Entering the world of SEO can be like navigating a maze of jargon and technical terms. Before you meet with an SEO company, it’s essential to grasp the basic terminology so you can communicate effectively and understand the strategies being proposed. Here’s an expanded list of key terms that will help you walk into that first meeting with confidence.
1. SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
Increasing the quantity and quality of traffic to your website through organic search engine results like Google, Bing, or Yahoo.
2. Keywords
Words or phrases users enter into search engines that your content should be optimized for to appear in related search results.
3. SERP (Search Engine Results Page)
The page displayed by search engines in response to a user’s query, where your website’s ranking is critical.
4. Backlink
A link one website receives from another website, which enhances your site’s authority and ranking potential.
5. Domain Authority
A measure predicting how well a website will rank on SERPs. Higher scores correlate with greater ranking potential.
6. On-page SEO
Optimization of individual web pages to rank higher and earn more relevant traffic, focusing on both content and HTML source code.
7. Off-page SEO
Techniques used to improve a website’s position on SERPs through activities outside of the actual website, mainly building backlinks.
8. White Hat SEO
Ethical SEO tactics that adhere to search engine guidelines, focusing on a human audience.
9. Black Hat SEO
Tactics that attempt to improve rankings in ways that are disapproved of by search engines and can result in penalties.
10. Technical SEO
The optimization of website and server aspects to help search engine spiders crawl and index your site more effectively.
11. Content Marketing
Creating and sharing valuable content to attract and convert prospects into customers, and customers into repeat buyers.
12. PPC (Pay-Per-Click)
A model of internet marketing in which advertisers pay a fee each time one of their ads is clicked.
13. Google Analytics
A tool that tracks and reports website traffic, providing insights into user behavior and website performance.
14. Conversion Rate
The percentage of visitors who take a desired action on your website, indicating the effectiveness of your site content and design.
15. Alt Text
Text description for images on your site, helping search engines understand the image content and context.
16. H Tags (Heading Tags)
HTML tags used to structure content on your website, playing a crucial role in user experience and SEO.
17. Anchor Text
The clickable text in a hyperlink that is usually highlighted or underlined. SEO best practices suggest that the anchor text be relevant to the page you’re linking to.
18. Title Tags
HTML elements that specify the title of a web page, critical for user experience and SEO, displayed in SERPs as the clickable headline.
19. Meta Tags
Snippets of text that describe a page’s content; the meta tags don’t appear on the page itself, but only in the page’s code.
20. Indexing
The process by which search engines organize information before a search to enable super-fast responses to queries.
21. Monthly SEO Value
An estimate of the equivalent cost of organic traffic to a website if it were to be purchased through PPC (Google Ads). A reflection of the value derived from organic search engine rankings.
Conclusion
These terms represent the basic vocabulary of SEO and will help you navigate initial discussions with SEO professionals. Understanding this jargon is crucial to making informed decisions about your digital marketing strategies. As you familiarize yourself with these terms, you’ll find it easier to communicate your needs and understand the strategies proposed by your SEO company, setting the stage for a successful partnership.
Marketing Magnitude is ready to give your website the boost in search engine visibility that it needs. Contact Marketing Magnitude today to set up a free consultation at 702-482-8529.
