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Glossary
Digital marketing glossary.
57 terms from SEO, Google and Meta advertising and web development, each explained in a sentence or two. Written for business owners who want to understand what their agency is telling them.
A
- AEO
- Answer Engine Optimisation: preparing pages so they are chosen as the direct answer in Google, voice assistants and AI tools.
In depth on Optimizacija-Sajta.rs (in Serbian) ↗ - AI Overviews
- Answers that Google generates with artificial intelligence above the regular search results, with links to the sources.
- Alt text
- A short description of an image in the page code. It helps visually impaired visitors and helps Google understand what the image shows.
In depth on Optimizacija-Sajta.rs (in Serbian) ↗ - Anchor text
- The visible text of a link. A descriptive anchor (“SEO for online shops”) tells Google what the linked page is about.
In depth on Optimizacija-Sajta.rs (in Serbian) ↗ - A/B test
- Comparing two versions of an ad, page or email on part of your audience to see which one performs better.
B
- Backlink
- A link from another website to yours. Good backlinks from relevant sites are one of the main signals of authority.
More on this →
In depth on Optimizacija-Sajta.rs (in Serbian) ↗ - Bounce rate
- The share of visits in which the visitor leaves without interacting. In GA4 it has been replaced by engaged sessions.
- Navigation that shows the path to a page (Home / Blog / Article). It helps both users and search engines.
C
- Canonical URL
- A tag that tells Google which version of a page is the main one when several similar addresses exist.
In depth on Optimizacija-Sajta.rs (in Serbian) ↗ - Conversion
- The action you want a visitor to take: a purchase, an enquiry, a phone call, a newsletter sign-up.
- Conversions API
- A way of sending events (a purchase, an enquiry) to Meta directly from the server, so tracking still works when the browser blocks it.
- Core Web Vitals
- Google’s metrics for page speed and stability: LCP (loading), INP (responsiveness) and CLS (layout shift).
In depth on Optimizacija-Sajta.rs (in Serbian) ↗ - CPA (cost per acquisition)
- The average ad cost of one conversion: a purchase, an enquiry or a call.
More on this → - CPC (cost per click)
- What you pay when someone clicks your ad. It depends on competition and on the quality of the ad and the landing page.
More on this → - CTA (call to action)
- A button or sentence that takes the visitor to the next step: “Request a quote”, “Call us”, “Buy now”.
- CTR (click-through rate)
- The percentage of people who clicked an ad or search result out of everyone who saw it.
E
- Entity
- A clearly identifiable thing (a company, person, product or place) that Google and AI tools hold connected data about. Consistent business details strengthen your entity.
- Error 404
- The server’s response that a page does not exist. Important old addresses should be 301-redirected to the matching new page.
In depth on Optimizacija-Sajta.rs (in Serbian) ↗ - E-E-A-T
- Experience, expertise, authoritativeness and trustworthiness. The framework Google uses to judge content quality, especially for topics that affect money and health.
F
- Featured snippet
- A short answer Google shows above the results, taken from a single page. The main goal of AEO.
In depth on Optimizacija-Sajta.rs (in Serbian) ↗
G
- GA4 (Google Analytics 4)
- Google’s event-based tool for measuring visits and conversions on a website or app.
- GEO
- Generative Engine Optimisation: optimising content and brand so that generative AI tools (ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, AI Overviews) mention and cite them.
In depth on Optimizacija-Sajta.rs (in Serbian) ↗ - Google Business Profile
- A free business profile in Google Search and Maps, with your address, opening hours, photos and reviews.
In depth on Optimizacija-Sajta.rs (in Serbian) ↗ - Google Merchant Center
- The platform an online shop sends its product feed to, for free listings in the Shopping tab and for Shopping campaigns.
H
- H1 heading
- The main heading of a page. Every page should have one H1 that clearly says what it is about.
In depth on Optimizacija-Sajta.rs (in Serbian) ↗
I
- Indexing
- The process in which Google stores a page in its database. A page that is not indexed cannot appear in the results.
- Internal linking
- Links between pages of the same website. They guide visitors and pass the site’s strength on to important pages.
In depth on Optimizacija-Sajta.rs (in Serbian) ↗
K
- Keyword cannibalisation
- When several pages on the same site compete for the same search, so none of them ranks well.
- Keyword
- A phrase people type into a search engine. In SEO keywords are chosen by intent, search volume and competition.
L
- Landing page
- The page an ad or campaign leads to, built for one goal and one offer.
- Link building
- Planned building of good links to your site from relevant domains, to strengthen its authority.
