Web and search glossary
Plain-English definitions for the search and website terms used around this site. Each entry explains the term as it is used here, including where the label can mislead.
These are working definitions, not rules that apply to every team or search system. Start with the explanation in the article you are reading; use this page when a term needs a little more context.
Search engine optimisation (SEO)
SEO is the work of making a website and its content understandable to search systems and useful to the people who find it. It includes technical accessibility, clear page structure, relevant answers and honest evidence. It does not guarantee a particular ranking.
SEO siloing
SEO siloing is a planning model for grouping related pages and showing how they relate to one another. It becomes harmful when the model turns into a rule that forbids useful links between groups or creates pages that have no useful answer.
Internal link
An internal link points from one page on a website to another page on the same website. A useful internal link gives the reader relevant context or a sensible next step. Its value is not established by a target number of links.
Link popularity
Link popularity describes the number or distribution of links pointing to a page or site. It is a measurement of the link graph, not a strategy or a verdict on quality. Relevance, context, editorial purpose and reader value still need inspection.
Article marketing
Article marketing is the use of written explanations to reach an audience through a website, publication, newsletter, community or another fitting channel. Publishing volume is not the same as useful distribution, and a byline link is not proof of trust.
Viral link building
Viral link building is a name for promoting an asset in the hope that people will share or reference it. The useful version is content-led outreach: make something worth citing and show it to relevant people. Virality and editorial links cannot be promised.
Search intent
Search intent is the task or question behind a search. Someone may be learning a concept, comparing options, finding a local business or trying to complete an action. A page is more useful when it answers the task implied by the query instead of forcing every visitor through the same sales path.
Structured data
Structured data is machine-readable information added to a page to describe content that is also visible to readers. It can help systems interpret a page, but valid markup does not guarantee a rich result or a particular placement.
AI search features
AI search features are interfaces that use generative models to summarise or combine information in response to a search. They may link to sources for further reading. There is no universal AI ranking to monitor, so record dated queries and qualified actions rather than inventing one score.
Local SEO
Local SEO is the work of helping people and search systems understand a business’s location, service area, offer and evidence. Accurate business information and useful local pages matter more than creating artificial location pages or promising a fixed position on a map.
When a term is central to an article, the article should define it in context as well. This glossary is a reference, not a substitute for that explanation.
