Link Building and SEO Glossary.
Comprehensive collection of link building and SEO glossary terms. Learn more about the industry by expanding your link building and SEO knowledge.
To navigate through this glossary, simply search for the term using the search box, select the appropriate letter or scroll down to find the term you’re looking for.
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10x Content
Content built to be ten times better than the best result currently ranking for a topic.
301 Redirect
A permanent redirect that sends visitors and search engines from an old URL to a new one.
302 Redirect
A temporary redirect that keeps the original URL as the page Google indexes.
304 Not Modified
A status code telling a browser its cached copy of a page is still up to date, saving a re-download.
404 Error
The status code returned when a page cannot be found, familiar to anyone who has hit a dead link.
410 Gone
A status code that tells search engines a page is permanently gone and not coming back.
A
Advanced Search Query (Search Operators)
Special commands that refine Google searches, invaluable for link prospecting and SEO research.
AhrefsBot
The crawler behind Ahrefs, building one of the largest backlink indexes on the web.
Alt Text (Alternative Text)
Text that describes an image, serving both accessibility and image search.
Anchor Text
The visible, clickable text of a link, and a signal you can easily over-optimise if you are not careful.
Article Spinning
Rewriting existing content to mass-produce near-duplicate articles, a tactic Google actively penalises.
Article Syndication
Republishing your content on third-party sites to reach new audiences, when done correctly.
Authority (Website / Page Authority)
A broad measure of how trusted and influential a website or page is in the eyes of search engines.
AuthorRank
The concept that an author's reputation and expertise could influence how their content ranks.
Authority Score
Semrush's proprietary metric scoring a domain's overall strength, quality, and link profile.
B
Backlink
A link from another website pointing to yours, the basic unit of off-page SEO.
Backlink Audit
A systematic review of your link profile to find toxic links to remove and opportunities to chase.
Backlink Profile
The complete set of links pointing to your site, and a health check Google quietly runs on you.
Black Hat SEO
SEO tactics that break search engine guidelines to manipulate rankings, with serious risks attached.
Bounce Rate
The percentage of visitors who leave after viewing a single page, often misunderstood.
Brand Mentions
Any reference to your brand across the web, a signal of authority even without a link attached.
Branded Anchor Text
Anchor text that uses your brand name, the safest and most natural-looking link text you can earn.
Branded Keywords
Search terms that include your brand name, usually your highest-converting traffic.
Breadcrumb Navigation
A secondary navigation trail showing where a page sits within your site's hierarchy.
Broken Link
A link that points to a page that no longer exists, hurting both users and SEO.
Broken Link Building
Finding dead links on other people's sites and offering your page as the replacement, a helpful white-hat tactic.
C
Cached Page
A saved snapshot of a web page, used to serve content faster and as a historical record.
Call to Action (CTA)
A prompt that tells visitors what to do next, the bridge between traffic and conversions.
Canonical Tag
An HTML tag that tells search engines which version of a page is the original to index.
Canonical URL
The single version of a page that search engines treat as definitive among duplicates.
Citation Flow
Majestic's metric scoring the quantity of links pointing to a page, best read alongside Trust Flow.
Citations (Local Citations)
Online mentions of your business name, address and phone number, foundational for local SEO.
Cloaking
Showing search engines different content than human visitors, a clear violation of Google's rules.
Co-citation
When two sites are referenced together by others, building association even without a direct link.
Commercial Keywords
Search terms that signal buying intent, where searchers are researching before a purchase.
Content Gap Analysis
Finding the topics and keywords your competitors rank for that you do not, then closing the gaps.
Contextual Links
Links placed within relevant body content, widely regarded as the most valuable backlinks of all.
Core Web Vitals
Google's metrics for loading speed, interactivity and visual stability, part of page experience.
Cornerstone Content
The core, most important pages on your site that you most want to rank and build authority around.
Crawl Budget
The number of pages search engines will crawl on your site in a given period, a concern for large sites.
Crawlability
How easily search engines can access and read the pages on your site, a technical SEO foundation.
CTR (Click-Through Rate)
The percentage of people who click your listing after seeing it, a key measure of search appeal.
D
Deep Link
A link pointing to a specific internal page rather than the homepage, a sign of a natural profile.
Deindexed
When a page or site is removed from a search engine's index, vanishing from results entirely.
Directory (Web Directory)
A site that lists and categorises other websites, with link value that ranges from useful to harmful.
