SEO Terms You Should Know

A 301 redirect is a perfect way to point people and search engines from an old URL to a new one. It's like having your mail forwarded to a new address. Everyone who tries to go to the old page will automatically end up at the new location instead.

Using a 301 means any SEO power from links pointing to the original URL will transfer over. The new page will soak up all that juicy link equity. That's crucial for keeping your rankings intact when you need to move or rename a page.

Whenever someone lands on a page that's been 301'd, their browser gets a message saying, "This page has moved permanently. We're sending you to the new spot." The visitor's browser makes a quick pit stop, picks up the new address, and zips off to the right destination.

You can use a 301 to combine pages, swap domains, or clean up messy URLs. It's a slick trick for sprucing up your site structure without losing any precious SEO momentum. 301 redirects are a seamless way to reroute traffic when you need to switch things around.

So, if you've renamed a page or are merging websites, break out that 301 redirect. It'll make sure your visitors and friendly neighborhood search engines always wind up in the right place—no muss, no fuss, no lost link juice. You gotta love that 301 redirect!

 

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A 302 redirect is like taking a quick detour. It's an HTTP status code that tells search engines and visitors that a page has temporarily moved somewhere else. When someone tries to access the original URL, they're automatically rerouted to a different location for the time being.

Here's the catch, though - a 302 redirect doesn't pass on any of that sweet SEO juice from the original page. All those high-quality backlinks pointing to the old URL won't count for the new destination. The search engines see it as a pit stop rather than a permanent change of address.

That's the key difference between a 302 and its cousin, the 301 redirect. A 301 is forever. It tells everyone that a page has officially packed up and put down roots at a new URL. A 302 is more like crashing on a friend's couch for a few days until you sort out your living situation.

You might use a 302 redirect if you're briefly moving a page while you redesign your website or do some maintenance behind the scenes. It's a way of saying, "Pardon our dust! We're currently remodeling this section. In the meantime, check out our temporary digs over here."

Just remember, if you want to keep your hard-earned link equity and maintain your SEO, a 301 redirect is usually the way to go for any long-term URL changes. Save the 302 for those short-term switcheroos.

 

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A 307 redirect is an HTTP status code that means a page has been temporarily moved. It's used when a URL needs to be briefly relocated to a different address.

When someone tries to visit the original page, the 307 redirect automatically sends them to the new spot specified in the Location header. This lets everyone know the content they're looking for is currently at a different URL.

The 307 redirect was introduced with HTTP 1.1 to replace the older 302 redirect for temporary moves. It's more specific than a 302, clearly indicating that the original URL will be back soon.

That's the main difference between 307 and 302 redirects. They both signify that a page has temporarily changed locations, but a 307 is more explicit about the URL returning to its original address.

If you need to reroute traffic while you update or move a page briefly, a 307 redirect is the way to go. It ensures visitors and search engines are redirected to the right place without any ambiguity.

 

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If you try to access a webpage and get a 403 error, it means the server is telling you a hard no. It's an HTTP status code that tells you you're forbidden from viewing that URL.

Even though the server understands what you're asking for, it can't give you the green light. Some issue on your end is blocking your request.

Maybe you don't have the right permissions to view the content, or there could be a problem with your browser settings or login credentials. Whatever the reason, the server is saying, "Sorry, it's not happening."

A 403 error is different from a 404 "page not found" error. With a 403, the server knows the page exists - it's just not letting you see it. The page is there, but it's off-limits to you specifically.

If you encounter a 403 roadblock, you'll need to figure out what's causing the server to give you the cold shoulder. Double-check your permissions, clear your browser cache, and make sure you're logged in correctly. With a bit of troubleshooting, you should be able to get past the 403 and access the page you need.

 

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Error 404 means the page you tried opening is missing. The server does not find the file or webpage tied to your request and signals that the content is absent at the expected address. This notice makes clear that the document has been removed or moved to another location, leaving you without the page you aimed to view and urging you to search for it elsewhere.

 

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Sometimes, when you try to load a website, things just don't work right. You might see a message pop up that says "500 Internal Server Error." That's the computer's way of telling you there's a problem.

