SEO glossary: search & AI terms, in plain English.
An SEO glossary is a reference of the terms that decide your search visibility, each defined in one clear paragraph. This one covers classic SEO and the new AI-search vocabulary — AEO, GEO, llms.txt, AI Overviews — with a note on what every term means for your business.
Core SEO terms
SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
What SEO means, how ranking works, and why it matters.
SERP (Search Engine Results Page)
The page of results a search returns.
E-E-A-T
Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trust.
Topical authority
Owning a topic with depth, not one lucky page.
Technical SEO
Making a site crawlable, fast and indexable.
Organic traffic
Visitors from unpaid search results.
AI search terms
AI SEO
Using AI to plan, execute and measure SEO.
AEO (Answer Engine Optimization)
Being the source an AI answer is built from.
GEO (Generative Engine Optimization)
Optimizing for AI-generated answers.
Google AI Overviews
Google’s AI answers above the results.
llms.txt
A signpost file that guides AI systems through your site.
AI citations
When an AI answer names your site as its source.
Zero-click search
Searches that end without a click.
New to the whole topic? Start with the complete AI SEO guide.