A comprehensive glossary of all the key marketing and Google Ads terms you should know. From basic to advanced marketing concepts and Google Ads terms, we've got you covered.
Hailey Chong
November 8, 2024
Marketing is full of complex terms, concepts, and buzzwords. Our marketing and Google Ads glossary clarifies these terms, concepts, and acronyms to help improve your vocabulary. It's your one-stop resource for finding the meaning of marketing terms you may encounter anywhere.
The “Aha” moment is a point in the customer journey where users realize the value of a product, leading to increased engagement and retention.
A/B test is a structured approach of comparing two versions of a webpage or ad to validate assumptions and optimize customer journeys.
Above the Fold refers to the part of a webpage that is visible without scrolling, critical for user engagement and ad visibility. This contrasts with 'Below the Fold', click to learn more.
Absolute Top of Page Rate is a metric in the Google Auctions Insights report that indicates the percentage of an advertiser's impressions where their ad was the very first result at the top of the search engine page, above organic search results.
Account Tiering is a process of categorizing customers based on their value or potential, allowing businesses to allocate resources and strategies effectively.
Account-Based Marketing (ABM) is a strategic approach where marketing and sales teams work together to target specific high-value accounts with personalized campaigns.
Account-based Marketing Lite (ABM Lite), also known as '1-to-few' or 'cluster marketing', is an Account-Based Marketing approach that targets a small number of high-value accounts with personalized campaigns.
Active View is a reporting technology found in Google's display networks and YouTube, which enables Google Ads to measure whether an ad is viewable by potential customers.
Ad Delivery is the process Google uses to serve advertisements to its intended audiences via various channels, such as apps, websites, email, and social platforms.
Ad Extensions in Google Ads are additional content pieces about your business added to your ad to give searchers more information, such as: Phone number, business location etc. Learn about the different extensions: Assets, Call, Callout, Location, Manual, Price, Promotion, Sitelink
Ad Format refers to the design, structure, and layout of an ad. It determines where and how an ad will appear, as well as how it engages with the audience.
An Ad Group is a collection of ads that share a common theme and work together within a single Google Ads campaign.
Ad Group Default Bids in Google Ads are the default or maximum bid amounts you set for all keywords or placements in an ad group unless specific keyword bids are provided.
Ad Position is the location of an ad on the search results page in relation to other ads.
Google's Ad Preview and Diagnosis Tool allows you to view how your ads are displayed in search results and also helps identify why an ad or ad asset may not be showing up.
Ad Rank in Google Ads is a set of values that determine the eligibility of your ads to be shown and where on the page they will appear in relation to other advertisers. It is based on your bid amount and quality score. It is calculated by multiplying the Bid Amount by the Quality Score.
Ad Relevance measures how closely a Google Ad matches a user’s search intent. It is determined by the relationship between ads, keywords, and landing pages.
Ad Rotation Settings is a setting that determines how often you rotate the different ads within an ad group.
Ad Scheduling in Google Ads is a setting that allows you to choose specific times and days of the week for your ads to appear, optimizing delivery based on audience activity.
Ad Status refers to the current state of a Google Ad that describes whether it is eligible to run and whether there are any restrictions on when or how it can run.
Ad Variations are different versions of an ad that can be tested against each other to see which performs better.
AdSense is a free Google service that allows website owners and publishers to display ads on their sites and earn revenue when users interact with the ads.
Affiliate Marketing is a marketing strategy where businesses reward a publisher (affiliates) with a commission for driving traffic or sales through their marketing efforts.
Annual Contract Value (ACV) is the total revenue expected from a customer contract in a year, used to measure the value of recurring revenue.
Assets (Ad Extensions) in Google Ads refers to media components and snippets of additional information used in ad extensions to improve the appearance and performance of ads. Examples include: Phone number, location, lead form, app link, images and other contents. Learn about the other extensions: Call, Callout, Location, Manual, Price, Promotion, Sitelink"
An Attribution Model is a set of rules that assigns credit for conversions to different touchpoints along the customer's journey. Attribution can be done through scoring each touchpoint, where higher score indicates a higher impact leading to a sale. Common attribution models include first click and last click models.
Auction Insights is a report in Google Ads (available for both search and shopping campaigns) that informs you of competing advertisers who are also bidding on the same keywords. It helps you compare your performance with other advertisers participating in the same auctions, providing insights into bidding strategies.
Audience Signals in Google Ads are cues and data points that help Google's AI algorithm learn Learn about your target audience. When used, Audience Signals guides Google's AI on the ideal way to optimize your ad campaign.
