Glossary of Digital Marketing Terms

A/B testing

A method of testing where two versions of content with a single differing variable are compared to determine which yields better results

Accessibility

Considering the needs of people with disabilities when products, services, and facilities are built or modified, making them usable by people of all abilities

Acquisition email

An email sent to acquire new customers

Alt text

A brief, written description of an image with the primary purpose of assisting individuals who are visually impaired

Behavioral data

Refers to information about the actions a customer takes—or doesn't take—when it comes to shopping on a website

Broken link

A hyperlink that no longer leads to the correct website

Call to action

An instruction that tells the customer what to do next

Click-to-open rate

The percentage of email recipients who clicked on one or more links in an email

Complaint rate

The percentage of complaints recipients send to mailbox providers about receiving an email

Conversion rate

The percentage of users who clicked on a link and took a desired action, like making a purchase

Customer referral

A word-of-mouth initiative that encourages existing customers to introduce their family, friends, and contacts to become new customers

Data

A collection of facts or information

Demographic data

Refers to information specific to the customer, such as age, gender identity, income, family size, occupation, education, and location

Email body

The text in the main content of an email

Email bounce rate

The percentage of emails sent that could not be delivered to the recipient's inbox

Email copy

The text in a subject line, preview text, and email

Email marketing

The process of sending messages to a list of existing subscribers to share information, drive sales, or create community

Email marketing provider

A company that offers email marketing or bulk email services

Email marketing report

A collection of KPIs presented to the team and stakeholders to inform them of a campaign's progress

Email marketing strategy

A set of procedures that a marketer identifies and follows to achieve their desired marketing goals with email advertising

Forward rate

The percentage of recipients who click on the "share" button to post to social media or who click the "forward" button to send to others

Google Display Network

A group of websites, videos, and apps where ads can appear

Insight

Information that is discovered through research or data analysis and that can be actioned upon to benefit a marketing strategy

Key performance indicators (KPIs)

Measurements used to gauge how successful a business is in its effort to reach a business or marketing goal

Lead generation

The practice of collecting a potential customer's email address

List growth rate

The rate at which an email subscriber list grows

Marketing automation

The practice of using software, programs, and technology to create and implement applications to automate marketing tasks

Merge tag

(refer to personalization tag)

Metrics

Quantifiable measurements that are used to track and assess a business objective

Newsletter

An email sent to subscribers on a regular basis, containing news and informational content relevant to the company and of interest to subscribers

Open rate

The percentage of users or customers who open an email

PESTLE analysis

An audit that identifies political, economic, social, technological, legal, and environmental factors that may affect a marketing strategy

Personalization tag

A code that allows the writer to insert unique user data from their mailing list into emails

Preview text

Text next to an email's subject line in the inbox that gives extra insight into what's inside the email

Promotional email

An email sent out to inform subscribers of new or existing products or services

Psychographic data

Refers to information based on customers' activities, interests, and opinions

Quality control

The process through which a business seeks to ensure that product quality is maintained or improved

Retention email

An email sent to a current customer with the intent of keeping them as a customer

Return on investment (ROI)

Ratio of money made and money spent

Screen enlargement application

Technology that helps users see content more easily by magnifying text and images on a computer or digital device screen

Screen reader

An application that converts text, buttons, images, and other screen elements into speech or Braille

Search engine marketing (SEM)

Increasing a website's visibility on a search engine results page through paid advertising

Segmentation

The practice of dividing an email subscriber list into smaller groups based on criteria like interests, location, or purchase history

SMART

A goal-setting method that can help define and measure the success of the goals of a campaign; Stands for "specific," "measurable," "attainable," "relevant," and "time-bound"

Social ads

Paid advertisements on social media platforms targeted to social media users

Spam

Unsolicited and unwanted junk email sent out in bulk to a broad recipient list

Stakeholders

The people—usually within an organization—that are affected by the campaign in some way

Subject line

The first text recipients see after the sender's name when an email reaches their inbox

SWOT analysis

An audit that identifies a company's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats

Unsubscribe rate

The percentage of email recipients who unsubscribe from a send list after opening an email

Website prompt

A digital banner that calls on a website visitor to act in some way

Welcome email

An email sent out to brand new customers or subscribers