What happened is the server was working to get the information you needed, but something went wrong. It got a response that it wasn't expecting. It's kind of like the server is a waiter at a restaurant. You asked for a cheeseburger, but the cook in the kitchen handed you a tire iron instead. The waiter doesn't know what to do with that, so it lets you know there's an issue.

The server is the intermediary between the request and the response. When it receives a messed-up response, it throws up its hands and sends you that 500 error code. That code is the server's way of saying, "I tried my best, but I'm totally confused. You'll have to try again or ask for something else."

It's a bummer when this happens, but it's not your fault. It just means the website is having some technical difficulties. Usually, the people who run the site will fix it before too long. In the meantime, you can try reloading the page or coming back later. With any luck, it'll be back to normal soon, and you can get what you were looking for.

 

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A 502 Bad Gateway error means the server tried to respond to a request but hit a problem it couldn't figure out. It asked another server for help, but that server didn't answer properly or sent back something confusing. That left the first server stuck, not knowing what to do next, so it showed this error instead of the page you expected.

 

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An access log keeps track of every time someone or something asks for a file on a website. Each time a page, image, or other file gets requested, the log writes it down. This helps show who visited, what they looked at, and when it happened.

 

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An ad keyword is the word or phrase someone types into a search engine that makes paid ads show up. When that keyword matches what an advertiser set, their ad can appear on the results page for people to see and click.

 

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Adobe Analytics is a tool that tracks what people do on a website in real time. It helps businesses see where visitors come from, what they click, and how they move through the site. It works like Google Analytics and gives a clearer picture of how marketing efforts are doing.

 

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Ad Rank decides where your ad shows up on a search page and if it shows up at all. It looks at how much you bid, how good your ad is, how useful your landing page feels, and what the person searched for. It also checks if extra ad features will help make the ad better.

 

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An affiliate is a site that promotes products or services from another business. When someone clicks through and makes a purchase, the affiliate earns a fee or commission for helping make that sale happen.

 

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An algorithm is a collection of math calculations and decision rules that guide a computer program to take the right steps. It checks conditions to decide the next move and follows a set path, much like following a recipe. Each calculation works hard to ensure the computer does exactly what is needed at every turn.

 

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Alt-text gives a written description of what a picture shows. Many people see this text only if the picture fails to load or if the browser does not show pictures. Most viewers see just the picture when it works correctly and miss the explanation that tells what the picture is about. Search engines need alt text because they do not understand pictures on their own. The description helps them learn what the picture shows and improves how they understand the site.

 

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AMPs are a project that Google supports for making mobile versions of webpages load very fast during the search. Developers build these pages using a special kind of HTML that makes them light and quick to serve. This method helps search engines show websites without delay and gives users a smooth experience on mobile devices.

 

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Anchor texts appear as clickable words in a link and, when selected, take users straight to a webpage. They work only with written links, not pictures. When images lead somewhere, a short description called an alt attribute takes over that role.

 

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Authority Score comes from Semrush and helps measure how strong and trustworthy a website looks for SEO. It pulls info from three areas. First, it checks how many backlinks point to the site and how solid they are. Second, it looks at how much traffic the site likely sees each month through search. Third, it scans for any signs that links might be fake or manipulated, which could make the site look shady. All of this blends into one score to show how well a domain might perform in search results.

 

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Average Difficulty shows up in Semrush at the top of the keyword chart and reflects how tough it might be to rank for a group of keywords in a chosen market. It blends all the keyword difficulty scores from a strategy list into one number. A higher percentage means more competition, which makes climbing the rankings harder across the board.

 

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Average Position adds up all your keyword rankings in a campaign and finds the middle ground. If a keyword doesn’t rank at all, Semrush counts it as sitting at position 100. This number gives a quick snapshot of how well your tracked keywords are performing overall.

 

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B2B describes a setup where one business sells products or services directly to another business. It’s different from selling to everyday shoppers, which falls under B2C. This model usually involves larger deals, longer sales cycles, and more decision-makers.