A

A/B Testing

A method used to compare different versions of digital ads or website landing pages to determine which one receives a better response from the audience.

Ad Impressions

The number of times an ad has been served, regardless of whether the user has seen or interacted with the ad in any way.

Analytics

Statistics about a particular website’s users and how they interact. This determines how visitors browse a website, how much time they spend there, and the actions they take online.

B

Backlinks

A backlink is when one website links to another via anchor text. Common backlinks include articles you find that link to another source or website.

Bias

The way individuals interpret and evaluate context and information through the lens of their own personal values and beliefs.

Brand Awareness

The level to which a new or existing customer can recall and identify a particular product or service. Increasing this is one of the most important roles a digital marketing agency can play.

Brand Safety

The strategies and technologies used to ensure ads are only placed in contexts that do not harm the brand in any possible way.

Branded Content

Blog posts, videos, podcasts, or other media produced or funded by brands and presented or embedded within editorial content.

Breadcrumbs

Website links that allow users to better track where they are on a website and how far they’ve navigated away from the home page.

Business-to-Business

Commonly abbreviated to B2B for short, this is marketing or sales that exchanges information or services between businesses rather than between a business and a consumer (B2C).

Business-to-Consumer

Commonly abbreviated to B2C for short, this is marketing or sales that exchanges information or services between a business and a consumer rather than between two businesses (B2B).

C

Call To Action (CTA)

A typically concise phrase included within an ad or a button, inviting the audience to take a particular action. For example, Read More or Click Here.

Click-through Rate (CTR)

A percentage of total impressions which shows how often people who are served a particular ad end up clicking on it.

Client Services

Services encompassing project management, account management, and client strategy. All these services play a key role in keeping any digital marketing campaign on track and within budget.

Content Creation

The process of generating topic ideas that appeal to a particular audience’s persona, creating written or visual content around these ideas, and making this information accessible.

Conversion

A specific action or set of actions that advertisers want audiences to take. When an individual takes the desired action, this counts as a conversion.

Cost per Acquisition (CPA)

The cost of acquiring a single customer, typically calculated by dividing the total advertising campaign spend by the number of customers generated by that campaign.

Cost per Click (CPC)

The average amount of money an advertiser pays for each ad click. This is calculated by dividing the advertising campaign spend by the number of clicks generated.

Cost per Lead (CPL)

The average amount of money an advertiser pays for each ad click which results in a lead conversion. CPL is calculated by dividing the advertising campaign spend by the number of leads generated.

Cost per Thousand (CPM)

A metric that shows how much it costs to serve 1,000 ad impressions. This is also used as a standard measure for buying display ads with inventory generally sold on. CPM basis.

Creative Brief

A document that outlines the creative approach and deliverables for a particular digital marketing campaign. This usually connects the creative and strategic work to the business goals.

D

Digital Strategy

A document that outlines how technology can improve business performance, specifying the direction a digital marketing agency will take to create new competitive advantages.

Direct Marketing

A form of advertising directed from businesses straight to customers. For example, text messages, door hangers, and physical mailings.

Display Advertising

A format where graphic ads are displayed on a web page, commonly in the form of graphics, videos, interactive images, and expandable.

Domain Authority Ranking

Created by software development company Moz, this is a search engine ranking score measuring how successful a website is regarding search engine results.

E

Ecommerce

The process of buying and selling products and services on the Internet, with payment and data being exchanged to complete transactions.

Empathy Mapping

A collaborative tool used to gain a deeper understanding into customer behaviour. This can be used to identify and represent a particular group of users or a customer segment.

G

Geo Targeting

Selecting a particular audience for a campaign based on postcodes, designated marketing areas (DMA), cities, provinces, states, or countries.

Google Business Profile

A free tool allowing businesses to take charge of how their company appears on Google Search and Google Maps. This is also an important component of website SEO.

H

Hamburger Menu

An icon used on a website and in apps that opens a side menu or navigation drawer when clicked upon or tapped.

Hashtags

Keywords that users add to their social media posts for increased categorization and visibility. These are denoted by the # symbol.

I

Influencer

Individuals, typically on social media, with the ability to affect purchasing decisions within their industry niche because of knowledge, relationships, notoriety, and visibility.

Influencer Marketing

Forging partnerships with credible or popular individuals who possess large followings on social media. Aligning with such individuals promotes a brand’s authenticity and authority.

Instagram Stories

A feature of popular social media app Instagram that allows users to post photos and videos that appear for a set period of 24 hours. Hashtags, stickers, and polls often overlay them.

K

Keywords

Words and phrases that help best describe a business’s products and/or services. These are carefully curated and selected by advertisers for website use and in organic or paid search engine results.

KPI (Key Performance Indicator)

A quantifiable measure of performance over time for a defined objective. KPIs help digital marketing agencies to achieve key milestones to gauge genuine progress.

L

Landing Page

A web page that users are directed to after they click on a display or paid search ad.