Automated Rules are settings that automatically change your Google Ads account based on specific conditions you choose.
Automated Bidding is a bid strategy that uses Google AI to automatically set bids for an ad based on its likelihood to convert. Learn about the different automated bidding strategies: Target CPA (tCPA), Target ROAS, Maximize Clicks, Maximize Conversions
Automatic Payments is a payment setting in Google Ads that allows Google to automatically charge your main payment method for advertising costs you accrue. When used, it charges you once the billing threshold is reached or at the end of a billing cycle.
Automatic Placements in Google Ads are locations (webpages, videos, and apps on the Display Network) where your display or video ads may appear automatically based on your targeting settings.
Average CPC (Average Cost Per Click) is the average amount you pay for each click on your ads. It is calculated by dividing the total cost by the number of clicks.
Average Order Value (AOV) is a metric that tracks the average amount spent each time a customer completes an order. It is calculated by dividing the the total revenue from the orders divided by the total number of orders. It is mainly used to measure the profitability of campaigns.
Banner Ads are graphical ads that appears on a web page and encourages users to click to land on your website.
Below the Fold is a term that refers to the part of a webpage that users must scroll to see, often considered less prime real estate for ads. This contrasts with 'Above the Fold', click to learn more.
Bid Adjustment in Google Ads refers to a percentage increase or decrease in your bids that allows you to show ads more or less frequently based on specific times, devices, locations, and audience search keywords.
A Bid Strategy in Google Ads is an AI-driven method for setting bids for ads based on their likelihood of conversion. The goal of a bidding strategy is to help you achieve specific business goals, like conversions, increasing search results visibility, and generating more clicks.
Billing Threshold is a specific amount set, such that, if exceeded, triggers an automatic charge to a Google Ads account.
The Bottom of the Funnel (BoFU) refers to the final stage in the marketing funnel where leads or potential customers are ready to make a purchase decision. Learn about the other marketing funnel stages: Top of the Funnel (ToFU), Middle of the Funnel (MoFU).
Bounce Rate is the percentage of visitors who leave a webpage without taking any action, like clicking on a link or filling out a form.
Brand Awareness is the extent to which consumers recognize and remember a brand, often a key goal in marketing strategies.
Brand Positioning refers to the strategy of creating a unique image, voice and identity for a brand in the minds of consumers.
Broad Match is the default keyword match type in Google Ads, which means it's assigned to all keywords. It allows an ad to appear in searches related to the meaning of the keyword, even when the keyword term is not present. For example, a broad match keyword for "car window repair" could appear in searches for "automobile glass replacement". Learn about the other keyword match types: Phrase Match, Exact Match.
Broad Match Modifier (now migrated to 'Phrase Match') is a Google Ads keyword matching option that makes an ad eligible to show for close variants of broad match keywords, which enables the ads to reach a wider audience. This keyword match type is no longer available since July 2021. Click to learn about 'Phrase Match'.
Budget Order (now 'Accounts Budget') is a method for controlling a Google Ads account spending by specifying a total budget over a specific period.
Buyer Persona is a broad and semi-fictional profile of an ideal customer based on market research and real data about existing customers.
Call Extensions (also known as 'Click to Call' extensions) are ad extensions available in Google Ads engine accounts that allow you to show a phone number in an ad to encourage calls to your business. Learn about the other extensions: Assets, Callout, Location, Manual, Price, Promotion, Sitelink
A Call to Action (CTA) is a statement in your ad that encourages users to take a specific action, like 'Sign up' or 'Buy now'.
Call Tracking is a type of conversion tracking in Google Ads that shows the number of prospective customers who called a business after seeing or clicking their PPC placement.
Callout Extensions are additional information that you can add to a Google Ad account, campaign, or ad group that highlight key business offerings or features. Learn about the other extensions: Assets, Call, Location, Manual, Price, Promotion, Sitelink.
A Campaign in Google Ads is a set of ad groups that share a budget, location targeting, and other settings, focused on a common goal.
Campaign Status indicates the current status of each campaign in a Google Ads account. It shows the status of a campaign and its bid strategy.
Churn refers to the loss of customers or subscribers over a specific period. It's often measured as a percentage of total customers, known as "Churn Rate". See 'Churn Rate' to learn more.
Churn Rate measures the percentage of customers who stop using a product, service or subscription during a specific period. It is calculated by dividing the total number of customers lost by total number of customers at the start of a given period.
