Search and AI visibility come with a vocabulary of their own. This glossary explains the terms we use most often, in plain language, so local business owners can make informed decisions about their website, Google Business Profile, and AI presence.
Answer Engine Optimization (AEO)
The practice of structuring your business information, website, and online profiles so AI tools can understand your business and name it in a direct answer. AEO focuses on being cited and recommended, not only on ranking in a list of links.
AI Visibility
How often, and how accurately, AI tools mention your business when someone asks about your services or your area. Measuring it usually means testing common questions across several AI platforms and recording the results over time.
AI Overviews
Summaries that Google generates at the top of some search results. They draw on multiple sources and often cite a few of them. Clear, consistent business information makes it easier for these summaries to represent your business correctly.
Citation
A reference to your business or website inside an AI-generated answer, usually with a link or a named source. In local search, a citation can also mean a listing of your business name, address, and phone number on another website or directory.
Entity
A distinct thing that search engines and AI tools can identify, such as a business, a person, a location, or a product. Entity optimization means making sure your business is described consistently and clearly, so systems can recognize it as one specific organization.
Entity Optimization
The work of defining your business, its services, its location, and its leaders in a consistent way across your website and the wider web. It supports both traditional search and AI recognition.
Schema Markup
Code added to a web page that describes its content in a standard format that machines can read. Common types for local businesses include LocalBusiness, ProfessionalService, FAQPage, and Organization.
Structured Data
Information organized in a consistent, machine-readable format, usually through schema markup. Structured data does not replace good content, but it helps search engines and AI tools understand what the content says.
FAQ Schema
Markup that identifies a set of questions and answers on a page. It tells systems which text is a question and which is the answer. The questions and answers should also be visible to people on the page.
Google Business Profile (GBP)
A free listing that shows your business in Google Search and Google Maps. It includes your name, address, hours, service areas, categories, photos, and reviews. Accurate profile information is one of the strongest local signals for both Maps and AI summaries.
NAP Consistency
Keeping your business name, address, and phone number the same across every website and directory where you appear. Inconsistent details can make it harder for search engines and AI tools to match your business to the right listing.
Local Search
Search that is shaped by a user’s location and intent, such as searching for a plumber near them or a restaurant open now. Local search relies heavily on business profiles, reviews, and location-specific content.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
The practice of improving a website so it ranks higher in traditional search results. SEO covers content, technical health, links, and user experience. Good SEO and AEO work together, since both depend on clear, accurate, and useful information.
Generative Engine Optimization (GEO)
A term used by some marketers for optimizing content so generative AI tools include it in their responses. It overlaps heavily with AEO. The two terms are often used interchangeably, although AEO is the more common term in our work.
Knowledge Graph
A database that search engines use to store facts about entities and how they relate to each other. Accurate business information on your website and profiles helps your business appear correctly in these systems.
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