More on this →
In depth on Optimizacija-Sajta.rs (in Serbian) ↗ - llms.txt
- A proposed standard: a text file in the root of a website that briefly describes the site and its key pages to AI tools.
- Local SEO
- Optimisation for location-based searches, such as Google Maps and the local pack of results.
In depth on Optimizacija-Sajta.rs (in Serbian) ↗ - Long-tail keywords
- Longer, more specific phrases with fewer searches but stronger buying intent (“0.5 hp pool pump price”).
M
- Meta description
- A short description of a page that is often shown under the title in Google results. It affects clicks, not rankings directly.
In depth on Optimizacija-Sajta.rs (in Serbian) ↗ - Meta Pixel
- Code on your website that sends Meta data about visits and conversions, for measuring and optimising ads.
N
- NAP
- Name, address and phone number of a business. They must be identical on your website, your Google profile and in directories.
In depth on Optimizacija-Sajta.rs (in Serbian) ↗ - Noindex
- A tag that tells Google not to show a page in its results, even though it can still visit it.
O
- On-page SEO
- Optimising the page itself: headings, content, structure, internal links, images and schema data.
More on this →
In depth on Optimizacija-Sajta.rs (in Serbian) ↗ - Organic traffic
- Visits that come from unpaid search results.
More on this →
P
- Performance Max
- A Google Ads campaign type that uses one budget to show ads across Search, YouTube, Gmail, Maps and Shopping.
More on this → - PPC
- Pay-per-click: advertising where you pay for each click, such as Google Ads and Meta ads.
More on this →
R
- 301 redirect
- A permanent redirect from an old address to a new one, which passes on most of the old page’s SEO value.
In depth on Optimizacija-Sajta.rs (in Serbian) ↗ - Remarketing
- Showing ads to people who have already visited your site or seen your content.
More on this → - ROAS
- Revenue from ads divided by ad spend. A ROAS of 5 means 5 euros of revenue for every euro spent on ads.
- robots.txt
- A file in the root of a website that tells search engines which parts of the site they may visit.
In depth on Optimizacija-Sajta.rs (in Serbian) ↗
S
- Schema (structured data)
- Markup in the code that describes content to Google: business, product, price, reviews, FAQ. It makes rich results possible.
- Search intent
- What a person actually wants when they search: information, a comparison or a purchase.
In depth on Optimizacija-Sajta.rs (in Serbian) ↗ - Search Console
- A free Google tool that shows how your site performs in search: clicks, positions, errors and indexing.
- SERP
- Search Engine Results Page.
- Sitemap
- An XML file listing the pages you want Google to index.
In depth on Optimizacija-Sajta.rs (in Serbian) ↗
T
- Technical SEO
- The part of SEO that deals with indexing, speed, URL structure, redirects and the other technical conditions for ranking.
In depth on Optimizacija-Sajta.rs (in Serbian) ↗ - Title tag
- The page title shown in Google results and on the browser tab. One of the most important on-page signals.
In depth on Optimizacija-Sajta.rs (in Serbian) ↗
U
- UTM parameters
- Tags added to a link (utm_source, utm_medium, utm_campaign) so Analytics shows where a visitor came from.
Z
- Zero-click search
- A search where the user gets the answer directly in Google or an AI tool and does not click through to any website.
Q
- Quality Score
- A Google Ads rating from 1 to 10 for how relevant your ad, keyword and landing page are. A higher score means a lower cost per click.
W
- WooCommerce
- A free WordPress plugin that turns a website into an online shop.
How to use them
How to use this glossary
This glossary is for business owners and marketing managers who receive reports full of abbreviations: CTR, ROAS, CPA, SERP, E-E-A-T. The aim is not to turn you into a specialist, but to help you understand what the report says and ask your agency the right questions.
The terms to start with
- Conversion: an action that brings you business, such as a call, an enquiry or a purchase.
- ROAS: how much revenue each euro spent on ads brings back.
- Organic traffic: visits from search that you do not pay per click for.
- AEO and GEO: optimisation for answers and AI search engines, two newer areas we explain in more detail here.
Using the glossary with your reports
When you see an unfamiliar term in a monthly report, look it up here. For Google’s official definitions of its metrics, the Google Ads glossary is also useful.
We add new terms regularly. If one is missing, let us know. We cover the bigger topics in our guides and on our service pages, for example SEO services, AEO and GEO.
The terms in practice
Why we wrote this glossary
Clients often tell us that the reports they used to get made little sense to them. So we wrote this glossary in plain language, with practical examples instead of textbook definitions. Whether you work with us or with another agency, it helps you check whether a report shows real results or just numbers that look good.
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