How to ditch the jargon without sacrificing impact when talking about SEO

Sharlotte Briscoe • 27 September 2023

SEO is the backbone of the online world. It’s everywhere. Everyone’s heard of it but how many people actually understand it?

Apparently not many!

And if you’ve ever tried to explain SEO to anyone there’s a big chance you may have been met with a blank stare.

A gif of Stanley from The US Office rolling his eyes as a joke about using jargon on websites.


The world of SEO is full to the brim of jargon. But it can be difficult to break it down into digestible terms without losing the impact.

Need some ideas on how to keep your conversations non-SEO-specialist friendly? Well, we have just the tea!

The SEO struggle

Although everyone knows they need SEO, many have no clue what it really means, what it is and what it takes to create a robust strategy.

Did you know over  50% of small businesses  don’t have an SEO strategy, and 22% have no plans to create or implement one in the coming year?

But it just goes to show the lack of understanding around it and what it can do for a small business. That and the fact that many small businesses aren’t able to hire someone to take care of that side of the business for them. So it gets neglected and they miss out on all of the Search Engine goodness!

What is an SEO strategy?

In short, it’s a detailed plan to improve search engine rankings to encourage more organic traffic to the website.

A strategy will contain multiple aspects of SEO including:

Content
Technical SEO ( site structure, sitemap, mobile-friendliness and website speed ),
On-page SEO ( heading tags, internal links and content )
User experience ( How the site looks and feels to use ) and more!

So to help you, your customers & prospects alike without scrambling their brains. We’ve put together 9 scripts you can copy & paste, or use in your next client call to help you keep your SEO conversations jargon free.

Keywords & Keyword ranking

“A word or concept of great significance”

Now jargon free

A keyword is a word or phrase that can be used to help your website get found within a search engine. The keyword you choose would be something that people type into Google to find what they’re looking for. For example, if I wanted to go out for a coffee this weekend and wanted to find a cute, independent coffee shop. Then I’d type in something like:

  • Independent coffee shop derby

Or

  • Artisanal coffee shop derby

Then, the website that has those words or that phrase on their website multiple times, on different pages – will be the website to appear higher up when I search in Google. Thus, they will be getting my Macchiato order on Saturday! Simples

Bounce rate

“The percentage of visitors to a particular website who navigate away from the site after viewing only one page.”

Now jargon free

The percentage of people (out of the overall website visitors) that come to a website and leave after only viewing one page.

This may happen for a number of reasons. The website may not be what they’re looking for, or if the bounce rate is high, it could be to do with loading time, the website’s appearance or how accessible the website is.

Core web vitals

Core Web Vitals is a set of metrics that measure real-world user experience for loading performance, interactivity, and visual stability of the page.”

Now jargon free

Core web vitals are a measurement of how usable your website is. It looks at how quickly the website and website elements load, whether the buttons work, whether you can zoom in and out and whether the elements on the web page are stable as it is loading.

SSL Encryption

”SSL is the standard technology for securing an internet connection by encrypting data sent between a website and a browser (or between two servers)”

Now jargon free

SSL is a feature designed to protect data sent between a website and a browser. For example, when a customer fills in a contact form on your website and submits their personal information – this information is protected against being lost or stolen.

Heading tags

Header tags are HTML tags used to set apart headings and subheadings from the rest of the content on a webpage, in descending order of importance from H1 to H6”

Now jargon free

Heading tags are used as titles and section headers on a page. In order for them to be optimised properly they need to rank in order of importance from H1 to H6. With H1’s being the main page title. i.e the most important text.

H2 and H3 tags are commonly used as subheadings. H4, H5, and H6 tags may be used to create further structure within those subsections.

Page speed

“Page speed is the amount of time it takes between the browser’s request for a page until the browser completes processing and rendering the content.”

Now jargon free

The length of time it takes for all of the content, images, links etc to load completely on the website.