Lead Magnet

A free item or service given away in exchange for gathering personal contact details. For example, trial subscriptions, e-newsletters, white papers, or free consultations.

Lookalike Audience

Targeting people who are like your existing customers to improve your conversion rates. These are used for running an online display, Facebook, or mobile display campaign.

M

Marketing Strategy

A long-term document for achieving a business’s goals by understanding the needs of customers and creating a distinct and sustainable competitive advantage.

Mobile Advertising

Ads served on smartphones and other mobile devices in the form of banners and videos, and other spaces on apps and social media.

Mobile Apps

Software programs downloaded to, and run, on smartphones and other mobile devices. Purposes include social media, maps, games, ecommerce, and much more.

Multicultural Marketing

Using different languages and traditions of various cultures within a region to communicate and advertise to.

Multi-Platform Campaign

Seeking to reach a digital marketing campaign’s goals and objectives by using many different digital and social platforms.

N

Negative Keyword

A defined keyword that prevents your ad from being triggered by a certain word or phrase. Your ads aren’t shown to anyone who is searching for a negative keyword.

O

Omnichannel Marketing

Seeking to provide a consistent customer experience across all channels, including bricks-and-mortar stores, phone calls, and interactions on the Internet.

Online Marketing

The promotion of brands to connect with potential customers using the Internet and other forms of digital communication like email, social media, and web-based advertising.

Out-of-Home Advertising (OOH)

Advertising designed to reach consumers when they are not inside their homes. For example, billboards, bus shelters, and traditional store signage.

P

Pain Points

A specific defined problem that customers of a particular product or service are currently experiencing.

Persona

A fictional character which represents your target user(s). This valuable UX tool allows digital marketing agencies to better understand business’s desired target audience(s).

PPC (Pay-per-click)

An Internet payment system whereby an advertiser on a website pays the website owner based on how many people visit the advertiser’s website via the hyperlinked advert on the owner’s website.

Pre-Roll Ad

A promotional message played before selected video content. Some pre-roll ads can be skipped after a certain amount of time, typically 5 seconds.

Programmatic Advertising

The automated buying and selling of ad inventory. Software is utilized to make data-driven decisions which are often more efficient and affordable.

Programmatic Media Buying

Automated method of buying media that ensures advertisers are reaching the right person, at the right time, in the right place.

Public Relations

The process of using media to maintain a favourable public perception of individuals and organizations to build trust between citizens and these entities.

R

Reach

The total number of individuals who see your business’s message. One person who is served your ad five times and clicks on it once yields a reach of 1.5 impressions, and a 20% click-through rate.

Rebranding

Altering one or many aspects of an existing corporate image. For example, changing a company name, logo, or slogan. Rebranding often occurs in response to a change in company practice.

Retargeting/Remarketing

The process of engaging audiences who have already interacted with your brand, encouraging them to finally take a desired action that may prove of interest to them.

Responsive Website Design (RWD)

An approach to web development that creates dynamic changes to a website’s appearance in regard to screen size and device orientation.

S

SEO

Search Engine Optimization is the process used to optimize a website’s technical configuration, content relevance and link popularity so its pages can become easily findable, typically on Google.

Shopper Marketing

A strategy aimed at understanding consumers’ experiences, habits, and perceptions as they make their latest purchases.

Social Advertising

The process of running paid ads on social networking platforms online like Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

Social Media Strategy

An outline of the content that your business will post, your social media team’s responsibilities, and the social media channels employed to promote your business online.

T

Tagline

A sharp and concise memorable catchphrase or slogan used to reinforce a brand’s message.

Target Audience

A specific group of consumers most likely to want your business’s product(s) or service(s). These are the people who should see your ad campaigns and can be sorted by age, gender, location, and more.

The Gestalt Principles of Design

Principles/laws of individuals’ perception that describe how humans group similar elements, recognize patterns, and simplify complex images when we perceive objects.

U

User Centered Design Process

Design that is based on an explicit understanding of users and tasks, and that is driven and refined by authentic consumer feedback.

User Experience (UX)

The entirety of an end-user’s interaction with a business and its products and services, most commonly via a website or computer program.

Usability Testing

The process of evaluating a product or service by testing it with representative users who will watch, listen, and log their notes.

UX Persona

A fictional character which represents your target user(s). This valuable UX tool allows digital marketing agencies to better understand business’s desired target audience(s).

W

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)

Guidelines which are published by the World Wide Web Consortium’s (W3C) Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI). They provide recommendations for making web content as accessible as possible.

Web Accessibility

Websites, tools, and technologies that are designed and developed so that people with disabilities can still use them.

Website Prototype

Interactive demos of a website early in the project lifecycle to provide clients, stakeholders, and end-users an understanding of the look and feel.

Website Ranking

The search engine ranking of a website, or URL. Web pages that rank successfully appear at the top or as one of the first few results on a search engine, most commonly Google.

Wireframes

A two-dimensional illustration of a page’s interface that focuses on space allocation and the prioritization of content.