SEO words, in plain English

The “page not found” message someone sees when they visit a web address that no longer exists.

In real lifeA dentist renames “/whitening” to “/teeth-whitening”; anyone clicking the old link now lands on a 404 unless it’s redirected.

Google’s AI-written summary that appears at the top of some search results, with links to the pages it drew from.

In real lifeSomeone searches “how much does a new water heater cost” and Google writes a short answer above the usual links, citing two plumbing websites.

Asking an AI tool such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity or Copilot a question and getting a written answer instead of a list of links.

In real lifeInstead of scrolling Google, a homeowner asks ChatGPT “who’s a good electrician near Riverside?” and gets three names.

A short written description of an image, read aloud by screen readers and used by search engines to understand what the picture shows.

In real lifeA bakery’s photo gets the alt text “three-tier wedding cake with white roses” instead of “IMG_2041”.

The clickable words of a link, which tell readers and search engines what the linked page is about.

In real life“See our emergency drain cleaning” is clearer anchor text than “click here”.

Writing and structuring your pages so Google and AI tools can pull a clear, direct answer straight out of them.

In real lifeA roofer adds a short “How long does a roof replacement take?” section that answers in the first sentence.

A link from another website to yours; search engines use links to find pages and as one sign of how much a page is trusted.

In real lifeA local news site writes about a café’s new opening and links to its menu page.

The share of visits where someone leaves without doing anything else on your website.

In real lifeIf most people land on a landscaper’s homepage and leave straight away, the page may not be answering what they came for.

A small line of code that tells search engines which version of a page is the main one when several addresses show similar content.

In real lifeAn online store’s boots page is reachable with and without a colour filter in the address; the canonical tag points both to the main page.

When an AI tool names or links to a website as a source for the answer it gives.

In real lifePerplexity answers “best physio for a sports injury” and lists a clinic’s blog post as one of its sources.

The share of people who see your result in Google and actually click it.

In real lifeA plumber’s page appears in 1,000 searches and gets 40 clicks: a 4% click-through rate.

A schedule of what you’ll publish and when, so posts go out regularly instead of in bursts.

In real lifeA landscaping company plans a post every Tuesday: spring clean-ups in March, lawn care in May.

When a visitor does the thing you want them to do: call, book, fill in a form or buy.

In real lifeFor a dentist, a conversion is a new patient booking a check-up online.

Google’s three measurements of how a page feels to use: how fast it loads, how quickly it responds, and whether things jump around while loading.

In real lifeA café’s menu page loads slowly on phones because of huge photos, which shows up as a poor loading score.

Search engines sending automated programs to visit your pages and read what’s on them.

In real lifeWhen a law firm publishes a new “Wills and estates” page, Google has to crawl it before it can show up.

A score made up by third-party SEO tools to estimate how strong a website’s links are. It is not a number Google uses.

In real lifeA tool rates a new bakery’s website 8 and a national chain’s 70; it’s a rough comparison, not a Google ranking.

The same or nearly the same text on more than one page, which leaves search engines to choose one version to show.

In real lifeA cleaning company copies the same paragraph onto 20 town pages, so Google struggles to tell them apart.

Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness and Trustworthiness: ideas from Google’s guidelines for people who rate search quality, describing what helpful content looks like.

In real lifeA physio’s injury guide written by a named, qualified physiotherapist shows more experience than an anonymous post.

Content that stays useful for years rather than going out of date.

In real life“How to tell if your furnace needs replacing” helps people every winter; “our 2019 holiday hours” doesn’t.

A highlighted box near the top of Google results that quotes a short answer from one web page.

In real lifeSearching “how often should you service a boiler” shows a quoted answer from a heating company’s page.

Making your business easy for AI tools to find, understand and name when they write answers.

In real lifeAn accounting firm spells out its services, prices and service area so ChatGPT can recommend it accurately.

Your free business listing on Google Search and Google Maps, with your hours, phone number, photos and reviews.

In real lifeSomeone searches “barber near me” and sees a barber shop’s profile with its opening hours and a Call button.

A free Google tool that shows which searches bring people to your website and flags pages Google can’t read properly.

In real lifeA florist sees in Search Console that “wedding bouquets Oakville” brought 60 clicks last month.

A secure connection between a visitor’s browser and your website, shown by the padlock in the address bar; Google has said it counts as a small ranking signal.

In real lifeA clinic’s booking form should always be on an address starting with https:// so patient details are protected.

The number of times one of your pages appeared in search results, whether or not anyone clicked.

In real lifeA roofer’s “roof repair cost” page had 2,000 impressions this month, even though only 60 people clicked.

Google storing a page in its database after crawling it, so the page is able to appear in search results.

In real lifeA new “Emergency plumber in Hamilton” page won’t show up for anyone until Google has indexed it.

A link from one page on your website to another page on the same website.

In real lifeA dentist’s blog post on teeth whitening links to the clinic’s “Book a whitening appointment” page.

The words someone types into a search engine when they’re looking for something.

In real life“Dog grooming near me” and “how much is dog grooming” are both keywords a grooming salon cares about.

A third-party tool’s estimate of how hard it would be to rank for a search, based mostly on the pages already ranking.

