SEO acronyms are important! In the world of SEO, there are plenty of acronyms. So many, in fact, that it can be difficult in the beginning to keep track of the many acronyms you might come across.
That’s where this list of SEO acronyms comes in!
Feel free to print it out and use it at your leisure (if you use a printer for this, anyway). Or, just bookmark it for yourself to use as a reference later.
ALT: Alternative Text Attribute
The alt attribute is one of the most important attributes you can add to your webpages. It allows you to describe the picture or graphic that appears when someone mouses over the link. For example, if there is a photo of a building on your site, you might want to include the name of the building along with the image. This way, people who are visually impaired can still understand the information on your site.
If you don’t provide an alt attribute, the image may not display properly in some browsers. You’ll lose out on potential visitors because they won’t know what the image is about and it might contribute to a bad user experience.
AJAX: Asynchronous Javascript and XML
This is a technique used by many websites today. AJAX is basically a method of retrieving data from a website without having to reload the page. Instead, it loads new content asynchronously while the user continues reading the current webpage. The advantage to this is that users will not have to wait for pages to load before they can continue browsing.
Another advantage of using AJAX is that it makes the website more responsive. When a visitor clicks on a link, the browser sends a request to the server asking whether the requested file exists. If the file does exist, then the browser receives the response immediately. However, if the file doesn’t exist, the browser has to wait until the server responds before it knows whether the file was found or not. With AJAX, the browser only needs to send requests to the server once. After that, the browser can receive responses whenever they become available.
Another benefit of using AJAX is SEO. Because search engines crawl the entire website, they see all the links on every page. Therefore, if you use AJAX to retrieve content, the crawler will be able to index the content faster than if you had just loaded the page normally.
API: Application Program Interface
An API (Application Programming Interface) is a set of rules that allow software programs to communicate with each other. APIs are usually written in a programming language such as PHP, Java, C#, etc. In order for two different applications to work together, both parties need to agree upon how they will interact.
For instance, let’s say you wanted to create a shopping cart application. One option would be to write the code yourself. Another option would be to purchase a ready-made solution. Both options require you to develop the same functionality. However, the second option requires you to learn how to program in the chosen language.
The third option is to use an API. By using an API, you don’t have to worry about learning any coding languages. All you have to do is download the API and follow the instructions provided. Once you’ve downloaded the API, you simply plug it into your own application.
AR: Augmented Reality
Augmented Reality (AR) is a technology that overlays digital information onto real world objects. For example, when you look at a building through Google Street View, you may notice that there is a virtual version of the building next to the physical one. This is AR.
AR is becoming increasingly popular among businesses. It allows them to add virtual elements to their products and services. These virtual elements could include product descriptions, price tags, directions, etc.
AR also has potential in education and medical fields. Students could view maps of foreign countries and practice speaking the native language by interacting with the map. Or, surgeons could use holograms of the human body to train for surgeries as if they were performing the surgery on a live person.
The possibilities of the applications of augmented reality are endless.
B2B: Business to Business
Business to business (B2B) marketing is a type of direct marketing where companies sell directly to another company instead of selling to consumers. B2B marketing involves sending out sales letters, brochures, catalogs, etc. to businesses, rather than individual consumers.
Because B2B marketing is so effective, most small businesses opt to use it. Smaller companies often find it easier to reach large numbers of people because they’re less likely to get lost in the shuffle.
However, B2B marketing isn’t always easy. There are many challenges involved. For example, some companies may not want to share their contact information with others. Others may be concerned about privacy issues. Still others may feel uncomfortable receiving unsolicited mail.
In addition, B2B marketing takes time and money. If you’re trying to market to a specific industry, you’ll probably have to spend more time researching the target audience.
B2C: Business to Consumer
Business to consumer (B2C) marketing is a type of marketing where companies sell to individuals instead of businesses. B2C marketing involves sending out sales flyers, catalogs, emails, etc. to consumers.
This type of marketing can be very effective if done correctly. But it can also be costly and time consuming. The reason why this type of marketing works well is because consumers like to buy things from brands they know and trust.
This means that if you send out a flyer promoting your brand, chances are high that someone will respond positively.
But even though consumers are receptive to these types of promotions, they still need convincing. That’s why it’s important to make sure that your message is clear and concise.
BH: Blackhat
Black hat SEO refers to any search engine optimization technique that violates Google’s Webmaster Guidelines or other rules. When black hat techniques are used, they usually result in low quality backlinks.
These links are generally spammy and don’t help your site rank higher. Some examples of black hat SEO tactics include buying links, using hidden text, keyword stuffing, and link farming.
The goal of black hat SEO is to manipulate search results to benefit a website or its owner. This is considered unethical and illegal.
The good news is that there are ways to avoid getting caught up in black hat SEO. One way is to hire an experienced SEO professional that doesn’t resort to those tactics.