Click-Through Rate (CTR) is a marketing metric that measures the number of clicks an ad, link, or content receives relative to the number of times it is displayed or shown to users. CTR is calculated by dividing the number of clicks by the number of impressions. For Google Ads, CTR generally refers to the clicks-to-impressions ratio for a given ad. On platforms like Meta and LinkedIn, as ""clicks"" may include both ad clicks and organic post/content clicks, they provide multiple CTR metrics for better tracking, like 'CTR (all)' and 'CTR (link clicks)'.
Click-to-Conversion Time is the amount of time it takes for a user to convert after clicking on an ad.
Closed-Loop Marketing is a strategy that involves tracking the entire customer journey, analyzing data about customers, and handing the insights to sales and marketing teams for further action.
Cold Outreach refers to the process of contacting potential customers who have had no prior relationship or interaction with a brand, typically through email or calls, to achieve an objective, typically to pitch a product or service.
Content Marketing is a marketing strategy used to attract and engage a target audience by creating and distributing valuable and relevant content that may include articles, videos, and other media.
Contextual Marketing targets users based on their current details and situation, such as search terms used, location or recent activities, to deliver relevant ads.
Contextual Targeting is an advertising technique that delivers ads based on the content of a specific webpage. Google Ads uses contextual targeting by matching your ads to relevant sites on the Display Network based on factors like keywords, topics, language, location targeting, and a visitor’s browsing history. Learn about the other targeting options: Geo-targeting, Language, Life Event, Location.
Conversational Marketing involves real-time, one-on-one interactions between a business and customers, typically through various channels like social media, chatbots or live chat on websites.
Conversion in Google Ads is when a user takes the desired action after coming across your ad. Examples of a conversion include: Making a purchase, installing your app, calling your business, etc.
Conversion Action is a specific customer action you define as valuable to your business, such as a sign-up, phone call, purchase, etc. Tracking conversion actions shows you how your ads lead to those actions.
A Conversion Event is a specific action taken by a user that indicates they have moved further down the sales funnel, such as making a purchase.
Conversion Optimizer is a Google Ads feature that predicts clicks that may be valuable and automatically adjust the bid to get as many of those profitable clicks as possible.
Conversion Page is the page a user reaches after completing a conversion action, like a 'Thank You' page after a purchase.
Conversion Path refers to the sequence of interactions a customer has with a brand that leads to taking a desired action, such as an app download, a sign-up, or a purchase.
Conversion Rate measures the percentage of users who complete a desired action after clicking on your ad, such as purchasing a product. It is calculated by dividing conversions by clicks.
Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) is the process of increasing the percentage of users who take a desired action on a website, so as to increase the number of leads generated.
Conversion Tracking is a free tool in Google Ads which shows you what happens after a customer interacts with or clicks your ads, such as downloading an app, making a purchase, etc.
Conversion Window refers to the period or number of days during which a conversion is recorded after a user interacts with or clicks on an ad. In Google Ads, there are two categories: Click-through conversion window and Engaged-view conversion window. The click-through conversion window can be set anywhere between 1 week and 90 days; whereas engaged-view conversion window can be set anywhere between 1 day and 30 days.
Cost Per Acquisition (CPA) is the average cost incurred to acquire a user, customer or lead, depending on how the business defines as an 'acquisition'. To calculate your ad campaign's CPA, divide your total cost by the number of acquisitions.
Cost Per Click (CPC) is a metric that determines how much you pay for an ad click placed on search or social platforms. Average CPC is calculated by dividing the total cost of your ad by the number of clicks the ad received.
Cost Per Install (CPI) is the average cost incurred to acquire a user who installs their app, commonly used in app promotion campaigns. It is calculated by dividing the total cost by the total number of installs.
Cost Per Lead (CPL) is the average cost incurred to acquire a new lead. It is calculated by dividing the total cost by the number of acquired leads.
Cost Per Mille (CPM) is the average cost incurred to get 1,000 ad impressions. It is calculated by dividing the total cost by the number of impressions, multiplied by 1,000.
Cost per View (CPV) is the average cost incurred for a video view in video campaigns. It is calculated by dividing the total cost by total number of views.
Cross-sell is a sales strategy aimed at selling additional products or services to existing customers based on their previous purchases.
Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) is the total amount it costs you to acquire a new customer via ad campaigns. It factors in advertising and marketing costs, as well as sales expenses.
A Customer Data Platform (CDP) is a software solution that businesses use to consolidate customer data from multiple sources and touchpoints to build a unified customer profile, enabling personalized marketing. It manages customer data across the entire customer lifecycle and makes it available for use by other systems.
