Local SEO Glossary

Aggregate Rating

The overall rating for a business calculated by averaging all individual reviews. Often displayed as stars (e.g., 4.5 out of 5).

Algorithm

The complex set of rules search engines use to determine which results to show and in what order. Google's local algorithm considers factors like relevance, distance, and prominence.

Apple Business Connect

Apple's platform for managing how your business appears on Apple Maps, Siri, and other Apple services.

Formerly: Apple Maps Connect

Attributes

Specific characteristics or features of your business on Google Business Profile (e.g., "wheelchair accessible," "free Wi-Fi," "outdoor seating").

Backlink

A link from another website to your website. Quality backlinks from relevant, authoritative sites boost your search rankings.

Bing Places

Microsoft's business listing platform, similar to Google Business Profile. Powers local search results on Bing, Cortana, and some voice assistants.

Bounce Rate

The percentage of visitors who leave your website after viewing only one page. High bounce rates may indicate poor user experience.

Business Category

The classification that describes what your business does on platforms like Google Business Profile. Your primary category significantly impacts which searches you appear for.

Citation

Any online mention of your business's name, address, and phone number (NAP). Citations can be structured (in directories) or unstructured (in articles).

Core Web Vitals

Google's set of metrics measuring user experience: LCP (loading speed), INP (interactivity), and CLS (visual stability). These are ranking factors.

CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift)

A Core Web Vital measuring visual stability - how much page content unexpectedly shifts during loading. Target is 0.1 or less.

Data Aggregator

Companies like Data Axle, Localeze, and Factual that collect and distribute business information to hundreds of directories and platforms.

Domain Authority

A score (typically 0-100) predicting how well a website will rank in search engines. Higher authority sites provide more valuable backlinks.

Duplicate Listing

Multiple listings for the same business location on a single platform. Duplicates confuse search engines and should be removed.

E-E-A-T

Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. Google's quality guidelines for evaluating content and websites.

Entity

A uniquely identifiable thing or concept that search engines can understand. Your business is an entity with properties like name, location, and type.

Featured Snippet

A highlighted answer box that appears at the top of Google search results, pulled from a webpage that answers the search query.

GBP (Google Business Profile)

Google's free tool for managing how your business appears on Google Search and Maps.

Formerly: Google My Business, Google Places

Geo-Grid

A method of testing local search rankings from multiple geographic points around a business location to understand true local visibility.

Also: Rank Grid, Local SEO Grid

Google Posts

Mini-blog posts you can publish directly to your Google Business Profile. Types include Updates, Events, Offers, and Products.

Hyperlocal

Targeting a very small, specific geographic area such as a neighborhood, street, or even individual building.

Implicit Search

A search query without an explicit location that Google interprets as having local intent (e.g., "pizza delivery" is assumed to mean nearby).

INP (Interaction to Next Paint)

A Core Web Vital measuring how quickly a page responds to user interactions. Target is 200ms or less.

Keyword

A word or phrase that describes what someone searches for. Local keywords often include a service + location (e.g., "plumber Austin TX").

Knowledge Panel

The information box that appears on the right side of Google search results showing details about a business, person, or entity.

LCP (Largest Contentful Paint)

A Core Web Vital measuring how quickly the largest content element loads. Target is 2.5 seconds or less.

Local Pack

The box showing 3 local business listings with a map that appears in Google search results for queries with local intent.

Also: Map Pack, 3-Pack, Snack Pack

Local SEO

The practice of optimizing a business's online presence to attract more customers from local searches.

LocalBusiness Schema

Structured data markup that tells search engines your website represents a local business, including its name, address, hours, and type.

Mobile-First Indexing

Google's practice of primarily using the mobile version of a website's content for indexing and ranking.

NAP

Name, Address, Phone number. The core business information that must be consistent across all online listings.

Also: NAPW (includes Website)

"Near Me" Search

A search query that explicitly includes "near me" (e.g., "coffee shop near me"). These searches rely heavily on the user's location.

On-Page SEO

Optimization done directly on a website, including content, HTML tags, and page structure.

Organic Search

Non-paid search results that appear based on relevance to the search query, as opposed to paid advertisements.

PageSpeed

How quickly a web page loads. Google's PageSpeed Insights tool measures this and provides optimization suggestions.

Primary Category

The main business category on Google Business Profile. This has the strongest impact on which searches you appear for.

Prominence

One of Google's three main local ranking factors. How well-known and authoritative your business is, based on reviews, links, and mentions.

Proximity

One of Google's three main local ranking factors. How close your business is to the searcher's location.

Relevance

One of Google's three main local ranking factors. How well your business listing matches what someone is searching for.

Review Response

Replying to customer reviews on platforms like Google. Responding to all reviews (positive and negative) is a best practice.

Rich Results

Enhanced search results that include extra information beyond the standard title and description, enabled by structured data markup.

Also: Rich Snippets

Schema Markup

Structured data code (usually JSON-LD) added to web pages to help search engines understand the content and enable rich results.

Also: Structured Data

Service Area Business (SAB)

A business that travels to customers rather than receiving them at a physical location (e.g., plumbers, landscapers).

SERP

Search Engine Results Page. The page showing results after a search query.

3-Pack

See: Local Pack. Called 3-pack because it shows 3 local businesses by default.

Title Tag

The HTML element that specifies the title of a web page. Shows in browser tabs and search results.

TTFB (Time to First Byte)

The time it takes for a browser to receive the first byte of data from a web server. A key performance metric.

Unstructured Citation

A mention of your business NAP in flowing text (like a news article) rather than a structured directory listing.

User-Generated Content (UGC)

Content created by customers, including reviews, photos, Q&A, and check-ins.

Verification

The process of proving you own or represent a business to claim a listing. Methods include postcard, phone, email, video, or live call.

Voice Search

Searching by speaking rather than typing, using assistants like Siri, Google Assistant, or Alexa. Often used for local queries.

Zero-Click Search

A search where the answer is displayed directly in the search results, so the user doesn't need to click through to a website.