Glossary of SEO Terms
The following is a list of terms and their definitions that will help you to understand the information in your SEO Portal.
Google Maps
Google Maps is a free web service and app that provides information about geographical areas and sites worldwide. It’s used for navigation, finding businesses, and more. Its primary purpose is to help users find the most conveniently located and relevant place based on their search query.
Google Maps 3-Pack
The Google Maps 3-Pack, also known as the Google Local Pack, Snack Pack, or Local Finder is a set of three local business listings that appear in Google’s search results. The 3-Pack is Google’s most prominent position for local search results, and it includes a map that shows the location of each business, along with basic information about them.
SERP
“SERP” stands for “search engine results page.” It’s a page that a search engine displays to a user after they enter a search query. SERPs include links to different web pages that are relevant to the user’s query, along with additional information or images.
Many SERPs contain paid ads at the top, followed by organic results underneath.
Organic search results
Organic search results are unpaid listings that appear on a search engine results page (SERP) for a specific user query. They are considered the most relevant results to the user’s search and do not include paid results, which are marked as “Sponsored” on Google
Primary keyword
A primary keyword, also known as a focus or main keyword, is the main term or phrase a webpage is expected to rank for in search engine results. In other words, a primary keyword is the main keyword a page is optimized for.
Typically, a primary keyword has a high search volume and can potentially bring a considerable amount of organic search traffic.
Longtail Keyword
Long-tail keywords are highly specific search queries that tend to have relatively low search volumes. Although users search for them less often, long-tail keywords make up a large percentage of overall searches when added together. And because they’re more specific than other keywords, searchers who use them may be more likely to convert (make a purchase, fill out a form, contact you, etc.).
Backlink
Backlinks also called “inbound links” or “incoming links,” are created when one website links to another. The link to an external website is called a backlink.
Backlinks are especially valuable for SEO because they represent a “vote of confidence” from one site to another. The idea is that Google will see your site as a resource for valuable information that customers will come across naturally.
Organic traffic
Organic traffic is the number of website visitors that come from unpaid search engine results (as opposed to paid results).
Referral Traffic
Referral traffic is Google’s method of reporting visits that came to your site from sources outside of its search engine. When someone clicks on a hyperlink to go to a new page on a different website, Analytics tracks the click as a referral visit to the second site.
Direct Search
A direct search, also known as direct traffic, is when a visitor reaches a website without coming from a referring source, such as a search engine, social media, or email marketing. Instead, a direct search occurs when a visitor types a URL into their browser or clicks on a bookmarked link.
Ranking Factors
The term “Ranking Factors” describes the criteria applied by search engines when evaluating web pages to compile the rankings of their search results.
How Google determines local ranking:
Local results are based primarily on relevance, distance, and prominence. A combination of these factors helps us find the best match for your search. For example, our algorithms might decide that a business that’s farther away from your location is more likely to have what you’re looking for than a business that’s closer, and therefore rank it higher in local results.
Relevance
Relevance refers to how well a local Business Profile matches what someone is searching for. Add complete and detailed business information to help Google better understand your business and match your profile to relevant searches.
Distance
Distance considers how far each potential search result is from the location term used in a search. If a user doesn’t specify a location in their search, we’ll calculate distance based on what we know about their location.
Prominence
Prominence refers to how well-known a business is. Some places are more prominent in the offline world, and search results try to reflect this in local ranking. For example, famous museums, landmark hotels, or well-known store brands are also likely to be prominent in local search results.
Prominence is also based on information that Google has about a business, from across the web, like links, articles, and directories. Google review count and review score factor into local search ranking. More reviews and positive ratings can improve your business’s local ranking. Your position in web results is also a factor, so search engine optimization (SEO) best practices apply.
There’s no way to request or pay for a better local ranking on Google. We do our best to keep the search algorithm details confidential and to make the ranking system as fair as possible for everyone.
Reqd more information on how Google Determines Local Ranking
