5 Important SEO Terms
- Traffic
- Links
- Search Engine Results Page
- Algorithm
- Indexing
Search engine optimization, which is also referred to as SEO, has at least five terms that you need to know. It is a proven marketing technique used to drive a site’s positioning in search engine results pages. Understanding these five SEO terms helps a marketer or website developer achieve a higher level of success, visibility, and trustworthiness on the site.
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1. Traffic
Traffic refers to the number of unique users who visit a site. Traffic can come from different sources. People might enter the site’s URL directly into their browser if they have seen it in an ad. They may come across it in a listing of search engine results after looking up information on Google. It could also come from links located on other websites or ads on social media.
2. Links
There are two kinds of links that marketers and website owners need to consider. Internal links on a site take a user from one page, such as the home page, to another page, such as the contact page. The user does not navigate off of the site and only has to click the hyperlink in order to go to the page. An external link is one from a different site. An example would be a blog post that mentions a product and has a link to the product’s page on a different site. The link typically opens a new browser tab.
3. Search Engine Results Page
When an internet user navigates to a search engine such as Google and types a word or a phrase into the search bar, the search engine refreshes the page with a list of results. This search engine results page, or SERP, has about 10 links on it. The page may also contain ads. Each link usually has a short description of what can be found on the page. If the computer has an antivirus package installed, a green checkmark may be shown next to the link in order to show that it is safe to click.
4. Algorithm
An algorithm is a set of logical instructions used by the computers that operate the search engine. Algorithms are regularly updated, which can affect the site’s placement on the SERP. The search engine algorithms crawl the internet constantly and check for new pages. They also check the keywords, content, links and other aspects of a page. This process shifts a website up or down in the SERPs and has a direct impact on a site’s ranking, traffic level, and consumer perception.
5. Indexing
According to Fit Small Business, another one of the five SEO terms that a marketer should know is indexing. The process of indexing is what a search engine does on the internet. It locates new pages on sites as well as brand-new sites and stores that information. It lists the results of its index whenever a consumer performs an internet search on a word or phrase. When a page or site is built, its owners can prevent the crawlers from indexing certain pages for specific purposes.
Before jumping into an SEO campaign or hiring someone to do it, understanding the terminology is key. Becoming familiar with common SEO terms makes it easier to learn how to use it and understand its importance. Knowing these top five SEO terms puts a website owner on the path to a first-page search engine result.