Local SEO Glossary for Home Service Contractors

A URL added to your GBP that links to an online scheduling tool. Having an active booking link adds one point to GBP completeness scores and provides a conversion path beyond phone calls. Commonly connected to ServiceTitan, Housecall Pro, or similar field service software.

Links from other websites pointing to your website. Backlinks are one of Google's strongest organic ranking signals. For home service contractors, valuable backlink sources include local newspapers, chamber of commerce sites, industry associations, and local business directories. Quality outweighs quantity.

Any online mention of your business's NAP (name, address, phone). Citations appear on directories, review sites, local newspapers, association websites, and chamber of commerce pages. Citation quantity and quality are baseline trust signals in the local algorithm.

A systematic review of all online listings for your business to identify NAP inconsistencies, duplicate listings, and missing entries. Tools like BrightLocal, Whitespark, and Semrush can automate citation audits. Fixing citation errors is often higher ROI than building new citations.

The difference between your local SEO metrics (reviews, GBP completeness, domain authority) and the metrics of the top-ranked competitor in your market. Closing the competitive gap systematically is the framework for local SEO strategy — start with the lowest-effort, highest-impact gaps first.

Google's set of page experience metrics used as ranking signals. For contractor websites, the critical metric is LCP (Largest Contentful Paint) — how quickly the main content loads. LCP under 2.5 seconds is the target. Large uncompressed photos are the most common cause of poor LCP scores on contractor sites.

The number of pages Google's crawlers will index on your site within a given time period. For large contractor sites, efficient use of crawl budget means ensuring Googlebot spends its time on high-value pages (service pages, location pages) rather than duplicate or thin content.

An HTML tag that tells Google which version of a page is the "authoritative" version when similar or duplicate content exists at multiple URLs. Used to prevent duplicate content penalties on sites with overlapping service area pages or content syndication.

The gradual decline in organic traffic, rankings, and relevance of previously performing content due to outdated information, increased competition, or algorithm shifts. Blog posts and guide pages typically decay if not updated. Refreshing decaying content with current data is often more efficient than publishing new content.

The total cost to acquire one new customer, calculated as marketing spend divided by new customers generated. For home service contractors, target CPA varies widely by trade and market: HVAC emergency repair CPA $80–150, HVAC replacement CPA $150–400, plumbing emergency $60–120.

Companies that collect and distribute business data to hundreds of directories simultaneously. The four major US data aggregators are Neustar Localeze, Foursquare, Data Axle, and Acxiom. Correcting your data at the aggregator level is the most efficient way to fix widespread citation errors.

A score developed by Moz (1–100) predicting how likely a website is to rank in search results, based on backlink profile quality. Not a Google metric — Google does not use DA. Useful as a relative comparison tool. For contractors, DA matters more for organic rankings than local pack rankings.

Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness — Google's framework for evaluating content quality. For contractor websites, demonstrating E-E-A-T means: showing licensed/insured credentials, displaying years in business, publishing detailed service content, earning reviews, and being cited by authoritative local sources.

The free business listing on Google that controls how your business appears in Google Maps and the local pack. Formerly called Google My Business (GMB). Your GBP is the single most important local SEO asset for any home service contractor.

A measure of how fully populated a Google Business Profile is. Factors include: website linked, services section populated, Q&A entries, active posts, booking link, and photo count. Pack leaders average 5.1/6 on a binary completeness scale; average competitors score 2.8/6.

Factual details about your business that appear on your GBP and signal trust — things like "License verified," "Women-owned," "Veteran-led," "Background-checked," "Free estimate," "Emergency service." Attributes are frequently skipped and represent easy completeness gains.

Short content updates published directly on your Google Business Profile — What's New, Offers, Events, and Products. Posts expire after 7 days (standard) and keep your profile fresh. Active posting correlates with stronger local rankings.

Google's free tool for monitoring a website's presence in Google Search. Shows which keywords send traffic to your site, which pages are indexed, crawl errors, Core Web Vitals scores, and manual penalties. Every contractor website should have GSC verified and monitored monthly.

