SEO and digital marketing glossary

301 redirectSEO

A permanent redirect from an old URL to a new one, passing most ranking value. Essential during redesigns and migrations.

A

AEOAnswer Engine OptimizationAI search

Formatting content so search engines and assistants can lift a direct answer from your page into featured snippets, 'People also ask', voice results and AI Overviews.

In Nepal: Most Nepali service pages bury the answer. Putting it in the first two sentences is a quick win.

AEO services

AI OverviewsAI search

Google's AI-written summaries shown above the normal results for many searches, with links to the pages it drew from.

In Nepal: Being cited in the summary matters more as fewer people scroll to the blue links.

How to get cited by AI

Alt textSEO

A short text description of an image, read by screen readers and used by search engines to understand the picture.

On-page SEO

Anchor textSEO

The clickable words of a link. Descriptive anchor text, like 'website price in Nepal', tells readers and Google what the linked page is about.

On-page SEO

B

BacklinkSEO

A link from another website to yours. Links from relevant, trusted sites are one of Google's strongest ranking signals.

In Nepal: A link from a respected Nepali news or industry site is worth more than hundreds of spam links.

Off-page SEO

Bounce rateAnalytics

The share of visits where someone leaves without interacting. GA4 reports the opposite, 'engagement rate'.

Analytics & CRO

BreadcrumbsWeb

The small 'Home › Services › SEO' trail near the top of a page. Helps visitors and appears in Google results when marked up with schema.

C

Canonical tagSEO

A tag that tells Google which URL is the main version of a page when similar or duplicate versions exist.

Technical SEO

CBMSCentral Billing Monitoring SystemNepal

The Inland Revenue Department's system that receives invoice data from the billing software of businesses required to connect to it.

IRD billing guide

CMSContent Management SystemWeb

Software that lets you edit website pages, posts and images without code. WordPress is the best-known example.

WordPress development

.com.np domainNepal

Nepal's business domain extension, registered free for Nepali citizens and registered businesses through Mercantile.

.com.np registration guide

ConversionAnalytics

Any action you want visitors to take: a form, call, WhatsApp message, booking or purchase.

In Nepal: In Nepal, WhatsApp, Viber and phone clicks are often the main conversions, so track them.

Conversion tracking

Conversions APIAds & social

Meta's server-side way of sending conversion events, which recovers data browsers and ad blockers lose and improves ad optimisation.

Meta ads

Core Web VitalsSEO

Google's three page-experience measurements: loading (LCP), responsiveness (INP) and visual stability (CLS).

In Nepal: Nepali visitors often browse on mobile data and mid-range Android phones, so speed matters more than average.

Technical SEO

CPCCost per clickAds & social

What you pay each time someone clicks your ad.

Google Ads cost in Nepal

CPMCost per 1,000 impressionsAds & social

What it costs to show your ad 1,000 times. Usually much lower in Nepal than in the US, UK or Australia.

Facebook ads budget calculator

CrawlingSEO

Search engine bots visiting your pages to read them. A page has to be crawled before it can be indexed and ranked.

Technical SEO

CROConversion rate optimizationAnalytics

Improving the share of visitors who take action, through clearer pages, shorter forms, trust signals and testing.

CRO services

CTRClick-through rateSEO

The percentage of people who click after seeing your result or ad. Titles and descriptions drive organic CTR.

SERP preview tool

D

Dollar cardNepal

An international payment card from a Nepali bank, used to pay for Facebook ads, Google Ads and foreign software in USD. E-commerce dollar cards usually have an annual limit.

Paying for ads from Nepal

E

E-Commerce Act 2081Nepal

Nepal's Electronic Commerce Act, under which online businesses must list with the Department of Commerce, Supplies and Consumer Protection and show their details on their site.

E-commerce setup guide

E-E-A-TExperience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, TrustworthinessSEO

The qualities Google's quality guidelines look for in content: real experience, real expertise, a credible source and honest, accurate information.

SEO content writing

eSewa / Khalti merchant accountNepal

A business account with a Nepali digital wallet that lets your website or app accept payments. Needs registration documents and approval.

eSewa and Khalti integration

F

Featured snippetAI search

A highlighted answer box at the top of Google results, taken from one page.

AEO

G

GA4Google Analytics 4Analytics

Google's analytics platform. It tracks visits and the events you choose, such as form submissions, calls and purchases.

GA4 setup

GEOGenerative Engine OptimizationAI search

Improving how often and how accurately AI tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and AI Overviews mention and link to your business.

GEO services

Google Business ProfileSEO

Your free business listing on Google Search and Maps, with address, hours, photos and reviews.

In Nepal: For most local businesses in Nepal it brings more calls than the website.

Google Business Profile guide

Google Search ConsoleAnalytics

Google's free tool showing which searches bring you impressions and clicks, which pages are indexed, and what's broken.

