Glossary

A

Google Ads

Google Ads is an online advertising format from Google. Google Ads are created with specific keywords / search terms and are applied via the Google search pages and various Google networks. If a user on Google searches for one of these search terms, the corresponding Google Ads appear above the organic search results as well as to the right of these. Google Ads are marked as advertising space.

Alt attribute

A search engine can only read the text elements of a web page. So that search engines like Google, Yahoo or Bing can also process the images on a web page, these are provided with so- called alt attributes. Keywords (search terms) are also embedded in the alt attribute of an image that thematically fit with the page and should improve the ranking of the web page on Google, etc. In addition, the alt attribute offers the advantage that people with visual impairments can also understand images, as software can detect and read the brief descriptions.

ALT tags

ALT tags are also named ALT attributes and are used with graphics or images of a website, because search engines cannot read images and graphics. That is why images that were inserted on the website via the tag are provided with an alternative text. On the one hand, this is useful for search engine optimization, because every image is thus indirectly noticed by the search engine and evaluated as content. On the other hand, a website is thus barrier-free, which is advantageous for the blind. Images can therefore be reproduced for the blind through programs that read the content of a website.

Article directory

An article directory lists articles from various authors on certain subjects. Within these posts, it is possible to place a link to your own website. These links are usually evaluated as particularly good by search engines, provided they are relevant to the topic. However, an article should not appear in several article directories with the same wording to avoid duplicate content.

As an author, you can also improve the expert status in your field by publishing many different posts in article directories. In any case, the copyrights (which only the author has) are to be observed for publications. However, rights of use can be granted from a page through corresponding contractual agreements.

B

Backlink

A link is a reference in a web page text that functionally provides the opportunity to jump to another web page or to another place on the same web page. By clicking on the link, the reference is opened in the same window or in a new window or tab (depending on the browser setting). A backlink is when a link from another web page refers to a different web page. The number of backlinks that refer to a web page largely determines the calculation of the Google PageRank algorithm.

Backlinks are also generated by text link exchange, the creation of texts for article directories or catalogs in order to improve the general ranking of a web page. Backlinks are then only perceived by search engines as relevant links for the Google PageRank if they are defined as so-called follow links.

Backlink types

• Standard (normal links): Normal text links on your website that transmit the PageRank.
• Images (links to images): The link on your web page is not generated by a text link, but rather by a linked image.
• No follow (no follow links): Links that do not transmit any PageRank, but which belong to a natural link profile.
• Redirects: When requested, the link-giving page or URL leads directly to your web pages. There is therefore no physical page with a link.
• Mentions: Your domain is mentioned but is not linked.
• Frames (links embedded in frames): Links or websites that open your website in a frameset.

Blacklist

If a search engine identifies a server with a high amount of spam, this page or the corresponding IP is placed on the so-called blacklist and permanently removed from the search engine directory. This process is usually irreversible or very difficult to reverse.

Bridge page

A bridge page (also: "gateway page" or "doorway page") is an intermediate page from which users are led to the actual web page. The bridge page contains search terms that are relevant for the search engine and therefore improve the ranking of the linked web page in regard to the search terms used. In addition, bridge pages are intended to increase the link popularity, which also contributes to improving the ranking within a search engine. Such bridge pages do not correspond to the basic rules of search engine operators and therefore belong to BlackHat.

C

Canonical tag

The canonical tag is a link tag that is used to avoid duplicate content and is inserted in the non- visible header area of an HTML document. By means of this Meta tag, the web page owner can determine which URL should be included in the index if several URL's refer to pages with the same content.

Cascading Style Sheets (CSS)

Cascading style sheets allow a strict separation of content and presentation of a website. While content is issued from the HTML code, the layout properties are sourced out to a separate file via CSS. These include the positioning of elements, font and font size, line spacing, colors, etc.

Click

A click is when you select a link on the Internet. The number of clicks is also used to measure the number of visitors or page views.

Content Management System (CMS)

A CMS helps the user to create their own website. The main task here is the management and representation of text or multimedia content for web browsers. Most CMS are user-friendly and can be operated without programming knowledge. They help to edit and organize various content on a web page.

Conversion Rate

The conversion rate indicates how many visitors to a web page actually make a purchase or carry out an action desired by the website operator. The conversion rate is calculated from the formula "buyers / visitors x 100 (%)." The effectiveness of advertising efforts can be determined with the conversion rate. At the same time, it is considered a measure of the optimization of web pages with regard to user-friendliness.

Cross-linking

Cross-linking is the mutual linking of web pages. Example: A cross-linking exists between pages A, B and C if A is linked to B and C, B is linked to A and C, and C is linked to A and B (also see: link exchange).

D

Dead Link

If a link refers to a web page that no longer exists or web page content that no longer exists, it is referred to as a dead link. Causes for a dead link can be changes to the web page structure or a faulty source text coding. Dead links can negatively impact the ranking of a web page, because they hinder the detection of the website by a search engine.

