Small-Business Marketing Glossary

How search engines find, understand, and show your website. Read the guides

301 redirect

An HTTP response indicating that a URL has moved permanently and directing visitors and crawlers to its replacement.

302 redirect

An HTTP response sending visitors and crawlers elsewhere while indicating that the move may be temporary.

404 error

A response showing that the requested resource was not found. It is appropriate when removed content has no suitable replacement.

AI Mode

A Google Search experience that answers in a conversational, generated format and links to supporting web pages. Its traffic is counted within Search Console's overall Web reporting.

AI Overviews

Generated summaries that can appear at the top of some Google results, with links to the web pages used to support them. Google says no special markup is needed to be included.

Algorithm update

A change to a search engine's retrieval or ranking systems. Visibility changes near an update still require site-specific diagnosis.

Alt text

A written alternative for an image that supports accessibility and can help search engines understand the image's purpose.

Anchor text

The visible, clickable words in a link, which give readers and search engines context about its destination.

Answer engine optimization (AEO)

A loose industry label for making information useful in answer-driven search experiences; it is not a single technical standard.

Average position

Search Console's average topmost position for a property or page across recorded impressions, not a fixed universal rank.

Backlink

A link to a page from another website.

Black-hat SEO

A general label for tactics intended to manipulate rankings in ways that violate search-engine spam policies.

Breadcrumb

A navigational trail showing where a page sits within a site's hierarchy.

Broken link

A link whose destination no longer resolves correctly, often because the target moved or was removed.

Canonical URL

The representative URL selected among duplicate or very similar pages. A canonical annotation expresses a preference, not a command.

Content gap

A relevant customer question or topic a site does not yet answer adequately. Demand and business fit should be validated before creating content.

Content hub

A central resource connected through internal links to a related set of more focused pages.

Core Web Vitals

Google's field metrics for loading performance, responsiveness, and visual stability: LCP, INP, and CLS.

Crawl

The process of a search engine requesting a URL and its accessible resources.

Crawl budget

The amount of crawling a search engine can and wants to perform on a site. It is mainly a concern for very large or rapidly changing sites.

Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS)

A Core Web Vital measuring unexpected visual movement while a page is being used.

Disavow file

A file submitted to Google asking it to disregard specified backlinks. It is intended for serious unnatural-link situations, not routine cleanup.

Domain authority

A third-party estimate of a domain's ranking strength. Methods vary, and it is not a Google metric or ranking factor.

Duplicate content

Identical or substantially similar content available at multiple URLs, requiring search engines to choose a representative version.

E-E-A-T

Experience, expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness: concepts used in Google's quality guidance, not one measurable ranking score.

External link

A link from one website to a page on a different website.

Faceted navigation

Filters that create combinations of category URLs, useful for visitors but capable of producing many low-value or duplicate crawl paths.

Featured snippet

A prominent result that extracts an answer or passage from a source page and links to it.

Field data

Performance measurements collected from real users, as distinct from tests run in a controlled lab environment.

Generative AI performance report

A Search Console report, available to all sites since August 31, 2026, that shows how often your pages appear in AI Overviews and AI Mode. It shows impressions only; clicks stay within the regular Web totals.

Generative engine optimization (GEO)

A developing industry label for improving visibility in generative search experiences. It has no universal definition or separate guaranteed formula.

Google Search Console

Google's service for reviewing search performance, indexing information, submitted sitemaps, and certain technical or policy issues.

Heading

An HTML heading from H1 through H6 that organizes page content for readers and assistive technology.

Hreflang

An annotation identifying language or regional alternatives of a page so search engines can serve an appropriate version.

HTTP status code

A server response describing a request's outcome, such as 200 for success, 301 for a permanent move, or 404 for not found.

Index

A search engine's processed collection of pages that may be considered for results. Inclusion does not guarantee visibility.

Indexability

Whether a page is technically eligible for indexing, distinct from whether a search engine chooses to index it.

Information architecture

The organization, labeling, hierarchy, and linking that help people and search engines understand a site.

Interaction to Next Paint (INP)

A Core Web Vital measuring how responsive a page is to user interactions.

Internal link

A link connecting pages on the same site, supporting navigation, discovery, and structural understanding.

