Local search glossary

In short

Local search has its own vocabulary. This page defines the terms you are most likely to meet.
Each term links to the guide that explains it in more depth, where there is one.
If a word in your monthly report isn't here, ask us and we'll explain it.

AI Overviews: The AI-written summaries Google shows at the top of some search results. For local questions they can name specific businesses, drawing on Business Profiles, reviews and websites.
AI visibility: How often AI assistants such as ChatGPT and Gemini mention your business when asked relevant questions. We check a set list of questions each month (10, 25 or 50 depending on plan). AI answers can be influenced, not controlled. See ChatGPT and Gemini.
Apple Business Connect: Apple's free tool for managing how your business appears in Apple Maps, Siri and other Apple apps. It's where you set your hours, photos and details for iPhone users. See Apple Maps and Bing Places.
Average position: Your average ranking across every point of a map grid for one keyword. Lower is better. It shows slow, steady progress that top 3 share can miss.

Bing Places: Microsoft's version of a business listing, shown in Bing Maps and Bing search. It can import details from your Google Business Profile, and Bing powers parts of Microsoft Copilot.
Brand mention: Any place online that names your business, with or without a link: a directory, an industry site, a local news story or a blog. Mentions help search engines and AI tools trust that you're real and well known. See Brand mentions and citations.

Citation: A listing of your business name, address and phone number on another website, such as Yelp or a local directory. Accurate citations confirm your details. Many take weeks or months to go live, because each directory publishes on its own schedule.
Copilot: Microsoft's AI assistant. Parts of it draw on Bing, which is one reason your Bing Places listing matters.

Data aggregator: A company that collects business information and sells or shares it with apps, maps, directories and GPS apps. Examples include Data Axle, Localeze (Neustar) and Foursquare. Correct data here spreads to many places you'd never list yourself.
Direction requests: The number of times people asked for directions to you from your Google Business Profile. It's one of the clearest signs of a planned visit, so it's in every monthly report.
Distance (proximity): How far the searcher is from your business. It's one of Google's three local ranking factors, and the one nobody can change. It's why your ranking differs street by street.
Duplicate listing: A second profile for the same business, often left over from an old address or created by mistake. Duplicates split your reviews and confuse search engines, so we find them and get them merged or removed.

Geo-grid (map grid): A ranking check run from many evenly spaced points around your business, shown as a map of colored dots. Local Booster uses 7×7, 9×9 or 13×13 grids depending on plan. See the map grid.
Google Business Profile: Your free listing on Google Search and Google Maps, once called Google My Business. It holds your hours, photos, reviews, services and posts, and in a survey of local SEO experts run by BrightLocal and cited by Ahrefs, its signals were rated the top factor for map pack rankings.
Google posts: Short updates, offers or news you publish on your Business Profile. They keep the profile active and give customers a reason to choose you.

Local landing page: A page on your website about one service in your area, such as "Emergency dentist in Westfield". It gives Google and AI tools a clear, detailed answer to point to. Extended includes one a month.
Local pack: Another name for the map pack.

Map pack: The box of three businesses and a map that Google shows for local searches, usually near the top of the page. If Google shows one, the search counts as local. Being in it is the main goal of local search work.

NAP: Short for name, address and phone number. Keeping your NAP the same everywhere online helps search engines trust that all the listings belong to one real business.

Primary category: The single main label on your Google Business Profile, such as "Dentist" or "Auto repair shop". It's one of the strongest signals of what you do. See choosing local keywords.
Prominence: How well known and trusted Google thinks your business is, judged from reviews, brand mentions, links, your website and more. One of Google's three local ranking factors, and the one with the most room to grow.
Profile watch: Monitoring your listings for changes you didn't make. Anyone can suggest edits to a Google profile, and some edits are spam or mistakes. Included in every plan.

Relevance: How well your business matches what someone searched for. Your categories, services, descriptions, website and reviews all shape it. One of Google's three local ranking factors.
Review gating: Asking customers how they felt first and only sending happy ones to leave a public review. Google prohibits it, and we never do it. See reviews.
Review generator: The Local Booster feature that asks customers for reviews for you: by text and email on Pro, plus in-store QR cards and follow-up reminders on Extended.
Review velocity: How often new reviews arrive. A steady flow looks more natural, and more current, than a burst followed by silence.

Schema markup: Hidden code on your website that labels facts like your address, hours, services and FAQs in a format search engines and AI tools read easily. Customers don't see it. Pro and Extended include schema updates.
Service area business: A business that travels to customers, such as a mobile mechanic, and may hide its address on Google. Local Booster is built for storefronts, so service-area-only businesses need a call with us first.
Suspension: When Google takes a Business Profile down or limits it, often for breaking its guidelines, for example adding keywords to the business name or using a virtual office. Getting reinstated can take time, so prevention matters.

Top 3 share: The share of map grid points where you appear in the top three, which is usually the map pack. It's the closest single number to "how often do nearby searchers see me".

Local Booster does the work every month and sends you a report in plain language.