
Search-Engine Definitions
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404 page: A URL that tells the visitor that the webpage does not exist
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Algorithm: An automated software that helps locate information to answer a user’s query
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Bounce rate: The percentage of website visitors who view one page and then leave the site
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Breadcrumbs: A row of internal links at the top or bottom of the page that allows visitors to quickly navigate back to a previous section or the homepage
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Broken link: A link that leads to a web page that no longer exists.
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Crawlers: Automated software that crawls (fetches) pages from the web and indexes them
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Crawling: The process of finding new or updated web pages
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Domain: The core part of a website’s URL, or internet address
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Featured snippet: A special box that displays information about a search in the results page
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HTTPS: An internet communication protocol that protects the integrity and confidentiality of data between the user’s computer and the site
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Indexing: The process of Google saving and organizing website information to display in the search engine
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Google Business Profile: A tool that allows local businesses to tailor how their information appears on Google Search and Google Maps
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Google knowledge panels: Information boxes that appear on Google when someone searches for people, places, organizations, or things that are available in Google’s knowledge database
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Googlebot: The generic name of Google's crawler
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Keyword: A search term that people use to find information, products, or services online
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Keyword research: The process of finding terms and phrases that people use in search engines
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Keyword stuffing: The practice of loading a webpage with keywords or numbers in an attempt to manipulate a site’s ranking in the search results
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Meta description: Provides the search engines a summary of what the page is about
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Mobile-friendly webpage: A webpage that is designed to load quickly and render well on a phone screen
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Organic search: Unpaid results a search engine produces when a search is performed
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Query: The words typed into a Google Search bar
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Rank: A webpage’s position in the search engine results pages (SERPs), which is determined by an algorithm
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Rich results: Enhanced results in Google Search with extra visual or interactive features
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Search algorithm: An automated process that helps locate information to answer a user’s query
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Search engine: Software that provides information on a search query
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Search engine optimization (SEO): The process of increasing the visibility of website pages on search engines in order to attract more relevant traffic
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Search engine results pages (SERPs): The results pages that appear when someone performs a search query
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Sitemap: A file that provides information about the pages, videos, and other files on a site, and the relationships between them
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Structured data: Code used to better describe a webpage’s content to search engines
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Subdomain: The subset of a larger domain used to organize an existing website into a different page URL
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Subpage: A lower-level page that appears below the homepage of a website
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URL: The address of a webpage or file on the internet
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Webpage title element: Text that provides both the users and search engines with a page’s topic
