Plain definitions of the keyword research and SEO terms you’ll run into.
The goal behind a search — what the person actually wants to find or do when they type a query.
A longer, more specific search phrase with lower volume but clearer intent and less competition.
A score (usually 0–100) estimating how hard it is to rank on page one for a given search term.
The average number of times a search term is queried in a given period, usually shown per month.
The search engine results page — the list of results, ads, and features Google shows for a query.
Grouping related search terms that share intent so one page can target many of them at once.
A short, broad starting term you feed into a tool to generate hundreds of related search ideas.
Branded terms include a company or product name; non-branded terms describe a need without one.
The average amount advertisers pay for one click on a keyword — a useful proxy for commercial value.
When two or more of your pages compete for the same search term, splitting their ranking signals.
Optimizing content so it gets cited in AI-generated search answers, not just ranked in the blue links.
Optimizing content to be the direct answer an AI or answer engine returns to a question.
Google’s AI-generated answer shown above the regular results for many searches.
The AI model behind tools like ChatGPT that generates text — and, increasingly, search answers.
A proposed plain-text file that points AI crawlers at the pages on your site that matter most.