This glossary of key SEO terms and acronyms is specifically designed for SEO and marketing managers to enhance collaboration on multilingual and technical SEO. Drawing from my experience as an International SEO Consultant, I have integrated essential SEO terminology into easy-to-understand, one-sentence definitions. Each entry is crafted to promote clarity, streamline communication, and support effective global marketing strategies.
International SEO Terms: Essential Glossary for Daily Use
Technical SEO Terms
3xx Redirects
HTTP status codes indicating a webpage has been moved, including 301 (permanent) and 302 (temporary) redirects.
4xx Errors
HTTP status codes indicating client-side issues, such as broken links or incorrect URLs. Common examples include 404 (not found) and 401 (unauthorized).
Canonical Tag
A tag used to avoid duplicate content by indicating the main or original version of a webpage, known as the canonical URL.
Crawlability
The ability of search engines to discover all pages on a website, influenced by site structure and internal linking.
Discoverability
The ease with which users can find a webpage through search engines, affected by content quality and promotion strategies.
Hreflang Tag
An HTML attribute that specifies the language and geographical targeting of a webpage.
Indexability
The ability of search engines to add a webpage to their index, allowing it to appear in search results.
LLMS.txt
A file placed on a website that instructs AI systems, particularly large language models (LLMs), about which content can be read, used, or cited. It functions like robots.txt for traditional crawlers, but is specifically designed to manage AI data usage, protect sensitive content, and guide responsible content consumption by generative AI. Learn more about LLMS.txt.
Open Graph Meta Tag
An HTML tag that enhances how a web page appears on social media by controlling the display of the title, image, and description in shared links.
Orphan Page
A webpage without inbound links from other pages on the same site, making it hard for search engines and users to find.
Ranking
The position of a webpage in search engine results for specific keywords, influencing visibility and traffic.
Robots.txt
A file that instructs search engines on which pages or sections of a website to crawl or exclude from indexing.
Schema Markup
A type of structured data using a vocabulary defined by Schema.org to enhance search visibility, leading to rich snippets in results.
Structured Data
A standardized format for providing webpage content information, using various vocabularies to improve search indexing.
Content Strategy
Content Brief
A document outlining the structure, goals, keywords, and target audience for a piece of content.
Content Strategy
A plan for creating and managing media (text, images, videos) to ensure user and search engine value.
Cultural Adaptation
Adjusting website content to align with target audience values and preferences.
CQ (Cultural Intelligence)
The ability to understand and adapt to various cultural contexts in communication and business.
Geographic SEO (GEO)
An SEO practice that localizes content and optimizes it for specific physical locations to attract and engage local audiences—not to be confused with Generative Engine Optimization (GEO), which focuses on optimizing content for generative AI systems.
Global SEO
Optimizing websites for visibility across multiple countries, targeting a broad audience.
Glocalization
A marketing strategy combining global brand consistency with local adaptation.
i18n (Internationalization)
Preparing a website for easy localization for various languages and regions.
International SEO
Balancing global and localized optimization for different countries and languages.
Localization SEO
Customizing content for local audiences to enhance search performance.
Multilingual SEO
Optimizing content for multiple languages using hreflang tags and metadata. Learn more on Multilingual SEO & Localization.
Transcreation
The process of adapting content creatively to fit cultural nuances and emotions, differing from localization, which adjusts for language and regional preferences without changing the core message.
SEO Practices
Answer Engine Optimization (AEO)
Optimizing content to appear in direct answer features like Google’s featured snippets, knowledge panels, and voice search results. Learn more about Answer Engine Optimization (AEO).
Artificial Intelligence Optimization (AIO)
Structuring and refining content to ensure AI systems can understand, interpret, and generate accurate, useful outputs. Learn more about Artificial Intelligence Optimization (AIO).
Artificial Intelligence Search Engine Optimization (AI SEO)
The use of artificial intelligence to enhance SEO practices like content generation, keyword research, and ranking optimization. Learn more about AI SEO.
Backlink
A link from one website to another, which can improve the linked website’s authority and search engine rankings by signaling trust and relevance to search engines.
Generative Engine Optimization (GEO)
Optimizing content to be understood, cited, and used by AI-driven platforms, so your site or brand can appear in AI-generated answers. Learn more about Generative Engine Optimization (GEO).
Language Engine Optimizationn (LEO)
Making content readable, culturally relevant, and consistent across languages, while also machine-readable and trustworthy for accurate LLM interpretation and referencing. Learn more about Language Engine Optimization (LEO).
