Orange Whale Ltd | Seo Agency | A Glossary of Seo Terms

Based in Bristol, Orange Whale Ltd offer lead generation and SEO services

Why an SEO Glossary?

We have designed this glossary both for the sake of transparency and for clarity. Many clients want to know what their service provider is actually doing for them, whilst a lot of people simply want to know what SEO is all about, and what constitutes effective and good practice. There are many good sources of professional information on search engine optimization, (e.g. Seomoz, Search Engine Land), where you can develop an in-depth understanding over time; this glossary however will merely attempt to cover the main bases of SEO in a structured and systematic way, so that you can understand some of the core principles, as well as have some clear ideas of how to implement your own strategy should you wish. Should our clients and potential clients desire to know the kinds of things we do, then by reading here they will understand better the ideas and processes that form the basis of our working practices.

Please note that the glossary will be a work in progress, (i.e. we will add items incrementally, so depending where you are chronologically, you might find either a very incomplete or complete glossary). When complete, you can use it as a general reference guide that you dip in to, but in the meantime you can follow it as a loosely structured mini course. We will structure it with an internal logic, in such a way that every letter can also be seen as a module, and every letter/module will point to the next module in sequence. So for instance, the first letter we will cover will be P for Platform, and then at the end of Platform we will point to the next letter in the mini course structure, for instance to D for Dynamic. Eventually this will form a kind of mini Wiki on SEO. (Just one amongst many).

This glossary incidentally is not remotely intended to be definitive, just in case anyone tries to treat it as such. SEO is a constantly moving target, and besides, there are different search engines, (e.g. Google, Bing, Yahoo, even Youtube and Facebook), with every search engine constantly modifying, adapting, and refining its processes. In this environment, pragmatism reigns. Broadly speaking, SEO can be understood in terms of core concepts, which tend to work themselves out through different forms of implementation, often underpinned by technology. For instance, a core concept would be “don’t confuse the search engines”, which is then worked out at thematic, structural, and technical levels. But the glossary is not really an in-depth induction on SEO, it is more of an overview, which should give you some insight into how SEO works, and what kinds of practical things you can implement if you have a mind to do so.

The main point to remember with SEO is to try and figure out what the search engines are looking for; that at least is our methodology. We always try and work from a strategic overview, before getting into various tactics.

What is your overall perspective on the whole process of creating a website?

For the purposes of brevity, here is one analogy*: optimizing a website is a bit like creating a garden. A good garden takes a lot of care and attention. It takes time to build up. Things don’t happen overnight; you plant things, and they come to fruition in time, sometimes days and weeks, sometimes months and years. The more variety you have in a garden, the more interesting and diverse it becomes, and the more other people take an interest in it. A good garden doesn’t have to be formally structured, but the famous old gardens that have stood the test of time are highly formalized. …and so on.

So, enjoy the glossary, and if you are looking to do your own SEO, remember that the search engines, like Google, lay down their own criteria for what constitutes a good site, and understanding those criteria is a good half of the SEO equation.

* the analogy we use in the picture is of a taxi driver who knows their way around town. In one sense cities don’t change, Holborn to Wood Green is always going to be Holborn to Wood Green. In another sense, routes do change, as roads change, etc, etc. In a sense SEO is a bit like this; at a core level it doesn’t change, but in the forms of implementation, it does change. (Just an analogy).

I have made the initial segment on Platform password protected, because some information is valuable. If you want to get the password, please email me.