REST API
A REST API (Representational State Transfer API) is an architectural style for web services that uses standard HTTP methods to enable communication between systems.
Reviewed by Alexander Yarovenko · Updated: 2026-06-21
What is a REST API?
A REST API (Representational State Transfer Application Programming Interface) is a web service that follows the REST architectural constraints. It uses standard HTTP methods — GET, POST, PUT, DELETE, PATCH — to expose data and functionality. REST APIs return data in structured formats, most commonly JSON, and are stateless: each request contains all the information needed to process it.
Core HTTP Methods
| Method | Purpose | Example |
|---|---|---|
GET | Read / retrieve | Get a list of blog posts |
POST | Create | Submit a new comment |
PUT | Replace / update (full) | Update an entire user record |
PATCH | Partial update | Update only a user's email |
DELETE | Remove | Delete a resource |
REST APIs and SEO
REST APIs intersect with SEO in several ways:
- Headless CMS / SPAs — sites rendering content via REST APIs may not serve HTML to crawlers, causing indexing problems. Always verify Googlebot can see the final rendered HTML.
- Third-party data — GSC API, GA4 API, and SEO tools (including SEOKit.biz) expose data via REST APIs for automation
- Structured data via API — some platforms inject JSON-LD via API responses; ensure schema markup is present in the server-side response
REST vs Other Paradigms
REST is one of several API styles. GraphQL allows clients to request exactly the fields they need (useful for performance). gRPC uses binary encoding for speed (common in microservices). For most web SEO tooling and integrations, REST remains the dominant standard.