Marketing Jargon Dictionary
A glossary of essential terms from SEO to social media and beyond.
A
A/B Testing – A method of comparing two versions of a webpage, ad, or email to determine which performs better.
Algorithm – The set of rules search engines use to rank web pages in search results.
Alt Text – A description of an image used for SEO and accessibility purposes.
Anchor Text – The clickable text in a hyperlink.
Attribution Model – The rules that determine how credit for sales and conversions is assigned to touchpoints in the customer journey.
B
Backlink – A link from another website to yours, helping with SEO rankings.
Bounce Rate – The percentage of visitors who leave a website after viewing only one page.
Brand Awareness – The extent to which consumers recognise and remember a brand.
Breadcrumbs – A navigational aid that shows users the path to their current page.
C
Call to Action (CTA) – A prompt encouraging users to take a specific action, such as “Buy Now” or “Subscribe.”
Click-Through Rate (CTR) – The percentage of people who click on a link after seeing it.
Conversion Rate – The percentage of visitors who complete a desired action, such as making a purchase or signing up.
Content Marketing – The creation and sharing of online material (blogs, videos, social posts) to attract and engage an audience.
Cookies – Small files stored on a user’s device that track online behavior.
D
Domain Authority (DA) – A score (1-100) developed by Moz to predict how well a website will rank in search engines.
Dwell Time – The amount of time a user spends on a page before returning to the search results.
Duplicate Content – Identical or similar content appearing on multiple pages, which can negatively impact SEO.
E
Engagement Rate – A measure of how users interact with content (likes, shares, comments).
Evergreen Content – Content that remains relevant and valuable over time.
F
Featured Snippet – A highlighted search result box at the top of Google’s search results.
Follower Growth – The increase in followers on social media over a set period.
G
Google Analytics – A tool that tracks and reports website traffic.
Google My Business (GMB) – A free tool to manage a business’s online presence on Google.
H
Headline – The title of an article or ad designed to attract attention.
Heatmap – A visual representation of user activity on a webpage.
Hreflang Tag – A tag that tells search engines which language and region a webpage is targeting.
I
Impressions – The number of times a piece of content is displayed, regardless of clicks.
Influencer Marketing – Partnering with influencers to promote a product or brand.
Indexing – The process of adding webpages to a search engine’s database.
J
JavaScript (JS) – A programming language that enables interactive elements on websites.
K
Keyword – A word or phrase that users type into search engines.
Keyword Cannibalisation – When multiple pages on the same website compete for the same keyword.
L
Landing Page – A web page designed to capture leads or drive conversions.
Link Building – The process of acquiring backlinks to improve SEO.
Local SEO – Optimising a business’s online presence to attract local customers.
M
Meta Description – A brief summary of a webpage that appears in search results.
Meta Tags – HTML tags that provide information about a webpage to search engines.
Mobile Optimisation – Ensuring a website is user-friendly on mobile devices.
N
Nofollow Link – A link that tells search engines not to pass link equity.
Native Advertising – Paid ads that match the look and feel of the platform they appear on.
O
Organic Traffic – Website visitors who arrive via unpaid search results.
Outbound Link – A link from your website to another site.
P
Page Speed – How fast a webpage loads.
Pay-Per-Click (PPC) – An advertising model where advertisers pay each time someone clicks their ad.
Persona – A semi-fictional representation of an ideal customer based on data and research.
Q
Quality Score – A Google Ads metric that influences cost-per-click and ad rank.
Query – A word or phrase a user types into a search engine.
R
Remarketing – Showing ads to users who have previously visited a website.
Responsive Design – A website design that adapts to different screen sizes.
Return on Investment (ROI) – The profitability of a marketing campaign.
S
Schema Markup – Code that helps search engines understand content and display rich results.
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) – The process of improving a website’s visibility in search results.
Search Engine Results Page (SERP) – The page displayed after a user enters a query into a search engine.
Session Duration – The length of time a visitor spends on a website.
Social Proof – The influence of user reviews, testimonials, and endorsements on buying decisions.
T
Title Tag – An HTML tag that specifies a webpage’s title, appearing in search results.
Traffic Sources – The channels through which visitors arrive at a website (organic, direct, social, paid).
Trust Flow – A metric that predicts a website’s trustworthiness based on its backlinks.
U
Unique Visitors – The number of distinct individuals visiting a website within a given timeframe.
User Experience (UX) – The overall experience a visitor has on a website.
UTM Parameters – Tags added to URLs to track marketing campaign performance.
V
Viral Content – Content that rapidly spreads across social media.
Viewability – The percentage of an ad that is visible on a screen.
W
Webinar – An online seminar or presentation.
White Hat SEO – Ethical SEO techniques that follow search engine guidelines.
X
XML Sitemap – A file that lists all pages of a website to help search engines crawl it.
Y
YouTube SEO – Optimising videos to rank higher on YouTube and Google search results.
Z
Zero-Click Searches – Search results where users get answers without clicking a link (e.g., featured snippets, knowledge panels).