Local business marketing terms, explained simply

Business Categories

The classification labels (like "Family Dentist" or "Italian Restaurant") that tell Google what a business does.

Duplicate Listings

Two or more Google Business Profiles created for the same physical business location.

GBP Posts (Google Posts)

Short update cards — offers, events, new arrivals — published directly to a Google Business Profile.

GBP Suspension

When Google temporarily or permanently removes a Business Profile from search results for violating guidelines.

Google Business Profile (GBP)

A free Google listing that shows a business’s name, address, hours, reviews, and photos in Google Search and Maps.

Google Reviews

Public ratings and written feedback customers leave on a business’s Google Business Profile.

Review Gating

The prohibited practice of asking only happy customers for reviews while filtering out unhappy ones.

Review Link

A direct URL that opens a business’s Google review box immediately, skipping the need to search for it.

Service Area Business (SAB)

A Google Business Profile type for businesses that travel to customers rather than operating from a storefront.

Star Rating

The 1-to-5 score customers give a business, averaged across all reviews to form its overall rating.

Citation Building

The process of proactively creating and correcting local citations across directories and listing sites.

Featured Snippet

A highlighted answer box Google sometimes shows at the very top of search results, above the normal listings.

Google Maps Ranking

A business’s position among competitors when it appears in Google Maps search results.

Keyword

A word or phrase a business optimizes content around, matching what people actually type into search.

Local Citations

Mentions of a business’s name, address, and phone number on other websites and directories.

Local SEO

The practice of optimizing a business’s online presence to rank higher in searches from nearby customers.

Long-Tail Keyword

A longer, more specific search phrase with lower search volume but higher intent and less competition.

Map Pack (Local 3-Pack)

The set of three local business listings Google shows at the top of relevant search results, with a map.

NAP Consistency

Keeping a business’s Name, Address, and Phone number identical across every online listing.

Search Intent

The underlying goal behind a search query — what the searcher actually wants to find or do.

Voice Search

Searching by speaking a query aloud to a phone or smart speaker instead of typing it.

Digital Business Card

A shareable digital profile — often via NFC tap or QR code — replacing a printed business card.

Digital Menu

A restaurant menu accessed via a QR code or link instead of a printed page, updatable instantly.

NFC (Near Field Communication)

Short-range wireless technology that lets a smartphone open a link by tapping a chip, with no scanning required.

NFC Review Stand

A physical counter display with an embedded NFC chip that opens a business’s review page on tap.

QR Code

A printed square barcode that a smartphone camera can scan to open a link instantly.

Review QR

A QR code that, when scanned, opens a business’s Google review box directly.

301 Redirect

A permanent redirect that sends visitors and search engines from an old URL to a new one, passing along ranking value.

404 Error

The "page not found" error shown when a requested URL doesn’t exist on a website.

Alt Text

A short written description of an image, used by screen readers and search engines when the image can’t be seen.

Backlink

A link from another website pointing to your website, treated as a vote of trust by search engines.

Breadcrumb

A row of links showing a page’s position within a website’s hierarchy, e.g. Home > Resources > Glossary.

Canonical URL

The preferred version of a URL a search engine should index, when duplicate or similar pages exist.

CDN (Content Delivery Network)

A network of servers in multiple locations that deliver website content faster by serving it from the nearest server.

CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift)

One of the three Core Web Vitals — measures how much visible content unexpectedly shifts while a page loads.

Core Web Vitals

Google’s three key metrics for measuring real-world page loading speed, responsiveness, and visual stability.

Crawl Budget

The number of pages a search engine will crawl on a website within a given period.

Domain Authority

A third-party score (not from Google) estimating how likely a website is to rank, based largely on backlinks.

Domain Name

The human-readable web address (like tap-one.app) that points to a website’s hosting server.

Indexing

The process of a search engine storing and organizing a webpage so it can appear in search results.

Internal Linking

Links from one page on a website to another page on the same website.

JSON-LD

The recommended code format for adding schema markup to a webpage.

LCP (Largest Contentful Paint)

One of the three Core Web Vitals — measures how long the largest visible element takes to load.

Meta Description

The short summary text shown under a page’s title in search engine results.

Mobile-First Indexing

Google’s practice of using the mobile version of a website’s content to determine rankings, not the desktop version.

Noindex Tag

A page-level instruction telling search engines not to include that specific page in search results.

