The web is a huge place and it can be easy to get lost in the sea of acronyms and Internet jargon. Terms like SEO copywriter, algorithm and CMS can seem like rocket science to those who are unfamiliar with the technology. To help you understand a little more we’ve put together a quick jargon buster!
Algorithm – This is the mathematical formula that search engines, such as Google, use to decide how to rank websites. They are constantly changing based on factors such as the amount of content on a website and the number of links.
CMS – The Content Management System is the back door to the website. It allows for the SEO Copywriter to update the editorial information regularly without needing to edit the whole of the website.
Keyword – Exactly what it says- words which simply define the site and which people are likely to search for. A good SEO Copywriter will use keywords effectively by using things such as location and key phrases.
Meta tags – These add behind-the-scenes structure to your website. Search engines look through sites for keywords, which are not visible on the website. In many search results pages the meta title and description often appear first to give a taster to the site.
SEO – SEO stands for Search Engine Optimisation. It’s how search engines like Google find your site and decide that it’s good enough to be ranked highly. A good SEO Copywriter will use keywords to make the site more attractive to the search engines- resulting in a higher ranking.
SERP – The Search Engine Results Page, it’s the list of all the sites relevant to the keywords entered.
Social media – Social media is basically a platform for people to share their opinions, views and interests with the rest of the world. Examples include Facebook, Twitter, Digg, Reddit, Wiki’s and forums.
Spiders – No, we’re not on about the creepy crawlies. Spiders are an SEO Copywriters best friend. They crawl through web pages analyzing all the information found on them, this allows for search engines to quickly find results.
WEB 2.0 – A term used to define websites that encourage user interaction through comments or social media such as Twitter and Facebook.
URL – This is basically the site address. It stands for Uniform Resource Locater. There are different sections of the URL including the domain name (www.zazzlemedia.co.uk) and paths to specific files (/search-engine-optimisation-advice/).
There’s a lot more Internet jargon out there but these are the basics. Once you’ve got this covered the web is your oyster.
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