Link Juice
The value or authority passed between webpages through links, crucial for improving search rankings by signaling trust and relevance.
NAP
Acronym for Name, Address, and Phone Number; essential for local SEO, ensuring consistent information across platforms to verify business legitimacy.
Off-page SEO
Activities outside a website, like building backlinks, to improve authority and rankings.
On-page SEO
Comprehensive optimization practices on a webpage, including OPO, content improvement, and user experience enhancements.
OPO (One Page Optimization)
Optimizing a single webpage to rank for specific keywords, targeting necessary on-page SEO elements.
PDP (Product Detail Page)
A webpage displaying detailed information about a single product, including images, descriptions, specifications, pricing, and customer reviews.
PLP (Product Listing Page)
A webpage that showcases a list of products in a specific category, facilitating browsing on ecommerce sites.
Relative Linking
A method that uses shorter, page-specific URLs, omitting the full domain, to simplify link management and improve site organization. For example, instead of linking to “https://example.com/products/page1”, you use “/products/page1” when linking from within the same site.
Search Everywhere Optimization
An SEO practice that extends optimization beyond traditional search engines by targeting multiple platforms, including social media, voice search, and AI-driven search. Learn more about Search Everywhere Optimization.
SEO Description
A brief summary of a webpage’s content, also known as the meta description, influencing click-through rates.
SEO Title
The title tag of a webpage crafted for SEO, appearing as the clickable headline in search results.
Search Generative Experience (SGE)
An AI-powered search approach that combines traditional search results with AI-generated summaries to deliver context-aware answers. Learn more about Search Generative Experience (SGE).
Snippet
A short excerpt displayed in search results, with Rich Snippets including additional elements like ratings or images.
Visual Engine Optimization (VEO)
Optimizing images, videos, and other visual content so it is discoverable, indexable, and ranked effectively across visual search engines, AI image recognition systems, and multimedia platforms. Learn more about Visual Engine Optimization (VEO).
Voice Search Optimization (VSO)
Optimizing content and website structure for voice-activated devices, focusing on natural language and conversational queries. Learn more about Voice Search Marketing & Optimization.
Keywords and User Intent
Keyword Clustering
Grouping related keywords to enhance content strategy and SEO targeting.
Keyword Research
Identifying search terms people use online, varying by country and language.
Long-Tail Keyword
A more specific, longer keyword phrase targeting niche audiences (e.g., “best Italian restaurant in Paris”).
Primary Keyword
The main keyword a webpage is optimized for, often the central focus of the content.
Seed Keyword
A basic keyword that forms the foundation for a broader keyword strategy, used to generate related keyword ideas.
User Intent
The specific information or service a user seeks when conducting a search.
Site Structure and Navigation
ccTLD (Country Code Top-Level Domain)
A domain extension specific to a country (e.g., “.uk” for the United Kingdom).
CDN (Content Delivery Network)
A network of distributed servers designed to deliver webpages more quickly by using servers that are physically closer to the user.
Geo-targeting
Configuring a website to specifically target users in designated countries or regions.
gTLD (Generic Top-Level Domain)
A domain extension not tied to a specific country (e.g., “.com”, “.org”).
SEO Siloing
Organizing website content into distinct categories or themes to improve SEO and enhance user experience.
Server Location
The physical location of a website’s server, influencing local search rankings.
Sitemap
A file listing all pages on a website, helping search engines understand and index its structure.
Subdirectory
A folder in a website’s URL structure used to organize content for different languages or regions (e.g., “example.com/fr”).
Subdomain
A separate section of a website targeting different countries or languages (e.g., “fr.example.com”).
Additional International SEO Terms
Baidu (百度)
The leading search engine in China, focused on Chinese-language content.
Yandex (Яндекс)
Yandex is a Russian tech company best known for its search engine and various online services.
ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers)
A nonprofit organization responsible for coordinating the global domain name system (DNS) and IP address allocation, playing a key role in how websites are accessed worldwide.
Explore further: Understanding ICANN, ccTLDs, gTLDS, Country Codes, and Language Codes
ISO 3166
An international standard defining two- and three-letter codes for country names (e.g., “US” for the United States).
ISO 639
An international standard for short codes representing languages (e.g., “en” for English).
International SEO Terms for Better Communication and Informed Marketing
Meet the Author: Catherine Gason, International SEO Consultant
