Here is a quick break down and example of the 15 top SEO terms that you need to know, TODAY!

‍

1. Anchor Text
   
   Let’s start with Anchor Text. No, this isn’t the writing you saw on the boat anchor in harbor, this is the text that a hyperlink is attached to in the body of an email or website. When a user clicks on this anchor text, it will direct them to the link it is attached to. Simple terms like Anchor Text are generally associated to a keyword (link to # 7) is relevant to the content the page is on. See how we did that?
   
   HINT: You can discredit the authority of your page by using the same anchor text repeatedly. Ideatech recommends no more than 2 or 3 times on a longer page of content.
   ‍
2. Title Tag
   ‍
   A critical element to SEO is your Title Tag. This should describe exactly what the website page contains and shows in the search result regarding that page. Using the correct title tag for each page lets search engines and users to know what the content includes.
   ‍
3. ‍Meta Description
   
   The meta descriptions are the 155-160 characters that describe the contents of the page it is attached to. This can be as long or short as you’d like, but Google will generally truncate snippets at that character limit.
   ‍
4. ‍Keyword
   ‍
   The words or phrases that can be found on a website that are the most descriptive to the content on the page are known as keywords. Search engines like Google use these to categorize content, making keywords and research on them incredibly important.
   
   Hint: Resources like Googles Keyword Planner can help determine which keywords are applicable to your industry and if you should focus on them.
   ‍
5. ‍Long Tail Keyword
   ‍
   ‍Keywords that generally have 3-4 words within them that are used in a search are long tail keywords. When targeting more generalized keywords, we can use long tail keywords to focus on a specific genre of the ideal keyword grouping.
   ‍
6. ‍ALT Text (ALT Attribute Text)
   
   Alt text is one of our favorite in the 15 top SEO terms to relate the description of an image to specific keywords. Regular site visitors never see this on the image but is great method to boost your rank in search engines by bringing the associated image within the search results.
   ‍
7. ‍Authority
   
   The ability for a set page to be able to rank high within search engine results is defined as the Authority of that page. The age, traffic trends, content quality, backlinks, and technical design of the site; like speed, schema, and interlinking, all dictate what type of authority a webpage may have. The higher the authority, the higher your page will rank.
   ‍

‍

1. ‍Keyword Density
   
   Keyword density is something you will hear about, but with the current algorithms, the strategies of before are less relevant than many suspect. In this respect, we refer to KW density as how many times the keyword is displayed on a page to ensure we are not overusing any certain term.
   ‍
2. ‍301 Redirect
   
   When web users decide to permanently move a webpage to another location, we use a 301 redirect to transfer or carry on the link authority for any given page. This is not an instant resolution and can take up to 30 days to be cached, so appropriate planning should be made. For instance, an e-commerce site should not plan a page redirect near Black Friday or leading up to Christmas.
   ‍
3. ‍Follow & No Follow
   
   Do (Follow) and no follow are phrases used in the attributes of a page and whether link authority should be passed to the linked page. Websites that backlink to other sites like social media posts, blog comments, and news sites, such as Wikipedia or the Huffington Post will use a rel=”nofollow” HTML tag on their links.
   ‍
4. ‍Inbound & Outbound Links
   
   Links that point from other sites, hopefully ones that are categorically relevant to yours, are called Inbound Links. These are far more valuable than outbound links, and when applicable, should be acquired regularly. A high amount of relevant inbound links can greatly affect your website’s authority.
   
   Outbound Links are the links on your site that point out to external webpages from your domain. This is where Do Follow & No follow html tags can be used and there should be a decent amount of them, but don’t over do it. Many websites will reciprocate this action, returning the favor, but should still be strategized when budget allows.
   ‍
5. ‍Sitemap
   
   Any reputable web developer will include a sitemap when they create the site. Platforms like Shopify do this for you automatically. A sitemap is a page where you list a hyperlink to every page of the website. This allows website crawlers or bots to crawl faster through your site, improving authority.
   ‍‍
6. Index or No Index
   
   Webpages that you want to be found by search engines but not found by a user through web searches have a No Index HTML tag. Websites that are not for external customer use like certain internal company promotion pages or pages that refer to the completion of a set task would be coded as No Index.
   ‍
7. ‍Bots
   
   As we move forward in the digital age, Bots continue to make the climb toward dominating internet contest and giveaways. But they also have a better, more analytical purpose. Bots can be used to update content automatically, catalog and/or share data, but aren’t always used for good. Over 50% of all online traffic can be attributed to bots.
   ‍
8. ‍SERPS
   
   SERPS stands for Search Engine Results Page and is exactly what it sounds like. They are the pages that populate after a search engine inquiry is made. Everything from keywords, meta data, title, and Google ads can be found in a SERPS listing.
   ‍

‍

The SEO industry has a lot of terminology, and you’re not going to understand the industry overnight. Ideatech is dedicated to studying this industry continuously. As algorithms change and tactics become obsolete, having an agency on staff to prepare, moderate, and alter website components as they come up can play huge dividends in long term ranking and authority.
‍

At least with this short description, you can have a look into the vocabulary used in search engine optimization and web development. Memorize these 15 top SEO terms and shock your colleagues in your next meeting!