The words behind a site that actually ranks

SEO

Search Engine Optimization

Improving a site's content, structure, and technical health so search engines rank it higher for the queries your customers actually type.

Improve your SEO

AEO

Answer Engine Optimization

Structuring content so AI answer engines like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google's AI Overviews can understand, trust, and cite it directly.

Get AI-search ready

Core Web Vitals

Google's set of real-user metrics for loading, interactivity, and visual stability. They feed into how Google judges page experience.

Audit your vitals

LCP

Largest Contentful Paint

How long the biggest visible element takes to appear. Under 2.5 seconds is considered good.

Improve your LCP

CLS

Cumulative Layout Shift

A score for how much the page jumps around while it loads. Aim to keep it below 0.1.

Reduce layout shift

INP

Interaction to Next Paint

Measures how quickly a page responds after someone taps or clicks. It replaced FID as a Core Web Vital in 2024.

Sharpen your INP

Structured Data

Code, usually from Schema.org, that spells out what a page means so search and AI engines can use it with confidence.

Add structured data

Backlink

A link from another website to yours. Links from trusted, relevant sites are a strong signal that you are worth ranking.

Build authority

Crawl Budget

How many of your pages a search engine will crawl in a given window. Spending it on thin or duplicate pages slows real indexing.

Save crawl budget

Meta Description

The short summary shown beneath your title in search results. It does not rank you, but it heavily influences whether people click.

Write better tags

Canonical URL

The version of a page you tell search engines to treat as the original when several similar or duplicate URLs exist.

Fix duplicate URLs

Conversion Rate

The share of visitors who do the thing you want, such as buying, booking, or filling out a form.

Convert more visitors

CTA

Call to Action

The button or link that tells a visitor what to do next, like "Start your project". Clear CTAs lift conversion more than almost anything else.

Write better CTAs

Bounce Rate

The share of visitors who leave after a single page without interacting. High bounce on a key page usually points to a mismatch or friction.

Lower your bounce

Above the Fold

The part of a page visible before scrolling. What lives here decides whether most visitors stay or leave.

XML Sitemap

A file that lists your important pages so search engines can discover and crawl them efficiently.

Improve crawling

Alt Text

A written description of an image, read aloud by screen readers and used by search engines that cannot see the picture.

Optimize your images

TTFB

Time to First Byte

How long the server takes to send the first piece of data. A slow TTFB delays everything that loads after it.

Speed up TTFB

GEO

Generative Engine Optimization

Optimizing content so generative AI tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude name and cite your brand in the answers they write. GEO overlaps heavily with AEO; both aim to be the source an AI quotes, not just a blue link.

Get found in AI search

AI Overviews

Google's AI-generated answer that sits above the normal results, summarizing several sources. Pages cited inside an AI Overview earn visibility even when users never scroll to the classic links.

Show up in AI search

AI Mode

Google's fully conversational search experience, where an assistant answers follow-up questions and pulls from many pages at once instead of returning a simple list of ten links.

LLM

Large Language Model

The AI behind tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude. It predicts text from patterns in huge training data, which is why clear, well-structured pages are easier for it to quote accurately.

Query Fan-Out

How AI search quietly expands one question into several hidden sub-queries, then blends the best sources for each. Covering a topic thoroughly helps you appear across more of those sub-queries.

Build topical depth

Passage Ranking

When search engines and AI rank a single section of a page rather than the whole page. Self-contained, clearly labeled passages of roughly 40-120 words are the easiest to lift into an answer.

llms.txt

A plain-text file at your domain root that lists your most important pages for AI crawlers, giving them a clean 'ground truth' to read so they cite your site more accurately.

See our technical checklist

RAG

Retrieval-Augmented Generation

A method where an AI looks up live documents before answering instead of relying only on training data. It is why fresh, crawlable, well-structured pages get cited in AI answers.

Entity

A clearly defined thing, such as a person, brand, product, or place, that search engines recognize and connect in their Knowledge Graph. Strong entity signals help AI trust you as an authority.

