SEO & Backlink Terminology Glossary
A comprehensive dictionary of SEO, backlink, and search engine terminology to help you understand the industry jargon. Explore Label Studio for additional SEO tools.
A
Anchor Text
The clickable, visible text in a hyperlink. Anchor text helps search engines understand what the linked page is about. Types include exact match, partial match, branded, generic, and naked URLs.
Example: In "Visit our SEO guide for more tips," the anchor text is "SEO guide".
Authority (Domain/Page)
A measure of how trustworthy and influential a domain or page is, based on factors like backlink quality, content relevance, and user engagement. Higher authority typically leads to better search rankings.
Example: The New York Times has high domain authority due to its reputation and extensive backlink profile.
B
Backlink
A link from one website to another. Also called "inbound link" or "incoming link." Backlinks are a key ranking factor because they signal trust and authority to search engines.
Example: If TechCrunch links to your blog post, that's a backlink from TechCrunch to your site.
Black Hat SEO
Unethical SEO techniques that violate search engine guidelines to manipulate rankings. Examples include keyword stuffing, cloaking, and link farms. Can result in penalties or de-indexing.
Example: Buying thousands of spammy backlinks from low-quality directories is a black hat tactic.
Broken Link
A hyperlink that leads to a non-existent or inaccessible page, typically returning a 404 error. Broken backlinks represent lost link equity and potential reclamation opportunities.
Example: A page that was deleted without a redirect leaves broken links pointing to it.
C
Canonical URL
The preferred version of a webpage when multiple URLs have similar or duplicate content. The canonical tag tells search engines which version to index and rank.
Example: If your site has both www.example.com/page and example.com/page, you designate one as canonical.
Citation
A mention of your business name, address, and phone number (NAP) on other websites, even without a link. Citations are important for local SEO and building authority.
Example: Your business listed in an online directory like Yelp is a citation.
Crawling
The process by which search engine bots (spiders) systematically browse the web to discover and index new and updated content. Crawlers follow links to find pages.
Example: Googlebot crawls your website by following internal links and backlinks from other sites.
D
Dofollow Link
A standard hyperlink that passes "link juice" (authority/equity) to the linked page. Dofollow links help improve search rankings of the destination page.
Example: Most editorial links in blog content are dofollow by default.
Domain Rating (DR)
A proprietary metric (used by Ahrefs) that measures the strength of a website's backlink profile on a scale of 0-100. Higher DR indicates more authority.
Example: Wikipedia has a DR of 91, while a new blog might have a DR of 5.
E
Editorial Link
A natural backlink earned when another website references your content because it's valuable, not because of paid promotion or link exchanges. The most valuable type of link.
Example: A journalist linking to your research study in their article is an editorial link.
External Link
A hyperlink that points to a page on a different domain. Also called "outbound link" when referring to links leaving your site.
Example: When you link to a Wikipedia article, that's an external link.
F
Follow vs Nofollow
Link attributes that control whether search engines pass authority. Follow (dofollow) links pass authority; nofollow links tell search engines not to follow or pass authority.
Example: Most blog comment links are nofollow to prevent spam.
G
Google Penalty
A negative adjustment to your website's search rankings imposed by Google for violating their guidelines. Can be algorithmic (automatic) or manual (human reviewer).
Example: A site using paid links might receive a manual penalty, causing rankings to drop.
Guest Posting
Writing and publishing content on another website or blog, typically with a backlink to your site. A white-hat link building strategy when done authentically.
Example: Contributing an article to an industry blog with a link back to your site.
H
I
Indexing
The process of adding web pages to a search engine's database after crawling. Indexed pages can appear in search results.
Example: After Google crawls your new blog post, it gets indexed and can rank in search results.
Internal Link
A hyperlink that points to another page on the same domain. Internal linking helps distribute page authority and improve site navigation.
Example: Linking from your homepage to your About page is an internal link.
J
K
Keyword
A word or phrase that users type into search engines. SEO involves optimizing content to rank for relevant keywords.
Example: "best running shoes" is a keyword someone might search for.
L
Link Building
The process of acquiring backlinks from other websites to improve search rankings and drive referral traffic. Can be done through content marketing, outreach, etc.
Example: Creating an infographic that others want to share and link to is link building.
Link Equity
The value or authority passed from one page to another through hyperlinks. Also called "link juice." Higher quality and more relevant links pass more equity.
Example: A link from a high-authority site passes more equity than a link from a new blog.
