A simple glossary to help you understand the key terms we use when working on your digital campaigns.

🔍 Search Engine Marketing (SEM) & Google Ads

• • • SEM – Search Engine Marketing: Paid advertising on search engines like Google.
    • SEO – Search Engine Optimization: Improving your website so it ranks higher in search engine results (organic, not paid).
    • PPC – Pay Per Click: A form of paid advertising where you pay only when someone clicks your ad.
    • CPC – Cost Per Click: How much you pay each time someone clicks your ad.
    • CTR – Click-Through Rate: The percentage of people who see your ad and click on it.
      (Formula: Clicks ÷ Impressions x 100)
    • QS – Quality Score: A score Google gives your ads based on their relevance and quality. A higher score can mean lower costs.
    • Ad Rank – A score that determines where your ad shows up on the page.
    • Impressions – The number of times your ad is shown.
    • Keywords – Words or phrases you target in search ads to appear when users search them.

📱 Social Media Marketing (Meta, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, etc.)

• • • SMM – Social Media Marketing: Advertising and content promotion on social media platforms.
    • CPE – Cost Per Engagement: How much you pay for each like, comment, or interaction.
    • CPM – Cost Per Mille (1000 impressions): The cost to show your ad 1,000 times.
    • Engagement – Any interaction with your content (likes, comments, shares, saves).
    • Reach – The number of unique users who saw your content.
    • Impressions – Total times your content is shown (can include multiple views by the same person).
    • Boosted Post – A regular post turned into an ad by paying to reach more people.
    • Dark Post – An ad that doesn’t appear on your profile but is shown to targeted audiences.
    • Lookalike Audience – A group of users who are similar to your existing customers.
    • Custom Audience – A specific list of users (e.g., past buyers, website visitors) you want to target.

📊 Performance & Analytics

• • • KPI – Key Performance Indicator: A measurable value that shows how well your campaign is performing (e.g., clicks, conversions).
    • ROAS – Return on Ad Spend: How much revenue you make for every dollar spent on ads.
    • CPA – Cost Per Acquisition (or Action): How much it costs to get a conversion (like a sale or lead).
    • Conversion – When a user takes a desired action (buying, signing up, etc.).
    • Conversion Rate – The percentage of users who complete a desired action after clicking an ad.
    • Bounce Rate – The percentage of people who leave your website after viewing just one page. 

🧰 Tools & Platforms

• • • GA4 – Google Analytics 4: A tool to track website traffic and user behavior.
    • GTM – Google Tag Manager: A tool to manage tracking codes (like pixels) on your website without editing code.
    • Pixel – A small piece of code placed on your website to track conversions and retarget visitors.
    • UTM – Urchin Tracking Module: Code added to URLs to help track where your traffic comes from.

🧠 Strategy & Content

• • • Funnel – A model showing the customer journey from awareness to purchase.
    • TOFU / MOFU / BOFU – Top / Middle / Bottom of Funnel: Stages of the customer journey.
      • TOFU: Awareness (reaching new people)
      • MOFU: Consideration (nurturing interest)
      • BOFU: Conversion (pushing for action)
    • A/B Testing – Comparing two versions of an ad or page to see which performs better.
    • Retargeting – Showing ads to people who already visited your website or interacted with your content.

Let me know if you’d like this in a printable PDF format or styled for your agency’s brand – I can set that up for you too.