Plain definitions of 37 terms we use on the job in Ballarat.
Term Index
Open any term below for a dedicated definition page.
An Algorithm Update is a change to the rules or systems a search engine uses to assess, organise, and rank web pages. An update may alter how search engines interpret content, links, technical signals, or user needs. The change can affect visibility even when a website owner has not edited the site.
Also called: Search Algorithm Update
Alt Text is descriptive text attached to an image in HTML. Alt Text explains the image’s purpose or content when the image cannot be seen, supporting screen reader users and providing a textual fallback when an image fails to load. Search engines can also use this context when interpreting page content.
Also called: Alternative Text, Image Alt Text
Anchor Text is the clickable wording in a hyperlink that describes the linked page or resource. Search engines and readers use the wording as contextual information about the destination. Clear anchor text helps people understand where a link leads, while varied, relevant wording supports natural link profiles within external and internal linking.
Also called: Link Text
A bounce rate is the share of visits where a person leaves after viewing one page without taking a further tracked action. It helps describe how often landing sessions end without another page view or recorded interaction. The metric is most useful when read alongside page purpose, traffic source, device, and conversion data.
A Canonical URL is the preferred web address for a page when similar or duplicate versions exist. The canonical declaration helps search engines understand which URL represents the main version for indexing and ranking signals. It does not redirect visitors, remove duplicate pages, or guarantee that search engines will select that URL.
Also called: Canonical Link
Click-Through Rate is a percentage-based performance metric that shows how often people select a link after seeing it in search results, an advert, an email or another digital channel. It compares clicks with impressions, so the metric indicates how effectively a result or message earns attention from its audience.
Also called: CTR
Crawl Budget is the level of attention a search engine assigns to crawling a website over a period. It reflects how many URLs search engine crawlers may request and how often they return. Crawl Budget depends on site size, server capacity, crawl signals, and the value or freshness of available pages.
Crawl Error is a problem that prevents a search engine crawler from accessing or processing a webpage, resource, or website section. The issue may result from a broken link, server response, blocked access, redirect problem, or unavailable file. Crawl errors can stop affected content from being assessed for search indexing.
Also called: Crawling Error
Domain Authority is a third-party SEO metric that estimates how likely a website may be to rank in search results compared with other websites. The metric considers signals from a site’s backlink profile, including the quality and authority of linking domains. Domain Authority is a comparative guide, not a Google ranking score.
Also called: DA
Duplicate Content is a condition where substantially similar text or pages appear at more than one web address. Search engines may select one version as the preferred result, consolidate signals, or leave some versions out of search results. Similarity can occur within one website or across separate websites, whether created deliberately or accidentally.
Featured Snippet is a highlighted answer that Google may display above the standard organic results for a search query. The answer comes from a page in the search results and may appear as a paragraph, list, table, or video. Featured Snippets aim to respond directly to a searcher’s question.
Also called: Position Zero
Google Analytics is a web analytics platform that collects and organises information about how people use a website or app. It records events such as page views, form submissions and purchases, then presents reports about traffic sources, user journeys and conversions. Teams use these insights to assess performance and guide improvements.
Also called: GA
Google Business Profile is a free business listing managed through Google that displays information about a business in Google Search and Google Maps. The profile may show the business name, address, service area, opening hours, contact details, photos, reviews, and updates. Owners can edit information and respond to customer interactions.
Also called: GBP, Google My Business
Google Search Console is a free Google service that shows how your website appears in Google Search and helps you check indexing, search queries, clicks, impressions, and technical issues. It provides diagnostic data about Google’s access to your pages, but it does not directly change rankings or replace website analytics.
Also called: GSC, Search Console
A Hreflang Tag is an HTML or HTTP signal that identifies the language and regional audience for a webpage. Search engines use matching hreflang signals to serve the most suitable version in results. The signal connects equivalent pages, such as Australian English and United Kingdom English versions, without merging their intended audiences.
Also called: Hreflang Attribute
An Image Sitemap is an XML sitemap that provides search engines with additional information about images associated with a website's pages. It can identify image URLs that standard crawling may not discover easily, especially images loaded through scripts or galleries. An Image Sitemap supports image discovery but does not guarantee indexing or image search visibility.
Index Coverage is a report that shows which website URLs Google has discovered, crawled and stored in its search index. It groups URLs by status, such as indexed, excluded, blocked or affected by an error. The report helps you identify pages that cannot appear in Google Search and the reasons for those outcomes.
Also called: Indexing Coverage
Keyword Cannibalisation is an SEO problem where multiple pages on one website target the same or closely related search query. The pages compete for visibility, clicks and relevance signals, which can make search engines uncertain about the page that best answers the query. The result can be inconsistent rankings and weaker organic performance.
Also called: SEO Cannibalisation
Link Equity is the value and authority that a hyperlink may pass from one page to another through relevance, prominence, and search-engine signals. It can support the receiving page's ability to rank, although no link guarantees a ranking result. Search engines assess links in context, including source quality and editorial purpose.
