A/B Testing
Compare variations of a page, advert or email to understand which performs better against a defined goal.
Digital Marketing Glossary
Clear explanations of the terms you meet in search, advertising and websites. Find the meaning, then put it to work.
Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP)
An open-source framework designed to make mobile web pages load quickly.
Ahrefs (Tool)
An SEO toolkit for researching keywords, analysing backlinks and understanding search performance.
Alt Tag
Alternative text describes an image for people who cannot see it and helps explain its purpose.
Average Order Value (AOV)
The average amount spent per order over a defined period, calculated from revenue and order count.
Backlink
A hyperlink from another website to yours, connecting readers and search engines with your content.
Bounce Rate (BR)
A metric used to understand visits with limited engagement. Its definition depends on your analytics platform.
Call To Action (CTA)
A clear prompt that guides someone towards a next step, such as making an enquiry or completing a purchase.
Click Through Rate (CTR)
The proportion of impressions that lead to a click, used to assess how effectively a listing or advert attracts attention.
Content Management System (CMS)
Software for creating, editing and publishing website content through a managed interface.
Cost Per Acquisition (CPA)
The average advertising cost of generating a defined acquisition, such as a sale or qualified lead.
Cost Per Click (CPC)
The average amount paid for each click on an advert, calculated from spend and total clicks.
Direct Mail (DM)
Marketing materials delivered by post to a selected audience.
Domain Name
The address people use to find a website, forming part of its identity on the web.
E-A-T and E-E-A-T
A framework for thinking about expertise, authority and trust when assessing the quality of online content.
Exact Match Domain (EMD)
A domain name that matches a target search phrase, rather than a distinct brand name.
Facebook Pixel
Website tracking code used to measure actions and support the analysis of Facebook advertising.
Featured Snippet
An extract from a web page that a search engine highlights to help answer a query directly.
Google Analytics (GA)
A web analytics platform for understanding website traffic, engagement and conversion activity.
Google Search Console (GSC)
Google’s tool for monitoring search visibility, indexing and technical issues affecting a website.
Google Tag Manager (GTM)
A tool for managing website measurement and marketing tags through a central interface.
Hreflang
An HTML annotation that connects equivalent pages for different languages or regions.
htaccess
An Apache server configuration file used to control settings such as redirects and directory access.
Impression Share (IS)
The share of eligible advertising impressions your campaigns received during a measured period.
Indexing
The process of storing and organising web content so a search engine can retrieve it for relevant queries.
JavaScript
A programming language used to add interaction and dynamic behaviour to websites.
Keyword Research
Research into the language people use to search, helping connect useful content with relevant demand.
Knowledge Graph
A structured network of entities and relationships that helps organise connected information.
Knowledge Panel
A search result panel that brings together key information about an entity, such as a business or person.
Landing Page
A page designed around a specific audience, campaign and action you want a visitor to take.
Latent Semantic Indexing (LSI)
A mathematical method for finding relationships in text and large collections of information.
Link Building
The process of earning links from other websites through useful content, relationships and promotion.
Link Juice
An informal term for the value or equity that may pass between pages through links.
Long-Tail Keywords
Specific search phrases that express a focused need, often with lower individual search volume.
LTV or Lifetime Value
An estimate of the value a customer brings to a business over the course of their relationship.
Meta Description
A short HTML summary of a page that can help explain its content in search results.
Metatag
Information in a page’s HTML that describes its content or provides instructions to browsers and search engines.
Mindmap
A visual structure that connects related ideas around a central topic.
Mobile First Indexing
The use of a website’s mobile content as the primary version for search indexing.
Mobile Optimisation
Improving a website’s layout, content and performance for people using mobile devices.
Mobile-Friendly Website
A website with content and controls that remain readable and usable on smaller screens.
Moz
A collection of SEO tools for researching keywords, analysing links and monitoring search visibility.
Negative Keywords
Terms that prevent an advert from appearing for searches that do not match your intended audience.
Nofollow
A link attribute used to describe how a link should be treated by search engines.
Off-Page Optimisation
Activity beyond your website that can support its reputation, relevance and search visibility.
On-Page Optimisation
Improvements to page content, structure and HTML that help people and search engines understand it.
Organic Traffic
Visits that arrive through unpaid search results.
Outreach
Contacting relevant people or organisations to build relationships and share useful content.
Page Speed
How quickly a page presents its content and becomes useful to the person visiting it.
PageRank
Google’s link-based method for assessing the relative importance of web pages.
Pay Per Click (PPC)
An advertising model in which an advertiser pays when someone clicks on an advert.
Quality Score
A Google Ads diagnostic measure relating to the quality and relevance of keywords, adverts and landing pages.
RankBrain
A machine learning system used by Google to help interpret search queries.
Reciprocal Link
A link exchanged between two websites, with each site linking to the other.
Return on Ad Spend (ROAS)
Advertising revenue divided by advertising spend, used to assess revenue returned for each unit of spend.
Return on Investment (ROI)
A measure of return relative to cost, used to assess the financial performance of an investment.
Rich Results
Search results that include additional visual features or information beyond a standard text listing.
Rich Snippets
Additional information displayed within a search result, such as details supported by structured data.
robots.txt
A file that tells web crawlers which paths they may request on a website.
Schema Markup
Structured information that describes a page’s content and helps search engines interpret it.
Search Engine Marketing (SEM)
Marketing activity that uses search engines to connect a business with relevant audiences.
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)
Improving a website’s content and technical foundations so it can be discovered for relevant searches.
Search Engine Results Page (SERP)
The page a search engine displays in response to a query.
Search Intent
The underlying task or goal a person wants to achieve when they enter a search query.
SEMrush
A digital marketing toolkit for researching search performance, competitors, content and paid campaigns.
SEO Audit
A structured review of a website’s search performance, technical health and opportunities for improvement.
Site Map
A structured overview of a website’s pages, helping people or search engines find content.
Site Speed
The loading and response performance of a website across its pages and visitor journeys.
Social Media Marketing (SMM)
Using social platforms to reach an audience, share content and support business goals.
Social Media Optimisation (SMO)
Improving social profiles and content to make them useful, discoverable and easier to share.
SSL Certificate
A digital certificate that helps authenticate a website and establish an encrypted connection.
Structured Data
Information organised in a recognised format so systems can understand its meaning and relationships.
Technical SEO
Improving the technical foundations that help search engines crawl, interpret and index a website.
Title Tag
The HTML element that names a page for browser tabs and can inform its search result title.
Total Order Value (TOV)
The combined value of orders placed over a defined period.
User Experience (UX)
The overall experience of using a product or service, including how clear, useful and easy it feels.
User Interface (UI)
The visual controls and layouts people use to interact with a website, application or device.
User-Generated Content (UGC)
Content created by an audience or customers, including reviews, images, videos and comments.
UTM
Parameters added to a URL to identify a campaign’s source and measure its traffic in analytics.
Voice Search Optimisation
Making content clear and accessible for the questions people ask through voice-enabled devices.
White Hat SEO
Search optimisation based on useful content and practices that follow search engine guidelines.
Word of Mouth (WOM)
Recommendations and opinions shared between people about a business, product or service.
XML Sitemap
A machine-readable list of website URLs that helps search engines discover important content.
Yelp
An online business directory and review platform with content contributed by its users.
Yoast
An SEO plugin for WordPress that helps manage page metadata and other search settings.
Z-Index
A CSS property used to control the stacking order of overlapping page elements.
Zero Moment of Truth (ZMOT)
The point at which someone researches a product or service online before deciding whether to buy.