A permanent redirect from one URL to another. Passes almost all link equity to the new URL. Essential when you change a page's address or restructure your site.

A temporary redirect. Unlike a 301, it signals to Google that the original URL may come back. Misusing 302s when you mean 301s can dilute your rankings.

A 'page not found' error that occurs when a URL no longer exists. Too many 404 errors can waste crawl budget and harm user experience.

Additional information added to your Google Ads — sitelinks, callouts, phone numbers, locations. They increase ad visibility and click-through rates at no extra cost.

Changes Google makes to its search ranking algorithm. Major updates (like Helpful Content, Core Updates) can significantly shift rankings.

Descriptive text added to images in HTML. Helps search engines understand image content and improves accessibility. Also helps images rank in Google Image search.

A link from another website to yours. One of the strongest ranking signals. Quality matters far more than quantity — one link from a trusted, relevant site is worth more than hundreds from low-quality directories. Learn more →

Manipulative SEO techniques that violate Google's guidelines — keyword stuffing, hidden text, link schemes, cloaking. Can result in penalties or complete removal from search results.

The percentage of visitors who leave your site after viewing only one page. A high bounce rate can indicate poor content relevance, slow loading, or bad user experience.

An HTML tag that tells search engines which version of a page is the 'master' copy when duplicate or very similar content exists across multiple URLs.

The percentage of people who click on your listing in search results after seeing it. Influenced by your title tag, meta description, URL, and any rich snippets.

The process of identifying topics and keywords your competitors rank for that you don't. Reveals opportunities to create new content that captures additional search traffic.

The percentage of visitors who complete a desired action — purchase, enquiry, sign-up, phone call. The ultimate measure of whether your SEO traffic is driving business.

A set of Google metrics measuring real-world user experience: loading speed (LCP), interactivity (INP), and visual stability (CLS). They are confirmed ranking factors. Learn more →

The amount you pay each time someone clicks your ad. Varies by keyword competitiveness, quality score, and bid strategy. London keywords tend to have higher CPCs. Learn more →

The number of pages Google will crawl on your site within a given timeframe. Large or poorly structured sites can exhaust their crawl budget before important pages are indexed.

How easily search engine bots can access and navigate your website. Blocked pages, broken links, and poor site structure all reduce crawlability.

Earning links and media coverage through newsworthy content, press releases, and journalist outreach. Builds both backlinks and brand awareness simultaneously.

A file submitted to Google Search Console telling Google to ignore specific backlinks pointing to your site. Used to combat negative SEO or clean up toxic link profiles.

A score (1-100) developed by Moz that predicts how likely a website is to rank in search results. Not a Google metric, but a useful benchmark for comparing site strength.

Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. Google's framework for evaluating content quality. Particularly important for YMYL (Your Money Your Life) topics.

A highlighted answer box that appears at the top of Google's search results (position zero). Structured content, lists, and direct answers increase your chances of winning one.

Optimising your content to be cited and referenced by AI search tools like ChatGPT, Google Gemini, Perplexity, and Claude. An emerging discipline alongside traditional SEO. Learn more →

Google's paid advertising platform (formerly AdWords). Allows you to place ads at the top of search results for specific keywords. You pay per click (PPC). Learn more →

Google's current analytics platform, replacing Universal Analytics. Tracks user behaviour across websites and apps using an event-based data model. Essential for measuring SEO performance. Learn more →

A free listing (formerly Google My Business) that controls how your business appears in Google Maps and local search results. Essential for any business targeting local customers. Learn more →

Optimising your Google Business Profile and local signals to rank in Google Maps results. Factors include proximity, relevance, prominence, reviews, and NAP consistency.

A free Google tool that shows how your site appears in search results, which queries drive traffic, crawl errors, indexing status, and Core Web Vitals data.

Writing content for another website in exchange for a backlink to your own. Effective when done on relevant, high-quality sites. Low-quality guest posting can be penalised.

The main heading tag on a web page. Each page should have one H1 that clearly describes the page's topic and ideally includes your primary keyword.

An HTML attribute that tells Google which language and geographic region a page targets. Critical for international SEO to avoid duplicate content issues across country-specific versions.

The number of times your page appeared in Google search results, regardless of whether anyone clicked. Available in Google Search Console.

The process by which Google adds your web pages to its database (index). If a page isn't indexed, it can't appear in search results.

Links from one page on your website to another page on the same site. Helps search engines understand your site structure and distributes ranking power across your pages.

The practice of ensuring search engines can properly crawl, render, and index content generated by JavaScript frameworks like React, Angular, or Vue.

