A/B testing (split testing)
The process of running marketing experiments to see which version of an ad connects better withyour audience.

Ad blocking:
The action or practice of using a special piece of software to prevent advertisements from appearing on a web page.

Ad copy:
The text that makes up an advertising message aimed at catching and holding the interest of the prospective buyer.

Ad creative:
The visual attributes of the creative object that is your digital ad.

Ad extension:
A feature that shows extra business information with your ad, like an address, phone number, store rating, or more webpage links.

Ad group:
One or more ads that share a common theme.

Ad rank:
A value that's used to determine your ad position (where ads are shown on a page relative to other
ads) and whether your ads will show at all.

Ad tracking:
The process of collecting data and user insights on the performance of online advertising campaigns.

Advertising network:
A company that connects advertisers to websites that want to host advertisements.

Attribution model:
The rule, or set of rules, that determines how credit for sales and conversions is assigned to touch points along conversion paths.

Automated bidding:
Uses machine learning to maximize results based on your campaign goals.

Banner ad:
A display ad that appears across the top of a page on the internet.

Behavioral targeting:
A method that allows advertisers and publishers to display relevant ads and marketing messages to users based on their web browsing behavior.

Bid:
The maximum amount of money you’re willing to pay for a desired action on your ad.

Brand keyword:
A word or phrase that includes a brand’s name or variations of a brand’s name.

Broad match:
A keyword set to broad match displays your ad when the search term contains any or some combination or variations of the words in your keyword, in any order.

Broad match modifier:
Allows you to select keywords that must be included in the search query for your ad to be displayed.

Buyer’s journey:
The process buyers go through to become aware of, consider and evaluate, and decide to purchase a new product or service.

Caching:
The process of storing temporary files that make a device, browser, or app run faster and more efficiently.

Campaign:
A set of related ad groups that is often used to organize categories of products or services that you offer.

Click-through-rate (CTR):
The ratio of users who click on a specific link to the number of total users who view a page, email, or advertisement.

Contextual advertising:
The practice of placing ads on web pages based on the content of those pages.

Conversion path:
The process by which an anonymous website visitor becomes a known lead.

Conversion rate:
The rate at which website visitors to your site convert on a form and become a lead.

Conversion rate optimization (CRO):
The process of increasing the percentage of website visitors who take a desired action, like filling out a form or making a purchase.

Copywriting:
The activity or occupation of writing the text of advertisements or publicity material.

Cost-per-acquisition (CPA):
How many advertising dollars you spend to acquire one new customer.

Cost-per-click (CPC):
The amount you pay for each click on an ad.

Cost-per-lead (CPL):
How many advertising dollars you spend to acquire one new lead.

Cost per thousand impressions (CPM):
The cost an advertiser pays per one thousand impressions on a digital ad.

Data-management platform (DMP):
A software platform for collecting and managing data.

Demand-side platform (DSP):
A system that allows buyers of digital advertising inventory to manage multiple ad exchange and data exchange accounts through one interface.

Demographics:
The collection and analysis of general characteristics about groups of people and populations.

Demographic targeting:
The use of demographic data to build specific audience groups with shared characteristics which advertisers can advertise to.

Digital advertising:
A targeted, data-driven advertising strategy for reaching consumers online at every stage of the buyer’s journey, including awareness, consideration, and decision stages.

Display ad:
A form of online paid advertising that is typically a designed image or a photo and copy.

Exact match:
A keyword set to exact match will only display your ad if the search term includes that exact keyword, or a very close variation.

First-party cookies:
A code that gets generated and stored on a website visitor’s computer when they visit your site.

HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) cookie:
A small piece of data stored on the user’s computer by the web browser while viewing a website.

Impression:
A metric used to quantify the number of digital views or engagements of a piece of content, usually an advertisement, digital post, or a web page.

Inbound marketing:
A business methodology that attracts customers by creating valuable content and experiences tailored to them.

Journey-based advertising:
A digital advertising strategy where you tailor your ad targeting and ad creative to align with the buyer’s journey.

Keyword:
One word or phrase that someone uses to describe what they need in search.

Keyword research:
The process of finding and analyzing search terms that people enter into search engines.

Lead-to-customer rate:
The rate at which leads become paying customers.

List-based retargeting:
A way to re-display your material based on the list membership of your existing contacts.

Manual bidding:
A bidding method that lets you set your own maximum cost-per-click (CPC) for your ads.

Marketing attribution:
A reporting strategy that allows marketers and sales teams to see the impact that marketers made on a purchase or sale.

Marketing experiment:
The act of conducting an investigation or test as it relates to marketing.

Native advertising:
A form of paid media where the ad experience follows the natural form and function of the user experience in which it is placed.

Negative keywords:
Excludes your ads from being shown on searches with that term.

Non-brand keyword:
All other relevant keywords that do not include a brand’s name or variations of a brand’s name.

Page view:
An instance of an internet user visiting a particular page on a website.

Paid media:
External marketing efforts that you pay to place.

Paid search:
An online advertising method in which marketers place ads on search engine results pages (SERPs).

Pay-per-click (PPC):
An online advertising model in which advertisers pay a fee each time their ad is clicked.

Phrase match:
A keyword set to phrase match will display your ad if the search term contains the same order of the words, but it can also contain additional words.

Pixel-based retargeting:
A way to re-display your material to any anonymous site visitor.

Preferred deals:
Advertisers choose the preferred inventory and price before it is available.

Private marketplace (PMP):
Like real-time bidding, but only available by invitation. Most demand-side platforms have a private marketplace for their users.

Programmatic advertising:
The use of artificial and machine learning to buy ads in real-time, instead of going through human negotiations and pre-set prices.

Quality score:
An algorithm that scores each of your ads for relevance.

Real-time bidding (RTB):
Refers to the buying and selling of online ad impressions through real-time auctions that occur in the time it takes a webpage to load.

Retargeting:
A form of ad targeting where ads are served to people who have already visited your website or are a contact in your database (like a lead or customer).

Rich media (interactive media):
An ad that includes advanced features like video, audio, or other elements that encourage viewers to interact and engage with the content.

ROAS (return on ad spend):
A metric that measures the revenue generated compared to the dollar-spend of an ad campaign.

The rule of thirds:
The process of dividing an image into thirds, using two horizontal and two vertical lines, and positioning the most important elements at the intersection of these lines.

Skyscraper ad:
A tall and narrow display ad usually placed to the right of content on a web page.

Social media advertising:
The practice of online advertising on social networking channels.

Sponsored content:
A form of digital advertising in which advertisers pay to publish their material on a publication with the intention of closely resembling its editorial content.

Supply-side platform (SSP):
A technology platform to enable web publishers and digital out-of-home media owners to manage their advertising inventory, ll it with ads, and receive revenue.

Targeted advertising:
A form of advertising that is directed towards audiences with certain traits.

Text ad:
A form of marketing communication that advertisers can use to promote their product or service on the Google Network.

Third-party cookies:
Tracking codes placed on a web visitor’s computer after being generated by a website other than your own.

Tracking pixel:
Snippet of code that allows you to gather information about visitors on a website.

UTM parameters:
Tags in a URL that identify the marketing campaign that refers traffic to a specific website. media owners to manage their advertising inventory, fill it with ads, and receive revenue.