SEM, CPC, ROAS, DSA, QS – the abbreviations in digital marketing are many and sometimes completely incomprehensible. From A-Z – this is the e-marketers glossary cheat sheet for some of the most common terms and words in search engine marketing!
Conversion = where someone interacts with your ad and then takes an action that you’ve defined as valuable – such as making an online purchase.
Conversion rate = the average number of conversions per ad interaction in percentage.
Conversion value = what different conversions are worth your business and how you can optimize ROI (return on investment) by defining them.
CPA = Cost per action/Cost per acquisition, what you pay for each conversion on your site.
CPC = Cost per click, the most common advertising model where you pay for each click on your ads. Also called PPC (pay per click).
CPI = Cost per install, where you pay for number of installations of your app.
CPL = Cost per lead, what you pay for each new lead.
CPM = Cost per thousand impressions (mille), where you pay for impressions, whether a user clicks on your ad or not.
CPO = Cost per order, what you pay for an actual sale on your website.
CTR = Click through rate, the percentage of times users click on your ad after seeing it.
CSS = Comparison shopping site, a site that can advertise products on Google shopping.
DCM = Doubleclick campaign manager, an ad management system that helps you manage your digital campaigns across websites and mobile devices.
DFSA = Demographics for search ads, a Google campaign where you can target audience from demographic data such as age, gender, income.
DMP = Data management platform, a system where you can collect, organize and activate audience data from any source.
DSA = Dynamic search ads, a Google campaign that drive relevant traffic to pages with content closely related to a keyword search.
DSP = Demand Side Platform, a software system that allows you to manage bids across multiple ad and data exchanges.
ECPC = Enhanced cost per click, automatically adjusts your manual bids, based on the probability that a conversion will happen on your website.
GCLID = Google click identifier, a unique tracking parameter used to transfer information between your Google Ads and your Google Analytics accounts.
GDP = Google Display Network, a network of over 2 million websites where Google ads appear.
GTIN = Global trade item number, a number that identifies your products, for example ISBN, UPC or EAN numbers.
LTV = Lifetime value, a metric that indicates the total revenue of one single customer throughout their whole relationship with your business. Also called CLV (customer lifetime value).
PPA = Pay per action, where you pay for each action a user makes, making a purchase or becoming a subscriber. Also known as CPA, cost per action.
PPC = Pay per click, the most common advertising model where you pay for each click on your ads. Also called CPC, cost per click.
QS = Quality score, how Google ranks your business and ads in the search results. Calculated by measuring three parts: relevance to keyword, effectiveness of landing page or website, and historical click through rates or number of shows.
ROAS = Return on ads spent, the gross revenue of an ad campaign.
ROI = Return on investment, the comparison of the profits and costs of your advertising campaign.
SEM = Search engine marketing, optimization of marketing for search engines.
SKU = Stock keeping unit, a unique identifier or code that’s connected to each one of your items in stock.
