SEO Glossary

Created by Thandava S, Modified on Thu, 16 Oct at 12:50 PM by Thandava S

users This page is a quick-reference glossary of commonly used SEO (Search Engine Optimization), Google Analytics 4 (GA4), and Google Search Console terms. It explains key terms in simple, non-technical language, allowing to easily understand reports, tickets, and discussions related to website performance and search visibility.

Use this as a guide whenever you come across unfamiliar terms in SEO or analytics reports.

Term	Definition
Keyword	The word or phrase people type into Google to search
SERP (Search Engine Results Page)	The page of results you see after searching on Google.
Organic Traffic	Visitors who come from Google search, not paid ads.
CTR (Click-Through Rate)	The % of people who click your site after seeing it in search results.
Title Tag	The main clickable headline that shows up in Google results.
Meta Description	The short description under your title in search results.
Header Tags (H1, H2, H3)	Titles and subtitles that organise your page content.
Alt Text	A short description of an image for Google and accessibility.
Internal Link	A link from one page of your website to another page on the same site.
URL Structure	The format of your page’s web address (e.g., `madhousemedia.co.uk/seo`).
Backlink	A link from another website pointing to your site.
Domain Authority (DA)	A score showing how trusted or strong your site is online.
Anchor Text	The clickable words in a link (e.g., "best seo agency").
Site Speed	How quickly does your website loads.
Mobile-Friendly	Website is easy to use on a phone.
Indexing	Google saving your web pages in its database.
Crawl	Google bots scanning your site’s content.
Sitemap	A file listing your important web pages for Google.
Robots.txt	A file that tells Google which pages not to look at.
Impressions	Number of times your site appears in Google search.
Bounce Rate	When someone visits a page and leaves quickly without action.
Conversion	When a visitor completes a goal (e.g., submitting a form, clicking on a phone number).
Session	A single visit to your website.
GA4 (Google Analytics 4)	Google’s tool to track how people use your website or app.
User	A unique visitor to your site.
New User	Someone visiting your site for the first time.
Session	A single visit to your website (may include multiple actions).
Average Engagement Time	The average time a visitor spends actively on your site.
Bounce	When someone visits a page but does not engage (click, scroll, etc.).
Event	Any action a visitor takes (click, scroll, video play, purchase, etc.).
Engagement Rate	Percentage of sessions where visitors interact with your site.
Pageview	Each time a page on your site is viewed.
Landing Page	The first page a visitor sees when they enter your site.
Traffic Source	Where a visitor came from (Google, social media, direct, etc.).
Medium	The type of traffic source (e.g., organic, paid, referral).
Campaign	A tagged marketing campaign that brings traffic (e.g., email promo).
Search Console	Google’s tool to track your site’s search performance.
Query	The exact search term people typed into Google.
Clicks	How many times people clicked your site in Google search results.
Average Position	Your site’s average ranking in Google for a search query.
Indexing Status	Shows if a page is included in Google search or not.
Core Web Vitals	Google’s metrics for user experience (page speed, stability, responsiveness).