Reference

Structured-data & AI-search glossary

Plain-English definitions of the schema.org, SEO, and AI-search terms behind getting a home-services business found — by Google and by the AI assistants.

Structured data: Structured data is machine-readable code added to a web page that describes its content — the business, product, review, or event on it — so search engines and AI assistants can understand and reuse it rather than guessing from prose.
Schema.org: Schema.org is the shared vocabulary of types and properties (Organization, Service, Review, Event…) that Google, Bing, and AI systems agree to read. It is the dictionary structured data is written in.
JSON-LD: JSON-LD is the JSON-based format Google recommends for structured data. It sits in a script tag in the page's HTML and describes entities and their relationships without changing what visitors see.
Rich result: A rich result is a standard search listing enhanced by structured data — star ratings, breadcrumbs, video thumbnails, event dates. Valid schema makes a page eligible; Google still decides whether to show it.
Featured snippet: A featured snippet is the answer box at the top of Google's results, lifted directly from a page's content — not from schema. You win it by answering a question clearly and in the format Google shows.
People Also Ask: People Also Ask (PAA) is the expandable list of related questions on a results page. Each answer is pulled from page content, so pages that answer specific questions directly can appear even when ranked beyond the top ten.
AI Overview: An AI Overview is Google's AI-generated answer at the top of results, synthesized from multiple sources it cites. It reads content passage by passage, favoring direct answers, comparison tables, and named statistics.
Answer Engine Optimization: Answer Engine Optimization (AEO), also called AI-search or generative-engine optimization, is structuring content so AI assistants — Google AI Overviews, ChatGPT, Gemini — quote and cite it, not just so it ranks in blue links.
Knowledge Graph: Google's Knowledge Graph is its database of real-world entities — businesses, people, places — and the facts linking them. Consistent structured data and sameAs links help Google reconcile your business into it.
Knowledge panel: A knowledge panel is the branded information box shown beside search results for a recognized entity. It is generated from the Knowledge Graph; strong Organization schema and authoritative references help earn one.
Entity: An entity is a distinct real-world thing — a specific company, person, or place — that search engines track as a node with attributes and relationships, rather than as a keyword string.
E-E-A-T: E-E-A-T stands for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness — the qualities Google's raters use to judge content, and that increasingly determine which sources AI systems cite.
Local SEO: Local SEO is the practice of getting a business found for location-based searches — 'roofer near me' — through Google Business Profile, consistent listings, local structured data, and reviews.
NAP consistency: NAP consistency means your Name, Address, and Phone number match exactly across every website, directory, and profile. Discrepancies erode the trust Google places in your business's location data.
Google Business Profile: Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business) is the free listing that controls how your business appears in Google Maps and the local pack — hours, photos, reviews, and contact details.
sameAs: sameAs is a schema.org property holding authoritative URLs — your LinkedIn, YouTube, Wikidata — that point to the same entity. It is the main lever for consolidating your business into Google's Knowledge Graph.
BreadcrumbList: BreadcrumbList is the structured-data type that describes a page's position in the site hierarchy. It powers the breadcrumb trail Google can show in place of a raw URL in search results.
Canonical URL: A canonical URL is the single preferred address for a piece of content when duplicates exist. The rel=canonical tag tells search engines which version to index and credit.
Sitemap: A sitemap is an XML file listing a site's crawlable URLs, submitted to Google Search Console. It helps search engines discover pages — especially new or deep ones — faster and more completely.
Indexing: Indexing is the process of a search engine storing a crawled page so it can appear in results. A page can be crawled but not indexed; only indexed pages can rank.
LocalBusiness: LocalBusiness is the schema.org type (with trade-specific subtypes like RoofingContractor) that describes a physical, customer-facing business — its address, hours, geo, and services — for local search.
AggregateRating: AggregateRating is the schema.org type summarizing many reviews into an average value and count. Attached to eligible content it can produce star rich results — though not for a business rating itself.
VideoObject: VideoObject is the schema.org type describing a video's name, thumbnail, and upload date. With key-moments markup it can earn video thumbnails and clip links in search results.
Core Web Vitals: Core Web Vitals are Google's page-experience metrics — loading (LCP), interactivity (INP), and visual stability (CLS) — that measure real-world speed and smoothness and factor into rankings.

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