Glossary [A–C]   [D–J]   [K–M]   [O–R]   [S–Z]

Organic Listings: Web pages that appear on the results page due to a search engine deeming their content relevant to the search, as opposed to paid listings. Also referred to as “natural” listings.

PageRank: Google’s method for measuring the importance of a web page based on links to it. Pages are ranked on a scale of 0 to 10, with 10 being the most important. If a site considered important—such as the New York Times (www.nytimes.com) or Washington Post (www.washingtonpost.com)—links to a certain site, it boosts the PageRank of that site. A link from a friend’s personal home page, though, would likely have little effect on PageRank.   

Pagejacking: When high-ranking content is stolen from one site and placed on another with the goal of increasing search engine rankings. This illegal tactic can result in a site being banned from search engines.

Paid Inclusion: Paying for a website to be included in a search engine's index. Typically, paid inclusion does not guarantee any particular ranking within search results.

Paid Listings: Paying for a website to be listed in a search engine’s index through paid inclusion or placement programs.

Paid Placement: Paying for a website to show up prominently in a search engine’s results for a particular keyword. A paid placement is typically designated as a "sponsored listing" in the search results.

Pay Per Click (PPC): A system under which an advertiser pays a search engine an agreed-upon amount every time a user clicks on the link to their website. The cost per click varies depending on the popularity of the keyword and the advertiser’s positioning in the results. 

Professional Search Engine Optimization: When a company or individual specializing in search engine optimization designs or re-designs a website to improve search engine rankings and increase traffic.

Rank: Where a website or page appears in the search engine results for a particular keyword or term. Also referred to as position.

Reciprocal Link: An exchange of links between websites.

Results Page: The page or pages of listings displayed in response to a user’s search. Also referred to as a SERP (Search Engine Results Page).