The local SEO + AI search glossary.
84 definitions. 18 of them include free, working tools.
Definitions, real examples, and embedded tools for every term an AI-native local marketer actually uses — from NAP and Local Pack to GEO, AEO, and MCP. Free to use, ready to cite.
84 terms across 10 clusters
Every term has a full page — definition, examples, FAQs, and cross-links to the APIs the concept maps to. 18 pages embed a free interactive tool you can run in the browser.
Local SEO Foundational · 15
NAP
Name, Address, Phone — the consistency signal Google uses to trust your business.
Citation
Any online mention of a business's NAP — directories, social, news.
Citation consistency
How closely your NAP matches across every directory it appears in.
Place ID
Google's canonical unique identifier for a business location.
CID / Knowledge Graph ID
The Customer ID Google uses internally — convertible to/from Place ID.
Google Business Profile
The canonical business listing on Google (formerly Google My Business).
Google My Business
The legacy name for Google Business Profile, retired in 2022.
Knowledge Panel
The branded info box Google shows on the right of search results.
Knowledge Graph
Google's structured database of entities, people, places, and things.
Local Pack
The top-3 map result block Google shows for local searches.
Map Pack
Common synonym for Local Pack — same 3-business map block.
Local Finder
The expanded list of 20+ local results below the Local Pack.
Proximity
How physically close a business is to the searcher — a primary local ranking signal.
Prominence
How well-known a business is across the web — reviews, citations, mentions.
Relevance
How well a business matches what the searcher is looking for.
Geographic Measurement · 8
Geogrid
A grid of geographic points used to measure local rank across an area.
AGR, ATRP, SoLV
The three composite scores derived from a geogrid scan.
Heatmap
The colored visualization of a geogrid scan's rank matrix.
UULE parameter
Google's URL parameter that targets a search to a specific location.
Service area business
A business that serves customers at their location (no storefront).
Search radius
The geographic distance over which a local search returns results.
Hyperlocal
Targeting a very small geographic area — neighborhood or block.
Multi-location SEO
Local SEO for businesses with multiple physical locations.
AI Search / GEO / AEO · 16
GEO (Generative Engine Optimization)
Optimizing content for visibility in generative-AI engines like ChatGPT and Perplexity.
AEO (Answer Engine Optimization)
Optimizing content to be cited in AI-generated answers.
AIO (AI Optimization)
Umbrella term for optimizing for AI-driven search surfaces.
Generative SEO
Synonym for GEO — optimizing for generative-search visibility.
AI Overview
Google's AI-generated summary at the top of search results.
AI Mode
Google's conversational search interface — full chat-style answers.
AI Visibility
How often and prominently a domain appears across LLM-generated answers.
SGE (Search Generative Experience)
Google's earlier name for AI Overview, retired in 2024.
LLM citation
When an LLM names or links to a domain inside a generated answer.
Source attribution
The practice of LLMs naming the sources that informed an answer.
Hallucination
When an LLM generates plausible-sounding but factually wrong information.
RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation)
An LLM architecture that retrieves source documents before generating answers.
Vector search
Search that ranks results by semantic similarity, not keyword match.
Semantic search
Search that understands meaning and intent, not just exact-match keywords.
Embeddings
Numerical representations of text that capture meaning for ML systems.
Topical authority
A domain's perceived expertise across an entire topic cluster.
AI Agents / MCP · 8
MCP (Model Context Protocol)
The open standard letting AI agents call external tools and APIs.
AI agent
An LLM-powered system that takes actions on a user's behalf.
Agentic workflow
A multi-step process executed autonomously by an AI agent.
Tool calling / Function calling
An LLM capability for invoking external functions in a structured way.
Claude Desktop
Anthropic's desktop application for Claude, with native MCP support.
ChatGPT Custom GPT
OpenAI's user-built variant of ChatGPT, callable via REST endpoints.
Context window
The maximum amount of text an LLM can process in a single request.
Prompt engineering
The craft of writing inputs that reliably produce the desired LLM output.
SERP Features · 8
SERP (Search Engine Results Page)
The page of results Google returns for a search query.
Featured snippet
A short excerpt Google shows at the top of search results to answer a question.
People Also Ask (PAA)
Google's accordion of related questions shown inside search results.
Local Services Ads (LSA)
Pay-per-lead ads shown above the Local Pack for service businesses.
Google Guaranteed
Trust badge on Local Services Ads — Google backs the work.
Google Screened
Trust badge on professional-services LSAs — Google verified credentials.
Rich results
Search results with extra visual elements pulled from structured data.
Sitelinks
The sub-links Google shows under a top result, pointing to interior pages.
Reviews & Reputation · 6
Review velocity
The rate at which a business accumulates new reviews over time.
Owner reply rate
The percentage of reviews on a business profile the owner has responded to.
Review sentiment
The emotional tone — positive, neutral, negative — extracted from review text.
Verified review
A review whose author the platform has confirmed as a real customer.
Star rating
The 1-5 numeric rating attached to a business or product review.
E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness)
Google's content-quality framework used in ranking guidance.
Citations & Directories · 5
Data aggregator
A wholesale business-data provider that feeds NAP info to downstream directories.
Yext
A listings-management service that syncs NAP across a fixed directory network.
Primary vs secondary citation
Major directories that influence ranking vs niche directories that don't.
Directory listing
A business's profile entry on a directory site like Yelp, BBB, or Yellow Pages.
Aggregator pollution
When one bad NAP entry at an aggregator propagates errors to dozens of directories.
Keyword Research · 8
Search volume
How many times a keyword is searched per month on a given engine.
CPC (Cost Per Click)
The average price an advertiser pays for one click in paid search.
Keyword difficulty
An estimate of how hard it is to rank organically for a given keyword.
Search intent
The reason behind a query — commercial, informational, navigational, transactional.
Long-tail keyword
Specific, multi-word queries with lower volume but higher intent.
Head keyword
Short, broad, high-volume queries — the head of the search-volume curve.
Google Autocomplete
Google's real-time query suggestions as you type in the search box.
Topic cluster
A pillar page plus interlinked supporting pages on a related topic.
Technical SEO · 6
Backlink
A hyperlink from another website pointing to yours.
Domain authority (DA)
Moz's 0-100 prediction of how well a domain will rank in search.
Anchor text
The visible, clickable text of a hyperlink.
Dofollow / Nofollow
Link attributes that signal whether search engines should pass authority.
Schema markup / Structured data
Standardized tags that help search engines understand page content.
Core Web Vitals
Google's three page-experience metrics: LCP, CLS, INP.
Algorithm Updates · 4
Pigeon update (2014)
Google's 2014 algorithm change that tied local results closer to web search signals.
Possum update (2016)
Google's 2016 local update that filtered duplicate businesses by shared address.
Vicinity update (2021)
Google's 2021 local update that increased the weight of proximity in ranking.
Helpful Content Update
Google's recurring algorithm signal that demotes content written for ranking, not readers.