Marketing Terms

Online Advertising Glossary

above the fold – The section of a Web page that is visible without scrolling.

ACoS (advertising cost of sales) – In Amazon Ads, the percentage of ad cost in relation to ad revenue, expressed as (Cost / Revenue) * 100

ad blocking – The blocking of Web advertisements, typically the image in graphical Web advertisements.

ad extensions – In Google Ads, ad components that show additional information beyond the standard ad, often only when relevant to the user.

ad group – In search advertising, an account structure unit with one or more ads and a common targeting method.

ad space – The space on a Web page available for advertisements.

ad strength – In Google Ads, an estimate of an ad’s potential for success, based on the relevant, quantity, and diversity of the ad content.

advertising network – A network representing many Web sites in selling advertising, allowing advertising buyers to reach broad audiences relatively easily through run-of-category and run-of-network buys.

animated GIF – A graphic in the GIF89a file format that creates the effect of animation by rotating through a series of static images.

app campaign – In Google Ads, a campaign type used to drive app installs or engagement with already-installed apps.

audience signals – In Google Ads, a feature that lets you input audiences you know are valuable so automation can find new converting customers faster.

average position – In Google Ads, a deprecated metric that used to summarize the position your ad had appeared relative to other ads.

banner ad – A graphical web advertising unit, typically measuring 468 pixels wide and 60 pixels tall (i.e. 468×60).

banner blindness – The tendency of web visitors to ignore banner ads, even when the banner ads contain information visitors are actively looking for.

beyond the banner – Online advertising not involving standard GIF and JPEG banner ads.

BOFU (Bottom of Funnel) – The last stage in a buyer’s journey, when they are ready to make a decision and take action.

broad match keywords – In search advertising, a keyword matching option that lets your ad serve when someone searches for the keyword, a variation of it, or a related topic.

broad match modifier – In Google Ads, a deprecated keyword match type that worked similar to broad match, expect advertisers could specify certain words that must be present in a user’s search query.

bumper ad – In YouTube Ads, a short (under 6 seconds), non-skippable video ad designed to increase reach and brand awareness.

button ad – A graphical advertising unit, smaller than a banner ad.

call to action (CTA) – The part of a marketing message that attempts to persuade a person to perform a desired action.

call tracking – A system that measures how callers found a business, and they relevant actions they took.

click-through rate (CTR) – The average number of click-throughs per hundred ad impressions, expressed as a percentage.

contextual advertising – A method of serving advertisements based on the content (i.e., overall context or theme) of a web page.

conversion rate – The percentage of visitors who take a desired action.

cost per action (CPA) – Online advertising payment model in which payment is based solely on qualifying actions such as sales or registrations.

cost per click (CPC) – The cost or cost-equivalent paid per click-through.

cost per lead (CPL) – Online advertising payment model in which payment is based on the number of qualifying leads generated.

CPM – Cost per thousand impressions.

CPV (Cost Per View) – In video advertising, a bidding method where you pay for qualifying views.

data-driven attribution – A marketing attribution model that uses machine learning to determine the relative importance of advertising interactions in the user journey.

Discovery campaign – In Google Ads, a campaign type that shows visually rich ads in a native environment across Google’s feed-based content.

display network – In Google Ads, a network of millions of sites, videos and apps where your ads can serve.

dynamic keyword insertion (DKI) – In search advertising, a feature that takes whichever keyword is triggered by a searcher’s query and inserts it into predefined places in the ad copy.

dynamic remarketing – A type of retargeting that shows previous visitors ads with products or services they viewed on your site or app.

dynamic search ads (DSA) – A special type of search ad in Google Ads that uses content from available landing pages to generate headlines and match to relevant keywords.

eCPM – Effective cost per thousand impressions (technically, “effective cost per mille”).

enhanced CPC – In search advertising, a semi-automated bid strategy that adjusts your CPC bid based on the likelihood of a conversion.

enhanced conversions – A feature in Google ads that sends hashed first-party conversion data from your website to Google to attribute conversions back to your Google Ad campaign.

exact match keywords – In search advertising, a keyword matching option that lets your ad serve when someone searches for the keyword or a close variant of it.

expected CTR – In Google Ads, a keyword status that predicts how often your ads will get clicked for that keyword, relative to all other Google Ads advertisers.

