SEO

Link

A URL embedded on a web page. If you click on the link you will be taken to that page.

XML sitemap

A guide that search engines use to help them index a website, which indicates how many pages there are, how often they are updated and how important they are.

Hyperlink

A link in an electronic document that allows you, once you click on it, to follow the link to the relevant web page.

Usability

A measure of how easy it is for a user to complete a desired task. Sites with excellent usability fare far better than those that are difficult to use.

Domain authority

A measure of the power of a domain name and is one of many search engine ranking factors. Domain authority is based on three factors: Age, Popularity, and Size.

Link Bait

A technique for creating content that is specifically designed to attract links from other web pages.

Universal Resource Locator (URL)

A web address that is unique to every page on the Internet.

Inbound Link

Another term for backlink

Hypertext Markup Language (HTML)

Certain HTML tags are used to structure the information and features within a web page.

Page Rank

Google's secret algorithm for ranking web pages in search engine results pages.

Heading Tags

Heading tags (H1, H2, H3, etc.) are standard elements used to define headings and subheadings on a web page. The number indicates the importance, so H1 tags are viewed by the spiders as being more important than H3 tags. Using target key phrases in your H tags is essential for effective SEO.

Backlink

Hyperlink that links from a Web page, back to your own Web page or Web site. Also called an Inbound Link (IBL) these links are important in determining the popularity (or importance) of your Web site. The number of backlinks influences your ranking, so the more backlinks the better.

Outbound Links

Links to authority sites (popular blogs, news sites and .edu and .gov resources). Have at least 2 in every piece of content that you publish.

On-Page Optimization

Making changes to the HTML code, content and structure of a website, making it more accessible for search engines, and by extension, easier for users to find.

5 elements that make up effective SEO

Popularity, Authority, Relevance, Trust & Importance

Search engine spiders

Programs that travel the web, following links and building up the indexes of search engines.

Meta tags

Tags that tell search engine spiders what exactly a web page is about. It's important that your meta tags are optimised for the targeted key phrases. Meta tags are made up of meta titles, descriptions and keywords.

Alt Text or Alt Tag

The 'alt' attribute for the IMG HTML tag. It is used in HTML to attribute a text field to an image on a web page, normally with a descriptive function, telling a search engine or user what an image is about and displaying the text in instances where the image is unable to load.

Internet Protocol (IP) address

The Internet Protocol (IP) address is an exclusive number that is used to represent every single computer in a network.

Domain name

The easy-to-read name used to identify an IP address of a server that distinguishes it from other systems on the World Wide Web

Home Page

The first page of any website. The home page gives users a glimpse into what your site is about - very much like the index in a book, or a magazine.

Keyword Frequency

The number of times a keyword or key phrase appears on a website.

Landing Page

The page a user reaches when clicking on a paid or organic search engine listing. The pages that have the most success are those that match up as closely as possible with the user's search query.

App store optimisation (ASO)

The process of optimising mobile and web applications for the specific web stores in which they are distributed.

Anchor Text

The visible, clickable text in a link.

Key Phrase

Two or more words that are combined to form a search query - often referred to as keywords. It is usually better to optimise for a phrase rather than a single word.

Referrer

When a user clicks on a link from one site to another, the site the user has left is the referrer. Most browsers log the referrer's URL in referrer strings. This information is vital in determining which queries are being used to find specific sites.

Keyword Rankings

Where the keywords or phrases targeted by SEO rank in the search engine results - if your targeted terms do not appear on the first three pages, start worrying.

Off-Page Optimization

is generally focused on building links to the website, and covers activities like social media and digital PR.

the internet

term given to a world wide network of computers, through which people can exchange information

SEO's 5 main areas

• A search engine friendly website structure • A well-researched list of key phrases • Content optimised to target those key phrases • Link popularity • User insights

2 Major SEO obstacles

• Technical challenges that prevent the search engine spider from accessing content. • A competitive marketing environment where everyone wants to rank highly.