Reference

AI & SEO Glossary

Definitions for the terms you'll encounter in AI visibility, local SEO, schema markup, and the Rise Above 360 platform. The industry moves fast — these are the concepts that matter now.

AI & Answer Engines

AEO — Answer Engine Optimization: The practice of structuring content so AI systems like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google's AI Overviews cite your business as a direct answer to a user query — rather than just listing your URL.
GEO — Generative Engine Optimization: Optimizing content for generative AI systems (LLMs) that synthesize answers from multiple sources. Focuses on entity clarity, factual density, and structured data that LLMs can extract and cite.
AI Visibility: A measure of how often and how accurately an AI answer engine (ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, etc.) references your business when answering relevant local or industry questions.
AI Citation: When an AI search engine or chatbot directly names your business, pulls your data (hours, address, specialty), or links your website as a source in a generated answer.
LLM — Large Language Model: The class of AI models (GPT-4, Gemini, Claude, Llama) that power AI search experiences. LLMs synthesize answers from training data and live retrieval — structured data improves how accurately they represent your business.
Zero-Click Search: A search result where the user gets their answer directly on the SERP (or in an AI response) without clicking any link. AI Overviews, featured snippets, and Knowledge Panels all create zero-click results.
AI Overview: Google's AI-generated summary that appears above traditional search results, synthesizing multiple sources into one answer. Businesses cited in AI Overviews see high-trust exposure without requiring a click.
Perplexity: An AI-powered search engine that answers questions by citing real-time web sources. Businesses with complete, structured online presence are more likely to be cited.

Schema & Structured Data

Schema Markup: Code added to a webpage (in JSON-LD format) that tells search engines and AI systems what your content means — not just what it says. Types include LocalBusiness, FAQPage, Review, Product, and more.
Structured Data: Data formatted according to a defined vocabulary (Schema.org) so machines can reliably parse it. The foundation of rich results, Knowledge Panel entries, and AI citations.
JSON-LD: The Google-recommended format for delivering structured data — a JavaScript object embedded in a <script> tag in the page's HTML. Does not affect visual page layout.
LocalBusiness Schema: A Schema.org type that defines a physical business: name, address, phone, hours, category, coordinates, and more. The primary schema type for local SEO and AI citation of local businesses.
FAQPage Schema: Structured markup that presents questions and answers in a machine-readable format. Enables FAQ rich results in Google SERPs and signals authoritative answers to LLMs.
AggregateRating Schema: Structured data that communicates your overall star rating and review count to search engines. Enables star display in rich results and strengthens trust signals for AI citation.
Entity: A uniquely identifiable thing — a person, place, organization, or concept — that knowledge graphs recognize as distinct. A business becomes an entity when it has consistent, structured signals across the web.
Knowledge Graph: Google's database of entities and their relationships. Businesses represented in the Knowledge Graph appear in Knowledge Panels and are more reliably cited by AI systems trained on Google data.
Rich Result: An enhanced SERP listing (star ratings, FAQ dropdowns, hours, images) generated when Google successfully parses structured data on a page. Improves click-through rates significantly.

Local SEO

GBP — Google Business Profile: Google's free listing tool for local businesses (formerly Google My Business). A complete, verified GBP is required for Map Pack placement and is a primary source for AI answers about local businesses.
Map Pack / Local 3-Pack: The block of three local business listings displayed above organic results for location-based queries. Driven by GBP signals, proximity, and local SEO factors.
NAP Consistency: Name, Address, Phone — the three pieces of business information that must match exactly across every online directory, your website, and GBP. Inconsistencies confuse search engines and reduce local authority.
Citation Building: The process of creating and verifying your business listing across online directories (Yelp, Bing Places, Apple Maps, Yellow Pages, etc.). Citations validate NAP data and build local authority.
Local Authority: A composite measure of how trustworthy and prominent a local business appears to search engines — influenced by citations, reviews, GBP completeness, backlinks, and schema coverage.
Review Campaign: A systematic process for generating authentic customer reviews on Google, Yelp, and other platforms. Review volume and rating affect both Map Pack rankings and AggregateRating schema signals.

Technical SEO

Core Web Vitals: Google's page experience metrics — Largest Contentful Paint (LCP), Interaction to Next Paint (INP), and Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS). Poor scores can suppress rankings regardless of content quality.
E-E-A-T: Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness — Google's quality evaluator framework. High E-E-A-T signals (reviews, credentials, structured bios, linked entities) improve rankings and AI citation likelihood.
Crawlability: Whether search engine bots can access and navigate your site's pages. Blocked pages can't be indexed or cited.
Indexability: Whether a page Google has crawled is eligible to appear in search results. Pages can be crawlable but excluded from the index (via noindex tags or canonical directives).
Canonical URL: The preferred version of a URL when duplicate content exists. Tells search engines which page to index and attribute authority to.
Sitemap: An XML file listing all pages on your site. Helps search engines discover and prioritize your content for crawling.
Technical Audit: A systematic review of a website's technical health — covering crawl errors, schema validity, page speed, mobile usability, duplicate content, and structured data coverage.

Content & Authority

Keyword Ranking: The position your page holds in Google search results for a specific query. Tracked over time to measure SEO progress.
Featured Snippet: A selected answer box displayed above organic results, pulled from a specific page. Appearing in a featured snippet also increases the chance of AI citation from the same content.
Content Gap: A topic or question that competitors rank for but your site does not address. Closing content gaps improves keyword coverage and AI citation breadth.
Brand Guide: In Rise Above 360, the Brand Guide is a structured record of your business's identity — name, tagline, services, hours, location, contact info, and specialties — used to populate schema markup and sync to your WordPress plugin.
360° Internet Presence: Rise Above 360's framework for complete online visibility: schema + local SEO + content + reviews + analytics — all working together so your business is found and cited across search, maps, voice, and AI.