Marketing Glossary
SEO, PPC, social media, content marketing, and digital advertising terminology
A
A/B Testing
A method comparing two versions of a webpage or element to determine which performs better statistically.
AI Optimization (AIO)
Optimizing content for AI-driven search engines and recommendation algorithms like Google SGE.
AI-Generated Search
Search experiences where AI provides synthesized answers instead of traditional link results.
Account-Based Marketing
A B2B strategy that focuses marketing resources on a set of target accounts using personalized campaigns.
Ad Age (Advertising Age)
Leading advertising industry publication covering agencies, brands, media, and marketing trends since 1930.
Ad Extensions
Additional information that expands your search ads with extra business details like phone numbers, links, or location.
Ad Fatigue
The decline in ad performance when audiences become overexposed to the same creative, resulting in decreased engagement and higher costs.
Ad Rank
The score that determines your ad position and whether your ad will show.
Advertising Week
Global conference series exploring the future of marketing, media, and technology across major cities.
Adweek
Major advertising industry publication covering creative agencies, brand marketing, media, and marketing technology.
Algorithm
The automated system determining what content users see in their feeds based on predicted relevance and engagement.
American Marketing Association (AMA)
Professional association advancing marketing practice through education, research, and community since 1937.
Answer Engine Optimization
Optimizing content for AI answer engines and conversational search interfaces.
Association of National Advertisers (ANA)
Trade association representing brand marketers, providing advocacy, research, and professional development.
Attribution Model
A rule that determines how credit for conversions is assigned to marketing touchpoints.
Audience Suppression
Excluding specific user segments from seeing advertising to improve efficiency.
Audience Targeting
Selecting specific user segments for ad delivery based on demographics, behaviors, interests, or other attributes.
B
Backlink
A hyperlink from one website to another, used by search engines as a ranking signal.
Behavioral Trigger
An automated email sent in response to a specific customer action or inaction.
Bid Strategy
The approach used to set and adjust bids for ad placements in paid campaigns.
Bidding Strategy
The approach used to set and adjust ad auction bids, from manual control to automated machine learning optimization.
Bounce Rate
The percentage of visitors who leave a website after viewing only one page without taking any action.
Brand Architecture
The organizational structure defining relationships between a parent brand and its sub-brands or product lines.
Brand Awareness
The extent to which consumers recognize and recall a brand and its products or services.
Brand Consistency
Maintaining uniform visual identity, messaging, and customer experience across all marketing channels and customer touchpoints.
Brand Dilution
The weakening of brand identity through inconsistent messaging or overextension.
Brand Equity
The commercial value derived from consumer perception of a brand name rather than the product itself.
Brand Equity Measurement
Quantifying the financial and perceived value that a brand name adds to products or services beyond their functional benefits.
Brand Guidelines
A comprehensive document defining how a brand should be visually and verbally represented across all touchpoints.
Brand Identity
The visible elements of a brand that identify and distinguish it in consumers' minds.
Brand Personality
The set of human characteristics and traits attributed to a brand that shape how it communicates and connects.
Brand Positioning
The strategic process of establishing a unique impression in customers' minds.
Brand Refresh
An evolutionary update to visual identity and messaging that modernizes a brand without abandoning its core equity.
Brand Safety AI
AI systems that protect brand reputation by controlling ad placement and content context.
Brand Salience
The degree to which your brand comes to mind quickly and easily when customers think about your product category.
Brand Tracking
Ongoing measurement of brand awareness, perception, and competitive position.
Brand Voice
The consistent personality and tone expressed in all brand communications.
Buyer Intent Data
Signals indicating prospect interest in purchasing specific products or services.
C
Call-to-Action (CTA)
A prompt that tells users what action to take next, typically in the form of a button or link with action-oriented text.
Cannes Lions
The International Festival of Creativity - the advertising industry's most prestigious awards and conference.
