The glossary, in plain English
201 terms and counting. Each with the part that actually matters to an owner, not a textbook.
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A/B TestShowing two versions to similar audiences and letting results pick the winner. Needs enoug…Above the FoldWhat's visible before scrolling. On phones, most of your traffic, that's a headline, a sen…Ad Assets (Extensions)The extras attached to search ads. Sitelinks, callouts, call buttons, location info. Free …Ad Preview ToolGoogle's built-in tool showing whether and how your ad appears for a search, without regis…Ad RankGoogle's auction score deciding whether and where your ad shows. Bid × quality factors × e…AIDAAttention, Interest, Desire, Action. The century-old skeleton for persuasive messages, sti…Alt TextThe text description attached to images. Read by screen readers, shown when images fail, a…Anchor TextThe clickable words of a link. 'Panel upgrade pricing' tells readers and engines what's be…Answer Engine Optimization (AEO)Structuring content so AI assistants and answer boxes can quote it: direct answers up fron…AttributionDeciding which marketing touch gets credit for a sale. First click, last click, or split a…Auction InsightsThe Google Ads report showing who else appears in your auctions. Their impression share, o…Average Order Value (AOV)Revenue per transaction on average. With frequency and retention, one of the three levers …
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BacklinkA link from someone else's site to yours. Search engines read quality links as votes of cr…BenchmarkA reference number for comparison. Industry averages, your own history, or a competitor's …Bid AdjustmentPercentage bid changes layered on a base bid by device, location, schedule, or audience. B…Boosted PostPaying to extend a social post's reach with one click. The simplified, less-controllable c…Bot TrafficNon-human visits. Crawlers, scrapers, click bots. Inflates traffic stats and occasionally …Bounce Rate (Email)The share of sent emails that couldn't be delivered. Dead addresses (hard bounces) or temp…Bounce Rate (Website)The share of visits that end without meaningful interaction. High bounce on a paid landing…Brand AwarenessWhether your market knows you exist and what for. Real, valuable, and notoriously used to …Brand SearchSearches for your business by name. High-intent, nearly free to win organically. And compe…Brand Style GuideThe reference doc for how your business looks and sounds. Logo usage, colors, fonts, voice…Branded CampaignA campaign bidding on your own business name. Cheap clicks, inflated-looking results. Thes…Broad MatchThe loosest keyword matching: Google shows your ad on searches it considers related, not j…Broadcast EmailA one-time send to a list or segment, the announcement, the newsletter issue, versus autom…
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Call to Action (CTA)The instruction telling a visitor what to do next. Button, link, or phone number. Pages co…CAN-SPAMThe U.S. commercial-email law: truthful headers and subjects, a physical postal address, a…Canonical URLA tag declaring which version of similar pages is the 'real' one, so search engines don't …ChurnThe rate at which customers stop buying or cancel. The silent opponent of every growth eff…City PageA page targeting one service in one location ('water heater repair in Franklin'). Works wh…Click FraudClicks from bots or bad actors (including competitors) that spend your budget with zero in…Close RateThe share of leads (or quotes) that become customers. The multiplier connecting marketing …CMSContent management system. The software your website runs on (WordPress, Squarespace, Webf…Cold EmailOutreach to business contacts who haven't opted in. Legal for B2B under CAN-SPAM (with its…Competitor BiddingBidding on competitors' business names. Legal (you can't use their trademark IN the ad tex…Content MarketingEarning attention by publishing genuinely useful material, guides, tools, answers, instead…Content RepurposingOne piece of content reshaped for several channels. The guide becomes an email, three soci…Conversion RateThe percentage of visitors who take the action you wanted. Form fill, call, purchase. A la…Conversion TrackingThe wiring that reports a lead or sale back to the platform that produced the click. Witho…Conversion ValueA dollar amount attached to each conversion action, letting reports and bidding weigh a $2…Conversion WindowHow long after a click a conversion still counts toward the ad. Commonly 30 days. Why yest…CopywritingWriting that moves a reader toward an action. Ads, pages, emails. Judged by response, not …Core Web VitalsGoogle's three page-experience metrics, loading (LCP), interactivity (INP), and visual sta…CPA (Cost Per Acquisition)Total spend divided by new customers won. Leads that actually closed. Deeper than CPL beca…CPC (Cost Per Click)What you pay each time someone clicks your ad. Set by auction, so it varies by industry, k…CPL (Cost Per Lead)Total spend divided by leads produced. The first number that tells you whether a campaign …CPM (Cost Per Thousand Impressions)Paying per thousand times your ad is shown, clicked or not. The pricing model of awareness…CRMCustomer relationship management software. The system of record for every lead and custome…CRO (Conversion Rate Optimization)Systematically improving the share of visitors who act. Clearer offers, fewer fields, fast…CTR (Click-Through Rate)Clicks divided by impressions. The share of people who saw your ad or listing and clicked.…Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)Total sales and marketing cost divided by new customers gained. The all-in price of one ne…
