Glossary

all about your site and company. AI looks for these pages to provide official answers to questions about your organization, so it's important to have one.

• Internet
• AI

page element that expands and collapses text when clicked.

• Internet

abbreviation of a longer phrase IF that abbreviation can be pronounced as a word by itself. For example, NASA and NATO are acronyms. FBI is not.

• Style Guide

a button allowing you to bookmark a news source on Google, citing your preference for its article as news coverage.

• Internet
• SEO

an AI chatbot trained specifically to carry out certain tasks, which it can do at a user's behest or on its own based on previous user instructions. This is in contrast to a standard AI chatbot, which only responds to users' queries.

• AI

the first result in most searches now, though it often comes after sponsored links and before organic; this is an AI narrative summarized from selected resources, usually the top five results on Google that have resulted from traditional SEO techniques.

• AI

highly advanced AI simulation of a physical being, formed with training data produced by that person. The latest in C-level multitasking.

• AI

adjective indicating a person totally converted to the belief that AI is a world-altering solution to all problems in life and work.

• AI

Amazon's AI assistant, which currently operates using predefined skills installed and activated by the user.

• AI

step-by-step set of instructions for solving a problem, carrying out a task, or calculating something. An algorithm has inputs, a process, and output. Google's algorithm is essentially the set of complex calculations Google uses to choose which websites to show in response to a user's query to best satisfy their search intent.

• Internet
• AI
• SEO
• Marketing

text attached to digital images that allows screen readers to interpret images for those who can't view them. Alt text also figures into Google's SEO algorithm as it shows whether images serve a purpose beyond being decorative.

• Internet
• SEO

a digital marketing strategy focused on optimizing content to be easily found and utilized by AI-powered answer engines like featured snippets, People Also Ask, and voice search responses.

• AI
• SEO
• Internet

a record of decisions a software team has already made and does not want AI to violate as it codes new software. Also just called a decision log. These are usually plain text files in Markdown stored in the project repository.

• Internet

field of building computer systems that perform tasks normally requiring human intelligence — and, by extension, the systems themselves.

• AI

the process of crafting, optimizing and distributing content that’s designed to perform across AI-powered ecosystems.

• AI
• Internet
• SEO

page on a website for a frequent contributor's bio information, contact information, list of articles published , and photo. These pages are a trust signal.

• Internet
• AI
• SEO

a major Google ranking factor. Google measures authority by looking for signals of it, such as high-quality backlinks, high-quality content, EEAT, fast page load times, mobile-friendliness, easy navigation, and user data such as time spent on the page.

• SEO
• Internet

process in which an AI tool's next token is predicted by what came before -- this is what large language models do with predictive text .

• AI

core algorithm for training an artificial neural network; it computes the gradient of the loss function with respect to the network's weight, thereby determining how much each weight contributed to prediction error

• AI

graphic digital advertisement that often spans the width of a website.

• Marketing
• Internet

tiny, often invisible tracking element embedded in digital content that records when it’s viewed or accessed.

• Marketing
• Internet

variant of ultimate guide, but for people completely new to a topic.

• SEO
• Internet

short for "weblog," a series of posts on a website.

• Internet

a measure, by percentage, of how many users leave a site after arriving there from a link without visiting any other pages.

• Internet
• SEO

punctuation used to enclose text that is added to direct quotes but was not actually spoken by the person.

• Style Guide

the standards of a product, such as exact colors, logo variations, acceptable fonts and usage of trademarked images.

• Marketing

the published record of your brand's colors, fonts, and other standards.

• Marketing

working inside or on top of software that already exists

• Internet

special edition of many b2b magazines that focuses the entire issue on industry companies and their products .

• Style Guide

direct statement within content inviting the reader to take a specific action, typically buying a product.

• Marketing
• Internet

the preferred web address a site designates as the main version of a page when duplicate/similar content exists across multiple URLs.

• Internet
• SEO

explanatory text accompanying an image in an article. Typically a caption can function as an entry point, give readers additional information that isn't in an article's text, offer entertainment or an example of editorial voice (if there isn't much caption space). Capitalize and punctuate captions when they form a complete sentence.

