23 Must-Know Marketing Words
Do you know your CRM from your CRO?
Or, PPC from CPC?
The digital world loves a good acronym, doesn’t it?
There’s that many, it’s hard to keep track of what they all mean!
Jargon and marketing lingo is nothing but confusing.
Especially to those new to working online.
If you want to play in the competitive field of online marketing, understanding what these words mean is essential.
To help you navigate through, I’ve put together a glossary of the most commonly-used marketing terms in the online world.
Common Marketing Terms
Avatar – Otherwise known as your ideal customer. If you could pick one perfect customer who you’d love to work with, this would be them. You should know everything about them - from their favourite TV show to what they do on a Saturday night.
A/B Testing – Also known as split testing. This is a way to test certain elements of your marketing campaign to see which parts grab more attention from your target audience. Companies tend to use it for web page copy, sales pages, headlines, social media posts and event launches.
Adwords – An online advertising service run by Google. You pay for ads to appear in the search results pages.
Affiliate Marketing – An online referral system where you can earn a commission by having another company’s links on your website. A lot of bloggers and influencers do this. They send traffic to other businesses by recommending products and services to their followers.
Algorithm – A set of rules that Google uses to determine page rankings.
Autoresponders – A series of emails you can set up and use as part of a marketing campaign. These emails are pre-written and sent automatically to subscribers on pre-determined dates.
Backlinks – Links from other websites that point back to your website. This is a common practice in SEO.
Bounce rate – This is the percentage of people who land on a page on your website and then navigate away without looking at further pages.
Content Marketing – Pieces of free information you create to share with your customers and followers. It could be a blog, video, social media post, an infographic, an e-book or podcast – anything that will add value to their customer experience.
Contextual Advertising – Ever noticed when you research a particular topic, ads (relating to that topic) suddenly appear in your feed? This is contextual advertising. Ads targeted to your needs based on what you’re looking at online at a particular time.
Conversion Rates – This is the percentage of people who take action when you ask them to do a specific task on your website. This could be to sign up for your newsletter, click on an email or buy a course.
CRM (Customer Relationship Management) – This is a system/ business tool that companies use to manage their relationship with clients.
CRO (Conversion Rate Optimization) – A process to increase the number of customers who take action on your website. It’s used to increase click-through rates.
CTA (Call To Action) – A marketing prompt used to get customers to take immediate action. It could be a sign-up box, a “learn more” or a “buy now” button. CTA’s are essential as they guide your customers and tell them exactly what they need to do next.
CTR (Click Through Rate) – This is the percentage of people who click on a link you send them. It could be an email, web page or sales page.
Hosting – To get your website online you need to have it hosted externally on a server. Servers store all the information and data from your website. Because website files are so huge, you can’t do this on your own computer.
Opt-in – A sign-up button on your website. This can be for your newsletter or a free giveaway. People are signing up to your mailing list.
PPC (Pay- Per-Click) – A type of paid search advertising like Google Adwords where your ad appears at the top of the search results page. Each time someone clicks on your ad, you pay a set price. The cost will depend on many factors including the popularity and competition for the keywords you’ve selected.
Sales funnel – This is the sales process you put in place to move a prospect (a potential customer) from one stage to another until they’re ready to buy. There are 4 stages:
1) Create Awareness - through free content;
2) Interest - continue to pique their interest with emails and content;
3) Decision - they're deciding whether to buy or not;
4) Action - when they make a purchase or leave your website.
SEM (Search Engine Marketing) – Also known as PPC ads. A way for you to promote your business by purchasing ad space so you appear in the search results for certain keywords.
SEO (Search Engine Optimization) – Optimizing your website with keywords and phrases to help you rank better with search engines. It improves your chances of appearing on the first page of Google.
SERP (Search Engine Results Page) - This is the page of search results shown when you type something into the search bar of a search engine.
UVP (Unique Value Proposition) – What differentiates you from your competition? This is your UVP. It could be your price, customer service or an ingredient you use. It’s why potential customers will choose you over your competitors.
Now you’re down-and-diggy with the marketing lingo, please share this post with anyone else who might need it.
If you have a marketing question, please get in touch as I’d love to help!