Glossary
SEO & SaaS terms, explained
Clear, no-jargon definitions of the concepts behind rankings, backlinks, and growth — the terms we use across our guides.
Anchor text
The visible, clickable words of a hyperlink. It gives search engines context about the page being linked to.
ReadBacklink
A link from one website to another. Backlinks are a core ranking factor and a primary way search engines judge a site's authority.
ReadChurn rate
The percentage of customers (or revenue) a business loses over a given period. Lower is better.
ReadDirectory submission
Listing a website or product in online directories to earn backlinks, referral traffic, and discovery.
ReadDofollow backlink
A link from another website that passes ranking signals (link equity) to the page it points to, helping it rank higher in search.
ReadDomain Authority (DA)
Moz's 0–100 score predicting how likely a website is to rank in search results, based mainly on its link profile.
ReadDomain Rating (DR)
Ahrefs' 0–100 score estimating the strength of a website's backlink profile relative to others.
ReadGenerative Engine Optimization (GEO)
Optimizing content so it gets surfaced and cited by AI assistants like ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, and Google's AI overviews.
ReadLink equity
The ranking value passed from one page to another through a dofollow link — informally called "link juice".
ReadLong-tail keyword
A longer, more specific search query with lower volume but higher intent and less competition.
ReadMerchant of Record (MoR)
A company that sells your product on your behalf and takes on tax, compliance, and chargeback liability.
ReadMRR (Monthly Recurring Revenue)
The predictable subscription revenue a business earns each month, normalized to a monthly figure.
ReadNofollow link
A link with a rel="nofollow" attribute that tells search engines not to pass ranking signals to the destination.
ReadProduct-led growth (PLG)
A go-to-market strategy where the product itself drives acquisition, activation, and expansion — often via free trials or freemium.
ReadProgrammatic SEO
Creating large numbers of targeted landing pages at scale from a data set and a template, to capture long-tail search demand.
ReadSERP (Search Engine Results Page)
The page of results a search engine returns for a query, including organic links, ads, and features like snippets and AI overviews.
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