Customer Engagement Score is a number that measures how actively customers interact with your brand through the various channels you use.
Customer Expansion refers to strategies aimed at increasing the value derived from existing customers, often through upselling or cross-selling.
Customer Journey is the complete experience a customer goes through when interacting with a brand, starting from brand awareness to eventual purchase and beyond.
Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) is the total revenue a business expects to earn from a customer throughout their relationship.
Customer Marketing focuses on marketing strategies aimed at existing customers to increase loyalty and retention, rather than acquiring new customers.
Customer Match is an approach that allows you to target and re-engage with existing customers across Google's Search, Display, YouTube, etc, based on the data they provide.
A Customer Persona is a semi-fictional profile that you create based on market research and user data to depict your business's ideal customer.
Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT) is a metric that shows how satisfied your customers are with your products or services or the entire customer experience. It is calculated by dividing the total number of positive responses by the total responses collected, then multiplied by 100.
Customer Success involves ensuring that customers achieve their desired outcomes while using a product or service, often leading to retention and expansion.
Demand Generation is a data-driven marketing appaoch focused on creating awareness and interest in a product or service, often through content marketing and lead generation.
Demographics in Google Ads refer to a specific set of potential customers who are likely to be within a particular age range, gender, parental status, or household income.
Description Lines in Google Ads are longer parts of an ad copy that show below the headline and display URL that provide more information and encourage users to take action. Each description has a maximum of 90 characters.
Direct to Consumer (DTC) refers to brands selling directly to customers without traditional channels or intermediaries, often through online channels.
Display Ads are online ad formats that combine images, text, and a call-to-action with a URL to a landing page.
Google's Display Network is a collection of over two million websites, videos, and apps where display ads can appear across the internet.
Display Partners are third-party websites and apps where Google Ads can appear as part of the Google Display Network.
Display Planner was a tool in Google Ads that helped advertisers to decide the display placements that would best suit their goals. The Display Planner has now been discontinued and replaced with Reach forecast.
Display URL is the web address shown in a Google Ad, which can differ from the actual URL where the user lands. If the Display URL is customized, it does not change the landing page URL.
Drip Marketing is a direct marketing strategy that businesses use to keep in touch with their audience/customers by sending a limited number of automated, targeted messages and marketing materials to them over time, often used to nurture leads or engage customers.
Dynamic Search Ads (DSA) are ads that are generated based on a website's content. They use the content of your website for targeting. That way, they can match relevant searches without the need for specific keywords.
Earned Media refers to the organic visibility you 'earn' when a third-party source mentions or shares any written material about your business. Sources of earned media include reviews, reports, social shares, or word-of-mouth.
Engagement Rate is a metric that tracks how involved your audience is with your content. An engagement can include likes, social shares, and comments etc., depending on the ad platform.
Engagement Rate by Reach (ERR) measures the percentage of your audience that interact with your content after seeing it.
Enhanced CPC (Enhanced Cost Per Click) is a feature that automatically adjusts your manual bids to increase the likelihood of a conversion. The feature is discontinued for Search and Display campaigns.
Exact Match is a keyword match type in Google Ads, which shows ads only when the search query matches the exact meaning or intent of the keyword. Learn about the other keyword match types: Broad Match, Phrase Match.
Exit Rate is a metric that measures the percentage of web visitors that leave your website from a specific page. It is calculated by dividing the number of page exits by total number of pageviews over a given period. It is often mixed up with 'Bounce Rate', click to learn more.
Expanded Text Ads are longer text ads in Google Ads that offer more space for a headline and description. They have been phased out since June 30, 2022.
First-touch attribution is a marketing model that gives full credit for a conversion to a prospect's first interaction with your business in their journey.
First Page Bid Estimate is the bid amount Google estimates you need to set to have an ad appear on the first page of the search engine's search results. Learn about the other bid estimates: First position bid estimate, Top of page bid estimate
First Position Bid Estimate is the estimated amount you need to bid for your Google Ad to appear in the first ad position of the search engine's result page. Learn about the other bid estimates: First page bid estimate, Top of page bid estimate
Frequency is the number of times the ads in your Google Display or Video campaign is shown to a user over a specific period. See 'Frequency Capping' to learn more.
Frequency Capping limits the number of times a user can see your ads within a specified period. This prevents the ad from being repetitively shown to the same user, causing ad fatigue.
Funnel is a model that shows a customer's journey from the time they become aware of a product to when they make a purchase and possibly after.
