SEO & GEO Glossary

Definitions of key terms related to SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and GEO (Generative Engine Optimization). Focused on terms that appear in IndexReady's scoring criteria.

SEOSEO Basics: Search Engine Optimization. The practice of improving a website's visibility in search engines like Google and Bing. Broadly divided into technical SEO, on-page SEO, and off-page SEO.
GEOGenerative Engine Optimization (GEO): Generative Engine Optimization. The practice of optimizing content to be cited and referenced by AI search engines such as ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Overview.
AI OverviewGenerative Engine Optimization (GEO): A Google feature that displays an AI-generated summary at the top of search results. Formerly called SGE (Search Generative Experience). As of 2026, it appears in roughly 40% of Google searches.
Title TagSEO Basics: An HTML element in the <head> that defines a page's title. Displayed as the clickable link text in search results. One of the most impactful SEO elements; 30–60 characters is the recommended range.
Meta DescriptionSEO Basics: A meta tag in the <head> that provides a summary of the page's content. May be used as the search result snippet. 70–160 characters is the recommended range. Not a direct ranking factor, but affects click-through rate.
Heading Tags (h1–h6)SEO Basics: HTML elements that create a content hierarchy. h1 is the top-level heading (one per page), with h2 and below arranged in logical order. Search engines use headings to understand page structure.
OGPSEO Basics: Open Graph Protocol. A meta tag specification that controls how a web page appears when shared on social media. The three essential properties are og:title, og:description, and og:image.
Canonical TagTechnical SEO: An HTML tag (<link rel="canonical">) that declares the preferred URL when identical content exists at multiple URLs. Prevents SEO value from being diluted across duplicate pages.
robots.txtTechnical SEO: A text file placed at a website's root that tells search engine and AI crawlers which pages they may or may not crawl. Based on the Robots Exclusion Protocol.
sitemap.xmlTechnical SEO: An XML file listing all pages on a site, along with metadata like last-modified dates. Helps search engines discover new and updated content efficiently.
Alt AttributeSEO Basics: Text set on an <img> tag that describes the image content. Serves as alternative text when images fail to load and helps search engines and screen readers understand image content.
HTTPSTechnical SEO: HTTP communication encrypted with SSL/TLS. A Google ranking signal since 2014. Pages served over HTTP trigger a "Not Secure" browser warning.
noindexTechnical SEO: A meta robots directive that tells search engines not to index a page. If set unintentionally, the page is completely excluded from search results.
Core Web VitalsMetrics & Measurement: Three Google metrics that quantify user experience: LCP (loading speed), INP (responsiveness), and CLS (visual stability). A ranking factor since 2021.
LCPMetrics & Measurement: Largest Contentful Paint. The time until the largest visible content element is rendered. Under 2.5 seconds is rated "Good." One of the three Core Web Vitals.
INPMetrics & Measurement: Interaction to Next Paint. Measures how quickly a page responds to user interactions (clicks, taps, key presses). Under 200ms is rated "Good." Replaced FID as a Core Web Vital in March 2024.
CLSMetrics & Measurement: Cumulative Layout Shift. Measures unexpected layout shifts during page load. Under 0.1 is rated "Good." Ads and lazy-loaded images are common causes of high CLS.
PageSpeed InsightsMetrics & Measurement: A Google tool for measuring web page performance. Built on Lighthouse, it reports speed scores and Core Web Vitals for both mobile and desktop. IndexReady uses its API for scoring.
Structured DataStructured Data: Data formatted according to standards like Schema.org so that search engines and AI can understand page content programmatically. JSON-LD is the recommended format. Affects rich result display and AI content citation.
JSON-LDStructured Data: JSON for Linking Data. A format for embedding structured data in HTML, recommended by Google. Written inside a <script type="application/ld+json"> tag.
Schema.orgStructured Data: A structured data vocabulary jointly developed by Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, and Yandex. Defines many schema types including Article, FAQPage, HowTo, and BreadcrumbList.
Rich ResultsStructured Data: Search results enhanced beyond the standard title/URL/snippet format with additional information like images, review stars, FAQs, or recipes. Triggered by properly implemented structured data.
E-E-A-TSEO Basics: Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness. A framework Google uses in its Search Quality Rater Guidelines to evaluate content quality.
llms.txtGenerative Engine Optimization (GEO): A plain text file that communicates a site's overview, structure, and key content to large language models (LLMs) and AI search engines. Think of it as robots.txt for AI. Placed at the site root.
llms-full.txtGenerative Engine Optimization (GEO): A detailed companion to llms.txt. While llms.txt provides a concise site overview, llms-full.txt offers more comprehensive content information for deeper AI understanding.
AI CrawlerGenerative Engine Optimization (GEO): Automated programs used by AI search engines (ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, etc.) to collect website information. Includes GPTBot (OpenAI), ClaudeBot (Anthropic), and PerplexityBot. Controlled via robots.txt.
GPTBotGenerative Engine Optimization (GEO): OpenAI's web crawler. Used by ChatGPT and OpenAI's search features to fetch web page content. Controllable in robots.txt under User-agent: GPTBot.
hreflangTechnical SEO: An HTML <link> attribute that tells search engines about alternative language or regional versions of the same content. Essential for multilingual sites to serve the right language in search results.
ViewportTechnical SEO: The <meta name="viewport"> tag that controls the browser's display area. A fundamental setting for rendering pages correctly on mobile devices. Required for Google's mobile-first indexing.
Mobile-First IndexingTechnical SEO: Google's practice of using the mobile version of a page for indexing and ranking. Fully rolled out to all sites by 2023. Sites not optimized for mobile are at a ranking disadvantage.
CrawlerTechnical SEO: An automated program that search engines and AI services use to collect web page information. Googlebot, Bingbot, and GPTBot are well-known examples. They follow robots.txt directives.
IndexingSEO Basics: The process by which a search engine adds a web page to its database. Pages that are not indexed do not appear in search results. Indexing status can be checked in Google Search Console.
CTRMetrics & Measurement: Click Through Rate. The percentage of impressions that result in a click. Title tags and meta descriptions directly influence CTR in search results.
SnippetSEO Basics: The excerpt text displayed beneath a search result. Usually drawn from the meta description, though Google may auto-generate one from the page content based on the search query.
BacklinkSEO Basics: A link from an external website to your site. High-quality backlinks from reputable sites serve as a signal of trustworthiness and authority to search engines.
Internal LinkSEO Basics: A link connecting pages within the same domain. Communicates site hierarchy to search engines and distributes link equity between pages. One of the most controllable SEO tactics.
SSETechnical SEO: Server-Sent Events. A mechanism for one-way real-time data streaming from server to client. Used in IndexReady for showing analysis progress. Unlike WebSocket, it operates over standard HTTP.
font-displayMetrics & Measurement: A CSS property used in @font-face that controls how text is displayed while a web font is loading. Setting font-display: swap shows text immediately with a fallback font, improving LCP.
FAQPageStructured Data: A Schema.org structured data type for FAQ sections. Tells search engines and AI about question-and-answer content. Implementing it in JSON-LD may trigger rich result display.
BreadcrumbListStructured Data: A structured data type representing breadcrumb navigation. Communicates page hierarchy to search engines, which may display breadcrumbs in search results.
SPATechnical SEO: Single Page Application. A web app architecture that dynamically updates content without full page reloads. From an SEO perspective, crawlers that cannot execute JavaScript may not see the content.

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