Canonical URL
An HTML element specifying the preferred version of a webpage when duplicate or similar content exists at multiple URLs.
Category Creation
Strategy of defining and dominating a new market category rather than competing in existing ones.
Channel Attribution
Measuring the contribution of different marketing channels to conversions.
Click-Through Rate (CTR)
The percentage of people who click on a specific link out of the total number who view it.
Cohort Analysis
Analyzing user behavior by grouping them based on shared characteristics or timeframes.
Community Building Strategy
Creating engaged customer communities around shared interests or brand values to foster loyalty and drive word-of-mouth marketing.
Community Management
The practice of building, growing, and managing online communities around a brand or interest.
Community-Led Growth
Growth strategy centered on building and nurturing engaged user communities.
Content Amplification
Paid and organic strategies to extend the reach of content beyond owned channels.
Content Atomization
Breaking one piece of pillar content into multiple smaller formats optimized for different channels and audiences.
Content Calendar
A schedule that organizes when and where you plan to publish upcoming content.
Content Cluster
A group of interlinked content pieces covering related subtopics, organized around a central pillar page.
Content Decay
The gradual decline in organic traffic and rankings that content experiences over time as it becomes outdated or outranked.
Content Governance
The policies, processes, and standards that ensure consistent, compliant, and quality content across an organization.
Content Marketing
A strategic approach focused on creating valuable content to attract and retain a defined audience.
Content Marketing World
The largest content marketing conference featuring education, networking, and innovation in content strategy.
Content Repurposing
Adapting existing content into different formats to reach new audiences.
Content Strategy
A plan for creating, publishing, and managing content that achieves specific business goals and serves audience needs.
Content Velocity
The speed at which content is created, published, and distributed across marketing channels to maintain audience engagement.
Conversion Path Analysis
Examining the complete sequence of interactions that lead users from initial touchpoint to desired conversion actions.
Conversion Rate
The percentage of visitors who complete a desired action on your website or campaign.
Conversion Rate Optimization
Systematic testing and improvement of website elements to increase conversions.
Core Web Vitals
Google's metrics measuring real-world user experience: loading performance, interactivity, and visual stability.
Cost Per Acquisition (CPA)
The average cost to acquire one customer through a specific marketing campaign or channel.
Cost Per Click (CPC)
The amount an advertiser pays each time a user clicks on their online advertisement.
Crawl Budget
The number of pages a search engine will crawl on your site within a given timeframe.
Crawlability
How easily search engine bots can access, read, and index a website's pages and content.
Creative Fatigue
Declining ad performance as audiences become overexposed to the same creative.
Creative Velocity
The speed at which marketing teams can produce and deploy new creative assets.
Creator Economy
The economic ecosystem of independent content creators monetizing their audiences.
Customer Acquisition Cost
The total cost of acquiring a new customer, including marketing and sales expenses divided by number of customers acquired.
Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)
The total cost of acquiring a new customer, including all marketing and sales expenses.
Customer Data Platform (CDP)
Software that creates unified, persistent customer profiles by collecting data from multiple sources.
Customer Health Score
A composite metric predicting customer retention risk based on usage patterns, engagement, and other behavioral signals.
Customer Journey Analytics
Tracking and analyzing all customer interactions across touchpoints to understand the complete path from awareness to purchase and beyond.
Customer Lifetime Value
The total revenue a business can expect from a single customer account throughout their entire relationship.
Customer Lifetime Value (CLV)
The total revenue a business can expect from a single customer over their relationship.
D
Dark Funnel
The untrackable buyer journey activities that happen in private channels before prospects engage with your brand publicly.
Dark Social
Social sharing that occurs through private channels and cannot be tracked by analytics.
Dayparting Strategy
Scheduling ads to run during specific hours or days when target audiences are most active and likely to convert.
Deliverability Reputation
Email service provider ratings that determine whether messages reach inboxes or spam folders based on sender behavior and engagement.
