Glossary

Plain-English meanings for the words and short forms you'll see in this guide. Each one links to the page that explains it in full.

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A

AI Overviews

Short summaries written by Google's AI that show at the top of some search results. They often link to the pages they draw from.

C

Citation

Any mention of your business name, address, and phone number on another website, like a directory or a local news site.

G

Google Business Profile

Google's free listing for your business. It shows your hours, phone, photos, and reviews on Google Search and Google Maps.

L

Local pack

The group of businesses Google shows on a map near the top of the results when someone searches for something nearby.

N

NAP

Short for name, address, and phone number. These should match everywhere your business is listed.

S

Search engine optimization (SEO)

The work of making your website easy for search engines like Google and Bing to find, understand, and show to people.

Service-area business

A business that goes to its customers, like a plumber or house cleaner, instead of having customers come to it.

Structured data

Code on a web page that labels facts, like your business name and hours, so search engines and AI tools read them correctly.

More terms are added as each guide page is written.