In most industries, there are terms used that seem like a foreign language to outsiders. The world of SEO is no different. As an SEO agency, we use a lot of terms that roll off our tongue, but that may leave you scratching your head and saying, “What?!” To help you out, we have compiled a cheat sheet of our most-used-but-often-unknown SEO terms:
301 Redirect
This code means that a webpage has been permanently moved to a new location. For example, this ‘About’ page moved from the URL www.example.com/about to www.example.com/meet-us. Instead of having to go back and change all of the existing links to the old location, a 301 redirect will automatically show users the new page location.
Analytics
When an SEO agency talks about analytics, they are talking about the data they have gathered about your website, such as how many visitors you have, where these visitors are finding you, how long they stay on your site, and how many different pages they checked out. We usually use Google Analytics, and other SEO tools, to gather this important information.
Indexing
If you want to show up in search results, you have to be indexed by Google. If you aren’t indexed, they don’t know you exist. Indexing is the process Google uses to examine your site and appropriately categorize it for future searches. It can take weeks for Google to index a new site or page on it’s own, which is why Google offers on-demand indexing. However, you have a yearly quota (if you don’t want to pay, you are only allowed 200 immediate indexes per year), so you want to make sure your SEO agency uses this tool wisely.
CMS
This abbreviation stands for content management system, which is basically a web-based application that allows users to manage the content of a web page. It lets you create, edit, and publish content in the form of text, pictures, and videos. The most common CMS in our business is WordPress, but others include Drupla and Joomla.
Link Juice
This is a slang term that an SEO agency might use when referring to how many inbound links your site is receiving from outside sources. Every link pointing back to your site (as long as it’s from a credible source) makes you look more reputable in the eyes of Google, so the more link juice you have, the higher your chances of ranking highly.
SERP
This super common acronym stands for Search Engine Results Page, or the page you see after you enter your keywords into Google. You will probably hear your SEO agency referring to your place on the SERPs, which is just a fancy way to talk about how high your site is ranking in Google.
Conversion
A conversion is when a visitor to your website completes the action you were trying to get them to complete. Usually, this is making a purchase (they convert to a customer), but it can also refer to signing up for your newsletter (they convert to a subscriber). SEO may get people to your site, but if you aren’t focusing on your conversion rate as well, then it’s all for nothing.
Session
Every time a visitor arrives on your site, they begin a session. When they leave, the session is over. An SEO agency will analyze what is done during these sessions to determine where your website needs improvement and where it’s shining.
Traffic
This one’s easy: Traffic refers to how many people visit your site. When Google is calculating your traffic, they are not only looking at the number of visitors, but also how long they stay on your site and what they do while they are there. You can get traffic three different ways:
- Direct Traffic – People who type your web address into their browser.
- Referral Traffic – People who find your site through links on other sites.
- Organic Traffic – People who locate your site from a search engine (thanks, SEO agency!)
- Paid Traffic – People who click on an advertisement to get to your website.
Long Tail
This is an adjective for a type of keyword. Unlike one or two word targets, long tail keywords are phrases (three or more words) that people may enter into Google. For example, instead of just targeting “plumber” you can use “who is the best plumber in Branford, Connecticut.” Long tail keywords may not get as many searches as the shorter ones, but they do allow you to capture a very specific audience, which means you have a higher chance of converting them.
Have any questions about other SEO terms? Give us a call—we would love to explain them to you.