JavaScript SEO

The work of ensuring that important JavaScript-powered content and links can be accessed, rendered, and understood by search engines.

Keyword

A word or phrase used to describe the topic or search demand associated with a page.

Keyword cannibalization

A situation in which multiple pages serve substantially the same query and intent, creating unclear targeting or divided internal signals.

Keyword difficulty

A third-party estimate of how competitive a query may be; scores and methods vary by tool.

Keyword research

The process of studying how an audience searches and matching useful queries to appropriate pages and business goals.

Keyword stuffing

Repeating search terms unnaturally in an attempt to manipulate rankings.

Landing page

The page where a visitor first arrives from a search result, advertisement, email, or other source.

Largest Contentful Paint (LCP)

A Core Web Vital measuring how quickly the largest visible content element finishes rendering.

Link equity

Informal SEO shorthand for the ranking value a link may pass from one page to another. It cannot be measured directly, so treat claims about it as estimates.

Link spam

Links created, purchased, exchanged, or placed primarily to manipulate search rankings in violation of search policies.

Long-tail query

A relatively specific search query, often searched less frequently on its own but collectively important.

Manual action

A Google penalty applied after human review finds that a site or page violates spam policies. Notices appear in Search Console.

Meta description

A page summary that may inform the descriptive search snippet but is not a guaranteed display or direct ranking promise.

Meta robots tag

Page-level instructions controlling supported crawler behaviors such as indexing, following links, or showing snippets.

Mobile-first indexing

Google's practice of primarily using a site's mobile content for indexing and ranking.

Nofollow

A link relationship indicating that a publisher does not want to endorse a link normally. Google treats it as a hint, not an indexing block.

Noindex

A robots directive asking search engines not to include a page in results. A crawler must be able to access the page to read it.

Off-page SEO

Work involving signals beyond the website itself, such as legitimate links, mentions, listings, and reputation.

On-page SEO

Improvements to a page's content, headings, metadata, media, and internal links.

Organic search

Unpaid search-result visibility, though creating and maintaining the underlying work still has costs.

Orphan page

A page with no discoverable internal links pointing to it, even if it appears in a sitemap.

Page experience

The overall quality of using a page, including usability, security, mobile presentation, performance, and disruptive elements.

PageRank

Google's link-analysis system for assessing relationships among pages. It is one part of broader ranking systems, not a public site score.

Pagination

Dividing a long collection across sequential pages that should remain crawlable and clearly linked.

People-first content

Content created primarily to help its intended audience rather than to attract search traffic through manipulation.

Query

The words, symbols, images, or other input a person submits to a search system.

Redirect

A server or browser instruction sending a visitor or crawler from one URL to another.

Redirect chain

A sequence in which one redirect leads to another before reaching the final destination, adding delay and possible failure points.

Rendering

The process of turning a page's HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and other resources into usable content.

Rich result

An enhanced search appearance made possible by supported structured data and other eligibility requirements. Display is not guaranteed.

Robots.txt

A host-level file guiding compliant crawlers on which URLs they may request. It is not a reliable way to prevent indexing.

Schema markup

Structured data that uses the Schema.org vocabulary to label the meaning of visible page content.

Search engine optimization (SEO)

The practice of improving a site so search engines can access and understand useful content and people can find it through relevant searches.

Search engine results page (SERP)

A page of search results that may contain web links, maps, images, videos, shopping results, and generated features.

Search intent

The task behind a query, such as learning, comparing, navigating, visiting, or buying.

Sitelinks

Additional links sometimes shown beneath a primary result to help searchers reach important sections of a site.

Snippet

The descriptive text or content preview displayed with a search result.

Soft 404

A page that returns a success status but appears to search engines to be missing, empty, or an error page.

Spam policies

Search-engine rules describing manipulative practices that can lead to reduced visibility or removal.

Structured data

Machine-readable markup describing page content. Valid markup can create feature eligibility but cannot guarantee display.

Technical SEO

Work that supports crawling, rendering, indexing, canonicalization, performance, and other site-level search requirements.

Thin content

A page that offers little useful, original, or differentiated value for its intended visitor. No universal minimum word count defines it.

