Blogging Glossary

A backlink is a link from another website to your website, usually placed in a blog post or page with anchor text. Backlinks are a key SEO signal because search engines like Google may treat them as votes of trust. High-quality backlinks from relevant, authoritative sites can improve your domain authority, help your content rank higher in organic search, and bring referral traffic.

A branded keyword is a search term that includes a brand name, business name, or specific product name, such as RightBlogger, Lululemon, or Lululemon yoga pants. Branded keywords show high intent because people already know the brand and are looking for its website, reviews, pricing, support, or where to buy. In SEO, they help you protect your brand traffic and measure brand awareness.

A canonical tag is an HTML link tag (rel=canonical) that tells search engines which URL is the main, preferred version of a page when you have duplicate or very similar content. It helps prevent duplicate content issues, combines ranking signals, and guides Google to index the right page. Bloggers use canonical tags for copied posts, category pages, tracking links, or multiple URLs showing the same content.

A companion content is extra blog or social content made to support a main piece, like a podcast episode, YouTube video, webinar, or newsletter. It adds context, highlights key points, and gives resources such as show notes, summaries, transcripts, links, and FAQs. Companion content helps with SEO by targeting related keywords, keeps audiences engaged longer, and drives more traffic across platforms.

A Dead Internet theory is a conspiracy-style idea that much of today’s internet content and activity is made by bots and AI instead of real people. It claims many social media posts, comments, reviews, and even websites are automated, making online engagement feel fake. Bloggers mention it when talking about AI-generated content, bot traffic, trust, and how to spot authentic audiences.

An external link is a hyperlink on your blog or website that sends readers to a different domain, such as another website, article, video, or online resource. Bloggers use external links to cite sources, add helpful context, and improve user experience. When used well, external links can build trust, support SEO, and show search engines that your content is connected to reliable information.

A fractured intent is a mismatch between what your headline, thumbnail, or intro promises and what your blog post or video actually delivers. It happens when readers click expecting one outcome, but the content answers a different question. Fractured intent hurts SEO, increases bounce rate, lowers time on page, and reduces trust. Fix it by matching search intent, aligning the title and hook with the main points, and delivering clear value fast.

A guest blogging (guest posting) is a content marketing strategy where you write and publish a blog post on another website in your niche. It helps you reach a new audience, build backlinks for SEO, grow brand awareness, and earn authority as an expert. The host site benefits by getting fresh content and different ideas for readers.

An infographic is a visual content format that uses graphics, icons, charts, and short text to explain information quickly and clearly. Bloggers use infographics to simplify complex topics, share data, teach steps, and tell a story in an easy-to-scan design. A good infographic boosts engagement, supports SEO with shareable content, and can earn backlinks when it helps readers understand a key idea fast.

Internal linking is a blogging SEO practice of adding links from one page or post on your website to another related page on the same site. It helps search engines crawl and understand your content, spreads page authority, and improves site structure. Internal links also guide readers to helpful posts, increase time on site, and reduce bounce rate by making navigation easier.

A newsjacking is a content marketing and PR tactic where a blogger uses breaking news, trending topics, or viral social media conversations to publish timely content with a fresh angle. It helps boost visibility, search traffic, and engagement by joining a story people already care about. Good newsjacking adds real insight, matches your niche, and is published fast before the trend fades.

A NoFollow link is a hyperlink with a rel="nofollow" attribute that tells search engines not to pass SEO value (link equity) or PageRank to the linked page. Bloggers use NoFollow links for sponsored posts, affiliate links, ads, comments, and untrusted sources to help avoid spam and follow Google guidelines, while still letting readers click through to useful content.

A Noindex-Tag is a meta tag or HTTP header that tells search engines like Google not to index a web page, so it won’t appear in search results. Bloggers use it to hide thin content, duplicate pages, admin pages, thank-you pages, or staging pages while keeping the page live for visitors. It helps protect SEO by focusing indexing on your best content.

Search volume is an estimated number of times a keyword or search query is searched in Google (or another search engine) over a set time period, usually per month. It helps bloggers and SEO writers judge demand, compare keywords, and choose topics that can bring traffic. Higher search volume can mean more potential readers, but you should also consider keyword difficulty and search intent.

A sitemap is a file (usually XML) that lists the important pages, posts, images, and videos on a website and shows how they are related. It helps search engines like Google find, crawl, and index your content faster, especially on new or large sites. A sitemap can improve SEO by making sure key URLs are discovered and updated in search results.

A subdomain is a separate section of a website that uses its own address before the main domain, like blog.example.com. It helps you organize content such as a blog, shop, or help center while staying under the same main website and domain name. Subdomains can also support different designs, languages, or platforms, and they may affect SEO and site tracking depending on how you set them up.