SEO & AEO glossary.
Plain-English definitions of every term that matters for ranking on Google and getting cited by AI engines in 2026. 24 terms and counting.
AEO (Answer Engine Optimization)
AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) is the practice of optimizing content so AI engines like ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, and Google AI Overviews cite it when they answer user questions.
Anchor Text
Anchor text is the visible, clickable text of a hyperlink, which gives search engines context about the linked page's topic.
Backlink
A backlink is a link from one website to another, treated by search engines as a vote of confidence that influences rankings.
Content Decay
Content decay is the gradual loss of search rankings and traffic that an article experiences over time as it becomes outdated and competitors publish fresher content.
Content Refresh
A content refresh is the process of updating an existing article with current information, fixed links, and improved structure to recover or grow its search rankings.
Core Web Vitals
Core Web Vitals are a set of Google metrics measuring real-world page experience: loading speed (LCP), interactivity (INP), and visual stability (CLS).
Crawl Budget
Crawl budget is the number of pages a search engine will crawl on a website within a given timeframe, determined by site authority and server health.
E-E-A-T
E-E-A-T stands for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness, the quality signals Google uses to assess content and the people who create it.
Featured Snippet
A featured snippet is a short answer Google extracts from a web page and displays at the top of the SERP, above the standard organic results.
GEO (Generative Engine Optimization)
GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) is the practice of optimizing content so generative AI engines surface and cite it in their responses, the same discipline also called AEO or RAO.
Google AI Overviews
Google AI Overviews are AI-generated summaries that appear at the top of some search results, synthesizing an answer from multiple sources and citing them.
Internal Linking
Internal linking is the practice of linking from one page on a website to another page on the same site, passing authority and helping search engines understand site structure.
Long-Tail Keyword
A long-tail keyword is a specific, multi-word search phrase with lower search volume but higher intent and lower competition than broad head keywords.
Orphan Page
An orphan page is a page on a website that has no internal links pointing to it, making it hard for search engines to discover and rank.
Pillar Page
A pillar page is a comprehensive, broad-topic page that anchors a topic cluster and links out to all the supporting articles covering subtopics.
RAO (Retrieval-Augmented Optimization)
RAO (Retrieval-Augmented Optimization) is the practice of structuring content so retrieval-augmented AI systems can find, extract, and cite it accurately.
Schema Markup
Schema markup is structured data added to a web page in a standardized vocabulary (schema.org) that helps search engines and AI engines understand the page content.
Search Intent
Search intent is the underlying goal behind a search query: whether the user wants to learn, compare, navigate, or buy.
SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is the practice of improving a website so it ranks higher in search engine results for relevant queries.
SERP (Search Engine Results Page)
A SERP (Search Engine Results Page) is the page a search engine returns in response to a query, containing organic results, ads, and rich features.
Technical SEO
Technical SEO is the practice of optimizing a website's infrastructure so search engines can crawl, render, and index it efficiently.
Topic Cluster
A topic cluster is a content structure where one pillar page covers a broad topic and multiple supporting articles cover subtopics, all internally linked together.
Topical Authority
Topical authority is the degree to which a website is recognized by search engines as a trustworthy, in-depth source on a specific subject area.
YMYL (Your Money or Your Life)
YMYL (Your Money or Your Life) refers to content topics that can impact a person's health, finances, safety, or wellbeing, which Google holds to higher quality standards.