English for marketing agencies
SEO and content marketing English for teams with US clients
The words, phrases and calls SEO specialists, content marketers and editors use with US clients. Every term has an example. No promises, no invented numbers.
Book a trial classTechnical SEO vocabulary
| Term | What it means | In a sentence |
|---|---|---|
| crawl | When a search engine bot visits and reads pages on your site | Googlebot can't crawl the pages behind the login. |
| index | To store a page so it can appear in search results. Also the noun: the search engine's database | The new pages were indexed within a few days. |
| indexed vs not indexed | Whether a page is in the search engine's database or not | Half of the blog posts are not indexed yet. |
| XML sitemap | A file that lists the URLs you want search engines to find | We submitted the XML sitemap in Search Console. |
| robots.txt | A file that tells crawlers which parts of a site they may crawl | The staging site is blocked in robots.txt. |
| noindex | A tag that asks search engines not to show a page in results | Someone left a noindex tag on the pricing page. |
| canonical tag | A tag that points to the preferred version of similar or duplicate pages | Each filtered page has a canonical tag pointing to the main category. |
| duplicate content | Same or very similar content on more than one URL | The product pages have duplicate content across the two regions. |
| 301 redirect | A permanent redirect from an old URL to a new one | Set up a 301 redirect from the old blog to the new one. |
| 302 redirect | A temporary redirect | The 302 should be a 301, since the move is permanent. |
| redirect chain | One redirect that leads to another, and another | We found a redirect chain of four hops. |
| broken link / 404 | A link to a page that no longer exists (a 404 error) | The audit found 60 broken links [sample number]. |
| schema markup | Structured data added to a page so search engines understand its content | We added FAQ schema markup to the service pages. |
| rich result | A search result with extra elements, like ratings or images | The recipe pages are eligible for rich results. |
| Core Web Vitals | Google's page experience metrics for loading, interactivity and visual stability | Core Web Vitals are failing on mobile. |
| page speed | How fast a page loads | Page speed is our biggest technical issue. |
| mobile-first indexing | Google mainly uses the mobile version of a page to index and rank it | With mobile-first indexing, the mobile page has to have the same content. |
| hreflang | An annotation that tells search engines which language or region a page is for | We need hreflang tags for the US and UK versions. |
| crawl budget | How many pages a search engine will crawl on your site in a given time | Crawl budget matters more for very large sites. |
| internal link | A link from one page of your site to another | Add internal links from the blog to the service page. |
| HTTPS | The secure version of HTTP, shown as a lock in the browser | Every page should load over HTTPS. |
On-page and off-page SEO
| Term | What it means | In a sentence |
|---|---|---|
| on-page SEO | Work on the page itself: content, titles, headings, links | On-page SEO is done. Now we need links. |
| off-page SEO | Signals from outside your site, mainly links from other sites | Off-page SEO is slower, because it depends on other people. |
| technical SEO | Work that helps search engines crawl, render and index the site | Let's fix technical SEO before we publish more. |
| title tag | The page title shown in search results and browser tabs | The title tag is too long and gets cut off. |
| meta description | The short summary that may appear under the title in results | Google may rewrite the meta description. |
| heading (H1, H2) | The titles and subtitles inside a page | There should be one H1 per page. |
| alt text | A short description of an image, for screen readers and search engines | Please add alt text to every image. |
| URL slug | The last part of a URL that names the page | Keep the slug short: /seo-audit, not /the-complete-guide-to-doing-an-seo-audit. |
| anchor text | The clickable words of a link | Use descriptive anchor text, not click here. |
| backlink | A link to your site from another site | We earned a backlink from a trade publication. |
| referring domain | A different website that links to you (counted once, however many links) | We gained 12 referring domains this quarter [sample number]. |
| link profile | The overall set of links pointing to a site | Their link profile looks natural. |
| nofollow | A link attribute that tells search engines not to pass credit | Sponsored links should be marked nofollow or sponsored. |
| domain authority | A third-party score that estimates how well a site may rank. It is not a Google metric | Don't treat domain authority as a Google metric. |
| E-E-A-T | Experience, expertise, authoritativeness and trust: what Google's quality guidelines look for | Add author bios to strengthen E-E-A-T. |
Keyword research and the SERP
Search intent is the most useful idea here. Before you pick a keyword, look at what already ranks and what the person wants to do.