Demand Generation
Marketing programs designed to drive awareness and interest in a company's products or services.
Display Network
A network of millions of websites, apps, and videos where visual ads can appear, reaching users across the internet.
Domain Authority
A search engine ranking score that predicts how well a website will rank on search engines.
Double Opt-In
A two-step subscription process requiring email confirmation before adding someone to your list.
Drip Campaign
An automated series of emails sent on a schedule or triggered by specific actions.
E
E-E-A-T
Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness - Google's content quality guidelines.
Email Automation Workflows
Triggered email sequences that respond to specific user behaviors or characteristics to deliver personalized messaging at scale.
Email Deliverability
The ability to successfully deliver emails to subscribers' inboxes rather than spam folders.
Email List Building
Strategies and tactics for growing an email subscriber list with qualified, engaged potential customers.
Email Open Rate
The percentage of email recipients who open a given email.
Email Segmentation
The practice of dividing email subscribers into smaller groups based on set criteria.
Email Warm-Up
The process of gradually increasing email volume from a new IP or domain to build sender reputation.
Engagement Rate
A metric measuring the level of interaction that content receives relative to reach or followers.
Evergreen Content
Content that remains relevant and valuable long after its publication date.
F
Featured Snippet
A highlighted search result that appears above organic listings, directly answering a user's query.
First-Party Data
Data collected directly from your audience through your owned channels and touchpoints.
Flywheel Model
A business growth model where satisfied customers fuel acquisition through referrals and advocacy, creating self-sustaining momentum.
Funnel Analysis
Tracking user progression through defined conversion steps to identify where prospects drop off.
G
GEO (Generative Engine Optimization)
Optimizing content to appear in AI-powered search engines and chatbots like ChatGPT and Perplexity.
Gated Content
Premium content assets that require users to provide contact information or payment before accessing.
Gated Content Strategy
Requiring user information exchange for access to premium content like whitepapers, ebooks, or webinars to generate qualified leads.
Geotargeting
Delivering different content or ads to users based on their geographic location.
Growth Hacking
Rapid experimentation across marketing and product to identify the most efficient ways to grow.
H
Hashtag Strategy
The deliberate selection and use of hashtags to increase content discoverability and community engagement.
Heat Mapping
Visual representation of user behavior on websites showing where visitors click, scroll, and focus their attention most frequently.
HubSpot
An all-in-one marketing, sales, and customer service platform with CRM and automation.
HubSpot INBOUND
Annual marketing and sales conference hosted by HubSpot focusing on inbound methodology and business growth.
I
Impression Share
The percentage of impressions your ads received compared to total available impressions.
Inbound Marketing
A strategy that attracts customers through relevant content rather than interruptive advertising.
Incrementality Testing
Experiments that measure the true causal impact of marketing by comparing to a control group.
Influencer Marketing
A marketing strategy that partners with influential people to promote products or services.
A visual social platform owned by Meta, central to influencer marketing and brand storytelling.
Intent Signal
Third-party data indicating a company is actively researching purchase decisions.
Internal Linking
Links between pages on the same website that help search engines understand site structure.
K
Keyword Cannibalization
When multiple pages on the same website compete for identical keywords, causing reduced search rankings and traffic confusion.
Keyword Difficulty
A metric estimating how hard it would be to rank on the first page of search results for a specific keyword.
Keyword Research
The process of discovering and analyzing search terms that people enter into search engines.
L
Landing Page
A standalone web page created specifically for a marketing or advertising campaign where visitors "land" after clicking a link.
Landing Page Optimization
Improving pages where ad traffic lands to increase conversion rates and maximize return on ad spend.
Lead Generation
The process of attracting and converting prospects into potential customers who have shown interest in your products or services.
Lead Magnet
A free resource or incentive offered to potential customers in exchange for their contact information, typically an email address.
Link Building
The process of acquiring hyperlinks from other websites to your own, a key factor in search engine ranking algorithms.
