Glossary

Straightforward definitions for terms that come up often in marketing, local search and website conversations. New terms get added here as they’re useful.

Local SEO

The practice of improving how a business shows up in search results for people searching nearby — for example "plumber near me" or "Bozeman auto detailing." Driven mainly by a business's Google Business Profile, the accuracy/consistency of its name, address and phone number across the web, and its reviews. See our Local SEO & Search Visibility service →

Google Business Profile (GBP)

The free Google listing that shows a business's hours, phone number, photos, reviews and location in Google Maps and the local "map pack" at the top of relevant search results. Formerly called Google My Business. See our Local SEO & Search Visibility service →

Service-Area Business (SAB)

A Google Business Profile category for a business that travels to customers (a mobile detailer, an HVAC company, a landscaper) rather than one customers visit at a fixed address. An SAB can hide its exact address while still listing the cities/regions it serves. See our Local SEO & Search Visibility service →

NAP Consistency

Shorthand for Name, Address and Phone number. Search engines cross-check a business's NAP across its website, Google profile and other directories — inconsistent versions of the same business info can weaken local search rankings. See our Local SEO & Search Visibility service →

Structured Data / Schema Markup

Extra code added to a webpage (following a shared vocabulary called schema.org) that explicitly tells search engines and AI systems what the content means — for example, marking a block of text as a customer review, a price, or a business's hours, rather than leaving it to be guessed from plain text. See our Website Design & Development service →

Core Web Vitals

A set of Google metrics that measure real-world page speed and usability — how fast content becomes visible, how quickly a page responds to input, and how much the layout shifts while loading. Used as one factor in search ranking. See our Website Design & Development service →

Canonical URL

A tag that tells search engines which single version of a page is the "real" one to index, used when the same or similar content could otherwise be reachable at more than one web address. See our Website Design & Development service →

E-E-A-T

Google's shorthand for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness and Trustworthiness — the qualities search evaluators and ranking systems look for when judging whether a page's information can be trusted, especially for topics that affect someone's money, health or safety. See our Reputation & Review Growth service →

Conversion

The specific action a business wants a website visitor to take — calling, filling out a form, requesting a quote, booking an appointment. A website's "conversion rate" is the share of visitors who complete that action. See our Website Design & Development service →

Click-Through Rate (CTR)

The percentage of people who see a link (in search results, an ad, or an email) and actually click it. A low CTR on a high-ranking search result usually means the title or description isn't compelling enough, even if the ranking itself is good. See our Google, Meta, OpenAI & Paid Advertising service →

Backlink

A link from another website pointing to yours. Search engines treat backlinks — especially from relevant, reputable sites — as a signal that a page is worth trusting and ranking well. See our Local SEO & Search Visibility service →

Generative Engine Optimization (GEO)

An emerging companion to SEO focused on being accurately cited and summarized by AI systems like ChatGPT, Gemini or Google's AI Overviews — favoring clear, specific, well-sourced content that's easy for a language model to quote correctly.