Link Farm
A group of websites created solely to link to each other or to a target site to manipulate search rankings. Considered a black hat SEO tactic.
Example: A network of 50 low-quality blogs all linking to each other is a link farm.
Link Velocity
The rate at which a website acquires new backlinks over time. Sudden spikes in link velocity can appear suspicious to search engines.
Example: Gaining 1,000 backlinks overnight looks unnatural compared to steady growth.
M
Meta Description
An HTML tag providing a brief summary of a webpage, displayed in search results below the title. While not a direct ranking factor, it affects click-through rates.
Example: The 160-character description that appears under your page title in Google search results.
N
Nofollow Link
A hyperlink with a rel="nofollow" attribute that tells search engines not to pass authority to the linked page. Still valuable for traffic and brand exposure.
Example: Links on social media platforms like Facebook are typically nofollow.
O
Organic Traffic
Visitors who arrive at your website through unpaid search engine results, not through ads or direct links.
Example: Someone finding your blog by searching "how to tie a tie" on Google is organic traffic.
Outbound Link
A link from your website pointing to an external domain. Also called "external link" from the perspective of your site.
Example: When you cite a source and link to it, that's an outbound link.
P
PageRank
Google's original algorithm (named after Larry Page) for measuring the importance of web pages based on the quantity and quality of backlinks. Still influences rankings today.
Example: A page with many high-quality backlinks has higher PageRank.
PBN (Private Blog Network)
A network of websites built solely to create backlinks to a target site. Considered a black hat SEO tactic and can result in penalties.
Example: Owning 20 blogs just to link to your main website is a PBN.
Q
R
Reciprocal Link
When two websites link to each other. Excessive reciprocal linking can appear manipulative, but natural, relevant exchanges are acceptable.
Example: You link to a partner's site and they link back to yours.
Redirect (301)
A permanent redirect from one URL to another, passing most link equity to the new URL. Used when moving or deleting pages.
Example: When you change your domain, you use 301 redirects to send visitors and link equity to the new site.
Referring Domain
A unique domain that has at least one backlink pointing to your site. Having links from many different referring domains is more valuable than many links from one domain.
Example: If TechCrunch.com has 5 links to your site, that counts as 1 referring domain.
Relevance
How closely related the linking site or page is to your site's topic or industry. Relevant backlinks are more valuable than irrelevant ones.
Example: A link from a fitness blog to a gym equipment store is highly relevant.
robots.txt
A text file that tells search engine crawlers which pages or sections of your site to crawl or not crawl.
Example: Using robots.txt to prevent crawling of your admin pages.
S
Search Intent
The reason behind a user's search query—what they're trying to accomplish. Understanding intent helps create content that matches user needs.
Example: Searching "buy running shoes" has transactional intent, while "how do running shoes work" has informational intent.
SERP (Search Engine Results Page)
The page displayed by a search engine in response to a user's query, showing organic results, ads, featured snippets, and other elements.
Example: When you search on Google, the page with all the results is the SERP.
Sitemap
An XML file listing all important pages on your website to help search engines discover and crawl your content more efficiently.
Example: Submitting an XML sitemap to Google Search Console helps Google find all your pages.
Spam Score
A metric (used by Moz and others) indicating how likely a site is to be penalized by search engines based on characteristics common to spammy sites.
Example: A site with many low-quality backlinks might have a high spam score.
T
Title Tag
An HTML element specifying the title of a webpage, displayed in search results and browser tabs. A critical on-page SEO element.
Example: The clickable headline "Best Pizza in New York | Joe's Pizza" in search results is the title tag.
Toxic Link
A backlink from a spammy, low-quality, or penalized website that could harm your search rankings. Should be disavowed or removed.
Example: A link from a known link farm or adult site to your business website is toxic.
U
URL Rating (UR)
A metric (used by Ahrefs) measuring the strength of a specific URL's backlink profile on a scale of 0-100, similar to Domain Rating but for individual pages.
Example: Your homepage might have a UR of 40 while a blog post has a UR of 15.
User-Generated Content (UGC)
Content created by users rather than the site owner, such as comments, reviews, or forum posts. The rel="ugc" attribute can be used for links in UGC.
Example: Customer reviews on a product page are user-generated content.
V
W
White Hat SEO
Ethical SEO techniques that follow search engine guidelines to improve rankings through quality content, good user experience, and legitimate link building.
Example: Creating valuable content that naturally earns backlinks is white hat SEO.
X
Y
Z
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