Always wondered what some of these industry terms meant? We’ve compiled a list of the commonly used SEO and SEM terms and their meanings.

This article will share the glossary of terms used for SEO, SEM and in general the Digital Marketing and development world. Use the list below to educate yourself on the terms or bookmark this page as a reference for the future.

• Analytics (Web Analytics Tools): ­ The analysis of data generated by people’s activity on websites or mobile apps, for the purpose of discovering ways to improve websites and  marketing campaigns.
  Example: “I’m using web analytics tools to come up with ideas to redesign my website.”  
• App (Application): ­ A program designed to run on smartphones, tablets and other mobile  devices.
  Example: “My house needs painting, so I used a local app to find a reputable service near me.”  
• Banner Ad: ­ A form of advert found on web pages and mobile applications, usually in image  format.
  Example: “I’m using banner ads to bring new customers to my website.”
• Blog: ­ A regularly updated website written by an individual, typically in a conversational style,  and focused on a specific subject.
• Browser: ­  A computer or smartphone (mobile) program used to navigate the Internet on computers, tablets and  smartphones. Examples include Chrome, Firefox, Internet Explorer and Safari.
  Example: “I’m not sure why my website looks different depending on the browser a person is using.”  
• Click­ through Rate (CTR): The number of times people click on an item of interest, like an  advert, in comparison to the number of times users are exposed to that item.
  Example:: “My click-through rate on ads about external painting is 2%, but my CTR on ads about  indoor murals is less than 1%.”  

• Content: The digital material available to users, via text, video, audio, images, etc.
  Example: “I’m adding more image and video content to my site, so it’ll be more engaging.”
• Conversion (Goal): ­ The action you want visitors to perform.  Examples include Ecommerce  purchases, form submissions, phone calls, and video views.
  Example: “My main goal is for people to book a consultation on my website, but signing up for my  email newsletter would also be a conversion.”
• Conversion Optimization: ­ The process of increasing the percentage of visitors who complete  your goals.
  Example: “Once I add a new line of faux finishes to my website, I’m going to start focusing on  conversion optimization.”  
• Conversion Rate: ­ The ratio of conversions to visits, often used to measure digital  performance.
  Example: “I’m not sure why, but my conversion rate on external painting is very low for male visitors.”
• Cost Per Click: ­ The amount of money required to produce a single click on a digital  advertisement.
  Example: “Cost per click prices seem to be higher during weekends, so I’m only running my  campaigns during the week.”
• Crawler (Spider): ­ A program designed to systematically browse content on the Internet and  collect information about it to help searchers find what they’re looking for.
  Example: “I’m scared of spiders, but not the ones that help my website appear in search engines.”  
• Desktop: ­ A non­mobile device like a personal computer or laptop computer.
  Example: “I prefer to use a desktop computer at home, but when I travel I use my tablet.”  
• E­commerce: ­ The sale of products and services online.
• Email Marketing: ­ The process of using email messages to share information and promote  products and services.
• Home Page: ­ The introductory or “main” page of a website.
  Example: “On my home page, visitors can see examples of my most beautifully painted houses.”
• HTML: ­ Hypertext Markup Language. A language used by web developers to create websites.
  Example: “My website was written using HTML.”  
• Impressions: ­ The number of times an advert is displayed.
  Example: “My new marketing campaign for kitchen painting has received thousands of impressions,  but I’m not sure if I’ve booked any sales yet.”  
• Index: ­ A searchable catalog of web pages and digital content used by a search engine to  provide relevant results.
  Example: “Before my site appeared in the search engine’s index, people couldn’t find my website  when they searched for foyer murals.”  
• Keyword: ­ A word or a phrase typed into a search engine, which businesses can target as part  of their advertising campaigns.
• Landing Page: ­ The first page on a website that a person usually sees—not necessarily the  home page of that website.
  Example: “I’m adding a coupon to my landing page so that my website visitors will be encouraged to  buy.”  
• Link: ­ A text or image that provides a link from one web page or website to another.
  Example: “When a major home decor blog linked to my website, I got a lot more visitors.”

•  Mobile Device: ­ A portable device, such as a smartphone or tablet, capable of connecting to  the Internet and running applications.
  Example: “Grandma got a tablet and a smartphone for her birthday, so now she’s using mobile  devices just like her grandkids.”  
• Natural Listings (Organic Listings): ­ Results from a search engine that are not paid adverts.
  Example: “The higher my website ranks in a search engine’s natural listings, the more website traffic  I’ll get.”
• Paid Listings: ­ Advertisements that appear on search engines results pages.
  Example: “I’m thinking about paying to have my website appear in the paid listings, so that I can bring  more customers to my website.”  
• Pay-­Per-­Click (PPC): ­ An advertising system in which advertisers pay for users to click on their  advertisements.
  Example: “I’m going to use pay per click adverts to promote my new faux finishes.”
• Query (Search Term): ­ The keyword or phrase a user types into a search engine in order to  find what they’re looking for.
  Example: “When people use the search term ‘hairdresser’ they might be looking for tips on how to do  it themselves or a service to do it for them.”  
• Ranking: ­ A listing’s position on a search engine results page.
  Example: “With a lot of work, I’m hoping to get my website to the #1 ranking on search engines.”  
• Search Engine: ­ A tool that indexes and returns relevant digital content in response to users’  keywords.  Popular Internet search engines include Google, Bing, Yahoo, DuckDuckGo, Baidu,  Yandex and more.
  Example: “I use search engines to look for trends in home decor.”  
• Search Engine Optimization (SEO): ­ The practice of making changes to web pages, content,  and the promotion of that content to improve visibility in the organic—or unpaid—search engine  results.
  Example: “Investing in SEO helped my website get a higher ranking in search engine results.”
• Search Engine Marketing (SEM): ­ A form of advertising that allows you to bid for your advertisement to show along with search results for keywords that people are typing in.  This  lets businesses be seen by people at the very moment they’re searching for the things a  business offers.
  Example: “SEO is a long process, but using SEM helped me get a lot more website traffic really  quickly.”  
• Search Engine Results Page (SERP): ­ A list of results appearing in a search engine in  response to a user’s search query.
  Example: “After I searched for ‘buy high gloss paint in bulk’ I noticed that the SERP had both natural  listings and paid listings.”
• Session (Visit): ­ A group of interactions that take place on your website within a given time  frame. For example a single session can contain multiple page views and e­commerce  transactions.
  Example: “My website got 2,000 visits last month, but what I really care about is whether those visits  resulted in sales.”  

• Social Media: ­ Content such as text, images, or videos, created by individuals and shared  across the Internet.
  Example: “Social media changes all the time, so I hired my niece to help me create a social media  strategy.” 
• Social Network: ­ A community of individuals creating and sharing content.
  Example: “Social networks could be a good place for me to showcase my beautiful foyer murals and  maybe get new customers.” 
• Traffic Acquisition: ­ The process of attracting visitors ­ often referred to as traffic ­ to  websites, mobile apps and other digital assets.
  Example: “My acquisition strategy focuses on targeting people who have recently bought old houses.”  
• Unique Visitor: ­ A single visitor to a website during a specific period of time.
  Example: “No matter how many times Uncle Bob visits my website, he’s still just one unique visitor.”  
• URL (Uniform Resource Locator): ­ The unique address of a page or piece of digital content  on the Internet.
  Example: “Aunt Sue, you can access my website by typing the URL into your browser.”