Search continues to change fast. AI now influences how people discover brands, how websites rank, and how LLMs choose which companies to cite. This glossary defines the terms that shape SEO, Answer Engine Optimization, Generative Engine Optimization, and AI-driven visibility. Use it as a reference as you build a stronger Human + AI search strategy.
A–Z Index
A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z
A
AI Overview
Google’s AI-generated summary that appears at the top of search results and influences which brands users see first.
AI Search
A search experience where AI models interpret queries, understand context, and generate direct answers.
AI Visibility
How often your brand appears inside AI-generated answers across platforms like Google AI Overviews, Bing Copilot, ChatGPT, and Perplexity.
AIO (AI Optimization)
The practice of optimizing content, structure, and signals to improve visibility in AI-generated environments and answer engines.
AISEO (AI Search Engine Optimization)
An approach that adapts SEO for AI-driven ranking systems. It focuses on entities, structured data, source quality, and content clarity for AI interpretation.
Algorithm Update
A change to how search engines evaluate and rank content.
Alt Text
A short description of an image, used by search engines and screen readers.
Anchor Text
The clickable text within a link. It signals context for connected pages.
Answer Engine
Any system that provides direct answers instead of traditional search results.
Answer Engine Optimization (AEO)
Optimization that improves your presence inside AI-generated answers.
Audit (SEO Audit)
A structured review of your site’s technical, on-page, and visibility health.
Authority Score
An SEO metric that reflects domain trust and influence.
B
Backlink
A link from another website to yours. It strengthens trust and authority.
BERT
A natural language model Google uses to understand meaning and intent.
Bounce Rate
The percentage of users who leave after viewing one page.
Brand Entity
How search engines identify your brand as a known object with attributes.
Breadcrumbs
Navigation elements that show where a page sits within your site structure.
C
Canonical Tag
A directive that identifies the primary version of a page.
Citation (Local SEO)
A mention of your business information on directories and third-party sites.
Click-Through Rate (CTR)
The percentage of users who click your page in search.
Content Brief
A structured document guiding content creation.
Content Decay
Loss of rankings as content becomes outdated or less competitive.
Content Quality
The clarity, accuracy, and usefulness of content.
Conversion Rate
The percentage of visitors who complete a desired action.
Core Web Vitals
Performance metrics measuring speed, interactivity, and stability.
Crawl Budget
The number of URLs a search engine chooses to crawl on your site.
Crawlability
How easily search engines navigate and understand your pages.
D
Data Layer
A structured dataset used by analytics systems.
DEO (Discovery Engine Optimization)
An approach focused on improving visibility across discovery platforms, including search, AI models, and recommendation engines.
Digital PR
Content and outreach designed to earn authoritative links and media mentions.
Disavow
A signal asking Google to ignore specific backlinks.
Domain Authority / Domain Rating / Authority Score
Variations on a metric aimed at estimating a domain’s overall trust and influence.
Duplicate Content
Content that appears in multiple places and weakens clarity.
Dwell Time
How long users remain on a page before returning to search results.
E
E-E-A-T
Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trust. A key framework for content quality.
Entity
A defined concept, person, or organization search engines understand.
Entity Recognition
How search engines identify and categorize entities on a page.
Entity SEO
Optimization focused on strengthening entity clarity across search and AI systems.
Event Schema
Structured data for events.
Experience (Search Quality Context)
Signals that show firsthand knowledge in content.
Expertise (Search Quality Context)
Subject mastery shown through depth and clarity.
External Link
A link pointing to another website.
F
Featured Snippet
A direct answer box shown at the top of Google results.
Footer Navigation
Links at the bottom of a site that support navigation and crawlability.
Freshness
How recently content has been updated or validated.
G
Generative AI
AI that creates text, images, or other media.
Generative Engine
Any system that produces synthesized answers instead of ranked links.
Generative Engine Optimization (GEO)
Optimization focused on improving visibility in AI-generated answers across LLMs.
Google AI Overview
Google’s AI-generated summary of a topic.
Google Business Profile
Your primary listing for local search and maps.
Google Knowledge Graph
A structured database of entities and their relationships.
Google Search Console
A tool for monitoring indexing, visibility, and site performance.
Google Sitelinks
Links shown under your main result when your domain shows strong authority.
H
Header Tags
H1 through H6 elements that structure content.
Helpful Content
Content that solves problems clearly and directly.
Human + AI Framework
An approach where human strategy guides AI-enabled execution.
HTML Sitemap
A visible page listing important site URLs.
I
IA (Information Architecture)
How content is structured and organized.
Indexing
Storage and ranking of pages by search engines.
Internal Link
Links connecting pages within your site.
Intent (Search Intent)
Why users perform a specific search.
J
JSON-LD
A format used to add structured data.
Jump Links (a.k.a. Anchored Links or Anchors)
Links that move users to specific sections on a page.
K
Keyword Difficulty
How competitive a keyword is.
Keyword Intent
What searchers want when they use a term, types include informational, transactional, and commercial.
