SEO Glossary: SEO Terms M-O

Information found in the head tags of a web page. Can include the Meta title, meta description and meta keywords tag.  We often refer to meta data as “data about data”.

Meta Tags

Information placed in a web page not intended for users to see but instead which typically passes information to search engine crawlers, browser software and other applications.

Meta Description Tag

Permits page creators to say how they would like their pages described when listed by search engines. Not all search engines use the tag.

Meta Keywords Tag

Permits page creators to add text to a page to help with the search engine ranking process. Not all search engines use the tag.  It is no longer recommended to include a meta keywords tag on your site pages.

Meta Refresh

An HTML tag that is used to reload or refresh the page after a specified interval, often used to automatically redirect visitors to another page. It is not a preferred practice as most search engines penalize pages that use meta refresh or any other type of automatic redirection.

Meta Robots Tag

Permits page creators to keep their web pages from being indexed by search engines.

Mirror Sites

Sites that attempt to deceive search engines into indexing more than one instance of a site by duplicating it on another server and domain. This is not a preferred practice as search engines have filters in place to detect mirror sites and if found will penalize mirror sites by de-listing both the original site and the mirrored site.

MS

Microsoft

MSN (Microsoft Network)

Search engine created by Microsoft. Was re-launched in 2006 as “Live Search” http://www.live.com

ODP (Open Directory Project)

See “DMOZ”. One of the oldest and most comprehensive human-reviewed directories on the web.

Optimization

The process of improving the keyword density of a web page and modifying the page in such a way that it ranks well (on the SERPs) for those keywords it has been positioned for. Basically making a page spider-friendly by, for example, using text links rather than image links in hopes that it will improve in the rank within the search engines.

Organic Listings

Listings that search engines do not sell (unlike paid listings). Instead, sites appear solely because a search engine has deemed it editorially important for them to be included, regardless of payment. Also known as Algorithmic Results.

Organic Search

Process by which web users find web sites by a keyword query and click on an unpaid search engine listing.

Organic Search Results

Search results through unpaid search engine listings, rather than through paid ads.

Organic SEM (Organic Search Marketing)

See “Organic SEO”

Organic SEO (Organic Search Engine Optimization)
Maximizing the visibility of a web site by making its listings appear more frequently and more prominently in algorithmic search results without paying for listings.

Outbound Links

Links on a particular web page leading to other web pages, whether they are within the same web site or other web sites.