| Term | What it means | In a sentence |
|---|---|---|
| keyword research | Finding the words and phrases your audience searches for | The keyword research shows a gap in comparison content. |
| search volume | The estimated number of searches for a term in a period | The search volume is low, but the intent is strong. |
| keyword difficulty | A tool's estimate of how hard it is to rank for a term. Each tool scores it differently | The keyword difficulty is high for a new site. |
| long-tail keyword | A longer, more specific phrase, usually with less competition | We start with long-tail keywords. |
| search intent | What the person wants when they type a query | The page doesn't match the search intent. |
| informational intent | The person wants to learn something | How to do an SEO audit is informational. |
| navigational intent | The person wants to reach a specific site or page | Search for a brand name is usually navigational. |
| commercial intent | The person is comparing options before choosing | Best SEO tools for agencies is commercial. |
| transactional intent | The person is ready to buy or sign up | Buy running shoes online is transactional. |
| SERP | Search engine results page | We rank third on the SERP for that term. |
| SERP feature | A special element on the results page, like a map, video or answer box | The SERP features push the organic results down. |
| featured snippet | A highlighted answer at the top of the results, taken from a page | We can win the featured snippet with a clear definition. |
| People Also Ask (PAA) | A box of related questions that expand into answers | Let's use the People Also Ask questions as H2s. |
| zero-click search | A search where the person gets the answer on the results page and does not click | More zero-click searches mean fewer clicks even at the same rank. |
| ranking | The position of a page in results for a query | Our ranking for that keyword improved. |
| cannibalization | Two of your pages competing for the same query | These two posts are cannibalizing each other. |
| branded vs non-branded | Queries that include your brand name, or not | Most of the traffic is branded. |
Link building and digital PR outreach
Link building means earning links from other sites. Digital PR means getting coverage and mentions in the press and online, which often bring links. Outreach is the emails you send to make that happen.
Keep outreach short, personal and useful to the other person. Do not ask for a link in the first line, and do not promise anything about results.
Outreach email template:
Subject: An idea for your [topic] article
Hi [Name],
I read your piece on [topic]. The point about [specific detail] was useful.
We just published [resource], a [short description] based on [what it is built on]. It might be a helpful addition for your readers.
Here is the link: [URL]. Happy to send the key findings or answer questions.
Thanks for your time,
[Your name], [Company]
Follow-up template (about a week later):
Subject: Re: An idea for your [topic] article
Hi [Name],
Just following up in case my last email got buried. [One line about what is new or useful.]
If it's not a fit, no problem at all. Thanks for reading.
[Your name]
- Pitch: the idea you offer a journalist or editor.
- Press release: an official announcement sent to the media.
- Media kit: a folder with your logo, facts and contacts.
- Guest post: an article you write for another site.
- Broken link building: offering your page to replace a dead link on another site.
- Earned link: a link you did not pay for.
- Sponsored link: a paid link. It should be marked nofollow or sponsored.
- Reactive PR: quick expert comment on a news story.
Content strategy vocabulary
| Term | What it means | In a sentence |
|---|---|---|
| content strategy | The plan for what you publish, for whom and why | The content strategy starts with the audience. |
| topic cluster | A group of related pages that cover one subject and link to each other | We built a topic cluster around email deliverability. |
| pillar page | A long page that covers a broad topic and links to the cluster pages | The pillar page links to eight supporting posts. |
| editorial calendar | A schedule of what will be published, when and by whom | The editorial calendar is in the shared sheet. |
| content audit | A review of existing content to decide what to keep, update, merge or remove | The content audit shows a lot of thin pages. |
| thin content | Pages with little useful content | We merged the thin content into one guide. |
| refresh (update) | To update an existing piece so it stays accurate and useful | Let's refresh the top five posts before the new ones. |
| repurpose | To turn one piece into other formats | We repurposed the webinar into a blog post and three clips. |
| evergreen content | Content that stays useful over time | Evergreen posts keep bringing traffic. |
| gated content | Content people get after leaving their contact details | The report is gated. The summary is free. |
| lead magnet | A free resource offered in exchange for contact details | The checklist is our best lead magnet. |
| CTA (call to action) | The line or button that tells the reader what to do next | The CTA should be clearer: Get the checklist. |
| style guide | Rules for spelling, tone, formatting and terms | Check the style guide before you edit. |
| content brief | A short document that sets the goal, audience, keyword and outline of a piece | The writer follows the content brief. |
| buyer persona | A profile of a typical customer | We wrote the brief for the buyer persona in operations. |
| thought leadership | Content that shows expert opinion and original ideas | The CEO wants more thought leadership. |
| byline | The line that names the author of an article | The byline goes to the client's head of product. |
| draft / final draft | A version in progress / the version ready for sign-off | I'll send the first draft by Wednesday. |
Writing and editing for a US audience
US readers expect plain language. Short sentences, active voice, one idea per paragraph. Put the point first.