Deep Link

Deep links are internal links that refer directly to a sub-page, an article or certain files, etc.

Doorway Page

The doorway page ("gateway page," "entry page," "bridge page," "ranking page" or "funnel page") is a web page that is specifically set up for search engines like Google and is optimized to relevant search terms. Doorway pages should direct traffic to the actual page through an automatic redirect. Google evaluates doorway pages as an attempted manipulation and BlackHat action.

Dynamic pages

Content management as well as blog systems use dynamic pages. The displayed web pages are thereby generated with the help of databases. This makes it possible to separate technical elements (scripts, templates, programming, etc.) from content (images, texts, etc.). When accessing the respective website, both of the areas are merged together. In addition to dynamic websites, there are also static websites. They consist of already composed files that are laid out ready on the server. Static pages work independently of a database.

H

Hallway Page

The hallway page is an input page that contains links to a doorway page or other intermediate distribution pages. If the Google Spider hits a hallway page and follows the links to the doorway page, it will be indexed. However, search engines punish such manipulative attempts.

HTML tags

A tag is a group of commands in HTML with which the browser communicates additional information about the display of content. Tags are used in pairs. The open tag denotes the start of the command and the close tag ends the command.

I

Inbound Links

Inbound links are hyperlinks that lead from an external website to your site. Therefore, if the operator of a website sets a link that refers to your site, then this link is an inbound link. The operator of another website refers to the same link as an outbound link.

Indexed websites

An "indexed website" is a website that is displayed in the search results of a search engine. This site is listed in the database (index) of the search engine. Being included in the index is a pre- requisite for the site being found in a search engine after entry of a search term. To check whether a website was included in the search engine index, you can enter site:domainname in the Google search field. If no result is displayed after this input, the website has not yet been included in the index or was excluded from the index.

Internal linking

Internal links refer to the links to individual pages from within a website. When a website links to another page on that website, it is said that there is an internal link. When your website has appropriate internal linking, search engine crawlers can more easily crawl your website. It also helps visitors navigate your website.

K

Keyword (search term)

A keyword is a search term that is used to search the World Wide Web. Users enter one or more keywords in the search engine search field to obtain optimal search results. In order to appear in these results, it is important to use keywords relevant to your own website.

Keyword Density

The keyword density indicates how frequently a keyword appears in relation to all other words on a website. An example: If 100 words are on a web page and the keyword "fire dragon" appears four times, then the keyword density for "fire dragon" is four percent.

Keyword Stuffing

Keyword stuffing means that a web page is "crammed" with one or more keywords. This is intended to create a high keyword density and therefore a high ranking within search engine results pages. Keyword stuffing is a method that should no longer be practiced today because it can be penalized by search engines.

L

Landing pages

Special pages are frequently developed for the purpose of carrying out promotions or campaigns on the Internet - these are so-called landing pages. These pages are usually optimized to one or more keywords so that they can be found via search queries for certain terms. From the search results, you reach a landing page by clicking on a text link or a banner ad. The landing page is perfectly tailored to the search query and the desired offer is put in focus without deviation and distraction. A landing page usually includes a call to action, which means that the visitor is encouraged to perform an action. For example, this could be entering an e-mail address or also ordering informational material. It makes sense here to accurately track the clicks so that the effectiveness of a landing page can be accurately analyzed.

Link exchange

A link exchange is characterized by the fact that two website operators each set a link to the other person's site, i.e. exchange links. The purpose of this is to increase the link popularity (see link popularity), which results in a higher ranking in the search engine results.

Link building

In search engine optimization, link building is an important action in the context of off-page optimization. Search engines rate websites particularly well if they are linked too frequently. These are also called backlinks. This is not just about the quantity here, however, but increasingly mainly about the quality of the links. The significance the website has (from the search engine's perspective) that is linking to your own website therefore also plays an important role. Among other things, high quality content is important in order to get a great number of backlinks. Backlinks are not only of interest for link building, but also for bringing more visitors to the website.

M

Meta Robots Tag

The meta robots tag is a meta tag in the header of the respective source code of a website. The behavior of spiders (see spider), which scan the web for search engines, is controlled by this tag. There are, for example, settings such as follow, nofollow, index or noindex. This specifies whether the spider should follow the hyperlinks on the website or not or whether the entire website should be indexed or not. A robots.txt file must be used to prevent entire directories being checked by a spider.

Meta Description

A meta description is a part of the meta information and is stored in the source code of a page. It should represent the content of the respective page in summary. The meta description is used as an optimization measure in the field of search engine optimization. It is suitable for the placement of important keywords. In addition, the meta description is shown in the results of a search engine. It should not exceed 160 characters, because it will then no longer be displayed in the search results. When writing, bear in mind that a searcher browses the search results and decides which website he will ultimately visit by using the information in the meta title and meta description. That is why the content should not only be worded appropriately, but also in an interesting manner.