Facebook Ads – An online advertising platform to show ads on Facebook and related properties.

frequency cap – Restriction on the amount of times a specific visitor is shown a particular advertisement.

geo-targeting – a method of detecting a website visitor’s location to serve location-based content or advertisements.

Google Ads – An online advertising platform to show ads on Google, related Google properties, and a partner network of sites and apps.

Google Display Network – An online advertising network by Google to serve visually-rich advertisements across millions of partner websites and apps.

Google Keyword Planner – In search advertising, a tool from Google that generates keyword ideas and traffic estimates.

Google Merchant Center – In search advertising, a tool from Google that generates keyword ideas and traffic estimates.

Google Partners – A program by Google offering resources and status for agencies and third parties that manage Google ads for other businesses.

Google Signals – A feature from Google that uses signed-in data to enable cross-device reporting and remarketing capabilities.

house ad – self-promotional ad a company runs on their own site/network to use unsold inventory.

HTML banner – a banner ad using HTML elements, often including interactive forms instead of (or in addition to) standard graphical elements.

impression – a single instance of an online advertisement being displayed.

impression share – The percentage of impressions your ads received compared to the number of impression your ads were eligible for.

interstitial – an advertisement that loads between two content pages.

last click attribution – A marketing attribution model that assigns all of the conversion credit in a user journey to the last marketing touchpoint.

last non-direct click – A marketing attribution model that assigns all of the conversion credit in a user journey to the last marketing touchpoint, excluding direct traffic.

LinkedIn Ads – An online advertising platform to show ads on LinkedIn.

manual bidding – An advertising bid strategy where you explicitly set a maximum cost-per-click.

media kit – A resource created by a publisher to help prospective ad buyers evaluate advertising opportunities.

MOFU (Middle of Funnel) – The middle stage in a buyer’s journey, characterized by an increase in interest and consideration.

native advertising – Ads that adapt their appearance based on the website they appear on, in order to blend in with the content.

negative keywords – Keywords that prevent ads from appearing for search queries that contain them.

offline conversion tracking – The process of importing conversion actions that happen outside of a website or app and attributing them back to online campaigns.

pay per click (PPC) – Online advertising payment model in which payment is based solely on qualifying click-throughs.

Performance Max (PMax) – In Google Ads, a performance-based campaign type designed to find customers across all of Google’s channels.

phrase match keyword – In search advertising, a keyword matching option that lets your ad serve when someone searches for the keyword or one that Google considers to have a similar meaning.

quality score – In Google Ads, a diagnostic score indicating how relevant your ad and landing page are for a given keyword, relative to other advertisers.

rate card – Document detailing prices for various ad placement options.

rectangle ad – Any one of the large, rectangular banner sizes suggested by the IAB.

remarketing – Google’s term for retargeting, an advertising targeting method where ads are targeted to users who have previously visited your site, or taken some action on your site.

rep firm – Ad sales partner specializing primarily in single-site sales.

responsive display ad (RDA) – An ad format for Google Ads, where marketers enter text and visual elements, and Google combines the elements in various ways to fit available ad space and optimize performance.

responsive search ad (RSA) – A text ad format for Google Ads, where marketers enter up to 15 headlines and 4 description lines, and Google tests different combinations to see which perform better.

retargeting – An advertising targeting method where ads are targeted to users who have previously visited your site, or taken some action on your site.

ROAS (Return On Ad Spend) – An advertising metric that measures the relationship of revenue to ad spend, expressed as a percentage of ad spend.

ROI (return on investment) – The ratio of profits (or losses) to the amount invested.

RPV (Revenue Per Visitor) – The average amount of revenue generated per visitor to a website, calculated by dividing total revenue by total visitors.

run of network (RON) – Ad buying option in which ad placements may appear on any pages on sites within an ad network.

run of site (ROS) – Ad buying option in which ad placements may appear on any pages of the target site.

search partners – In search advertising, sites that partner with Google to show ads in search and search-like settings.

search query – The exact string of words a user types into a search engine.

search retargeting – The use of a site visitor’s search history as a basis for the ads that the visitor will see.

self-serve advertising – Advertising that can be purchased without the assistance of a sales representative.

skyscraper ad – An online ad significantly taller than the 120×240 vertical banner.

thank you page – A page where website visitors are sent after submitted a form.

YouTube Ads – a part of the Google Ads online advertising platform that shows ads on YouTube.