Blogging Glossary: Common Blog, SEO and Monetization Terms

Originally published in 2012 and substantially updated in September 2026. The four original comments remain below-including readers who joked that they wanted to print the glossary for family members who did not understand blogger vocabulary.

Blogging has its own vocabulary, and nobody needs to feel embarrassed because they do not already know it.

This glossary covers common terms you are likely to encounter while building, growing and monetizing a blog. Some older terms from the original article have been removed or reframed because the technology around them has changed.

Blog and Website Basics

Blog - A website, or section of a website, that regularly publishes articles or posts. Blogs can be personal publications, parts of larger businesses or businesses themselves.

Post - An individual piece of published blog content, usually displayed with a publication date and included in blog archives.

Page - A more static piece of website content, such as an About, Contact, Privacy Policy or Start Here page.

Permalink - The permanent URL assigned to an individual post or page.

Slug - The editable portion of a URL that identifies a particular page or post. In example.com/blogging-glossary/, "blogging-glossary" is the slug.

Category - A broad way to organize related posts into major topics.

Tag - A more specific label that can connect posts around a narrower subject. Not every blog needs an extensive tag system.

Archive - A collection of posts grouped by category, date, author, tag or another organizing method.

Platforms, Hosting and Design

CMS - Content Management System. Software used to create and manage website content. WordPress is a widely used CMS.

WordPress - A content management system used to build websites and blogs. WordPress software installed on your own hosting is different from the hosted WordPress.com service.

Hosting - The service that stores and serves the files and data needed for your website to be available online.

Domain - The primary web address people use to reach a site, such as example.com.

Theme - A collection of templates, styles and functionality that controls much of a WordPress site's appearance and layout.

Plugin - Software added to WordPress to provide additional functionality, such as SEO tools, backups, security or forms.

Responsive design - A design that adapts to different screen sizes such as phones, tablets and desktop computers.

Content Terms

Evergreen content - Content designed to remain useful for a long period rather than depending entirely on a short-lived event or trend.

Cornerstone or pillar content - An important, comprehensive resource around a core subject your site covers. Terminology varies by publisher and SEO tool.

Guest post - An article contributed by someone other than the site's usual author or team.

Vlog - Video-focused publishing or a video blog. A person creating this content may be called a vlogger.

Podcast - An episodic audio program distributed digitally, often through podcast apps and websites. Some podcasts also publish video versions.

Repurposing - Adapting existing content into another format or angle, such as turning a blog post into a video, newsletter or social post.

SEO and Traffic Terms

SEO - Search Engine Optimization. The practice of making content and websites easier for search engines to understand and useful for people searching for relevant information.

Search intent - What a person is actually trying to accomplish when they enter a search query.

Keyword or keyphrase - A word or phrase associated with a topic people search for. Modern SEO is not about mechanically repeating a keyword a certain number of times.

Organic search traffic - Visits that come from unpaid search-engine results.

Internal link - A link from one page on your site to another page on the same site.

External link - A link from your site to a different website.

Backlink - A link to your website from another website.

Anchor text - The clickable words used in a text link. See Anchor Text for SEO for more detail.

Meta description - A short description associated with a page that search engines may use when displaying that page in search results. Search engines can choose different text.

Alt text - Text that communicates meaningful information about an image for people who cannot see it. It supports accessibility and can also help search engines understand relevant images.

Sitemap - A file or page that helps organize or identify website content. An XML sitemap is primarily designed to help search engines discover URLs.

Email and Audience Terms

Email list - A collection of subscribers who have signed up to receive email communication from you.

Lead magnet - A resource offered to encourage an appropriate email signup, such as a checklist, guide, template or mini-course.

Opt-in - A person's affirmative choice to subscribe or consent to receive particular communication.

Newsletter - Recurring email content sent to subscribers.

RSS - Really Simple Syndication. A standardized feed format that allows readers and services to receive updates from websites.

Subscriber - Depending on context, someone who follows an email list, paid membership, publication, feed or social subscription. Always check what "subscriber" means in the platform you are using.

Monetization Terms

Affiliate marketing - Earning a commission or other compensation when someone takes a qualifying action through a tracked affiliate relationship.

Affiliate link - A tracked link associated with an affiliate program. Affiliate relationships generally require clear disclosure.

Sponsored content - Content for which a creator receives compensation or another material benefit from a brand or organization. The relationship should be disclosed appropriately.

Brand partnership - A business relationship between a creator and a company that can include sponsored content, video, social content, licensing, appearances, affiliate work or other deliverables.

Ad network - A company or platform that helps publishers display advertising and earn revenue from it.

RPM - Revenue per thousand. A metric used in several forms of digital monetization to express estimated or actual revenue per 1,000 units such as pageviews, sessions or monetized views. The exact calculation depends on the platform.

Conversion - A desired action completed by a visitor, such as purchasing, subscribing, registering or submitting an inquiry.

Conversion rate - The percentage of relevant visitors or users who complete a defined conversion.

Analytics Terms

Pageview or view - A recorded view of a page. Exact definitions can differ by analytics platform.

User - A person or device/browser identity measured by an analytics system. It is an estimate, not necessarily a perfect count of individual humans.

Session - A group of interactions associated with a visit during a defined period. Analytics tools define session boundaries differently.

Referral traffic - Website traffic that arrives through links on other websites.

Engagement - A broad term for meaningful interaction. Depending on the platform it can include reading, watching, clicking, commenting, sharing or other behavior.

CTA - Call to action. The instruction or prompt that tells a reader what useful step they can take next.

Social and Creator Terms

Reach - The number of accounts or people a platform estimates were shown a piece of content.

Impressions - The number of times content was displayed. One person can generate more than one impression.

Engagement rate - A ratio intended to describe interaction relative to audience, reach, impressions or another denominator. Always check how the platform or reporting tool calculates it.

UGC - User-generated content. In creator-business conversations, "UGC creator" is also commonly used for creators hired to produce brand content that may be used on the brand's own channels or advertising, even when the creator does not publish it to their own audience.

Creator - A broad modern term for someone who produces digital content such as articles, videos, photography, newsletters, podcasts or social media.

Older Blogging Terms You May Still Encounter

Blogroll - A list of recommended blogs, once commonly displayed in a sidebar.

Trackback and pingback - Older mechanisms intended to notify a site when another site linked to its content. They are much less central to modern blogging and have often been associated with spam.

Jump break / Read More break - A point where a blog displays an excerpt and asks the reader to click through to continue reading.

Captcha - A challenge or verification system intended to distinguish legitimate users from automated abuse. Modern versions may use checkboxes, risk analysis or other methods rather than the distorted text puzzles common when this glossary was first published.

You Are Allowed to Ask What Something Means

Blogging vocabulary keeps changing. Even experienced publishers encounter unfamiliar terms when platforms introduce new metrics, advertising products and technology.

Understanding the idea is more important than pretending you already know the acronym.

If you are just getting started, continue with Start Here: Build a Blog That Supports Your Life and Easy SEO Tips for Beginners.