SEO in 79 Images – A Visual Guide to Search Engine Optimization Terms

SEO

Last updated: November 2019

Search Engine Optimization is not always clear for everyone. Some terms need more than just definitions and written examples. That’s why I created this list of 79 terms and tools relevant to SEO (in no particular order) and paired them all up with a relevant picture:

1. SERP (Search Engine Result Pages) – the place where all search results for specific keywords and websites are displayed according to their rankings

Search Engine Results Page in Google

2. 404 error – a message that notifies you when a page can’t be found on a website

404 error

3. Search engine – a tool or software that helps you search for information on the Internet

search enginge

4. Keyword – any word that you can use to find relevant content using a search engine

keyword

5. Keyword stuffing – the bad practice of repeating the same keyword too many times on a page in an attempt to make the page relevant and rank higher

keyword stuffing

6. Alt tag – an image attribute that helps search engines identify what a picture represents

alt tag

7. Meta description – a text snippet that summarizes a page’s content and will appear in the search results

Meta description

8. Indexing – the process of submitting a page to Google (or other search engines) so that they can be included in the Google index and appear in search results

indexing

9. Sitemap – a visual diagram of a website’s content that shows Google how it should crawl and index each page

sitemap

10. Robots.txt – a file that provides all the necessary information regarding your website to any crawler or spider and can help you stop them from accessing certain parts of your website

robots.txt

11. Long tail keywords – longer keyword phrases that are very specific to what you want to promote or sell

long tail keywords

12. Latent Semantic Indexing (LSI)  Keyword – a keyword whose meaning is linked to your main keyword and that help readers and search engines understand what the content is about

lsi keyword

13. LSIGraph – a tool that helps you discover LSI keywords

LSIGraph

14. Alexa Ranking – a measurement and tool that ranks a website based on its traffic

alexa ranking

15. Breadcrumbs – a trail of pages that show you exactly where you are on a website according to the website’s hierarchy

breadcrumbs

16. Canonical – your chosen main page in a situation where there are multiple other pages with the same or similar content

canonical

17. Keyword density – the number of times your preferred keyword is used on a page

keyword density

18. Google Search Console (formerly known as Google Webmasters) – a free tool that allows webmasters and SEO experts to check the status of a website in terms of speed and indexing and to optimize it for the search results

Google Search Console

19. Black hat SEO – the bad practice of using paid, illegal, or violent SEO techniques to boost your ranking such as paying for backlinks like in the example below

buying links through Fiverr

20. Google AdWords Keyword Planner – Google’s keyword research tool that helps you find keywords to use in your ads or content

keyword planner

21. Backlink – a link placed on a website that’s not your but links back to your website

backlink

Source: VentureHarbour

22. The Skyscraper Technique – a content-building method created by Brian Dean that implies finding high-ranking content and creating something better or longer than that

skyscraper technique

Source: Backlinko

23. Link building – a technique used to get backlinks (to a page you want to promote) through email outreach, link submission or guest posting like in the example below

link building through guest posts

Source: HubSpot

24. NoFollow link – a tag that shows search engines not to follow a link

nofollow

25. Meta keywords – a list of the main keywords that represent a page or a website

meta keywords

26. Organic search results – the free, unpaid results that appear on the search engine results page

organic search results

27. Paid search results – the paid results that appear on the search engine results page

paid search results

28. Rich snippet – a highlighted result that is shown to users based on their specific searches

rich snippet

29. Search Engine Marketing (SEM) – promoting a product or service using search engines

search engine marketing

30. Title tag – the page’s title that is seen in a browser’s title bar

title tag

31. Uniform Resource Locator (URL) – the address of a website or page

url

32. Ahrefs – a tool for researching your competition and checking SEO backlinks

Ahrefs

33. SEMrush – a tool used to check competitor activity and discover relevant keywords for your website

semrush

34. Moz – a website that provides SEO software, tools, and other resources for marketers and SEO practitioners

MOZ

35. Backlinko – a website that offers extensive SEO training and learning resources for link building

Backlinko

36. PageSpeed Insights – a Google tool you can use to analyze and improve the speed of your website

PageSpeed Insights

37. Google Suggest – Google’s auto-complete function that recommends other similar keywords to the one you’re looking for

suggest

38. Page Authority – a specific score created by Moz that can show you approximately how your page will rank in the search results

page au

39. Domain Authority – a specific score created by Moz that can show you approximately how your website will rank in the search results

domain authority

40. 301 Redirect – a message that lets you know when a page has been permanently moved to a different location