Keyword Research
The process of finding viable keyword opportunities.
Knowledge Graph
A structured representation of entities.
Knowledge Panel
Google’s summary box for recognized entities.
L
Landing Page
A focused page built around a single topic or campaign.
Link Building
The process of earning authoritative backlinks.
Link Profile
All backlinks pointing to a site.
Local SEO
Optimization for local visibility and map-based results.
Local Pack
A set of map results shown for local queries.
Local Ranking Factors
Signals that determine your local search performance.
Local Reviews
Ratings and feedback posted on local platforms.
LLMO (Large Language Model Optimization)
Optimization aimed at improving visibility, citations, and inclusion within answers generated by LLMs such as ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot, and Perplexity.
M
Manual Action
A search engine penalty applied for guideline violations.
Markup (Schema Markup)
Structured data that provides context to LLMS and Search Engines, and designates entity types.
Meta Description
A summary of up to 156 characters that is displayed in natural / organic search results.
Meta Title
The headline shown in search listings.
Mobile Optimization
Improving performance and User Experience (UX) for mobile visitors.
Multimodal Search
Search interpreting multiple input types such as text, images, and video.
N
N-E-E-A-T-T Framework
A quality model that evaluates Notability, Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trust, and Transparency.
NLO (Neural Language Optimization)
Optimization that improves how neural language models interpret and retrieve your content.
Noindex
A tag that tells search engines not to index a page.
Nofollow
A link attribute that prevents passing authority.
Notability
How widely your brand appears across authoritative sources.
NLP (Natural Language Processing)
Technology used to understand and interpret language.
O
Optimization Strategy
A structured plan for improving visibility.
Organic Search
Traffic earned from non-paid listings.
Orphan Page
A page with no internal links pointing to it.
P
Page Experience
Signals showing how users are able to easily interact with your pages.
Page Speed
How fast your pages load.
People Also Ask
Google’s collection of related questions on a SERP, showing as a featured snippet item.
Prompt Optimization
The act of improving prompts for stronger AI outputs.
Proximity (Local SEO)
How close your business is to the searcher’s location.
Q
Query Intent
The purpose behind a query.
Query Semantics
How search engines interpret the meaning of queries.
R
RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation)
An approach where AI retrieves external content before generating an answer.
Rank Tracking
Monitoring how pages move in search results.
Redirect
A directive routing users from one URL to another.
Relevance Score
How well a page aligns with user intent.
Review Signals
Feedback and ratings that influence credibility and trust.
Robots.txt
A file that is placed in a website’s root directory to influence crawler behavior.
S
Schema Markup
Structured data that adds machine-readable context.
Semantic SEO
Optimization based on meaning and context rather than keywords alone.
SERP Features
Elements in search results beyond blue links.
SEO Audit
A structured review of technical and content performance.
SEO Roadmap
A plan that guides long-term SEO work.
Site Structure
How content is organized and connected.
SGE (Search Generative Experience)
Google’s earlier generative search experience, now merged into AI Overviews.
SGO (Search Generative Optimization)
Optimization aimed at improving visibility and influence inside Google’s AI-generated results.
Structured Data
Code that gives search engines, answer engines, and LLMs / generative engines better context.
Subdomain
A separate website on the same top-level domain (TLD), where the “www” is replaced with another term designating it as another subdomain.
Subfolder
A directory within the primary domain.
T
Technical SEO
Optimization that improves code, structure, crawlability, and performance.
Title Tag
The page title displayed in search results.
Top Level Domain
The main domain where a website sits, typically something like “domain.com” or “domain.net”.
Topical Authority
Depth and consistency in a specific subject area.
Traffic Forecast
Predicted organic traffic growth.
Transparency
Clear sourcing and ownership that strengthen trust.
Trust
Signals that show your brand is accurate and credible.
U
URL Structure
How URLs are arranged and formatted.
Usability Signals
Behavior patterns indicating page usefulness.
User Intent
What visitors want to do when they arrive.
UX Signals
Indicators of ease and quality of user experience (UX).
V
Vertical Search
Search engines dedicated to specific fields or industries.
Velocity (Content Velocity)
The pace at which new content is produced.
Visibility (Search Visibility)
How often and where your content appears.
Voice Search
Spoken queries through voice-enabled devices.
VMO (Visibility Model Optimization)
Optimization focused on improving how AI visibility models interpret, rank, and surface your content.
W
Web Crawler
Software that scans the web and collects page data.
Website Authority
How trusted your domain appears.
White Hat SEO
Ethical SEO practices built for long-term success.
X
XML Sitemap
A file that lists key URLs on your site for search engines.
Y
YMYL (Your Money, Your Life)
Content that affects health, finances, or safety.
Z
Zero-Click Search
A search where users get answers directly on the results page.
Zero-Party Data
Data willingly shared by users.
Zero Search Volume Keywords
Keywords that have no measurable history of searches, but that you can show up for via semantic / intent match.