When multiple pages on your site compete for the same keyword, splitting ranking signals and potentially harming both pages. Resolved by consolidating or differentiating content.

The percentage of times a keyword appears on a page relative to the total word count. Overstuffing keywords can trigger penalties — natural, contextual usage is what matters.

The process of identifying the search terms people use to find products, services, or information related to your business. The foundation of any effective SEO strategy. Learn more →

The process of acquiring backlinks from other websites. Effective strategies include digital PR, content marketing, broken link building, and earning editorial links. Learn more →

The ranking value passed from one page to another through hyperlinks. Pages with more high-quality inbound links pass more equity. Internal links also distribute equity within your site.

Mentions of your business name, address, and phone number on other websites — directories like Yell, Thomson, Yelp, and industry-specific listings. Consistency is critical.

The map-based section of Google's search results showing 3 local businesses. Appearing here requires a verified Google Business Profile, strong reviews, and local SEO optimisation.

Longer, more specific search phrases (usually 3+ words) that typically have lower search volume but higher conversion intent. E.g. 'emergency plumber South London' vs 'plumber'.

A short HTML summary (usually 155-160 characters) that appears below your page title in search results. Doesn't directly affect rankings but strongly influences click-through rate.

Name, Address, Phone number — ensuring these are identical across every online listing, directory, and citation. Inconsistent NAP data confuses Google and harms local rankings.

Location-based queries like 'SEO agency near me'. Google uses the searcher's device location to serve relevant local results. Optimising for these requires strong local SEO signals. Learn more →

Keywords you exclude from your PPC campaigns to prevent your ads showing for irrelevant searches. Essential for controlling ad spend and improving ROI. Learn more →

A link with a rel='nofollow' attribute telling search engines not to pass ranking value. Common on social media, forums, and sponsored content. Still useful for traffic and brand visibility.

Optimisation techniques applied directly to your web pages — including content, HTML tags, internal links, images, and URL structure. One of the two pillars of SEO alongside off-page. Learn more →

Visitors who arrive at your website through unpaid search engine results (as opposed to paid ads, social media, or direct traffic). The primary metric for SEO success.

A score predicting how well a specific page will rank. Built through backlinks, content quality, and on-page optimisation. Different from Domain Authority which measures the whole site.

Google's rating (1-10) of the quality and relevance of your ads, keywords, and landing pages. Higher quality scores lead to lower costs and better ad positions.

A unique website that links to yours. Having backlinks from many different referring domains is generally more valuable than many links from a single domain.

Showing ads to people who have previously visited your website. Keeps your brand visible and encourages return visits. Typically delivers higher conversion rates than cold targeting.

Google uses the quantity, quality, velocity, and diversity of your Google reviews as ranking factors for local search. Responding to reviews also sends positive signals.

Return On Ad Spend — the revenue generated for every pound spent on advertising. E.g. a ROAS of 5:1 means £5 revenue for every £1 spent. The key profitability metric for PPC.

A text file in your site's root directory that tells search engine crawlers which pages or sections they are allowed or not allowed to access.

Structured data code (usually JSON-LD) added to your pages that helps search engines understand your content. Enables rich results like star ratings, FAQs, and business info in Google. Learn more →

The underlying purpose behind a search query — informational (learning), navigational (finding a specific site), commercial (researching options), or transactional (ready to buy).

Search Engine Results Page — the page Google displays after a search query. Includes organic results, paid ads, featured snippets, knowledge panels, local packs, and more.

A business that visits customers at their location rather than receiving them (e.g. plumbers, cleaners). Google Business Profile has specific settings for service area businesses.

A group of user interactions on your website within a given timeframe. A single user can trigger multiple sessions. Key metric in GA4 for understanding engagement.

How quickly your web pages load. Directly affects rankings, user experience, and conversion rates. Google's PageSpeed Insights tool is the standard benchmark.

An XML file listing all the important pages on your website, submitted to Google Search Console to help search engines discover and index your content efficiently.

A security certificate that encrypts data between your website and visitors. Google confirmed HTTPS as a ranking signal in 2014. Sites without it show 'Not Secure' in browsers.

Pages with little or no valuable content. Google may devalue or ignore thin pages. Common on sites with auto-generated pages, doorway pages, or very short product descriptions.

The HTML title of a web page, displayed as the clickable headline in search results. One of the most important on-page ranking factors. Should include your primary keyword.

SEO practices that follow Google's guidelines — quality content, natural link building, technical optimisation, good user experience. Slower but sustainable and penalty-free. Learn more →