Glossary

Plain-English meanings of the SEO and SerpPal words you meet in the app, from analysis and content score to SERP, keyword difficulty, entities and AI words.

Short, plain explanations of the words you see in SerpPal. Use your browser's find (Ctrl + F) to jump to a word.

#SEO words

#Keyword

The search you want your article to show up for, for example best vpn for gaming. One analysis is for one keyword.

#SERP

Search engine results page: the list of results Google shows for a search. The SERP tab in the editor lists the pages SerpPal read for your keyword.

#Search volume (Searches/mo)

About how many times a month people search for a keyword in the chosen country. Shown in the Content Planner.

#Keyword difficulty

A number from 0 to 100 that estimates how hard it is to reach page one for a keyword. In the planner it is green below 30, amber from 30 to 59 and red from 60.

#CPC

Cost per click: what advertisers pay on average for one click on a Google ad for that keyword. A high CPC often means the search has buying intent.

#Search intent

What the searcher wants. SerpPal uses four kinds:

• Informational: wants to learn ("what is a vpn").
• Commercial: compares options before buying ("best vpn for gaming").
• Transactional: ready to buy or sign up ("free vpn download").
• Navigational: looking for a specific site or brand.

#Long-tail keyword

A longer, more specific search with fewer searches but often less competition, like vpn for gaming pc instead of vpn.

#Cluster (group)

A set of related keyword ideas in the Content Planner. Each group is named after its biggest keyword.

#People also ask

The questions Google shows for a search. SerpPal lists them in the Questions tab.

#Related searches

The searches Google suggests at the bottom of the results. SerpPal shows them as "Next articles to write".

#AI Overview

The AI-written answer Google shows above the results for some searches.

#Internal link

A link from one page of your site to another page of your site. External links point to other sites.

#Sitemap

A file (usually /sitemap.xml) that lists the pages of a website. SerpPal reads it to suggest internal links.

#Meta description

The short summary under your title in Google results. Aim for 120 to 160 characters.

#SerpPal words

#Analysis

What SerpPal does when you enter a keyword: it reads the top Google results and builds the brief. Each one counts toward your monthly analyses. See Analyze a keyword.

#Brief

Everything an analysis gives you: terms, topics, questions, target length, score target and the competitor pages. See Reading the brief.

#Writer's brief

A read-only web page with the brief, which you can send to a writer as a link.

#AI topic brief

A short AI summary of what a complete article must cover, with importance from 1 to 10, the intent, the best content type, title ideas and an angle to stand out.

#Content score

A score from 0 to 100 for how well your article covers what the top pages cover: terms, topics, structure, length, title and meta. It updates as you type. See Content score.

#Score target

The score to aim for on a keyword, between 60 and 85. It is based on how well the competitor pages score.

#Terms

Words and phrases the top pages use, with a recommended range (for example 3 to 6 times). Basic terms are the most important; extended terms add depth.

#Topics

Subjects the top pages cover, usually found in their headings.

#Entities (names)

Brands, products, people and places the top pages mention.

#Competitors

The ranking pages your recommendations come from. By default, the first 10 pages SerpPal could read. See Choosing competitors.

#Rebuild

Recalculating the brief from a different set of competitors, without a new Google search.

#Cache ("Ready, from cache")

When someone analyzed the same keyword, country and language recently, SerpPal reuses those Google results instead of fetching them again. It is just as accurate and ready faster.

#Stage

Where an article is in your workflow: To do, Writing, Review or Done.

#Project

A folder for the articles of one website or client, with its own default country, language, team, brand kit and connected sites. See Projects.

#Brand kit

Your voice, audience, company facts, products and writing rules. The AI follows it in that project. See Brand kit.

#Target URL

The web address of the published article. Used for rank tracking and schema markup.

#Rank tracking

Checking where your target URL ranks on Google for the keyword, now or every week. See Rank tracking.

#Ranking chance

An estimate of how likely your site is to reach page one for a keyword, based on how strong your site is next to the sites ranking now.

#AI visibility

Whether Google's AI Overview and AI assistants mention your brand when asked about your keyword. See AI visibility.

#Bulk writing

Letting the AI write whole articles for many keywords at once, right after their analyses. See Bulk writing.

#Keyword plan

One search in the Content Planner. Counts toward your monthly keyword plans.

#AI words

The number of words AI tools write for you. Your plan has a monthly limit. See Plans and limits.

#Humanize

Making AI-sounding text read more naturally. See Humanizer.

#Editor and viewer

The two roles you can give team members. Editors can write, analyze and use AI. Viewers can read and comment. See Team members.

#Connection

A website (WordPress, Shopify, Ghost, Webflow or a webhook) linked to a project so you can publish to it. See Publishing overview.

#MCP

Model Context Protocol: a way for AI assistants like Claude or Cursor to use your SerpPal account. See What is MCP?.