Reference
Local SEO Glossary
Every local SEO term that matters — Map Pack, GBP, NAP, citations, schema, review velocity — defined in plain English. Free to reference and link to.
- Map Pack (Local 3-Pack)
- The block of three local business results Google shows at the top of any local-intent search. Ranking here drives the majority of clicks and calls for service businesses.
- Google Business Profile (GBP)
- Formerly Google My Business — the free business listing on Google Maps and Search. The single highest-leverage asset in local SEO.
- NAP Consistency
- Identical Name, Address, and Phone number across every directory and citation site. Inconsistent NAP is the #1 cause of stuck local rankings.
- Local Citations
- Mentions of your NAP on third-party sites (Yelp, BBB, Apple Maps, Bing Places, industry directories). Acts as a trust signal Google uses to verify legitimacy.
- Proximity
- How physically close a business is to the searcher. The only ranking factor you can't directly influence — which is why prominence and relevance matter so much.
- Prominence
- How well-known your business is online. Driven by reviews, backlinks, citations, brand mentions, and overall web presence.
- Relevance
- How well your GBP and website match the search query. Driven by categories, services, on-page content, and review keywords.
- GBP Categories
- The primary and secondary business categories on your Google Business Profile. The primary category has more ranking impact than any other single field.
- Service Area Business (SAB)
- A business that travels to customers (plumbers, cleaners, mobile mechanics). Requires hiding the address and defining a service radius on GBP.
- Review Velocity
- The pace of new reviews over time. Google weighs recent, steady review flow more heavily than total review count alone.
- Review Recency
- How recently reviews were posted. A business with 100 reviews from this year typically outranks one with 200 reviews from three years ago.
- LocalBusiness Schema
- Structured JSON-LD markup on your website that tells search engines your business name, address, hours, and services. Strongly recommended for every local site.
- Geo-Targeted Landing Page
- A page on your website targeting a specific city or neighborhood — e.g. /locations/austin. Critical for ranking outside your primary GBP location.
- Citation Audit
- The process of finding every directory listing of your business and fixing NAP inconsistencies. Often unlocks immediate ranking improvements.
- GBP Posts
- Short updates (offers, events, news) published directly on your Google Business Profile. Weekly posts correlate with stronger local rankings.
- Q&A (Google Business Profile)
- Public questions and answers attached to your GBP. Seeding your own Q&A with the questions customers actually ask is a low-effort, high-impact tactic.
- Local Pack vs Organic
- The Map Pack (top three local results) and the regular 10 blue links are ranked by different algorithms. A site can rank #1 organic and not appear in the Map Pack at all — and vice versa.
- EEAT
- Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness. Google's framework for evaluating content quality. For local businesses, reviews and accurate GBP data are the biggest EEAT signals.
- Geo-Modified Keywords
- Search terms that include a location, like 'plumber Austin' or 'dentist Capitol Hill'. The bread and butter of local SEO targeting.
- Near Me Searches
- Searches containing 'near me' — but also any local-intent search Google interprets as 'near me' (which is now most local queries). All trigger the Map Pack.
- Local Link Building
- Earning backlinks from geographically relevant sites (local news, chambers, sponsored events, local partners). Geo-relevant links beat generic ones for local rankings.
- Branded vs Non-Branded Searches
- Branded = searching your business name directly. Non-branded = searching for the service ('dentist near me'). Healthy local SEO grows both.
- Click-Through Rate (CTR)
- % of searchers who click your result. High CTR from your GBP reinforces rankings — photos, reviews, and category accuracy all drive CTR.
- Local SEO Audit
- A systematic review of your GBP, on-page SEO, citations, reviews, and competitors to identify ranking gaps. The starting point for any serious local SEO engagement.
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