For headlines: be specific, lead with the benefit or the answer, and keep the target keyword near the start when it reads naturally.
| Heavy | Clear |
|---|---|
| Mistakes were made in the report. | We made mistakes in the report. |
| In order to utilize the tool, it is necessary to log in. | Log in to use the tool. |
| The optimization of your website is our priority. | We optimize your website. |
| Everything You Need to Know About SEO | SEO for small businesses: 7 steps to start |
| Content marketing is a strategy that is being used by many brands. | Many brands use content marketing. |
| US spelling | British spelling | Note |
|---|---|---|
| color | colour | US: color. Also favor, behavior, neighbor |
| optimize | optimise | US: -ize. Also organize, analyze, personalize |
| center | centre | US: -er. Also meter, theater (for the building) |
| localization | localisation | US: -ization. Also customization, standardization |
| analyze | analyse | US: -yze |
| license (noun and verb) | licence (noun) | US: license for both |
| defense, offense | defence, offence | US: -se |
| gray | grey | Both exist, gray is more common in the US |
| traveling, canceled | travelling, cancelled | US: one l |
| program | programme | US: program for everything |
| catalog | catalogue | US: catalog |
| e-mail or email | US style guides mostly write email, no hyphen |
| Format | US style | Watch out |
|---|---|---|
| Dates | US: month, day, year. 03/04/2026 is March 4, 2026. Write March 4, 2026 to be clear | In Argentina and the UK: day first. Check before you send |
| Numbers | US: comma for thousands, period for decimals. 1,250.50 | Spanish: 1.250,50. In English copy, flip it |
| Percent | Write 12 percent in text, 12% in charts and tables (check the client's style) | Space before the % is not used in English |
| Currency | $1,250 for US dollars. Write USD when other dollars are in play | Use [amount], not a real price, in templates |
| Time | 9 a.m. ET, 3 p.m. PT. Add the time zone | Buenos Aires is a different time zone from most US clients |
| Big numbers | 1 million, 1 billion (a billion is a thousand million) | Billion is not billón. It is mil millones |
Dialogue: an SEO audit results call
| Speaker | Line |
|---|---|
| Sam (client) | Thanks for joining. Let's start with the big picture. How did the audit go? |
| Lucía (SEO) | We found three main issues: indexing, page speed and duplicate content. I'll walk you through each one. |
| Sam (client) | Okay. Which one matters most? |
| Lucía (SEO) | Indexing. About a third of your blog posts aren't indexed yet [sample number], so they can't appear in search at all. |
| Sam (client) | Why is that happening? |
| Lucía (SEO) | Mostly two reasons. A noindex tag was left on a template, and the XML sitemap hasn't been updated since the redesign. |
| Sam (client) | Can you fix that quickly? |
| Lucía (SEO) | Yes. It's a small change for your developer, and I'll write the ticket today. After that, we'll resubmit the sitemap in Search Console. |
| Sam (client) | And page speed? |
| Lucía (SEO) | On mobile, the largest image takes too long to load, so Core Web Vitals are failing. Compressing the hero images should help. |
| Sam (client) | Will that improve our rankings? |
| Lucía (SEO) | It can help, but I can't promise a specific result. Speed is one of many signals, and it also improves the experience for visitors. |
| Sam (client) | Understood. What about the duplicate content? |
| Lucía (SEO) | Your filtered category pages create near-identical URLs. We'll add canonical tags so search engines know which version to use. |
| Sam (client) | How long until we see a difference? |
| Lucía (SEO) | Search engines need time to recrawl and reprocess the pages. Usually we start to see early movement in a few weeks, but it depends on the site. |
| Sam (client) | Okay. What do you need from us? |
| Lucía (SEO) | Developer access to the staging site and approval to change the templates. Could you confirm by Thursday? |
| Sam (client) | Sure. I'll ask our developer today. |
| Lucía (SEO) | Great. I'll send a summary with priorities and owners right after this call. |
Dialogue: a content brief walkthrough
| Speaker | Line |
|---|---|
| Nora (strategist) | Let's go through the brief for the new article. The goal is to bring in qualified leads, not just traffic. |
| Diego (writer) | Got it. What's the target keyword? |
| Nora (strategist) | How to write a project proposal. The intent is informational, and the top results are step-by-step guides. |
| Diego (writer) | Who is the reader? |
| Nora (strategist) | A first-time project manager at a mid-size company. Smart, but short on time. |
| Diego (writer) | What angle should I take? |
| Nora (strategist) | Practical and direct. Our point of view is that a short proposal gets approved faster than a long one. |
| Diego (writer) | Do we have an outline? |
| Nora (strategist) | Yes, in the doc. Use the People Also Ask questions as H2s, and answer each one in the first two sentences. |
| Diego (writer) | How long should it be? |
| Nora (strategist) | Long enough to answer the question well. Around [word count] is a guide, not a target. |
| Diego (writer) | What about links? |
| Nora (strategist) | Two internal links: the pillar page and the template download. Add external links only to sources you'd trust. |
| Diego (writer) | And the call to action? |
| Nora (strategist) | One CTA at the end: download the proposal template. It's our lead magnet. |
| Diego (writer) | Any style notes? |
| Nora (strategist) | American spelling, active voice, no jargon. Follow the style guide for the tone of voice. |
| Diego (writer) | When do you need the first draft? |
| Nora (strategist) | Wednesday by noon. I'll send edits within two business days. |
How to explain SEO timelines
Be honest and specific about the process. Never promise a ranking or a date. Describe what you will do, when you will report, and what early signs to look for.
