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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People visit your website after typing words into search engines. This happens every time someone finds you through Google, Bing, or other search platforms. These visitors make up your search traffic numbers. Search traffic matters because it shows how many people discover your site naturally through queries instead of coming from ads or direct links. You can track these visitors in your website data reports to see which search terms bring them to your pages.

 

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SEM stands for Search Engine Marketing. It helps bring more people to your website through search engines. Companies offer this service to increase how many visitors find your site. SEM includes many different ways to boost traffic. Some examples are PPC advertising (which means pay-per-click), Google Shopping campaigns, marketing on social media platforms, SEO work, creating good content for your site, plus several other methods. All these strategies aim to make your website show up more often or in better spots on search results pages.

 

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A Semantic Core groups keywords that best describe what a website is about. This keyword collection helps search engines figure out your site's main topics. Search engines look at these words to match your pages with what people search for. If your Semantic Core fits well with your content, your pages rank higher in search results. This means more of the right visitors come to your site. Search engines use these important keywords to understand what your entire website offers. Building a good Semantic Core helps search engines connect users with your pages exactly at the moment they need your information.

 

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SEO means Search Engine Optimization. Companies do SEO activities to attract more people who find their website naturally through search engines. The main goal is making websites show up higher in search results without paying for ads. SEO experts change both technical parts of websites plus the words on pages to help search engines notice them better. They fix website code, improve page loading speeds, create useful content, build good links from other sites, make mobile-friendly designs, add helpful pictures with descriptions, adjust page titles - all these things make websites more visible in places such as Google. Higher visibility brings more clicks from people searching for what these websites offer.

 

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SERP stands for Search Engine Results Page. This is what you see after you type something into a search engine. The page shows all web pages, ads, and special features that match what you asked for. Every time you search online, the search engine creates a SERP just for your question. These pages list everything the search engine thinks might help answer your search. They include normal website links, paid advertisements, maps, pictures, videos, featured snippets, and many other things. Each search creates a unique SERP based on what you looked for.

 

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SERP Features are anything on Google's search results page that isn't just a regular link. People call these Rich Snippets as well. These special results show up all over search pages. You'll see paid ads at the top, question boxes with answers, groups of local businesses, and fact panels on the right side, plus many others. Google creates these extra features to help users find information faster. The search engine picks certain websites to appear in these special spots. Getting your website into these areas can bring lots more visitors to your pages. Users often click these eye-catching features before regular results.

 

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SERP Source means taking a picture of the search results page where Semrush found its information. If Semrush says a website ranks somewhere for a certain keyword, you can look at this picture to check. You just click on an icon, which opens a small window asking if you want to "View the SERP." After you click that, you'll see an actual screenshot showing those search results. This helps you confirm that the ranking data Semrush shows you really matches what appeared on Google at that time.

 

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SERP Volatility happens when search results suddenly change positions. This usually happens because Google updates its system or changes how it ranks websites. Website owners feel very upset if their pages drop down in rankings. They worry about losing visitors during these shifts. Sometimes, Google updates different parts of its system at different times. This creates a period where search results look different depending on which Google server you connect to. These shaky times make it hard for businesses to plan because they can't predict where their pages will appear in search results from day to day.

 

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Serviceable Available Market (SAM) shows how many people in your total market can actually buy what you sell right now. These customers have both the need and money for your product or service. SAM is smaller than your total possible market because it only counts ready buyers. Companies use this number to set realistic sales goals. It helps them focus their marketing on people who can purchase immediately rather than everyone who might someday want their product. This measurement matters because it shows real business opportunities instead of just potential ones.

 

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Share of Voice in Semrush looks at all the keywords in your Position Tracking campaign. It measures which websites grab what percent of traffic from these searches. This number considers how many people actually search for each term - not just how many keywords you track. A site with a high Share of Voice appears frequently across all searches for your important terms. The system weighs popular search terms more heavily than rarely-used ones. This gives you a true picture of which sites dominate the search landscape for your chosen keywords.

 

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Sitelinks show up on search result pages as helpful extras. You'll see a website's main page at the top with several more links below it. These extra links take people straight to important parts of the website. Google picks these special inner pages because many people want to visit them. Sitelinks help users jump directly to what they need without clicking around the site hunting for it. Websites with clear organization often earn these bonus links in search results. Users love sitelinks because they save time finding exactly what they want from a website.

 

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Sitemap.xml is an XML file that shows all the website's pages. This file tells search robots what they can find on your site. Search engines check this file to learn what's important and how to move around your site. They use it to discover pages they should scan and add to their search results. A sitemap.xml helps search engines find everything on your website. This is not the same as a site map page made for visitors. That kind helps real people see what's on your website. The XML version is just for search engines.

 

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Social media marketing (SMM) helps businesses grow online. People hire SMM experts because they know Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, and other platforms. These professionals create posts, videos, and stories that catch attention and make people want to buy things.

SMM teams plan everything carefully. They figure out which apps your customers use most and what content they enjoy seeing. They post at times when your audience checks their phones. They track every click, comment, and share to see what works best.

Good SMM brings real results—more website visits, higher sales, and fans who love your brand. Companies big and small need social media today. Having someone manage these accounts saves you time and produces better outcomes than trying to do it yourself.

Different from old advertising, SMM lets you talk directly with customers. You can answer questions, fix problems, and build relationships quickly, which creates loyal customers who tell their friends about you.