The professional networking platform essential for B2B marketing, recruiting, and thought leadership.
List Decay Rate
The percentage of email subscribers who become inactive or unsubscribe over time, affecting email deliverability and engagement.
List Hygiene
The practice of maintaining a clean, engaged email subscriber list.
Local Pack Optimization
Optimizing business listings to appear in Google's local search results map pack for location-based queries.
Local SEO
Optimization strategies to improve visibility in location-based searches and Google Maps listings.
Long-tail Keywords
Specific, multi-word search phrases with lower volume but higher intent and less competition than broad keywords.
Lookalike Audience
A targeting option that finds new users who share characteristics with your existing customers or high-value audiences.
M
Marketing Attribution
The process of identifying which marketing touchpoints contribute to conversions and assigning credit to each interaction.
Marketing Automation
Technology that automates repetitive marketing tasks across channels.
Marketing Automation Workflow
Automated sequence of marketing actions triggered by user behaviors or conditions.
Marketing Dashboard
A visual display consolidating key marketing metrics and KPIs for monitoring performance and making decisions.
Marketing Data Clean Room
Secure environments for analyzing combined first-party data with partners while maintaining privacy.
Marketing Flywheel
Self-reinforcing growth model where customer success drives new customer acquisition.
Marketing Funnel
A model representing the customer journey from initial awareness through to purchase and beyond.
Marketing Mix Modeling (MMM)
Statistical analysis to measure marketing channel effectiveness using aggregate data.
Marketing Operations
The function managing marketing technology, data, processes, and campaign execution infrastructure.
Marketing Ops
Function managing marketing technology, data, and processes to enable campaign execution.
Marketing Qualified Account
A company account that meets criteria indicating sales readiness based on aggregate signals.
Marketing Qualified Lead
A lead that has been deemed more likely to become a customer based on engagement with marketing activities.
Marketing ROI
The return on investment from marketing activities, measuring revenue generated relative to marketing spend.
Marketing Week
UK-based marketing publication covering brand strategy, marketing effectiveness, and career development.
Marketo
An enterprise marketing automation platform now owned by Adobe, focused on B2B engagement.
Meta Description
An HTML element providing a brief summary of a webpage, often displayed in search results below the title.
MozCon
Premier SEO and search marketing conference featuring advanced tactics and thought leadership from industry experts.
Multi-Touch Attribution
A model that credits multiple marketing touchpoints for contributing to a conversion.
N
Negative Keywords
Keywords that prevent your ads from showing for irrelevant searches, reducing wasted spend on unqualified clicks.
Net Promoter Score
A metric measuring customer loyalty and satisfaction based on likelihood to recommend your company to others.
Newsletter
Regular email communications providing value to subscribers through content, updates, and curated information.
O
Off-Page SEO
SEO activities performed outside your website to improve rankings, including link building, brand mentions, and social signals.
Omnichannel Marketing
A seamless, integrated customer experience across all channels and touchpoints.
On-Page SEO
Optimization of individual web page elements including content, HTML source code, and meta tags to rank higher in search results.
Organic Reach Decline
The decreasing percentage of followers who see posts without paid promotion, caused by platform algorithm changes favoring paid content.
P
Page Speed
How quickly a webpage loads and becomes interactive, affecting both user experience and search engine rankings.
Pay-Per-Click (PPC)
An online advertising model where advertisers pay each time a user clicks on their ad.
Pillar Content
Comprehensive, authoritative content that covers a broad topic and links to related subtopics.
Pillar Page
A comprehensive, authoritative page covering a broad topic that links to and from related cluster content.
Predictive Lead Scoring
Using machine learning to predict which leads are most likely to convert.
Preference Center
A self-service page where subscribers manage their email preferences including frequency and content types.
Privacy-First Marketing
Marketing strategies built around data minimization and user consent as core principles.