BL: Backlink
A backlink is a hyperlink on a different page pointing to your own web page. These links are valuable because they increase the number of times your content appears in search engines.
Backlinks are especially useful when you’re trying to build authority. Authority is a measure of how much influence your site has within the world of online search.
If you have lots of backlinks, then you’ll appear as a credible resource. This helps you gain credibility and attract visitors.
If you’re looking to improve your rankings, then you should focus on building backlinks. However, it’s important to note that backlinks aren’t everything.
You also need to create great content. And you need to promote your content through social media.
BR: Bounce Rate
When people visit your website, do they stay long enough to see all of the pages? Or do they leave after just one or two clicks?
Your bounce rate measures how many people left your site without clicking anything else. It’s calculated by dividing the total number of visits by the total number of unique visitors.
A high bounce rate indicates that users are leaving quickly. So if you want to keep them around longer, then you need to work on improving your site design and/or content.
CAPTCHA: Completely Automated Public Turing Test to Tell Computers and Humans Apart
Captcha stands for “Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart.” Captchas are algorithmic images designed to prevent automated programs from accessing websites.
They’re often displayed at registration forms and login screens. If you use captchas, then you’re asking potential customers to solve puzzles before they can access your site.
Although they may seem annoying, captchas can actually be beneficial. For example, they can help protect against bots and viruses.
ccTLD: Country Code Top-level Domain
A ccTLD is a country code top-level domain (ccTLD). The most popular ccTLDs are .com, .net, .org, .info, and .biz.
There are hundreds of ccTLDs available. Each one represents a specific geographic region.
For example, .uk is the ccTLD for Great Britain.
CDN: Content Delivery Network
A CDN is a network of servers located across the globe. When someone types a URL into their browser, the request goes out to the closest server.
The result is faster loading speeds for your visitors.
Content delivery networks make this possible. They store copies of your content on multiple servers.
So if someone searches for your company name, then they get the best version of your content.
CF: Citation Flow
CF stands for citation flow, and is a metric specific to the third-party link research tool Majestic.
This metric shows how well other sites link to yours.
To calculate CF, you take the number of incoming links to your site and divide it by the number of outgoing links.
The higher the ratio, the more influential your site is.
CGI: Common Gateway Interface
CGI is a protocol that allows computers to communicate with each other over the Internet.
When you visit a website, the computer sends information about what page you want to see to the server.
Then the server returns the requested page back to your computer.
If you’ve ever visited a website, then you’ve probably seen a CGI script.
CRM: Customer Relationship Management
CRM stands for customer relationship management. It’s a software program that helps companies keep track of their relationships with their customers.
Companies use CRMs to organize all of their interactions with clients.
CRM systems also provide tools to automate marketing campaigns, sales processes, and customer service.
CMS: Content Management System
A content management system (CMS) is a type of software that enables users to create, publish, manage, and share digital content.
A CMS typically provides a user interface where authors can enter or upload content, such as text, images, videos, etc.
Users may also be able to create pages, galleries, menus, forms, etc.
In addition, some CMSes offer additional features, such as blogs, forums, wikis, file sharing, ecommerce, etc.
CMSs are often used to build websites because they are easy to set up and maintain.
CMSs have become increasingly popular since the advent of social media platforms, which require constant updating.
Some examples include WordPress, Joomla!, Drupal, and Magento.
You can even change the look of your site with themes.
COA: Cost of Acquisition
COA is a term used in advertising to describe the cost of acquiring a new customer.
It’s calculated by multiplying the price paid per acquisition by the lifetime value of the customer.
For example, let’s say you pay $10 per lead.
And let’s assume that the average lifetime value of a customer is $100.
That means COA would equal $10 x 100 = $1,000.
CPA: Cost Per Acquisition
CPA is another way to measure the success of your ads.
It’ll tell you how much money you spent to acquire a single customer.
But remember, CPA doesn’t account for the lifetime value of a customer.
CPI: Cost Per Impression
CPI is a very similar concept to CPM, or cost per thousand.
However, instead of measuring the amount of money you spend on impressions, CPI measures the amount of money you lose when someone clicks away from your ad before reaching your landing page.
CR: Conversion Rate
The conversion rate is the percentage of visitors who complete a specific action after viewing your ad.
For example, if you run an online store, the conversion rate will help you determine whether people are actually buying something.
CRO: Conversion Rate Optimization
Conversion rate optimization (CRO) is the process of optimizing your site so it converts more leads into paying customers.
This includes things like making sure your call-to-action buttons are visible, using clear language, creating a compelling headline, etc.
CTA: Call to Action
Call to action (CTA) refers to any button or link on a webpage that encourages a visitor to take a certain action.
For example, a CTA could be “Buy Now” or “Sign Up Today.”
CTR: Click Through Rate
Click through rate (CTR) is the number of times a person clicks on an advertisement divided by the total number of impressions.
If you want to know what works best for your business, you need to understand CTR.
