# SEO Glossary for Beginners: Common Terms Explained in Plain English > 60 SEO terms explained in plain English for complete beginners, grouped into how search works, page settings, quality, links, metrics and AI search, and checked against Google's own documentation. | Field | Value | |-------|-------| | Published | 2026-10-13 | | Category | Beginner | | Author | Aro Ogata | | Tags | beginner, SEO basics, SEO glossary, SEO terms, GEO, AIO, definitions | | URL | https://linksurge.jp/blog/en/seo-glossary-beginners/ | --- ## Key Takeaways: Learn five words first: crawling, indexing, ranking position, impressions and clicks Most people who feel lost in SEO (search engine optimization) conversations aren't missing the concepts. They're missing the vocabulary. In my conversations with people new to running a website, the words almost always get in the way before the ideas do. This glossary explains 60 common terms in plain English, grouped into six areas. 1. **You only need five words to start** — Crawling (Google visiting a page), indexing (Google storing it), ranking position, impressions and clicks. With those five, you can follow about half of any SEO conversation 2. **Group terms by "which stage is this?"** — The six areas are how search works, page settings, quality, links, metrics and AI search. When you meet a new term, ask which area it belongs to 3. **Look-alike terms are the easiest to mix up** — Rankings vs. impressions, robots.txt vs. noindex, and GEO vs. AIO all mean clearly different things. Mixing them up leads to the wrong fix 4. **Definitions follow Google's own documentation** — Where Google defines a term, I follow its wording. Where a term is just industry jargon, I say so This glossary is the companion dictionary for [SEO, GEO and AIO for Beginners: A Reading Order From Zero](/blog/en/seo-beginner-curriculum/). Terms covered in depth elsewhere in the series link to the relevant guide. --- ## 1. How to Use This Glossary You don't need to read it top to bottom. The fastest way is to search the page (Ctrl+F on Windows, Command+F on Mac) whenever a term stops you. If you're brand new, this order gives you the big picture quickly: 1. Read "How Search Works" to see how Google handles pages 2. Read "Metrics and Measurement" to understand the numbers you'll see every day 3. Look up the rest as you need them --- ## 2. How Search Works These terms describe how Google finds pages and lines them up in results. For the full walkthrough, see [How search engines work: crawling, indexing and ranking](/blog/en/how-search-engines-work/). ### SEO (search engine optimization) The work of helping search engines understand your pages so the right people can find them. Google describes it as helping search engines understand your content and helping users find your site and decide whether to visit it. ### Search engine A system that takes the words you type and returns a list of relevant pages. Google is by far the most used, alongside Bing, DuckDuckGo and others. ### Search query (keyword) The words someone types into a search box. People often say "query" for what was actually typed and "keyword" for a term you've chosen to target, but the two are used almost interchangeably. See [Keyword Research Basics for Beginners](/blog/en/keyword-selection-basics/). ### Search intent What the searcher actually wants to know or do. Two people typing "SEO" might want a definition or an agency to hire, and they need different answers. More in [What Is Search Intent? The 4 Types and How They Shape SEO](/blog/en/search-intent-seo-guide/). For a beginner walkthrough, see [Why You Should Look at Search Results Before You Write](/blog/en/search-intent-beginners/). ### Crawler (Googlebot) A program that automatically visits web pages and downloads their content. Google's crawler is called Googlebot, and crawlers are also called robots, bots or spiders. ### Crawling A crawler visiting a page and fetching what's on it. Google says it downloads text, images and videos from the pages it finds. ### Indexing Google analyzing a crawled page and storing it in its huge database, the index. A page that isn't indexed can't appear in results, and Google says indexing isn't guaranteed. ### Ranking The stage where Google picks pages from its index and orders them for each search. Google says rankings are determined programmatically and that it doesn't accept payment to rank a site higher. ### Ranking position Where your page appears in results for a given search, such as third or twelfth. Positions aren't fixed and move up and down every day. [Why do search rankings change every day?](/blog/en/why-search-rankings-change/) explains why. ### SERP (search engine results page) The page of results you see after searching. These days it often includes AI answers, images, maps and more, not just a list of links. ### Organic search The