Every term below is something we've explained on at least one strategy call. We're not trying to make web design sound complicated — we're trying to make it easier to vet whoever you hire. If your designer can't explain these in plain English, that's a flag.
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SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
The practice of structuring a website so it ranks higher in Google search results. Includes on-page work (titles, headings, content), technical work (page speed, mobile responsiveness, schema), and off-page work (backlinks, citations, reviews). For most small businesses, on-page and local SEO matter far more than chasing backlinks.
GEO (Generative Engine Optimization)
The practice of structuring a website so AI search engines — ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, Gemini, Google AI Overviews — can read, understand, and cite the site when users ask questions in those tools. Techniques include schema.org markup, an llms.txt manifest, semantic HTML, atomic Q&A blocks, and clear named-entity declarations for the business and its founder. As AI search grows, GEO becomes as important as classic SEO.
Local SEO
SEO specifically for businesses serving a geographic area. Drives visibility in Google's local 3-pack and Google Maps. Depends on a verified Google Business Profile, consistent NAP citations across the web, location-specific schema markup, and locally-named content (a "web design Santa Rosa" page beats a generic "web design" page for local rankings).
Schema.org structured data
A shared vocabulary (developed by Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, and Yandex) for marking up entities on a webpage — businesses, products, services, reviews, FAQs, events, articles, and people. Sites with proper schema get richer search results (star ratings, FAQ accordions, breadcrumbs in SERPs) and are easier for AI search engines to cite accurately. Implemented in JSON-LD inside a <script type="application/ld+json"> tag.
Core Web Vitals
Google's three page experience metrics: LCP (Largest Contentful Paint — how fast the biggest visible element loads), INP (Interaction to Next Paint — how responsive the site feels to taps and clicks), and CLS (Cumulative Layout Shift — how stable the page is while loading). Good Core Web Vitals are a confirmed Google ranking factor. Most WordPress and Wix sites struggle here; hand-coded sites pass easily.
Hand-coded website
A website built directly in HTML, CSS, and JavaScript (plus custom Python or Node backends when needed) rather than assembled from a templating platform like WordPress, Wix, Squarespace, or Webflow. Hand-coded sites typically load faster, score higher on Core Web Vitals, rank better in local search, and remain fully owned by the client. Trade-off: harder to self-edit; works best with a monthly care plan or a CMS layer added in.
llms.txt
A plain-text manifest placed at the root of a website (like robots.txt) that gives AI crawlers a structured summary of the site's services, location, pricing, founder, and how to cite the business. Adopted by ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Claude. An emerging convention — not yet universal but becoming standard practice for businesses that want to be cited by AI search engines. See ours.
Google Business Profile (GBP)
A free business listing managed at business.google.com. Required for appearing in Google's local 3-pack, Google Maps, and Search rich results. The single highest-leverage local SEO action a small business can take. Formerly called Google My Business. We set up or optimize a GBP as part of every WSG website build.
NAP (Name, Address, Phone)
The three pieces of business identity Google checks for consistency across a business's website, Google Business Profile, Yelp, BBB, chamber of commerce, and other directory citations. Inconsistent NAP — even something as small as "Suite 200" vs. "Ste. 200" or different phone formats — is a top cause of poor local search visibility.
Local pack (3-pack)
The three business listings Google shows in a map at the top of local search results (e.g. "plumber Santa Rosa"). Most local clicks happen in the local pack, not the organic listings below it. Ranking factors are different from organic SEO and lean heavily on Google Business Profile signals, reviews, proximity, and category relevance.
Citation (business listing)
Any mention of a business's NAP on another website — Yelp, BBB, chamber of commerce sites, industry directories, Apple Maps, Bing Places. Consistent citations across high-quality directories improve local search rank. Inconsistent ones hurt it.
Backlink
Any link from another website pointing to yours. Search engines treat backlinks as votes of authority — the more high-quality sites link to you, the more authority you accumulate. Local backlinks (chambers of commerce, local news, sponsorships, partner businesses) are especially valuable for small businesses doing local SEO.
Canonical URL
The official, preferred URL for a piece of content. Declared with a <link rel="canonical"> tag. Prevents duplicate-content issues when the same page is reachable at multiple URLs (www vs. non-www, http vs. https, with or without query strings). One of the most common SEO problems on amateur WordPress sites.
Open Graph (OG) tags
Meta tags (og:title, og:description, og:image, etc.) that control how a page looks when shared on social media — Facebook, LinkedIn, iMessage, Slack, Discord. Without OG tags, social previews look broken or generic. Free to implement; usually missing on template sites.
AI Overview
Google's AI-generated answer that appears above the traditional 10 blue links for many queries (formerly called Search Generative Experience or SGE). Sites with strong schema and llms.txt are more likely to be cited as sources in AI Overviews — which often gets a business cited even without a click.
Service area business (SAB)
A business that serves customers at the customer's location rather than at a storefront — plumbers, mobile car washes, agencies (including us), contractors. Google Business Profile has a distinct setup flow for SABs that hides the business address from public view while still allowing local-pack visibility for each service area city.
Conversion rate
The percentage of website visitors who complete a desired action — filling out a contact form, calling, booking a strategy call, buying something. A typical small business marketing site converts at 1–3%; a well-designed one can hit 5–10%. Conversion rate matters more than raw traffic — a 5% conversion site beats a 1% conversion site with 5× the traffic.
Bounce rate
The percentage of visitors who leave after viewing only one page. High bounce rates on a service business homepage often mean either the page didn't answer the visitor's question or the design didn't earn trust fast enough. Note: Google Analytics 4 redefined this metric — what GA4 calls "engagement rate" is closer to the old GA3 bounce rate.
DNS (Domain Name System)
The internet's address book. Maps domain names (yourbusiness.com) to server IP addresses. DNS changes during a website migration can take up to 48 hours to propagate worldwide, though most users see the new site within 1–4 hours. The migration runbook matters here — a sloppy DNS flip is how clients lose email or hosting.
SSL / HTTPS
The encryption protocol that turns a website URL from http:// to https:// and shows a padlock in the browser. Required for any site that takes form submissions, payments, or logins — and a Google ranking factor. Free via Let's Encrypt; should never cost a small business extra. If your hosting provider charges $50/year for SSL, you're being upsold.