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Understand the measurements behind a search decision, including what each value can and cannot tell you.
A crawler requests a URL to discover or read its content.
Crawler access depends on robots.txt, server responses and authentication. An allowed robots rule does not prove a request succeeded or that the page was indexed.
A search engine processes a page and may include it in its search index.
Crawling and indexing are separate. Noindex directives, canonical selection, content quality and other factors affect inclusion. Check Google's reported status in Search Console URL Inspection; a sitemap does not guarantee indexing.
The preferred URL for a page when similar versions exist.
A rel=canonical link identifies the version you prefer. It is a signal rather than a command. Keep internal links and sitemap URLs consistent with the preferred page; Google may select a different canonical.
Machine-readable markup describing information on a page.
JSON-LD can describe a business or other supported content. Markup must match the visible information and follow relevant requirements. Valid syntax does not guarantee a rich result, star rating or improved ranking.
A public file describing crawl rules for specified crawler tokens.
Allow and Disallow rules control compliant crawling, not privacy. A blocked URL can still be known to a search engine. Use authentication for private content and allow crawling when a crawler needs to read a noindex directive.
A directive requesting that a page stay out of a search engine's index.
It can be provided through a robots meta tag or an X-Robots-Tag response header. The crawler must be able to read the directive. Noindex does not protect confidential information or replace authentication.
The absolute difference between two percentages.
A CTR change from 5% to 4% is a decrease of one percentage point, or a 20% relative decrease. Label the unit so that the two types of change are not confused.
Observed mentions or links in an AI-powered search response.
Record the query, provider and date when reviewing an observation. Responses can vary. Clear public content and search fundamentals remain useful, but no schema, special text file or individual observation guarantees future citations.
The share of recorded impressions that produced a click.
Divide clicks by impressions and multiply by 100. For example, 5 clicks from 100 impressions is 5%. Compare matching filters; a change in CTR does not identify its cause.
How often a link to your site was shown in a Google report.
Counting depends on result type and aggregation. An impression is not a unique person, visit or conversion. Compare the same property, search type and filters.
A recorded search-result position, often averaged across impressions.
Search Console averages the topmost position of your property or page. It varies across queries, devices and locations. A position number does not reliably identify a results page or its visual prominence.
A provider estimate of competition for a search phrase.
Different providers use different scales and methods. Use it to compare estimates within one source, then review relevance and current results. It is not a Google score or a prediction that your site will rank.
An estimate of searches for a phrase in a market and period.
Check the provider, country, period and matching method. A low count does not mean low intent. Estimates can omit niche queries and should not be treated as an exact audience size or promised traffic.
A link from another website to a page on yours.
Review the linking page, relevance and link attributes. Counts alone do not establish quality or ranking impact. Provider indexes differ, and an absent link in one report does not prove it was removed.
A distinct domain containing one or more links to your site.
Several links from one domain can increase the backlink count without increasing the referring-domain count. Compare values from the same provider and observation date.
Measures of loading, interaction and visual stability.
LCP measures loading, INP interaction responsiveness and CLS layout stability. Field data reflects real visits; lab tests simulate conditions. These help assess experience but good scores do not guarantee a search outcome.
A lab auditing tool for performance, accessibility and other checks.
Results depend on test conditions and the page tested. A high score does not prove every accessibility issue is solved or predict rankings. Review findings alongside real-user data. Parked scanning workflows are not activated by this glossary.
Google reports about your site in Search and related surfaces.
Use its performance and indexing reports to investigate changes. Clicks and analytics sessions measure different events. Mapseen account connections require authorised access and configured integrations.
A search engine results page.
Results may include organic links, ads, local listings, images and AI features. Layout varies by query, place and device. A saved rank observation describes a particular check rather than everything a visitor sees.
A highlighted answer selected from a web page.
Google selects these results automatically. Clear, useful content can be considered, but a specific format does not guarantee selection, placement or a click-through-rate improvement.
A relevant topic your website may not cover adequately.
Competitor research can suggest topics to investigate. Validate the audience need, relevance and existing content before creating another page. A keyword difference alone is not evidence that publishing will be useful or profitable.
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