SEO & AI Marketing Glossary
Clear, practical definitions for over 30 essential terms – from AI SEO to Zero-Click Search.
AI SEO
The practice of optimizing content for both traditional search engines (Google) and AI-powered platforms (ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini) using entity recognition, semantic relevance, and structured data.
Algorithm
A set of rules search engines use to rank websites. Google uses hundreds of factors including relevance, authority, and user experience.
Backlinks
Links from other websites pointing to your site. They act as votes of confidence and are a major ranking factor for search engines.
Canonical URL
The preferred version of a webpage when duplicate content exists. It tells search engines which URL to index and show in results.
ChatGPT SEO
Optimizing content so that ChatGPT and similar LLMs cite your brand as a source when answering user queries. A key part of GEO (Generative Engine Optimization).
Core Web Vitals
A set of metrics measuring real-world user experience: Largest Contentful Paint (LCP), First Input Delay (FID), and Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS).
Crawl Budget
The number of pages a search engine bot will crawl on your site within a given time. Important for large websites with thousands of pages.
Domain Authority (DA)
A search engine ranking score predicting how well a website will rank. Higher DA generally means better chances of ranking high.
Entity SEO
Optimizing content to help search engines understand real-world people, places, and things (entities) and their relationships. Critical for AI search.
Featured Snippet
A highlighted answer box that appears at the top of Google search results. Winning this gives you 'position zero'.
Generative Engine Optimization (GEO)
The process of optimizing content to be cited as a source by AI answer engines like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini. Focuses on entity relevance and prompt-aware structuring.
Google Search Generative Experience (SGE)
Google's AI-powered search experience that generates direct answers using generative AI, reducing reliance on traditional blue links.
Hreflang
An HTML attribute that tells Google which language and regional URL to serve to users. Essential for international SEO.
JavaScript SEO
Optimizing websites built with JavaScript frameworks (React, Next.js, Vue) to ensure search engines can crawl, render, and index content correctly.
Keyword Cannibalization
When multiple pages on your site target the same keyword, causing them to compete against each other and dilute ranking potential.
Knowledge Graph
A database used by Google and other search engines to enhance search results with entity-based information, like people, places, and things.
Large Language Model (LLM)
An AI model trained on vast amounts of text to understand and generate human-like language. Examples: GPT-4, Gemini, Claude.
Local Pack
The block of three local business listings that appears in Google search results with a map. A key target for local SEO.
LCP (Largest Contentful Paint)
A Core Web Vital measuring how long it takes for the largest element on a page (image or text block) to load. Good score: under 2.5 seconds.
Meta Description
A short HTML attribute summarising a page's content. Not a direct ranking factor but influences click-through rates from search results.
Nofollow Link
A link attribute telling search engines not to pass authority (link juice). Often used for sponsored or user-generated content.
On-Page SEO
Optimising individual web pages to rank higher, including title tags, headings, content quality, internal links, and images.
Perplexity AI
An AI-powered answer engine that cites sources. GEO optimization helps your brand appear in Perplexity's responses.
Prompt Engineering
Crafting input prompts to get desired outputs from AI models. In GEO, it involves predicting what prompts users will ask AI engines.
Schema Markup
Structured data added to HTML to help search engines understand page content. Enables rich results like star ratings, FAQs, and events.
Semantic Search
Search engines understanding the intent and contextual meaning of a query rather than just matching keywords.
SERP (Search Engine Results Page)
The page you see after typing a query into a search engine, including organic results, ads, featured snippets, and AI overviews.
Structured Data
A standardized format (JSON-LD, Microdata) to provide explicit clues about a page's content. Used for rich snippets and AI understanding.
Technical SEO
Optimising website infrastructure for crawling, indexing, and rendering. Includes site speed, mobile-friendliness, and HTTPS security.
Topical Authority
The depth and breadth of content covering a specific subject, signaling to search engines that you are an expert in that niche.
TF-IDF (Term Frequency-Inverse Document Frequency)
A statistical measure used to evaluate how important a word is to a document within a collection. Helps create relevant content.
Zero-Click Search
When a user finds the answer directly on the search results page (featured snippet, AI overview) without clicking a link. Growing with SGE.
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