glossary
28 terms you meet when you research, write and grow a post, each in plain words and with where it matters in your work.
28 terms.
Google's AI-written answer at the top of some search results, with links to the pages it drew from. When one shows, fewer people may scroll on, so a post has to offer more than the summary: a method, a number, an example the overview doesn't.
In Content Made Better: Google at a glance shows whether an AI Overview appears for your keyword and what it says, on desktop and on mobile. Super Research
A short description of a picture, written in the image's alt attribute. Screen readers read it aloud, and search engines use it to understand what the picture shows. Describe what is in it, not “image of”.
In Content Made Better: Paper's On-page SEO checks list every picture that has no alt text. Paper
The clickable words of a link. They tell readers and search engines what the linked page is about, so “how to repot a monstera” does far more work than “click here”.
In Content Made Better: Site Monitor finds links on your site that say only “click here” or “read more”. Site Monitor
In Search Console, a page's mean rank across every search it appeared for, weighted by how often it was shown. A page shown at 2 for one search and 30 for another can average 16, so look at the searches behind the number.
In Content Made Better: Site Metric shows a post's position search by search, and country by country. Site Metric
Also called Canonical tag, rel=canonical
A tag that tells search engines which address is the main version of a page when the same content can be reached at several. Without it, duplicates can split the credit a page earns between them.
In Content Made Better: Site Monitor flags posts whose canonical points to another page. Site Monitor
Also called Keyword cannibalization
When two or more of your own pages compete for the same search, so Google keeps swapping them and neither ranks as well as one strong page would. The fix is usually to merge them, or to make each one clearly about something different.
In Content Made Better: Site Metric lists the searches where your own posts compete, and which one to keep. Site Metric
Also called Content plan
The writer's instructions for one post: who it is for, what it must cover, in what order and at what length. A good brief comes from research into what ranks and what readers ask, not from guesswork.
In Content Made Better: Super Research writes the content plan from the pages that rank, and Paper keeps it beside the draft. Super Research
The slow loss of search traffic as a post ages: its facts date, competitors publish newer pages and what searchers want shifts. It rarely shows in a single week, which is why it is easy to miss.
In Content Made Better: Site Metric explains why a post is declining and says whether to refresh it, rewrite it or leave it. Site Metric
Updating a published post so it is accurate and competitive again, while keeping its address. It is often faster than a new post, and it keeps the links and history the post has already earned.
In Content Made Better: Content Refresh compares your live post with the pages that rank and lists every gap to close. Super Research
Also called CWV
Google's three measures of how a page feels to use: how fast the main content appears (LCP), how quickly the page responds to a tap or click (INP), and how much the layout jumps while it loads (CLS). They are part of how Google judges page experience.
When a search engine's bot visits a page to read it. A page that can't be crawled can't be indexed, so a mistaken rule in robots.txt, a missing sitemap or a server that doesn't answer can quietly hold a whole site back.
In Content Made Better: Site Monitor checks each site's robots.txt and sitemap every week, and tells you when either blocks search engines. Site Monitor
Also called Click-through rate
The share of people who saw your page in search and clicked it: clicks divided by impressions. A low CTR at a high position often means the title or description doesn't match what the searcher wants.
In Content Made Better: Site Metric marks searches where your post shows near the top but is rarely clicked. Site Metric
Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness and Trustworthiness: what Google's quality raters look for in a page and in the person behind it. It isn't a single ranking factor, but pages that clearly show it tend to win over time.
In Content Made Better: Voice Studio writes in each author's own voice and keeps the details of their life consistent from post to post. Voice Studio
Also called Position zero
A short answer Google lifts from a page and shows above the regular results, as a paragraph, a list or a table. Answering the question plainly, in about 40 to 60 words near the top of the post, makes a page a better candidate.
In Content Made Better: The Quick answer block puts that answer under your title, written from your own post. Blog Features
Proof that the writer actually did the thing: their own test, photo, measurement or result. Readers trust it and search engines value it, because it can't be copied from the other pages on the topic.
In Content Made Better: Super Research shows how the top pages prove their experience, and new ways you could show yours. Super Research
How many times your page was shown in search results, whether or not anyone scrolled down to it or clicked. Impressions rising while clicks stay flat is often a sign the title needs work.
In Content Made Better: Site Metric shows every post's impressions, clicks and position for the period you pick. Site Metric
Whether Google has added a page to its index, and so can show it in search at all. A page can be crawled and still not indexed, for example when Google sees it as a duplicate or as too thin to be useful.
In Content Made Better: Site Metric checks every post's index status with Google and says what each state means. Site Metric
What a page adds that the other pages on the same topic don't: a new fact, a test, a better method, a clearer example. Rewriting what already ranks adds none, which is why it rarely outranks the original.
In Content Made Better: Super Research lists what your post can add that no page in the top results has. Super Research
A link from one page of your site to another. Internal links help readers find related posts and help search engines see which pages matter most. A link to a page that no longer exists helps nobody.
In Content Made Better: Site Monitor finds links on your posts that lead to posts which were removed. Site Monitor
Also called Topic cluster
A group of searches that mean the same thing, or share one intent, so a single page can rank for all of them. “Fade haircut”, “fade cut” and “what is a fade” likely belong in one post, not three.
In Content Made Better: Keyword family gathers the other words and questions people use for your keyword. Super Research
A tag that tells search engines not to show a page in their results. It's right for a thank-you page or a draft, and an expensive mistake on a post you want people to find.
In Content Made Better: Site Monitor flags any post that is set to noindex. Site Monitor
Also called PAA
The box of related questions Google shows in many results, each opening to a short answer. It is a direct view of what searchers wonder about next, and a good source of sections for a post.
In Content Made Better: Super Research gathers them on desktop and mobile, with the questions readers have but rarely type. Super Research
How easily a reader can follow the text: short sentences, everyday words, clear headings and one idea at a time. Readable posts keep people reading, which is what every other number depends on.
In Content Made Better: Paper scores reading ease as you write and marks the hard words. Paper
Also called Structured data
Structured data added to a page's code that tells search engines exactly what it contains: a recipe, a product, a set of questions, an author. It can make a page eligible for richer results, such as star ratings or cooking times.
What a searcher really wants when they type a query: to learn something, to compare options, to buy, or to reach a particular site. A page that matches the intent outranks a better-written page that doesn't.
In Content Made Better: Super Research reads what ranks and tells you what the searcher wants, and what else they want. Super Research
Also called Search engine results page
Everything Google shows for a search, from the regular results to AI Overviews, videos, People also ask and shopping. Its layout changes from search to search, and between desktop and mobile.
In Content Made Better: Super Research draws the results as Google shows them, on desktop and on mobile, from your readers' city. Super Research
A page with little real substance: very few words, no clear answer, or text copied from elsewhere. Thin pages rarely rank, and many of them can weigh on how search engines see the whole site.
In Content Made Better: Site Monitor lists posts under 300 words so you can expand, merge or remove them. Site Monitor
Voice is a writer's or a brand's lasting personality; tone is how it shifts for the moment, warmer in a guide, firmer in a warning. A steady voice lets many writers sound like one publication.
In Content Made Better: Voice Studio learns an author's voice from their own posts and writes new ones in it. Voice Studio
Missing a word? Tell us and we’ll add it.
Write to [email protected]