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Dark TrafficVisits whose true source analytics can't see, shared links in texts, DMs, apps, usually mi…Dayparting (Ad Scheduling)Limiting when your ads run, hours of day, days of week, or adjusting bids by time slot.…DeliverabilityWhether your email actually reaches inboxes rather than spam folders or silent rejection. …Direct TrafficVisits with no detectable source. Typed URLs, bookmarks, and every untagged or untrackable…Display NetworkGoogle's banner-ad inventory across millions of websites and apps. Cheap impressions, low …DKIM (DomainKeys Identified Mail)A cryptographic signature your mail server adds to outgoing email, proving the message was…DMARCThe policy record that tells receiving servers what to do when SPF/DKIM checks fail: monit…DNSBL (DNS Blacklist)Public lists of domains and IPs associated with spam, queried by mail filters in real time…Domain AuthorityA third-party estimate (Moz's originally) of how likely a site is to rank, based mostly on…Domain RegistrarWhere your domain name is registered and renewed (GoDaddy, Namecheap, Cloudflare). Control…Double Opt-InRequiring a confirmation click from a verification email before an address joins your list…Drip CampaignA pre-written email sequence delivered on a schedule after a trigger. Signup, download, pu…Duplicate ContentThe same or near-same content on multiple URLs. Search engines pick one version to rank an…
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E-E-A-TExperience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trust. Google's quality framework, applied harde…Editorial CalendarA schedule of what content publishes when. The difference between a content strategy and c…Email AliasAn address that forwards into a real mailbox, hello@ and billing@ pointing at the same inb…Email EngagementThe composite of opens, clicks, replies, and forwards inbox providers read as 'people want…Email Service Provider (ESP)The platform that sends your marketing email. Mailchimp, Klaviyo, ConvertKit, and kin. Han…Email WarmupGradually building a new inbox's sending reputation by starting with tiny volumes and real…Evergreen ContentContent that stays relevant for years. 'how to choose a contractor' vs. 'our March news.' …Exact MatchKeyword matching restricted to searches with the same meaning as your keyword (written in …
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Featured SnippetThe answer box at the top of some search results, extracted from a page that answers the q…First-Touch AttributionCrediting the sale to the first recorded interaction. The channel that started the relatio…Form AbandonmentStarting but not finishing a form. Every field is a small toll; abandonment is the tolls e…FrequencyAverage times each person saw your ad (impressions ÷ reach). Useful signal for fatigue: ri…FunnelThe path from stranger to customer, aware, interested, deciding, buying, with drop-off at …
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GA4 (Google Analytics 4)Google's current analytics platform. Tracks visits, sources, and events (actions) across y…Gated ContentContent requiring an email address to access. Trades reach and goodwill for a contact list…GCLID (Google Click ID)A unique tag Google appends to every ad click's URL. It lets a later conversion be matched…GeotargetingRestricting ads to a geography. Radius, cities, zips. Google's default includes people mer…Google Business ProfileYour listing in Google Maps and local search. Hours, photos, reviews, posts. Free, and for…Gross MarginRevenue minus direct costs of delivering the work, as a percentage. The profit pool all ma…GTM (Google Tag Manager)A container that manages all your measurement tags in one place, so adding or changing tra…GuaranteeA formal promise that shifts risk from buyer to seller. Money-back, on-time-or-discount, w…
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Ideal Customer Profile (ICP)A specific description of the customer you serve best and profit from most. Industry, size…ImpressionOne display of your ad or listing, clicked or not. The raw count of chances to be noticed.…Impression ShareThe percentage of eligible auctions where your ad actually appeared. Lost share splits int…Internal LinkingLinks between your own pages. They distribute authority, guide visitors deeper, and teach …
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Keyword DifficultyA tool-estimated score of how hard ranking for a term will be, based mostly on the strengt…Keyword StuffingCramming keywords into pages, ads, or business names hoping to rank. A tactic search engin…KPIKey performance indicator. A number chosen in advance to define success. The discipline is…
