generate genuine practitioner confusion — like the difference between AEO and GEO, or E-E-A-T and domain authority — carry an FAQ section. Straightforward terms don't need one padded on artificially.
- How often are definitions reviewed?
- We review the glossary whenever a term's real-world meaning shifts — for example, when Google formalised guidance on AI Overviews citations, or when Core Web Vitals metrics changed. Stale definitions get rewritten, not just re-dated.
- Do you cover AI-search terminology like AEO and GEO?
- Yes, deliberately. Many general SEO glossaries haven't caught up to answer-engine and generative-engine terminology; ours treats it as core vocabulary, not an addendum.
- Can I search for a term instead of browsing A–Z?
- The search box above filters by term name and short definition in real time, and the category filters narrow the list to a single discipline such as technical, local, or analytics.
- Are these definitions specific to Google, or search generally?
- Most terms apply across search engines and AI answer engines; where a definition is Google-specific — a particular ranking system or SERP feature — the entry says so explicitly.
- Who writes and maintains the glossary?
- The same practitioners who write the guides and blog maintain the glossary, which is why definitions include the same worked examples and cross-links rather than generic textbook phrasing.