Search Generative Experience
A historical name for Google's experimental generative search experience. Earlier tests should not be equated with current AI Overviews availability in every country.
Definition and sourcesKNOWLEDGE / FROM A TO Z
Glossary
Technology, explained clearly. Find a term, choose a letter or narrow the topic. Definitions include sources and their review date.
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Clear filtersSearch indexing
Analysing and storing page information in a search index. Crawling does not guarantee indexing, and indexing does not guarantee visibility for a particular query.
Definition and sourcesSearch intent
The goal behind a query, such as learning, comparison or purchasing. It is inferred from context; one phrase may express several intents.
Definition and sourcesSearch optimisation
Work to make pages easier to discover in unpaid search results, including content, structure and technical accessibility. It is not buying rankings and does not guarantee a position or a delivery date for results.
Definition and sourcesSEM (Search Engine Marketing)
Marketing through search engines. Usage can be broad, including SEO, or narrower, meaning paid search advertising. Agree scope in the brief. Buying an ad does not purchase an organic ranking.
Definition and sourcesSEO (Search Engine Optimization)
Making useful content easier for search engines to discover, understand and present, including technical correctness. SEO supports organic visibility but does not guarantee rankings or traffic.
Definition and sourcesSEO site network
A network of sites used to support another site's promotion. If primarily intended for link manipulation, it can violate policies regardless of visual quality.
Definition and sourcesShort-tail keywords
A colloquial term for broad, popular queries near the head of the search distribution. Intent is often ambiguous; word count alone does not determine the category.
Definition and sourcesSitebulb
A technical website-audit and crawl-visualisation tool. Suggestions require contextual review; not every detected difference is a business defect.
Definition and sourcesStructured data
Information described in a machine-readable format, such as JSON-LD using Schema.org. Valid markup enables eligible presentations but does not guarantee rich results.
Definition and sourcesSupplemental index
A historical term for a supplementary Google results index. It should not diagnose every currently unindexed page; use current indexing reports.
Definition and sourcesSXO (Search Experience Optimization)
A term combining search visibility with the experience after reaching a page. It encourages attention to the whole journey. SXO is not a separate official Google algorithm or a guarantee of ranking gains through “emotions”.
Definition and sourcesTiny text
A colloquial term for extremely small text. Deliberately hiding keywords from users to manipulate rankings can violate search policies; ordinary footnotes simply need readability.
Definition and sourcesTopical authority
An industry term for recognised website expertise on a topic. It is not one public Google metric; accuracy, coverage and usefulness matter.
Definition and sourcesTrust Flow
A Majestic metric based on link relationships with selected trusted sources. It is a tool's measure rather than an official Google trust score.
Definition and sourcesURL Rating
Ahrefs' metric for the relative backlink-profile strength of a specific URL. It differs from Domain Rating and is not a Google score.
Definition and sourcesWeb crawler
Software automatically visiting web addresses and inspecting resources. A crawl does not by itself mean indexing or inclusion in results.
Definition and sourcesWhite-hat SEO
Search optimisation following search-engine policies through useful content and sound websites. The label guarantees no ranking and does not replace reviewing actual practices.
Definition and sourcesXML sitemap
A sitemap reporting URLs and optional information such as significant modification dates. It helps search engines discover resources but does not guarantee indexing. Google does not use priority and changefreq entries to determine crawling priority.
Definition and sourcesYoast SEO
A WordPress SEO tool supporting metadata, sitemaps and text analysis. Its suggestions are editorial aids. A green plugin score establishes neither article quality nor a guaranteed Google ranking.
Definition and sourcesYour Money or Your Life
Topics where incorrect information can materially affect health, safety or finances. They require particular accuracy, suitable expertise and current sources.
Definition and sourcesZero-click searches
Searches ending without clicking an external website link. Results may satisfy the need directly, so not every impression should be expected to produce a visit.
Definition and sources