Knowledge Graph

Google's database of real-world entities and the relationships between them. Being represented in it helps your brand appear in rich results and be recognized by AI answer engines.

Rich Results

Enhanced search listings, such as star ratings, FAQs, prices, and images, generated from structured data. They take up more space in results and lift click-through rates.

Win rich results

FAQ Schema

Structured data that marks up questions and answers on a page so search engines and AI can display or quote them directly. A simple, high-leverage tactic for AI search visibility.

SERP

Search Engine Results Page, everything Google shows for a query: classic links, ads, snippets, AI Overviews, maps, and images. The goal is to own as much of it as possible.

Keyword Research

Finding the words and questions your customers actually search, then mapping them to pages. It is the foundation of content that brings in qualified, ready-to-buy traffic.

Plan your SEO

Search Intent

The real goal behind a search, whether to learn, compare, buy, or find a specific site. Matching a page to its intent is one of the biggest ranking factors you control.

Long-Tail Keyword

A longer, more specific search phrase with lower volume but higher intent, like 'web design studio for dental clinics'. Easier to rank for and far more likely to convert.

Featured Snippet

A short answer Google pulls to the very top of results, above the normal links. It is often the same concise, well-structured content that AI answer engines quote.

Zero-Click Search

A search answered right on the results page by a snippet, AI Overview, or knowledge panel, so the user never clicks through. It makes being the cited source more valuable than ever.

Crawling

How search engine bots follow links to discover your pages. If a page cannot be crawled, it cannot be indexed or ranked, no matter how good it is.

Technical SEO checklist

Indexing

Adding a crawled page to the search engine's database so it can appear in results. A page must be indexed before it can rank for anything.

Robots.txt

A file at your domain root that tells crawlers which areas of your site they may or may not access. Used to keep private or low-value pages out of crawling.

Noindex

A tag that tells search engines to keep a page out of their index. Useful for thank-you pages, duplicates, and thin content you do not want ranking.

301 Redirect

A permanent redirect that sends users and search engines from an old URL to a new one, passing most of the old page's ranking value along.

Hreflang

A tag that tells search engines the language and region a page targets, so users see the right version of a multi-language or multi-country site.

Mobile-First Indexing

Google ranks your site based on its mobile version, not desktop. If your mobile experience is slow or stripped down, your rankings suffer everywhere.

Modernize your site

JavaScript Rendering

How search engines process pages built with JavaScript. Heavy client-side rendering can hide content from crawlers unless it is server-rendered or pre-rendered.

Build a fast web app

Site Architecture

How your pages are organized and linked together. A shallow, logical structure helps both users and crawlers reach important pages in just a few clicks.

Pagination

How you split long lists or articles across multiple numbered pages, and signal their order to search engines so the series is indexed correctly.

Title Tag

The clickable headline that shows in search results and browser tabs. A clear, keyword-aware title is one of the strongest on-page ranking and click signals.

H1-H6

Header Tags

The HTML headings that structure a page. A single clear H1 and logical subheadings help readers skim and help search engines and AI understand your content.

Internal Linking

Links between your own pages. They spread ranking authority, guide users to key pages, and help search engines understand how your content connects.

See the playbook

Anchor Text

The visible, clickable words of a link. Descriptive anchor text tells search engines what the linked page is about, so avoid vague 'click here' links.

Topic Cluster

A group of related pages linked around one central pillar page. Clusters build topical authority and help you rank for a whole subject, not just one keyword.

Pillar Page

A broad, authoritative page covering a core topic in depth and linking out to detailed cluster pages. It anchors your topical authority on a subject.

Content Pruning

Removing, merging, or improving thin and outdated pages so your strongest content carries more weight. Quality over quantity helps the whole site rank.

Semantic Search

Search that understands meaning and context, not just exact keywords. It rewards content that covers a topic naturally and completely.

Keyword Cannibalization

When several of your pages compete for the same keyword, splitting their authority so none rank well. Consolidating or differentiating them fixes it.

E-E-A-T

Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trust, the qualities Google and AI engines look for to decide if your content is credible enough to rank and cite.

