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SEO Glossary – Frequent Search Engine Optimization Terms

A    B    C    D     E     F     G     H     I     J     K     L     M     N     O     P     Q     R     S     T     U     V     W     X     Y     Z

The three groups the entries of the SEO glossary fall intoTable of the three groups the entries in this glossary fall into. One, how the engine works: algorithm, search engine, SERP, URL and Pagerank, which let you read where a ranking comes from, that is what sorts the results and where they are shown. Two, how authority moves: hyperlink, anchor text, backlinks, link juice and PBN, which let you explain why one page outranks another without reaching for magic. Three, what counts as manipulation: Black Hat SEO, cloaking, keyword stuffing and negative SEO, which let you recognise a technique Google penalises before you pay for it.The entries in this glossary answer three differentquestionsAlphabetical order mixes them; the question you are asking decides which you need.WHAT IT NAMESGLOSSARY ENTRIESWHAT KNOWING IT BUYS1How theengine worksAlgorithm, search engine, SERP, URL, Pagerank.Reading where a ranking comes from: what sorts theresults, and where they are shown.2How authoritymovesHyperlink, anchor text, backlinks, link juice,PBN.Explaining why one page outranks another withoutreaching for magic.3What ismanipulationBlack Hat SEO, cloaking, keyword stuffing,negative SEO.Recognising a technique Google penalises before youpay for it.Almost every entry from A to Z falls into one of these three groups.SEO glossary. Entries from A to Z.doctor-seo.net
The three groups the entries of this glossary fall into. The grouping is made from the page’s own A-to-Z entries: the glossary cites no figures and this diagram adds none.

A

Algorithm – A mathematical formula used by web search engines, such as Google, to rank and sort the results in their search engine.
Anchor text – This is the text that links between one web page and another

B

Backlinks – These are links from other websites to yours, which recommend your site and transfer link-juice.
Black Hat SEO – Techniques to improve web positioning, unethical, and that contradict Google’s guidelines. These techniques are increasingly out of use because Google severely penalizes their use. Among others, cloaking, keyword stuffing, or backlink SPAM stand out.

C

Cannibalization – Commonly referred to as Keyword Cannibalization, occurs when two pages on the same domain come into conflict when competing for the same keywords.
Canonical Tag – Information provided to search engines since 2009, indicating which URL is to be considered by search engines in case of finding different similar URLs.
Cloaking – It is a Black Hat technique, which consists of showing different content to users and search engines.

D

Duplicate Content – A circumstance that occurs when two web pages contain all or part of the same content. Google generally recommends not to have duplicate content.

E

F

G

H

Hyperlink – Usually abbreviated as link. For more information read: What is a link?

I

J

JavaScript – Programming language used to add interactive features to a web site.

K

Keywords – These are the words that have the highest number of searches on the Internet, and therefore are repeated several times in a URL in order for search engines to select them among their results.
Keyword Cannibalization – It occurs when two pages on the same domain conflict when competing for the same keywords.
Keyword density – The proportion of a given keyword (or phrase) in relation to the overall number of words on the same web page.

L

Link – Abbreviation for “hyperlink”. In English hyperlink or commonly link.
Link Juice – It refers to the authority that is transferred from one web page to another through a link. More information on how link juice works.
The link, the link juice and the Pagerank: the path three glossary entries describeThree-step diagram built from the glossary’s own definitions. One, the link: anchor text that links one web page to another, and backlinks are the ones arriving from other sites; hyperlink, link and anchor text are three entries for the same thing. Two, the link juice: the authority that is transferred from one web page to another through a link, and a PBN is a group of interconnected sites built to transfer it to each other. Three, the Pagerank: the score Google gives each page and with which it decides which page to place at the top; negative SEO is a Black Hat technique aimed at damaging a competitor’s site. Backlink spam and cloaking are listed in the glossary as Black Hat, and Google penalises their use severely.What a link transfers, in this glossary’s own definitionsThree entries describe one path, and three more describe how it gets manipulated.1The linkAnchor text that links one webpage to another. Backlinks arethe ones arriving from othersites.ENTRIES INVOLVEDHyperlink, link and anchor text arethree entries for the same thing.2The link juiceThe authority that is transferredfrom one web page to anotherthrough a link.ENTRIES INVOLVEDA PBN is a group of interconnectedsites built to transfer it to eachother.3The PagerankThe score Google gives eachpage, and with which it decideswhich page to place at the top.ENTRIES INVOLVEDNegative SEO is a Black Hattechnique aimed at damaging acompetitor’s site.Backlink spam and cloaking are listed as Black Hat: Google penalises their use severely.SEO glossary. Entries: link, link juice, Pagerank, PBN and negative SEO.doctor-seo.net
The path described by the entries link, link juice and Pagerank, using the glossary’s literal definitions. PBN, negative SEO, backlink spam and cloaking are entries on this same page.

M

N

O

P

PBN – Acronym for “Private Blog Network”, refers to a group of interconnected websites, with the purpose of transferring each other “Link Juice”.
Pagerank – It is the score that Google gives through its algorithm to each page and with which it establishes which page to place at the top of the results of a given search.

Q

R

S

S
SaaS – “Software As A Service” refers to companies that provide a software service, i.e. computer programs.
Search engine – A web page ranking system where, when the user makes a query, the search engine returns a selection of results that, according to its analysis, best match the user’s question.
SERP – From “Search Engine Results Page”, in English: “Search Engine Results Page”. This is the name given to any list of web pages that Google, for example, offers its users after making a query.
SEO – Acronym for “Search Engine Optimization”, which means “search engine optimization”. It is a set of techniques for search engines to select a web page in the highest positions. For more information read: What is SEO?
Negative SEO – These are Black Hat techniques to damage a competitor’s website.

T

U

URL – Acronym for “Uniform Resource Locator”, it is a unique address for each web page or resource on the web, every web page, image, video, etc… has a unique and unrepeatable URL that can be accessed by entering this address in the browser.

V

W

WWW – Acronym for “World Wide Web”.

X

Y

Z