SEO Glossary
Master the terminology of modern search. Every term is interconnected with our core knowledge clusters.
A
AI Overviews
Google's AI-generated response cards displayed at the top of Search results for certain queries. They synthesise information from multiple indexed web pages and include clickable citation links. Formerly part of the Search Generative Experience (SGE) experiment.
AI Search
A broad term for search experiences that use AI models to understand, retrieve and synthesise information — including Google AI Overviews, ChatGPT search, Perplexity and similar tools. See also Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO).
Algorithm
A complex system used by search engines to retrieve data and deliver the best possible results for a query.
B
Backlink
A link from one website to another, signaling trust and authority to search engines.
C
Crawl Budget
The number of pages search engines will crawl on a website within a certain timeframe.
E
E-E-A-T
Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. A framework Google uses to assess content quality.
Entity
A distinct, identifiable thing (person, organisation, place, product, concept) that a search engine's knowledge graph recognises and connects to other entities through relationships.
G
Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO)
The practice of optimising content so it is clear, useful and attributable inside generative, AI-powered search experiences. It overlaps heavily with SEO — it is not a replacement for it.
K
Knowledge Graph
A structured representation of real-world entities and the relationships between them, used by Google and other systems to deliver contextual, entity-based results rather than matching strings of text.
L
LSI Keywords
A term commonly used in older SEO advice, referring to 'Latent Semantic Indexing' keywords. In practice, modern search engines do not use LSI as a ranking mechanism — it is a latent concept from information retrieval research, not an active Google ranking factor. The term is widely misused in SEO to mean 'related keywords', which modern systems handle through semantic and entity understanding instead.
S
Schema Markup
Structured data (using the Schema.org vocabulary) placed on a website to give search engines explicit information about page content, entities and relationships — such as Person, Organization, Article or Book.
Search Generative Experience (SGE)
Google's experimental AI-powered search experience, announced in 2023 and available through Search Labs. Its generative features have since evolved into the live Google AI Overviews. 'SGE' refers to the experiment; 'AI Overviews' is the current product terminology.
T
Topical Authority
A measure of a website's authority in a specific niche or topic area, earned by consistently publishing comprehensive, interconnected content that demonstrates genuine expertise.
Z
Zero-Click Search
A search query that is answered directly on the SERP (Search Engine Results Page), resulting in no clicks to external websites — including AI-generated answers and rich results.