Plain definitions of 37 terms we use on the job in Brisbane.
Term Index
Open any term below for a dedicated definition page.
Above-the-Fold is the portion of a web page visible when the page first loads, before a visitor scrolls. The area usually contains the page heading, key message, primary image, and an initial action. Its layout changes with screen size, device orientation, browser settings, and the amount of space used by navigation.
Also called: Above the fold
AI Overview is a search result feature that presents an artificial intelligence-generated summary above or alongside traditional listings. The summary draws on information from relevant web pages and may include supporting links. AI Overview helps answer a search query quickly, while people can still open source pages and continue through standard results.
Also called: AI-generated overview
Alt Text is descriptive text attached to an image in a webpage's HTML. Screen readers can read the text aloud for people who cannot see the image. Search engines can also use it to interpret an image's subject. Effective Alt Text describes the image's purpose in its surrounding page context.
Also called: Alternative text, Image alt text
Anchor Text is the visible, clickable wording of a hyperlink. Anchor Text tells users and search engines what the linked page covers. A link may use descriptive wording, a brand name, a page address, or a general phrase. The wording should match the destination and fit naturally within the surrounding content.
Also called: Link text
Bounce Rate is a website engagement metric that shows the share of visits ending without a further recorded interaction. A visit may count as a bounce when someone views one page and leaves, although the exact calculation depends on the analytics platform and its tracking setup. The metric describes visit behaviour, not the quality of every page.
Breadcrumbs are a secondary navigation trail that shows a page’s position within a website hierarchy. They usually appear near the top of a page and link back to broader sections. Breadcrumbs help visitors understand where they are, move to related parent pages, and interpret the site structure more easily.
Also called: Breadcrumb navigation
A Canonical URL is the preferred web address for a page when several URLs contain identical or very similar content. The canonical URL tells search engines which version to index and associate with ranking signals. It helps distinguish the main page from tracking, filtering, sorting, or duplicate URL variations.
Also called: Canonical link
Click-Through Rate is a digital advertising metric that shows the proportion of impressions that result in clicks. Advertisers calculate it by dividing clicks by impressions and expressing the result as a percentage. The metric indicates how strongly an ad attracts attention from people who see it in a search result or placement.
Also called: CTR
Content Gap is a missing or underdeveloped topic, question, or service page that searchers need and competing websites address. An SEO audit identifies these gaps by comparing your website with relevant search results and competitor content. The finding can guide new pages, clearer service information, or improvements to existing content.
Also called: Content gap analysis
A Conversion Funnel is a model that shows how a person moves from discovering a business to taking a desired action. In lead generation, the action may be submitting an enquiry, calling a business, or requesting an estimate. The funnel helps identify where people lose interest and where marketing or website changes may improve progression.
Also called: Sales funnel
Core Web Vitals are a set of user experience metrics that assess how quickly a page loads, responds to interaction and settles visually. The metrics help identify technical issues that can make a website feel slow or unstable. They support practical website performance work alongside broader technical SEO checks.
Crawl Budget is the amount of attention a search engine crawler chooses to give a website during its visits. The budget covers requests for pages, files and other crawlable resources. Crawl Budget depends on a site's size, technical condition, server performance and perceived value, so it is not a fixed allocation that website owners can set.
A Crawl Directive is an instruction that tells search engine crawlers which website content they may access, follow, or exclude. Website owners usually place these instructions in robots.txt files or page-level robots meta tags. Crawl directives guide automated visits, but they do not guarantee that excluded content will stay out of search results.
Also called: Crawler directive
Domain Authority is a third-party SEO score that estimates how a website may perform in search based largely on its backlink profile. The score helps compare the relative strength of domains, but it is not a Google ranking factor or a direct measure of traffic, leads, trust, or business quality.
Also called: DA
E-E-A-T is a framework for assessing the quality signals shown through a page or creator’s experience, expertise, authoritativeness and trustworthiness. Search quality guidance uses these signals to understand whether content reflects genuine knowledge, reliable information and a credible source. E-E-A-T supports content assessment, but it is not a single ranking score.
Also called: Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness and Trust
A Featured Snippet is a highlighted answer that Google may display above standard organic results for a search query. The answer is extracted from a webpage and shown in a format suited to the query, such as a paragraph, list or table. Featured Snippets aim to provide a direct response without requiring an immediate page visit.
Also called: Position zero
Google Business Profile Category is a label that tells Google what a business mainly does. The category helps connect a profile with relevant local searches and business features. A profile can also include secondary categories when those services represent genuine parts of the business. The selected categories should match the business’s real services.
Also called: Business category, GBP category
Google Business Profile Review is an assessment of customer feedback published on a business’s Google Business Profile. The assessment examines review content, ratings, responses, recurring themes and possible policy issues. It helps identify how public feedback describes the business and where reputation management work may improve accuracy, trust and response quality.
