150+ Essential Terms

Digital Advertising Glossary

Your complete A-Z guide to mastering the language of digital advertising, PPC, and campaign optimization

A

A/B Testing

Running two versions of an ad or landing page to see which performs better.

Ad Auction

The automated bidding process determining which ads appear and at what cost.

Ad Copy

The written text inside an advertisement.

Ad Extensions

Additional info in search ads (callouts, sitelinks, phone numbers).

Ad Impressions

Number of times an ad is served or displayed.

Ad Rank

Score determining your ad position in search results.

Ad Spend

The total amount of money spent on advertising campaigns.

Attribution

Identifying which marketing touchpoints influenced a conversion.

Audience Segmentation

Dividing users into groups based on behavior, interest, or demographics.

B

Bid Strategy

How the ad platform optimizes bidding (Maximize Clicks, CPA, ROAS, etc.).

Bounce Rate

Percentage of users who leave a site without taking action.

Brand Awareness

How familiar consumers are with a brand.

Budget Pacing

Managing daily or monthly spend to avoid overspending.

C

CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost)

Cost required to acquire one paying customer.

Call-to-Action (CTA)

A prompt telling the audience what to do next.

Conversion

Desired actions (purchase, signup, form fill).

CPA (Cost Per Acquisition)

The average cost to acquire one customer or conversion.

CPC (Cost Per Click)

The amount you pay each time someone clicks your ad.

CPM (Cost Per Mille)

Cost per 1,000 impressions.

CTR (Click-Through Rate)

The ratio of clicks to impressions, expressed as a percentage.

Custom Audience

A remarketing audience based on your own data.

D

Daily Budget

The amount set to spend per day on ads.

Demand Generation

Creating awareness and interest before a buyer is ready to purchase.

Display Ads

Banner or visual ads placed across websites and apps.

DMP (Data Management Platform)

Tool for collecting and organizing advertising data.

E

Engagement Rate

Likes, comments, shares, and interactions relative to impressions.

Evergreen Campaign

Ads that run continuously and consistently over time.

Event Tracking

Tracking specific user actions on a site or app.

Exit Intent Trigger

A pop-up that appears when a user is about to leave a site.

F

Funnel

Customer journey stages (Awareness → Consideration → Conversion).

Frequency Capping

Limiting how often someone sees your ad.

First-Party Data

Data collected directly from your audience.

Full-Funnel Advertising

Strategy that targets all funnel stages with different messages.

G

Geo-Targeting

Delivering ads to users based on their location.

Google Tag Manager (GTM)

Tool to manage tracking tags without coding.

GDN (Google Display Network)

Collection of websites where Google display ads appear.

H

Heatmap

Visual representation of where users click or engage on a webpage.

High-Intent Keywords

Search terms that signal strong purchase intent.

Head Terms

Short, high-volume keywords with broad intent.

I

Impression Share

% of total possible impressions your ad received.

Impressions

The number of times your ad is shown to users.

In-Market Audience

Users actively researching products or services.

Interest Targeting

Showing ads based on hobbies, behaviors, or interests.

J

Journey Mapping

Visualizing how a user interacts with your brand from start to finish.

JavaScript Tag

A snippet used to track events or load advertising tools.

K

KPI (Key Performance Indicator)

Primary metric used to measure success.

Keyword Intent

The motivation behind a search term (informational, commercial, etc.).

Keyword Match Type

Broad match, phrase match, or exact match.

L

Landing Page

Webpage where users arrive after clicking an ad.

Lead Magnet

Free value offered to capture emails (PDFs, checklists, etc.).

Lookalike Audience

New audience similar to your existing customers.

Lifetime Value (LTV)

Estimated value a customer will generate over time.

M

Machine Learning Optimization

Automated campaign improvements using AI.

Meta Ads

Paid ads across Facebook, Instagram, Messenger.

Mid-Funnel

Users aware of your brand but not yet ready to convert.

Mobile Attribution

Tracking ad-driven actions inside mobile apps.

N

Native Advertising

Ads that blend into the platform's natural content.

Negative Keywords

Terms you exclude to prevent irrelevant clicks.

Nurture Campaign

Automated emails warming leads over time.

O

Omnichannel Marketing

Seamless experience across channels (email, ads, web).

Optimization Window

Time needed for platforms to learn and stabilize.

Organic Traffic

Free traffic from search engines or social platforms.

P

PPC (Pay-Per-Click)

Advertising model where you pay only for clicks.

Pixel

Snippet of code for tracking conversions.

Programmatic Advertising

Automated buying and selling of ad inventory.

Placement

Specific location where your ad appears.

Q

Quality Score

Google rating of keyword relevance and landing page experience.

Qualified Lead

A lead meeting criteria showing readiness to buy.

Query

Actual search term typed in by users.

R

Retargeting

Showing ads to people who previously visited your website.

ROAS (Return on Ad Spend)

Revenue generated for every dollar spent on advertising.

Reach

Number of unique users who saw your ad.

Responsive Ads

Ads that automatically adjust size, format, and appearance.

S

SEM (Search Engine Marketing)

Paid ads appearing on search engines.

SEO (Search Engine Optimization)

Organic methods to rank higher.

Smart Bidding

Automated bidding strategies on Google Ads.

Segment

A defined customer group based on shared attributes.

T

Targeting

Selecting who should see your ads.

Tracking Template

URL parameters used to monitor click data.

Top-of-Funnel (TOF)

First stage of awareness.

Time Decay Attribution

Touchpoints closer to conversion get more credit.

U

UTM Parameters

URL tags for tracking where traffic comes from.

User-Generated Content (UGC)

Content created by real customers.

Upsell

Offering additional or more expensive products.

V

View-Through Conversion

Conversion that happens after seeing an ad but not clicking.

Video Completion Rate (VCR)

Percentage of viewers who finish a video ad.

Value-Based Bidding

Optimization focused on high-value conversions.

W

Walled Garden

Closed advertising ecosystems like Meta, Google, TikTok.

Win Rate

Percentage of auctions you win in programmatic bidding.

Whitelist

Group of approved sites for ad placement.

X

XML Feed

Data file used for product catalogs in Google Shopping or dynamic ads.

X-Factor Campaigns

High-impact, creative campaigns outside standard formats.

Y

Yield Optimization

Maximizing revenue from ad placements.

YouTube Ads

Video ads across YouTube (in-stream, bumper, discovery).

Year-over-Year (YoY)

Performance comparison across years.

Z

Zero-Click Search

Search results where users get answers without clicking.

Zero-Party Data

Data users intentionally share with you.

Z-Index

Layering value used to control ad overlay positions in web design.

Ready to Put These Terms into Action?

Start optimizing your campaigns with Tumos's AI-powered platform