regular, unpaid results on a search page. These are chosen by Google's systems, not bought, and they're what SEO mostly focuses on. ### Paid search (PPC ads) Ads shown above or below organic results, labeled "Sponsored." You typically pay per click, and they run on a separate system from organic rankings. ### Mobile-first indexing Google using the mobile version of your pages, crawled with a smartphone crawler, for indexing and ranking. If content is missing on mobile, it's harder for it to count. > References: > [In-Depth Guide to How Google Search Works - Google Search Central](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/how-search-works) > [SEO Starter Guide: The Basics - Google Search Central](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/seo-starter-guide) > [Mobile-first Indexing Best Practices - Google Search Central](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/mobile/mobile-sites-mobile-first-indexing) --- ## 3. Page Settings These are the things you can set on your own pages and site. A single setting can remove a page from search, so it's worth getting these right. ### Title element (title tag) The page title written in your HTML. It shows in the browser tab and is the main source for the title in search results. More in [Title tags and meta descriptions](/blog/en/title-meta-description-basics/). ### Title link The clickable page title shown in search results. Google mostly builds it from the title element, but it may use headings or other text, or generate a title it considers better. ### Meta description A one- or two-sentence summary of the page, written in the HTML. Google sometimes shows it in results, but not always. ### Snippet The description shown under the title in search results. Google generates it mostly from the page content, and uses the meta description when it describes the page more accurately. ### Headings (h1 to h6) The chapter and section titles of a page, marked up with h1 through h6 elements. They help readers scan, and Google may use them when building title links. ### URL The address of a page. Google recommends including words that are useful to users in your URLs. If you change a URL after publishing, you'll need a redirect. ### 301 redirect A setting that automatically sends visitors and search engines from an old URL to a new one, signaling the page has moved permanently. Google recommends server-side permanent redirects whenever you need to change a URL. More in [What is a 301 redirect?](/blog/en/301-redirect-beginners-guide/). ### noindex A rule that tells Google "don't show this page in search results." When Googlebot finds it, Google drops the page from results entirely. If it's set by accident, even a great page won't appear. ### robots.txt A file at the root of your site that tells crawlers which URLs they may access. Google says it's not a way to keep a page out of search; use noindex for that. ### Canonical (canonical URL) A way to say "this is the main version" when the same or very similar content lives at several URLs. Google treats it as a strong signal, but Google makes the final call on which URL to show. ### XML sitemap A file that lists your site's pages and how they relate. It helps search engines discover pages, but it doesn't guarantee every listed URL gets crawled and indexed. ### Alt text (alt attribute) A short text description of an image. It's read aloud by screen readers and shown when images don't load. Google says good alt text is important for understanding images and how they relate to the page. ### Structured data Information about a page (an article's author, a product's price, a recipe's ingredients) added in a standard format. It can power rich results, the enhanced listings with star ratings or prices, but adding it doesn't guarantee they'll appear. See [What Is Structured Data?](/blog/en/structured-data-beginners/) ### Core Web Vitals Three metrics for real-world loading speed, responsiveness and visual stability. Google's targets are LCP (main content loading) within 2.5 seconds, INP (response to interactions) under 200 milliseconds, and CLS (layout shift) under 0.1. See [Mobile Pages and Page Speed: Core Web Vitals Explained](/blog/en/core-web-vitals-beginners/). For a step-by-step look at noindex, robots.txt and canonical problems, see [Why your page isn't showing up in Google](/blog/en/page-not-indexed-checklist/). > References: > [Influencing Title Links in Google Search - Google Search Central](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/title-link) > [How to Write Meta Descriptions - Google Search Central](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/snippet) > [Block Search Indexing with noindex - Google Search Central](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/block-indexing) > [Robots.txt Introduction and Guide - Google Search