Also called: GBP review, Google review
Impression Share is the proportion of eligible ad impressions that your campaign receives in Google Ads. The metric compares your actual visibility with the opportunities available under the campaign’s targeting, budget, bids, location settings and other auction conditions. It helps separate limited reach from weak engagement after an ad appears.
Also called: Search impression share
Indexability is a search engine's ability to access, process and store a webpage in its index for possible inclusion in search results. A page may be crawlable but still lack indexability when technical directives, access restrictions, duplicate signals or page-level problems prevent a search engine from treating the page as an eligible result.
Also called: Indexable status
Internal Links are connections between pages on the same website. They guide visitors to related information and help search engines discover and interpret a site's content structure. An internal link usually uses descriptive anchor text, points to a relevant page, and supports navigation between service pages, location pages, blog articles, and other useful resources.
Also called: Internal linking
Keyword Cannibalisation is an SEO problem where multiple pages on one website target the same or closely related search intent. Search engines may struggle to select the most relevant page, which can split visibility and confuse internal linking signals. The issue concerns overlapping page purpose, not simply repeated words across a website.
Also called: SEO cannibalisation
Keyword Difficulty is an SEO estimate of how challenging it may be for a webpage to rank prominently for a search term. The estimate usually considers the strength and relevance of competing pages, along with their authority and links. It helps you compare target keywords before choosing content priorities for an SEO campaign.
Also called: Keyword competition, SEO difficulty
A Linkable Asset is a useful, distinctive resource that other websites choose to reference with a backlink. It may be a guide, research piece, calculator, checklist, visual resource or local data page. The asset gives publishers a clear reason to link because it supports their own article, service information or audience needs.
Also called: Link bait
Local Pack is a search result feature that displays nearby businesses for location-based queries. It commonly shows business names, map locations, contact details, opening information, reviews, and links to profiles. Google selects listings based on factors such as relevance, distance, and prominence, helping searchers compare local options without opening many webpages.
Also called: Local 3-pack, Map pack
A Meta Description is a short HTML element that summarises a webpage for search engine results. It usually appears below the page title and URL, giving searchers context before they visit. Search engines may display the supplied text, shorten it, or replace it when another passage better matches the search.
Also called: Meta description tag
NAP Consistency is the practice of keeping a business name, address and phone number identical across its website, business profiles and online directories. The information should use the same wording, formatting and contact details wherever it appears. Consistent listings help search engines connect separate references to the same local business.
Also called: Name, address and phone consistency
Negative Keywords are search terms added to a Google Ads campaign to prevent ads from showing for unwanted or unsuitable searches. They help separate relevant enquiries from searches with a different service need, location, audience or buying intent. For example, a tradie can exclude employment searches when advertising services to homeowners.
Also called: Negative keyword list
An Orphan Page is a webpage with no internal links pointing to it from other pages on the same website. Search engines may discover the page through a sitemap, external link or direct request, but visitors and crawlers can struggle to reach it through normal site navigation.
Also called: Orphaned page
Page Speed is the time a web page takes to load and become usable after someone requests it. The measure includes how quickly content appears, how soon controls respond, and whether the page remains stable during loading. Page Speed depends on hosting, code, images, scripts, browser conditions, and the visitor’s device.
Also called: Page load speed, Website speed
A Redirect Chain is a sequence of URL redirects where one redirected address points to another before reaching the final page. Search engines and browsers must follow each step to load the destination. The chain may begin after a site migration, URL change, protocol update, or incorrect redirect rule.
Also called: Redirect sequence
Schema Markup is structured data added to a webpage to describe its content in a format search engines can interpret. The markup identifies entities such as services, businesses, products, events, or reviews. Search engines may use these details to understand a page and present enhanced search results when the content meets their requirements.
Also called: Structured data
Search Engine Results Page is the screen a search engine displays after processing a query. A SERP can show unpaid organic listings, paid advertisements, local results, images, videos, maps, featured answers, and related questions. Its layout changes according to the searcher's wording, location, device, search history, and the type of result available.
Also called: SERP
Search Intent is the underlying purpose behind a search query, such as learning, comparing options, finding a local service, or taking an action. It helps explain what a searcher expects to find on a results page. Content that matches this purpose answers the query in a useful and relevant way.
Also called: Keyword intent
A title tag is an HTML element that identifies a webpage with a concise title. Search engines may display the title tag as the main clickable heading in search results, while browsers commonly show it in a tab. The wording helps describe page content and align the page with search intent.
Also called: Page title, SEO title
UTM Parameters are labels added to a URL so analytics platforms can identify where website visits came from. The labels record campaign details such as the traffic source, marketing channel, campaign name, advert or content variation. They help separate visits from Facebook Ads Management campaigns from other acquisition sources during reporting and analysis.
Also called: Campaign parameters, UTM tags
Zero-Click Search is a search result that answers a query on the results page, so the user does not need to visit a website. Search engines may show the answer through a featured snippet, local pack, knowledge panel or AI-generated summary. Businesses can still gain visibility and trust without receiving a click.
Also called: No-click search
