Local-business prospecting glossary
Definitions for the terms that show up in local-business enrichment, lead-gen, and outreach work.
Local business enrichment
The process of taking a basic local-business record (a Google Maps listing, a business name, a domain) and adding decision-maker contact details: owner name, title, verified email, and direct phone number. Distinct from generic B2B enrichment because the targets are small Main-Street businesses where standard databases have weak coverage.
Google Maps verification
Confirming that a business exists as a real, active listing on Google Maps before any further enrichment. The Maps record provides the canonical name, address, website, phone, hours, and category, and acts as a quality gate that filters out closed, duplicate, or fictitious businesses.
Decision-maker
The person at a local business who can authorize a buying decision — typically the owner, founder, co-founder, managing partner, practice manager, medical director, or general manager, depending on vertical. Reaching the decision-maker directly (rather than the front desk or info@ inbox) is the goal of local-business outreach.
B2B local prospecting
Identifying and contacting decision-makers at small local businesses for B2B sales — typically targets under 50 employees with single or few locations. Distinct from mid-market or enterprise B2B prospecting because the targets are less well-covered by standard B2B databases and require Maps-first sourcing.
Place ID
A unique identifier Google assigns to every Google Maps listing. Format starts with 'ChI' and is the most reliable way to reference a specific business across different tools. Local Lynx accepts place_ids as input alongside business names and websites.
Lead enrichment
The process of adding context to a lead record — firmographic data, technographics, contact details — so the sales team has enough information to personalize outreach. For local-business lead enrichment, the most valuable additions are decision-maker name, verified email, and direct phone.
Verified email
An email address that has been confirmed through SMTP verification (the mail server confirms the address exists and accepts mail), as opposed to a guessed email derived from a domain pattern. Verified emails dramatically reduce bounce rates and protect sender reputation.
LinkedIn company match
Matching a Google Maps business listing to its corresponding LinkedIn company page. The strongest signal is the website domain, supplemented by name, address proximity, and category. Once matched, the LinkedIn company page becomes the source for identifying decision-makers.
CSV enrichment
Bulk enrichment of a list of businesses uploaded as a CSV file. The user maps columns (place_id, company name, city, state, website) and the enrichment tool processes each row, returning an output CSV or Google Sheet with appended fields.
Flat pricing
A subscription model where users pay a fixed monthly fee for usage up to a generous in-plan limit, rather than being metered per record. Reduces the friction of rationing usage during prospecting. Local Lynx uses flat pricing across all paid tiers.
Credit-metered pricing
A pricing model where each enrichment consumes a credit, and users buy credit packs or top-ups. Common in legacy B2B tools. Forces sales teams to ration usage, which slows pipeline. Most Apollo, Hunter, and ZoomInfo plans are credit-metered.
GEO (Generative Engine Optimization)
Optimizing a website so that LLM-powered answer engines (ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews) can find, parse, and cite it. Includes structured data, llms.txt files, FAQ schema, clear factual writing, and explicit citation guidance.