Plain-language definitions for service-business owners.

Featured Snippet

A featured snippet is a boxed answer Google pulls from a webpage and displays at the top of search results above the standard organic listings.

IndexNow

IndexNow is an open protocol from Microsoft and Yandex that lets a website ping search engines the instant a URL is created, updated, or deleted.

JSON-LD

JSON-LD (JSON for Linking Data) is the format Google recommends for embedding schema markup, written as a JSON object in a <script type='application/ld+json'> tag.

Local Map Pack (Local 3-Pack)

The map pack is the box of three local businesses with a map that Google shows at the top of geo-intent search results — the most clicked feature on a local SERP.

Rich Results

Rich results are enhanced search-listing features (review stars, FAQs, sitelinks, prices, breadcrumbs) Google generates from structured data on a page.

Schema Markup

Schema markup is structured code added to a webpage that tells Google, Bing, and AI engines exactly what the page is about — a service, a review, a person, an FAQ.

Search Intent

Search intent is the underlying goal behind a query — what the searcher actually wants to do, learn, or buy when they type.

SERP (Search Engine Results Page)

A SERP is the page Google or another search engine returns for a query, including organic links, ads, the map pack, AI Overviews, featured snippets, and other rich features.

Sitemap (XML Sitemap)

A sitemap is a machine-readable list of every important URL on a website, submitted to search engines to ensure complete and up-to-date indexing.

Generated Search Summaries

Generated search summaries are answer panels that summarize information from multiple sources and may link to supporting pages.

Generative Engine Optimization

GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) is the practice of structuring a website so automated answer systems can understand the source, claims, and entities on the page.

Speakable Schema

Speakable is a schema.org property that marks specific sections of a page as suitable for text-to-speech reading by voice assistants.

CMS (Content Management System)

A CMS is software that lets non-developers create, edit, and publish website content without touching code.

Core Web Vitals

Core Web Vitals are Google's three speed-and-stability metrics — LCP, INP, and CLS — that measure how quickly and smoothly a page loads and responds.

Headless CMS

A headless CMS is a content management system that stores and serves content through APIs instead of rendering it inside a coupled website front end.

Page Speed

Page speed is how quickly a webpage becomes useful to a visitor, measured in seconds from initial request to interactive.

Responsive Design

Responsive design is a website-building approach where layout, type, and images adapt fluidly to any screen size from a 320px phone to a 4K monitor.

UI (User Interface)

UI is the visual layer of a product — the buttons, type, color, spacing, and motion the user sees and touches.

UX (User Experience)

UX is the discipline of designing how a person feels and what they can do when they use a product, with the goal of making the desired action effortless.

A/B Testing

A/B testing is splitting traffic between two versions of a page or element to measure which one produces a better outcome with statistical confidence.

Conversion Rate

Conversion rate is the percentage of website visitors who complete a defined goal, such as filling out a form, calling, or making a purchase.

CRO (Conversion Rate Optimization)

CRO is the practice of getting more visitors to take the action you want — call, fill a form, or buy — without having to spend more on traffic.

Attribution

Attribution is the method of assigning credit to the marketing channels and touchpoints that produced a lead or sale.

Google Ads

Google Ads is Google's paid platform that places sponsored text, image, video, and Local Service Ads in front of users at the moment they search.

Lead Magnet

A lead magnet is a free, valuable resource — guide, checklist, audit, calculator, or template — offered in exchange for a visitor's contact information.

PPC (Pay-Per-Click)

PPC is any digital advertising model where the advertiser pays only when a user clicks the ad, including Google Ads, Microsoft Ads, Meta, LinkedIn, and TikTok.

Review Management

Review management is the practice of systematically requesting, monitoring, and responding to customer reviews across Google, Facebook, Yelp, and industry sites.

CRM (Customer Relationship Management)

CRM is software that stores every lead, customer, and interaction in one place so a service business can follow up faster, sell more, and stop losing deals to a forgotten inbox.

Marketing Automation

Marketing automation is software that triggers messages, tasks, and workflows based on lead behavior — replacing manual follow-up with rules-based or AI-driven sequences.

Missed-Call Text-Back

Missed-call text-back is an automation that sends an instant SMS to any caller whose call goes to voicemail, recovering leads that would otherwise be lost forever.

Sales Pipeline

A sales pipeline is the visual map of the stages a deal moves through from first contact to closed sale, used to forecast revenue and spot stuck deals.

CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost)

CAC is the total cost — including ad spend, agency fees, sales time, and tools — required to acquire one paying customer.

CPL (Cost Per Lead)

Cost per lead is total marketing spend divided by the number of qualified leads produced, the headline efficiency metric for any lead-gen channel.

CTR (Click-Through Rate)

CTR is the percentage of users who click a link out of those who saw it, used to evaluate ad creative, search listings, and email subject lines.

KPI (Key Performance Indicator)

A KPI is a quantifiable measure tied directly to a business goal — the metric you watch to know whether the business is moving in the right direction.

LTV (Lifetime Value)

Lifetime value is the total revenue (or gross profit) a single customer generates across the full duration of the relationship.