Digital marketing glossary: the terms behind every quote and report

A

A/B test

An experiment that shows two versions of a page, ad or email to comparable groups at the same time, then compares which one produces more of a chosen result, such as booked appointments. It needs enough traffic to tell a real difference from chance. Our CRO service

Account-based marketing (ABM)

A B2B strategy that picks a short list of target companies and aims marketing and sales at each one as a single account, with ads, content and outreach tailored to the several people who decide there. Progress is measured account by account. Our ABM service

Ad spend

The money paid to an advertising platform such as Google, Microsoft or Meta for clicks, views or impressions. It is separate from an agency’s management fee and is best charged to an ad account in your own name, so you see every charge. How PPC management is priced

Advantage+

A family of automated options in Meta’s ads system, in which the platform chooses audiences, placements and creative combinations within the budget and goal you set. It performs best when fed accurate conversion data, such as qualified leads sent back through the Conversions API. Our Facebook and Instagram ads service

AEO (answer engine optimization)

The practice of shaping content so that search features and AI assistants can lift it as a direct answer: a clear question, a short and complete reply, and structured data around it. The term overlaps heavily with GEO and often names the same work. Our GEO service

AI Overviews

A Google Search feature that shows an AI-written summary at the top of some results pages, with links to the pages it drew from. Being one of those linked sources is a separate goal from ranking in the list below it. Our AI Overviews service

Attribution

The method of giving credit for a lead or a sale to the marketing touches that came before it, such as an ad, a search or an email. The model you choose changes which channel looks profitable. Revenue attribution in the Napexy platform

B

Backlink

A link from another website to yours. Search engines read relevant links from trusted sites as a sign of confidence. Bought or swapped links break Google’s spam policies and can do more harm than good. Our digital PR and link earning service

C

Call tracking

A system that gives each campaign or source its own phone number, so calls can be counted, recorded where the law allows, and tied to the ad or page that produced them. It matters wherever customers prefer to phone. Our call tracking service

Click-to-WhatsApp ad

An ad on Facebook or Instagram whose button opens a WhatsApp conversation with the business. The lead arrives as a chat, so the speed and quality of the first reply decide most of the result. Our WhatsApp marketing service

Consent mode

A Google feature for websites that passes each visitor’s cookie choice to Google’s analytics and ads tags, which then adjust what they collect. Google uses modelling to estimate part of what is lost when visitors decline. Our analytics and attribution service

Conversion

An action you have chosen to count as a success, such as a form sent, a call of a set length or an appointment booked. The conversions you report, and feed back to ad platforms, decide what your campaigns learn to chase.

Conversion rate

A metric that divides the number of conversions by the number of visitors or clicks over the same period. It means little until the conversion is defined, so ask whether a figure counts phone clicks, form submissions or booked appointments. Our CRO service

Conversion rate optimization (CRO)

The practice of raising the share of visitors who take the action you want, through research, clearer pages, shorter forms and controlled tests. It gets more leads out of traffic you already pay for. Our conversion rate optimization service

Conversions API (CAPI)

A Meta tool that sends events such as a lead, a qualified lead or a purchase from your server or CRM straight to Meta, without relying on the browser pixel. Sending back which leads qualified lets the ads optimise for those. Revenue attribution in the Napexy platform

Core Web Vitals

A set of Google metrics for the experience of using a page: how fast the main content appears, how quickly the page responds to a tap or click, and how much the layout shifts while loading. Google uses them in its page experience assessment. Our speed and Core Web Vitals service

Cost per booked call

A metric that divides marketing spend by the number of appointments or sales calls actually booked. It sits closer to revenue than cost per lead, because leads that never answer or never qualify do not count. Cost per booked call calculator

CPC (cost per click)

A metric for the average price paid for one click on an ad: spend divided by clicks. A low CPC means little on its own. What counts is how many of those clicks become leads, appointments and customers. Our PPC management service

CPL (cost per lead)

A metric that divides ad spend by the number of leads received, where a lead is anyone who left contact details. It is easy to push down with weak leads, so read it next to cost per booked call. Why cost per lead misleads

CPM (cost per thousand impressions)

A metric for the price of one thousand ad impressions, used to compare the cost of reach across platforms and audiences. It says nothing about clicks or sales. A cheap CPM on the wrong audience is still wasted money.

Crawler

A program that visits web pages and reads them for a search engine or an AI company, such as Googlebot, Bingbot or OpenAI’s GPTBot. If a crawler cannot reach a page, the service it feeds cannot use that page. Our technical SEO service

CRM (customer relationship management)

Software that keeps every lead and customer in one record, with their source, conversations, stage in the pipeline and next action. Without one, follow-up depends on memory and nobody can say which campaign produced revenue. Napexy CRM

CTV (connected TV)

Advertising shown on internet-connected television screens through streaming apps and smart TVs, and bought by audience, where classic TV is bought by channel and time slot. Its effect is usually measured through the site visits and searches that follow. Our connected TV service

Customer acquisition cost (CAC)

A metric for the total cost of winning one new customer: marketing and sales spend over a period, including fees and, if you choose, salaries, divided by the new customers won. Compare it with lifetime value to know what you can afford.