Gated Content is content that is accessible to users only after providing certain personal information, such as an email address. It is mainly used in capturing leads and building a target audience.
Geo-Targeting is a strategy where you create and deliver ads based on the geographic location, such as by countries, areas within a country or by radius, etc. With broad geo targeting in Google Ads, you can reach people who are in your targeted locations, as well as people who have shown interests in those places. Learn about the other targeting options: Contextual, Language, Life Event, Location.
Global Site Tag (gtag.js) is a JavaScript tracking code installed in a website's header section to track information and forward to Google services like Google Analytics, and other tools associated with Google.
Google Ads API is a programmatic interface that allows developers to interact with the Google Ads platform to manage campaigns and ads at scale.
Google Ads Editor is a downloadable application that allows you to manage and make bulk edits to Google Ads campaigns offline and then sync those changes online.
Google Merchant Center is a free tool that showcases your products and business across Google's ecosystem. They can show up at Google Search, Maps, YouTube, Google Shopping tab and Google Images, helping shoppers to discover your offerings easier.
Google My Business is a free tool that helps businesses manage the online presence of their local business across Google, including search and maps.
Google+ Brand Page was a Google social platform for businesses to join Google's social network and connect with their audience. It was discontinued in 2019.
Growth Marketing is a set of iterative and data-driven strategies in the AARRR framework aimed at optimizing the customer journey in order to increase revenue through customer acquisition and retention. AARRR framework is an acronym for Acquisition, Activation, Retention, Referral and Revenue.
Historical Quality Score is a metric in Google Ads that shows the relevance of an ad, keyword, and landing page over time. It shows the Quality Score of your keywords or ads and how it has changed over time.
Image Ads are visual ads that showcase information about your business, services or products through static or animated images. They appear on Google's Search Network and the Display Network and provide more information than text-based ads.
An Impression is counted each time your ad is shown to users across the Google Network.
Impression Share (IS) is the percentage of impressions an ad receives compared to the total number of impressions that it could have received.
Impressions refer to the number of times an ad is displayed on a screen, regardless of whether it is clicked or not.
An Inbound Link is a link from another website that points to your site. It helps to improve SEO rankings and drive referral traffic.
Inbound Marketing is a strategy by which you attract customers to your business by creating content and experiences that resonate with the target audience.
Influencer Marketing is a marketing strategy where a business collaborates with individuals who have a large social media following to create brand awareness or promote a product to a target audience.
Interaction is the main user action that can be associated with an ad format. Examples of Google Ads' interactions: views for video ads, calls for call assets, swipes and clicks for text and Shopping ads, etc.
Inventory Filter is an optional setting in Google's Shopping Campaigns that lets you control which products in your Google Merchant Center account can be shown in Product Shopping ads.
A Keyword is a word or phrase that people type into search engines to find information. In Google Ads, it is used to trigger your ad to appear for relevant search queries.
Keyword Insertion dynamically updates your Google Ad text to include the keyword that triggered your ad to appear in a user’s search query.
Keyword Matching Options is a Google Ads feature that allows you to choose the keyword match types that determine when your ads can be shown. Keyword match types refer to how matching the keyword is with the user’s search query for the ad to be eligible for the auction. Keyword matching options include: Broad Match, Phrase Match, and Exact Match; ranging from comprehensive matching to moderate, then tight matching respectively. Learn about the keyword match types: Broad Match, Phrase Match, Exact Match.
Keyword Mining, also commonly known as keyword research, is the process through which you identify and select the most relevant search keywords to target in a pay-per-click (PPC) ad campaign.
Keyword Planner is a free tool in Google Ads that helps you research keywords, estimate traffic, and plan their paid search campaigns.
A Landing Page is a specific webpage users are directed to after clicking a link in an ad.
Landing Page Experience is a Google Ads metric that measures the relevance and usefulness of a landing page in relation to the expectations of users who click on the ad.
Language Targeting is a Google Ads feature that enables you to target ads to users based on their preferred language settings. Learn about the different targeting options: Geo-targeting, Contextual, Life Event, Location
Lead Conversion Rate measures the percentage of leads that take a desired action, such as becoming a paying user, making a purchase, etc. It is used by businesses to evaluate the effectiveness of their marketing and sales efforts, and lead nurturing strategies.
Lead-to-Customer Conversion Rate (also known as 'Sales Conversion Rate') is a sales funnel metric that measures the proportion of a company's qualified leads that result in actual sales.