Google Tag ManagerAnalytics

A free tool for adding tracking codes (GA4, Meta Pixel, conversions) without editing the website code each time.

H

Headless CMSWeb

A content system that stores content separately from the website design, so the front end can be built for speed with tools like React.

HreflangSEO

A tag that tells Google which language or country version of a page to show each visitor.

International SEO

I

ImpressionsAnalytics

How many times your page or ad was shown. In Search Console, rising impressions are an early sign that SEO is working.

IndexingSEO

Google storing a page in its index so it can appear in results. Pages that aren't indexed can't rank.

Technical SEO

Internal linkSEO

A link from one page on your site to another. Internal links help visitors, spread authority and show Google how pages relate.

On-page SEO

IRD billingNepal

Invoices that follow Nepal Inland Revenue Department rules for VAT-registered businesses, including software-generated bills.

IRD billing software

K

KeywordSEO

The words people type into a search engine. Good keyword research finds the searches that bring customers, not just traffic.

Keyword cannibalisationSEO

Several of your pages targeting the same search, so they compete and none ranks well.

On-page SEO

L

Landing pageAds & social

The page someone lands on after clicking an ad or search result. It should match what they clicked and make the next step obvious.

Link buildingSEO

Earning links from other websites through PR, partnerships, guest articles and useful content.

Link building

llms.txtAI search

A plain-text file at the root of a site that summarises its key pages for AI tools. An emerging convention, not a ranking factor.

Local 3-packSEO

The map with three businesses shown above normal results for local searches like 'dentist near me'.

Rank in Google Maps

Local SEOSEO

Optimising for searches in a specific place: Google Business Profile, reviews, consistent business details and location pages.

SEO services

Long-tail keywordSEO

A longer, more specific search, like 'ecommerce website price in Nepal with eSewa'. Less volume, but closer to buying and easier to rank for.

M

Meta descriptionSEO

The short summary under your title in search results. Not a ranking factor, but it decides whether people click.

Meta length checker

Meta PixelAds & social

Code on your website that tells Meta which ad visitors took actions, so it can optimise and measure campaigns.

Meta ads

Meta titleSEO

The page title shown as the blue link in search results and in the browser tab. Keep it under about 60 characters.

SERP preview tool

Mobile-first indexingSEO

Google ranks pages based on their mobile version. If the mobile site is missing content, rankings suffer.

N

NAPName, Address, PhoneSEO

Your business details. Keeping them identical everywhere online is a core local SEO and GEO signal.

Local SEO guide

NoindexSEO

A tag telling search engines not to show a page in results. Useful for thank-you pages; disastrous if left on by mistake.

O

Organic trafficSEO

Visitors who arrive from unpaid search results, as opposed to ads.

P

People also askAI search

The expandable question boxes in Google results. Pages that answer those questions clearly can appear there.

AEO

PrerenderingWeb

Generating a page's full HTML in advance so search engines and AI crawlers can read it without running JavaScript.

Technical SEO

PWAProgressive Web AppWeb

A website that can be installed on a phone's home screen and works a bit like an app, without the app stores.

App development

R

Responsive designWeb

A layout that adapts to any screen size, from phones to desktops.

UI/UX design

RetargetingAds & social

Showing ads to people who already visited your site or engaged with your page. Usually cheaper and more effective than cold audiences.

ROASReturn on ad spendAds & social

Revenue earned for every rupee spent on ads. A ROAS of 4 means NPR 4 back for each NPR 1 spent.

robots.txtSEO

A file that tells crawlers which parts of a site they may visit. Blocking the wrong bots can hide you from Google or AI tools.

S

Schema markupSEO

Structured data added to a page so search engines understand facts like your business type, address, prices, FAQs and reviews.

Technical SEO

Sender IDNepal

The name shown instead of a number on bulk SMS messages. A branded sender ID builds trust.

Bulk SMS guide

SEOSearch Engine OptimizationSEO

Improving your website and reputation so it ranks higher in unpaid search results for searches that bring customers.

SEO services

SERPSearch engine results pageSEO

The page of results Google shows for a search, including ads, maps, snippets and organic links.

SERP preview tool

SSL / HTTPSWeb

Encryption that puts the padlock in the browser bar. Free with most hosts and expected by browsers and Google.

Static vs dynamic websiteWeb

Static sites are fixed pages edited by a developer; dynamic sites pull content from a database and can be edited through a CMS.

WordPress vs custom website

U

UGCUser-generated contentAds & social

Content made by customers or creators rather than the brand: reviews, unboxings, testimonials. Often outperforms polished ads.

UTM parametersAnalytics

Tags added to links (like ?utm_source=facebook) so analytics shows exactly which post, ad or SMS brought each visitor.

W

Web hostingWeb

The server space where your website files live. Shared, VPS, cloud and dedicated hosting differ in power and price.

Web hosting in Nepal

X

XML sitemapSEO

A file listing the pages you want search engines to find, submitted in Search Console.