D

Domain authority

A score from third-party SEO tools that estimates the strength of a site’s backlinks. Google does not use it. It is handy for comparing sites, but a report that promises to raise it says nothing about leads or revenue.

E

E-E-A-T

A framework from Google’s search quality rater guidelines: experience, expertise, authoritativeness and trustworthiness. Google says it is no single ranking factor. In practice, show who wrote a page, their qualifications and how to reach the business, above all on health and money topics. Our SEO service

Entity

A thing that a search engine or AI model recognises as distinct and can describe, such as a business, a person, a place or a product. Consistent facts about your business across your site and listings help machines treat you as one entity and repeat the right facts. Our GEO service

F

Funnel

A model of the steps a buyer takes from first contact to purchase, for example ad, landing page, form, call, appointment, sale. Measuring the drop between each step shows where money leaks. Our landing pages and funnels service

G

GA4 (Google Analytics 4)

Google’s web and app analytics tool, built on events: each page view, click or form submission is an event with details attached. It reports traffic and conversions, but it cannot tell which leads became paying customers unless you connect your CRM. Our analytics and attribution service

GEO (generative engine optimization)

The practice of making a business show up, and be cited as a source, in answers written by AI assistants such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Google’s AI Overviews. It builds on SEO with clear facts, consistent listings and mentions on trusted sites. Our GEO service

Google Business Profile

The free Google listing that shows a business on Maps and in local results, with its address, hours, photos, reviews and posts. The business should be its owner and give its agency manager access, never the reverse. Our local SEO service

Google Search Console

A free Google tool for site owners that shows which searches your pages appear for, with clicks, impressions and average position, plus indexing problems and manual actions. It is the most direct source of Google search data about your site. SEO and AI visibility tracking

H

hreflang

An HTML attribute that tells search engines which language and country each version of a page is for, such as two French versions written for two different countries. Missing or wrong hreflang sends visitors to the wrong version. Our international SEO service

L

Landing page

A page built for one campaign or offer, where visitors arrive from an ad or email and have one clear action to take. It drops the menus and side paths of a normal page to keep attention on that action. Our landing pages service

Last-click attribution

An attribution model that gives all the credit for a conversion to the last ad or channel clicked before it. It is simple and still common, and it undercounts the ads and searches that started the interest. Our analytics and attribution service

Lead

A person or company that has shown interest and left a way to reach them, through a form, a call or a message. Leads vary widely in quality, so agree with your agency on what counts as one before you read any report.

Lead scoring

The practice of ranking leads by how likely they are to buy, based on what they said, what they did and who they are, so sales calls the best ones first. It can use fixed rules or a model trained on past results. Napexy CRM and its lead score

Lifetime value (LTV)

A metric for the revenue, or better the gross margin, that a customer brings over the whole relationship. A patient who returns for years is worth far more than the first visit. That changes what you can afford to pay to win one.

LLM (large language model)

A type of AI model trained on very large amounts of text to understand and write language, such as the models behind ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude. Assistants built on LLMs often search the web before answering, which is why what your site says matters. What is GEO?

llms.txt

A proposed plain-text file at the root of a website that gives AI tools a short, curated map of its most useful pages. It is a community proposal, so check which tools read it before expecting an effect. Our llms.txt guide

Local citation

A mention of your business name, address and phone number on another site, such as a directory, map app or industry listing. Citations that match your Google Business Profile exactly help search engines trust your location data. Our local SEO service

Local pack

The block of businesses with a map that Google shows for searches with local intent, such as “dentist near me”. Google says the order depends on relevance, distance and prominence, and reviews feed prominence. Our local SEO service

Lookalike audience

An ad audience that a platform builds by finding people similar to a list you supply, such as past customers or qualified leads. The quality of the source list decides the quality of the audience: a list of buyers beats a list of all visitors. Our retargeting and CRM audiences service

M

Marketing mix modeling (MMM)

A statistical method that estimates how much each channel, including offline ones like TV or billboards, adds to sales, using a long history of weekly spend and sales data. Because it needs no user tracking, it still works where cookies and consent limit attribution. Our marketing mix modeling service

Message template

A WhatsApp message format, reviewed and approved by Meta, that a business must use to start a conversation or to write again once 24 hours have passed since the customer’s last message. Templates fall into categories such as marketing, utility and authentication, each priced differently. Our WhatsApp marketing service

MQL (marketing qualified lead)

A lead that marketing judges ready to pass to sales, because it fits the target customer and has shown enough interest, according to rules agreed with sales in advance. Without written rules, MQL counts are easy to inflate.