N

Natural search results (organic listing)

"Organic listings" refer to the "real" search results, i.e. search results that are listed by the search engine bots because they detected a web page. These are different from the "paid listings," which occur due to a contract between website operators and search engine operators. These effective advertising measures set themselves apart from the organic listings. Paid listings can be recognized as advertising due to features like colored accentuation and arrangement. With Google, for example, paid listings are located at the top of the screen, above the "real" search results, as well as on the right of the screen.

nofollow

Outbound links to other websites are often placed on a website, for example to refer to other information on a topic. However, sometimes website operators would like to avoid a search engine following the outgoing links. This is common, for example, for Wikis and forums in order to avoid spam or manipulations to benefit link building. The link attribute or microformat "nofollow" is one way to set a sign for search engines that the link should not be followed.

This can be applied to entire websites or to individual links. Within the HTML code, a nofollow sign looks like this for example: External Domain.

O

Onpage

The term "onpage" is used in the field of search engine optimization. Everything that is optimized on or within a website is a part of the on-page optimization. All measures that are implemented outside of the page are a part of the off-page optimization. Onpage optimization in particular refers to all the changes you make on your website's homepage and subpages. Search engines take many factors into account to determine the ranking of your site within the SERP. Some factors that are taken into account include the related keywords on your site, the content and positioning of headers, and meta information, among other factors.

Off-page

The term "off-page" is used in the field of search engine optimization. Everything that is optimized on or within a website is a part of the on-page optimization. All measures that are implemented outside of the page are a part of the off-page optimization. Off-page optimization in particular refers to the topic of link building. The goal is to obtain as many high-quality links from other websites on your own website as possible. These links increase the visibility of a domain and increase the website's relevance from a search engine's perspective. For example, links can be achieved by placing posts on other portals, through online press releases or by entering a website in web directories.

P

Page Impressions

Page impressions denote the number of clicks through which a page is accessed. This value is interesting for the measurability of measures in online marketing. It is important to note here that page impressions do not necessarily have to be equivalent to the accessing of a page. Corresponding programming ensures the reliability of this information.

PageRank

The PageRank is a set of criteria with which the search engine Google evaluates the link popularity of a page, i.e. the PageRank indicates how many links refer to a certain page. In addition, pages are also evaluated from where links lead to a corresponding web page. They are incorporated into the PageRank evaluation according to their quality. The evaluation of the PageRank is expressed by a number between 0 and 10. The higher the number, the better the PageRank evaluation.

R

Rich Snippets

Rich snippets are results to a search inquiry that are enriched with additional information, which are displayed on a search engine results page (SERP). The search result should provide more details for the user and therefore higher quality results by means of microdata, microformats or RDFs embedded content types, such as field reports, people, products, etc. The additional information is integrated via the source code of a website. A prerequisite for a correct reading and delivery is that Google understands the content of the websites. Corresponding programming is required for this. Using rich snippets, reviews and prices of a hotel can be displayed, for example, so that the user can make a better decision and navigate from the search results page.

S

Search engine-friendly URL's

URL's are search engine friendly if they have a clear structure and have meaningful names, i.e. they do not consist of cryptic numbers and characters. These are also called clean URL's. Ideally, the structure corresponds to the organization of the navigation with its individual levels. The URL to a sub-page in a shop with running shoes could for example read as follows: www.domain- name.com/athletic shoes/running shoes. A corresponding folder structure is created on the web server. Additional functions can be controlled via the website programming, such as the automatic conversion of URL's. This is often also seen with blog entries whose URL's contain the entire post heading.

T

Text attributes

Text attributes denote HTML tags which are used to help highlight words in a text. With attributes such as "bold," "underlined," "strong" and "italic," terms are visually highlighted and convey a higher degree of relevance to users and search engines. For optimization purposes, important keywords should therefore be highlighted with a text attribute.

Title

There are different types of meta elements that are used to facilitate the search ability of websites for search engines. These include meta title and meta description. This information is in the header area of the source code of a website. The meta title is shown as a page title. This information is visible when you look at the source code of a page. The title is also visible in the tab field of a browser. In the search results, from Google for example, the title usually appears as a heading above the displayed links and the description in the respective result (snippet).

V

Visibility

The visibility of a website is one of the ranking factors of the search engine algorithm. It is calculated according to various criteria. For example, if a website with the keyword "sofa" is in the front positions of the organic result list of the search engine, then the website receives points for this in the visibility index (originally developed by the company Sistrix). Even if it is listed in the search results with multiple keywords, it receives a certain number of points for each of these keywords. If these points are added together, it results in a final value that reflects the visibility of a page - the so-called visibility index. The higher this is, the better it is for the website. Websites with higher visibility usually also receive more traffic than pages with a lower visibility.