Glossary of Local Marketing Terms
Marketing has its own vocabulary, and it can slow down a good conversation. This page is a plain English guide to the terms you will hear from agencies, vendors and reports. It is a guide to Bottarini Marketing Group and its terms, written for owners of local businesses and medical practices in Los Angeles. Skim it now and come back when a term trips you up.
Search Terms
Local SEO
Local SEO is the work of helping a marketing agency Los Angeles business show up when people search nearby. It covers the Google Business Profile, the website and local listings. At BMG, local SEO starts at $500 per month. For the full picture, see a guide to local SEO and Map Pack work.
Map Pack
The Map Pack is the short list of local businesses with a map that Google shows for many local searches. Google weighs relevance, distance and prominence when it picks who appears.
Google Business Profile
This is the free listing that shows your hours, phone number, photos and reviews on Google Search and Maps. It is often shortened to GBP.
Organic rankings
Organic rankings are the unpaid results below the ads and the map. They depend on the quality of your pages, how well they match the search and how trusted your site is.
Proximity
Proximity means how close a business is to the person searching. It is one reason a Burbank shop may show up for a searcher in Burbank but not for one in Pasadena.
Citation and NAP
A citation is a mention of your business on another site, such as a directory. NAP stands for name, address and phone. Keeping it the same everywhere helps search engines trust your facts. For an independent explanation, see search engine optimization.
AEO Terms
AEO
Answer Engine Optimization is the work of making your business easy for ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Gemini, Perplexity and voice search to cite. It starts at $500 per month at BMG and is often paired with SEO. Read a guide to AEO and answer engine terms for more.
Schema
Schema is code on a web page that labels facts, such as your business name, services and hours, in a way machines can read.
Entity
An entity is the machine view of your business as a single, defined thing. Consistent facts across the web help systems tell that it is you.
Paid Ad Terms
Google Ads
Google Ads lets you pay to appear on Google search results when people type certain terms. Because it is pay-per-click, tracking matters.
LSA
Local Services Ads show a business at the top of search with a badge, such as Google Guaranteed or Google Screened, and are billed per lead. To learn how Google Ads and LSA work together, see the paid ads page.
Meta ads
Meta ads run on Facebook and Instagram. Management includes creative, audiences, offers and retargeting. It starts at $1,500 per month, and ad spend is not included.
Retargeting
Retargeting shows ads to people who already visited your site or interacted with you. For medical practices, HIPAA governs patient data, so tracking choices need care.
Ad script and hook
A script is the plan for what an ad says. The hook is the first line or image that gets attention. The post titled the blog post titled Why Meta Ad Scripts Matter More Than Ever deals with this topic.
Website Terms
Conversion
A conversion is an action you want a visitor to take, such as a call, a form or a booking. A conversion-focused site is built to make that action easy. See a guide to conversion-focused website design. Websites start at $1,000.
Click-to-call
Click-to-call is a phone number set up so a mobile visitor can tap it and dial at once.
Service-area page
This is a page about the work you do in one city or neighborhood you serve. It gives search engines and visitors a clear sense of where you work.
Reporting Terms
Conversion tracking
Conversion tracking records when a visitor takes an action you care about, such as a call or a form fill. Without it, you cannot tell which ads or pages are working. Good tracking is set up during onboarding, before a campaign goes live.
Ad spend
Ad spend is the money you pay the ad platform for clicks or leads. It is separate from the agency fee. Meta ads management pricing at BMG does not include ad spend. A neutral overview of HHS HIPAA guidance is a useful starting point.
Lead
A lead is a person who has contacted you or shown clear interest. A phone call and a form fill are both leads.
Attribution
Attribution is the work of finding out which channel brought a lead. It is rarely perfect, so read it as a guide rather than a verdict.
Monthly report
BMG sends monthly reports that track calls, leads, rankings and campaign performance. The report is what feeds the refine step of the process.
Compliance Terms
HIPAA
HIPAA is the federal law that governs protected patient health information. It affects how medical practices use website data in ads and forms.
Fair housing
Fair housing rules limit how real estate ads can describe or target audiences. Realtors should follow them in every ad and page.
State medical board rules
Advertising rules for medical practices vary by state medical board. Check yours before you publish claims or photos.
Agency Terms
Owner operated
An owner-operated agency is run by its owner, who also does the work. At BMG, the person who plans your marketing is the person who runs it.
Case studies
Case studies are write-ups of past work. See case studies that put these terms into context, and keep in mind that past work does not predict results.
Growth plan
This is the written plan that follows the discovery call. It reviews your website, rankings, Map Pack, paid ads and competitors, then sets what to build first.
How to Use This Glossary
Keep it open during calls and report reviews. If a term is missing, ask your agency to explain it in plain words. A good partner will. We add more explanations to the blog where we explain more local marketing terms.
Before work begins, ask for a clear price. You can learn what each service costs in the pricing guide and then book an intro call to learn how these terms apply to your business. You can also call (818) 299-3505, any day from 8:00 AM to 7:00 PM.