Glossary
Clear definitions for the language around links, mentions, answer engines and authority work—written for buyers and practitioners.
A
AI Overview
Google AI Overviews summarize sources at the top of some results. Learn how brands earn citations through entities, editorial coverage and measured mentions.
Anchor text
The visible, clickable words in a hyperlink that signal page topic to users and search engines. See how Anchor text shows up in audits, outreach briefs and.
Answer engine optimization
Practices that improve visibility inside AI answer interfaces. Written so SEO leads and agency PMs share one meaning of Answer engine optimization on calls.
B
Backlink
An inbound link from another domain pointing to a page on your site. Use this Backlink note when briefing stakeholders or reviewing vendor claims.
Brand mention
Any reference to your brand on a third-party page, linked or not. Use this Brand mention note when briefing stakeholders or reviewing vendor claims.
C
D
Digital PR
Using newsworthy stories and data to earn media coverage and citations. Use this Digital PR note when briefing stakeholders or reviewing vendor claims.
Disavow
A Search Console file asking Google to ignore specific inbound links. Related terms and examples help teams apply Disavow without tool superstition.
Domain rating
A third-party score estimating backlink profile strength. Useful for triage, never the only placement gate—pair it with traffic, relevance and editorial.
E
E-E-A-T
Experience, expertise, authoritativeness and trust—quality signals Google emphasizes. Use this E-E-A-T note when briefing stakeholders or reviewing vendor.
Editorial link
A link earned inside genuine editorial content rather than paid or automated schemes. Written so SEO leads and agency PMs share one meaning of Editorial link.
G
H
L
Link equity
Ranking value passed from one page to another through links. See how Link equity shows up in audits, outreach briefs and monthly placement reports.
Link farm
A network of low-quality pages created primarily to exchange links. Use this Link farm note when briefing stakeholders or reviewing vendor claims.
Link velocity
The rate at which new backlinks or referring domains appear over time. Related terms and examples help teams apply Link velocity without tool superstition.
Listicle placement
Inclusion in numbered or “best of” roundup articles. Written so SEO leads and agency PMs share one meaning of Listicle placement on calls. W
LLM citation
When a large language model names or links to your brand as a source. Related terms and examples help teams apply LLM citation without tool superstition.
N
Niche edit
Adding a link to an existing published page when editorially appropriate. Written so SEO leads and agency PMs share one meaning of Niche edit on calls.
Nofollow
A link attribute telling crawlers not to pass ranking signals. See how Nofollow shows up in audits, outreach briefs and monthly placement reports.
O
P
R
Referring domain
A unique website that links to your domain at least once. We define Referring domain for practitioners comparing publishers, anchors and risk.
Review platform
Third-party sites where customers compare and review products. Related terms and examples help teams apply Review platform without tool superstition.
S
Share of voice
Your brand share of relevant coverage versus competitors across search, media and AI answers. Tracked with defined queries so leadership sees progress clearly.
Sponsored
A rel value marking paid or compensated links for transparency. Related terms and examples help teams apply Sponsored without tool superstition.
T
Topical authority
Perceived expertise a site holds for a subject area based on content and links. See how Topical authority shows up in audits, outreach briefs and monthly.
Toxic link
An inbound link from spammy or irrelevant sources that may harm trust. See how Toxic link shows up in audits, outreach briefs and monthly placement reports.
U
UGC
User-generated content; rel=ugc marks links in comments or forums. See how UGC shows up in audits, outreach briefs and monthly placement reports.
Unlinked mention
A brand citation on another site that does not hyperlink to you. Written so SEO leads and agency PMs share one meaning of Unlinked mention on calls.