Local SEO glossary

Understanding Local SEO in a business context

Local SEO is helping eligible businesses appear for relevant searches in the places they serve. Business identity and actual operating arrangements come first. A storefront, a service-area contractor, and an online-only company do not qualify for the same representations. Never create a local office claim to satisfy a directory template.

Using these definitions in your workflow

Check the real business name, contact details, eligibility, and address visibility before comparing listings. Review customer-facing information across the platforms customers use. Separate unpaid local results from paid Local Services Ads, because the verification process and reporting belong to different products.

A plumber visiting customers should describe the genuine service area and follow the platform’s address rules. Asking all eligible customers for honest feedback differs from sending only happy customers to public review sites. Check the current policy when an old tutorial suggests an address workaround or a selective review request.

Checking the evidence behind a report

Check eligibility before creating a listing. Then verify the public name and contact path against the actual business. A platform that lets you enter an address is not promising that the location qualifies. Review the address visibility requirements for a contractor who travels to customers.

For paid verification badges, read the current Local Services documentation rather than treating an old program name as current approval. Honest reviews should follow a consistent request process without selecting only favorable customers for a public invitation.

For practical context, use the matching website tool and compare the task with our service scope. Return to the full SEO glossary when the report uses terms from another topic.

Terms in this topic

Each entry below introduces a distinct concept. Open its explanation for the practical procedure and cautions. These definitions describe terminology, not a ranking guarantee. Check the original documentation when a report’s wording or a platform feature changes.

• Google Business Profile

  Google Business Profile is Google's service for managing eligible businesses' information on Search and Maps. Eligibility and representation rules differ for storefronts and businesses serving customers at their locations.

• Map pack

  The map pack is a group of local business results displayed for some Google searches. Visibility depends on factors including relevance, distance, and prominence rather than an agency's promise.

• Google Guaranteed

  Google Guaranteed is the former Local Services Ads badge and guarantee program. Google replaced that badging with Google Verified and discontinued the associated Money Back Guarantee; old articles may describe a program that is no longer offered.

• NAP consistency

  NAP consistency is agreement in a business's name, address, and phone information across relevant listings. Accurate representation matters; a remote business should not invent a location to make listings match.

• Local citations

  Local citations are references to a business's identifying information on other websites or directories. Useful citations support accurate discovery, but directory quantity alone does not establish local search visibility.

• Apple Business Connect

  Apple Business Connect is the former name of Apple’s business information service. Apple now combines those capabilities with other business tools in Apple Business, so owners should use the current product guidance rather than an outdated setup path.

• Service area business

  A service-area business is a business that visits or delivers to customers rather than serving them at a staffed storefront. Google Business Profile has specific address and service-area representation rules.

• Review gating

  Review gating is directing only selected customers toward public review requests while diverting others elsewhere. Google's review policies prohibit selectively soliciting positive reviews or discouraging negative reviews.

• Doorway pages

  Doorway pages are pages created to rank for similar searches while directing users to substantially the same destination. Google's spam policy covers location pages that serve this manipulative purpose.

• Citation building

  Citation building is creating or correcting business information on relevant third-party platforms. Accuracy, eligibility, and usefulness to customers should guide the work rather than a target directory count.

Sources

1. Guidelines for representing your business on Google - Google Business Profile Help · accessed October 8, 2026
2. Tips to improve your local ranking on Google - Google Business Profile Help · accessed October 8, 2026
3. Prohibited & restricted content - Maps User Generated Content Policy Help · accessed October 8, 2026