• Style Guide

OpenAI's AI tool suite. Includes apps Work and Codex.

• AI

instance of AI quoting from your website as a source. Can also be a human using your research as source material and then adding your credit line in their reference section. This can happen with or without a brand mention, and vice-versa.

• AI
• SEO
• Internet

Anthropic's AI tool suite. Includes apps Claude Cowork and Claude Code.

• AI

marketing metric showing the percentage of people who click a link, ad, or other interactive element after seeing it, calculated by dividing clicks by impressions (views) and multiplying by 100.

• Marketing
• Internet

framework for organizing and publishing content on a website. WordPress is the most well-known CMS, powering about 43% of all websites. Others include Shopify, Wix, Drupal, Joomla, and Squarespace.

• Internet

maximum amount of input, conversation history, and output an artificial intelligence (AI) tool can process at one time. The context window includes instructions, conversation history, uploaded material, tool results, and usually the response it generates. If a context window grows too large, the model tends to retain the information at the beginning and the most recent parts of conversations, letting go of the middle. The range of sizes is broad, from 8,000 tokens in the older models to upward of 1 million in the newer long-context models. Limits may be daily, hourly, or otherwise.

• AI

discipline of getting more current users to carry out the call to action you want without needing new traffic. It typically involves fixing confusing pages and elements, clarifying CTAs, testing interactive elements such as buttons, and making things actionable instead of merely interesting.

• Internet
• Marketing

a small text file placed on a user's computer when they visit a website so their post-site activity can be tracked for marketing purposes.

• Marketing
• Internet

AI chatbot tool that is working its way into the sidebar of all Microsoft products.

• AI

a website's most important and authoritative content, usually long-form content that answers a lot of user questions and contains a lot of keywords you want to target. Cornerstone content should be updated frequently.

• SEO
• Internet

vague, buzzword-heavy language that obfuscates meaning rather than saying something specific. "Do you have the bandwidth to handle some low-hanging fruit if we leverage your synergy with coworkers? Tell you what, let's circle back after we touch base next week. Speaking of which, got a quick second to hop on a call?

• Style Guide

total cost associated with converting one prospect into a customer. It's the cost of an ad campaign divided by the number of conversions.

• Marketing

an Internet top-level domain generally used/reserved for a country/territory.

• SEO
• Internet

text that appears on a publication's cover, other than the title and tagline. Cover lines are sell copy, not purely editorial, teasing what is inside a publication. While they do not have to be the actual titles of articles, they must still enable the reader to find the article inside the publication.

• Style Guide

the intersection of search engine optimization (SEO), generative engine optimization (GEO), and AI search.

• SEO
• AI
• Internet

the total amount a customer spends on your company's products the entire time that they buy your products.

• Marketing

a grid of cells used to organize data in graphic format. Tables work well for humans and AI tools.

• Internet
• Style Guide

fancy term for charts and graphs -- converting your statistical data into a graphic format that is easier to understand and grasp the meaning of.

• Style Guide

software system that automates complex choices by applying predefined rules, logic, and algorithms to incoming data.

• AI
• Internet

supervised algorithm that uses a tree-like structure (nodes, branches, leaves) to classify or predict outcomes by splitting data based on features. It is useful for tasks like fraud detection or customer churn prediction.

• AI
• Internet

type of AI that uses a neural network model of nodes organized in layers.

• AI

EEAT is Google's framework for evaluating the dependability of websites. It consists of Experience (real-life, firsthand knowledge or direct experience with a topic or product); Expertise (proof of necessary skills, knowledge or credentials to cover the topic well); Authority (being a recognized source or leader within a field); and Trust (site is secure, transparent, accurate, and has positive reviews from users).

• SEO
• Internet
• AI

an AI ability not explicitly programmed into models, but that emerges from the training process.

• AI

content that is not specific to one date or season.

• Internet
• Style Guide

domain name that exactly matches the searched keyword phrase of a user and contains no dashes.

