Blogging Glossary

A backlink is a link from another website that points to your blog or web page, usually through clickable anchor text. A backlink signals to search engines like Google that your content is useful and trustworthy, which can improve your SEO and search rankings. High-quality backlinks from relevant, authoritative sites help drive organic traffic, grow your blog’s visibility, and strengthen your overall link-building strategy.

A branded keyword is a search term that includes your brand name, blog name, or a specific branded product or service. In SEO, branded keywords show that people already know your brand and are looking directly for you, such as “RightBlogger tools” or “Lululemon leggings.” Targeting branded keywords helps bloggers track brand awareness, control search results, and turn loyal readers into repeat visitors and customers.

A canonical tag is a small piece of HTML code (rel="canonical") that tells search engines which URL is the main version of a page. A canonical tag is used in SEO to prevent duplicate content problems, combine ranking signals, and make sure the correct page shows in search results. A canonical tag is important for blogs that reuse, reorganize, or republish similar content across multiple URLs.

Companion content is a supporting piece of content that adds extra value to a main blog post, podcast, video, or social media post. It can include show notes, summaries, guides, checklists, transcripts, or bonus resources that deepen understanding and boost engagement. In blogging and content marketing, companion content helps keep readers on your site longer, improves SEO, and builds a stronger relationship with your audience.

A Dead Internet theory is a conspiracy theory that claims most of the internet is “dead,” meaning real human users and authentic content have been replaced by bots, AI-generated posts, and automated engagement. In blogging, the Dead Internet theory raises concerns about fake traffic, low-quality AI content, and misleading metrics, making it harder for bloggers to reach real readers and build genuine online communities.

An external link is a hyperlink in your blog post that sends readers to another website, page, or online resource. An external link is used to add trusted sources, extra information, or helpful tools that you do not host on your own site. External links are important in blogging and SEO because they build credibility, improve user experience, and can help search engines understand your content.

A fractured intent is a mismatch between what a blog post or video promises and what the content actually delivers. Fractured intent happens when the headline, thumbnail, or keyword targets one need, but the article answers a different question. This confuses readers, hurts user experience, lowers click-through and engagement, and can damage SEO, search rankings, and audience trust over time.

A guest blogging is a content marketing strategy where a blogger writes and publishes a blog post on another website in the same or related niche. Guest blogging is used to reach a new audience, build backlinks for SEO, grow brand authority, and create relationships with other bloggers, helping both the guest author and the host blog increase traffic and credibility.

An infographic is a piece of visual content that turns complex data, ideas, or processes into easy-to-understand graphics using images, icons, charts, and brief text. An infographic is a powerful blogging and content marketing tool that helps you explain information quickly, boost reader engagement, increase social media shares, and improve SEO by making your blog posts more useful, memorable, and link-worthy.

Internal linking is a blogging and SEO strategy where you link from one page or blog post on your website to another page or post on the same site. An internal link helps search engines understand your site structure, spreads link authority, and keeps readers on your site longer. A smart internal linking strategy can improve user experience, boost keyword rankings, and increase organic traffic.

Newsjacking is a blogging and content marketing strategy where you quickly create content around breaking news or trending topics to get more traffic, shares, and backlinks. By adding your expert take to a popular story, you make your blog more relevant, boost SEO, and increase brand visibility. Effective newsjacking is fast, timely, and aligned with your audience’s interests.

A NoFollow link is a type of hyperlink that tells search engines not to pass PageRank or SEO authority to the page it points to. In blogging and SEO, a NoFollow link is created by adding the rel="nofollow" attribute to the HTML link, which helps bloggers control outgoing link juice, reduce spam, and manage which external websites benefit from their site’s backlink profile.

A noindex-tag is an HTML meta tag that tells search engines not to index a specific page, so it will not appear in search results. A noindex-tag is used in SEO to hide thin, duplicate, private, or low-value content while keeping the page accessible to users. A noindex-tag helps bloggers control which pages boost their overall website quality and search engine rankings.

A search volume metric is an estimate of how many times people type a specific keyword or phrase into a search engine like Google each month. In blogging and SEO, search volume helps you judge keyword popularity, plan content topics, and choose the best keywords to target so you can attract more organic traffic and grow your blog audience.

A sitemap is a simple file that lists all the important pages, posts, and media on your blog so search engines like Google can find, crawl, and index them more easily. A sitemap helps improve SEO, makes sure new content is discovered faster, and reduces the chance of important pages being missed, which can boost your blog’s visibility and search rankings.

A subdomain is a section of a website that appears before the main domain name, like blog.example.com or shop.example.com. It lets you organize content into clear areas without buying a new domain. In blogging, subdomains are often used for blogs, stores, or support pages, helping with site structure, user experience, branding, SEO, and content management.