Marketing glossary
What is SEO (Search Engine Optimization)?
SEO (Search Engine Optimization): The practice of improving a website so it ranks higher in search engines like Google and Bing for the searches your customers make.
SEO covers three main areas. Technical SEO makes sure search engines can crawl, render, and index your pages. On-page and content SEO makes each page the most useful answer for a specific search. Off-page SEO, mainly earning links and mentions from other trusted sites, builds the authority that helps you outrank competitors.
Unlike paid ads, you don’t pay per click for SEO traffic, which is why it often becomes a business’s lowest-cost source of customers over time. It is also the foundation of AI search visibility, because many AI assistants retrieve and cite pages that already rank well.
Related terms
- BacklinkA link from another website to yours. Links from relevant, trusted sites are a strong signal of authority for search engines.
- GEO (Generative Engine Optimization)Optimizing your brand and content so AI assistants such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Perplexity, and Copilot mention, cite, and recommend you in their answers.
- Search IntentThe goal behind a search: whether the person wants to learn something, compare options, buy, or find a specific website.
- Technical SEOOptimizing how search engines crawl, render, and index a website, covering speed, mobile usability, site structure, redirects, and structured data.