Pay-per-lead Google ads that appear above the local pack for service searches. Businesses must pass a Google background check and license verification to display LSAs. The "Google Guaranteed" badge on LSAs is a significant trust signal. LSAs are charged per lead (phone call or message), not per click.

Pay-per-click advertising on Google Search. Ads appear above organic and local pack results for searched keywords. Effective for immediate lead generation and seasonal demand spikes. Paid ad spend does not influence organic or local pack rankings.

The platform managing Local Services Ads. Requires license verification, insurance verification, and background checks. Once verified, the "Google Guaranteed" badge appears on your ads, reducing consumer friction significantly. Disputes about leads can be credited back.

Links between pages on the same website. A well-structured internal link architecture helps Google understand the relationship between pages, distributes ranking authority from high-authority pages to lower-authority ones, and ensures all pages can be crawled and indexed efficiently.

JavaScript Object Notation for Linked Data — the format Google recommends for schema markup. JSON-LD is injected into a page's HTML as a script block rather than being embedded in visible content, making it easy to add and maintain without changing the page's visual design.

When two or more pages on the same website target the same keyword, causing them to compete against each other in Google's index. For contractors, this often happens with location pages (e.g., two pages both targeting "plumber Dallas"). Consolidating or differentiating these pages is the fix.

The block of three business listings that appears at the top of Google search results for local searches, accompanied by a map. Also called the "map pack" or "3-pack." Appearing in the local pack is the primary goal of local SEO for home service contractors.

The signals Google uses to determine local pack and map rankings. The three primary categories are: proximity (distance from searcher), relevance (GBP match to query), and prominence (authority from reviews, citations, and backlinks). Whitespark publishes the most comprehensive annual survey of contractor-relevant ranking factors.

A search query that causes Google to display the map pack instead of (or above) standard organic results. Searches with local intent — "HVAC repair near me," "emergency plumber [city]" — consistently trigger the local pack. Queries without local intent ("how to fix a leaky faucet") do not.

Longer, more specific search phrases with lower search volume but higher conversion intent. "HVAC repair" is a head keyword. "24-hour AC repair service Dallas TX" is a long-tail keyword. Long-tail keywords are easier to rank for and typically convert better because the searcher intent is more specific.

Each time your business listing appears in Google Maps search results, that is an impression. GBP Insights reports impressions as "Business searches" (branded) and "Discovery searches" (unbranded). Growing discovery impressions is the primary indicator of improving local organic visibility.

Name, Address, Phone — the three core business data points that must be identical across all online listings: your website, GBP, Yelp, Angi, BBB, and every other directory. NAP inconsistency (e.g., "St." vs "Street," old phone numbers) creates entity confusion that suppresses local rankings.

The non-paid, non-map search results that appear below the local pack on Google. Organic rankings are driven by website authority, on-page SEO, and content relevance. For home service contractors, local pack visibility typically delivers more call volume than organic rankings, but both matter for full market coverage.

The main business category selected on a Google Business Profile. It is the single most influential GBP signal for local pack relevance. A plumber should use "Plumber" not "Contractor" as primary category. You can add up to 10 additional secondary categories.

An automated or manual request for a Google review sent to a customer immediately after a job is completed. SMS requests sent within 1 hour of job close convert at 15–20%. This is the most effective legitimate review generation method for home service contractors.

One of Google's three core local ranking factors (alongside relevance and prominence). Proximity measures how close a business is to the searcher's location at the time of search. Businesses cannot control proximity, but can counteract it with stronger relevance and prominence signals.

How well-known and trusted a business is, as understood by Google. Prominence is built through reviews, citation volume and consistency, backlinks, and website authority. Among the three local ranking factors (proximity, relevance, prominence), prominence is the one contractors have the most control over.

How quickly a web page loads for a visitor. Google uses page speed as a ranking signal, particularly on mobile. For contractor sites, common speed killers are: uncompressed hero images, unminified JavaScript, render-blocking third-party scripts (chat widgets, tracking pixels), and shared hosting server response times.