Title element

The HTML title text that identifies a page and provides one input for its search-result title.

Title link

The clickable result title a search engine may generate from the title element and other prominent page signals.

URL

The web address identifying a specific resource.

URL Inspection tool

A Search Console tool for reviewing what Google knows about a URL and testing aspects of its live crawlability.

XML sitemap

A machine-readable list of preferred URLs that supports discovery and canonical signals but does not force crawling or indexing.

YMYL

“Your Money or Your Life,” Google's label for topics that can materially affect health, financial stability, safety, or societal well-being.

Zero-click search

A search session in which the person does not click through to a result, often because the results page answers the immediate need.

Map listings, directories, and the business facts customers see before they visit your site. Read the guides

Apple Business (formerly Apple Business Connect)

Apple's free tool for claiming and managing how your business appears on Apple Maps place cards, including hours, photos, and actions. Apple folded Business Connect into Apple Business in April 2026.

Bing Places for Business

Microsoft's free tool for managing your business listing on Bing search and maps. It can import details from a Google Business Profile, but you should still check the imported facts.

Citation

Any online listing or mention of your business's name, address, and phone number, such as a directory, map app, or industry site. A few accurate citations on sites customers use matter more than many unchecked ones.

Google Business Profile

A business-managed listing that can appear in Google Search and Maps with verified details, photos, updates, and customer actions.

Knowledge panel

A search feature presenting assembled facts about an entity, such as a person, organization, place, or work.

Local pack

A group of map-based business results shown for some geographically relevant searches.

Local SEO

Work intended to improve a business's visibility for relevant searches tied to a location or service area.

LocalBusiness schema

Structured data code on your website that describes your business name, address, hours, and similar facts. It helps Google read those facts but does not guarantee any special display.

NAP consistency

Keeping your business name, address, and phone number (NAP) the same on your website, Google Business Profile, and other listings, so customers and search engines are not given conflicting details.

Service-area business

A business that visits or delivers to customers instead of serving them at its address, such as a plumber. Google asks these businesses to hide the address and list the areas they serve.

The accounts and settings that keep your website and business email running. Read the guides

DKIM

DomainKeys Identified Mail: a digital signature added to your outgoing email so receiving servers can confirm it really came from your domain and was not altered.

DMARC

A DNS record that tells receiving mail servers what to do with messages that fail SPF or DKIM checks for your domain, and where to send reports. Large inboxes such as Gmail now require it for bulk senders.

DNS

The Domain Name System: the settings that point your domain to your website host and email provider. A wrong DNS change can take a site or inbox offline.

Hosting

The service that stores your website files and serves them to visitors. Your business should own or have admin access to the hosting account.

HTTPS

The secure version of HTTP. It encrypts what passes between a visitor's browser and your website and requires a valid SSL/TLS certificate.

Registrar

The company where your domain name is registered and renewed, such as the account where you pay yearly for yourbusiness.com. Whoever controls this account controls the domain.

SPF

Sender Policy Framework: a DNS record listing the services allowed to send email for your domain, such as your email provider and booking software.

SSL/TLS certificate

A file that lets a website use HTTPS and proves the site belongs to the domain. Maximum certificate lifetimes are shrinking (200 days from March 2026, 100 days from March 2027, 47 days from March 2029), so automatic renewal matters.

WCAG

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines: the W3C's testable standard for making websites usable by people with disabilities. Version 2.2 is current, and Level AA is the usual target.

Asking for, answering, and following the rules on customer reviews. Read the guides

FTC review rule

The Federal Trade Commission's Consumer Reviews and Testimonials Rule (16 CFR Part 465), in effect since October 21, 2024. It bans fake reviews, incentives tied to positive sentiment, undisclosed insider reviews, and review suppression by threats or false claims.

Incentivized review

A review given in exchange for something of value, such as a discount. Google's review policy prohibits offering incentives for reviews, and the FTC rule bans incentives that require a positive or negative sentiment.

Review gating

Asking customers how they feel first and then sending only happy ones to a public review site. Google's policies prohibit selectively asking for positive reviews, and the FTC says it can violate the FTC Act.

Review response

The public reply a business posts under a customer review. Good responses are short, polite, and never reveal private customer details.

