Glossary

Local SEO Terms

40 essential terms for local search optimization, Google Business Profile, citations, reviews, and geographic targeting.

8Google Business Profile

Google Business Profile (GBP): Formerly Google My Business (GMB). Free tool to manage how your business appears on Google Search and Maps. Essential for local SEO.
GBP Categories: Business categories you select in Google Business Profile. Primary category is most important; additional categories add relevance for related searches.
GBP Attributes: Features and amenities you can highlight in your profile (wheelchair accessible, free Wi-Fi, outdoor seating). Help users and improve relevance.
GBP Posts: Updates, offers, events, and products you can publish directly to your Google Business Profile. Appear in your knowledge panel.
GBP Products/Services: Catalog of your offerings displayed in Google Business Profile. Include descriptions, prices, and images.
GBP Q&A: Questions and answers section on your GBP listing. Monitor and answer questions; you can also post and answer your own FAQs.
GBP Insights: Analytics showing how customers find and interact with your listing: search queries, views, actions, direction requests, calls.
Verification: Process of proving you own/manage a business location. Methods include postcard, phone, email, or instant verification.

Local Pack (Map Pack): The box of 3 local business listings with a map that appears for local searches. Prime real estate for local businesses.
Local Finder: Expanded list of local businesses accessed by clicking 'More places' in the local pack. Shows more results than the 3-pack.
Local Organic Results: Traditional blue link results below the local pack for local searches. Can include both local and non-local pages.
Knowledge Panel: Information box appearing on the right side of search results for businesses, showing GBP info, reviews, and details.
Near Me Searches: Queries including 'near me' or implying local intent. Have grown massively with mobile search. Example: 'pizza near me'.
Local Intent: When a search query implies the user wants local results, even without explicit location terms. Example: 'plumber' implies local intent.
Geo-Modified Search: Searches that include a specific location. Example: 'dentist in Chicago' or 'restaurants downtown Austin'.
Hyperlocal Search: Very specific location searches at neighborhood or street level. Example: 'coffee shop on Main Street'.

NAP: Name, Address, Phone Number. The core business information that must be consistent across all online listings for local SEO.
NAP Consistency: Having identical business name, address, and phone number across all citations and directories. Inconsistencies confuse search engines and users.
Citation: Any online mention of your business NAP, whether or not it includes a link. Important for local search rankings.
Structured Citation: Citations on business directories and listing sites where your NAP is entered in specific fields. Examples: Yelp, Yellow Pages, industry directories.
Unstructured Citation: NAP mentions in non-directory formats: blog posts, news articles, social media, or other web content.
Citation Building: The process of creating listings on relevant directories and platforms. Focus on quality, relevant directories over quantity.
Citation Cleanup: Finding and fixing inconsistent or duplicate NAP information across the web. Critical before pursuing new citations.
Data Aggregators: Services that distribute business data to multiple directories. Major ones: Data Axle, Localeze, Foursquare. Submitting here cascades to many sites.

Google Reviews: Customer reviews on your Google Business Profile. Significant ranking factor and trust signal for local search.
Review Velocity: The rate at which new reviews are acquired. Steady, ongoing reviews are better than sporadic bursts.
Review Response: Replying to customer reviews. Google recommends responding to all reviews; shows engagement and can influence potential customers.
Review Sentiment: The overall positive/negative tone of reviews. Sentiment analysis helps understand customer perception.
Star Rating: Average rating displayed prominently in search results. Businesses with higher ratings typically get more clicks.
Review Schema: Structured data markup for reviews that can enable star ratings in search results. Must follow Google's guidelines.
Third-Party Reviews: Reviews on platforms other than Google: Yelp, Facebook, industry-specific sites. Contribute to overall online reputation.
Review Gating: Prohibited practice of only asking satisfied customers for reviews or filtering negative feedback before it reaches review sites.

Proximity: Physical distance between the searcher and business. One of the three main local ranking factors (proximity, relevance, prominence).
Relevance: How well your business matches what the searcher is looking for. Optimized categories, descriptions, and content improve relevance.
Prominence: How well-known and authoritative your business is. Based on links, citations, reviews, and overall web presence.
Local Link Building: Acquiring backlinks from locally relevant sources: local news, community organizations, local business associations, sponsorships.
Local Content: Website content focused on local topics, events, landmarks, or area-specific information. Helps establish local relevance.
Service Area Business (SAB): Business that serves customers at their locations rather than at a storefront. Can hide address in GBP while showing service area.
Multi-Location SEO: Local SEO strategy for businesses with multiple physical locations. Requires individual GBP listings and potentially location pages.
Location Pages: Individual website pages for each business location, optimized with location-specific content, NAP, and schema markup.