Disavow (Disavow Tool)
A Google tool for telling search engines to ignore specific harmful backlinks, to be used with caution.
Dofollow Link
A standard link that passes ranking value to its destination, the default that link building targets.
Domain Authority (DA)
Moz's 0 to 100 score predicting a site's ranking strength, widely used but often misunderstood.
Domain Rating (DR)
Ahrefs' 0 to 100 score for the strength of a site's backlink profile, a link-building staple.
Duplicate Content
Identical or very similar content appearing on more than one URL, a common technical SEO issue.
Dynamic URL
A URL generated on the fly, often full of parameters, with some SEO considerations to manage.
E
E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness)
Google's framework for assessing content quality through experience, expertise, authority and trust.
Editorial Link
A link given freely because your content earned it, the most valuable and natural backlink there is.
Ego Bait
Content that features influential people to win their attention, shares and links.
Email Outreach
Reaching out by email to pitch your content for links and coverage, the engine of most link building.
Entity-Based SEO
Optimising for concepts and their relationships rather than just keywords, central to modern search.
Evergreen Content
Content that stays relevant and keeps attracting traffic long after it is published.
External Link
A link from your site pointing to a different domain, with quiet benefits when used well.
F
Featured Snippet
The answer box at the top of Google's results, often called position zero.
Footer Links
Links placed in a site's footer, usually appearing site-wide, with limited and sometimes risky value.
Forum Links
Links from forum posts and profiles, valuable when earned through genuine participation, spammy when not.
G
Gated Content
Content placed behind a form requiring contact details, a trade-off between leads and reach.
Gateway Page
A low-value page built only to rank and funnel visitors elsewhere, against Google's guidelines.
Google Algorithm
The complex system Google uses to rank search results, constantly evolving and never fully disclosed.
Google Alerts
A free Google tool that emails you when new content matches your chosen search terms.
Google Analytics
Google's free analytics platform for understanding how visitors find and use your website.
Google Business Profile
Your free business listing on Google Search and Maps, essential for any local business.
Googlebot
Google's web crawler, the bot that discovers, reads and indexes pages for search.
Google Penalty
A demotion or removal imposed for breaking Google's guidelines, whether manual or algorithmic.
Google Penguin
The Google update that targeted manipulative links and permanently reshaped link building.
Google Search Console
Google's free tool for monitoring how your site appears and performs in search results.
Grey Hat SEO
SEO tactics that blur the line between white-hat and black-hat, carrying real but variable risk.
Guest Blogging / Guest Posting
Writing content for another website in exchange for exposure and a link, when done genuinely.
Guestographic
An infographic paired with a guest post, a link-building tactic combining visuals and written content.
H
H1 Tag
The main heading of a page, signalling its primary topic to readers and search engines.
HARO (Help A Reporter Out)
A service connecting expert sources with journalists, a route to high-authority editorial links.
Header Tags
HTML tags from H1 to H6 that structure content into headings, aiding readers and search engines.
Hilltop Algorithm
An early Google algorithm that identified authority through expert pages linking to a topic.
Holistic SEO
An approach that improves every aspect of a site rather than chasing isolated ranking tactics.
Hreflang
An HTML attribute telling search engines which language and region a page is meant for.
HTTP Status Code
Server response codes that tell browsers and crawlers the outcome of a request, several of which matter for SEO.
HTTPS
The secure, encrypted version of HTTP, now a baseline expectation for any website.
I
Inbound Link
A link from another website pointing to yours, the same thing as a backlink.
Indexability / Indexing
The process by which search engines store pages in their index so they can appear in results.
Infographic
A visual presentation of information or data, designed to be engaging, shareable and linkable.
Informational Query
A search where the user wants information or an answer rather than to buy or navigate.
Internal Link
A link from one page of your site to another, a powerful and underused SEO lever you fully control.
K
Keyword
A word or phrase people type into search engines, the starting point of most SEO.
Keyword Cannibalization
When several of your own pages compete for the same keyword, undermining each other's rankings.
Keyword Clustering
Grouping related keywords so a single page can target them together, a smarter way to plan content.
Keyword Density
How often a keyword appears relative to total word count, a metric whose importance is overstated.
Keyword Difficulty (KD)
An estimate of how hard it would be to rank for a keyword, used to prioritise your SEO targets.
Keyword Research
The process of finding and analysing the terms your audience searches for, the foundation of SEO strategy.
