By Wolfgang Jaegel and Gregory Smyth
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is becoming increasingly important in online marketing. Search Engine Optimization covers a wide range of activities, all of which share a common goal: increasing an organization’s online return on investment. At first glance, SEO terminology may seem perplexing. Here I try to explain some basic SEO terms, without going too much into the technical nitty-gritty of how SEO actually works.
So, without any further ado, let’s get into some definitions.
Search Engine Fundamentals
Search engine: A search engine helps users find web pages on a given subject. Search engines maintain an extensive database of websites from which they draw search results. They use automated programs known as “spiders” to collect information on websites.
Major search engines: For the purposes of this article, a major search engine means Google, Yahoo and MSN.Google remains the primary driver, complemented by the rise of AI-driven Search (Gemini, Perplexity) and Social Search (TikTok, YouTube), which together capture the majority of global intent.
Algorithm: An algorithm is a set of detailed instructions for accomplishing a task by proceeding through a series of well-defined successive stages. Search engines use algorithms to assign quality scores and rankings to websites. Algorithms can be extremely complex (Google looks at more than 200 variables) and are closely guarded by each search engine.
Organic search: Organic search refers to the results on the left-hand side of the page when you search for a specific key phrase on a search engine. Organizations do not pay for organic search listings, but are assigned by search engines based on a wide range of criteria.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO): A range of integrated techniques with the goal of securing higher organic search rankings on the major search engines for targeted key phrases. SEO is made up of on-site and off-site optimization tasks.
On-site optimization (On-page Optimization): Tasks carried out on the website being optimized to ensure that the website can be readily indexed by search engines. This includes website usability (design conventions, information architecture, load speeds, etc.), code structure, directory and file structure, keyword density and proximity and W3C compliance. On-site optimization is predominantly a one-time task and represents approximately 25% of a website’s quality score.
Off-site optimization (Off-page Optimization): Tasks executed outside the website being optimized, in particular the building of in-bound links from relevant third-party websites and portals, submissions to third-party directions and content syndication via Web 2.0 channels. Off-site optimization is an ongoing task and it must be kept up if high listings are to be retained (competitors will be doing it too!). Off-site optimization represents approximately 75% of the overall website quality score.
Keywords(Key Phrase) Analysis
Key phrase: A search term made up of one or more words that a user inputs into a search engine.
Generic key phrase: A key phrase that is not well defined and yields a very high number of non-specific results. An example would be “Hong Kong hotel”.
Specific key phrase: A well-defined key phrase that yields a smaller number of specific results. An example would be “5-star hotel Kowloon”. Specific key phrases typically result in better conversion rates as the traffic they send is better qualified.
Key phrase position: The position a particular key phrase occupies on a search engine results page. Typically, the first 10 key phrase positions appear on the first results page.
Key phrase movement: The number of positions up or down a key phrase moves on a search engine within a given timeframe.
Backlinks & Content Strategy
Link-building : The building of quality in-bound links from authoritative websites and portals. This is largely achieved through “link bait”, which means creating content that is so compelling that other websites can’t resist linking to you.
Third-party directories : Directory sites that charge a fee for listings. Search Engines look for inclusions in third-party directories to assess the seriousness of a website. If your website is listed in the various directories, search engines assume this website is serious.
Content syndication : The syndication of content (e.g. press releases and articles) through relevant third-party websites. Content syndication can help raise a website’s profile and secure higher Search Engine listings.
Technical Site Factors for SEO
Meta tags: Meta elements such as meta titles, and descriptions that provide information about web pages. Meta tags are inserted into the HTML code, but are not visible to website visitors. However, meta tags could be seen on the Search Result page. Search engines no longer give much positive weighting to Meta tags when assessing a site.
White space: Gaps in a website’s code that have no purpose and increase file size. Search engines take a negative view of white space.
Core Web Vitals: Core Web Vitals are a set of specific metrics Google uses to measure the User Experience of a webpage. They focus on three main areas: loading speed, interactivity, and visual stability.
Deep pages: Pages that take four or more clicks to access from the home page are called deep pages. Deep pages have a negative effect on search engine crawling efficiency and user retention.
Broken link: A link that points to another page or server that is permanently unavailable. Broken links are indicative of poor website usability and will be penalized by search engines.
Technical SEO & Architecture
Canonical Tag: A piece of HTML code (rel=”canonical”) that tells search engines which version of a URL is the “master” copy. This prevents issues caused by identical or “duplicate” content appearing on multiple URLs.
XML Sitemap: A file where you provide information about the pages, videos, and other files on your site, and the relationships between them. It acts as a roadmap for search engine spiders to find all your content.
Robots.txt: A text file that tells search engine crawlers which pages or sections of your site they should or should not request from your server.
Core Web Vitals: A set of specific factors that Google considers important in a webpage’s overall user experience. These include loading speed, interactivity, and visual stability of a page while it loads.
Alt Text: A description of an image within a website’s code. It helps search engines “see” what an image is about and is vital for accessibility (screen readers for the visually impaired).
Content & Authority
SERP (Search Engine Results Page): The page displayed by a search engine in response to a query by a user.
Backlink (Inbound Link): A link from one website to another. In the eyes of search engines, a backlink is like a “vote of confidence”, the more quality votes you have, the higher your authority.
Domain Authority (DA): A search engine ranking score (originally developed by Moz) that predicts how likely a website is to rank on SERPs. Scores range from 1 to 100.
E-E-A-T: A standard used by Google to evaluate the quality of content. It stands for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness.
Keyword Stuffing: The practice of loading a webpage with keywords in an attempt to manipulate rankings. This is a “Black Hat” technique and results in penalties.
User Behavior & Performance
Click-Through Rate (CTR): The percentage of people who see your website link in the search results and actually click on it.
Bounce Rate: The percentage of visitors who enter the site and then leave (“bounce”) rather than continuing to view other pages within the same site.
Dwell Time: The amount of time a user spends looking at a webpage after they’ve clicked a link on a SERP page, but before clicking back to the results. High dwell time usually signals high-quality content.
Search Intent: The underlying goal of a user when typing a query. This is usually categorized into Informational (looking for answers), Navigational (looking for a specific site), or Transactional (looking to buy).
