Glossary

404 page

A URL that informs the visitor that the webpage does not exist.

A/B testing

A method of testing where two versions of content with a single differing variable are compared.

Abandoned cart

When a potential customer adds an item to their cart but does not complete the purchase.

Abandoned cart email

A follow-up email sent to customers who added an item to their cart but did not complete the purchase.

Accessibility

The practice of considering the needs of people with disabilities when products, services, and facilities are built or modified.

Acquisition email

An email sent to acquire new customers.

Ad auction

A process that determines the best ad to show to a person at a given point in time.

Ad extension

A Google Ads feature that shows additional information about the business.

Ad formats

Elements such as text, videos, and images that make up a Google Ad.

Ad group

A group of ads organized by a group of keywords.

Ad spend

The amount a company spends directly on advertisements.

Agency

An outside partner that fulfills a company’s digital marketing and advertising needs.

Alt text

A brief, written description of an image for individuals who are visually impaired.

Anchor text

The visible text in a hyperlink.

Applause rate

The number of approval actions like likes or retweets relative to total followers.

Area chart

Represents data similarly to a line chart but with the space under the line filled in.

Artificial intelligence (AI)

A field developing intelligent machines that simulate human thought or work.

Attribution

Assigns credit for conversions from ads and other touchpoints along a user's path.

Attribution project

The organization for macro and micro conversions in Google Analytics.

Automated bidding strategy

A Google Ads feature that automatically sets a bid for an ad based on its likelihood to result in a click or conversion.

Autonomous marketing

Uses real-time analytics to automate marketing activities.

Average daily budget

The average amount set for each ad campaign on a daily basis.

Average order value (AOV)

The sum of individual order amounts divided by the number of orders.

Average session duration

Calculated by dividing the total duration of all sessions by the number of sessions.

Awareness stage

The first stage of the marketing funnel when a potential customer first becomes aware of a product.

Backlink

A link that points to a website from another site.

Behavioral data

Refers to information about the actions a customer takes when shopping on a website.

Best sellers report

A report that provides information about the most popular brands and products in ads.

Bid

The amount a marketer is willing to spend each time a potential customer clicks their ad.

Bid modification

Bidding a percentage more or less than a starting bid.

Bidding strategy

Guides an advertiser on how much to pay for each user action related to an ad.

Big data

A field in analytics that extracts insights from large datasets.

BigQuery

Google’s cloud-based data warehouse solution.

Blog

A discussion or informational website with diary-style entries.

Blogging

Self-published writing that exists online.

BOPIS

Buy Online, Pick Up In Store.

Bounce rate

The percentage of visitors who leave after viewing one page.

Brand

How a business is perceived by the public.

Branding

Promoting a product by associating it with a particular brand.

Brand advocacy

Measures customers who promote a brand through word-of-mouth.

Brand awareness

How familiar people are with a specific business.

Brand awareness metrics

Metrics that measure brand attention across social media.

Brand equity

Value consumers attribute to one brand versus similar products.

Brand evangelists

Customers who passionately promote a product.

Brand identity

Elements that inform how people perceive a brand.

Brand position statement

Outlines what a company does, for whom, and what makes it different.

Brand safety

Keeping a brand's reputation safe when advertising online.

Brand voice

The distinct personality a brand takes in communications.

Brand voice guidelines

Describes how a brand should be presented in writing.

Branded content

Posts featuring a third-party product or sponsor.

Breadcrumbs

A row of internal links for navigation.

Brick-and-mortar

A traditional retail store located physically.

Broad match

A keyword match type in Google Ads showing ads for related searches.

Broken link

A link leading to a non-existent webpage.

Bucket testing

Similar to A/B testing.

Budget spend

How much is allocated or spent on a campaign.

Business goal

A desired achievement for a business.

Business-to-business (B2B)

When businesses sell products or services to other businesses.

Business-to-consumer (B2C)

When businesses sell products to consumers.

Call to action

An instruction telling the customer what to do next.

Campaign

A plan for ad groups sharing budget and targeting settings.

Cart abandonment

When a customer adds an item but doesn't complete the purchase.

Cart abandonment rate

The percentage of customers who leave the site after adding a product.

Cell

A unique position in a spreadsheet identified by column and row.

Change management

Methods for ensuring smooth implementation of changes.

Chatbot

A programmed system that responds to common customer questions.

Chronological feed

A social media stream displaying the latest content first.

Click

An interaction with an ad by an online user.

Click-and-mortar

Retail stores that sell online and in a physical location.

Click-to-open rate

The percentage of email recipients who clicked links in an email.

Closed captions

Subtitles overlaid on video that can be turned on or off.

Color contrast ratios

Measures brightness of colors in content.

Comma-separated values (CSV)

A file format with commas between data values.

Competition

Other sellers in the market.

Complaint rate

Percentage of complaints about emails received.

Confidence interval

The range of possible values accounting for margin of error.

Confidence level

How likely an experiment's results will contain all outcomes.

Consideration stage

The second stage of the marketing funnel providing more detailed info.

Consumer-to-business (C2B)

When individuals sell to businesses.

Consumer-to-consumer (C2C)

When individuals sell to other consumers.

Contact page

A webpage providing contact information for visitors.

Content buckets

Categories to group marketing content.

Content marketing

Creating and distributing valuable content to an audience.

Continuous metrics

Metrics that change over time.

Conversion

The completion of an activity contributing to business success.

Conversion paths

Touchpoints before conversion in Google Analytics.

Conversion rate

Percentage of visitors who complete a desired action.

Conversion rate optimization

Increasing the percentage of users completing a desired action.

Conversion stage

The third stage of the marketing funnel capitalizing on interest.

Cookie

A small file tracking user behavior and traffic.

Copy

Written material to encourage a product purchase.

Cost per acquisition (CPA)

Average cost of acquiring a potential customer.

Cost per action (CPA)

Amount paid per desired action completed.

Cost per click (CPC)

Amount paid when someone clicks an ad.

Cost per thousand impressions (CPM)

Amount paid per 1,000 ad impressions.

Cost per view (CPV)

Amount paid when a viewer watches a video ad.

Crawlers

Automated software fetching and indexing web pages.

Crawling

Finding new or updated webpages.

Creatives

Content promoted in a campaign.

Cross-channel attribution

Attributes conversions to multiple channels.