• SEO
• Internet

user-written text summary added to a content post that may appear on social media or in other places; it is not visible in the main body of the article.

• SEO
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• AI

punctuation mark applied to exclamatory sentences, those expressing strong emotion. Many editors refuse to allow exclamation points. I lean toward zero exclamations, but have found allowing one is a good constraint. The limit helps you really consider whether the thing is necessary, or if you have created necessary emphasis with words alone. (And not cheated by adding bold or italics or, please tell me you don't allow this, capital letters for emphasis.)

• Style Guide

• Internet
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part of Google's EEAT framework for determining authority. Expertise includes education, certifications, and

• SEO
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in content, links to other high-quality, high-authority websites that provide important information or context. Their presence is a ranking signal.

• SEO
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a next-generation approach that seamlessly unites data, AI and automation, enabling businesses to transform their operations with real-time insights, enhanced decision-making and scalable automation.

• AI

using reputable sources to verify the truth of information presented in text.

• Style Guide

type of page AI looks for when hunting down information about a brand, product, company, etc. The Q and A format is ideal.

• AI

for new content, a temporary period of high visibility followed by a dramatic drop.

• SEO

force that resists the sliding or rolling of one solid object or fluid layer over another; in tech, it is what creates value and builds trust, meaning, and differentiation. It creates memory. Friction is conflict, resistance, pain points, static.

a genre of digital gaming that emphasizes collaborative multiplayer gameplay, but tends to have very simple design, easy gameplay, and cheap, basic visuals, its primary purpose being social interaction.

• Internet

specialized Google Gemini agents users can create to execute specific tasks.

• AI

AI that can "create" based on patterns it has learned from existing content such as text, videos and images.

• AI

practices that help content get cited and summarized inside AI experiences such as Google's AI Overviews and ChatGPT.

• AI

generative pretrained transformer

• AI

building a new program from scratch. Opposite of brownfield, where you inherit another programmer's work.

• Internet

term for output produced when, due to having been trained to predict the next most probable token, AI spins up text that sounds plausible, but is untrue.

• AI

symbol of three stacked horizontal lines, vaguely resembling a hamburger, used to indicate that a menu will fly out when it is clicked.

• Internet

H1 header, the title of a piece of content. This is what makes the reader hold 'em or fold 'em. So make it good.

• Style Guide
• SEO
• Internet

literary term for major, off-the-charts exaggeration.

• Style Guide

common programming language used on websites.

• Internet

instance of a post or ad being shown to users, regardless of whether they clicked it. An impression means it was visible on their screen and they could have seen it. Includes multiple instances of potential visibility by the same user. Once they've definitely seen it, that counts as reach.

• SEO
• Internet
• Marketing

program that separates text layer from InDesign so that copy may be edited without changing any design elements; makes it possible to edit directly in the designed file so you can see how it fits in real time.

• Style Guide

links placed within content to related content on the same site. Their presence is a ranking signal.

• SEO
• Internet

term for AI prompting that has the goal of bypassing AI's programmed ethical and and safety constraints.

• AI

high-level programming language that makes web pages interactive. Not the same as Java, another programming language.

• Internet

code that maps rows of a spreadsheet as individual objects with attributes; each column represents an attribute, while each row is represented by an object, such as a card or an icon.

• Internet

text describing the essential elements of a position: skills needed, duties expected, responsibilities, and experience required.

• Marketing

open-source website framework and content management system. Relatively uncommon now, but people who like it really, really like it.

• Internet

another term for a duty of a particular position.

• Marketing

an outcome that a role, team, or business unit is accountable for achieving. Out of the things that entity does, which results determine whether it succeeded?

• Marketing

sophisticated artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm trained on massive amounts of text data to understand and generate human language. They are built using deep learning, specifically a type of neural network called a transformer model (GPT = generative pretrained transformer), which allows them to process and generate text with a high degree of fluency and coherence. Here's how an LLM works: The user inputs a prompt or question. The LLM uses its trained model to predict the most likely next word or phrase (token) in the sequence. Then it generates text by iteratively predicting the next word or phrase, building a coherent response that addresses the prompt.