Also called: Link Juice
Local Pack is a prominent local search result that displays selected businesses for a location-based query. It commonly shows business names, map positions, categories, contact details, reviews and opening information. The feature appears within a search results page and helps people compare nearby providers without opening multiple business websites.
Also called: Google Local Pack, Map Pack
A Long-Tail Keyword is a specific search phrase that usually contains several words and targets a clearly defined need. Long-tail keywords often describe a product, service, location, question, or desired outcome. Their detailed wording helps search engines and website owners connect a page with a narrower search intent.
Also called: Long-Tail Search Term
A Meta Description is an HTML summary that describes a webpage for search engine results. Search engines may display the summary beneath the page title and URL. The text helps people judge whether a result matches their search, although search engines can replace it with page content when another extract better fits the query.
Also called: Meta Description Tag
Mobile-First Indexing is the practice Google uses to assess and index the mobile version of a website as its primary version. Google compares the mobile page’s content, structured data, images and links when deciding how the page can appear in search. Desktop presentation remains relevant to people who use larger screens.
Also called: Mobile-First Index
NAP Consistency is the accurate and uniform use of a business's name, address, and phone number across its website, business profiles, directories, and other online listings. It requires matching details, spelling, formatting, and contact information so search engines and people can connect separate references to the same local business.
Also called: Name Address Phone Consistency
Noindex Tag is a directive that tells search engines not to include a webpage in their search results. Website owners place the directive in a page’s robots meta tag or HTTP response header. Search engines may still crawl the page, and the directive does not stop other pages from linking to it.
Also called: Meta Robots Noindex, Noindex Directive
Organic Search is the unpaid traffic that reaches a website through a search engine results page. It comes from a page appearing naturally for a query, without payment for the individual visit. Search engines assess relevance, usefulness, technical access and other signals when deciding which pages to show.
Also called: Organic Results
Page Experience is a group of signals that describe how easily and comfortably people can use a web page. The signals cover loading behaviour, interactivity, visual stability, mobile usability, secure browsing, intrusive interruptions and page delivery. Search engines assess these qualities alongside content relevance and other technical factors when interpreting page quality.
Also called: Google Page Experience
PageRank is a link analysis system that estimates the importance of web pages through the links pointing to them. The system treats links as signals of endorsement, while considering the importance of the linking page and how its authority is distributed. PageRank describes link value, not a complete measure of search visibility.
Also called: Google PageRank
Page Speed is the time and responsiveness a web page shows while a browser loads its content and responds to user actions. The term covers loading resources, displaying visible content, and accepting interaction. Search practitioners assess it through user experience signals and technical measurements from real or simulated visits.
Also called: Site Speed, Website Speed
Pillar Page is a central, in-depth webpage that covers a broad topic and links to more focused supporting pages. The page gives readers a clear overview while helping search engines understand how related content fits together. A pillar page usually targets a broad search need and guides visitors towards detailed answers.
Also called: Content Hub Page, Pillar Content
Redirect Chain is a sequence of server redirects that sends a requested URL through one or more intermediate URLs before reaching the final destination. Each redirect adds another step to the request. Search engines and browsers can follow the sequence, but unnecessary steps can slow access and complicate crawling, reporting and troubleshooting.
Also called: Redirect Loop
Rich Results are enhanced listings in search results that display extra information beyond a standard title, URL, and description. The added details come from structured data on a webpage and may include ratings, prices, event details, recipes, images, or other content features. Search engines decide whether eligible pages receive these displays.
Also called: Rich Snippets
Robots.txt is a plain-text file that gives search engine crawlers instructions about which website paths they may request. The file sits at the website’s root address and can allow or disallow access for specified crawler user agents. Robots.txt guides crawling, but it does not guarantee that blocked URLs stay out of search results.
Also called: Robots Exclusion File
Schema Markup is structured data added to a webpage to describe its content in a format that search engines can interpret. The markup identifies details such as a business, service, product, article, or event. Search engines may use these details to understand the page and qualify it for enhanced search features.
Also called: Schema.org Markup, Structured Data
A Search Engine Results Page is the screen a search engine returns after someone enters a query. It can show unpaid organic listings, advertisements, local results, featured answers, images, videos, and other search features. The layout changes according to the query, the searcher’s location, device, language, and available search data.
Also called: SERP
Search Intent is the underlying purpose behind a search query. It describes what a person wants to find, compare, learn, buy, or complete when they enter words into a search engine. Understanding that purpose helps SEO practitioners match keywords with suitable pages, content formats, answers, and actions.
Also called: User Intent
A title tag is an HTML element that names a webpage in a browser tab and often supplies the clickable headline shown in search results. It gives search engines and users a concise description of the page topic. Each indexable page should have a relevant title that reflects its main subject.
Also called: Page Title, SEO Title
