Local SEO glossary
Every Google Business Profile and local SEO term explained in one line.
- Google Business Profile (GBP)
- Google's free business listing that appears on Google Maps and in Search, formerly called Google My Business.
- Local pack (map pack)
- The box of usually three businesses with a map that appears for local searches like 'dentist near me'.
- Knowledge panel
- The large panel showing a business's details, photos and reviews when someone searches its name.
- Primary category
- The single category that best describes what your business mainly is; widely considered the strongest on-profile ranking factor.
- Secondary category
- Additional categories for other services you genuinely offer.
- Relevance
- How well a business profile matches a search — one of Google's three official local ranking factors.
- Distance (proximity)
- How far the business is from the searcher or the location in the search.
- Prominence
- How well known and trusted a business is, based on reviews, links, articles and overall web presence.
- NAP
- Name, Address and Phone number — should be identical everywhere your business is listed.
- Citation
- Any online mention of your business's name, address and phone, such as Justdial or Bing Places.
- Review velocity
- How many new reviews a business receives over time; a steady flow signals an active business.
- Review gating
- Only asking customers you expect to be happy for reviews — prohibited by Google.
- Incentivised review
- A review given in exchange for a discount, gift or reward — against Google's policies.
- Fake engagement
- Reviews or other content not based on a genuine experience; can lead to profile restrictions.
- Profile restriction
- A penalty where Google may block new reviews, unpublish reviews or show a warning after fake engagement.
- Suspension
- When Google disables a profile for violating guidelines or failing to confirm legitimacy.
- Verification
- The process of proving you own or manage a business, often by video in India.
- Service-area business (SAB)
- A business that serves customers at their location and can hide its address while setting service areas.
- Attributes
- Profile details like 'accepts UPI', 'wheelchair accessible' or 'women-led' that help filters and AI answers.
- Special hours
- Temporary opening hours for holidays and festivals.
- Google Posts
- Short updates, offers or events published on a Business Profile.
- Map pin
- The exact point where your business appears on Google Maps; it should sit on your entrance.
- Performance (Insights)
- Business Profile statistics: views, searches, calls, directions and website clicks.
- UTM link
- A website link with tracking parameters so analytics shows visits that came from your Business Profile.
- LocalBusiness schema
- Structured data code on a website that describes a local business to search engines.
- Structured data
- Machine-readable code (usually JSON-LD) that helps search engines understand page content.
- Ask Maps
- Google's Gemini-powered conversational search inside Google Maps, launched in March 2026 in the US and India.
- AI Mode
- Google Search's conversational AI experience that can recommend local businesses in answers.
- AI Overviews
- AI-generated summaries at the top of some Google Search results.
- GEO (generative engine optimisation)
- Making your information easy for AI systems to understand, trust and cite.
- AEO (answer engine optimisation)
- Structuring content as clear questions and answers so search and AI tools can use it directly.
- Grid rank tracking
- Checking rankings from many points on a map to see how visibility changes with distance.
- Keyword stuffing
- Adding extra keywords where they don't belong, such as in a business name — risky and against guidelines.
- Duplicate listing
- More than one profile for the same business at the same location; should be removed or merged.
- Suggested edits
- Changes to your profile proposed by Google users or Google itself; check your profile regularly.
- Review link
- A short link that opens the Google review form for your business directly.
- QR review poster
- A printed QR code that opens your review link when scanned.
- Owner response
- A business's public reply to a review.
- Local SEO
- Improving visibility for location-based searches on Google Maps and Search.
- Udyam registration
- India's MSME registration; a useful business document for verification and trust.