Life Event Targeting is a Google Ads feature that allows you to reach users looking for solutions based on changes or milestones in their lives. These changes may include getting married, moving, graduating, etc. Learn about the different targeting options: Geo-targeting, Contextual, Language, Location
Location Extensions (now 'Location Assets'), is a Google Ads feature that allows you to include information about your business' physical location in your ad. You can include details like addresses and phone numbers to make it easy for customers to find or contact a local business. Learn about the other extensions: Assets, Call, Callout, Manual, Price, Promotion, Sitelink
Location Targeting is a Google Ads feature that enables you to target ads to users who are within or interested in specific geographic locations, such as cities or countries. Learn about the different targeting options: Geo-targeting, Contextual, Language, Life Event
A Lookalike Audience is an advertising targeting option on platforms like Meta. It allows you to target new users who share similar qualities with your existing customers.
Managed Placements is a Google Ads feature that gives you control over where to display ads in the Google Display Network.
Manual Bidding is a feature that allows you to set the maximum cost-per-click (CPC) for your ads rather than allowing Google do so automatically.
Manual Extensions are Google Ads extensions that you can create manually to enhance your ad. These extensions include: Callout, Sitelink, Structured snippets, etc. Click to learn more.
Manual Payments is a payment setting that allows you to fund your Google Ads account so that payments can be deducted when the ads start to run.
A Marketing Qualified Lead (MQL) is a lead that has shown interest in a company’s offer, product or service and is deemed more likely to become a customer compared to other leads.
Match Types refer to the different ways your ad’s keywords can match user search terms. Match Types include: Broad Match, Phrase Match, and Exact Match. Click to learn more.
Maximize Clicks is an automated bidding strategy in Google Ads that automatically sets bids to get the most clicks possible within a campaign’s budget limit. It is aimed at driving traffic. Learn about the other automated bidding strategies: Target CPA (tCPA), Target ROAS, Maximize Conversions.
Maximize Conversions bidding is an automated bidding strategy in Google Ads that uses AI to adjust bids to get as many conversions as possible within a specific ad budget. Learn about the other automated bidding strategies: Target CPA (tCPA), Target ROAS, Maximize Clicks.
Max Cost Per Click (Max CPC) Bid is the highest amount you are willing to pay for an ad click, as set in Google Ads' CPC bidding campaigns.
A Micro-Influencer is a person who has a small but highly engaged social media following, often seen by their audience as authentic and relatable.
Middle of the Funnel (MoFU) refers to the middle stage of the marketing funnel, where potential customers become more engaged with the brand, its product or service or all. Learn about the other marketing funnel stages: Middle of the Funnel (MoFU), Bottom of the Funnel (BoFU).
Mobile Ads are ads that have been designed to be displayed on mobile devices like smartphones and tablets.
Multi-touch Revenue Attribution is a method of assigning credit to multiple marketing touchpoints that contribute to a customer's conversion or purchase, which leads to revenue generation.
Multichannel Funnels is a Google Analytics feature that shows how different marketing channels work together to drive conversions, providing insights into user behavior across multiple platforms.
Negative Keywords are keywords that can be added to a campaign to prevent an ad from showing up for searches related to these negative keywords.
Net Promoter Score (NPS) is a metric used to measure customer loyalty and how likely they are to recommend a business to others, categorizing them into promoters, passives, and detractors based on their responses.
A North Star Metric is a metric represents the core values of a business, which can be used to measure the business' long-term growth. North Star Metric measures progress, drives revenue, and reflects customer value.
Optimization in Google Ads is the process of making adjustments to an ad's keywords, bids, targeting, and other factors to improve its performance.
Organic Search Results are unpaid listings that appear on a search engine results page (SERP) based on relevance to search queries and other search engine optimization (SEO) efforts.
Outbound Marketing is a marketing strategy of reaching out to customers first through cold calls, emails and other means rather than waiting for customers to contact the business first, like in inbound marketing.
Outranking Share is a metric in the Google Auctions Insights report that shows the percentage of times your ad ranked higher than another advertiser’s ad in auctions when both ads were eligible to appear or if your ad was shown when theirs was not.
Overlap Rate is a metric in the Google Auction Insights report that shows how often another advertising received an impression at the same time as you.
Paid Search is an advertising method that allows you to bid to display ads on search engine results pages (SERPs). They appear when users search for relevant, similar, or matching keywords.
Path Length is the number of interactions or clicks it takes a user to convert after coming across an ad.
Pay Per Click (PPC) is a marketing model where you pay a fee to the advertising platform each time your ad is clicked.
