In a new series of blog articles, we take a look at Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) for beginners to keep you up to date with the ever changing digital world. In this blog we tackle some of the JARGON surrounding SEO and online marketing.

In our previous blog article we took a look at the basics of SEO and how it works but there’s still so much to learn.

SEO is renowned for its acronyms which often leave users confused and constantly googling the terms and what they mean. To make it simple – we’ve come up with the top ten most commonly used SEO acronyms and what they mean.

SEO

Search Engine Optimisation is an acronym itself so we thought we’d briefly recap on what SEO is. Simply, this is the process of developing key words, structured content and links which become easy to find on a list search engines produce to its users after they type in relevant key words.

ALT

Alternative Text Attribute is the HTML attributes used in HTML and XHTML to code webpages and give a text description to text images. This is really useful to people who cannot see the images in their browser and will usually appear when the mouse highlight or hovers over the image.

It also helps search engine crawlers that test sites to show how relevant the content is. Adding alt text to images is usually extremely important for this reason.

CMS

Content Management System is the system used to update website platforms and enable you to publish, edit and modify content. You may have heard of some including WordPress, Blogger and Drupal.

CTA

Call to Action is what it says on the tin. This can be in the form of an image or text that prompts users to take action which may include visiting a website, making a phone call or visiting a shop.

CTR

Click Through Rate is designed to measure performance and is shown usually on website analytics such as Google Analytics. It is worked out by dividing the number of clicks received on a website by the number of impressions received.

HTML

Hypertext Markup Language is a langue IT professionals use to code, create and format webpages and websites. It is how browsers understand what a website should look like and makes it easier for ‘crawlers’ to assess how relevant content is for SEO purposes.

LSEO

Local Search Engine Optimisation is a process aimed at optimising the SEO for your local area instead of it being national or international.

PPC

Pay per click is an advertising service which can be used on search engines or social media and business owners who wish to advertise bid on digital key words for search results and pay a fee each time an ad is clicked on by someone searching for a particular service.

SERP

Search Engine Results Page is what appears when a search engine user types in a term, phrase or key word. These are also called organic searches and helps people to find exactly what they are looking for.

PR

PR in the SEO world does not stand for Public Relations – it actually stands for Page Rank. This is the algorithm used by Google to rank websites in their SERPs. (One of the PR companies we use in Northampton is Ballyhoo PR. Check them out if you need a reliable PR Agency)

If you want to know more about how SEO and Google Search Console can help you and your business, get in touch here. We are also currently offering free SEO Health Checks. Click the link to get yours.