There are plenty of terms, words and phrases used when referring to marketing practises. We have gathered some of the most important and widely used industry and technical terms to make things a little less complicated for you.
A/B testing (also known as split testing) is a method of comparing two versions of a website design , HTML email campaign, landing page, or app against each other to determine which one performs better.
AdSense (Google AdSense) is an advertising placement service run by Google. The program is designed for people who want to display targeted text, video or image advertisements on website pages and earn money when site visitors view or click the ads.
A newspaper or magazine advertisement giving information on a product or service, such as press advertising.
A type of marketing in which a business rewards its affiliates for every customer brought in as a result of their marketing efforts. It can also be seen as a promotion method.
The collection of website data which is used to understand and optimise web usage.
A formal inspection of an organisations such as their marketing planning.
A type of advertisement which is embedded onto a web page to attract people to the linked location.
A percentage of the total visitors to a web page that leave the site after only viewing one page.
A certain standard that is expected. For example our graphic design team has to stick to style guides to keep content consistent.
The brand identity is the message that is conveyed from the product, person or experience. It is important to consider brand identity at exhibitions for example because of the visual and engaging experience.
This is the general perception of a product or service.
An element of content that is used to induce and persuade the reader, viewer or listener to perform a specific act.
An organised set of actions to promote a product or service. Essentially your marketing planning.
Information or knowledge being made publicly available.
The number of clicks that your ad receives divided by the number of times your ad is shown. This is part of web analytics.
A computer application that assists in creation and modification of digital content.
A colour model which is used for colour printing. CMYK refers to four colours including cyan, magenta, yellow and key.
The legal right to control the production and selling of content.
A calculation of promotional costs divided by the number of inquiries received.
An online advertising pricing model where the advertiser pays for a lead.
The main piece or idea, which is the backbone of the marketing campaign. The unifying theme is to be used throughout.
CSS controls how HTML is viewed on screen or in other media. It can also control the layout of multiple web pages.
CAC is calculated by dividing the costs spent on acquiring more customers by the number of customers acquired in the period the money was spent.
Statistical data that refers to the population of a certain location and particular groups within it.
The marketing of products and services using digital technology, mainly the internet and any other digital medium.
Commercial literature that is sent to prospective customers via mail through the post.
Selling products and services directly to the public rather than through retailers.
A form of advertising that conveys a commercial message visually.
The part of a network address which identifies which domain it belongs to.
The buying and selling of goods electronically on the internet.
An electronic version of a book that is usually read on a handheld device, for example a mobile phone or tablet.
A message distributed electronically from one computer to one or more recipients.
The act of sending a commercial message, usually to a group of people (i.e. potential or current customers)
A public display of products and items of interest held at a trade show.
A charge or level of payment that does not vary, staying the same in all situations.
An organisation that can handle all the aspects of marketing.
A regulation in EU law on data protection and privacy for all individuals within the European Union. It addresses the export of personal data outside the EU.
The art of combining text with imagery to create immersive content.
A word that is preceded by a hashtag symbol in order to identify messages on a specific topic.
Data collected by the analyst in the form of a diagram which shows colours representing data values.
A standardised system which is used to arrange text files. Colour, font and hyperlinks can be customised.
To generally improve an image by lightening areas or removing defects. These kind of jobs are done in an in-house studio.
A strategy that is focused on attracting customers via content that is created by the company.
A visual representation of information, e.g. a chart or diagram.
A computer programming language that is commonly used to create animated and interactive effects within web pages.
A common file extension that compresses an image format. It is commonly used for storing photos and most digital cameras use it to save images.
Keywords are used in search engine optimisation. They describe the contents of the web page.
A web page that serves as the arrival point when entering into a website.
A prospective consumer of a product or service
The complete process of tracking and managing leads, right from obtaining the leads through to conversion.
A keyword phrase, similar to a keyword but contains at least three words. These are used to target niche demographics.
This is the condition of the economy as a whole rather than a select section or region.
A portion of the market that is controlled by a company or product.
The actions taken by a business in order to promote a product or service.
A combination of methods that can be controlled by the company to influence consumers into purchasing their products.
Multiple elements bundled together to as part of a direct marketing effort.
A blueprint that outlines a companies marketing and promotion efforts for the future.
The process of getting to know your customers which allows marketing opportunities and problems to be identified.
Dividing your customers into groups and segments depending on their characteristics.
The small scale environment that affect a company's ability to meet customers needs.
A small, usually one page website designed to function outside of the primary website. It can have its own domain name or subdomain.
Marketing that takes place via mobile devices such as smart phones and tablets. Modern mobile technology such as location services can be used to reach customers.
Ensuring that your web pages are designed and coded so that visitors who access your website via mobile devices have the best experience possible. Fast loading times and easy navigation are great examples of this. For an example of how Google is cracking down on mobile optimisation, have a look at our mobile indexing news story.
News feeds can be used on a range of platforms such as social media and on the website's new page. It is where news is distributed on a regular or continuous basis.
An organisation that does not aim to make a profit, but works to help people make improvements in designated areas.
Any marketing content that is published outside of the internet. This usually includes leaflets, flyers and content provided at exhibitions.
A situation where a company obtains goods or a service by contract from an outside supplier.
In digital image, a pixel is a minute area that is illuminated on a display screen. They work together to create the image displayed.
A digital audio file which is usually part of a episodic series.
A model of internet marketing that is used to direct traffic to websites. Advertisers pay a fee every time an advert is clicked on. Essentially it is a way of buying traffic by using targeted adverts.
The placement of adverts is newspapers and magazines.
A web page that provides the user with useful information and links regarding privacy and personal data protection.
The cycle a product goes through, starting with the introduction of the product or service all the way through to withdrawal from the market if applicable.
A chosen combination of promotional methods use for either one or a group of products.
An analysis to identify the types of lifestyles a company's consumers have. By using this information a detailed customer profile can be created.
Attention given to something to attract lots of business.
A 2D image that when scanned is used to provide easy access to information via mobile devices.
A strategy used to ensure standards are maintained in manufactured products and delivering services.
A document that contains advertising rates along with descriptions of various advert placement options.
An essential approach to web page design that makes use of flexible and fluid layouts and images. The goal of using responsive design is to automatically change the orientation and layout of the web page according to the users screen size.
A measurement of the gain or loss on an investment. Often used to evaluate the efficiency of an investment.
A methodology of strategies, techniques and tactics used to increase the quality of the traffic being directed to a specific website through organic search results.
A term used in web analytics to refer to distinct individuals visiting web pages from a website within a given time period.
The address of a web page. You type it into your browser when you want to locate a website.
A series of on-screen visual elements that the user interacts and communicates with.
A unique characteristic of a product or service which usually gives its buyer a reason to prefer it over other brands.
This type of graphic uses 2D point located polygons to represent images within computer graphics.
A computer generated scenario which can be referred to as immersive multimedia or computer simulated reality. For an example on how this technology is being used in the marketing industry, have a look at our virtual reality news story.
Speech recognition that allows users to search by speaking to there mobile devices or computer or order to conduct a search on the internet.
An activity where by a business holds storage space and access for websites
Oral or written recommendation from person to person.
An open source content management system (CMS). A place where websites can to designed and created.
A structure model of a websites content used to tell search engines about the organisation of a websites content.