Central](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/robots/intro) > [How to Specify a Canonical with rel="canonical" and Other Methods - Google Search Central](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/consolidate-duplicate-urls) > [Redirects and Google Search - Google Search Central](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/301-redirects) > [What Is a Sitemap - Google Search Central](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/sitemaps/overview) > [Intro to How Structured Data Markup Works - Google Search Central](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/structured-data/intro-structured-data) > [Understanding Core Web Vitals and Google search results - Google Search Central](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/core-web-vitals) --- ## 4. Quality and Trust These terms relate to how Google thinks about the quality and reliability of pages. This area attracts a lot of myths, so I've stuck closely to Google's own wording. ### People-first content Content made mainly to help readers, not to manipulate search rankings. Google says its automated ranking systems are designed to surface helpful, reliable information created to benefit people. ### E-E-A-T Short for experience, expertise, authoritativeness and trustworthiness. Google says trust is the most important of the four, and that E-E-A-T itself isn't a direct ranking factor. More in [What is E-E-A-T?](/blog/en/eeat-beginners-guide/). ### YMYL Short for "Your Money or Your Life": topics that could significantly affect someone's health, financial stability, safety or society's welfare. These topics are held to a higher standard of reliability. More in [What is YMYL?](/blog/en/ymyl-beginners-guide/). ### Search quality raters People who review search results for Google and rate their quality. Google says raters don't control rankings and their ratings aren't used directly in ranking algorithms. Their feedback helps Google check its systems are working. ### Core update A significant, broad change to Google's ranking systems, made several times a year. Core updates aren't aimed at specific sites. Google recommends waiting at least a week after one finishes before analyzing your site. ### Spam policies Google's list of practices that manipulate search results. Examples include keyword stuffing, link spam, scaled content abuse and hidden text. Violations can lower rankings or remove a site from results. ### Manual action A penalty applied when a human reviewer at Google determines that pages on a site break its spam policies. Affected pages may rank lower or disappear from results. You'll see it in Search Console's Manual Actions report. ### Keyword stuffing Cramming the same words into a page unnaturally to try to rank. It's one of the practices Google's spam policies prohibit. ### Duplicate content The same or very similar content available at more than one URL. Google says content being reachable through multiple URLs is fine and nothing to worry about. Copying someone else's content is a separate issue. > References: > [Creating Helpful, Reliable, People-First Content - Google Search Central](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/creating-helpful-content) > [Google Search's Core Updates - Google Search Central](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/core-updates) > [Spam Policies for Google Web Search - Google Search Central](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/essentials/spam-policies) > [Manual actions report - Search Console Help](https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/9044175?hl=en) --- ## 5. Links Links connect pages to each other. Google uses them both as a signal of relevance and to discover new pages to crawl. More in [What are backlinks? Good links vs. risky links](/blog/en/backlinks-beginners-guide/). ### Internal links Links from one page to another on the same site. Google recommends that every page you care about has a link from at least one other page on your site. ### Backlinks Links from other websites pointing to yours. Search Console shows which sites link to you. ### Anchor text The clickable words of a link. Descriptive anchor text tells readers and search engines what's on the other side; "click here" doesn't. ### nofollow, sponsored and ugc Labels you add to a link to tell Google how it relates to your site. Use sponsored for ads and paid placements, ugc for user-generated content like comments, and nofollow when no other value fits and you don't want to be associated with the linked page. ### Link spam Creating links mainly to manipulate rankings, including buying or selling links to pass ranking credit. Paid links for advertising aren't a violation when marked with sponsored or nofollow. > References: > [SEO Link Best Practices for Google - Google Search Central](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/links-crawlable) > [Qualify