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06.12.09 Common SEO Terms Used On A Daily Basis  By Patrick HarerThe world of search engine optimization is jargon heavy, and we often have to take a step back when speaking with prospective customers because we are immersed in the "language" of SEO. The list below has some of the more common optimization terms used on a daily basis, but we also have an older glossary that is somewhat more in depth. Note that SEO terms often have a different definition than the same terms related to internet practices. Age - First appearance of site in Archive.org, or first appearance in search engines. Not to be confused with domain age, which is the registration date of the domain name. Older sites have more credibility, but for SEO purposes the "age" clock starts when a site is cached by a search engine. Algorithm - A very complex series of rules used by a search engine to determine rankings. The Google Algorithm uses up to 200 different factors to determine web rankings. Analytics - Most often, this is a reference to Google Analytics, a free way to measure your site traffic. Other analytics programs include ClickTracks, WebTrends, and Omniture. Anchor Text - Linked text on a web page. Example: This is anchor text. Anchor text is important because search engines use it to determine what the destination page is about. Therefore, anchor text must be topical and relevant. Backlinks - The number of links from other websites to your website. Google Webmaster Tools will give you the most accurate picture of your own links, and a search in Yahoo under link:yourcompetitorsitehere.com will tell you how many links Yahoo is listing for that site. Ban - A severe search engine penalty that takes you completely out of the index. Normally caused by using black hat techniques. Black Hat - In reference to search engine optimization, a technique that is unethical in the eyes of a search engine, and can get you de-listed.
Bounce Rate - The number of people who come to a web page from another site (or search engine) and leave without visiting any other pages. A high bounce rate is believed to negatively affect search engine rankings over time. Most often measured using Google Analytics. Cache - The search engine's stored data about your site. This information can be weeks or months out of date, depending on your crawl rate. When you make SEO changes to your site, it won't be applied until the site gets re-cached and re-indexed. To see your cache in Google, type in cache: followed by your website. Content - All text on your website readable to the search engine. Usually this is in reference to the body text on your pages. Conversion - A visit to your site that results in an action being completed by the user. This can be a form fill-out, purchase, or phone call. Conversion Rate - The number of conversions divided by the number of visitors. Higher conversion rates are always preferred. In Google Analytics, this can be considered "Goal" conversion. Crawl Rate (Frequency) - The interval between search engine robot visits to your site. Generally, sites with frequent changes and more interesting (to a robot) content get visited more often. Pages with higher PageRank also get visited more often. Continue reading this article. About the Author: Patrick Hare has been managing online and offline marketing projects since 1999. From 2005 to present, he has been with Scottsdale Arizona’s Web.com Search Agency (formerly Submitawebsite). Patrick provides Search Engine Optimization and Marketing advice to in-house customers and Web.com Jacksonville’s web design group. |
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