• AI

calculation that is part of how Google decides what to show on SERPs; it measures the "distance" between a site with information and the "seed site," or trustworthy source of that information. The closer the distance, the more authoritative the site is considered and the more likely it will be shown on the SERP.

• SEO
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system in which webmasters exchange/purchase backlinks to improve search engine rankings.

• SEO
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a controlled cycle where the AI agent works against a clear target, acceptance criteria, constraints, tests, and feedback. It goes like this: Intent → roadmap/PRD → architecture diagram → specs → coding agent plan → generated code → tests/evals/review → iteration loop.

• AI

type of AI that teaches computers to learn and make predictions without being programmed. 3 main types: supervised (trains models using correct data), unsupervised (leaves models to discover patterns on their own), and reinforcement (trains models via trial and error with rewards and penalties).

• AI

image, video, piece of text, etc., typically humorous in nature, that is copied and spread rapidly by internet users, often with slight variations. The images typically have a text overlay, often in the much-maligned font Impact.

• Internet

instance of AI naming your brand in its answer to a user's query. This can happen without a citation, and vice-versa.

• SEO
• Internet
• AI

description added to new content that is not outwardly visible except for in search engine results pages, where it is pulled in to describe the contents of a site so the user can preview it before clicking. Google will rewrite these descriptions if they do not seem consistent with the actual content.

• SEO
• Internet

increasing degradation of quality of AI models as they continue to train on a body of data increasingly produced by AI, replicating its errors and inaccuracies.

• AI

story about a company's progress, whether or not it is making any actual progress. A momentum narrative is intent-agnostic and can be used for strategic spin, building investor confidence, getting the media excited, or just be a sincere belief that outran actual evidence.

• Style Guide
• Marketing

AI system designed to perform specific, well-defined tasks. For example, a model that filters spam or one that plays chess.

• AI

in AI, a set of algorithms modeled after the human brain that helps computers learn to problem-solve. It is structured as an input layer that takes in raw data, hidden middle layers that calculate using signal strength (weight) and signal rules (activation functions) to determine patterns, and an output layer. A neural network learns by ingesting large amounts of labeled information, adjusting its weights based on correct and incorrect responses, and seeks patterns.

• AI

hyperlink attribute value instructing search engines not to let a link influence the target's ranking in search engine indexes. This is an instruction, a suggestion but not a requirement. Different search engines treat this value in different ways. (They may follow but not index, for example.) Commonly used for paid or sponsored placements, affiliate links, or user-generated content.

• SEO
• Internet

tag that instructs search engines not to include a page in their results. Pages that might be noindexed include order confirmation and thank-you pages, duplicate content, and internal company pages.

• SEO
• Internet

number of unique people who see a social media post, including people who saw it from a share by a friend who liked/commented/shared, answered a question, or responded to an event.

• Marketing
• SEO
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the tale of how a company (or superhero) came to be, complete with its share of mythic elements (or not).

• Style Guide
• Marketing

term for the end product an AI tool produces in response to a prompt (the input).

• AI

a list of what's in a piece of long-form content, drawn from the H headers added to it.

• SEO
• Internet
• AI

number of unique people who see a post through an ad.

• Marketing
• Internet
• SEO

plural, as they always occur in pairs; these are used to set off text that offers additional information but is not necessary for the sentence to make sense.

• Style Guide

a Google Search feature showing related questions to a user's query, appearing as expandable boxes with direct answers and links to sources, helping users find more info and offering SEOs a way to capture more SERP real estate by answering common queries with clear, concise content and schema markup.

• SEO
• Internet
• AI

unit of punctuation that goes at the end of a normal, declarative sentence, and also used at the ends of abbreviations. The most common way to end a sentence.

• Style Guide

the canonical 2026 content model, according to DigitalApplied. The pillar is the comprehensive hub page that owns a top-of-funnel topic, while a cluster is a family of supporting articles that cover adjacent subtopics and link back to the pillar.

• SEO
• Internet

the most recent trendy iteration of the "ultimate guide" content genre. This draws in all kinds of sports parallelism, typically football.