 

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Social Traffic means people visit your website from Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and other social platforms. These visitors click links they find while scrolling through social media feeds. This happens because someone shared your content, or maybe they saw your paid ads running on these networks.

Every time users jump from social media apps directly to your website pages, that counts as social traffic. You can measure exactly which social networks send the most visitors using analytics tools. This helps you figure out where your audience hangs out online.

This type of traffic differs from search engine traffic or direct visits. Social traffic shows how well your social media posts grab attention and make people want to learn more. Building strong social traffic takes regular posting and making content people want to share with friends.

 

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Split Testing helps you find out what works best on your website or emails. People call it A/B Testing sometimes. You create two almost identical versions of something - maybe a webpage or email. The only difference might be one small part, such as the headline at the top.

Half your visitors see version A; half see version B. You watch which one makes more people click, buy, sign up, or whatever action you want them to take. This tells you which version performs better.

For example, if you want to test a headline, you make two pages the same except for different headlines. Some visitors see the first headline; others see the second one. Your tracking tools show you which headline made more people stay longer or buy your product.

Companies use split testing all the time to improve their websites, emails, and ads. It removes guesswork because actual data shows what your audience prefers. Even small changes can make big differences in how many sales you make or leads you collect.

 

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The "Sponsored" tag helps everyone know which links are paid ads. You need to add this special code to any paid content on your website. Just put rel="sponsored" inside the link part of your HTML code.

This tag tells search engines that someone paid you to put this link on your page. Search engines want this information because they need to know which links are natural recommendations and which ones are advertisements.

Adding this code keeps your website honest with visitors and follows rules that major search engines expect. If you forget to mark paid links, search engines might think you're trying to trick them and could lower your website ranking.

The code looks like this in your HTML: <a href="https://example.com" rel="sponsored">Website Name</a>

Make sure you add this tag to every single paid link on your site. This includes any posts where companies gave you money or free stuff to write about them. It also includes affiliate links where you earn money when people click and buy something.

 

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SSL Certificates help keep your information safe online. They are special files that scramble your data into secret code, which happens between your computer and the website you visit.


Websites with these certificates show a small padlock next to their address. You might notice the website address starts with "https" instead of just "HTTP." That extra "s" stands for secure, which means nobody can spy on what you send or receive from that site.

These certificates matter a lot if you shop online or type in passwords. Without them, bad people could steal your credit card numbers or personal details. Every website that asks for private information should have an SSL Certificate.

Big companies check websites before giving them these certificates. They make sure the website really belongs to who it claims to. This helps stop fake websites from tricking you. Your browser checks these certificates automatically and warns you if something seems wrong.

Next time you visit a website, look for that padlock symbol. If you don't see it, be careful about sharing anything private there. SSL Certificates protect millions of people every day without them even knowing it.

 

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Structured data helps search engines understand your website better. You add these special code tags to your normal website code. This extra code tells search engines exactly what your content means.

For example, you can mark up things such as recipes, events, products, or reviews. Search engines read this markup and may show your website in fancier ways on results pages. These fancy results often catch more eyes and make more people click.

Adding structured data doesn't change how your website looks to visitors. Only search engines see this extra code. But it can change how your site appears in search results with rich snippets, knowledge panels, or carousels.

Popular types include Schema.org markup, which works with Google, Bing, Yahoo, and other search engines. You can add this markup using JSON-LD, Microdata, or RDFa formats. Many website builders and plug-ins make it easy to add structured data without knowing much code.

Search engines don't promise to show rich results just because you added markup. But having correct structured data gives your site the best chance to stand out in search results and attract more visitors.

 

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Subdomains give extra parts to your website with their names. You can spot a subdomain because it sits in front of your main website address with a dot between them. For instance, if your website is example.com, you might have blog.example.com as a subdomain.

People create subdomains for many reasons. You might want a separate area for your blog, your store, or help pages. Each subdomain can look different from your main site if you want. Companies often use subdomains for big sections that need their own space.

Making subdomains happens through your website hosting account. Most hosting companies let you create several subdomains at no extra cost. This gives you more ways to organize your online presence without buying new domain names.

Many businesses put different parts of their company on separate subdomains. They might have store.example.com, support.example.com, and careers.example.com. This keeps everything neat and helps visitors find what they need fast.

Search engines see subdomains as somewhat separate from your main website. This matters because content on a subdomain might not boost your main domain as much as pages directly on it would. But subdomains still connect back to your main brand name, keeping everything under one roof.

 

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Subfolders let you add more parts to your website after your main address. You can tell it's a subfolder by the slash (/) that comes after your website name. If your website is example.com, a subfolder might look like example.com/blog or example.com/shop.

People create subfolders to keep their websites neat and organized. They help group similar pages together. For instance, you might put all your product pages in example.com/products and all your help articles in example.com/help. This makes your website easier for visitors to use.

Making subfolders is simple - you just create new folders on your website server. Most website builders let you make subfolders easily. You don't need any special setup with your hosting company. Search engines see subfolders as part of your main website, which helps your main domain build strength over time. Many website experts like using subfolders instead of subdomains because all the good stuff - like visitor counts and search rankings - stays with your main website address.

You can have subfolders inside other subfolders, making paths like example.com/blog/2023 or example.com/products/electronics. This gives you lots of ways to organize everything on your site. The address shows visitors exactly where they are on your website.