Plain definitions of 35 terms we use on the job in Geelong.
Term Index
Open any term below for a dedicated definition page.
A 404 Error is a web server response that indicates the requested page or resource cannot be found at the supplied URL. The server is reachable, but the address does not match an available resource. A missing page, deleted content, or mistyped URL can trigger this response.
Also called: 404 Not Found
An Algorithm Update is a change to the rules or signals a search engine uses to discover, assess, rank and display web pages. Search engines release updates to improve search results, address particular quality concerns or refine how systems interpret content, links, technical signals and user intent across different searches.
Also called: Search Algorithm Update
Alt Text is written content attached to an image in a webpage's HTML. Screen readers may read the text aloud to describe the image to people who cannot see it. Search engines can also use the wording to understand an image's subject and its connection to the surrounding page content.
Also called: Alternative Text, Image Alt Text
Anchor Text is the visible, clickable wording of a hyperlink. Anchor text helps users understand the destination before they follow a link. Search engines can also use anchor text as a contextual signal when interpreting the relationship between linked pages. Relevant wording describes the destination accurately without making unsupported promises about the linked content.
Also called: Link Text
A backlink is a link from one website to a page on another website. Search engines may treat backlinks as signals of discovery, relevance and authority, depending on the linking page and the surrounding context. A backlink can support organic search visibility, but its value depends on quality, relevance and editorial placement.
Also called: Inbound Link, Incoming Link
Bounce Rate is a web analytics metric that shows how often visitors leave a website after viewing a single page without taking a further measurable action. The metric helps describe engagement with an entry page, but it does not explain why a visitor left. Interpretation depends on the page purpose, visitor intent and tracking setup.
A Canonical Tag is an HTML link element that identifies the preferred URL for substantially similar pages. Search engines can use this signal when deciding which URL to index and display in search results. The tag helps consolidate duplicate or near-duplicate page signals without redirecting visitors away from the page they opened.
Also called: Canonical Link Element, Rel Canonical
Click-Through Rate is the proportion of people who select a link, advertisement or search result after seeing it. The metric shows how effectively a page element earns clicks from its available impressions. Analysts use Click-Through Rate to assess search snippets, paid advertisements, email links and other digital touchpoints.
Also called: CTR
A Content Gap is a missing or underdeveloped topic, question, or search intent that matters to an audience but is not adequately covered on a website. SEO practitioners identify content gaps by comparing existing pages with relevant search results, competitor coverage, and the information people need before taking action.
Also called: Content Gap Analysis
Core Web Vitals are user-focused performance metrics that assess how quickly a webpage loads, becomes responsive and remains visually stable. The metrics use browser data to describe real page experience, particularly during loading and interaction. Search platforms use these signals alongside other factors when assessing page quality, but they do not replace relevant content or technical accessibility.
Also called: CWV
Crawl Budget is the amount of attention a search engine crawler chooses to give a website during its visits. The allocation depends on the site’s size, technical health, update patterns and crawl demand. Crawl Budget does not guarantee indexing, rankings or visits to every page on the website.
A crawl error is a problem that prevents a search engine crawler from accessing or processing a web page. The issue may come from a broken link, server response, blocked resource, redirect, or site configuration. Crawl errors can limit how search engines discover content and assess whether pages belong in search results.
Also called: Crawling Error
Domain Authority is a predictive SEO score associated with a website’s ability to rank in search results, based mainly on the quality and strength of its backlink profile. Domain Authority is not a Google ranking factor, and the score does not guarantee rankings, traffic or visibility for any individual page or keyword.
Also called: DA
Duplicate Content is substantially similar or identical material that appears on more than one URL, either within one website or across different websites. Search engines may choose one version as the main result, while other versions receive less visibility. Duplicate content can arise from product variations, print pages, tracking parameters, or copied text.
A Featured Snippet is a search result that displays a direct answer above many standard organic listings. Google selects content from an indexed webpage and presents it in a format such as a paragraph, list or table. The result aims to answer a searcher’s question without requiring an immediate visit to the source page.
Also called: Answer Box, Position Zero
Google Business Profile is a free business listing that helps organisations manage how their name, address, phone number, hours and services appear across Google Search and Maps. The profile may also show photos, reviews, updates and customer questions. Businesses control the information, while Google determines how and where the listing appears.
Also called: GBP, Google My Business
A Hreflang Tag is an international SEO signal that identifies the language and regional audience for an alternate version of a webpage. Search engines use these annotations to understand relationships between equivalent pages, such as English content for Australia and French content for France. Hreflang Tags help direct searchers towards the most suitable version.
Also called: Hreflang Attribute
Impressions are the number of times a webpage, advertisement or listing is displayed to a person on a digital platform. The metric records visibility, not engagement. A search result can earn an impression even when the person does not click it, so impressions show how often content had an opportunity to be seen.