• SEO
• Internet
• Marketing

hashtag for rejuvenating and re-promoting content on its "birthday."

• SEO
• Internet

technology that uses an algorithm to predict the next word in text based on statistical probability and the previous words.

• AI

a structured document, typically a single page, that gives the basics of a potential news story to news outlets. It usually includes a straightforward headline ("Jacksonville editor launches new business resource"), a dateline, the who, what, where, when, why, and how of the story in a few short paragraphs, a direct quote from the news subject, and contact information. Images may also be included, especially headshots of people involved and companies' logos. News outlets may include the press release as written or contact the source of the story for an interview and more information.

• Marketing
• Style Guide

text given to AI that will cause it to generate a desired result.

• AI

AI technique that breaks complex tasks into smaller steps, using the output of one Large Language Model (LLM) call as the input for the next, creating a sequential workflow to improve accuracy, control, and coherence for sophisticated tasks such as document analysis or multi-stage content creation.

• AI

symbols that constitute the traffic signs of grammar; punctuation tells you how to read and say words so they make sense.

• Style Guide

programming language notable for its use in AI and in data visualization via Excel.

• Style Guide
• Internet

goes at the end of an interrogative statement to indicate a question has been asked.

• Style Guide

element Google uses as part of the algorithm determining which sites surface on the search engine results page (SERP).

• SEO
• Internet

number of unique users who see a post, ad, or piece of content. Reach counts each user only once, regardless of how many times they've viewed a post. Once they see it, they've been reached.

• Marketing
• SEO
• Internet

a tool that automatically sends visitors to one URL to a new URL.

• Internet

connecting an AI model to an external knowledge base to retrieve current information instead of forcing it to rely on contents of training data to generate responses.

• AI

game genre in which you play in rounds, level up, and the game ends when you die.

• Internet

language added to website elements to help Google and AI bots understand the logical structure of content.

• SEO
• Internet

a site with the primary function of indexing the web's content so people can search for information more efficiently.

• SEO
• Internet

the practice of optimizing pieces of content to be found in search and triggered by certain keywords when they are part of a user's query.

• SEO
• Internet
• Marketing

it's still everyone's goal to rank highly in the SERPs. Within the top 10 kind of used to be the goal. Now with AI it is top 5; being ranked highly increases the likelihood of content being featured in AI summaries.

• Marketing
• SEO
• Internet

what happens after SEO drives a visitor to a web page. Does the site load quickly and have other interesting functions that will prevent the user from bouncing?

• SEO
• Internet

practice of shaping content so it can be accurately understood, selected, summarized, and cited by AI-powered search systems, not just ranked as a blue link.

• AI
• SEO
• Internet
• Marketing

goal the user has in mind when they pose a question or search string to a search engine; this is the question your content must answer in order for people to find it or AI to cite it.

• SEO
• Internet

authoritative, trusted website for information on a certain topic. Seed sites are used in distance ranking algorithms to rank sites based on how far removed their links are from a seed site. For example, are they linked to a research study, or to an article that references that research study? Distance ranking algorithms use this distance calculation to determine authority and decide what to show in search results.

• SEO
• Internet

word or group of words targeted by a specific online content piece, based on inquiries people are likely to make of a search engine, such as Google. Ideally, optimizing a piece of content for an SEO keyphrase means the content is highly likely to answer the questions of users who come to a search engine with that query.

• SEO
• Internet

a post's title, possibly different from its original title, that appears in Google search results for SEO purposes.

• SEO
• Internet

on a website, short formatted text tag, representing a larger code segment, that can be placed in a post or on a page to add functionality. For example, a shortcode could add a widget to a page that pulls in the most recent five posts carrying a certain tag or belonging to a certain category. On mobile phones, shortcodes are short number sequences users can use to send text messages to a longer phone number. For example, a user could send a text to a 5-digit code to sign up for a list or enter a contest.

• Internet

Apple's AI assistant

• AI

websites and applications that enable users to create and share content or participate in social networking.