Performance Max (PMax) is a goal-based campaign type in Google Ads that allows advertisers to access all Google Ads inventory from a single campaign to maximize performance.
Phrase Match is a keyword matching option in Google Ads that shows ads when the search query contains the exact phrase or a close variation of it. They can show ads when the meaning of the search term is closely related, even if the exact phrase is not present. Learn about the other keyword match types: Broad Match, Exact Match.
Placements are specific locations such as websites, videos, and apps where an ad can appear within the Google Display Network.
Play Rate is a measure of how often a user plays an ad's video compared to how many times it was shown.
Position Above Rate is a metric in the Google Auctions Insights report that shows how often a competing advertiser's ad in the same auction ranks higher than yours in the search results.
Price Extension (now 'Price Asset') is a type of Google Ad extension that allows you to showcase extra important information about a product or service below a search ad. Learn about the other extensions: Assets, Call, Callout, Location, Manual, Promotion, Sitelink
Product Feed is a Google Ads feature that contains information about products, including titles, descriptions, images, and prices, which is used in organic Shopping lists and Google Shopping Ads.
Product Group is a subset of inventory that you define in Google's Shopping campaigns, and all the products within it use the same bid. It is used to categorize and organize products in your feed for ads.
Product Listing Ad (PLA) is a type of Google Ads designed to help you showcase products to potential buyers by including image, title, price, store name, etc. PLAs can be found when users search for product-related terms.
Product-Led Growth (PLG) is a growth marketing strategy where the product acts as the catalyst to acquire and retain customers.
Promotion Extensions allow you to highlight specific offers or sales directly in your ads. Learn about the other extensions: Assets, Call, Callout, Location, Manual, Price, Sitelink"
Prospecting is a first step in the sales process that helps you to identify and connect with potential customers.
A Qualified Lead is a lead that fits the profile of an ideal customer and meets a set criteria that indicates they are likely to become a customer, often determined through scoring models.
The Quality Score is a diagnostic tool in Google Ads that shows how well your ad quality compares to that of other advertisers. It is measured on a scale from 1-10. Google Ads' Quality Score (QS) is calculated by combining the performance of three components: - Click-through rate (CTR): The likelihood that an ad will be clicked when shown - Ad relevance: How well an ad matches the intent of a user's search - Landing page experience: How relevant and useful the landing page is to people who click the ad"
Referral Marketing is a marketing strategy that encourages existing customers to promote and refer a brand to their friends, network, partners, etc. It leverages the power of relationships and word-of-mouth to promote a business.
Remarketing is a digital advertising strategy that targets users who have previously interacted with your brand, specifically those who have made a purchase. In Google Ads, remarketing allows advertisers to create custom audiences based on website and app visitor behavior by including them in a remarketing list. You can create customized ads based on their past interactions, even targeting specific products or services they viewed - a feature known as 'Dynamic Remarketing'. It's often confused with 'Retargeting', which focuses on prospects who haven't purchased yet. Click to learn about 'Retargeting'.
Repeat Purchase Rate (RPR) measures the percentage of customers who make more than one purchase over a specific time period.
Responsive Ads are Google Ads that adjust their format, size, and appearance based on available ad space. For example, a responsive ad can be presented as a small text ad or large image ad given the same ad assets, like headlines, descriptions, images, logos). Under the hood, it's Google AI automatically combining the assets to display the optimal ad on websites, apps, YouTube and Gmail.
Retargeting is a digital advertising strategy that targets prospects who have previously interacted with your brand, specifically those who have not made a purchase. It's often confused with 'Remarketing', which focuses on targeting customers who have purchased before. Click to learn about 'Remarketing'.
Return on Ad Spend (ROAS) is a metric that measures the conversion value for every dollar spent on ads. It helps to determine the effectiveness of ad campaigns. It is calculated by dividing the total conversion value by the total ad spend.
Return on Investment (ROI) is a metric that measures the profitability of ad campaigns, measured at the company level. It's calculated by dividing total net revenue divided by total marketing spend.
A Sales Qualified Lead (SQL) is a prospect that has been vetted by the sales team and moved further down the funnel for direct sales engagement.
Search Ads are paid text ads that appear on the search engine results pages when users search for keywords relevant to a product or service.
Search Engine Marketing (SEM) refers to a paid advertising method aimed at improving a website visibility in the search engine results pages.
Search Network is a group of websites, apps, and Google partner websites where your advertisements and product listings can appear.
Search Partners are websites that partner with Google to show ads, expanding the reach of your ads beyond just Google search results.
