1. What is query fan-out?
Query fan-out is the process where an AI search system splits one question into many related sub-queries, runs those searches in parallel, and writes a single combined answer from the results. Google has described query fan-out as the technique behind AI Mode: a question like “best CRM for a 20-person sales team” becomes separate searches for pricing, integrations, team-size fit, and reviews.
What to do: Query fan-out means a page competes for the sub-questions, not just the headline keyword. Cover the follow-up questions a buyer would ask (cost, setup time, alternatives, limitations) in clearly headed sections, so a page can be the source for several of the fanned-out searches instead of one.
2. What is information gain in SEO?
Information gain is the new information a page adds beyond what the pages already ranking for the same query say. The idea comes from a Google patent describing a score for how much a document adds over documents a searcher has already seen. A page that restates the top ten results has close to zero information gain, however well it is written.
What to do: Information gain comes from things competitors cannot copy: first-hand test results, your own numbers, screenshots of real implementations, a documented process, or a clear opinion with reasons. Before writing, read what already ranks and decide what the page will add that those results do not.
3. What is keyword cannibalization?
Keyword cannibalization is when two or more pages on the same website target the same search intent and compete with each other in search results. Google then has to guess which page to rank, often alternates between them, and splits links and engagement across both, so neither page ranks as well as one consolidated page would.
What to do: Keyword cannibalization shows up in Google Search Console as several of your URLs receiving impressions for the same query. Fix it by merging the overlapping pages into one stronger page and 301-redirecting the others, or by re-scoping each page to a clearly different intent and linking between them.
4. What is crawl budget?
Crawl budget is the number of URLs Googlebot can and wants to crawl on a site within a given period. Google defines it as a combination of crawl capacity (how fast the server can be crawled without strain) and crawl demand (how popular and frequently updated the URLs are). Google’s own guidance says crawl budget mainly matters for very large or fast-changing sites.
What to do: Crawl budget is wasted on duplicate, parameter, and redirecting URLs. Keep the XML sitemap limited to canonical, indexable pages, avoid long redirect chains, return real 404s for removed pages, and keep server response times fast so Googlebot spends its crawls on pages that matter.
5. What is index bloat?
Index bloat is when a search engine’s index of a website fills up with low-value URLs, such as filter and sort combinations, tag archives, internal search results, and thin pages, that were never meant to rank. Index bloat dilutes a site’s overall quality signals and spends crawl budget on pages that bring no traffic.
What to do: Index bloat is diagnosed by comparing the number of indexed pages in Google Search Console with the number of pages you actually want ranking. Remove or noindex thin and duplicate URLs, point parameter variants at a canonical URL, and keep low-value pages out of the sitemap.
6. What are striking distance keywords?
Striking distance keywords are search queries for which a page already ranks in positions 11 to 20, on the second page of Google, close enough that a focused improvement can move it onto page one. Because the page is already relevant in Google’s eyes, striking distance keywords are usually the fastest available traffic gains.
What to do: Striking distance keywords are found by filtering Google Search Console’s Performance report for queries with an average position between 11 and 20 and meaningful impressions. Improve that specific page: answer the query more directly, add the missing subtopics, tighten the title tag, and add internal links to it from related pages.
7. What is passage ranking?
Passage ranking is Google’s ability to rank a page for a query based on one specific section of it, even when the rest of the page is about something broader. Google announced passage ranking in 2020 and launched it for US English searches in 2021. Google still indexes whole pages; passage ranking changes how a single section can earn a ranking.
What to do: Passage ranking rewards long pages whose sections are clearly separated and self-contained. Give each section a descriptive heading phrased like the question it answers, and open the section with the direct answer, so the passage still makes sense when it is read on its own.
8. What is site reputation abuse?
Site reputation abuse is a Google spam policy against publishing third-party pages on a strong domain mainly to borrow that domain’s ranking signals, such as unrelated coupon, casino, or affiliate sections hosted on a news site. Google began enforcing the site reputation abuse policy in May 2024 and treats it as spam regardless of how good the hosted content is.
What to do: Site reputation abuse is avoided by keeping everything published on a domain within its real expertise and under its real editorial control. Do not rent out sections or subfolders of your site to unrelated third-party content, and do not try to rank thin pages simply because the domain is strong.
9. What is entity salience?
Entity salience is a measure of how central a specific entity (a brand, person, product, or place) is to a piece of text, as opposed to merely being mentioned in it. Google’s Cloud Natural Language API, for example, returns a salience score from 0 to 1 for each entity it detects, and a page about your brand should score your brand highest.
What to do: Entity salience improves when a page names its main entity explicitly and early, uses it as the grammatical subject of key sentences, and connects it to related entities. Back this up with Organization or Product structured data so search engines and AI systems resolve the entity the same way.
10. What is GEO (Generative Engine Optimization)?
Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) is the practice of structuring content so AI systems such as ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, Gemini, and Google AI Overviews cite it in their generated answers, not just rank it in a list of links. The term was introduced in a 2023 research paper by researchers from Princeton University, Georgia Tech, the Allen Institute for AI, and IIT Delhi.
What to do: GEO builds on SEO rather than replacing it. Allow AI crawlers in robots.txt, publish an llms.txt file, write self-contained answer-first passages, add structured data, and earn mentions on the platforms AI systems cite. Measure progress through AI referral traffic and by checking which AI answers cite your pages.