• Marketing
• Internet

the code structuring a publicly available website, generally viewable on a page by right-clicking somewhere on the page and choosing "page source." Most is a mixture of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.

• Internet

a Markdown file, written in natural language, that acts as a contract between a human and an AI coding agent. It should include exact expected outcome, what is in and out of scope, relevant files and code, constraints and standards, acceptance criteria, task checklist, how to verify that success has occurred, and what to do if something does not succeed.

• AI
• Internet

in AI, metaphor that frames large language models as systems that statistically mimic text without real understanding. (Wikipedia)

• AI

set of rules and guidelines for how a publication should be written and presented. Style guides typically include rules for grammar and punctuation, notes on the publication's voice and target audience, and explanations of how industry-specific terms and abbreviations should be presented. Most adopt one major style guide, such as AP Stylebook, then list their in-house variations from that standard.

• Style Guide

set of questions used to determine sentiments and facts about a product from the user's perspective; in project management, survey questions are used to determine evaluation questions.

• Style Guide

an admin-generated or user-generated keyword applied to content. Different from a category. Different plug-ins can utilize them in different ways to curate content.

• Internet

the full set of tools and technologies used to build, run, and maintain a digital system. A tech stack typically includes infrastructure (like servers and operating systems), the backend (data storage), and the frontend (websites, apps, and dashboards).

• Internet

adjustable parameter of randomness in an AI model that is using next-token prediction. Generated items will get more or less entertaining depending on this setting.

• AI

correct practice of keeping verb tenses consistent throughout a sentence.

• Style Guide

text added to an image that will appear in a bubble when the user hovers their mouse pointer over the image.

• Internet

the smallest unit of text an AI model processes as a single symbol, representing a chunk of characters chosen for statistical usefulness rather than linguistic correctness. Tokens are how the model reads, writes, remembers patterns, and occasionally commits typographic crimes.

• AI

maximum number of tokens an AI model can have as a context window for requests.

• AI

practice of deliberately using very large quantities of artificial intelligence (AI) tokens in the belief that more computation will produce more capability, productivity, or value.

• AI

internet slang used either as a criticism for overly lengthy content or, more commonly, to introduce a short summary or the main point of a long post, article, or email, making it accessible to readers with short attention spans. TL;DR acts as a quick summary, like "long story short," allowing people to get the gist without reading the whole text, and can be placed at the beginning or end of content.

• Internet

enormous amount of text, typically scraped from the internet, used to train AI models how to respond to human inquiries.

• AI

long-form content genre that purports to explain in detail everything you need to know about a topic, in an effort to rank at the top of the SERPs for certain user queries.

• Internet
• SEO

the unique address of something that is on the internet.

• Internet

text snippet added to a URL that tracks where website traffic comes from and how users interact with specific links. Available parameters include traffic source, medium, campaign, content type, and whether paid keywords are involved.

• Marketing
• Internet

the quality of a website's functionality as judged by its average end user; a well-designed website with clear navigation, easy-to-read content and fast loading times provides positive UX.

• Internet
• SEO
• AI

implementing practices intended to perfect the user experience of a website or other tech product.

• AI
• Internet
• SEO

cost of employee time spent verifying the truth of AI outputs, which reduces return on investment (ROI).

• AI

online property designated by a uniform resource locator (URL) containing information and media. It usually contains pages, is navigable via some kind of menu, and offers at least one product or service.

• Internet
• SEO
• AI
• Marketing

the art of picking the right words for the medium, audience, and point of view you have. In general, it's good to avoid corporate speak, AI cliches, passive voice (though there are exceptions to this rule), excessive slang that doesn't serve a constructive purpose, and words known to offend specific people or groups of people.

• Style Guide

a very important parameter to determine when writing or editing -- how many words will it take to say what needs to be said and fit in the space you have?

• Style Guide

the most popular content management system, powering 43% of websites, according to Hostinger.

• Internet

a search in which the user gets the answer directly on the search engine results page (SERP) and does not need to click to visit the website that provided the answer. About 65% of Google searches are zero-click as of April 2026, according to DigitalApplied.

• AI
• SEO
• Internet