SEO. It's complex stuff. Google as an example change their algorithms almost every day, tweaking the technology so that users of the service get to the pages they need without having to work hard for it. There is much to learn - we are still from masters of it.
The following glossary should at least give you a running start. It covers the most common words, acronyms, and phrases you may come across. As ever, if you have any questions please reach out.
301 Redirects
Redirection is the process of forwarding one URL to a different URL. A redirect is a way to send both users and search engines to a different URL from the one they originally requested. The three most commonly used redirects are 301, 302, and Meta Refresh.
Backlinks
Backlinks (also known as 'inbound links', 'incoming links' or 'one way links') are links from one website to a page on another website. Google and other major search engines consider backlinks 'votes' for a specific page. Pages with a high number of backlinks tend to have high organic search engine rankings.
404 Error Pages
The website hosting server will typically generate a "404 Not Found" web page when a user attempts to follow a broken or dead link; hence the 404 error is one of the most recognizable errors encountered on the World Wide Web.
Schema Markup
Schema.org (often called Schema) is a semantic vocabulary of tags (or microdata) that you can add to you the HTML of your website to improve the way search engines read and represent your page in SERPs.
Domain Authority
Domain Authority (DA) is a search engine ranking score developed by Moz that predicts how well a website will rank on search engine result pages (SERPs). A Domain Authority score ranges from one to 100, with higher scores corresponding to a greater ability to rank.
Page Authority
Page Authority (PA) is a score developed by Moz that predicts how well a specific page will rank on search engine result pages (SERP). Page Authority scores range from one to 100, with higher scores corresponding to a greater ability to rank.
Anchor Text
Anchor Text is the visible, clickable text in a hyperlink. In modern browsers, it is often blue and/or underlined, such as this link to the Ostratto homepage.
Alt Text
Alt text (alternative text), also known as "alt attributes", “alt descriptions", or technically incorrectly as "alt tags,” are used within an HTML code to describe the appearance and function of an image on a page.
Canonical Tags
A canonical tag (aka "rel canonical") is a way of telling search engines that a specific URL represents the master copy of a page. Using the canonical tag prevents problems caused by identical or "duplicate" content appearing on multiple URLs. Practically speaking, the canonical tag tells search engines which version of a URL you want to appear in search results.
Link Equity
Link equity, once colloquially referred to as "link juice," is a search engine ranking factor based on the idea that certain links pass value and authority from one page to another. This value is dependent on a number of factors, such as the linking page's authority, topical relevance, HTTP status, and more.
Alt Text
Alt text (alternative text), also known as "alt attributes", “alt descriptions", or technically incorrectly as "alt tags,” are used within an HTML code to describe the appearance and function of an image on a page.
Canonical Tags
A canonical tag (aka "rel canonical") is a way of telling search engines that a specific URL represents the master copy of a page. Using the canonical tag prevents problems caused by identical or "duplicate" content appearing on multiple URLs. Practically speaking, the canonical tag tells search engines which version of a URL you want to appear in search results.
