Glossary
Search and AI glossary
Plain definitions of the search, AI and marketing terms we use, and why each one matters.
Topic50 terms
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A
- AEO (answer engine optimization)Structuring content so answer engines can lift a direct answer from your page.AI search
- AI citationA link or named source an AI answer gives for its information.AI search
- AI crawlerA bot that visits websites to collect content for AI models or AI search, such as GPTBot, ClaudeBot or PerplexityBot.AI search
- AI ModeA conversational search mode in Google where people ask follow-up questions and get AI-written answers with links.AI search
- AI OverviewsAI-generated summaries Google shows at the top of some search results, with links to the sources used.AI search
- AI visibilityHow often, and how accurately, AI assistants mention your brand for the questions your buyers ask.AI search
- Anchor textThe clickable words in a link.Content and authority
- Average positionYour page's average ranking position in Search Console for a query or set of queries.Local, Maps, paid and measurement
B
C
- Canonical tagA tag that tells search engines which URL is the main version when similar pages exist.Technical SEO
- Click-through rate (CTR)The share of impressions that lead to a click.Local, Maps, paid and measurement
- Content decayThe gradual loss of rankings and traffic as a page becomes outdated or overtaken.Content and authority
- Core Web VitalsGoogle's measures of real-user page experience: loading (LCP), responsiveness (INP) and visual stability (CLS).Technical SEO
- Cost per leadTotal spend divided by the number of leads it produced.Local, Maps, paid and measurement
- Crawl budgetThe number of pages a search engine will crawl on a site in a given period.Technical SEO
- CrawlingThe process of search engine and AI bots visiting pages and following links to discover content.Technical SEO
E
G
- GEO (generative engine optimization)Making your brand easy for AI systems to find, understand and cite when they generate answers.AI search
- Google Business ProfileA free Google listing for a business location that shows on Google Search and Maps, with hours, reviews, photos and contact options.Local, Maps, paid and measurement
- GPTBotOpenAI's web crawler. OpenAI also runs OAI-SearchBot for ChatGPT search results.AI search
I
K
L
- LCP (Largest Contentful Paint)The time until the largest visible element on a page, such as a hero image or headline, has loaded.Technical SEO
- LLM (large language model)The type of AI model behind assistants such as ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude, trained on large amounts of text.AI search
- LLM SEOOptimizing your content and brand presence so large language models mention and recommend you.AI search
- llms.txtA proposed text file at a site's root that points AI tools to the site's most useful content in plain text.AI search
- Local citationA mention of your business name, address and phone number on another site, such as a directory.Local, Maps, paid and measurement
- Local packThe block of three map results Google shows for searches with local intent.Local, Maps, paid and measurement
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N
- NAP consistencyKeeping your business Name, Address and Phone number identical across your site, profile and listings.Local, Maps, paid and measurement
- NoindexA directive that tells search engines not to show a page in results.Technical SEO
- Non-branded keywordA search that does not include your brand name, such as "executive MBA for working professionals".Content and authority
P
- Performance MaxA Google Ads campaign type that runs across Search, YouTube, Display, Gmail, Discover and Maps from one campaign.Local, Maps, paid and measurement
- Pillar pageA broad guide to a topic that links to more detailed pages on its subtopics.Content and authority
- Prompt volumeAn estimate of how often people ask AI assistants about a topic.AI search
R
- Review velocityHow many new reviews a business gets over a period.Local, Maps, paid and measurement
- ROAS (return on ad spend)Revenue earned for every unit of currency spent on ads.Local, Maps, paid and measurement
- robots.txtA file at the root of a site that tells bots which areas they may or may not crawl.Technical SEO
S
- Schema markupCode from the schema.org vocabulary that labels what a page contains, such as an organization, product, FAQ or review.Technical SEO
- Search impressionOne showing of your page or listing in search results, whether or not anyone clicks.Local, Maps, paid and measurement
- Search intentThe goal behind a search: to learn, compare, buy or find a place.Content and authority
- Service area businessA business that serves customers at their location rather than at a storefront, and can hide its address on Google.Local, Maps, paid and measurement
- Share of voice in AI answersYour brand's share of mentions across tracked AI answers, compared with competitors.AI search
- Structured dataInformation on a page organized in a standard format, usually schema markup in JSON-LD.Technical SEO
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X
Z
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