Search and content foundations
These terms describe how people search and how pages are organized around their needs.
SEO — Search Engine Optimization
Improving a website and its wider authority so useful pages can be discovered, understood, selected, and acted on through organic search.
SERP — Search Engine Results Page
The page or interface shown after a search. It can contain standard links, local results, images, videos, shopping elements, answers, and AI-generated features.
Search intent
The task behind a query, such as learning, comparing, finding a nearby provider, buying, or navigating to a known brand.
Keyword
A word or phrase used to represent a search topic. A useful keyword plan groups related language by intent instead of creating one page for every variation.
Search volume
An estimate of how often a query is searched in a period. Providers model volume differently, and a high-volume phrase is not automatically valuable to the business.
Topic cluster
A connected set of pages that covers a subject from distinct angles while linking to a clear central or commercial page.
Content brief
A production plan defining the audience, intent, page job, required answers, evidence, structure, internal links, media, and conversion path.
Cannibalization
A situation where multiple pages overlap enough that search systems or users may struggle to identify which page should represent the topic.
E-E-A-T
Experience, expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness—concepts used in Google's quality guidance. It is not a single score or standalone ranking switch.
People-first content
Content created primarily to help the intended audience, with real purpose and value, rather than to manipulate rankings or fill a publishing quota.
Technical SEO and website architecture
These terms describe how crawlers and browsers access, process, and organize URLs.
Crawler or bot
Automated software that requests pages and follows links to discover and process web content.
Crawling
The process of discovering and requesting URLs and their resources.
Indexing
Processing and storing information about a page so it may be considered for eligible search results. Indexing is not guaranteed.
Robots.txt
A site-level file that gives crawler access instructions. Blocking crawling is not the same as reliably removing an already known URL from search.
Meta robots
Page-level instructions such as index/noindex and follow/nofollow that influence indexing and link handling.
XML sitemap
A machine-readable list of preferred URLs that helps search engines discover new or updated pages. It does not force indexing.
Canonical URL
The preferred representative URL for substantially similar or duplicate pages. A canonical is a signal and should align with redirects, links, and sitemaps.
Status code
The server's response to a request, such as 200 for success, 301 for a permanent redirect, 404 for not found, or 500 for a server problem.
Redirect chain
Two or more redirects between the requested URL and final destination. Long chains add delay and make maintenance harder.
Core Web Vitals
User-experience metrics focused on loading, visual stability, and interaction responsiveness. They are useful quality signals, not a substitute for relevance.
Rendering
The process of turning HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and media into the page a user or crawler can interpret.
Structured data
Machine-readable markup that identifies supported entities and page information. It should match visible content and does not guarantee a rich result.
Internal link
A link between pages on the same website. Internal links help discovery, explain relationships, and move users to the next relevant resource.
Orphan page
A page with no useful internal links pointing to it. It may be difficult for users and crawlers to discover or understand in context.
AI search, GEO, and answer terminology
These labels are evolving. Use them to describe a real objective, not to imply control over a third-party model.
AEO — Answer Engine Optimization
Structuring accurate, useful content so a specific question can be understood and answered clearly across applicable search and answer experiences.
GEO — Generative Engine Optimization
Improving the source, entity, evidence, and authority system that helps generative products understand and represent a brand.
AI SEO
Adapting search strategy so a business is easier to discover, understand, and evaluate across organic results and AI-shaped search. It connects SEO foundations, GEO, AEO, entities, evidence, authority, conversion, measurement, and responsible AI-assisted workflows.
AI Overview
A Google Search feature that can generate an overview with supporting links for queries where Google's systems determine it is useful.
AI citation
A visible source reference or link associated with a generated response. Citation behavior varies by product and response.
Brand mention
An appearance of the brand name in an answer, with or without a visible link. A mention can still be inaccurate or unhelpful.
Entity
A distinct thing—such as an organization, person, place, product, or service—and the facts and relationships associated with it.
Knowledge graph
A structured network of entities and relationships. The term can refer to a platform's system or to a conceptual model used when organizing brand information.
Retrieval
The process of finding information or source material relevant to a request before or during answer generation.
Grounding
Connecting a generated response to provided or retrieved information so the answer has an external factual basis.
Prompt set
A documented collection of representative questions used to monitor answer coverage, accuracy, mentions, and citations over time.
llms.txt
A proposed text-file convention intended to help language-model tools find selected site resources. Adoption and search-impact claims should be treated cautiously.
Local search, analytics, and conversion terms
These terms connect visibility to places, customer actions, and business outcomes.
Google Business Profile
The profile used to manage how an eligible business appears across Google Maps and local Search, including contact details, hours, categories, media, and reviews.
NAP
Name, address, and phone number. Consistent, accurate business information helps customers and platforms reconcile local facts.
Citation
In local SEO, an online mention of business details. In AI-search discussions, the same word may mean a visible source reference, so context matters.
Service-area business
A business that travels to customers rather than serving them at a public storefront. Profile and address handling must follow platform eligibility rules.
Local pack
A group of map-based local results that may appear for location-sensitive searches.
Conversion
A defined useful action such as a call, form, booking, purchase, trial, or download. Not every conversion is necessarily qualified.
Conversion rate
The share of eligible visits or users that complete the defined action. The denominator and action definition must be stated.
Qualified lead
An inquiry that meets the business's agreed fit criteria, such as service need, location, budget range, timing, or decision authority.
Attribution
A method for assigning credit for an outcome across marketing interactions. Attribution is a model, not perfect proof of causation.
Assisted conversion
An outcome where a channel contributed to the journey without being the final recorded interaction.
UTM parameters
Tags added to a URL to identify campaign source, medium, and other context in analytics.
Search Console
Google's site-owner platform for monitoring search visibility, indexing, crawling, enhancements, and related diagnostics.
Questions to ask whenever a term appears in a proposal
Clear providers should be able to translate terminology into work, evidence, and decisions.
What specific business or customer problem does this term describe?
What will actually be changed, created, or monitored?
Which part depends on a third-party platform we do not control?
What evidence will be used before making the recommendation?
How will success and limitations be reported?
Who is responsible for implementation and quality review?
What would cause us to stop, revise, or deprioritize the work?
Primary sources and further reading
Platform behavior can change. These official sources support the platform-specific statements in this guide and provide the best place to verify current requirements.
Frequently asked questions
Why do different SEO tools define metrics differently?
Many tools use proprietary crawlers, clickstream panels, keyword databases, models, and update schedules. Compare trends within a consistent source and document the provider rather than treating estimates from different systems as interchangeable facts.
Is domain authority a Google metric?
No. Authority scores are third-party metrics designed to estimate aspects of link strength or competitiveness. They can be useful for comparison within the same tool but are not Google ranking scores.
Are GEO and AEO official Google terms?
They are industry terms used to describe optimization objectives. Google documents its own search and AI features but does not require businesses to organize their work under these labels.
What should I do when an acronym is missing?
Ask TeamSoda to add it with a plain-language definition, a practical example, and any important limitation. A useful glossary should grow from real customer questions.