optimising search engines / seo off pages / seo with keywords / seo with images / seo for blogs / seo content writing / seo writing / neil patel seo

Just starting out with SEO? A glossary of terms for the uninitiated

. 4 min read . Written by Vanshika Goenka
Just starting out with SEO? A glossary of terms for the uninitiated

An important aspect of being a content writer is understanding the world of SEO. If you want your website to rank at the top, having practical knowledge about SEO is imperative. Optimising search engines through SEO content writing gives your business success in this digital age.

It is common knowledge that content writing goes hand in hand with Search Engine Optimisation. If you’re recently beginning your journey and need a push to get going, Kool Kanya is here with your dose of motivation! Our “Optimise your blogs: SEO for beginners” course under PowerPass is a comprehensive guide, teaching you the importance of keywords and how you can include them in your content.

PowerPass also includes more such courses where you can learn about everything from event planning and social media, to the nuances of digital marketing

We understand that SEO terminology can sound like gibberish to beginners. The industry is vast and the technicalities are complicated. But don’t lose hope! Read on to discover a complete SEO glossary to help you in your journey.

  1. Traffic

Traffic refers to the number of people who visit your website in a defined period of time. The more traffic your website receives, the better it is for your business. But the traffic must be genuine and qualitative. In simpler terms, it should be real people who interact with the website, buy products, and read the content to get actual results.

2. Keywords

As a content writer, understanding the importance of SEO keywords is essential. Keywords are a group of key search terms through which users search for specific products and services. In SEO writing, you must incorporate an optimal amount of keywords to help your website rank in search engineswhen a user searches for something similar.

However, while improving your writing with keywords, don’t use them excessively, as that could be flagged as spam.

3. SERP

A search engine results page is a list of results that a search engine displays upon searching for keywords. According to Neil Patel, the first page is usually given the utmost importance as 75% of people don’t scroll past it. While improving SEO for blogs, the higher your keyword density, the more likely your article is to appear on the first page.

4. Anchor text

When you read a blog or an article online, certain texts are highlighted in a different colour that directs you to a different page. This highlighted text is known as anchor text. It is the clickable text in the content.

Anchor texts give a hint at the kind of content available on the linked page, increasing the user’s likelihood of clicking on it.

5. Title tag & meta description

When you search for something on Google, it shows you a list of articles and websites that match your search. The title tag is a page’s title that can be seen as headlines on the Google search page and on the different tabs of your browser. A title tag is accompanied by a meta description, giving the reader an idea of what they’ll find on your website.

It is important to use relevant as well as unique titles and meta descriptions in SEO content writing to improve your blog’s ranking.

6. Inbound & outbound links

These terms are pretty straightforward: Inbound links are links on a particular page that direct you to another page within your website. Outbound links are links that direct you to relevant pages outside of your own website.

Inbound links are important as they drive traffic to numerous pages on your website. Outbound links are simply used to guide readers to further resources.

7. Landing page

A landing page is where the users “land” through a link they found on another website or through search engines.

Usually, landing pages have forms that help a business generate leads. Users are meant to fill out these forms to obtain some information or service from the website. For example, a brochure or a free consultation.

8. Indexing

This is the process of adding your website pages to search engines like Google. Once Google has studied your website, it will add the data to its storage so it can retrieve the pages during relevant searches. You have an option of “no indexing” certain pages on your website if you wish to keep them from being discovered during searches.

9. Alt text

Alt text or Alt Attribute Text is the textual description of an image you’ve included in your article. When you search for something online and an image pops up along with an ad, it is the alt text optimising search engines.

Alt text is basically how you better your website’s SEO with images.

10. On page & off page SEO

Optimising search engines can be done in broadly two ways: On page and off page.

SEO on pages includes optimising everything on your website. From codes, keywords, alt texts, and anchor texts, to title tags, meta descriptions, and page URLs, all of this comes under on-page optimisation.

SEO off pages refers to the tactics you use outside your website. All forms of digital marketing such as influencer, email, social media, and content marketing come under off-page optimisation.

11. Page rank

This refers to where your website is ranking on SERPs. A higher rank is always better for business. There are several factors that help you achieve a higher rank on SERPs. For example, keyword density, optimised title tags and meta descriptions, linkage to relevant sites, and usage of alt texts.

With this, we came to the end of our SEO guide for beginners. We hope this blog helped you understand the basic terminologies and methods used on a daily basis for optimising search engines.

If you wish to take your learning a step further, you can discover tactics and strategies for optimal SEO writing through our ‘Optimise your blogs: SEO for beginners’ course. Enrol today with Kool Kanya!