Web Accessibility

Web accessibility , or eAccessibility, is the inclusive practice of ensuring there are no barriers that prevent interaction with, websites on the World Wide Web by people with physical disabilities, situational disabilities, and socio-economic restrictions on bandwidth and speed”

Now jargon free

Web accessibility is the practice of making provisions within the build of your website that make sure that your information and services are readily accessible and available to all. Including those with disabilities.

Taking into account things like:

  • Alt text
  • Mobile and tablet responsiveness
  • Accessible hyperlinks
  • Suitable colour contrast
  • Adding captions to videos

Paid search / PPC

“PPC stands for pay-per-click. PPC is a form of paid online marketing where advertisers pay each time a user clicks on one of their ads.”

Now jargon free

Paid search is simply paying to get traffic to your website. It’s a form of digital marketing where search engines such as Google and Bing allow advertisers to show ads on their search engine results pages.

Site map

A sitemap is a blueprint of your website that helps search engines find, crawl and index all of your website’s content.”

Now jargon free

A sitemap is a place on your website where you list information on detail about the websites pages. Including the pages themselves, videos and other files on your site and the relationships between them.

Search engines will use the sitemap so they can crawl (scan) your website and understand its structure more easily.

Jargon-free SEO audits in just 60 seconds

Now, do you need a tool that gives you SEO audits that are as easy to understand as your new SEO conversation style?

Our comprehensive audit reports cover everything you need that is SEO related, and you can run one in only 60 seconds! Saving you significant time and effort while prospecting and leaving you more time to do what matters… Breaking down SEO and selling it!

Happy auditing!