In real life“Plumber” scores very hard, while “tankless water heater repair in Guelph” scores much easier.

Cramming the same search words into a page over and over, which Google’s spam policies specifically warn against.

In real life“Best plumber Toronto, Toronto plumber, plumber in Toronto…” reads badly and can hurt more than help.

The information box Google shows beside or above results about a well-known business, person or place.

In real lifeSearching a restaurant’s exact name shows a panel with its photos, hours, menu link and reviews.

A proposed text file that lists a website’s most important pages for AI tools; it isn’t an official standard, and Google has said it doesn’t use it.

In real lifeA software company adds an llms.txt file, but still relies on clear pages and outside mentions to be named by AI tools.

Any mention of your business name, address and phone number on another website, such as a directory or local chamber of commerce.

In real lifeAn electrician is listed on Yelp, a trade association site and a town directory. Each is a citation.

The group of local businesses Google shows with a map, usually three, when someone searches for something nearby.

In real life“Coffee shop near me” shows a small map with three cafés, their star ratings and opening hours.

A longer, more specific search that fewer people make, but the people who do usually know exactly what they want.

In real life“Same-day boiler repair in Leeds” gets fewer searches than “boiler repair” but brings people ready to call.

The short summary you write for a page, which Google may show under the page title in search results.

In real life“Blocked drain? We clear kitchen, bathroom and main drains the same day across Hamilton.”

A website that’s easy to read and use on a phone; Google mainly looks at the mobile version of a site when deciding how to rank it.

In real lifeA salon’s booking button is big enough to tap with a thumb and the prices don’t need zooming in.

Short for Name, Address and Phone number. Keeping them identical everywhere online is a common local search recommendation.

In real lifeA clinic lists “Suite 4, 12 King St” on its website but “12 King Street #4” on a directory; tidying these helps avoid confusion.

Visitors who find your website through normal, unpaid search results rather than ads.

In real lifeA landscaper stops paying for ads in winter but still gets visitors from their “snow removal” page.

How quickly a page loads and becomes usable, especially on a phone connection.

In real lifeA restaurant replaces a giant homepage video with a photo and the page loads in two seconds instead of eight.

The name of a page that usually appears as the clickable blue headline in search results.

In real life“Drain Cleaning in Hamilton | Same-Day Service” tells searchers exactly what they’ll get.

A box in Google results with related questions that open up to show a short answer from a website.

In real lifeSearching “teeth whitening” shows questions like “How long does whitening last?”, each answered by a dental site.

How close a business is to the person searching. It’s one of the three things Google says it weighs for local results, alongside relevance and prominence.

In real lifeTwo equally good pizzerias: the one three streets away is more likely to appear for “pizza near me”.

Where your page appears in the search results for a particular search.

In real lifeA plumbing company ranks third for “water heater installation Burlington” and first for its own name.

An instruction that automatically sends visitors and search engines from an old web address to a new one.

In real lifeWhen a café moves its menu from “/food” to “/menu”, a permanent (301) redirect keeps old links working.

Customer ratings and comments on places like your Google Business Profile; Google says review count and score factor into local rankings.

In real lifeA mechanic with 180 recent reviews averaging 4.8 stands out in the map pack, and replying to them builds trust.

Search results with extras such as star ratings, prices, event dates or recipe photos.

In real lifeA bakery’s cake recipe shows a photo, cooking time and star rating right in Google.

A small file on your website that tells search engine crawlers which parts of the site they may visit.

In real lifeA shop blocks crawlers from its checkout pages, but must be careful not to block its product pages by mistake.

Behind-the-scenes labels in a page’s code that tell search engines exactly what the information is: a price, an address, opening hours, a question and its answer.

In real lifeA dentist’s page labels “Mon–Fri 8am–6pm” as opening hours so Google doesn’t have to guess.

What the person searching actually wants: to learn something, compare options, buy, or visit somewhere.

In real life“How to fix a leaky tap” wants a guide; “plumber near me open now” wants a phone number.

An estimate of how many times a search is made each month; different tools give different numbers.

In real lifeA tool estimates “dog grooming prices” gets around 2,900 searches a month in one city.

Short for search engine results page: the page you see after searching on Google.

In real lifeThe SERP for “roof repair near me” shows ads, a map with three roofers, then the regular results.

A business that visits customers rather than serving them at a shop, and can hide its address on Google while showing the areas it covers.

In real lifeA mobile dog groomer works from home, so their Google profile lists the towns they drive to instead of a street address.

A list of the pages on your website, made for search engines so they don’t miss any.

In real lifeA renovation company adds 12 new project pages; the sitemap makes sure Google knows they exist.

Pages with so little useful information that they don’t really help the person who lands on them.

In real lifeA “Services” page that just says “We do all kinds of plumbing. Call us.” gives Google and customers nothing to go on.

A group of related pages that all link to one main page on the same subject.

In real lifeA physio clinic’s main “Back pain” page links to posts on sciatica, desk posture and lifting injuries, and they link back.

A search where the person gets their answer on the results page itself and never clicks through to a website.

In real lifeSomeone checks a pharmacy’s closing time straight from its Google profile without visiting its website.