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| SEO
Terms* |
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| Algorithm |
| A set of rules that
a search engine uses to rank the listings contained within its index,
in response to a particular query. No search engine reveals exactly
how its own algorithm works, to protect itself from competitors and
those who wish to spam the search engine. |
| Backlinks |
| All the links pointing
at a particular web page. Also called inbound links. |
| Banned |
| When pages are removed
from a search engine's index specifically because the search engine
has deemed them to be spamming or violating some type of guidelines. |
| Clickthrough Rate (CTR) |
| The percentage of those
clicking on a link out of the total number who see the link. For example,
imagine 10 people do a web search. In response, they see links to
a variety of web pages. Three of the 10 people all choose one particular
link. That link then has a 30 percent clickthrough rate. |
| Cost Per Click (CPC) |
| System where an advertiser
pays an agreed amount for each click someone makes on a link leading
to their web site. |
| Delisting |
| When pages are removed
from a search engines index. This may happen because they have been. |
| Directories |
| A type of search engine
where listings are gathered through human efforts, rather than by
automated crawling of the web. In directories, web sites are often
reviewed, summarized in about 25 words and placed in a particular
category. |
| Doorway Page |
| A web page created
expressly in hopes of ranking well for a term in a search engine's
non-paid listings and which itself does not deliver much information
to those viewing it. Instead, visitors will often see only some enticement
on the doorway page leading them to other pages (i.e., "Click
Here To Enter), or they may be automatically propelled quickly past
the doorway page. With cloaking, they may never see the doorway page
at all. Several search engines have guidelines against doorway pages,
though they are more commonly allowed in through paid inclusion programs.
Also referred to as bridge pages, gateway pages and jump pages, among
other names. |
| Index |
| The collection of information
a search engine has that searchers can query against. With crawler-based
search engines, the index is typically copies of all the web pages
they have found from crawling the web. With human-powered directories,
the index contains the summaries of all web sites that have been categorized. |
| Landing Page |
| The specific web page
that a visitor ultimately reaches after clicking a search engine listing.
Marketers attempt to improve conversion rates by testing various landing
page creative, which encompasses the entire user experience including
navigation, layout and copy. |
| Link Popularity |
| A raw count of how
"popular" a page is based on the number of backlinks it
has. It does not factor in link context or link quality, which are
also important elements in how search engines make use of links to
impact rankings. |
| Link Text |
| The text that is contained
within a link. For example, search engine is a link that contains
the link text "search engine." |
| Listings |
| The information that
appears on a search engine's results page in response to a search. |
| Meta Search Engine |
| A search engine that
gets listings from two or more other search engines, rather than through
its own efforts. |
| Meta Tags |
| Information placed
in a web page not intended for users to see but instead which typically
passes information to search engine crawlers, browser software and
some other applications. |
| Meta Description Tag |
| Allows page authors
to say how they would like their pages described when listed by search
engines. Not all search engines use the tag. |
| Meta Keywords Tag |
| Allows page authors
to add text to a page to help with the search engine ranking process.
Not all search engines use the tag. |
| Meta Robots Tag |
| Allows page authors
to keep their web pages from being indexed by search engines, especially
helpful for those who cannot create robots.txt files. The Robots Exclusion
page provides official details. |
| Organic Listings |
| Listings that search
engines do not sell (unlike paid listings). Instead, sites appear
solely because a search engine has them to be included, regardless
of payment. Paid inclusion content is also often considered "organic"
even though it is paid for. This is because that content usually appears
intermixed with unpaid organic results. |
| Outbound Links |
| Links on a particular
web page leading to other web pages, whether they are within the same
web site or other web sites. |
| Paid Inclusion |
| Advertising program
where pages are guaranteed to be included in a search engine's index
in exchange for payment, though no guarantee of ranking well is typically
given |
| Pay-Per-Click (PPC) |
| Stands for pay-per-click
and means the same as cost-per-click. |
| Paid Listings |
| Listings that search
engines sell to advertisers, usually through paid placement or paid
inclusion programs. |
| Pay-for-Performance |
| Term popularized by
some search engines as a synonym for pay-per-click, stressing to advertisers
that they are only paying for ads that "perform" in terms
of delivering traffic, as opposed to CPM-based ads, where ads cost
money, even if they don't generate a click. |
| Paid Placement |
| Advertising program
where listings are guaranteed to appear in response to particular
search terms, with higher ranking typically obtained by paying more
than other advertisers. Paid placement listings can be purchased from
a portal or a search network. Search networks are often set up in
an auction environment where keywords and phrases are associated with
a cost-per-click (CPC) fee. Overture and Google are the largest networks,
but MSN and other portals sometimes sell paid placement listings directly
as well. Portal sponsorships are also a type of paid placement. |
| Rank |
| How well a particular
web page or web site is listed in a search engine results. For example,
a web page about apples may be listed in response to a query for "apples."
However, "rank" indicates where exactly it was listed --
be it on the first page of results, the second page or perhaps the
200th page. |
| Reciprocal Link |
| A link exchange between
two sites. |
| Results Page (SERP’s) |
| After a user enters
a search query, the page that is displayed, is call the results page. |
| Robots.txt |
| A file used to keep
web pages from being indexed by search engines. The Robots Exclusion
page provides official details. |
| ROI |
| Stands for "Return
On Investment" and refers to the percentage of profit or revenue
generated from a specific activity. For example, one might measure
the ROI of a paid listing campaign by adding up the total amount spent
on the campaign (say $200) versus the amount generated from it in
revenue (say $1,000). The ROI would then be 500 percent. |
| Search Engine Marketing |
| The act of marketing
a web site via search engines, whether this be improving rank in organic
listings, purchasing paid listings or a combination of these and other
search engine-related activities. |
| Search Engine Optimization (SEO) |
| The act of altering
a web site so that it does well in the organic, crawler-based listings
of search engines. In the past, has also been used as a term for any
type of search engine marketing activity, though now the term search
engine marketing itself has taken over for this. |
| Search Terms/Phrases |
|
Search Terms/Phrases: The words (or word) a searcher enters into a
search engine's search box. Also used to refer to the terms a search
engine marketer hopes a particular page will be found for. Also called
keywords, query terms or query. |
| Spam |
Any search engine marketing
method that a search engine deems to be detrimental to its efforts
to deliver relevant, quality search results. Some search engines have
written guidelines about what they consider to be spamming, but ultimately
any activity a particular search engine deems harmful may be considered
spam, whether or not there are published guidelines against it.
Spider: See Crawler. |
| Submission |
The act to submitting
a URL for inclusion into a search engine's index. Unless done through
paid inclusion, submission generally does not guarantee listing. In
addition, submission does not help with rank improvement on crawler-based
search engines unless search engine optimization efforts have been
taken. Submission can be done manually (i.e., you fill out an online
form and submit) or automated, where a software program or online
service may process the forms behind the scenes.
* courtesy SEMPO.org |