Outbound Links for SEO - Google Search Central](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/qualify-outbound-links) --- ## 6. Metrics and Measurement These are the numbers you'll use to judge results. In my experience, this is where beginners mix things up most. More in [Rankings, impressions and clicks are different things](/blog/en/rankings-impressions-clicks-difference/). ### Search Console Google's free tool for seeing how your site performs in search. It shows which queries you appeared for, how often you were clicked, and whether there are indexing problems. Your site can appear without it, but you'll be flying blind. See [Search Console's first hour](/blog/en/search-console-first-hour/). ### Impressions How many times a link to your site was shown in search results. Being shown doesn't mean being clicked, so track impressions and clicks separately. ### Clicks How many times someone clicked a link from search results through to your site. It's the closest search number to "people who actually arrived." ### CTR (click-through rate) Clicks divided by impressions. If you're shown 100 times and clicked 5 times, your CTR is 5%. It's a rough measure of how appealing your title and description are. ### Average position The average search position shown in Search Console. Google calculates it using the topmost position your site's link held for each query, then averages across queries. It's not the same as the ranking for a single keyword. ### Not ranking (outside the tracked range) Industry shorthand for a page that doesn't appear within the range a tool checks, such as the top 100. It doesn't necessarily mean the page has dropped out of search entirely. ### Branded search Searches for a specific company, product or service name. It's industry jargon, often used as a signal of how many people already know your brand. In the AI era, people also watch whether AI answers mention their brand, and tools like [LinkSurge's GEO monitoring](https://linksurge.jp/geo) record those mentions across several AI tools over time. See [Branded Search and Brand Mentions, Explained](/blog/en/branded-search-brand-mentions-beginners/). If you want to log keyword rankings daily under the same conditions, a rank tracker such as [LinkSurge](https://linksurge.jp/seo-hub/ranking-dashboard) is one way to do it. > References: > [About Search Console - Search Console Help](https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/9128668?hl=en) > [What are impressions, position, and clicks? - Search Console Help](https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/7042828?hl=en) --- ## 7. AI Search These terms have multiplied as AI started answering questions inside search results and in chat. The acronyms look alike, so [SEO vs. GEO vs. AIO vs. LLMO](/blog/en/seo-geo-aio-llmo-differences/) lays them out side by side. ### Generative AI AI that creates new text, images or audio. Chat-based assistants that answer questions in sentences are one kind. ### LLM (large language model) An AI system trained on huge amounts of text so it can read and write language. It's the core technology behind chat assistants like ChatGPT. ### AI Overviews A Google feature that shows an AI-written summary with links to sources at the top of some results. Google says AI Overviews appear only when its systems judge they add value beyond regular results. See [What Are Google AI Overviews?](/blog/en/what-are-ai-overviews/) ### AI Mode A Google Search feature built around AI answers. Google says it's especially useful for searches that need further exploration, reasoning or complex comparisons. See [What Is Google AI Mode?](/blog/en/google-ai-mode-beginners/) ### Query fan-out A technique where AI splits one question into several related searches across subtopics and sources, then builds an answer from the results. Google says AI Overviews and AI Mode may use it. More in [What Is Query Fan-Out? A Beginner's Guide](/blog/en/query-fan-out-guide-2026/). ### Citation (AI source link) A link to a page shown as a source inside an AI answer. In AI search, being cited matters alongside your ranking position. ### Zero-click search A search that ends on the results page without a click to any site. It's industry jargon that comes up often as AI answers spread. See [What Is Zero-Click Search?](/blog/en/zero-click-search-beginners/) ### GEO (generative engine optimization) Efforts to get your site or brand included in AI-generated search answers. Google says that from its perspective, optimizing for generative AI search is still SEO. ### AEO (answer engine optimization) Efforts to have your content used in the direct "answers" that AI and search engines return. It's used in much the same context as GEO. ### AIO Short for AI optimization, or sometimes specifically optimizing for AI Overviews. People