Glossary: G

Gemini

Google’s AI assistant, and the model behind AI Overviews and AI Mode. Visibility in it is closely tied to visibility in Google’s own index.

Generative Engine Optimization (GEO)

Work that shapes what AI systems say about a brand by influencing the sources they cite, most of which sit outside the brand’s own website. Full definition, examples and application

We work on this: Generative Engine Optimization (GEO)

Glossary Page

A page that defines the terms used in an industry. Built well, it earns visibility on definitional questions that long articles rarely win. Full definition, examples and application

Read more: From Zero to Hero: Boosting SEO with Strategic Glossary Pages

Google AI Overviews

The AI-generated answer block Google places above the organic results. It cites a small set of sources, and appearing beneath it is not the same as appearing in it.

Google Analytics

Google’s analytics platform, currently GA4. It measures what happens after someone arrives, which makes it the counterpart to Search Console rather than a substitute.

We work on this: Analytics and Reporting

Google Business Profile

The business listing that powers Google’s map results and the local knowledge panel. It is indexed separately from the web results for the same brand.

We work on this: Local SEO Services

Google Merchant Center

The feed platform that supplies product data to Google Shopping and to Google’s product-discovery surfaces. Feed quality, not website quality, decides what shows.

We work on this: eCommerce SEO Services

Google Search Console

Google’s free reporting on how a site performs in search: queries, impressions, positions, indexing status. The primary source for anything organic.

We work on this: Analytics and Reporting

Googlebot

Google’s crawler, and the source of the index behind both search results and AI Overviews. Separate from the controls governing other AI crawlers, which are set independently.

GPTBot

OpenAI’s crawler. Blocking it removes a site from the content OpenAI can retrieve, which is a decision worth making deliberately rather than inheriting from a default.

Grounding

Attaching an AI answer to retrieved sources rather than to model memory alone. Grounded answers can be influenced by publishing quickly; ungrounded ones only as training data changes.

Grounding Query

The query an AI assistant writes for itself to retrieve sources before answering. It is rarely the words the person typed, which is why tracking only human phrasing misses most retrieval.