Keyword Stuffing
Cramming keywords unnaturally into content to manipulate rankings, a tactic that now backfires.
L
Landing Page
The page a visitor arrives on after clicking a link, with different meanings in SEO and advertising.
Latent Semantic Analysis (LSA)
A language-analysis technique often misunderstood in SEO, and the source of the "LSI keywords" myth.
Link Bait
Content created specifically to attract links, the centrepiece of content-driven link building.
Link Building
The process of earning links from other websites to your own, still one of the biggest levers in SEO.
Link Equity (Link Juice)
The ranking value passed from one page to another through a link, often called "link juice."
Link Exchange
An arrangement where two sites agree to link to each other, fine in moderation, risky at scale.
Link Farm
A group of sites created purely to link to each other, a black-hat tactic Google penalises heavily.
Link Insertion (Niche Edit)
Adding a link into already-published content on another site, also known as a niche edit.
Link Profile
The full collection of links pointing to your site, assessed as a whole for health and quality.
Link Reclamation
Recovering lost links and turning unlinked brand mentions into links, an efficient, low-risk tactic.
Link Removal
The process of getting harmful backlinks taken down, usually part of recovering from a link problem.
Link Rot
The natural decay of links over time as pages move or disappear, affecting both your links and others'.
Link Scheme
Any manipulative linking tactic intended to game rankings, in direct violation of Google's guidelines.
Link Spam
Low-quality, manipulative links created at scale, which Google's systems are built to neutralise.
Link Velocity
The rate at which your site gains or loses backlinks over time, best kept natural and believable.
Linking / Referring Domains
The unique websites that link to you, often a more meaningful metric than total backlink count.
Listicle
An article structured as a list, a popular format that performs well for traffic and links.
Local Pack
The map and cluster of business listings at the top of local search results, prime local visibility.
Local SEO
Optimising your online presence to rank in local searches and attract nearby customers.
Long-Tail Keyword
Longer, more specific search phrases with lower volume but higher intent and less competition.
M
Manual Action
A penalty applied by a human reviewer at Google for guideline violations, reported in Search Console.
Meta Description
The short summary shown under your listing in search results, your chance to win the click.
Meta Title
The clickable headline of your search listing, one of the most important on-page SEO elements.
Meta Keywords
An old HTML tag for listing target keywords, now ignored by Google and effectively obsolete.
Meta Robots Tag
An HTML tag that tells search engines how to crawl and index a specific page.
Meta Tags
HTML snippets that give search engines and browsers information about a page, some vital, some obsolete.
N
NAP (Name, Address, Phone)
Your business Name, Address and Phone number, the consistent details at the heart of local SEO.
Natural Link
A link given freely by another site without your involvement, exactly what Google wants to reward.
Negative SEO
Malicious tactics aimed at harming a competitor's rankings, a threat that is real but often overstated.
Niche Edit
Inserting a link into already-published content on another site, also called a link insertion.
Nofollow Link
A link that tells search engines not to pass ranking value, but still useful in a natural profile.
Noindex Tag
A directive telling search engines not to include a page in their index, useful when used deliberately.
Noopener
A link attribute that protects against a security risk when opening links in new tabs.
Noreferrer
A link attribute that prevents referrer information passing through, with implications for analytics.
O
Off-Page SEO
Everything done outside your own website to improve rankings, with link building at its core.
On-Page SEO
Everything you optimise on your own pages, from content to tags, fully within your control.
Organic Traffic
Visitors who reach your site through unpaid search results, often the most valuable traffic there is.
Orphan Page
A page with no internal links pointing to it, making it hard for users and search engines to find.
Outbound Link
A link from your site to another website, with quiet benefits when used thoughtfully.
Outreach
Contacting others to build relationships, earn links and win coverage, the foundation of link building.
P
Page Authority (PA)
Moz's score predicting how well an individual page will rank, the page-level counterpart to DA.
PageRank
Google's original algorithm for valuing pages by their links, the foundation of link-based ranking.
Paid Link
A backlink you pay for, which must be disclosed to comply with Google's guidelines.
PBN (Private Blog Network)
A network of sites built solely to pass links to a target site, a high-risk black-hat tactic.
Penalty
A loss of rankings or visibility for violating search engine guidelines, whether manual or algorithmic.
Penguin (Google Penguin)
The Google update that targeted manipulative links and permanently reshaped how link building works.
People Also Ask (PAA)
The expandable related-question boxes in Google's results, an opportunity for extra visibility.
