Glossary
Marketing glossary A–Z
52 digital marketing terms explained in plain language, from A/B test to WhatsApp Business.
A
- A/B test
- Comparing two versions of an ad, page or email to see which performs better.
- Ad rank
- How Google decides your ad's position, based on bid, quality and context.
- Algorithm
- The rules a platform uses to decide what to show to whom.
- Alt text
- A text description of an image, used by screen readers and search engines.
- Attribution
- How credit for a conversion is shared between the channels and ads that led to it.
B
- Backlink
- A link from another website to yours.
- Bounce rate
- In GA4, the share of sessions that weren't engaged.
- Broad match
- A Google Ads keyword match type that shows ads for related searches.
C
- CAC
- Customer acquisition cost: total marketing cost divided by new customers.
- CAPI
- Conversions API: sends conversion events from your server to Meta.
- Canonical tag
- Tells search engines which URL is the main version of a page.
- Conversion
- A valuable action, such as a lead, call or purchase.
- Core Web Vitals
- Google's metrics for loading speed, responsiveness and visual stability.
- CPC
- Cost per click: spend divided by clicks.
- CPM
- Cost per 1,000 impressions.
- CTR
- Click-through rate: clicks divided by impressions.
D
- DKIM
- An email authentication method that proves your emails weren't altered.
- DMARC
- An email policy that tells inboxes what to do with mail that fails SPF/DKIM.
E
- E-E-A-T
- Experience, expertise, authoritativeness and trust: signals of quality content.
- Engagement rate
- Interactions divided by reach or impressions (definitions vary by platform).
F
- Frequency
- Average number of times a person saw your ad.
- Funnel
- The stages from first awareness to purchase and loyalty.
G
- GA4
- Google Analytics 4, Google's current analytics platform.
- Google Business Profile
- Your free business listing on Google Search and Maps.
I
- Impressions
- How many times your ad or page was shown.
- Index
- Google's database of pages it can show in results.
K
- Keyword
- A word or phrase people type into a search engine.
- KPI
- Key performance indicator: the metric that defines success.
L
- Landing page
- The page people reach after clicking an ad or link.
- Lead magnet
- A free resource offered in exchange for an email or contact.
- Lookalike audience
- Meta audience of people similar to your existing customers.
- LTV
- Lifetime value: total revenue (or profit) from a customer over time.
M
- Meta description
- The short page summary that may appear under your link in search results.
- Meta Pixel
- Code that tracks website actions for Meta ads.
N
- Negative keyword
- A word that stops your Google ad from showing for certain searches.
- Nofollow
- A link attribute telling search engines not to pass credit.
O
- Organic
- Unpaid traffic, from search results or social posts.
P
- Performance Max
- A Google Ads campaign type that runs across all Google channels.
- PPC
- Pay-per-click: advertising where you pay when someone clicks.
Q
- Quality Score
- Google's 1–10 estimate of keyword, ad and landing page relevance.
R
- Reach
- Number of unique people who saw your content or ad.
- Remarketing
- Showing ads to people who already visited or engaged.
- ROAS
- Return on ad spend: revenue divided by ad spend.
S
- Schema markup
- Structured data that helps search engines understand a page.
- SEO
- Search engine optimisation: earning unpaid visibility in search results.
- SERP
- Search engine results page.
- Sitemap
- A file listing your site's pages for search engines.
- SPF
- An email authentication record listing servers allowed to send for your domain.
U
- UTM
- Tags added to URLs so analytics tools know where traffic came from.
- UGC
- User-generated content: content made by customers or creators.
V
- Viral
- Content shared widely and rapidly.
W
- WhatsApp Business
- WhatsApp's app and platform for businesses to talk to customers.
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