Build authority

Topical Authority

The depth and breadth of trustworthy content you have published on a subject. The more completely you cover a topic, the more search engines treat you as the expert.

DA

Domain Authority

A third-party score from 1 to 100 estimating how likely a whole domain is to rank, based largely on its backlink profile. A directional benchmark, not a Google metric.

Link Building

Earning links from other reputable sites to yours. Quality, relevant backlinks remain one of the strongest off-page ranking signals.

Local SEO

Optimizing to appear for location-based searches and in the map pack. Critical for any business that serves a specific city or region.

Get found locally

GBP

Google Business Profile

Your free business listing that powers Google Maps and local results. Accurate, complete profiles win the local map pack and drive calls and visits.

NAP

Name, Address, and Phone number. Keeping these identical everywhere they appear online builds trust for local search and helps you rank in the map pack.

Nofollow

A link attribute telling search engines not to pass ranking credit through that link. Common on ads, paid placements, and user-generated content.

FCP

First Contentful Paint

How long until the first text or image appears on screen. It is the moment a visitor knows the page is actually loading.

Core Web Vitals checklist

TBT

Total Blocking Time

How long a page stays frozen and unresponsive while scripts run during load. High TBT makes a site feel sluggish and hurts your INP score.

Lighthouse

Google's free tool that scores a page on performance, accessibility, SEO, and best practices from 0 to 100. A quick way to spot what is slowing you down.

Get a free audit

Lazy Loading

Delaying the load of off-screen images and videos until a user scrolls near them. It speeds up the initial load and saves bandwidth.

CDN

Content Delivery Network

A network of servers around the world that serves your site from the location closest to each visitor, cutting load times globally.

Managed hosting & CDN

Caching

Storing a ready-made copy of your pages or assets so repeat visits load almost instantly instead of being rebuilt from scratch every time.

Faster managed hosting

Minification

Stripping unnecessary characters like spaces and comments from code to shrink file sizes, so pages download and run faster.

Render-Blocking Resources

Scripts or styles that must load before the page can display, delaying what the user sees. Deferring or inlining them improves load speed.

Image Optimization

Compressing and serving images in modern formats like WebP at the right size. Often the single biggest speed win available on a page.

Speed up your site

CRO

Conversion Rate Optimization

Systematically improving the share of visitors who take a desired action, such as buy, book, or enquire, through better design, copy, and testing.

Make your site convert

A/B Testing

Showing two versions of a page to different visitors to see which drives more conversions, so decisions are based on real data rather than opinion.

CTR

Click-Through Rate

The percentage of people who click after seeing your listing, ad, or link. A higher CTR in search can lift both traffic and rankings.

UX

User Experience

How easy, clear, and pleasant a site is to use. Good UX keeps visitors engaged, which lifts conversions and sends positive signals to search engines.

Get a site that converts

Social Proof

Evidence that others trust you, such as reviews, testimonials, client logos, and counts. It reduces hesitation and is one of the most reliable conversion boosters.

Value Proposition

The clear, one-line reason a customer should choose you over the alternatives. Stating it above the fold is critical to converting first-time visitors.

Sharpen your message

Responsive Design

Building a site that adapts smoothly to any screen size, from phone to tablet to desktop, so it looks and works well everywhere.

Get a responsive site

Friction

Anything that makes it harder for a visitor to act, like extra form fields, slow loads, or confusing steps. Removing friction directly lifts conversions.

Heatmap

A visual map of where users click, move, and scroll on a page. It reveals what is grabbing attention and what is being ignored.

GA4

Google Analytics 4

Google's analytics platform that tracks how people find and use your site, measuring traffic, engagement, and conversions across devices.

GSC

Google Search Console

Google's free tool showing how your site performs in search: which queries bring clicks, which pages are indexed, and what errors to fix.

Improve search performance

Impressions

How many times your pages appeared in search results. Rising impressions with few clicks often means your titles or rankings need work.

Organic Traffic

Visitors who reach your site from unpaid search results. It compounds over time, which makes SEO one of the highest-ROI marketing channels.

Grow organic traffic