| What you say | Add this to make it clear |
|---|---|
| It takes a few months to see results. | Search engines need time to find, crawl and evaluate changes. We usually review progress after [number] months. |
| It depends. | It depends on how competitive the topic is, how strong the site is today and how fast we can publish and fix things. |
| We can't guarantee rankings. | Nobody outside the search engine controls rankings, so we commit to the work and to the reporting, not to a position. |
| Why hasn't it worked yet? | Early signs to watch: more pages indexed, more impressions, more queries. Traffic usually follows. |
| It's a long-term channel. | Good content keeps working after it's published, and results build over time. |
| We are testing. | We change one thing, wait, and compare with the baseline before we change the next. |
Reporting phrases
Name the source, the period and the comparison. Say organic sessions from Analytics, and clicks and impressions from Search Console. Check your tool's exact labels before you report.
| Term | What it means | Example |
|---|---|---|
| organic sessions | Visits that came from unpaid search. This is an analytics term | Organic sessions were up [x] percent MoM. |
| impressions | In Search Console: how many times a page of your site appeared in results | Impressions grew, but clicks stayed flat. |
| clicks | In Search Console: how many times people clicked through to your site from results | Clicks from search increased on the blog. |
| CTR | In Search Console: clicks divided by impressions | The CTR is low, so let's test new titles. |
| average position | In Search Console: the average ranking of your site for a query or page | Average position moved from [x] to [y]. |
| queries | The searches that led to your site appearing in results | The top queries are mostly branded. |
| rankings | Where your pages appear for target keywords, usually from a rank tracking tool | Seven target keywords moved into the top 10 [sample number]. |
| conversions from organic | Goals completed by visitors who came from search | Organic conversions are flat, so we'll test the CTAs. |
| indexed pages | How many pages are in the search engine's index | Indexed pages went up after the sitemap fix. |
| year over year (YoY) | Compared with the same period last year, which avoids seasonality | Organic sessions are up YoY. |
Algorithm updates and traffic drops
A drop worries clients. Stay calm, diagnose first, and separate facts from guesses.
| The client says | You can answer |
|---|---|
| Traffic dropped [x] percent last week. | Let's find out why first. I'll check for tracking issues, seasonality, technical changes and any algorithm update. |
| Was it the Google update? | Google announced an update in that period, so it could be a factor. I'm checking which pages and queries changed, to see if the pattern fits. |
| Did we do something wrong? | I don't see anything yet. I'll confirm after I compare the affected pages with the changes we made. |
| Can you fix it fast? | I can fix technical errors fast. After a core update, recovery can take time and it isn't guaranteed. |
| What is the plan? | Three steps: diagnose, fix what's in our control, and keep improving the content. I'll update you on [day]. |
| Should we panic? | No. Small movements are normal. I'd watch a few weeks of data before drawing conclusions. |
Explaining SEO to non-technical clients
| Weak | Strong |
|---|---|
| We need to fix your crawl budget. | Search engines aren't finding some of your pages. We'll fix that. |
| Your bounce rate is bad. | Many visitors leave after one page. Let's see why, starting with the top pages. |
| We're going to rank you number one. | Our goal is to earn more visibility for the searches that matter to your customers. |
| Google hates duplicate content. | When two pages look the same, search engines have to choose one. We tell them which. |
| You need more backlinks. | Other trusted sites linking to you is a signal of trust. We'll earn those links with useful content. |
| Your site is slow. | The main image takes [x] seconds to load on mobile. Faster pages are better for visitors and for search. |
| The algorithm changed. | Google updated how it evaluates some pages. Here is what we saw on your site, and what we'll do. |
| Keywords are not converting. | People find you for these searches but don't take the next step. Let's improve the page they land on. |
| We do on-page and off-page. | We improve your pages, and we earn mentions and links from other sites. |
| SEO takes time. | We usually review progress after [number] months, and we'll report early signs each month. |
Spanish speaker traps in SEO and content
| Word | Sounds like | It really means |
|---|---|---|
