Glossary of Terms

Why it matters: old links in Google, other websites, or your business cards still work after a site rebuild if 301 redirects are properly set up.

Why it matters: many WordPress plugins default to 302 when they should use 301, which can quietly erode a page's search ranking over time.

Why it matters: the scan checks for 404s because they're invisible to the site owner but immediately visible to Google and to visitors who click old links.

Why it matters: accessibility is increasingly a legal requirement in Canada, and a fully accessible site ranks slightly better than one with known failures.

Why it matters: every image on your site should describe what it shows — "licensed plumber installing water heater in Toronto home" is better than a blank field or a filename.

Why it matters: all new sites built through TradesAdmin use Astro because it delivers consistently high PageSpeed scores and requires no ongoing maintenance from the site owner.

Why it matters: they frustrate visitors and signal to Google that a site isn't well-maintained. The scan checks every internal link and flags those that return errors.

Why it matters: it's a symptom — if it's high, something about the first page experience is driving people away before they call.

Why it matters: WordPress caching plugins are a common source of bugs — a "fixed" page that visitors can't see updated because their browser cached the old version.

Why it matters: misconfigured canonical tags are a frequent cause of pages that refuse to rank despite having good content.

Why it matters: a GTA contractor site without a CDN loads slower for visitors in Mississauga than one with a CDN, even if they're in the same city — the routing is more efficient.

Why it matters: over 60% of contractor site visitors are on mobile. A phone number displayed as plain text — not a link — means friction at the highest-intent moment on your site.

Why it matters: layout shift is the "page jumped when I was about to click" experience. It's frustrating and Google uses it as a ranking signal.

Why it matters: a CMS is convenient but adds maintenance overhead — WordPress in particular requires regular plugin updates, security monitoring, and backup management that many contractors neglect.

Why it matters: poor Core Web Vitals scores directly suppress a site's ranking in Google search results — it's not just a technical report card, it affects where your site appears.

Why it matters: if Google can't crawl a page — because it's blocked by robots.txt, returns an error, or loads too slowly — it can't index or rank that page.

Why it matters: misconfigured DNS is the most common cause of sites being completely inaccessible, email not delivering, and SSL certificates failing to issue.

Why it matters: many contractors don't know who they registered their domain with, which causes problems when the registration expires, when DNS changes are needed, or when a site needs to be rebuilt.

Why it matters: it's the first thing a visitor sees. A blank white screen for 4 seconds before anything appears loses the visitor before they've read a word.

Why it matters: for contractors, the GBP often generates more calls than the website itself. An unclaimed, unverified, or misconfigured GBP is a direct loss of leads.

Why it matters: Google Search Console is the authoritative source for knowing whether Google can actually see and rank your pages. Many contractor sites have never been set up in Search Console.

Why it matters: cheap shared hosting is the single most common cause of slow WordPress sites. The hosting environment sets a ceiling on how fast a site can be, regardless of how well it's optimised.

Why it matters: Google has used HTTPS as a ranking signal since 2014. A site without a valid SSL certificate loses ranking and shows browser warnings that drive visitors away before they read the first line.

Why it matters: "my site doesn't show on Google" is almost always an indexing problem — the page exists but Google either hasn't found it or was told not to include it.

Why it matters: heavy JavaScript — from ad scripts, chat widgets, and WordPress plugins — is the main cause of poor INP scores.

Why it matters: LCP is the primary performance metric Google weights most heavily. Oversized images, render-blocking scripts, and slow hosting are the main causes of poor LCP.

Why it matters: LSAs can generate leads quickly while organic SEO builds over time, but they require a verified GBP and often a background check for the business owner.

Why it matters: most contractor sites have either no meta descriptions or auto-generated ones that say nothing meaningful. Every page with a custom meta description is an opportunity to get more clicks from the same ranking position.

Why it matters: sites built 5–10 years ago were often designed for desktop first. Mobile-first indexing means those sites are ranked on their worst version.

Why it matters: inconsistent NAP — different phone numbers on different directories, an old address that hasn't been updated, a business name that varies by listing — confuses Google and weakens local search ranking. Every discrepancy is a trust signal working against you.

Why it matters: the PSI score is the most direct measure of how Google perceives your site's user experience. It's the first thing checked in every scan.

Why it matters: redirect chains are common after site rebuilds or platform migrations where old redirects weren't cleaned up. They're invisible to site owners but measurable by crawlers and performance tools.

Why it matters: it's a one-line mistake that can deindex an entire site. Worth checking if pages suddenly vanish from Google.

Why it matters: a page with LocalBusiness schema and accurate service area data gives Google a clear, machine-readable signal of what the business is and where it operates — which directly supports local search ranking.

Why it matters: the goal of technical SEO, content, and GBP optimisation is to appear in the SERP for the searches your customers are doing — "emergency plumber Toronto," "HVAC repair Mississauga," etc.

Why it matters: a sitemap doesn't guarantee indexing, but it removes any excuse for Google not finding your pages. A site without a submitted sitemap is leaving discovery to chance.

Why it matters: a title tag that reads "Home" or "Welcome" tells Google and searchers nothing about what the page is. "Emergency Plumber in Toronto — Licenced, Available 24/7" tells both exactly what they need to know.

Why it matters: a site that's down when a homeowner searches for an emergency plumber at 11pm has failed at its one job. Monitoring alerts when a site goes offline so downtime is caught and resolved quickly.

Why it matters: WordPress's flexibility comes with maintenance overhead that many contractors don't budget for or know about. Neglected WordPress installs — outdated plugins, no backups, weak passwords — are the most common source of hacked contractor sites.