SEO: Search Engine Optimization Bible

Robots meta tag A simple mechanism to indicate

to visiting web robots if a page should be indexed,

or if links on the page should be followed.

robots.txt The file that is used to tell robots and

crawlers what not to crawl on your site.

RSS feed A syndication feed that grabs news, blogs,

or other activities and presents the reader with up-to-

date content.

Scrape To copy web-site materials from another

web site in an effort to create a false web.

Scraper bot Software that crawls around the

Internet looking for content to steal.

Scraper site The web site where scraper content

is collected.

Search Algorithm A mathematical equation used

to define what words or phrases someone is looking

for and how the collected results should be returned

to them.

Search engine An application that indexes and

serves content to an Internet user who is looking

for something specific.

Search engine optimization (SEO) Improving

a web site in an attempt to attract search engine

crawlers.

Search engine results pages (SERPs) The pages

of results that are returned after an Internet user

searches for a specific word or topic.

Search engine spam The process by which some

people try to artificially influence the search engine

into indexing their site and ranking it higher in the

results.

Search profiling A method by which marketers

can use the behaviors and actions of Internet users

to target other users with similar interests and

lifestyles.

Search query The string of words and characters

used to perform a search engine search.

Secondary search engines Search engines that

are more targeted in nature than primary search

engines. These search engines are also smaller than

primary search engines.

Seeded The process of “loading” a search crawler

with URLs to examine.

Server-side include An easy server-side scripting

language used almost exclusively for the Web. As

its name implies, its primary use is including the

contents of one file in another, via a web server.

Server-side redirection A method of URL redirec-

tion using an HTTP status code issued by a web

server in response to a request for a particular URL.

The result is to redirect a user’s web browser to

another web page with a different URL.

Simple directories A basic web directory that

usually allows users to perform a search.

Site map A document that outlines where every

link leads. Also a document that’s included in the

HTML code for a web page that directs crawlers

where to go.

Site mirroring Including an exact duplicate of

a web site in another location, usually stored on

another server.

Social bookmarking A way for Internet users to

store, classify, share, and search Internet bookmarks.

Social-media optimization A set of methods for

generating publicity through social media, online

communities, and community web sites.

Social networks A social structure made of nodes

(which are generally individuals or organizations) that

are tied by one or more specific types of relations,

such as values, visions, ideas, financial exchanges,

friends, kinship, likes or dislikes, conflicts, trade,

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