Page Speed

How quickly a webpage loads and becomes usable for a visitor.

Responsive Design

A website design approach that automatically adapts layout to fit any screen size, from phone to desktop.

Rich Results

Enhanced search listings — star ratings, FAQ dropdowns, images — generated from structured data on a page.

Robots.txt

A small text file that tells search engine crawlers which parts of a website they are allowed to access.

Schema Markup (Structured Data)

Code added to a webpage that helps search engines understand its content, enabling rich results like FAQ dropdowns.

Sitemap.xml

A structured file listing every important page on a website, submitted to help search engines discover them.

SSL Certificate

A security credential that encrypts data between a website and its visitors, shown as the padlock icon in browsers.

Title Tag

The clickable headline shown in search results and browser tabs for a webpage.

Website Hosting

The service that stores a website’s files on a server and makes it accessible over the internet.

A/B Testing

Comparing two versions of a page, message, or ad to see which one performs better.

Above the Fold

The portion of a webpage visible on screen before a visitor scrolls down.

Bounce Rate

The percentage of visitors who leave a website after viewing only one page, without taking any further action.

Click-Through Rate (CTR)

The percentage of people who click a link or listing after seeing it, out of everyone who saw it.

Conversion Funnel

The step-by-step path a customer takes from first discovering a business to completing a purchase or booking.

Conversion Rate

The percentage of visitors or customers who complete a desired action, such as booking, ordering, or leaving a review.

CTA (Call-to-Action)

The button or line of text prompting a visitor to take a specific next step, like "Book Now" or "Get Started."

E-E-A-T

Google’s framework for judging content quality: Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness.

Hero Section

The large, prominent section at the top of a webpage, typically including a headline, image, and call-to-action.

Landing Page

A standalone webpage designed for one specific goal, usually reached through an ad or campaign link.

Organic Traffic

Website visitors who arrive through unpaid search engine results, rather than ads.

UTM Parameters

Small tags added to the end of a URL that tell analytics tools exactly where traffic came from.

AI Chatbot

Automated software that answers customer questions in real time via chat, without a human replying.

Appointment Booking

A tool that lets customers schedule a visit online, synced to a business’s real availability.

CRM (Customer Relationship Management)

A system for tracking and managing interactions with customers, from first contact through repeat visits.

Customer Retention

The ability of a business to keep existing customers returning, rather than relying only on new customers.

Loyalty Program

A structured system rewarding repeat customers for continuing to choose a business.

POS System (Point of Sale)

The hardware and software used to process a sale and accept payment at checkout.

Reservation System

A booking tool specifically for reserving a table, room, or resource for a set time window.

WhatsApp Business API

A programmatic version of WhatsApp Business that lets larger businesses automate messaging at scale.

AI Review Request

A review request message drafted or triggered automatically by AI, often personalized to the specific visit.

Answer Engine Optimization (AEO)

Optimizing content to be directly quoted or cited by AI-powered answer engines, not just ranked by traditional search.

ChatGPT Search / AI Search

Search performed through AI assistants like ChatGPT, Perplexity, or Gemini instead of a traditional search engine.

Marketing Automation

Software that triggers marketing actions (messages, follow-ups, review requests) automatically based on customer behavior.

Data Privacy

How responsibly a business collects, stores, and uses customer information.

GDPR

A European Union data protection law setting strict rules on how personal data is collected and used.

PCI-DSS

A security standard that payment processors and businesses handling card payments must follow.

Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)

A login security step requiring a second verification method beyond just a password.

Google Analytics

A free tool that tracks website visitor behavior — traffic sources, pages viewed, time on site, and more.

Google Search Console

A free Google tool showing how a website performs in search results — clicks, impressions, and indexing issues.

Heatmap

A visual overlay showing where visitors click, scroll, or spend the most attention on a webpage.

KPI (Key Performance Indicator)

A specific, measurable metric used to track progress toward a business goal.

ROI (Return on Investment)

A measure of how much profit or value a marketing effort generates relative to what it cost.

Content Marketing

Creating useful, relevant content (blog posts, guides, videos) to attract and build trust with potential customers.

Evergreen Content

Content that stays relevant and useful long after it’s published, without needing frequent updates.

Pillar Page

A comprehensive overview page on a broad topic, linking out to more detailed pages on its subtopics.

Topical Authority

A search engine’s confidence that a website is a credible, comprehensive source on a specific subject.