301

41. 302 Redirect – a message that lets you know when a page has been temporarily moved to a different location

302 redirect

42. Above the fold – the area of a page or landing page that is visible before the user scrolls down

above the fold

43. Absolute link – a link to a website that includes the full URL of the page you link want to send users to

absolute link

44. Neil Patel’s Ubersuggest – a free tool you can use to find keywords and analyze URLs

ubersuggest

45. Anchor text – the text a user has to click on to reach a specific internal or external URL

anchor link

46. Disavow – a method for removing unwanted or spam links

disavow

47. Favicon – a small icon that appears next to a website’s URL

favicons

48. Whiteboard Friday by Moz – a series of regular videos on the latest SEO news and tips

Whiteboard Friday website

49. Google Trends – a free tool that shows you the search volumes for specific keywords

Google Trends

50. HTML headings – tags that define the importance of a heading according to the hierarchy you establish

h2h3

51. HyperText Markup Language (HTML) – the language in which the pages of all websites across the Internet are written

HTML52. Search Engine Journal – a website that offers SEO and search engine marketing news and tips

Search Engine Journal53. HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP) – a protocol that facilitates the communication between servers and web browsers

http

54. Internal link – a link that sends users to another page on the same website

internal link

55. External link – a link that sends users to page on a different website

external link

56. Branded keywords – keyword phrases that include the name of a brand

branded

57. Wordtracker – a keyword research tool

Wordtracker

58. WordStream – a tool that allows you to discover and export keywords

WordStream

59. Keyword Tool – a free keyword finder for Google, YouTube, Bing, Amazon, eBay, and App Store

Keyword Tool

60. KWFinder – a tool for finding and analyzing keywords

KWFinder

61. Google Correlate – a free tool that can help you generate keywords or compare them and their performance

Google Correlate

62. MozBar – a free Chrome extension that can show you a website’s Page Authority (PA), Domain Authority (DA), and Spam Score.

MozBar

63. Check My Links – a free Chrome extension that can show you which links from a page are not working anymore

Check My Links

64. Yoast SEO – a WordPress plugin that can help you optimize a page for the search results and identify any SEO-related issues

Yoast

65. AnswerThePublic – a free visual keyword finder that offers content ideas

AnswerThePublic

66. Help A Reporter – a service that can help you find content to contribute to in exchange for a backlink or ask for the help of other people to be a part of your own content

haro

67. LongTailPro – a tool that helps you find long tail keywords

LongTailPro

68. BuzzSumo – a tool that can help you find the best influencers to reach out too and the most shared content to link to or to re-create

buzzsumo

69. BuzzStream – a software for link building and researching prospects

BuzzStream

70. SEObook – a series of tools to help you with doing SEO on your website

SEObook

71. Pingdom – a website to help you check the speed of your web pages

pingdom

72. SEOprofiler – a tool that can check your website in terms of complete SEO

profiler

73. Search Engine Watch – a website that can keep you up to date with the latest changes in the world of search engines

Search Engine Watch

74. Blog – an individual website or page on a website where regular written and visual content is published

blog

75. RSS (Really Simple Syndication) Feed – a subscription method you can use to get the latest updates from a website you want to follow

RSS

76. Feedly – a website that can help you organize your favorite websites by subscribing to their RSS feeds

feedly

77. Soovle – a tool for discovering keyword according to specific search engines

Soovle

78. Google Hot Keyword Searches – a tool that shows you the latest popular keywords to inspire you to write your next piece of content

Google Trends Hot Keyword Searches

79. cognitiveSEO – a series of tools that help you increase your traffic by dealing with all SEO issues

cognitiveSEO

Know any other terms? Let me know in the comments below and I’ll check them out. Don’t forget to share this article with someone who might be interested in SEO or bookmark it to come back once it’s updated.

seo guide in images

Published by Alexandra Cote

Alexandra Cote is a SaaS content writer and strategist with a passion for workplace productivity, social media marketing wonders, conversion rate optimization, artificial intelligence, and keyword research (Hooray for SEO!). Reach out to her via LinkedIn or her blog.

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