Multi-touch attribution

An attribution model that splits credit for a conversion across several touches before it, by fixed rules such as linear or time decay, or by a data-driven model. It gives a fairer picture of the channels that start interest. Our analytics and attribution service

N

Negative keyword

A search term you tell Google Ads or Microsoft Ads not to show your ad for, such as “free” or “jobs” for a private clinic. A well-kept negative list is one of the simplest ways to stop paying for useless clicks. Our PPC management service

O

Offline conversions

Sales or appointments that happen away from the website, on a call, at a clinic or in a showroom, sent back to an ad platform and matched to the click or lead that started them. They teach the platform which ads bring real customers. Revenue attribution in the Napexy platform

Organic traffic

Visits that arrive from unpaid search results, as opposed to ads, social posts or direct visits. Visits from AI assistants are often reported separately, or hidden under referral or direct, depending on what the assistant passes on. How to track AI search traffic

P

Performance Max

A Google Ads campaign type that runs one budget across Search, Shopping, YouTube, Display, Gmail, Maps and Discover, with Google choosing placements and bids. It needs strong conversion signals and clear exclusions to avoid spending on easy, low-value traffic. Our Google Shopping and Performance Max service

Pipeline

The set of open leads and deals in a CRM, grouped by stage from new enquiry to won or lost. Its value, and how fast leads move through each stage, says more about next month’s revenue than traffic does. Napexy CRM

Pixel

A snippet of code on your website that tells an ad platform when a visitor views a page, fills a form or buys. Browser blocking and declined consent mean a pixel misses part of the picture. Server-side events, such as the Conversions API, fill part of the gap. Our analytics and attribution service

Programmatic advertising

The automated buying of display, video, audio and connected TV ads through real-time auctions across many websites and apps, usually through a demand-side platform. Targeting is by audience and context, and brand safety and fraud checks matter. Our programmatic advertising service

Q

Quality Score

A Google Ads diagnostic, rated from 1 to 10, that estimates how relevant your ads, keywords and landing pages are to the people searching. A higher score usually means paying less for the same position. Our PPC management service

R

Retainer

An agreement in which a business pays an agency a set fee each month for an agreed, ongoing scope of work. A good retainer names its monthly deliverables and its reporting, so you can see what each month bought. How agency pricing works

Retargeting

Advertising shown to people who already visited your site, messaged you or are on your customer list, to bring them back. It needs consent where the law requires it, and a cap on how often the same person sees your ads. Our retargeting service

RevOps (revenue operations)

The practice of running marketing, sales and customer service from one set of data, tools and definitions, so a lead is counted the same way from the first ad to the paid invoice. Our RevOps service

ROAS (return on ad spend)

A metric that divides the revenue attributed to ads by the ad spend. It ignores margins, agency fees and other costs, so a healthy-looking ROAS can still hide a loss. ROAS calculator

robots.txt

A text file at the root of a website that tells crawlers which paths they may or may not visit. Reputable crawlers follow it, but it locks nothing. It is also where you allow or block specific AI crawlers. Our technical SEO service

ROI (return on investment)

A metric for profit relative to cost: what you gained, minus what you spent, divided by what you spent. For marketing, count fees, tools and staff time along with ad spend, and measure the gain in margin. Marketing budget calculator

S

Schema markup

Code added to a page, usually in JSON-LD, that describes its content in the schema.org vocabulary: this is a dental clinic, these are its opening hours, this is a FAQ. Search engines and AI tools read it to understand pages with less guessing. Our technical SEO service

Search intent

The goal behind a search: to learn, to compare, to find a specific site or to buy now. Pages rank and convert when they match it. A price page for a “how to” search, or a blog post for “dentist open today”, does neither well. Our content marketing service

SEO (search engine optimization)

The practice of improving a website and its reputation so that it appears higher in unpaid search results for the searches its buyers make. It covers technical health, content, links and, for local businesses, the Google Business Profile. Our SEO service

Server-side tagging

A tracking setup in which website events go first to a server you control, which then forwards them to analytics and ad platforms. You decide what data is shared, and measurement depends less on what browsers block. Our analytics and attribution service

Show rate

A metric for the share of booked appointments where the person actually turns up. Quick confirmation, reminders by WhatsApp or SMS, and a short wait between booking and appointment usually raise it. Our lead handling service

Speed to lead

The time between a lead arriving and the first real reply from your team. Interest fades quickly, and the first business to answer often wins the appointment. Our lead handling and speed to lead service

SQL (sales qualified lead)

A lead that sales has reviewed or spoken to and accepted as a real opportunity, with a need, a budget and a timeline. Counting SQLs by source shows which campaigns produce buyers. Not to be confused with SQL, the database language.

U

Unified inbox

A single place where a team reads and answers messages from several channels, such as WhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram, SMS and email, attached to the record of each lead. No conversation gets lost between phones and apps. Napexy’s unified inbox

UTM parameters

Tags added to the end of a link, such as utm_source, utm_medium and utm_campaign, that tell analytics tools where a visit came from. They are only as useful as the naming rules the whole team follows. Our analytics and attribution service

W

WhatsApp Business Platform

Meta’s messaging service for businesses on WhatsApp, used through an API by companies and software providers, with several users, automation, approved message templates and CRM connections. It differs from the WhatsApp Business app, which is made for a small team on a phone. Our WhatsApp marketing service

Z

Zero-click search

A search that ends on the results page without a click to any website, because the answer, the map or the AI summary was enough. It makes being named inside the answer itself worth more. Our Google AI Overviews service