Product-Led Growth
A go-to-market strategy where the product itself drives customer acquisition, conversion, and expansion through user experience rather than traditional sales.
Programmatic Advertising
Automated buying and selling of digital advertising using AI and real-time bidding technology.
Q
Quality Score
A Google Ads metric that rates the quality and relevance of your keywords and PPC ads.
Quality Score Optimization
Improving Google Ads quality metrics through better keyword relevance, ad copy alignment, and landing page experience to reduce costs.
R
ROAS (Return on Ad Spend)
A metric measuring revenue generated for every dollar spent on advertising, calculated as revenue divided by ad spend.
ROI (Return on Investment)
A performance metric measuring the profitability of an investment relative to its cost.
Reach vs Impressions
Reach counts unique users who saw content; impressions count total views, including multiple views by the same user.
Remarketing
Advertising strategy that shows ads to people who previously visited your website or engaged with your content.
Retargeting
Advertising that targets people who have previously visited your website or engaged with your brand, keeping you top-of-mind as they browse elsewhere.
Revenue Attribution
Connecting marketing activities directly to revenue outcomes and pipeline value.
Revenue Intelligence
AI-powered insights from sales activities to improve forecasting and performance.
Revenue Operations
The strategic integration of marketing, sales, and customer success operations to drive efficient, predictable revenue growth.
S
SERP (Search Engine Results Page)
The page displayed by search engines in response to a query, containing organic results, ads, and featured snippets.
SERP Features
Special result formats in search listings beyond standard blue links, including featured snippets, knowledge panels, and local packs.
Salesforce Marketing Cloud
Salesforce enterprise digital marketing platform for email, mobile, social, and advertising.
Schema Markup
Structured data code added to webpages that helps search engines understand content and display rich results.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
The practice of optimizing websites and content to rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs).
Search Intent
The underlying goal or purpose behind a user's search query, determining what type of content will satisfy their needs.
Search Intent Optimization
Aligning website content with the specific purpose behind user searches, whether informational, navigational, commercial, or transactional.
Sentiment Analysis
Using AI to determine whether text expresses positive, negative, or neutral opinions.
Session Duration
The total amount of time a user spends on a website during a single visit or session.
Signal Loss
Degradation of marketing measurement accuracy due to privacy changes and tracking limitations.
Signal-Based Selling
Using behavioral data signals to identify and prioritize prospects showing buying intent before they directly engage.
Social Commerce
Buying and selling products directly through social media platforms.
Social Listening
Monitoring social media channels for mentions of your brand, competitors, products, and industry topics.
Social Media Calendar
A planning document scheduling social media content across platforms with dates, times, and content details.
Social Media Marketing
Using social media platforms to connect with audiences, build brand awareness, drive website traffic, and increase sales.
Social Proof
The psychological phenomenon where people copy the actions of others to make decisions.
Social Proof Marketing
Using customer testimonials, reviews, and endorsements to build trust and influence purchasing decisions through peer validation.
Sonic Branding
The strategic use of sound and music to reinforce brand identity and create emotional connections.
Sunset Policy
The systematic process of removing unengaged subscribers from your email list to maintain list health.
T
Threads
Meta text-based conversation platform, a Twitter/X alternative integrated with Instagram.
TikTok
A short-form video platform known for viral content, trends, and influencer marketing.
Topic Clusters
A content organization strategy using pillar pages and supporting content to establish topical authority and improve search rankings.
Topical Authority
A website's recognized expertise on a specific subject, built through comprehensive, interconnected content coverage.
Triggered Email
Automated emails sent based on specific user actions or behaviors rather than scheduled broadcasts.
U
Z
Zero-Click Content
Content designed to deliver value directly in feed without requiring clicks.
Zero-Click Search
A search result that answers the query directly in the SERP without requiring a click.
Zero-Party Data
Data that customers intentionally and proactively share with a brand, including preferences and intentions.
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