use it to mean different things, so it's worth checking which one they mean. ### LLMO (large language model optimization) Efforts to make sure chat-based AI tools like ChatGPT represent your brand accurately in their answers. More in [What Is LLMO? The Complete Beginner's Guide](/blog/en/llmo-guide-beginners-2026/). ### llms.txt A proposed text file that summarizes a site and its key pages for AI tools. Google says Google Search ignores it, so it neither helps nor hurts your visibility in Google. Some companies do publish one for AI agents (AI that researches or completes tasks on a person's behalf), so it's worth keeping the two uses separate. To see whether your site is cited in AI Overviews, tools like [LinkSurge's AI Overview analysis](https://linksurge.jp/aio-v5) check citations keyword by keyword. > References: > [AI Features and Your Website - Google Search Central](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/ai-features) > [Optimizing your website for generative AI features on Google Search - Google Search Central](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/ai-optimization-guide) --- ## 8. Common Misconceptions and Mistakes Getting a term wrong can lead straight to the wrong fix. These are the mix-ups I run into most. ### Myth 1: Blocking a page in robots.txt removes it from search robots.txt controls crawler access. It doesn't keep pages out of results. Worse, if a page is blocked by robots.txt, Google can't see a noindex rule on it. Use noindex to remove a page from search. ### Myth 2: More impressions means more traffic Impressions count how often your link was shown. If nobody clicked, nobody visited. Report impressions and clicks separately. ### Myth 3: Raising your E-E-A-T score will lift your rankings E-E-A-T isn't a score, and Google says it isn't a direct ranking factor. Adding an author bio alone won't move rankings; what matters is whether readers can trust the content. ### Myth 4: Duplicate content gets you penalized Google says having the same content reachable at multiple URLs is fine. Copying someone else's content is a different matter. ### Myth 5: Stuffing keywords into a meta tag helps you rank Google says it doesn't use the keywords meta tag. And stuffing keywords into your page text violates its spam policies. ### Myth 6: Adding llms.txt helps you appear in AI Overviews Google says Google Search ignores llms.txt. AI Overviews and AI Mode need no special setup; ordinary SEO fundamentals apply. > References: > [SEO Starter Guide: The Basics - Google Search Central](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/seo-starter-guide) > [Block Search Indexing with noindex - Google Search Central](https://developers.google.com/search/docs/crawling-indexing/block-indexing) --- {{linksurge-card}} ## Frequently Asked Questions ### Do I need to memorize every SEO term? No. Start with crawling, indexing, ranking position, impressions and clicks, which cover most everyday SEO conversations. Look up the rest in the glossary when you need them. ### What's the difference between crawling and indexing? Crawling is Google's program visiting a page and fetching its content. Indexing is Google analyzing that content and storing it in its database. A crawled page isn't guaranteed to be indexed. ### When should I use noindex vs. robots.txt? Use noindex when you want a page kept out of search results. robots.txt tells crawlers which URLs they may access and isn't a removal tool. If robots.txt blocks a page, Google can't read its noindex rule, so be careful using both together. ### Do GEO, AIO and LLMO need a separate strategy from SEO? Google says there are no extra requirements or special optimization needed for AI Overviews and AI Mode, and that optimizing for generative AI search is still SEO. ChatGPT and other non-Google AI tools work differently, so they're worth checking on their own terms. ### What if a term isn't in this glossary? Google Search Central publishes official documentation on how search works and how to configure your site. When a term is unclear, checking Google's own explanation is the most reliable step. This glossary will also grow as new guides are added. --- ## Conclusion: Learn Five Words, Then Look Up the Rest A glossary isn't meant to be read cover to cover. Learn crawling, indexing, ranking position, impressions and clicks, then come back whenever a new term appears. Next, head to step 1 of the curriculum: [How search engines work](/blog/en/how-search-engines-work/). The full reading order lives in [SEO, GEO and AIO for Beginners](/blog/en/seo-beginner-curriculum/), and [SEO vs. GEO vs. AIO vs. LLMO](/blog/en/seo-geo-aio-llmo-differences/) sorts out the acronyms in more detail. Once the terms make sense, LinkSurge's [AI Overview analysis](https://linksurge.jp/aio-v5) shows how your own site appears in search results and AI answers.