Web Development & Marketing Glossary

Sowonweb clearly defines the IT and marketing terms that can feel difficult. To apply these terms in practice, see our integrated SEO/AEO/GEO optimization service.

SEO (Search Engine Optimization): The strategy of improving technical and content factors so a website ranks highly on search engines such as Google and Naver. It covers crawling, indexing, keyword analysis, backlinks, site speed, and more.
AEO (Answer Engine Optimization): A modern marketing strategy that structures content and data so your information appears accurately and preferentially in AI chatbots such as ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Claude, or in generative AI answers from search engines.
GEO (Generative Engine Optimization): The practice of optimizing so that when AI models learn and summarize your website content, your brand's core message and value are conveyed without distortion.
On-Page SEO: SEO techniques that optimize elements within a web page: title tags, meta descriptions, heading structure (H1–H6), image alt attributes, internal links, and keyword placement.
Off-Page SEO: SEO activities performed outside the website: acquiring backlinks from other sites, social media signals, brand mentions, and guest posting.
Technical SEO: Optimizing a website's technical elements so search engine crawlers can easily crawl and index it. This includes sitemaps, robots.txt, page speed, and mobile friendliness.
Local SEO: A search engine optimization strategy targeting a specific region. Key elements include Google Business Profile, Naver Place registration, local keyword optimization, and consistent NAP (name, address, phone).
E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness): Google's criteria for evaluating content quality: Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. It is especially important in YMYL (Your Money Your Life) areas such as health and finance.
SERP (Search Engine Results Page): The results screen shown when a user enters a query, composed of organic results, paid ads, rich snippets, and featured snippets.
Rich Snippet: An enhanced search result that shows extra information such as ratings, prices, FAQs, or images beyond the basic title, URL, and description. Applying structured data (Schema.org) increases the chance of display.
Featured Snippet: A summary answer box shown at the very top of Google search results. Also called "Position Zero," it selects content that directly answers the user's question.
AI Overview (SGE): A Google feature that displays an AI-generated summary answer at the top of search results. Evolved from SGE (Search Generative Experience), it is a core target of AEO/GEO optimization.
RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation): A technique in which an AI model retrieves information from an external knowledge base in real time to generate more accurate answers. The more structured your site content is, the more likely it will be cited as an accurate source in RAG-based AI answers.
AI Crawler: An automated program such as GPTBot, ClaudeBot, or PerplexityBot that visits websites to collect training data for AI models. Access can be allowed or restricted in robots.txt, and it is a key element to manage in GEO strategy.
AI Hallucination: The phenomenon where an AI model generates inaccurate or false information as if it were fact. Providing accurate brand data through GEO optimization can reduce hallucinations.
Responsive Web Design: A design approach where a single website automatically adapts to various screen sizes such as desktop, tablet, and mobile. It uses CSS techniques such as media queries and fluid grids.
SSR (Server-Side Rendering): Generating a web page's HTML on the server in advance and delivering it to the client (browser). Initial loading is fast and search engine crawlers can easily recognize the content, which favors SEO.
SSG (Static Site Generation): Generating all HTML pages in advance at build time and serving them from a CDN. There is no server load, loading is very fast, and security is high. Supported by Next.js, Hugo, and others.
CSR (Client-Side Rendering): Generating pages dynamically by running JavaScript in the browser. Used in React SPAs and similar, it can have slow initial loading and be unfavorable for SEO, so combining it with SSR/SSG is recommended.
Core Web Vitals: Key metrics Google created to evaluate a web page's user experience (UX). Composed of loading speed (LCP), interaction latency (INP), and visual stability (CLS), they directly affect search rankings (SEO).
LCP (Largest Contentful Paint): The time it takes for the largest content element (image, video, text block, etc.) on a page to appear on screen. Under 2.5 seconds is the "good" threshold, and it is a core Core Web Vitals metric.
INP (Interaction to Next Paint): The latency from an interaction to the next paint. It measures how long the browser takes to update the screen after a user interaction such as a click or tap. Under 200ms is the "good" threshold, and it is a new Core Web Vitals metric replacing FID.
CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift): A metric measuring the degree of unexpected layout shifts during page loading. 0.1 or less is the "good" threshold, and major causes include unspecified image sizes and dynamic ad insertion.
Partial Hydration: A technique used in Islands Architecture. Instead of rendering the entire page with JavaScript, only the specific components that need interactivity are selectively activated, improving initial loading speed.
CDN (Content Delivery Network): A system that delivers content from the location closest to the user via servers distributed worldwide (edge servers). Cloudflare and AWS CloudFront are representative, and it improves loading speed and defends against DDoS.
SSL/TLS (HTTPS): A security protocol that encrypts data transmitted between a website and its users. HTTPS is a Google ranking factor and is essential for user trust and privacy protection. It is enabled via an SSL certificate.
CMS (Content Management System): Software that lets you create, edit, and manage website content (posts, images, pages, etc.) without coding knowledge. WordPress, Keystatic, and Strapi are representative examples.
Headless CMS: A CMS structure where the backend (content management) and frontend (display) are separated. It delivers content via API, so the same content can be distributed to web, apps, IoT, and more. Keystatic, Contentful, and Sanity are examples.
WordPress: The most popular open-source CMS, used by over 40% of websites worldwide. With tens of thousands of themes and plugins, it can build corporate sites, blogs, online stores, and more.
Cafe24: A leading Korean e-commerce platform offering free hosting and an all-in-one payment, order, and shipping management system. It excels at marketplace integration with Naver Smart Store and Coupang, and is widely used for self-hosted malls.