A Search Query is the word or phrase that user types into a search engine like Google and Bing to find information. The three common search queries include: Navigational, transactional, and informational.
Search Terms Report is a Google Ads report that provides insights into what actual search terms triggered an ad. This is used to refine keyword strategies.
Session Duration is the total time a user spends on a website during a single visit, often used to assess engagement and content effectiveness.
A Shared Budget is a single average daily ad budget that multiple campaigns use in an account to automatically allocate funds based on performance or needs.
Shopping Ads are product-focused ads that appear on Google Shopping and include detailed information like images, pricing, and store names. They use your existing product data from Merchant Center to decide how and where your ads appear on.
Sitelink Extension (also known as 'Sitelink Assets') is ad extension that allows you to add extra links in search ads that direct users specific pages of the your website, like product pages or offers. They provide more navigation option, as well as improve visibility and click-through rates. Learn about the other extensions: Assets, Call, Callout, Location, Manual, Price, Promotion.
Smart Bidding is a set of bid strategies in Google Ads that use AI to optimize your bids for conversions or conversion value. Smart Bidding strategies include Target ROAS, Maximize conversion and Maximize conversion.
Social Media Reach refers to the total number of unique users who have seen your content on social media platforms.
A Target Account List (TAL) is a part of Account-Based Marketing where a business creates a list of accounts to target with personalized marketing and sales efforts.
Target CPA (Target Cost per Acquisition; tCPA) is an automated bidding strategy in Google Ads that sets your bids to get as many customer actions (conversions) as possible at a target CPA. Learn about the other automated bidding strategies: Target ROAS, Maximize Clicks, Maximize Conversions.
Target Outranking Share (now under 'Target Impression Share') is a bid strategy that allows you to set a specific portion of the impressions you wish to receive compared to their competitors.
Target ROAS (Return on Ad Spend) is an automated bidding strategy in Google Ads that adjusts bids to maximize conversion value with the aim of achieving a specific return on investment (ROI). When you set a target ROAS, the strategy automatically optimizes the bids based on historical data to meet or exceed that goal. That way, the ad spend generates the desired revenue or conversion value. Learn about the other automated bidding strategies: Target CPA (tCPA), Maximize Clicks, Maximize Conversions
Target Search Page Location (now under 'Target Impression Share') is an automated bid strategy in Google Ads that helps place your ads either at the top of the search results or anywhere on the first page.
A Targeting Group in Google Ads refers to a collection of criteria like demographics, interests, or placements that define your ad's audience.
A Text Ad is a basic ad format in Google Ads that usually contains a headline, display URL, and description. Text ads can also contain assets, such as images, prices, locations, promotions, calls, sitelinks, callouts, structured snippets, etc.
A Text Overlay Ad is a text ad that is shown with video content on Google's Display Network. Common placements include within a video player or the bottom 20% of a video's stream space.
Time to Conversion measures the amount of time it takes for a user to convert after their first interaction with a brand.
Time to Value is the amount of time it takes your customers to get value from your product.
Top of Page Bid Estimate is the estimated cost per click (CPC) required to show your ad at the top of Google's first search engine result page. Learn about the other bid estimates: First page bid estimate, First position bid estimate.
Top of Page Rate is a metric in the Google Auctions Insights report that measures how often your ad appears at the top of search results when people search for one of your keywords.
Top of the Funnel (ToFU) refers to the initial stage of the marketing funnel, where potential customers become aware of a brand, its product or service or all. Learn about the other marketing funnel stages: Middle of the Funnel (MoFU), Bottom of the Funnel (BoFU)
Total Addressable Market is the total market demand for a product or service. It represents the maximum revenue a company could generate if it captured 100% market share.
TrueView Video Formats are YouTube ad formats that allow you to choose how and when to display ads to their target audience. It is available as in-stream or video discovery ads.
Upsell is a sales strategy where you encourage a buyer to upgrade or go for a higher version of the product they are currently interested in.
URL Parameter is a tag added to a URL that helps to filter content or track Google Ads campaigns, providing additional insights into user behavior.
User-Generated Content is original content created by customers of a brand rather than the brand itself.
A Value Proposition is a clear statement that details how a product solves a customer’s problem, delivers specific benefits, and differs from competitors.
A Video Publisher refers to a platform or website within the Google Display Network focused on streaming and sharing video content. An example of a Video Publisher is YouTube.
Viral Marketing is a strategy that encourages users to share content with others, helping a brand or message spread rapidly through social networks.