Keeping pace with the Local Search industry sometimes requires the help of a translator. Our glossary of local search terms can help you stay in-the-know.
Attribute
The distinct characteristics of a local business listing that can include name, address, phone, links, keywords and other unique content items.
Anchor Identity
The core Name, Address and Phone (NAP) local business listing attributes used by local search platforms to compare accuracy of listing identities they have, with those appearing on other local search platform sites. Consistency in NAP information is vital to increasing the number of local search platform citations and improving search platform rankings.
Certified Listing
A certified listing is one that has been directly claimed by the authorized owner or manager of that business and verified by Big Splash Marketing. Local search platforms have the highest level of confidence that certified listings are trusted and accurate.
Citations
A “vote of confidence” local search platforms apply to a Local Search business listing each time they find a matching business listing’s Name, Address and Phone (NAP) and descriptive information and links when crawling other sites. Citations are used to determine the level of accuracy, confidence and popularity of business listings for presentation to users.
Crawl
The act of electronically “reading” and indexing relevant information from Web pages by a search platform.
Descriptive Identity/Enhanced Business Listings
The extended identity of Local Search business listings that businesses add and local search platforms utilize to present deep, rich information to users to help them make informed buying decisions and get additional channels of contact. Local business listing Descriptive Identity attributes include well-organized keywords such as hours of operation, languages spoken, payment methods accepted, products and brands carried, services offered and important links including Web site, social links, logos and more.
Findability
The likelihood of a Local Search business listing being presented on a local search platform based on consumer keyword query matches and other ranking factors. Also known as Visibility.
Hyperlocal
An adjective used to describe a local search platform, Web site or Web content that is specific to a particular local neighborhood, town or geography.
Keywords
Unstructured words/terms used by online consumers to describe what they hope to find when performing a Web search, and locally, where they hope to find it.
Stay tuned for more glossary terms in our next blog post…