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Landing PageA standalone page built for one campaign and one action, as opposed to your homepage which…Last-Touch AttributionCrediting a conversion entirely to the final click before it. Simple, standard, and blind …LeadA person who raised a hand, form, call, message, with contact info attached. Upstream of p…Lead MagnetSomething valuable offered in exchange for contact information. A guide, calculator, or ch…Lead ScoringRanking leads by likelihood to close, from firmographics and behavior. Enterprise sales ma…Learning PhaseThe period after launching or significantly editing a campaign when the bidding algorithm …List HygieneThe practice of keeping an email list clean: removing bounces, validating addresses, sunse…List SegmentationSplitting one list into groups that get different messages. Customers vs. prospects, servi…Local CitationAny web mention of your business's name, address, and phone. Directories, maps, industry l…Local PackThe map with three business listings that appears atop local-intent searches. Placement de…Local Services Ads (LSAs)Google's pay-per-lead (not per-click) ads for eligible service trades, shown above regular…Long-Tail KeywordLonger, more specific search phrases. 'emergency 200 amp panel upgrade' versus 'electricia…Lookalike AudienceAn ad-platform audience built by finding people statistically similar to a source list, li…LTV (Lifetime Value)The total profit a customer generates over the whole relationship. Repeat purchases, renew…
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Manual CPCYou set the maximum bid per keyword yourself. The training-wheels-off bidding mode. Full c…Marketing RetainerA recurring monthly fee for agency services. Sometimes for defined deliverables, sometimes…Marketing-Qualified Lead (MQL)A lead meeting marketing's threshold of fit and interest, worth sales effort. The B2B pipe…Message MatchWhen the landing page repeats the promise of the ad that was clicked. Same headline idea, …Meta DescriptionThe page summary that can appear under your title in search results. Not a ranking factor.…Micro-InfluencerA creator with a small but engaged local or niche audience. For local businesses, the rele…Multi-Touch AttributionSplitting conversion credit across several interactions on the path. More honest in theory…MX RecordThe DNS record declaring which servers receive email for your domain. No MX, no inbound ma…
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NAP ConsistencyYour business Name, Address, and Phone appearing identically everywhere online. Mismatches…Negative KeywordA word that blocks your ad from showing on searches containing it. A plumber adds "jobs" s…Net Promoter Score (NPS)The 0–10 'would you recommend us?' survey; promoters (9–10) minus detractors (0–6). A loya…NewsletterA recurring broadcast to people who opted in. The steady-presence play. Lives or dies on w…Nurture SequenceA pre-written series of emails that builds trust with leads who aren't ready yet. Educatio…
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OfferThe complete deal you're proposing. What they get, what it costs, what reduces their risk,…Open RateThe share of recipients whose mail client loaded your email's tracking pixel. Privacy feat…Organic SocialUnpaid social media posting. Platform algorithms show business posts to a small slice of f…Organic TrafficVisitors from unpaid search results. Earned by content and reputation rather than bought p…
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PageviewOne page loaded once. The rawest traffic count, blind to who, why, and whether anything ca…Paid SocialAdvertising on social platforms. Interruption-based demand creation, versus search's deman…PAS (Problem–Agitate–Solve)A copy structure: name the problem, make its cost vivid, present the solution. Works becau…Payback PeriodHow long a new customer takes to return their acquisition cost in profit. Short payback fu…People Also AskThe expandable question boxes in Google results. A live map of what people wonder about a …Performance MaxGoogle's automated campaign type that spends across Search, Display, YouTube, Gmail, and M…Phrase MatchKeyword match type triggering on searches that include your phrase's meaning. 'emergency e…Pillar PageA comprehensive page covering a whole topic, linked to and from narrower cluster pages tha…PipelineYour leads arranged by stage, new, contacted, quoted, won/lost, with a value attached. The…Plain-Text EmailEmail without HTML design. No images, columns, or buttons. What one human sends another.…Popup / OverlayAn interstitial demanding attention before or during page reading. Converts more emails th…PositioningThe slot you occupy in a customer's mind relative to alternatives. The specialist vs. the …PPC (Pay-Per-Click)The advertising model where you pay only when someone clicks. Google Ads and most search/s…Preheader TextThe snippet shown after the subject line in the inbox. Pulled from the email's first text …
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ReachHow many distinct people saw your content at least once, versus impressions which count ev…Referral ProgramA systematic ask (and often reward) for customer introductions. Formalizes the channel mos…Referral TrafficVisits arriving via links on other websites. Directories, news mentions, partners. Analyti…Reply RateReplies divided by delivered emails. The honest cold-email metric. A human decided your me…Responsive Search Ad (RSA)The standard Google search ad format: you supply up to 15 headlines and 4 descriptions, Go…RetargetingShowing ads specifically to people who already visited your site or engaged with you. Chea…Review VelocityHow steadily new reviews arrive, not just the total. A trickle every week signals a living…ROAS (Return On Ad Spend)Revenue attributed to ads divided by ad spend. A ROAS of 4 means $4 back per $1 spent. Bef…robots.txtA file telling crawlers which parts of your site to skip. Advisory, not security. Well-beh…
