Chapter Glossary

Chapter Glossary

Site Structure

The organisational framework that connects all pages on a website, including how they are linked to one another, how deep they sit within the hierarchy, and how consistently they are reachable from the homepage.

Crawlability

The degree to which a search engine crawler can access and follow links across a site. Pages that are not crawlable cannot be discovered through normal crawl processes.

URL Structure

The pattern and format of a page's web address. A clear URL communicates the topic and hierarchy of a page to both users and search engines before any content is read.

Information Architecture

The way content is organized and categorized across a site, including how topics relate to one another and how those relationships are expressed through navigation and linking.

Flat Architecture

A site structure where most pages are reachable within a small number of clicks from the homepage. Flat architectures are more efficient for crawlers and easier for users to navigate than deeply nested ones.

Breadcrumbs

A secondary navigation element that shows a user's position within the site hierarchy (for example, Home > Category > Article). Breadcrumbs serve user orientation, crawl efficiency, and eligibility for rich result display in search results.

Internal Linking

Links that connect one page on a site to another page on the same site. Internal links create crawl paths, distribute authority between pages, and signal to search engines which pages are related.

Anchor Text

The visible, clickable words inside a hyperlink. Anchor text carries a signal about the topic of the destination page that is independent of the destination page's own content.

Orphaned Page

A page that no other page on the site links to. Orphaned pages are difficult for crawlers to discover and receive no authority passed through internal links.

XML Sitemap

A file that lists a site's pages and submits them directly to search engines as a guide to what exists, rather than relying solely on link discovery. Accuracy is essential: a sitemap that includes broken or low-quality pages can reduce its own usefulness.

Robots.txt

A configuration file that instructs crawlers which parts of a site not to crawl. It controls crawl access only, not indexation. A page blocked by robots.txt can still be indexed if other sites link to it.

Indexation

The process by which a search engine adds a page to its index, making it eligible to appear in search results. A page must be crawled and evaluated before indexation can occur, but crawling does not guarantee indexation.

Search Console

A diagnostic tool provided by Google that shows how Google sees a site, including which pages are indexed, which are excluded, and what crawl errors have been recorded. It functions as a window into Google's view of a site's structure and health.

Crawl Budget

The amount of crawling activity a search engine allocates to a given site within a period of time. Sites with poor structure or many low-quality pages may find that crawlers spend their budget on unimportant pages rather than the ones that matter.

Rich Results

Enhanced search result formats that display additional information beyond a standard title and description, such as breadcrumb trails, star ratings, or FAQ entries. Eligibility for rich results depends partly on structured data markup.

Schema Markup

Structured data added to a page's code that helps search engines understand specific elements of the page, such as breadcrumb paths, product details, or article authorship, in a standardized format.

Noindex

A directive placed on a page that instructs search engines not to include it in their index. Unlike robots.txt, noindex allows crawling but prevents the page from appearing in search results.

Crawl Path

The sequence of links a crawler follows to move from one page to another across a site. Internal links, navigation menus, and sitemaps all contribute to the crawl paths available to a crawler.