DC: Data Center
Data centers are large buildings with lots of servers and other equipment needed to host websites and apps.
They usually contain multiple racks of computers, networking gear, power supplies, cooling units, and security cameras.
DFO: Data Feed Optimization
Data feed optimization (DFO) is the practice of improving the quality of data being sent to Google Analytics.
By doing this, you can improve the accuracy of your reports.
HTML: Hypertext Markup Language
Hypertext markup language (HTML) is the code that makes up web pages.
HTML is used to create text formatting, images, links, tables, forms, videos, and many other elements that you see on a webpage.
HTTP: Hypertext Transfer Protocol
Hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP) is the standard communication method between browsers and websites.
When you visit a website, you send HTTP requests to the server. The server responds with an HTML page or some other content that is sent back to your browser.
The request and response are usually handled by a web framework like ExpressJS or Django.
HTTPS: Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure
Hypertext transfer protocol secure (HTTPS) is the same as HTTP, but uses encryption to protect sensitive information such as credit card numbers.
The most common use of HTTPS is for web pages that contain login forms or other sensitive data, and it’s a good idea to always use this method when you’re sending personal information over the Internet. However, there are many situations where you can safely use HTTP instead of HTTPS. For example, if you have an online store, you don’t need to encrypt your customer’s credit card number because they won’t be able to see it anyway.
NAP: Name Address Phone Number
Name address phone number (NAP) is a unique identifier used in email marketing campaigns.
It consists of your company name, address, and phone number.
NAP is used most often in Local SEO, where the business’ physical information is needed first and foremost.
PPC: Pay-Per-Click
Pay per click (PPC) is a type of advertising model where advertisers pay each time someone clicks on their ad.
This means that PPC ads appear at the top of search results, along with organic listings.
PPC is one of the oldest types of paid advertising, and it still has its place today.
However, there are many other ways to advertise online that don’t involve paying for every single click.
PR: PageRank
Page rank (PR) is a measurement of how important a webpage is based on the importance of other pages linking to it. This aspect of the Google algorithm was invented by Googler Larry Page, hence the name “PageRank”
Google assigns a numerical value to each webpage based on the importance of those pages.
Pages with higher PR values tend to get more traffic from search engines than lower PR pages.
ROI: Return on Investment
Return on investment (ROI) is the amount of money you spend divided by the amount of profit you make.
If you invest $1 into something and it returns $2, then your ROI would be 50 percent.
ROI is also known as return on capital, which simply refers to what percentage of your initial investment you get back after a certain period of time.
RSS: Really Simple Syndication
Really simple syndication (RSS) is a way to subscribe to news feeds.
You can read these feeds using any RSS reader, and they’ll show up in your inbox automatically.
RSS is very popular among bloggers, who use it to share new posts with their readers.
SEO: Search Engine Optimization
Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of optimizing your site for search engines such as Google, Bing, and others.
The end goal of this process is to improve traffic, rankings, and your overall website performance.
SERP: Search Engine Results Pages
The search engine results pages are those pages that have…the results of a query that you type into the search engine.
On Google, they can take many forms and Google also has a variety of different types of results. Either way, these are the results that everyone is trying to get their website to rank number 1 for: organic.
SEM: Search Engine Marketing
Search engine marketing (SEM) is an acronym that usually refers to PPC (pay per click) ads, which show up above the organic search results on Google.
So now, when someone asks you what the difference between SEM and SEO are, you can tell them that SEM refers to paid results, and SEO refers to the free organic results.
Social Media Optimization: SMO
Social media optimization (SMO) is the process of improving the presence of a website within social networks.
SMO includes things like posting relevant updates, sharing interesting articles, and commenting on social feeds.
SMX: Search Marketing Expo
The Search Marketing Expo (SMX) is a conference held annually. With the pandemic, however, conferences have taken a step back to being virtual. But that doesn’t mean they aren’t still chock full of amazing speakers and information.
These conferences still bring together people from all different industries to discuss topics such as SEM, link building, conversion rate optimization, and much more.
SMM: Social Media Marketing
Social media marketing (SMM) is the practice of promoting brands through social networking sites.
Branded content is posted to social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter, and shares are generated through likes, comments, and retweets.
SMS: Short Message Service
Short message service (SMS) is a text messaging system that allows users to send short messages between mobile devices.
SMS is commonly used to send promotional offers or reminders to customers.
SPAM: Spamming
Spam is unsolicited email sent to large numbers of recipients.
SPAM is often sent via bulk mail services, but spam can also come from individual accounts.
TLD: Top Level Domain
Top level domain (TLD) is the part of an URL before the last dot.
For example, .com is the TLD for commercial websites, while .edu is the TLD for educational websites.
UX: User Experience
User experience (UX) is the overall impression that a user has when interacting with a product or service.
UX encompasses many aspects of design, including visual appeal, ease of navigation, and functionality.