 The Insites Team

A woman wearing headphones is sitting in front of a laptop computer.
by Izzy Fletcher 20 February 2025
Google just released generative AI for creating people in ads, and it's a game-changer for digital marketing agencies. This post breaks down how this feature helps your sales team close more deals, removes creative barriers for SMBs, and transforms the ad creation process. Learn specific ways to leverage this update to upsell ad services to your clients and position your agency as cutting-edge AI experts.
A person is holding a magnifying glass over a map on a laptop.
by Izzy Fletcher 19 February 2025
The problem for SMBs: Price wars and lost connections You might need to hold your clients hands when breaking this news because this isn't great news for small businesses. Here's why: Price becomes everything When services are presented side-by-side with only price and availability shown, businesses are forced to compete solely on price. This is especially problematic for service businesses that differentiate on quality, experience, or specialised expertise. Personal connections disappear 42.4% of Millennials and 55.9% of Boomers still rely on Google Search first when discovering products (according to GRIN survey data). But with this new feature, traditional direct phone conversations where businesses could build rapport and communicate value could vanish. Workload increases while conversion drops Business staff have to handle these AI calls like any other inquiry, but with: Zero information about the potential customer Likelihood of lower conversion due to price-shopping No opportunity to qualify the lead Potential for spam abuse (competitors wasting staff time) Now none of this ideal for SMBs, but it’s happening. So that’s where your sales team come in - they’re there to help them compete, rather than lose out based on ranking. This changes everything for your sales team If you're selling digital marketing solutions to SMBs, "Ask for Me" just handed you an incredible opportunity. Here's why your sales agents using Insites should be excited: 1. Creates genuine urgency that closes deals Unlike other Google updates that might seem abstract, this feature represents a tangible, easy-to-understand shift in how consumers find businesses. When you get prospects to understand that: Only top-ranked businesses will receive these automated calls Their competitors might already be getting these leads Businesses with no clear differentiators will get trapped in brutal price wars Suddenly, digital marketing services become an urgent necessity rather than a "nice to have." 2. Local SEO becomes critical If Google only calls businesses from the top Local Finder results, ranking well isn't just about visibility anymore - it's about being included in automated lead generation. Your sales agents can use Insites to: Show exactly where prospects rank in local search Use Local Grid to demonstrate which competitors are likely receiving these calls instead Quantify the potential revenue impact of missing these leads Create data-driven proposals with clear ROI potential 3. Opens new service opportunities "Ask for Me" creates specific new needs for SMBs that your team can address: AI-Readiness Audits : Only 18.8% of Gen Z consumers use Google as their primary product discovery tool (compared to 30.4% using Instagram and 23.2% using TikTok). But Google's new AI features could change those numbers dramatically. Sales agents can offer: Technical optimisation for AI crawlers Schema markup implementation Page speed improvements (critical for AI indexing) Local business metadata optimisation Differentiation Strategies : Help businesses stand out when traditional differentiators are removed through: Review management (star ratings become even more important) Content strategies that communicate unique value propositions Website optimisation for conversion once customers engage directly Response Protocols : Prepare businesses for handling these new AI-generated inquiries with: Staff training programs Scripts that effectively communicate value beyond price Follow-up strategies to convert price-shoppers How to use Insites to prepare clients Your sales team can leverage Insites to help SMBs prepare for this new reality with concrete, actionable steps: Run comprehensive local audits to identify where businesses stand in local search rankings. Analyse competitor performance using the Local Grid to understand who's receiving these automated calls. Identify specific optimisation opportunities across Google Business Profile, local citations, reviews and more. Create ongoing monitoring plans to track performance as AI features evolve. This is a sales opportunity, not a threat While "Ask for Me" creates challenges for SMBs, it represents a massive opportunity for digital marketing providers who can help businesses adapt. Your job? Nurture them through the shift. The local businesses that will thrive aren't those with the lowest prices—they're the ones working with solution providers to optimise SEO and AI search results. And that's exactly what Insites equips your team to deliver. To learn more about how Insites helps sales team, book a call with us today ! 👋 Happy selling
A person is holding a cell phone in their hand surrounded by social media icons.
by Coral Wood 17 February 2025
How customer reviews impact SMBs and how your sales teams can help with digital marketing solutions.
A group of people are having a video call with each other.
by Coral Wood 17 February 2025
What impact does social media search have on small-medium businesses and how can digital marketing solution providers leverage social media upselling in their pitch
A man is holding a pen and a notebook.
by Izzy Fletcher 17 February 2025
The framework and step-by-step method for train sales teams quicker and more efficiently
An illustrated man and a woman are sitting at a desk with laptops.
by Coral Wood 18 December 2024
AI-powered website audits are bringing cold calling back, particularly for enterprise digital marketing sales teams. The post How AI-powered website audits are transforming cold calls appeared first on Insites.
A cartoon man and a woman are holding a board with a graph on it.
by Coral Wood 11 December 2024
Is your enterprise sales team struggling to sell digital marketing solutions to SMB prospects? Minimise the complexity; here are the 7 metrics that will help them sell. The post 7 digital marketing metrics your enterprise sales team needs to close more deals appeared first on Insites.
An illustrated yellow arrow is pointing up on a pink and black background to demonstrate an increase to demonstrate sales increase.
by Izzy Fletcher 4 December 2024
If managing the sales process is one of your biggest challenges, ask yourself: what could be automated? Too often, mid-large agencies with extensive sales teams let their sale reps spend more time on admin tasks, internal meetings, and lead qualifying, rather than on delivering value to customers. But remember: people buy from people. Your sales […] The post The growing need for sales automation in agencies appeared first on Insites.
Black Friday with a no entry symbol over the top to signify 'no Black Friday'
by Izzy Fletcher 28 November 2024
Forget our usual sales and productivity hacks – this week we’re doing something different… You might be wondering why we’ve been highlighting small businesses this week as part of our Anti-Black Friday campaign on LinkedIn. Let me give you some context… Insites is a SaaS tool but our founder Andrew created Insites with a genuine […] The post Anti-Black Friday – 25 small & sustainable businesses to support instead appeared first on Insites.
A header image with 'Black Friday' scribbled out and replaced with 'Small Business Saturday.'
by Coral Wood 25 November 2024
A few years ago, one of my favourite independent jewellery brands, Cult of Youth, felt the need to put a post out on Instagram about why they’re not doing Black Friday. The justifications were as expected; they already had tight margins, they couldn’t cope with increased volume because they were a one-woman band, and so […] The post Why this Black Friday you should support small instead appeared first on Insites.
Show More