Structured Data (Schema.org): A standardized code format (mainly JSON-LD) that helps search engines and AI clearly understand a web page's content. Marking up FAQs, reviews, and local business info enables display as rich snippets in search results.
JSON-LD (JavaScript Object Notation for Linked Data): A standard format for expressing structured data, and the markup method Google most recommends. It is inserted as JSON inside an HTML <script> tag and can be managed independently of page content.
Semantic HTML: A markup approach that expresses document structure clearly using the meaning of HTML tags. Using tags such as <header>, <nav>, <main>, <article>, <section>, and <footer> helps search engines and screen readers understand content accurately.
Sitemap: An XML file listing all page URLs of a website. It tells search engine crawlers the site structure to aid efficient crawling and indexing, and is submitted via Google Search Console.
robots.txt: A text file placed in a website's root directory that controls the access scope of search engine crawlers and AI crawlers. It can specify paths to allow or disallow crawling.
Canonical Tag: An HTML tag that tells search engines which URL is the representative page when identical or similar content exists at multiple URLs. It is essential for preventing SEO penalties from duplicate content.
CTA (Call to Action): A behavior-inducing element: buttons, banners, or links that encourage website visitors to take a specific action (inquire, purchase, download, etc.). A clear, prominent CTA directly affects conversion rate (CVR).
CVR (Conversion Rate): The percentage of website visitors who complete a desired goal action (purchase, inquiry, sign-up, etc.). For example, if 3 of 100 visitors inquire, the conversion rate is 3%. It can be improved with UX improvements, CTA optimization, and A/B testing.
CTR (Click-Through Rate): The ratio of actual clicks to impressions in search results, ads, emails, and more. A high CTR means the title and description match user intent well, and it is a key SEO performance metric.
Bounce Rate: The percentage of visitors who leave immediately without navigating to another page. A high bounce rate can signal that content does not meet user expectations or that UX is poor.
Landing Page: The first page a user sees after arriving via an ad, email, or social media. It is designed and optimized for a specific goal (consultation request, product purchase, etc.) and is a key element for improving conversion rate.
A/B Testing: An experimental methodology that tests two or more variants (design, copy, CTA placement, etc.) simultaneously and selects the higher-performing version based on data. It is a core technique of conversion rate optimization (CRO).
UI/UX (User Interface / User Experience): UI refers to the visual elements of the screen the user directly encounters (buttons, menus, layout, etc.), while UX is the overall experience a user feels while using a product or service. Good UI/UX directly affects conversion rate and customer satisfaction.
PG (Payment Gateway): An electronic payment agency service. It intermediates so that online stores can integrate various payment methods such as credit cards, simple payments (KakaoPay, NaverPay, etc.), and bank transfers. KG Inicis, NHN KCP, and Toss Payments are representative.
E-commerce: Electronic commerce: all activities of buying and selling goods or services over the internet. Types include B2C, B2B, and C2C, and it is built on platforms such as Cafe24, Shopify, and WooCommerce.
DNS (Domain Name System): A system that converts a domain name (e.g., example.com) into a server's IP address. When a user enters a domain, DNS finds and connects to the server's location. Cloudflare DNS and Route 53 are examples.
CI/CD (Continuous Integration / Continuous Deployment): An automated pipeline that automatically tests, builds, and deploys code changes. Using GitHub Actions, GitLab CI, and similar streamlines the development-to-deployment process.
PM2: A Node.js process manager. It runs server applications reliably in the background and provides automatic restart, load balancing, and log management. It is an essential tool for operating Node.js apps in production.
Web Accessibility (WCAG): A design principle ensuring that all users, including people with disabilities and the elderly, can use web content equally. It follows the WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines), and in Korea it is mandatory for public institutions under the Anti-Discrimination Against and Remedies for Persons with Disabilities Act.
WAI-ARIA (Accessible Rich Internet Applications): An accessibility standard defined by the W3C: a set of HTML attributes (role, aria-label, etc.) that improve the accessibility of dynamic web content and complex UI components. It is used to convey correct information to screen reader users.
Cross-Browser Compatibility: Ensuring a website works and displays identically across browsers such as Chrome, Safari, Firefox, and Edge. It is addressed with techniques such as CSS compatibility, JavaScript polyfills, and vendor prefixes.
Google Search Console: A free SEO analysis tool provided by Google. It shows impression and click data by keyword, index status, crawling errors, and Core Web Vitals scores, and offers sitemap submission and URL inspection.
Google Analytics (GA4): A free tool for analyzing website visitor behavior. It provides visitor counts, page views, traffic sources, user behavior flows, and conversion data, and is essential for data-driven marketing decisions.
IndexNow: An instant indexing protocol supported by Microsoft (Bing), Yandex, and others. When website content changes, it notifies search engines immediately to prompt fast indexing — far faster than waiting for a crawler visit.
OG Tags (Open Graph Tags): A meta tag protocol developed by Facebook that specifies the title, description, and image shown when a web page is shared on social media. Most platforms, including KakaoTalk, Twitter (X), and Slack, use OG tag information.
Tailwind CSS: A utility-first CSS framework. By combining predefined classes (e.g., flex, p-4, text-lg) to style directly in HTML, it enables fast development and automatically removes unused CSS (tree shaking).
Markdoc: A Markdown-based content authoring framework developed by Stripe. It adds extensions such as custom components, tags, and variables to the simplicity of Markdown, enabling structured content authoring.
API (Application Programming Interface): A standardized interface for exchanging data between applications. In forms such as REST API and GraphQL, it is used for communication between frontend and backend, and with external services.