Reference

Digital Marketing Glossary

These are the terms that turn up in marketing proposals and monthly reports, defined the way I would explain them on a call. Each one says what it is and why it matters to you, because a definition without the second part is not much use when you are reading a quote.

Terms defined
2046
Disciplines
13
Letters
27

Start here

The terms that come up most

If a proposal or report has confused you, one of these is usually the reason.

Conversion Rate

CVR

The share of visitors or sessions that complete a defined action, such as a…

Conversion and UXRead definition

Cost Per Click (CPC)

CPC, average CPC

The amount charged each time someone clicks an ad, set by the auction rather…

Google AdsRead definition

Conversion Tracking

Goal tracking

The setup that records when a visitor does something valuable and reports it back…

Analytics and TrackingRead definition

Search Intent

user intent, keyword intent

The purpose behind a query — learning, comparing, buying or reaching a site —…

SEORead definition

Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)

CAC, acquisition cost

Total sales and marketing cost divided by the number of new customers won in…

Strategy and MetricsRead definition

Impression Share

IS, search impression share

The percentage of the auctions you were eligible for where your ad actually showed.

Google AdsRead definition

Core Web Vitals

CWV, page experience signals

Google's three measurements of how a page feels to use: loading, responsiveness and visual…

SEORead definition

Marketing Funnel

Sales funnel, purchase funnel

The stages a stranger passes through on the way to becoming a customer, from…

Strategy and MetricsRead definition

A

193 terms

B

90 terms

C

279 terms

D

121 terms

E

79 terms

F

73 terms

G

65 terms

H

44 terms

I

68 terms

J

6 terms

K

18 terms

L

111 terms

M

104 terms

N

29 terms

O

32 terms

P

156 terms

Q

8 terms

R

113 terms

S

215 terms

T

93 terms

U

41 terms

V

46 terms

W

29 terms

X

3 terms

Y

8 terms

Z

3 terms

#

19 terms

How to use this glossary

Search the box above if you know the word you are after. Filter by discipline if you want to see everything that belongs to one part of the work. Or read down the A to Z, which is how most people find the term they half-remember from a call.

Every entry follows the same shape: what the term means in one sentence, an everyday comparison, how it works, why it matters, where people get it wrong, and what to do about it. Where a term connects to something I do for clients, the page links to that service rather than selling it in the definition.

Why the definitions read the way they do

Most marketing glossaries define a term using three more terms you also do not know. I have tried not to do that. If a definition here needs another concept, it links to that concept, so you can follow the thread as far as you need and stop when you have your answer.

You will also notice there are no statistics. Benchmarks in this industry are usually borrowed from a study of a different market in a different year, and quoting one at you would be worse than saying nothing. Where a number genuinely depends on your industry, budget or country, the page says so and explains what moves it.

If a term is missing

Send it to me. The list grows from what clients and readers actually ask about, which is a better guide than any keyword tool. The same goes for a definition you think is wrong or out of date: platforms rename things constantly, and a glossary that is not corrected is worse than none.

For longer explanations rather than definitions, the free resources hold the guides and checklists, and the blog covers the things that change often enough to need dating.

Questions about the glossary

Which of these terms should I actually care about?

Conversion, cost per acquisition, and what a customer is worth to you. Almost every other metric in a report is a diagnostic for those three, and a report that leads with impressions is usually avoiding them.

A proposal I received uses none of these terms. Is that a bad sign?

Not necessarily; plain language is good. What matters is whether it says what will be measured and how. A proposal with no measurement in it is the warning sign, whatever vocabulary it uses.

Can I use these definitions in my own work?

Quote a line and link back and that is fine by me. Copying whole entries into another glossary is not, and it tends to be obvious. If you want something explained for your team in your own context, ask me instead.

A term is only useful if you know what to do with it

Send me the report or proposal that confused you. I will tell you what matters in it and what to ignore.