SEO Glossary for Irish Tradespeople: Plain English Definitions

SEO Glossary for Irish Tradespeople

If someone has mentioned SEO, local search, backlinks, or meta descriptions to you and you are not sure what they mean, this page covers everything in plain English. No jargon.

A link from another website pointing to yours. Google treats backlinks as votes of confidence. When a reputable website links to your site, it tells Google that your site is worth recommending. For a local tradesperson, backlinks from trade association websites, supplier websites, and local directories are the most valuable.

Call to Action (CTA)

Any element on a webpage that prompts a visitor to take a specific action. For a trade website, that action is usually calling you or submitting a quote request. A button that says “Get a Free Quote” or a prominently displayed phone number are both examples of calls to action.

Citation

A mention of your business name, address, and phone number on another website. Citations on directories like Golden Pages, Yelp, and Bing Places tell Google that your business is real and located where you say it is. The key is that your information is identical across all citations.

Content Cluster

A group of related web pages structured around a central pillar page and a set of supporting pages. For example, a main page about local SEO for tradespeople, supported by ten more specific pages covering individual topics like Google reviews, Google Business Profile, and local citations. This structure helps Google understand that you have deep knowledge of a topic and improves your ranking for all related searches.

Domain Authority

A measure of how trustworthy and established a website is in Google’s eyes. Older websites with more backlinks and consistent content tend to have higher domain authority and rank more easily for competitive searches. New websites build authority over time.

Google Business Profile

The free listing that appears in Google Maps and in the map pack at the top of local search results. When someone searches “painter near me” or “plumber Dundalk”, the three businesses shown with a map are Google Business Profiles. Fully completing and actively maintaining your profile is one of the most important things a tradesperson can do for local SEO.

HTTPS

The secure version of the protocol that websites use to communicate with browsers. You can tell if a website uses HTTPS by the padlock in the browser address bar. Google uses HTTPS as a minor ranking factor and some browsers warn visitors that non-HTTPS sites are not secure. Every ProBizMate site includes HTTPS by default.

A link from one page on your website to another page on the same website. Internal links help Google understand the structure of your site and the relationship between pages. They also help visitors navigate. A blog post about exterior painting should link to your exterior painting service page. Your service page should link to relevant blog posts.

Keyword

A word or phrase that people type into Google when searching for something. For a tradesperson, the most valuable keywords are local and specific, such as “painter Dundalk” or “emergency plumber Co. Louth”. Getting your website to appear when these keywords are searched is the goal of local SEO.

Local Pack (Map Pack)

The block of three businesses with a map that appears at the top of Google search results for local searches. Also called the map pack or the snack pack. Getting into the local pack for your trade in your area is one of the most valuable things local SEO can achieve for a tradesperson.

Meta Description

The short description of a webpage that appears under the page title in Google search results. It does not directly affect your ranking but it does affect whether someone clicks on your result. A well-written meta description that includes your keyword and a clear call to action improves your click-through rate.

Meta Title (Title Tag)

The title of a webpage as it appears in Google search results and in the browser tab. It is one of the most important on-page SEO elements. For a trade website, a good meta title includes the service and location, such as “Exterior Painting Dundalk | Mark Gormley Painting”.

Mobile-First Indexing

Google uses the mobile version of your website to determine your ranking, not the desktop version. This means your site’s performance on phones is more important than how it looks on a desktop computer for SEO purposes.

NAP

Stands for Name, Address, Phone number. Google checks that your business NAP is consistent across your website, your Google Business Profile, and any directory listings. Inconsistencies in your NAP can reduce the trust Google places in your location data.

On-Page SEO

The SEO work done on the pages of your website itself. This includes writing page titles and meta descriptions, using the right headings, including your keywords naturally in the content, optimising images, and building internal links. Distinct from off-page SEO which includes things like backlinks and citations.

The non-paid search results on Google. When you rank organically, visitors find your website because Google has decided it is relevant to their search, not because you have paid for an ad. Organic rankings are what SEO aims to improve.

Page Speed

How quickly a webpage loads. Google uses page speed as a ranking factor. Slow pages rank lower and lose visitors before they finish loading. Most trade websites should aim to load in under two seconds on mobile.

Rank

Where your website appears in Google search results for a given search term. Ranking on page one, and ideally in the top three positions, is the goal of local SEO for tradespeople.

Schema Markup

Code added to a webpage that helps Google understand the content more specifically. For a trade website, schema markup can tell Google that your page is about a local business, including your address, phone number, and type of business. This can improve how your business appears in search results.

Service Page

A dedicated webpage on your website covering a single specific service you offer. A painter should have separate service pages for interior painting, exterior painting, commercial painting, and so on. Separate service pages are one of the most important structural elements of a local trade website for SEO.

Sitemap

A file on your website that lists all your pages and helps Google find and index them efficiently. A well-structured sitemap ensures Google knows about every page on your site.

Slug

The part of a webpage URL that identifies the specific page. For example, in probizmate.com/blog/how-to-get-google-reviews, the slug is “how-to-get-google-reviews”. A good slug includes the main keyword for that page and is easy to read.

Have a term that is not covered here? Email us at hello@probizmate.com and we will add it.

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