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Glossary

Local SEO and AI search glossary

The words agencies, Google and AI tools use, explained in plain English. Each one links to a page that goes deeper, so you can follow up on the ones that matter to your business.

0–9

301 redirect
A permanent redirect that sends visitors and search engines from an old web address to a new one. It carries most of the old page's ranking value across, which is why every changed URL needs one during a redesign.Website redesign →

A

AI Overviews
Google's AI-written summaries that appear above the regular results for some searches. They are built from several web pages and link to their sources, so clear and specific pages have the best chance of being one of them.AI search optimization →
AI search optimizationalso called AI SEO
Work that helps AI assistants such as ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity find accurate facts about your business and name it when someone asks for a recommendation.AI search optimization →
Answer engine
A tool that replies to a question with a written answer instead of a list of links, such as ChatGPT, Perplexity or Google's AI Mode.Does ChatGPT recommend your business? →

C

Canonical URL
The address you tell search engines is the main version of a page when the same content can load at more than one URL. It keeps ranking signals from being split between copies.Website design →
Citationalso called Local citation
Any online listing that shows your business name, location or service area and phone number, such as Yelp, Bing Places, Apple Business Connect or an industry directory. Matching details across citations help search engines trust them.Local SEO →
Click-to-call
A phone number link that dials when it's tapped on a phone. On Google profiles and mobile websites it's often the main way local leads arrive.Google Business Profile management →
Core Web Vitals
Google's three measures of page experience: how fast the main content loads, how quickly the page responds to a tap and how much the layout jumps while it loads.Website design →

E

E-E-A-T
Short for experience, expertise, authoritativeness and trustworthiness: the qualities Google's quality guidelines ask reviewers to look for in a page and in the business behind it.National & AI search SEO →
Entity
A business, person, place or thing that search engines and AI models recognize as one distinct item with facts attached. Consistent details on your site, profile and listings help them treat your business as one entity instead of several.AI search optimization →

G

Generative engine optimizationalso called GEO
Another name for AI search optimization: shaping your content and online presence so generative AI tools quote you and recommend you in their answers.AI search optimization →
Geo-grid scanalso called Map scan, Grid rank tracking
A ranking check that runs the same search from many points on a map grid around your business. It shows where you appear in the map pack and where you drop out of it.Local SEO →
Google Business Profilealso called GBP, Google My Business
The free listing that shows your business on Google Search and Google Maps, with hours, photos, reviews, services and posts. It was called Google My Business until 2021.Google Business Profile fixes →
Google Posts
Short updates, offers and event announcements published on your Google Business Profile. Regular posts keep the profile current and give searchers another reason to call.Google Business Profile management →

I

Indexing
When a search engine stores a page in its database so it can appear in results. A page that isn't indexed can't rank, however good it is.Website design →

K

Keyword
A word or phrase people type or say into a search engine. Local keywords usually pair a service with a place, such as "roof repair Doylestown".Local SEO →

L

llms.txt
A plain-text file at the root of a website that gives AI tools a short, structured summary of the business and links to its most useful pages.AI search optimization →
Local landing pagealso called City page, Location page
A page about your service in one specific town, with details that are true for that place. It helps a business that serves many towns show up in each of them.Service areas →
Local SEO
Improving how a business shows up when people search with local intent, like "plumber near me", across Google Maps, the map pack and the regular results.What local SEO costs →

M

Map packalso called Local pack, 3-pack
The block of three businesses with a map that Google shows for local searches. Most of the calls that come from local search go to these three spots.How Google picks the map pack's top 3 →
Meta description
The short summary under a page's title in search results. It doesn't change rankings by itself, but it has a big effect on whether people click.Website design →
Mobile-first indexing
Google judges your site by its mobile version, so anything missing or broken on phones counts as missing everywhere.Website design →

N

NAPalso called NAP consistency
Name, address and phone number. Search engines compare these details across your website, Google profile and listings, so they should match exactly everywhere.Local SEO →

O

Organic results
The regular, unpaid search results that appear below the ads and the map pack.National & AI search SEO →

P

Primary category
The one category on your Google Business Profile that best describes your business. It is one of the strongest signals for which searches your profile appears in.Google Business Profile fixes →
Prominence
How well known and trusted Google thinks a business is, judged from reviews, mentions and links around the web, and how often people search for it by name. It is one of Google's three local ranking factors, with relevance and distance.How Google picks the map pack's top 3 →
Proximityalso called Distance
How far a business, or the edge of its service area, is from the person searching. You can't change it, which is why relevance and prominence matter so much.How Google picks the map pack's top 3 →

R

Relevance
How closely a business profile matches what someone searched for, based on its categories, services, description and reviews.How Google picks the map pack's top 3 →
Review response
A public reply from the business to a customer review. Thoughtful replies show future customers you listen and add useful detail that Google can read.How to respond to Google reviews →
Review velocity
How steadily new reviews arrive over time. A steady trickle looks more trustworthy than a burst followed by months of silence.Google Business Profile management →
robots.txt
A file that tells search engine and AI crawlers which parts of a website they may visit. One wrong line in it can hide an entire site from Google.Website maintenance →

S

Schema markupalso called Structured data
Code added to a page that labels facts such as your business type, hours, services, prices and FAQs, so search engines and AI tools can read them reliably.Website design →
Search intent
What the person searching is actually trying to do: learn something, compare options or hire someone now. Pages rank best when they match it.National & AI search SEO →
Service-area businessalso called SAB
A business that serves customers at their location, like a plumber or a cleaning company, rather than at a storefront. Google lets these businesses hide their street address and list the areas they serve instead.Service areas →

T

Title tag
The clickable headline of a page in search results and the text on its browser tab. It is one of the clearest on-page signals of what a page is about.Website design →

X

XML sitemap
A file listing the pages on your site that you want search engines to find, often with the date each one last changed.What a small business website costs →

Z

Want to know where you stand on all of this?

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