Also called: Search Impressions
Index Coverage is a report of which website URLs a search engine has stored in its index, which URLs it has excluded, and the reasons for those outcomes. The report helps you identify pages that search engines can potentially show in organic results, along with technical issues that prevent inclusion.
Also called: Index Status
Keyword Difficulty is a search engine optimisation metric that estimates how challenging it may be for a page to rank organically for a search term. The estimate usually considers the strength of competing pages, their backlinks and content quality. It helps you compare opportunities, but it does not predict a guaranteed ranking outcome.
Also called: Keyword Competition, SEO Difficulty
A Long-Tail Keyword is a specific search phrase that usually contains several descriptive words and targets a narrower need than a broad keyword. Searchers use these phrases when they have a clear question, product requirement or local service need. The phrase can guide page topics, content planning and search intent analysis.
Also called: Long-Tail Search Term
A Meta Description is a brief HTML element that summarises a webpage for search engine results. Search engines may display the text beneath a page title and URL, helping searchers understand the page before visiting. A well-written description reflects the page content and gives users a clear reason to choose the result.
Also called: Meta Description Tag
Mobile-First Indexing is a search engine approach that uses the mobile version of a website as the main source for crawling, indexing and understanding its content. The approach reflects how most searches occur on mobile devices, so missing text, structured data or links on mobile pages can affect how search engines interpret the site.
A Noindex Tag is an instruction that asks search engines not to include a webpage in their search results. The instruction usually appears in a page’s robots meta tag or HTTP header. Search engines may still crawl the page, so a noindex instruction differs from blocking access through robots.txt.
Also called: Noindex Directive, Robots Noindex
Organic Traffic is visits to a website that come from unpaid listings in search engine results. These visits usually follow a person’s search query and a click on a natural result. Organic Traffic differs from visits generated by paid advertising, social platforms, referral links, direct entry or email campaigns.
Also called: Organic Search Traffic
An Orphan Page is a website page with no internal links pointing to it from other pages on the same site. Search engines may discover the page through a sitemap, external link, or direct submission, but visitors may struggle to reach it through normal navigation. Orphan pages can weaken site structure and remain overlooked during crawling.
Also called: Orphaned Page
Page Speed is the time and efficiency involved in loading and displaying a web page in a browser. It includes the delivery of page resources, the browser’s rendering work, and the point at which a visitor can use the page. Search engines assess related signals when evaluating page experience.
Also called: Page Load Speed, Website Speed
A Redirect Chain is a sequence of URL redirects where one redirect sends a visitor or search crawler to another redirect before reaching the final page. Each extra hop adds another request and can weaken crawling efficiency, slow access, or obscure the intended destination during a website migration, redesign, or URL change.
Also called: Redirect Path
A Rich Result is an enhanced Google search listing that displays extra information from a webpage, such as ratings, prices, event details, or cooking times. The appearance depends on the page content and structured data that search engines can understand. Rich Results may occupy more visual space than standard organic listings.
Also called: Enhanced Search Result, Rich Snippet
Robots.txt is a plain-text file that gives search engine crawlers instructions about which areas of a website they may request. Website owners place the file at the site’s root address. The file can guide crawling, but it does not remove pages from search results or replace page-level indexing controls such as a noindex tag.
Also called: Robots Exclusion File
Schema Markup is structured data added to a webpage so search engines can interpret its content more clearly. The markup identifies details such as a product, service, organisation, event, or article. Search engines may use that understanding to create enhanced search results, although adding Schema Markup does not guarantee a rich result.
Also called: Schema.org Markup, Structured Data
Search Console is a free Google service that helps website owners monitor how pages appear in Google Search. The service reports search impressions, clicks, indexing status, crawl issues and search queries. Search Console also lets authorised users submit sitemaps, inspect URLs and review signals that may affect a website’s visibility.
Also called: Google Search Console, GSC
Sitemap is a file that lists important URLs on a website and provides information that helps search engines discover and understand those pages. An XML sitemap is designed for search engine crawlers, while an HTML sitemap helps people navigate a site. A sitemap does not guarantee crawling or indexing.
Also called: XML Sitemap
A Title Tag is an HTML element that states a webpage’s main subject. Search engines may use it as the clickable heading in search results, while browsers commonly show it in a tab. A clear Title Tag helps people and search systems understand the page before they open it.
Also called: Meta Title, SEO Title
A URL slug is the readable part of a web address that identifies a specific page, usually appearing after the domain name. It often contains words related to the page topic, separated by hyphens. A clear slug helps people understand the destination and supports consistent website structure and on-page SEO.
Also called: Slug, URL Path
