SEO & GEO Glossary
279 terms covering AI search optimization, traditional SEO, content strategy, and technical concepts.
Featured terms
AI Search Ranking Factors
AI SearchThe signals and factors that AI-powered search engines use to determine which sources to cite, reference, or surface in their generated responses.
Citation Optimization
AI SearchThe strategic practice of structuring and presenting content to maximize the probability of being referenced and cited as a source in AI-generated responses and search results.
Conversational Search Optimization
AI SearchThe practice of optimizing content to perform well in conversational and natural language search interfaces, including voice assistants, chatbots, and AI-powered search engines.
Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS)
TechnicalA Core Web Vitals metric that measures the sum of all unexpected layout shift scores that occur throughout the entire lifespan of a page, quantifying visual instability.
Edge SEO
TechnicalAn SEO technique that uses edge computing infrastructure to modify HTML responses at the CDN level, enabling dynamic SEO optimizations without changing origin server code.
First Contentful Paint (FCP)
TechnicalA performance metric that measures the time from when a page starts loading to when any part of the page's content is rendered on the screen.
First Input Delay (FID)
TechnicalA Core Web Vitals metric that measures the time from when a user first interacts with a page to the time when the browser is able to begin processing event handlers in response.
First Meaningful Paint (FMP)
TechnicalA deprecated performance metric that measured when the primary content of a page became visible to users, now replaced by Largest Contentful Paint (LCP).
Headless CMS SEO
TechnicalThe practice of optimizing content delivered through headless content management systems, addressing unique challenges of API-first architectures and decoupled frontends.
Interaction to Next Paint (INP)
TechnicalA Core Web Vitals metric that measures the latency of all user interactions throughout a page visit, reporting the longest duration from user input to visual feedback.
International SEO
TechnicalThe practice of optimizing websites for search engines across multiple countries and languages, ensuring content reaches the right audience in their preferred language and location.
JavaScript SEO
TechnicalThe practice of optimizing JavaScript-heavy websites for search engine crawling and indexing, ensuring dynamic content is discoverable and properly rendered.
Largest Contentful Paint (LCP)
TechnicalA Core Web Vitals metric that measures the render time of the largest image or text block visible within the viewport, relative to when the page first started loading.
Multi-Modal Search Optimization
AI SearchThe practice of optimizing content across multiple formats—text, images, video, audio, and interactive elements—to maximize visibility in AI-powered multi-modal search systems.
Progressive Web App SEO
TechnicalThe practice of optimizing Progressive Web Apps for search engines while maintaining app-like functionality, offline capabilities, and superior performance.
Prompt Optimization SEO
AI SearchThe practice of optimizing content to surface in AI-generated responses by aligning with common prompt patterns, query formations, and user interaction behaviors.
RAG Optimization
AI SearchThe practice of optimizing content to perform well in Retrieval-Augmented Generation systems that power AI search engines and chatbots by combining retrieval and generation.
Render-Blocking Resources
TechnicalCSS and JavaScript files that prevent the browser from rendering page content until they're fully downloaded and processed, significantly impacting page load performance.
Speed Index
TechnicalA performance metric that measures how quickly the contents of a page are visibly populated, calculated as the average time at which visible parts of the page are displayed.
Time to First Byte (TTFB)
TechnicalA web performance metric that measures the time from when a browser requests a page until it receives the first byte of data from the web server.
Time to Interactive (TTI)
TechnicalA performance metric that measures the time from page start until the page is reliably interactive, meaning it displays useful content, responds to user interactions within 50ms, and has registered event handlers.
Total Blocking Time (TBT)
TechnicalA lab metric that measures the total time the main thread is blocked by long tasks, preventing user input responsiveness between First Contentful Paint and Time to Interactive.
301 Redirect
TechnicalA 301 redirect is a permanent HTTP redirect that passes most link equity to the new URL.
302 Redirect
TechnicalA 302 redirect is a temporary HTTP redirect used when a URL change is not permanent.
AI Content Detection
AI SearchAI content detection identifies whether content appears AI-generated or human-written.
AI Overview
SEOAI Overview is a core SEO concept that influences how search engines evaluate, surface, or interpret pages.
