The terms, in plain English.

Most SEO trouble starts with a term nobody defined. This glossary explains the words behind search, AI answers and website upkeep in plain language, with the official documentation linked where it exists. Each entry ends with what it means for a small business, and every definition is short enough to quote.

Reviewed October 5, 2026. Prices are quoted per project; nothing on this page is a published price list.

AI and answer engines

AI search optimisation

Preparing content so AI answer systems can find, understand and quote it accurately.

Google AI Overview

An AI-generated summary at the top of some Google results, above the list of links.

llms.txt

A plain-text index at your site root that tells AI models which pages exist and what the site is about.

Structured data

Standardised markup (usually JSON-LD with schema.org) that tells search engines what a page is about.

Your website's health

Canonical URL

The master address of a page, set with <link rel="canonical">, so duplicate versions consolidate.

Core Web Vitals

Three real-user measurements — LCP, INP, CLS — that quantify page experience.

SEO (search engine optimisation)

Improving a website so it appears more often, and more prominently, in search results.

XML sitemap

A file listing a website's pages so search engines can discover and crawl them.

Working with a studio

Website redesign

Rebuilding a site's presentation — structure, type, imagery — while the business stays the same.

Website maintenance

The recurring work that keeps a live site healthy: updates, monitoring, backups and fixes.

Questions

Why a glossary?

Because a shared vocabulary makes quotes, briefs and reports shorter — and it is the part of a studio's site an AI assistant is most likely to quote verbatim. If a term here saved you a search, it has done its job.

Do you apply these things to my site?

Yes. Every Firmitas page carries what this glossary describes: a self-referencing canonical, JSON-LD structured data, a fresh sitemap entry and a 40-70 word direct answer at the top. We build it the way we describe it.

Are these definitions official?

Where a standard exists — Google Search Central, schema.org, the llms.txt spec — we link to the primary source. Anything stated as our own practice is labelled as ours, and nothing here is a promise of rankings or AI placement.

Tell us what you need. Send a few rough lines and we will come back with a scope, a fixed price and a delivery date in writing.

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