Local SEO Glossary — 70 Terms Every Indian Business Owner Should Know (Plain-English Definitions)

Quick answer: Local SEO is the work of helping nearby customers find your business on Google Search, Google Maps and AI-powered search. The core terms to know are: Business Profile (your free Google listing), local pack (the top 3 map results), relevance, distance and prominence (Google's main local ranking factors), NAP (name, address, phone consistency), citations (mentions on other sites), reviews and review velocity, categories, service-area business, schema markup and Performance insights. This glossary explains 70 terms in plain English.

Agencies and tools use a lot of jargon. Knowing these terms helps you understand reports, ask the right questions and avoid being misled.

A–C

AI Overviews — AI-generated summaries at the top of some Google searches that may mention local businesses. See AI search for local businesses.

Alt text — A text description of an image for accessibility and search (image SEO).

Attributes — Profile features like "wheelchair accessible", "women-led" or "delivery" (attributes).

Backlink — A link from another website to yours (local link building).

Branded search — A search for your business name.

Bulk verification — Verifying many locations at once for chains (multiple locations).

Business Profile (GBP) — Your free Google listing on Search and Maps, formerly Google My Business (complete guide).

Canonical URL — The main version of a page Google should index.

Category (primary/secondary) — What your business is; the primary category is a key relevance signal (categories).

Citation — A mention of your business name, address and phone on another website or directory (NAP citations).

Click-to-call — A phone link that dials on tap.

Conversion / key event — A valuable action like a call, WhatsApp click or booking (GA4).

Core Web Vitals — Google's page experience metrics: loading, responsiveness, visual stability (website speed).

CTR (click-through rate) — Percentage of people who click after seeing you.

D–G

Description — The "from the business" text on your profile (description examples).

Directions requests — Taps on "Directions" in your profile; a strong walk-in signal.

Distance (proximity) — How far you are from the searcher or searched place (proximity).

Duplicate listing — Two profiles for the same business (duplicates).

E-E-A-T — Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness — concepts Google uses to describe helpful, reliable content (E-E-A-T for local).

Entity — Something Google understands as a distinct thing — your business, brand or founder (entity SEO).

Geogrid — A grid of ranking checks around your location (geogrid tracking).

Geotagging photos — Adding GPS data to images; widely believed to help but not confirmed as a ranking factor (local SEO myths).

Google Search Console — Free tool showing how your website appears in Google Search (Search Console).

Google updates (profile) — Changes Google or users suggest to your profile (edits pending).

H–L

Hidden address — Address not shown publicly, for service-area businesses.

HTTPS / SSL — Secure website connection (HTTPS).

Hyperlocal — Marketing focused on a small area, like a neighbourhood (hyperlocal ideas).

Impressions / views — How many times your profile or page was shown.

Indexing — Google storing your page so it can appear in results.

Internal link — A link from one page on your site to another.

Keyword — Words people search for (local keyword research).

Keyword stuffing — Unnaturally repeating keywords, e.g., in your business name — against guidelines (name rules).

Knowledge panel — The information box about a business or brand on Google (knowledge panel).

Landing page — A page built for a specific campaign or service (landing pages).

Local finder — The full list of businesses after clicking "More places".

Local Guides — Google's program for users who contribute reviews and photos (Local Guides).

Local pack (map pack, 3-pack) — The map with ~3 businesses on Search (local pack).

LocalBusiness schema — Structured data describing your business on your website (schema guide).

M–P

Manager / owner (profile roles) — Access levels on your Business Profile (managers and owners).

Map pin — Your marker location on Google Maps (fix pin).

Meta description — The short summary shown under a page title in search results.

NAP — Name, Address, Phone — should match everywhere.

Near me search — Searches like "salon near me" (near me).

Organic results — Unpaid search results.

Performance insights — Your profile's metrics: views, calls, directions, website clicks, search keywords (insights).

Place actions — Profile links for booking, ordering or reservations (booking links).

Plus Code — Google's short code for an exact location (Plus Codes).

Popular times — Google's chart of busy hours (popular times).

Posts — Updates, offers and events on your profile (posts guide).

Practitioner listing — A profile for an individual professional (practitioner listings).

Products and services — Sections listing what you sell (products & services).

Prominence — How well known your business is — reviews, links, mentions.

R–S

Relevance — How well your profile matches a search.

Review gating — Only asking happy customers for reviews after filtering — not allowed (review policy).

Review link — A direct link to leave a review (review link generator).

Review velocity / recency — How often and how recently you receive reviews (review velocity).

Rich results — Enhanced search results using structured data.

Search terms / keywords report — What people searched to find your profile.

Service area — Areas you serve if you visit customers (service-area).

Service-area business (SAB) — A business that serves customers at their location.

Sitemap — A file listing your website's pages for search engines.

Special hours — Holiday or one-off timings (special hours).

Suspension — Google restricting a profile for policy reasons (suspension fix).

T–Z

Title tag — The clickable headline of a page in search results.

UTM parameters — Tags on links to track traffic sources (UTM tracking).

Verification — Proving you own and operate the business (verification).

Video verification — Recording a video to verify your business.

Virtual office — An address without a staffed presence — generally ineligible (co-working rules).

Voice search — Spoken searches via assistants (voice search).

Zero-click search — When users get what they need on Google without visiting a website — common for local searches, which is why your profile matters so much.

How to use this glossary

Bookmark it when reading reports or talking to agencies. If someone uses a term you don't understand, ask them to explain what it means for your calls, directions and customers — that's what counts (local SEO KPIs).

Sources and further reading

• Google Business Profile Help: support.google.com/business
• Google Search Central documentation: developers.google.com/search

Frequently asked questions

What's the difference between SEO and local SEO?

SEO improves visibility in search generally; local SEO focuses on nearby customers via Maps, the local pack and location searches (what is local SEO).

Is Google My Business the same as Google Business Profile?

Yes — Google renamed it to Google Business Profile.

What is the most important local ranking factor?

Google names relevance, distance and prominence; for many searches, distance and category relevance are especially strong.

What does NAP consistency mean in practice?

Your business name, address and phone are written the same way everywhere.

What is a citation?

Any online mention of your business name, address and phone, such as a directory listing.