15 SEO Terms For Beginners – Must To Know

If you are starting your journey in SEO and want to build a career, learning the essential SEO terms for beginners is a great first step. Search Engine Optimization involves strategies that help websites rank higher in search engines like Google, making them more visible to users. 

By mastering these SEO terms for beginners, you will gain a solid foundation in understanding how search engines work and what it takes to improve website rankings. 

Here's a list of 15 key SEO terms every beginner should know to kickstart their path to becoming an SEO expert. 

Essential SEO Terms To Learn As A Beginner

1. Keywords

Keywords are the words and phrases people type into search engines when looking for something online. Think of them as the "search terms" or "queries" people use. 

Choosing the right keywords is important because it helps search engines understand what your webpage is about. Many free keyword research tools can help you to identify the best keywords related to your business.

2. SERP (Search Engine Result Page)

The SERP is the page you see after entering a search term into a search engine like Google. It’s the list of results that match what you searched for. You want your website to appear as high as possible on the SERP. Here’s why:

1. Users typically click on the first few links they see.
2. Being on the first page of the SERP gets you more visibility.
3. The higher your site is ranked, the more traffic (visitors) you will likely get.

Your main goal in SEO is to improve your website’s ranking so it appears at the top of the SERP. This increases your chances of getting more clicks and visitors.

3. Organic Traffic

Organic traffic refers to visitors who come to your website through unpaid search results. This means they found your website naturally, not because of paid advertisements. 

Organic traffic is important because it’s free and often leads to more genuine interest from users. Good SEO Management practices can help increase your organic traffic over time, making your website more successful without having to rely on paid ads.

4. Backlinks

Backlinks are links from other websites that point to your website. Think of backlinks like votes of approval from other websites. The more high-quality sites that link to your content, the more search engines trust your site. Here’s why backlinks matter:

1. They help search engines see your website as reliable.
2. Quality backlinks can improve your search ranking.
3. Not all backlinks are the same; links from respected sites are more powerful than from low-quality sites.

To build strong backlinks, focus on creating content that people want to share and link to. This can be blog posts, guides, or useful resources.

5. Meta Description

A Meta description is a brief summary of what your webpage is about. It appears under the title of your page in the search results. Although meta descriptions don’t directly impact your ranking, they can influence whether or not someone clicks on your link. Here’s what makes a good meta description:

1. It is clear and describes what users will find on the page.
2. It includes keywords but remains natural and easy to read.
3. It encourages users to click by giving them a reason to visit your page.

A good meta description should be no more than 160 characters and give a snapshot of your content.

6. Alt Text

Alt text (alternative text) is a description used for images on your website. It helps search engines understand what the image represents. 

This is also helpful for visually impaired users who rely on screen readers to understand web content. Alt text is a simple way to improve your SEO and make your website more user-friendly.

7. Title Tag

The title tag is the main title of a webpage. It appears in search results and at the top of your browser when you visit a webpage. A well-written title tag includes the primary keyword and gives a clear idea of what the page is about. Here’s why it’s important:

1. It helps both users and search engines know what the page is about.
2. A good title tag can improve your click-through rate (CTR).
3. It’s one of the first things people see in search results, so it should be engaging.

The title tag should be clear, concise, and around 60 characters long.

8. Anchor Text

Anchor text is the clickable text in a hyperlink. For example, in the above picture you can see “Laravel" & “custom WordPress” these are the anchor texts. Choosing the right anchor text can improve both your SEO and the user experience. Here’s how:

1. Use relevant, descriptive words for anchor text, not just "click here."
2. Anchor text gives context to what the linked page is about.
3. It helps search engines understand the content of both the current and linked page.

Descriptive anchor text improves SEO because it provides more information for search engines to understand the connection between pages.

9. Bounce Rate

Bounce rate measures the percentage of visitors who leave your website after viewing only one page. A high bounce rate can be a sign that your content isn’t engaging or that visitors aren’t finding what they’re looking for. You can reduce your bounce rate by:

1. Improving the quality of your content.
2. Making sure your site is easy to navigate.
3. Ensuring that the pages are fast to load.

Lowering your bounce rate shows that people are interested in exploring more of your website, which is good for SEO.

10. Crawling

Crawling is the process search engines use to discover and collect information from your website. Search engine bots, sometimes called "spiders," visit your site and scan its content. Here’s why crawling matters:

1. Search engines need to crawl your site to include it in search results.
2. A well-structured website is easier to crawl, meaning search engines can index more of your content.
3. Poorly organized sites or blocked pages can prevent search engines from crawling your site.

You can make your site easier to crawl by ensuring it has a simple, clear structure and that important pages are not blocked from search engines. An SEO audit can help you find and fix any issues that might be stopping search engines from accessing your key pages.

11. Indexing

After your site is crawled, search engines store your pages in their database, a process known as indexing. Once a page is indexed, it can be shown in search results. If your page isn’t indexed, it won’t appear when users search for related content.

You can check and manage your website’s indexing using tools like Google Search Console to ensure that all your important pages are indexed and searchable.

12. Ranking

Ranking refers to where your website appears in search results for specific keywords. Higher rankings mean your site is closer to the top of the search results, which leads to more visibility and traffic.

Several factors determine your ranking, including the quality of your content, the number of backlinks, and your use of keywords. Improving your ranking is the main goal of SEO because higher rankings lead to more organic traffic and better chances of success. 

13. On-Page SEO

On-Page SEO involves optimizing various elements on your website’s pages to improve their search engine ranking and enhance user experience. 

Here’s a simplified breakdown:

1. Ensure your content is relevant, engaging, and valuable to your audience.
2. Include keywords naturally in headings, subheadings, and throughout the content.
3. Craft compelling titles with your primary keywords, keeping them under 60 characters.
4. Write clear summaries that include keywords and entice users to click.
5. Use headings (H1, H2, H3) to structure your content and include relevant keywords.
6. Link to other pages on your site using descriptive anchor text to guide users and search engines.
7. Create short, descriptive URLs that include relevant keywords.
8. Use descriptive file names and alt text for images to improve accessibility and SEO.
9. Ensure your site is responsive and looks good on mobile devices.
10. Optimize images and code to make your pages load faster, improving user experience.

14. Off-Page SEO

Off-page SEO includes activities that happen outside of your website but impact its ranking, such as building backlinks, social media platforms engagement, and online reputation management. While you can’t directly control these activities, they are critical for establishing authority and trustworthiness. 

A strong off-page SEO strategy from a reliable seo company in Dubai can boost your rankings by showing search engines that your website is credible and widely recognized across the web.

15. Schema Markup

Schema markup is a type of code you add to your website to help search engines understand your content more clearly. It can create rich snippets that stand out in search results, such as displaying star ratings, prices, or event dates.

Using schema markup can improve your site’s visibility and make your listings more appealing to users. Implementing schema is a way to give search engines extra details about your content, which can lead to higher rankings and more clicks.