The costs, campaign types, and settings you will see in an ads account or proposal. Read the guides

AI Max for Search campaigns

An optional Google Ads setting for Search campaigns that uses broad match, keywordless matching, and automatic text and landing-page choices to reach more searches. Brand and location controls limit where it can go.

Cost per acquisition (CPA)

Ad spend divided by the number of conversions, such as booked jobs or qualified leads. Hypothetical example: $600 spent for 12 qualified leads is a $50 CPA.

Cost per click (CPC)

What you pay, on average, each time someone clicks your ad. Hypothetical example: $300 spent for 150 clicks is a $2.00 CPC.

Enhanced conversions

A Google Ads feature that sends hashed (scrambled) customer details, such as an email or phone number from a form, to help match conversions to ad clicks more accurately.

Google Verified (formerly Google Guaranteed/Screened)

The badge shown on Local Services Ads for businesses that pass Google's screening and verification. In October 2025 it replaced the Google Guaranteed and Google Screened badges, and Google ended the money-back guarantee.

Local Services Ads (LSA)

Google ads for local service businesses that can appear at the top of Google results and charge per lead rather than per click. Businesses must pass Google's screening and verification. Starting August 2026 in the US, Google is moving these ads into Performance Max campaigns with pay-per-lead goals, in phases.

Negative keyword

A word or phrase you tell Google Ads not to show your ads for, such as "free" or "jobs" for a service business.

Performance Max

A goal-based Google Ads campaign type that runs across Search, YouTube, Display, Discover, Gmail, and Maps from one campaign, with Google choosing placements and combinations.

Quality Score

A 1–10 diagnostic score in Google Ads for a keyword, based on expected click-through rate, ad relevance, and landing page experience. It helps spot weak ads or pages; it is not a direct input to the ad auction.

Return on ad spend (ROAS)

Revenue from ads divided by what the ads cost. Hypothetical example: $4,000 in tracked sales from $1,000 in spend is a 400% ROAS (4:1). It ignores other costs, so it is not profit.

Search terms report

The Google Ads report showing the actual searches that triggered your ads. Review it to add negative keywords for searches you do not want to pay for.

Smart Bidding

Google Ads bid strategies that use Google's AI to set bids in each auction for conversions or conversion value: Target CPA, Target ROAS, Maximize conversions, and Maximize conversion value. They depend on accurate conversion tracking.

How visits, calls, forms, and leads are counted and compared. Read the guides

Attribution

The rules a tool uses to give credit for a conversion to one or more ads, searches, or visits. Different tools use different rules, so their numbers rarely match exactly.

Call tracking

Using forwarding phone numbers to see which ads or pages produce calls. Keep your main business number on listings and use tracking numbers carefully.

Click

A recorded action in which someone follows a supported search-result link to a site; counting rules vary by result type.

Click-through rate (CTR)

Clicks divided by impressions, usually expressed as a percentage.

Consent mode

A Google setting that passes a visitor's cookie choice to Google tags. Basic mode loads no tags until the visitor chooses; advanced mode sends limited cookieless signals and relies more on modeling.

Conversion

A customer action you have decided is worth counting, such as a qualified call, form submission, booking, or purchase. In GA4 these are marked as key events; in Google Ads they are conversion actions.

Conversion rate

Conversions divided by the chosen audience measure, such as visits, users, or leads; the denominator must be stated.

Data retention

How long GA4 keeps user-level and event-level data for explorations: 2 or 14 months for standard properties. Standard reports are not affected. Check which setting is selected; 14 months allows longer comparisons.

GA4 (Google Analytics 4)

Google's current website analytics tool. It records visits and actions as events, and you choose which events count as key events.

Impression

A reported appearance of a site or page in search under the measurement rules of the reporting platform.

Key event

A GA4 event you mark as important to your business, such as a form submission or a click on your phone number. Key events can be imported into Google Ads as conversions.

Qualified lead

An inquiry from someone who needs a service you offer, in an area you serve, at a time you can help. Your own call and booking records are the best way to count them.

UTM parameters

Tags added to the end of a link (utm_source, utm_medium, utm_campaign) so analytics can tell which email, post, or ad sent a visitor. Example: ?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=spring_tuneup.