Glossary
Key terms used throughout the SEO System.
This glossary defines the specific terms used across the SEO System. When UpSearch uses a term in a report or suggestion, this is what it means.
How to use this glossary
These definitions match how UpSearch uses each term in reports and chat. If you see a term and it feels ambiguous, start here.
Core search terms
Impressions. The number of times a page from your site appeared in Google search results for a query. An impression does not mean the user saw your result. It means your result was eligible in the result set. Source: Google Search Console.
Clicks. The number of times a user clicked through to your site from a Google search result. Source: Google Search Console.
CTR (Click-Through Rate). Clicks divided by impressions, expressed as a percentage.
Position. The average ranking position of your page for a query in Google Search Console. This is an average across all impressions.
Query. The search term a user typed into Google. In GSC, queries are the actual strings people searched for.
SERP (Search Engine Results Page). The page Google shows in response to a query. Includes organic results and other features.
Technical terms
Crawling. Googlebot discovers and fetches pages on your site.
Indexing. Google processes, renders, and stores a crawled page in its index.
Rendering. Google executes JavaScript to see the final content. Rendering can be delayed and imperfect.
Canonical. The URL Google considers the primary version of a page.
Crawl budget. How many URLs Googlebot will crawl on your site in a given period. Usually only relevant at large scale.
Index bloat. When Google indexes pages that should not be indexed, such as parameter variations or thin auto-generated pages.
Crawl trap. A URL pattern that generates near-infinite URLs, wasting crawl capacity.
Content terms
Topical authority. How much Google trusts your site as a reliable source for a topic area.
Search intent. The purpose behind a query. Common types: informational, navigational, commercial investigation, transactional.
Cannibalization. Multiple pages on your site compete for the same query.
Content decay. A page's search performance declines over time as the SERP changes, information becomes stale, or competitors improve.
Thin content. A page that does not satisfy the query it targets. Not a word-count concept.
Topic map. A structured plan that maps topics, pages, and their relationships.
Trust and authority terms
EEAT. Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness.
Backlink. A link from another website to yours.
Domain authority / Domain rating. Third-party estimates. Google does not use these metrics directly.
Brand signals. Indicators that your site represents a recognized entity.
UpSearch-specific terms
Evidence hierarchy. The order UpSearch should trust sources: GSC, GA4, live crawl, SERP observations.
Hard-stop. When UpSearch refuses to claim something because required evidence is missing.
Confidence level. A label derived from evidence strength, not optimism.
Delta. A difference between time periods used for decline detection.
Takeaway
If a report feels confusing, it is usually a definition problem. Check the term here before you change anything on the site.