| content | contenido / contents | Web content is uncountable: content is, not contents are. Contents is what is inside something, like a table of contents |
| copy | copia | the written text of a page or ad. A copywriter writes copy. It has nothing to do with copying a file |
| copyright | copia / derecho de copia | the legal right to a work. Not the same as copy, and not the same as copywriting |
| post | nota | a blog post or a social post. A note is short and personal, like a sticky note. For a press note, say press release |
| editorial | editorial | an opinion article in a newspaper. For the team or the process, say editorial team, editorial calendar |
| agenda | agenda (calendar) | a list of topics for a meeting. A schedule of content is an editorial calendar, not an editorial agenda |
| redaction | redacción (writing) | hiding parts of a text, like blacking out lines. For writing, say writing or copywriting. For a person who writes, say writer |
| keyword | palabra clave | same idea. Say keyword, and stress the first syllable: KEE-word |
| notes | notas | for a draft you edit, say comments or edits. Comments are the notes in the margin |
| actually | actualmente | in fact. For actualmente, say currently |
| assist | asistir (attend) | to help. To attend a webinar, say attend |
| resume | resumir | to start again. To summarize is summarize. A resume is a CV |
Pronunciation for Spanish speakers
| Word | Say it like this | Watch out |
|---|---|---|
| SEO | ess-ee-oh | Say the three letters, with stress on the last one |
| SERP | surp (rhymes with burp) | One syllable, not ser-pee |
| canonical | kuh-NON-ih-kul | Stress the second syllable |
| schema | SKEE-muh | The ch sounds like k |
| sitemap | SIGHT-map | Not see-tee-map |
| index | IN-decks | Stress the first syllable. Indexed: IN-deckst |
| queries | KWEER-eez | Starts with kw, like queen |
| cache | cash | It sounds like the money word, not ca-shay |
| analytics | an-uh-LIT-iks | Stress the third syllable |
| hreflang | H-ref-lang | Say the letter H, then ref, then lang |
| robots.txt | ROH-bots dot T-X-T | Say dot out loud, then the three letters |
| 302 and 301 | three-oh-two, three-oh-one | Say each digit, with oh for the zero |
Questions
- What is the difference between crawling and indexing?
- Crawling is when a search engine bot visits a page and reads it. Indexing is when the search engine stores the page so it can appear in results. A page can be crawled and still not be indexed.
- What is the difference between a 301 and a 302 redirect?
- A 301 is a permanent redirect. A 302 is temporary. Use a 301 when a page has moved for good.
- Does robots.txt stop a page from appearing in search?
- Not reliably. It tells crawlers what they may crawl. A blocked URL can still appear if other pages link to it. To keep a page out of results, use a noindex tag and let the page be crawled so the tag can be read.
- What is a canonical tag for?
- It tells search engines which URL is the preferred version when several pages are the same or very similar.
- What are Core Web Vitals?
- Google's metrics for page experience. They measure loading, interactivity and visual stability. Check Google's documentation for the current list and thresholds.
- What are the four types of search intent?
- Informational (to learn), navigational (to find a site), commercial (to compare) and transactional (to buy or sign up).
- What is a zero-click search?
- A search where the person gets the answer on the results page and doesn't click any result.
- What is the difference between impressions and clicks in Search Console?
- Impressions count how many times your site appeared in results. Clicks count how many times people clicked through to your site.
- What is a topic cluster?
- A group of related pages about one subject, linked to each other, usually around a pillar page.
- What is a content brief?
- A short document that gives a writer the goal, audience, keyword, outline and style notes for a piece.
- Should I use American or British spelling?
- Match your audience. For US clients use American spelling: color, optimize, center, localization. Check the client's style guide first.
- How do I write dates for a US audience?
- Month first: 03/04/2026 means March 4, 2026 in the US. In writing, spell the month out (March 4, 2026) to avoid confusion.
- Can I promise a client a ranking?
- No. Search engines control rankings. Promise the work, the reporting and the process, and describe results as goals.
- Is content countable in English?
- No. Say content is, not contents are. For a single item, say a piece of content.
- Is copy the same as copyright?
- No. Copy is the written text of an ad or page. Copyright is the legal right to a work.
Keep going
Want to practise this with Pili?
Book a trial class. She writes back with times in Buenos Aires time.
Book a trial class