Absolute Link - An absolute link is a hyperlink that includes the complete URL, which is the domain name and the file name for each web page for a given website.
Algorithm - An Algorithm is a mathematical formula used by search engines to rank the importance of Web pages. Each search engine has its own algorithm which is updated on a continuous basis.
Anchor Text - Anchor text is the text between the HTML anchor tags in a text link. Anchor text is also referred to as a text link. Search engines give weight to anchor text when ranking Web pages.
Content - Information or tools that your site offers to visitors to make it important or unique to the visitors and/or search engines.
Conversion - Conversion or Conversion rate refers to the product of traffic such as products ordered, information served, contacts made etc.
Directories - Internet directories are sites that categorize content submitted to them. An internet directory is much like a phone book directory. Directory submissions are usually reviewed by a human editor who will visit your Web site and decide if it will contribute to the end users experience.
Description Meta Tag - The description meta tag is a summary of your Web site when listed in the search results. Some search engines will generate their own based on some text they seem as important or relevant from your Web page. The weight search engines give to the meta tag description has been very volatile over the past couple years.
Doorway Page - A doorway page is a web page created to rank well for a particular term in a search engine's results pages this type of page generally has low quality information does not deliver valuable information to those viewing it.
Google Dance - The Google dance is a name that search engine marketing enthusiasts termed for the updating of the Google search engine results. During the Google dance each Google datacenter will give different results to the end user. When the Google dance has settled the SERPs will be consistent. The Google dance used to occur on a monthly basis, but towards the end of 2005 and the beginning of 2006 Google has began updating its SERPs on more of a continuous basis.
HTML - Hyper Text Markup Language - the most predominant language used to write Web pages.
Inbound Link - An inbound link is a link from one Web page to another. Inbound links are considered as votes in the search engines eyes. The more votes the more valuable the Web page is to the searcher.
Index - An Index is a database of Web pages maintained by a search engine or directory.
Keyword - A keyword is a search term that people use when they are searching for information the internet. Generally keywords need to be integrated into the web page copy, title, and links to rank high in the SERPs.
Keyword Density - Keyword density is the number of times any keyword or keyword phrase is repeated on a given Web page.
Keyword Phrase - A phrase of keywords used together to find more specific information on the internet.
Keyword Stuffing - Repetition of a keyword over and over again in text or meta tags. Keyword stuffing may work in the short run but it will wreak havoc on your traffic conversion rate and it will not work for a prolonged period with any major search engine.
Link - A link is a button, image, word or phrase on a web page that takes you to another Web page or a particular part of the current Web page.
Link Baiting - Creating exceptional content that people will naturally want to link to.
Link Popularity - A gauge that most search engines use to determine importance of a Web page. Link popularity works with the underlying thinking that each page that links to another page is endorsing or voting for that page.
Listings - Listings are the results that a search engine returns for a given search term.
Meta Tags - Meta tags are non displayed text written in HTML intended to describe each page to the search engine. Search engines use these tags to index your website.
Page Rank - Often referred to as PR, Google uses Page Rank as part of the algorithm to determine the importance of a Web page.
Rank - Rank is the position a given site has in the SERPs or search engine results pages.
Reciprocal Links - The mutual exchange of links from one Web site to another Web site. Reciprocal links are used to drive targeted traffic to Web sites with similar interests or to inflate search engine rankings. The latter method will not last for long.
Robots Tag - Meta tag information used to instruct search engine robots how to behave on a given Web page.
Search Engine - An internet entity that reads, ranks and stores web pages and searches them for the most relevant pages to a visitors search.
Search Engine Marketing ( SEM ) - The process of marketing a website to search engines via any marketing method including SEO, promotions, pay per click and other methods of making a Web site more visible to possible users.
Search Engine Optimization ( SEO ) - Search engine optimization is both an art and a science with the ultimate outcome being higher search engine rankings. Higher search engine rankings are achieved through influencing or tweaking on Web page and off Web page factors.
Search Engine Submission - Search engine submissions are the process of submitting your Web site to directories and search engines to get included in their database.
Search Terms - Search terms are also referred to as a query. They are the keywords that a searcher enters in to a search engine to find information.
SERP - SERP is short for Search Engine Results Page.
Spiders - Spiders also called bots or crawlers follow text links on the internet to search out new, updated and old web pages. The search engines use the information that the spiders gather and apply it to their algorithm.
Stop Words - Stop words are words that are generally ignored by search engines when indexing web pages. Common stop words include, but are not limited to: the, and, of, is, it, to, are, etc..
Title - The title of a Web page that search engines display at the top of your browser and in the SERPs. Search engines prefer between 4 and 12 words in the title tag. The title play a critical role in the ranking of Web pages.
Traffic - The number visitors to a Web site or a Web page.
URL - The acronym (URL) stands for Uniform Resource Locator or the web site address such as the address in the browser bar at the top of your screen.
Web Copywriting - Web copywriting is the art of mixing effective copy that impacts the reader and keyword optimized text together with the outcome of effective reading for visitors and good rankings in the SERPs.
Courtesy of Coulee Region Search Engine Marketing: Serving La Crosse, Holmen, West Salem and Onalaska Web site owners.