What is Review Signal?
Rating volume, velocity, recency, and owner responses as local ranking and conversion input. A steady stream of answered reviews beats a stale perfect score.
Related terms
Review Schema
Structured data for visible on-page reviews. Google restricts review stars for self-serving pages, so mark up genuine third-party-reviewable entities and keep policies in mind.
Google Business Profile (GBP)
The free listing controlling how a business appears in Maps and local results: hours, categories, photos, reviews, posts. Complete and active profiles outrank neglected ones.
Local Pack
The three-business map block atop local results. Pack membership runs on proximity plus profile strength, so track it separately from organic positions.
NAP Consistency
Matching Name, Address, and Phone data across listings, citations, and the site. Inconsistencies confuse entity resolution and suppress local confidence.
Local Citation
A directory or web mention of business name, address, and phone. Core citations on major platforms establish existence; niche directories add relevance per vertical.
Geo-Modifier
A location word added to a query ("plumber austin"). Location pages and profiles must mirror the modifiers searchers actually use, not internal district names.