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Sales-Qualified Lead (SQL)A lead vetted by an actual conversation. Real need, budget, timeline. The stage where pipe…Schema MarkupStructured data added to pages that tells machines exactly what they contain. A business, …Scope CreepWork expanding beyond what was agreed without the price or timeline moving with it. Kills …Scroll DepthHow far down a page visitors get, in percentage thresholds. Reveals where attention dies.…Search Terms ReportThe report showing the actual searches that triggered your ads. Not your keywords, the rea…Search VolumeEstimated monthly searches for a term. Tool numbers are rough averages that hide seasonali…SeasonalityPredictable demand cycles through the year. HVAC's summer, tax season, wedding spring. Vis…SEM (Search Engine Marketing)Marketing on search engines. In common usage, the paid side (ads), as distinct from SEO's …Sender ReputationThe trust score inbox providers assign your sending domain and IP, built from complaint ra…SEO (Search Engine Optimization)Making your site the best available answer for searches your customers make, so it ranks w…SERP (Search Engine Results Page)The page of results a search produces. Ads on top, map pack for local queries, organic res…Server-Side TrackingSending conversion data from your server to ad platforms instead of (or alongside) the bro…Service-Area Business (SAB)A business serving customers at their locations rather than a storefront. On Google Busine…SessionOne visit to your site, pages viewed, actions taken, ending after ~30 minutes of inactivit…Share of VoiceYour visibility as a fraction of the market's total. In ads (impression share), search res…Short-Form VideoSub-60-second vertical video. Reels, Shorts, TikTok. The format platforms currently reward…SitelinksAd assets adding extra clickable links under your ad. Services, reviews, contact. Each nee…Smart BiddingGoogle's automated bid strategies (Target CPA, Target ROAS, Maximize Conversions) that set…SMTPThe protocol that moves email between servers. The sending half of email's plumbing (IMAP/…Social ProofEvidence other people chose you and were glad: reviews, counts, credentials, recognizable …Spam Complaint RateThe share of recipients clicking 'report spam.' Gmail's bulk-sender threshold: stay under …Spam TrapAn email address that exists only to catch senders with bad list hygiene. Recycled dead ad…Speed to LeadThe elapsed time between a lead arriving (form, call, message) and the first real human re…SPF (Sender Policy Framework)A DNS record listing which servers may send email for your domain. Receiving servers check…SSL / HTTPSThe encryption layer (padlock icon) between browsers and your site. Free via Let's Encrypt…Statistical SignificanceConfidence that a measured difference is real rather than noise. Requires more data than s…Suppression ListThe do-not-email list: unsubscribes, bounces, complaints. Your ESP maintains it automatica…Swipe FileA collection of ads, emails, and pages that worked. Kept for structural inspiration, not c…
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Target CPAA smart-bidding strategy where you name the cost per conversion you want and Google bids t…Target ROASA smart-bidding strategy optimizing toward a revenue-per-dollar goal instead of a cost-per…TCPAThe U.S. law governing calls and texts to consumers. Consent requirements, quiet hours, an…Thank-You PageThe page after a successful form submit. Doubles as the cleanest conversion-counting point…Time on PageHow long visitors stay on a page. Measured imperfectly (the last page of a visit often rea…Title TagThe page title search engines display and weigh. The strongest on-page signal of what a pa…Tone of VoiceHow your business sounds in writing. Formal or neighborly, technical or plain. Consistency…Topic ClusterA pillar page plus its satellite pages, interlinked. The site architecture that signals de…Tracking PixelA snippet (originally a 1×1 image, now JavaScript) that reports visits and actions back to…
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Unique Selling Proposition (USP)The specific, true reason to choose you over alternatives. Not a slogan, a verifiable diff…Unsubscribe RateUnsubscribes per send, typically well under 0.5% for a healthy list. Spikes flag a mismatc…Urgency & ScarcityTime or supply pressure on a decision. Legitimate when true (schedules do fill), corrosive…User-Generated Content (UGC)Content your customers create. Reviews, photos, videos, posts mentioning you. Trusted prec…UTM ParametersTags added to URLs (utm_source, utm_medium, utm_campaign) that tell your analytics where a…
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Web HostingThe server your website lives on. Separate from your domain (the address) and your CMS (th…White LabelingAn agency reselling another company's work as its own. Common in SEO, ads, and web design.…Win-Back CampaignA short sequence aimed at past customers who've gone quiet. Reminding, offering, or simply…Word of MouthCustomers recommending you unprompted. The channel attribution can't see and competitors c…
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