A/B Test
A controlled comparison of two versions of a page or ad, where traffic is split and the difference in outcome is measured rather than assumed.
Above the Fold
The part of a page visible without scrolling. The term comes from newspapers and survives because the first screen still carries most of the decision.
AEO vs SEO
Not a choice between two things. SEO decides whether a page can be found at all; AEO decides whether its content can be extracted and reused in an answer. Full definition, examples and application
We work on this: Answer Engine Optimization (AEO)
Agentic Commerce
Buying carried out by an AI agent on a person’s behalf, from comparison through to checkout. It shifts the audience for product data from a shopper to a machine.
We work on this: eCommerce Platform and Experience Consulting
AI Crawler
A bot that fetches pages for an AI company rather than a search engine. Each is separately named and can be allowed or blocked independently of Googlebot.
AI Mode
Google’s fully conversational search experience, where the result is a dialogue rather than a page of links. A different surface from AI Overviews, with different sourcing.
AI Referral Traffic
Visits arriving from an AI assistant rather than a search results page. Usually small, usually under-attributed, and not the main point of AI visibility work.
AI Visibility
How present a brand is across AI-generated answers: whether it is cited, whether it is named, and how often, against a fixed set of questions.
We work on this: Generative Engine Optimization (GEO)
Alt Text
The written description of an image, read by screen readers and used by search engines. Required for accessibility, and still the most reliable way an image’s meaning reaches a crawler.
We work on this: Web Accessibility Compliance Solution
Anchor Text
The visible, clickable words of a link. It tells both people and search engines what the destination is about, which is why generic wording wastes the signal.
Answer Engine Optimization (AEO)
Structuring content so an AI answer engine can extract it and reuse it when responding to a question. Measured in citations and mentions rather than clicks. Full definition, examples and application
We work on this: Answer Engine Optimization (AEO)
Answer-First Formatting
Putting the answer immediately under the question, then the detail. The opposite of building up to a conclusion, and the format answer engines extract most reliably. Full definition, examples and application
We work on this: On-Page SEO Services
Attribution
Assigning credit for a sale or lead to the marketing that produced it. Always incomplete, and increasingly so as more discovery happens inside AI answers.
We work on this: Analytics and Reporting
Average Order Value (AOV)
Revenue divided by number of orders. The quietest lever in ecommerce, because raising it needs no additional traffic.
Back to the full glossary, or read how we build them in From Zero to Hero.