Digital Marketing Glossary: Key Terms Explained
This digital marketing glossary covers the terms you meet across SEO, paid media, social, email, conversion work and analytics, in one place. Definitions are short and practical, written for business owners reading reports rather than specialists.
About this digital marketing glossary
The glossary is alphabetical and deliberately broad. It covers acquisition terms (CPC, CPM, CTR, impression share), funnel terms (MQL, SQL, conversion rate, CAC, LTV), content and search terms (SERP, organic traffic, backlink, intent), and retention terms (churn, repeat rate, cohort). Where a term has a more detailed entry in a specialist glossary, such as SEO, PPC or analytics, we link to it.
Use it when an agency report or proposal throws acronyms at you. Knowing the difference between ROAS and ROI, or between reach and impressions, makes it much easier to ask the right questions and spot reports that look good without saying much. Bookmark it for the next quarterly review, when the most acronyms tend to appear at once.
CAC (customer acquisition cost) #
Total sales and marketing spend divided by the number of new customers won in the same period.
Related: Customer Acquisition Services
ROI (return on investment) #
Profit generated by an activity divided by its cost, expressed as a percentage.
Attribution #
The method of assigning credit for a conversion to the marketing touchpoints that led to it.
Related: Attribution Modeling Services
Brand lift #
The measurable increase in awareness, consideration or preference caused by a campaign.
Conversion rate #
The percentage of visitors or recipients who complete a desired action, such as a purchase or form submission.
Demand generation #
Marketing that creates awareness and interest in a problem or category before buyers are actively searching.
Related: Demand Generation Services
Funnel (TOFU, MOFU, BOFU) #
The stages a buyer moves through: top (awareness), middle (consideration) and bottom (decision).
Go-to-market (GTM) #
The plan for how a product reaches its target customers: positioning, pricing, channels and sales motion.
Related: Go-to-Market Services
LTV (lifetime value) #
The total gross profit a customer is expected to generate over their relationship with your business.
Related: Customer Retention Services
Omnichannel #
A joined-up customer experience across online, offline, marketplace and messaging channels.
Related: Omnichannel Marketing Services
Performance marketing #
Marketing paid for and optimised against measurable outcomes such as leads, sales or installs.
Related: Performance Marketing Services
Unit economics #
The revenue and costs associated with a single customer or order, used to judge if growth is profitable.
Case studies & resources
Real-world results and practical reading to help you plan your next step.
Client stories
How similar work has played out for other businesses.
Helpful resources
Guides, tools and articles our team recommends on this topic.
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