The Questions & Answers section of a GBP listing where anyone can post a question or answer. Proactively seeding your own Q&A with common questions (and answering them) adds keyword-relevant content to your profile and prevents misinformation from public contributors.

The rate at which a business accumulates new Google reviews over time — typically measured as reviews per month. Review velocity is a stronger local ranking signal than total review count. A business generating 5 new reviews per month will outperform a stagnant competitor with 150 old reviews.

The percentage of Google reviews that receive an owner response. Google recommends responding to all reviews. Response rate is a trust signal in the local algorithm and is visible to prospective customers. Industry benchmark for top-ranked contractors: 85%+ response rate.

How recently new reviews were received. Google weights recent reviews more heavily than older ones. A profile with 100 reviews but no new ones in 6 months is less authoritative than a profile with 30 reviews and 3 new ones last week.

The prohibited practice of pre-screening customers before asking for reviews — e.g., asking "Was your experience positive? If yes, leave us a Google review. If no, contact us directly." Review gating violates Google's review policies and can result in profile suspension.

How well a Google Business Profile matches the specific search query. Relevance is influenced by GBP categories, service menu, business name, and on-page content on your website. Selecting all applicable categories and fully populating the service menu are the primary relevance levers.

The process of monitoring your GBP and website rankings for specific keywords over time. Local rank tracking requires geo-specific measurement — your rank in a search from downtown Dallas will differ from a search from a suburb 15 miles away. Tools like Local Falcon and GeoRanker visualize this as a heat map.

Enhanced search results that display additional information beyond a standard blue link — star ratings, FAQ dropdowns, step-by-step instructions, breadcrumbs, video thumbnails. Rich results are enabled by schema markup and typically have higher click-through rates than standard results.

Additional GBP categories beyond your primary that expand the range of searches you can rank for. An HVAC contractor might use: HVAC Contractor (primary), Air Conditioning Contractor, Heating Contractor, Furnace Repair Service, and Heat Pump Installer.

The structured list of individual services added to your GBP. Each service can have a name, description, and price. Populating the service menu tells Google exactly what searches you are relevant for and is one of the most underused GBP optimization opportunities.

The aggregate rating score displayed on a GBP listing, calculated from all Google reviews. Ratings below 4.0 significantly suppress click-through rates. Ratings above 4.5 are the target. A 4.9 with 40 reviews typically outperforms a 5.0 with 3 reviews on trust perception.

Business listings on specific directory platforms where NAP data appears in formatted fields — Yelp, Angi, HomeAdvisor, BBB, YP, etc. Higher authority than unstructured citations.

Structured data code (typically JSON-LD) added to a website's HTML that tells search engines what a page is about in machine-readable format. For contractors, the most valuable schema types are LocalBusiness, FAQPage, HowTo, and BreadcrumbList. Schema makes pages eligible for rich results in Google Search.

Dedicated web pages targeting a specific service in a specific city — e.g., "AC Repair Dallas TX" or "Emergency Plumber Austin." Service area pages are the primary way contractors expand organic visibility across their full coverage area. Each page targets a unique service + location combination.

The underlying reason behind a search query — what the searcher actually wants to accomplish. The four types of search intent are: informational ("how to fix a leaky faucet"), navigational ("HomeAdvisor plumbers"), commercial ("best plumber Dallas reviews"), and transactional ("emergency plumber Dallas call now"). Content should match the dominant intent for each target keyword.

Citations from industry-specific directories and associations that carry heightened topical authority. Examples: PHCC (Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors), NRCA (National Roofing Contractors Association), NECA (National Electrical Contractors Association), ACCA (Air Conditioning Contractors of America).

The degree to which Google perceives a website as a comprehensive, expert resource on a specific subject. For home service contractors, building topical authority means publishing detailed content covering every relevant service, common problems, seasonal maintenance, and location-specific information.

Mentions of your business NAP in free-form text — newspaper articles, blog posts, local government pages, association member listings. These are harder to acquire and typically carry more authority than directory listings.