SEO Terminology.htaccess

Is a file that when placed in a directory on a website allows for decentralized management of a apache web server configuration.

301 Redirect

This is a way to notify the rest of the internet that a webpage or website has permanently moved or no longer exists. The request is then forward to another page.

Algorithm

An algorithm is a set of mathematical rules to get a result from an input of data. The most famous online Algorithm is that of search engine Google. The Google algorithm is used to determine the ranking of websites in its index. Influencing this algorithm is the point of all technical SEO efforts.

Bad neighborhood

Refers to sites that link to each other that may have been penalized for some unethical promotion techniques.

Blackhat SEO

Refers to unethical methods of optimization, severe penalties are handed out to sites who are recognised for using techniques such as same colour text as background, spamming keywords or linking from bad neighborhoods.

Blog

A blog, is short for Web Log and is a page on a website where information can be regularly updated. Blogs are important for Search Engine Optimization because the more often content is added the greater the likelihood is of regular crawling and indexing, resulting in higher placement in the SERPs.

Canonicalisation

Canonicalisation means that the same webpage can be accessed in two different ways. The error normally lies in the websites URL structure, this is classified as poor behavior by most search engines “as it leads to duplicated content”. It is always important to close off one of these entrances using a [301] Permanent Re-direct.

CMS

Acronym for Content Management System, a secure web page where you can edit your website, sometimes called an admin system.

Content/Copywriting

Content, or Copywriting is the text that is placed on a web page. Good content is key to a successful SEO campaign.

Directories

A directory is basically a list of websites sorted by category. Directories are usually specific to a topic or industry. There are 1000’s of free and Paid Directories available, and some can be industry specific. Within the directory you can normally submit a paragraph of information about your company, and a link is provided directly to your site.

DMOZ – The Open Source Directory

DMOZ is an open source, human reviewed Directory. The information from the DMOZ is used to estimate the Authority of a site. Entry to the directory is not guaranteed as each and every submission is review for quality by a human volunteer.

Domain age

Is the date that a page was first available for index in a search engine. The age of a domain has a significant impact on search engine rankings, as an older domain is seen as more stable, and therefore more Authoritive.

Ethical SEO

Ethical SEO describes optimization that does not use any underhand methods to improve rankings. There are many methods that are seen to be faking or deceive the search engines view of the site. Please read the Blackhat SEO section for some examples of unethical search engine optimization.

HTML Sitemap

The HTML Sitemap is an easy way to supply your users with a snapshot of the structure of your website and allows for them to successfully navigate quickly through your website. HTML Sitemaps also help enhance the internal linking throughout your entire website.

Indexed

Indexed or Indexing is the action performed by the search engine to attain a position for a website in the listings. Not to be confused with crawling.

Keywords

Keywords are used on a website to tell a search engine which specific information you are targeting and to also help target users who may in-turn search for those keywords within a search engine. Keywords are contained within a “Meta Tag” and the Body of a website.

Long tail

Is the term given to very specific search terms entered into a search engine. For example: “Cleveland Browns” might be a generic search while “Cleveland Browns quarter back stats” is a long tail search term. Long tail searches generally convert into sales / leads as the visitor has been very specific about what they want.

Meta Tags

Meta Tags can be found within both HTML and xHTML contained between the tags of the document, they supply additional information about a website such as relevant keywords or the webpage description.

Natural/organic

In relation to search engine results means that the listing has been gained over time and is seen as an authority site. Natural referrals are the opposite of PPC referrals.

Page Rank

Page Rank is a measure of a websites authority. Ranging from unranked, for weak or new websites, to 10 for highly trusted and resourceful websites. Every single web page is assigned a Page Rankand there is a blanked update every 3 months approximately.

PPC – Pay per Click

Pay per Click (PPC) is the practice of advertising on a search engine or other website. Website owners will pay the site hosting the advert based on the amount of clicks they receive through to their site.

Sandbox

The Sandbox Effect is commonly associated with new domain registrations and has never been confirmed by Google, and many believe that it does not exist as a policy, but is simply an effect of the Algorithm that Google uses to calculate a ranking for a website. It seems that it can take up to 12 months for a site to move out of the sandbox, and this can be even longer if a new domain uses Ad Sense adverts on the page. This would suggest that it is Google’s way of trying to reduce the amount of spam sites on the internet that abuse the use of Google Ad Sense.

SEM – Search Engine Marketing

The point of this type of internet marketing is to promote the listing of websites in the search engines. There are various SEM methods, these include: Search Engine Optimization, paid placement and paid inclusion

SERPs

Acronym for Search Engine Results Pages.

Social networking

Is a buzzword at the moment on the internet. A social networking is a online group of people who share similar interests or activities. Examples of social networks include Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

Spam

Is the term given to junk mail that arrives electronically. Mostly these are unsolicited messages sent to email addresses that are scraped from websites by automated programs. Spam websites are sites that have the intention of deceiving users in to clicking adverts on the page, to make the owner money.

Title Tag

The Title Tag can be found within the tag of a HTML or xHTML document and can be used to display textual information to a user, The Title Tags information can be found at the very top left hand corner of the Browser/Applications window.

Traffic

Traffic is the term that is used to describe visitors to a site.

W3C

W3C Stands for “The World Wide Web Consortium” and was founded by the inventor of the web, Sir Tim Berners Lee. The consortium’s job is to ensure that everyone agrees on a set of standards to promote interoperability between platforms.

XML Sitemap

An XML Sitemap is an easy way for a Search Engine to find out what type of content is hosted on your website and where to find it. The XML sitemap replaces the manual process of submitting each page individual to the search engines. A webmaster can create and programmatically update an XML Sitemap and wait for the search engines to find it.