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What is Search Engine Optimization? Search Engine Glossary for superior understanding about SEO

Search-Engine-Optimization (SEO)[/caption]

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What is Search Engine Optimization

Search engine optimization (SEO) is the exercise of growing the amount and superiority of traffic to website through organic search engine results. Search engine optimization is exactly how it sounds: optimizing your website’s content for search engines. That way Google (and other search engines) can easily index your content, categorize each of your pages based on the information they contain, and then serve those pages up to people who are looking for that information on the Internet.

How Search Engines Works

A search engine’s main process is threefold: crawling, indexing, and querying. Let’s define each.

• Crawling: A search engine runs a software program called a “spider” to discover content on the web.
• Indexing: The search engine analyzes the content it finds to determine what it’s about, then indexes it–or organizes the content–so that it’s quickly retrieved when the next step occurs.
• Querying: When you conduct a search online, the search engine fetches a list of results for you to consider. These search results appear on a SERP, or a Search Engine Results Page. As Google puts it, “…our algorithms look up your search terms in the index to find the appropriate pages.”

To recognize what SEO actually means, let's check below:

• Quality of traffic. You can attract all the visitors in the world, but if they're coming to your site because Google tells them you're a resource for WordPress Tips when really your website providing WordPress Tips information, that is not quality traffic. Instead you want to attract visitors who are genuinely interested in products that you offer by SERP.
• Quantity of traffic. Once you have the right people clicking through from those search engine results pages (SERPs), more traffic is superior.
• Organic results. Ads make up an important part of many SERPs. Organic traffic is any traffic that you don't have to pay for.

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In This post which is about Search Engine Glossary will help you enhanced understand some of the terms normally used in the SEO industry.

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• 404 Error Page

The web page that displays when a user tries to view a page that no longer exists or the page file name has changed.

• Bounce rate

The percentage of visitors to a particular website who navigate away from the site after viewing only one page

• Abandonment Rates

Percentage of site visitors who view a page and then exit without linking to other pages on the site.

• Alt tags

More correctly, these are ALT “attributes” (e.g. IMG is a “tag”). This is text coded in the HTML that associates words with web graphics.

• Back Links

The number of links pointing to a website, “link popularity”.

• Cache

Web content saved by the search engines in their indexes.

• Call-To-Action

A way to engage the website visitor that encourages them to interact with the company.

• Cloaking

At the same URL (web address) showing one page to a search engine spider and a different page to a human visitor. Frowned upon by search engines as deceptive, sites may be severely penalized by the engines if they use cloaking.

• Crawler-based search engines

Engines that use automated software to index the billions of files online.

• Conversion

When a website visitor takes a desired action, such as a sale or downloads a file.

• CTR (Click through Rate)

Percentage of users who click an online ad after viewing it.

• Directories

Websites that list other sites by category, e.g. Yahoo! Directory. Historically, directories typically listed entries on people or businesses, and their contact information; such directories are still in use today. A web directory includes entries about websites, including links to those websites, organized into categories and subcategories.

• Flash

Macromedia software that creates vector-based graphic animations with small file sizes for use online.

• Framed site

Using a specific type of HTML code that places “pages inside pages”. Has significant disadvantages and a few advantages.

• H1, H2, H3, H4, H5 tags

In HTML, the code used to define a page title or subhead.

• HTML Text

Text on a web page that is created using HTML (which can be indexed by the engines) as opposed to a graphic (which cannot).

• Hyperlinks

A link from one web page to another (links can also point to another location on the same page).

• Website Indexing 

Online content that the search engines can index. Some website contents are not indexing by(e.g. locked PDF files, text in a graphic, Robots.txt Blocking).

• JavaScript

A programming script used on websites.

• Keyword Stemming

Keyword stemming is a useful tool for web pages and search engine optimization. The process of keyword stemming involves taking a basic but popular keywords to a particular website and adding a prefix, suffix, or pluralization to make the keyword into a new word. Google searches not only for your search terms, but also for words that are similar to some or all of those terms, including plurals.

• Link Popularity

The number of links pointing to a website.Link popularity refers to the number of Backlinks (incoming links) that point to a given website. Link popularity is a term that refers to how many other links point towards a particular website. The term link popularity also has two different forms, Internal and External, which refer to the links coming from the websites own web pages and from other websites. Internal link popularity means the number of links to the website from web pages that belong to the particular website. External link popularity is the number of links from outside sources that lead back to the particular website. In the end, websites with high link popularity have what is called link superiority and have a reputation for being informative, as well as ranking highly on search engines. Link popularity is also an approach that many search engines take when deciding where to rank websites.