AI Overview Definition
SEOAI Overview Definition is a core SEO concept that influences how search engines evaluate, surface, or interpret pages.
AI Overviews Optimization
AI SearchAI Overviews optimization improves content structure so AI summaries cite your pages.
AI Search Intent
AI SearchAI search intent is the intent behind queries directed at AI answer engines.
AI Visibility
AI SearchAI Visibility is a core SEO concept that influences how search engines evaluate, surface, or interpret pages.
AI Visibility
AI SearchAI Visibility is a core SEO concept that influences how search engines evaluate, surface, or interpret pages.
AI Visibility Definition
AI SearchAI Visibility Definition is a core SEO concept that influences how search engines evaluate, surface, or interpret pages.
AI Visibility Monitoring
AI SearchAI visibility monitoring tracks how often your brand appears in AI answers over time.
Alt Text
SEOAlt text is descriptive text for images that improves accessibility and helps search engines understand images.
Anchor Text
SEOAnchor Text is a core SEO concept that influences how search engines evaluate, surface, or interpret pages.
Anchor Text Definition
SEOAnchor Text Definition is a core SEO concept that influences how search engines evaluate, surface, or interpret pages.
N
O
Off-Page SEO
SEOOff-page SEO includes activities outside your site that influence rankings, such as backlinks, brand mentions, and digital PR.
On-Page SEO
SEOOn-page SEO refers to optimizing individual pages to improve rankings and user experience through content, HTML, and internal links.
Organic Traffic
AnalyticsWebsite visitors who arrive through unpaid search engine results. Learn how to grow organic traffic, measure it accurately, and why it's the most valuable traffic source for sustainable growth.
Orphan Page
TechnicalOrphan Page is a core SEO concept that influences how search engines evaluate, surface, or interpret pages.
Out-of-Stock SEO
SEOOut-of-stock SEO manages inventory changes while preserving rankings.
P
Page Speed
TechnicalThe measurement of how quickly content loads on a web page, affecting both user experience and search engine rankings.
Pages per Session
AnalyticsPages per session is the average number of pages viewed in a single visit.
Pagination SEO
TechnicalPagination SEO manages paginated pages to avoid duplicates and preserve crawl efficiency.
Passage Indexing
SEOPassage indexing is Google’s ability to rank individual sections of a page for specific queries.
People Also Ask
SEOPeople Also Ask is a SERP feature that expands related questions and answers.
People Also Ask
SEOPeople Also Ask is a SERP feature that expands related questions and answers.
People Also Ask Definition
SEOPeople Also Ask is a SERP feature that expands related questions and answers.
Perplexity AI
AI SearchAn AI-powered search engine that provides direct answers with inline citations, combining conversational AI with real-time web search. Learn how Perplexity works and how to optimize content for citation.
Pillar Content
ContentComprehensive, authoritative content pieces that cover a broad topic in depth and serve as the central hub for a cluster of related subtopic content.
Product Feed
SEOA product feed is a structured file of product data used for ads and listings.
Product Schema
SEOProduct schema is structured data that describes product details for rich results.
Product Schema
SEOProduct schema is structured data that describes product details for rich results.
Product Schema Definition
SEOProduct schema is structured data that describes product details for rich results.
Programmatic SEO
ContentA strategy of creating large numbers of landing pages at scale using templates and databases, targeting long-tail keywords with automated or semi-automated content generation.
Progressive Web App SEO
TechnicalThe practice of optimizing Progressive Web Apps for search engines while maintaining app-like functionality, offline capabilities, and superior performance.
Prompt Engineering
AI SearchThe practice of crafting and optimizing text inputs (prompts) to effectively communicate with AI language models and achieve desired outputs.
Prompt Optimization SEO
AI SearchThe practice of optimizing content to surface in AI-generated responses by aligning with common prompt patterns, query formations, and user interaction behaviors.
Proximity Ranking
SEOProximity ranking is how distance influences local search results.
R
RAG Optimization
AI SearchThe practice of optimizing content to perform well in Retrieval-Augmented Generation systems that power AI search engines and chatbots by combining retrieval and generation.
Rank Tracking
AnalyticsRank tracking is monitoring keyword positions in search results over time.
