SEO terms, explained simply (2026)

Canonical URL

The one official address you want Google to index when similar pages exist — set with a canonical tag to avoid duplicate-content confusion.

Robots.txt

A file telling crawlers which parts of your site they may visit. It guides crawling; it does not hide private pages from people.

XML sitemap

A machine-readable list of your pages that helps search engines discover them. Humans use the HTML sitemap instead.

Meta description

The ~155-character summary under your title in search results. It doesn't rank you, but a clear one earns more clicks.

Heading hierarchy

One H1 per page stating the topic, then H2/H3 sections in logical order. It helps readers scan and crawlers understand structure.

Alt text

A short description of each image for screen readers and image search. Describe the image, don't stuff keywords.

Schema / structured data

Code that labels your content (products, FAQs, reviews, business info) so Google can show rich results like stars and FAQs.

Core Web Vitals

Google's speed-and-stability scores: how fast content appears (LCP), how stable the layout is (CLS) and how quickly the page reacts (INP).

Index / noindex

Index means a page may appear in search; noindex keeps utility pages (thank-you, cart, admin) out of results.

301 redirect

A permanent forwarding address from an old URL to a new one. Essential during redesigns so rankings and links survive.

Crawl budget

The limited attention Google gives large sites. Clean sitemaps, fast pages and no duplicate jungles help important pages get crawled.

Internal linking

Links between your own pages. They guide visitors and show Google which pages matter most — hub pages should earn the most links.

E-E-A-T

Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness — Google's quality lens. Real business details, reviews and accurate content build it.

Thin content

Pages with little unique value — e.g. hundreds of near-identical city pages. They get ignored or, at scale, drag a site down.

Local SEO

Optimising for 'near me' and city searches: Google Business Profile, consistent NAP details, local pages and reviews.

Search intent

What the searcher actually wants — to buy, to compare, to learn. Pages that match intent outrank pages that merely mention keywords.

Knowing these terms changes how you read proposals: anyone promising rankings without mentioning canonicals, sitemaps, speed and internal linking is selling promises, not work. Our ecommerce SEO guide shows how the pieces fit on a real store.