SEO & AI Search: Key Terms Explained.
Plain-language definitions for the terms that matter in modern SEO — from technical fundamentals to AI search concepts.
A
AEO (Answer Engine Optimisation)
The practice of structuring content to be selected as the direct answer in featured snippets, People Also Ask boxes, voice search and AI-generated responses.
AI Overviews
Google's AI-generated summary answers that appear above organic search results for many queries, synthesising information from multiple web sources.
Algorithm
The system search engines use to rank web pages. Google's core algorithm incorporates hundreds of signals including relevance, authority, technical quality and user experience.
Anchor Text
The clickable text used in a hyperlink. Anchor text provides context to search engines about the content of the page being linked to.
Authority
A measure of a website's credibility and trustworthiness in the eyes of search engines, largely influenced by the quality and quantity of external links pointing to it.
B
Backlink
A link from an external website pointing to your website. Quality backlinks from authoritative, relevant sources are a major Google ranking factor.
C
Canonical URL
The preferred version of a web page, specified via a canonical tag, telling search engines which URL to index when duplicate or similar content exists across multiple URLs.
Crawl Budget
The number of pages Googlebot crawls on a website within a given time frame. Large websites must manage crawl budget to ensure important pages are crawled efficiently.
Core Web Vitals
Google's page experience metrics: LCP (loading speed), CLS (visual stability) and INP (responsiveness). These are confirmed ranking factors and directly affect user experience.
CTR (Click-Through Rate)
The percentage of users who click on a search result after seeing it. CTR is influenced by title tags, meta descriptions, rich results and search position.
E
E-E-A-T
Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness and Trustworthiness — Google's framework for evaluating content quality, particularly important for YMYL content.
Entity
A distinct, identifiable thing (person, place, brand, concept) that Google's Knowledge Graph recognises and can associate with related entities, attributes and contexts.
F
Featured Snippet
A direct answer box displayed at the top of Google search results (position zero), extracting content from a web page to answer the user's query directly.
G
GEO (Generative Engine Optimisation)
The practice of optimising brand content, entity data and authority signals to appear in AI-generated answers from tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews.
H
hreflang
An HTML attribute that tells search engines which language and country version of a page to serve to users in different regions. Essential for international SEO.
I
Index / Indexation
The process by which search engines add pages to their database after crawling them. A page must be indexed to appear in search results.
Internal Linking
Links between pages on the same website. Strategic internal linking distributes authority, helps users navigate and signals page importance to search engines.
J
JSON-LD
JavaScript Object Notation for Linked Data — the recommended format for adding structured data (schema markup) to web pages without modifying existing HTML.
K
Knowledge Graph
Google's database of entities and their relationships, used to provide direct answers in search, populate Knowledge Panels and inform AI model understanding of brands and concepts.
L
LLM (Large Language Model)
AI models trained on large text datasets that can generate, summarise and answer questions in natural language. Examples include GPT-4, Gemini, Claude and Llama.
LLM SEO
Optimising your brand's digital presence to ensure large language models accurately understand, represent and cite your business when users ask relevant questions.
Long-Tail Keywords
Longer, more specific search queries typically with lower search volume but higher intent and conversion rates. Essential for content targeting in competitive niches.
M
Meta Description
The text snippet displayed below a page title in search results. Not a direct ranking factor but influences CTR. Should be compelling, accurate and within 155 characters.
N
NAP (Name, Address, Phone)
The three core local business data points. Consistent NAP across all directories, websites and platforms is a foundational local SEO requirement.
O
Organic Traffic
Website visitors who arrive via unpaid search engine results. The primary goal of SEO is to grow quality organic traffic that converts.
P
Page Speed
How fast a web page loads for users. Page speed affects both user experience and search rankings, particularly via Core Web Vitals metrics.
People Also Ask (PAA)
A Google SERP feature displaying related questions users commonly ask, with expandable answer boxes. Each PAA box is an AEO opportunity.
S
Schema Markup
Structured data code added to web pages using vocabulary from Schema.org, helping search engines and AI models understand content meaning and context.
SERP
Search Engine Results Page — the page displayed by a search engine in response to a query. Modern SERPs include organic results, ads, featured snippets, local packs, AI Overviews and more.
T
Technical SEO
Optimisation of a website's technical infrastructure — crawlability, indexation, site speed, structured data, URL structure — to help search engines effectively access and rank content.
Topical Authority
The degree to which a website is seen as an authoritative, comprehensive source on a specific topic. Built through systematic content coverage, internal linking and external citations.
Y
YMYL (Your Money or Your Life)
Pages that could impact users' health, finances, safety or wellbeing. Google applies higher quality standards and E-E-A-T scrutiny to YMYL content.
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