Pillar Page
A comprehensive page covering a broad topic, anchoring a cluster of related supporting content.
Pogo-Sticking
When a searcher clicks a result, returns to the SERP, and clicks another, signalling dissatisfaction.
Primary Keyword
The main keyword a page is built and optimised to rank for, the focus that anchors your content.
R
RankBrain
Google's machine-learning system that helps interpret queries and their meaning, part of modern ranking.
Reciprocal Link
A mutual link where two sites link to each other, fine when natural, risky when systematic.
Redirect
A way of sending users and search engines from one URL to another, essential for preserving SEO.
Related Searches
The suggested queries Google shows around its results, a free source of keyword and content ideas.
Resource Page (Resource Link Building)
Earning links from curated resource pages, a relevant and durable white-hat link-building tactic.
Rich Snippet
A search listing enhanced with extra visual information drawn from structured data on your page.
Robots.txt
A file that tells search engine crawlers which parts of your site they may and may not access.
S
Schema Markup (Structured Data)
Code that helps search engines understand your content and can unlock enhanced search listings.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
The practice of improving a website to earn more traffic from unpaid search results.
Search Intent
The underlying goal behind a search query, and one of the most important concepts in modern SEO.
Search Volume
The average number of times a keyword is searched per month, a key but imperfect research metric.
SEO Audit
A comprehensive review of a website's SEO health, uncovering issues and opportunities to improve.
SEO Silo
A way of grouping related content through structure and internal linking to build topical authority.
SERP (Search Engine Results Page)
The page of results a search engine returns for a query, increasingly rich and competitive.
SERP Features
The special elements on a results page beyond standard listings, reshaping how search visibility works.
Sitewide Links
Links that appear across every page of a site, typically in footers or sidebars, with limited value.
Sitemap (XML Sitemap)
A file listing your important pages to help search engines discover and crawl them.
Skyscraper Technique
Creating content better than what currently ranks, then earning links to it through outreach.
Spamdexing
The deliberate manipulation of search rankings using tactics that violate search engine guidelines.
Spam Links
Low-quality, manipulative links created to game rankings, mostly ignored by Google's modern systems.
Sponsored Link (Sponsored Attribute)
A paid or sponsored link, which should carry the rel="sponsored" attribute to comply with Google's rules.
Sponsored Post
Paid-for content published on another site, which must be disclosed and have its links marked sponsored.
Structured Data
Standardised code that describes your content to search engines, enabling richer search listings.
Subdomain
A distinct section of a site that sits before the main domain, with implications for SEO structure.
T
Taxonomy SEO
Optimising the way your content is categorised and structured to help search engines and users.
Technical SEO
The work of ensuring search engines can crawl, index and understand your site, the foundation everything rests on.
Thin Content
Content that offers little genuine value to users, a quality problem Google actively demotes.
Tiered Link Building
Building layers of links that point to your other links, an aggressive tactic with real risks.
Top-Level Domain (TLD)
The final part of a domain name, like .com or .co.uk, with limited but real SEO relevance.
Topical Relevance
How closely your content and links relate to a subject, a central factor in modern relevance.
Toxic Backlinks
Harmful, low-quality links that could damage your rankings, though often best left for Google to ignore.
Trust Flow
Majestic's metric scoring the trustworthiness of a site's links, best read alongside Citation Flow.
TrustRank
A concept for distinguishing trustworthy sites from spam by analysing links from trusted seed sites.
U
UGC Link Attribute
A link attribute marking links in user-generated content like comments and forum posts.
Unlinked Mentions (Link Reclamation)
References to your brand that do not include a link, prime opportunities to earn easy backlinks.
Unnatural Links
Links built to manipulate rankings rather than earned genuinely, the kind Google penalises.
URL Rating (UR)
Ahrefs' score for the backlink strength of an individual page, the page-level counterpart to DR.
URL Slug
The part of a URL identifying a specific page, worth keeping short, descriptive and readable.
User Intent
The underlying goal behind a user's search or action, central to modern, effective SEO.
V
W
Web 2.0 Links
Links from free user-content platforms, low in value and risky when used as a manipulative tactic.
Website Authority
How trusted and influential a website is overall, built through quality content, links and reputation.
Website Structure
How your pages are organised and linked together, a foundation for crawling, rankings and usability.
White Hat SEO
SEO that follows search engine guidelines, the sustainable, durable, and ethical approach to ranking.
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