Absorption (GEO)
The process by which a generative engine uses a source inside its answer, with or without a visible citation.
AEO (Answer Engine Optimization)
Optimization for direct answers, featured snippets and answer engines, where the goal is extraction rather than only ranking.
AI Mode
Google Search experience that provides AI-generated answers and follow-up interactions inside the search journey.
AI Overviews
Google Search feature that summarizes answers with generative AI and may cite supporting sources.
Backlink
A link from an external website to another website, historically used by search engines as a signal of authority.
noindex tag
HTML meta tag or HTTP header telling search engines not to index a page.
Canonical (rel=canonical)
HTML link element indicating the preferred URL when similar or duplicate pages exist.
Citation (GEO)
The act of being named or referenced as a source inside a generative engine answer.
CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift)
Core Web Vitals metric measuring unexpected layout movement during page loading.
Topic cluster
A set of related pages organized around a central topic or pillar page.
Content pruning
The process of removing, merging or improving weak content to protect overall site quality.
Core Web Vitals
Google performance metrics measuring loading speed, visual stability and interaction responsiveness.
Crawl budget
The amount of crawling search engines can allocate to a website during a given period.
Disavow links
Google tool used to ask the search engine to ignore specific backlinks in exceptional cases.
E-E-A-T
Google quality concept covering Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness and Trustworthiness.
Entity SEO
SEO approach that optimizes people, brands, concepts and organizations as identifiable entities rather than isolated keywords.
FAQPage (schema)
Schema.org type used to describe visible question and answer content on a page.
GEO (Generative Engine Optimization)
Discipline focused on structuring content so it can be extracted and cited by generative answer engines. Formalized in 2023 by Princeton and IIT Delhi research.
GPTBot / ClaudeBot / Google-Extended
Crawler or control identifiers used by AI companies and search engines to access or govern content usage.
Helpful Content Update
Google system targeting content created mainly for search engines instead of real users, integrated into core systems.
hreflang
HTML attribute indicating language or regional page variants to search engines.
INP (Interaction to Next Paint)
Core Web Vitals metric measuring page responsiveness to user interactions.
Knowledge Graph
A database of entities and relationships used by search engines to understand people, organizations, places and concepts.
LCP (Largest Contentful Paint)
Core Web Vitals metric measuring when the largest visible content element finishes loading.
llms.txt
Proposed file format intended to summarize a site for language models. It is not an official ranking requirement.
Law 96
Quebec law requiring French to receive equivalent or stronger treatment in many commercial contexts.
Mention (GEO)
A brand or entity mention inside an AI answer without necessarily providing a clickable link.
Mobile-first indexing
Google indexing approach where the mobile version is the primary version used for indexing and ranking.
Panda (update)
Google algorithm update targeting thin, duplicate and low-quality content.
PBN (Private Blog Network)
Network of websites built primarily to manipulate link authority.
Penguin (update)
Google algorithm update targeting manipulative links and keyword stuffing.
Programmatic SEO
Large-scale page generation from data and templates to cover many query combinations.
Retrieval / grounding
Process where an AI system retrieves external sources to ground or support its generated answer.
Robots.txt
Root file giving crawlers instructions about which areas of a site they may access.
sameAs
Schema.org property linking an entity to its official external profiles and identifiers.
Schema.org / JSON-LD
Shared vocabulary and JSON-LD format used to describe entities, relationships and content for machines.
Sitemap XML
XML file listing URLs to help search engines discover and crawl a website.
Soft 404
Page that returns HTTP 200 while behaving like a not-found page.
SXO (Search Experience Optimization)
Approach combining search optimization and user experience quality.
Topical authority
Perceived authority of a site or entity on a subject, built through depth, consistency and reliability.
TTFB (Time To First Byte)
Server response metric measuring the delay before the first byte is received.
UCP (Universal Commerce Protocol)
Emerging protocol concept for AI agents to interact with structured commerce data and trusted merchant identity.
YMYL (Your Money Your Life)
Google category for high-stakes topics such as health, finance, safety and law.
Zero-click search
Search result where the user gets the answer without clicking through to a website.