Glossary of SEO terms (Part 1)
29 November 2011 - Digital
The process of Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) is full of abbreviations and acronyms, which allow us SEOers to discuss more complex terms easily – a simple acronym such as ‘SERP’ is a lot easier (and quicker) to say than the mouthful that is ‘Search Engine Results Page’.
It is all well and good that the people in the know use these SEO terms, but if we start spouting these terms during meetings and in emails how on earth do you know what we are talking about?
Unless you have an understanding of SEO, all of the terms and acronyms will almost certainly go over your head, and if they do, please tell us! We will be more than happy to explain what they mean, and please don’t think we are trying to hide behind them and baffle you with words that have no substance.
To give you a quick heads up, below is a list of five SEO terms, expressions and acronyms (and their meanings) that regularly crop up when SEO is being discussed. I will be bringing you a new set of SEO terms on a regular basis so keep your eyes peeled for the next update!
What is Alt Text (Alt Tag)?
This is a shortened term that stands for ‘alternative text’ and is used to describe what appears in an image on your website, and appears when you hover your cursor over the image. It is important that the alt text used for an image accurately describes what is being depicted as software for visually impaired users of the internet also read aloud this text to describe to the user what is depicted on screen.
What are Backlinks (Inbound Links)?
You will often hear SEO specialists telling you how important these are for your website – and they’d be right. These are links from another site on the internet linking to a specific web page on your site or your entire site. Generally, the more backlinks you have, the higher you will rank (but it’s not always that simple!).
What is a Click Through Rate (CTR)?
Commonly used when discussing Pay Per Click (PPC) campaigns, this is a measurement of how many times a link that has appeared on a search engine results page (SERP) has been clicked. If a link to your site has appeared on a results page 100 times (100 impressions) and has received 20 clicks then the Click through rate is 20%. The higher the click through rate the more people are seeing your website and therefore increasing the possibility of a sale (conversion).
What is a Description Tag (Meta Description Tag)?
Similar to an alt tag (above), a meta description tag describes what is featured on the web page that it is connected to. The meta description tag also appears on a search engine results page below the title link. Meta description tags are an indicator to search engines as to what information a page is offering.
What is Google Analytics?
This is a web based tool that allows an SEO specialist to view the statistics of visitors to your site. It can track, amongst other things, how many visitors your site has had, how many pages they viewed and how long they spent on the site. It can also aid us in identifying keywords that visitors are searching for when visiting your site. An essential tool when optimising and tracking visitors to your site.
If you require an SEO specialist to help get your site ranking higher and attracting more visitors, or for a further, detailed description for any of the terms above, please give us a call and we will be more than happy to help.
Keep a look out for the Glossary of SEO terms (Part 2) coming soon!
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