Our April 2024 event focused on terminology because small business owners kept asking what specific terms meant. Here's what we covered, stripped of the usual explanations that explain nothing.
What are keywords?
Words and phrases people type into search engines. If you sell handmade soap, keywords might be "natural soap Durham" or "handmade lavender soap." You're not stuffing these everywhere. You're using them naturally where they fit because that's what your customers are actually searching for.
What does "search intent" mean?
Why someone is searching. Are they looking to buy, learn, or find a specific website? Someone searching "how to make soap" wants information. Someone searching "buy lavender soap near me" wants to purchase. Your content needs to match what they're after, or they'll leave immediately.
What is metadata?
Information about your page that doesn't show up in the main content. The page title in search results, the short description below it, image descriptions. Search engines read this to understand your page. People read it to decide if they'll click. Both matter.
What's the difference between on-page and off-page optimization?
On-page is what you control on your website: content, headlines, images, page speed. Off-page is everything else: other sites linking to you, social media mentions, reviews. Most small businesses should focus on on-page first because you actually control it.
What does "crawling" mean?
Search engines send bots to read your website. They follow links, scan text, check how fast pages load. If they can't crawl your site properly because it's broken or blocked, you won't show up in search results. Simple as that.
What is bounce rate?
Percentage of people who land on your page and leave without clicking anything. High bounce rate usually means your content didn't match what they expected. Either your headline promised something different, or the content isn't useful. Fix the disconnect.
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