• Meta Description

HTML code that contains a descriptive sentence or two about the web page.The meta description is a ~160 character snippet, a tag in HTML, that summarizes a page's content. Search engines show the meta description in search results mostly when the searched for phrase is contained in the description. Optimizing the meta description is a very important aspect of on-page SEO.

• Natural Listings

That part of the search engine results that is not paid for, typically in the central area of the results page.

• Off-The-Page

Factors considered by the search engines when ranking a page that are not part of the web page, e.g. back links.

• On-The-Page

Factors considered by the search engines when ranking a page that are part of the web page, e.g. text content, title text, etc.

• Organic Listings

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.

• Page Rank

Devised by Google, it measures not only how many links point to a website, but the “quality” of the sites providing the links.

• Page Views

The number of requests to view a specific web page in a specific time frame (the same person could make multiple requests).

• Paid Inclusion

Paying money to be listed in a search engine or online directory. Paid inclusion is a search engine marketing product where the search engine company charges fees related to inclusion of websites in their search index. The use of paid inclusion is controversial and paid inclusion's popularity has decreased over time among search engines.

• Paid Placement

Paying money to have an advertisement shown on a search engine results page. Paid placement is a program in which advertisers' listings are guaranteed to appear on a Results Page when particular Keywords are searched. The ranking of paid placement listings is determined by competitive bidding.

• Phrase Match

Performing a search with quotation marks around the phrase so that the search results will show web pages with the exact phrase.

• Pop-up Ads

A form of online advertising that opens a new web browser window to display advertisements.

• PPC “Pay per Click”

Paying a small amount each time a user clicks on an online ad.

• Redirect

A file on the server indicating that the requested page has permanently (301) or temporarily (302) been moved to another location.

• Robots.txt

A text file that instructs the search engines about pages or directories to exclude from its database.

• ROI “Return on Investment”

How much revenue is generated compared to how much was spent on a marketing campaign

• Search Engine Marketing (SEM)

The practice of marketing and advertising through the search engines.

• Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Designing a website so that it ranks highly in the search engines when someone searches for specific phrases related to the site.

• Search Engine Rankings

The position a site has on a search results page when a specific phrase is searched for.

• Search Engine Referrals

Visitors who arrive at a website after clicking a link on a search engine results page.

• Search Engine Results Page (SERP)

The page that displays in a search engine when a specific phrase is searched for.

• Search Term

The word or words entered by the user into the search engine.

• Similar Pages

Identifies sites that the search engines think are the same theme.

• Title Tag

In HTML, an area where text is placed that shows at the very top of the browser window. Search engines consider this area critical.

• Unique Visitors

The number of individuals who visit a website during a specific time (the same person visiting twice is only counted once).

• Web Spider

Software that browses the Web in an automated manner and keeps a copy of visited pages in its database. Also known also as a crawler.

• Webinar

Online seminar that may contain audio and video.

• Search Engine Saturation

The number of web pages that a search engine has indexed from your website.

• Search Engines

A system designed to make searching the web easier. The searcher types in a query and this results in a page is full of various relevant media types (text, imagery, video, etc.). Popular examples include Google, Bing and Yahoo.

• Algorithm

The procedures or formulas that establish computer programs. Examples = search engines use algorithms to find the right results for a search query. An image editing program would use an algorithm to process the image’s data.

• Bing

The search engine developed by Microsoft. It provides a basic web search, as well as a more focused search around categories such as images, shopping, news, maps, etc.

• PageRank

Google’s ranking software that determines how relevant a web page is based on a search query. It calculates both the number of incoming links and the quality of these links.

• SEO: Search Engine Optimization

The process of getting on the results page from a search query through free/organic means. This includes producing quality content and incorporating long-tail keywords in effective ways.

• Black Hat SEO

More aggressive methods of optimization that focus on taking advantage of the more technical side of searching rather than focusing on user behavior. This goes against what SEO is intended to do and can cause your site to be penalized. Examples = keyword stuffing, Hidden text, doorway pages. (Doorway pages are web pages that are created for spamming. This is for spamming the index of a search engine by inserting results for particular phrases with the purpose of sending visitors to a different page.)

• Keyword

A word or phrase which has been identified as the one that people would use when searching for that subject matter in the search query. There are ways to optimize keywords such as through SEO

• Keyword Stuffing

The method of filling a web page with numerous keywords in order to rank higher on a search results page. Doing this make the words appear unnatural since they aren’t necessarily appropriate in the phrase when overused. This is considered an ineffective SEO tactic and Google now punishes a website through lowering their ranking if the algorithm detects this practice.

• Long-Tail Keywords

Phrases, usually three to four words that are most pertinent to what is being sold. These are identified by analyzing what a searcher might type in their search query if they were looking for a specific product or service.

• Local Search

Using geographic areas as a factor in search engine results so that the product or service comes from a certain location in regards to the user.

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