Readability
SEOReadability measures how easily users can scan and understand a page’s content.
Redirect Chain
TechnicalRedirect Chain is a core SEO concept that influences how search engines evaluate, surface, or interpret pages.
Redirect Chain
TechnicalRedirect Chain is a core SEO concept that influences how search engines evaluate, surface, or interpret pages.
Redirect Chain Definition
TechnicalRedirect Chain Definition is a core SEO concept that influences how search engines evaluate, surface, or interpret pages.
Redirect Loop
TechnicalA redirect loop occurs when URLs redirect to each other endlessly.
Referring Domain
SEOA referring domain is a unique website that links to your site.
Render-Blocking Resources
TechnicalCSS and JavaScript files that prevent the browser from rendering page content until they're fully downloaded and processed, significantly impacting page load performance.
Retrieval Augmentation
AI SearchRetrieval augmentation adds trusted documents to AI responses for accuracy.
Retrieval-Augmented Generation
AI SearchAn AI architecture that combines a language model with a retrieval system to generate responses grounded in specific, retrieved documents rather than relying solely on training data.
Review Management
SEOReview management is the process of earning, responding to, and leveraging reviews.
Review Snippet
SEOReview snippets display star ratings and review data in search results.
Rich Results
SEORich results are enhanced SERP listings powered by structured data.
Rich Results
SEORich results are enhanced SERP listings powered by structured data.
Rich Results Definition
SEORich results are enhanced SERP listings powered by structured data.
Robots Meta Tag
TechnicalA robots meta tag is an HTML directive that tells search engines how to crawl and index a specific page.
Robots Txt
SEORobots Txt is a core SEO concept that influences how search engines evaluate, surface, or interpret pages.
Robots Txt Definition
SEORobots Txt Definition is a core SEO concept that influences how search engines evaluate, surface, or interpret pages.
robots.txt
TechnicalA text file placed in a website's root directory that instructs web crawlers which pages or sections of the site they can or cannot access, controlling how search engines and AI bots crawl your content.
S
Schema Markup
TechnicalStructured data code added to web pages that helps search engines understand content and enables rich results like star ratings, FAQs, and recipe cards. Learn how to implement schema markup for better search visibility.
Schema Markup
SEOSchema Markup is a core SEO concept that influences how search engines evaluate, surface, or interpret pages.
Schema Markup Definition
SEOSchema Markup Definition is a core SEO concept that influences how search engines evaluate, surface, or interpret pages.
Schema Types
SEOSchema types are the categories of structured data (FAQ, Product, Article) that describe content.
Search Engine Optimization
SEOThe practice of improving a website's visibility in organic search engine results through technical optimization, content creation, and link building. Learn SEO fundamentals, best practices for 2025, and how it connects to GEO.
Search Intent
SEOThe underlying goal or purpose behind a user's search query, categorized as informational, navigational, commercial, or transactional.
Search Intent Types
SEOSearch intent types describe the primary goal behind a query, typically informational, navigational, commercial, or transactional.
Semantic SEO
ContentAn approach to search optimization that focuses on topic comprehensiveness and meaning rather than individual keywords, helping search engines understand content context and relevance.
Semantic SEO
SEOSemantic SEO is a core SEO concept that influences how search engines evaluate, surface, or interpret pages.
Semantic SEO Definition
SEOSemantic SEO Definition is a core SEO concept that influences how search engines evaluate, surface, or interpret pages.
SEO
SEOSEO is a core SEO concept that influences how search engines evaluate, surface, or interpret pages.
SEO Definition
SEOSEO Definition is a core SEO concept that influences how search engines evaluate, surface, or interpret pages.
SERP
SEOSearch Engine Results Page - the page displayed by search engines in response to a query. Learn about SERP features, analysis techniques, and how to optimize for modern search results including AI Overviews.
SERP
SEOSERP is a core SEO concept that influences how search engines evaluate, surface, or interpret pages.
SERP Definition
SEOSERP Definition is a core SEO concept that influences how search engines evaluate, surface, or interpret pages.
SERP Volatility
SEOSERP volatility measures how much search rankings fluctuate over time.