SEARCH ENGINE GLOSSARY
Search through our list of the most popular search engine terms below. Don’t get left in the dark with industry terminology.
A
Advertising Network
A centralized service where ads are purchased through one company and displayed on various websites. These websites contract with the advertising network, earning a share of the revenue generated by the displayed ads.
Algorithm
The technology used by search engines to deliver results for a query. Search engines employ multiple algorithms to provide a page of search results or keyword-targeted search ads.
Anchor Text
The clickable text part of a hyperlink, offering information to visitors or search engines about the linked page's content.
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C
Click-Through Rate (CTR)
A percentage indicating the rate at which users click on an ad. Calculated by dividing the total clicks by the total ad impressions, CTR is a vital metric for assessing the performance of an ad campaign.
Content Network
A group of websites that display ads served by an ad network in exchange for a share of the ad revenue. Examples include Google AdSense or the Yahoo Publisher Network.
Contextual Advertising
Targeted advertising on a web page based on its content, keywords, or category. Most content networks utilize contextual targeting for ads.
Cost Per Action (CPA)
An advertising form where payment is based on a user's action resulting from the ad, such as making a purchase or signing up for a newsletter. Advertisers pay a set fee per action.
Cost Per Click (CPC)
Also known as Pay per Click (PPC), a performance-based advertising model where advertisers pay a set fee for every click on an ad. Common in search engine text ads.
Cost Per Thousand (CPM)
An ad model charging advertisers for every 1,000 ad impressions, irrespective of user clicks. Commonly used for display ads like banners.
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G
Geo-Targeting
Delivery of ads based on the geographic location of the searcher, allowing advertisers to specify where ads are shown based on the searcher's location.
Googlebot
Google's web crawling user-agent, utilized to index content in the Google.com search engine. Different Google bots, such as Googlebot-Mobile and Googlebot-Image, serve specific purposes.
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I
Inbound Link
A hyperlink from an external site to a specific web page, attracting traffic to that page. Inbound links are crucial for measuring a page's popularity in search engine algorithms.
Invisible Web
Refers to the vast amount of unindexed information on the web. Coined in 1994 by Dr. Jill Ellsworth.
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K
Keyword
A word or phrase entered into a search engine to retrieve matching and relevant results. Keywords are crucial for targeted advertising.
L
Link Bait
Editorial content, often sensational, posted on a web page and shared on social media to attract inbound links from other sites.
Link Building
The process of acquiring quality inbound links to improve search engine rankings. Techniques include buying links, reciprocal linking, and barter arrangements.
M
Meta Tags
Information in the HTML header providing details not visible to browsers but used by search engines for indexing. Common meta tags include title, description, and keyword tags.
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P
Pay Per Click (PPC)
See Cost Per Click (CPC).
Q
Quality Score
A score assigned by search engines, considering factors like clickthrough rate and landing page relevance, to determine the quality of an ad and influence its placement.
R
Return on Investment (ROI)
The earnings an advertiser receives compared to the money spent on ads.
S
Search Advertising
Also known as Paid Search, where advertisers bid for their ad to display when a user searches for a specific keyword.
Search Engine Marketing (SEM)
The process of building and marketing a site to improve its position in search engine results, including both SEO and paid search.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
The process of making a site and its content relevant for both search engines and users, aiming to improve search engine rankings.
Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs)
The pages displaying search results after a user enters a query, often including a blend of organic and paid results.
Social Media
Websites based on user participation and user-generated content, including social networking, social bookmarking, and social news sites.
Spider
A program that crawls the web to collect information for search engine indexing, also known as a crawler or bot.
T
Title Tag
An HTML meta tag describing a web page, containing strategic keywords and visible as the text link in search engine results.
U
Universal Search
Blended search results displaying data from multiple databases on the same page, including images, videos, and specialty databases.
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W
Web 2.0
A term referring to the second generation of internet-based services, including tools for online collaboration, social networking, and user-generated content.
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