Marketing Glossary
The key terms of performance marketing, tracking and attribution – explained briefly and clearly.
A
App Tracking Transparency
App Tracking Transparency (ATT) is Apple's rule since iOS 14.5: apps must ask users before tracking them across other companies' apps and websites.
Attribution · Assigning conversions to marketing channels
Attribution assigns leads, purchases and revenue to the channels, campaigns and ads that drove them – the basis for every budget decision you make.
Attribution Window · The time frame for crediting a conversion
An attribution window defines how many days after a click or view a conversion is still credited to an ad, for example 7 days after the click.
C
Click-Through Rate
Click-through rate (CTR) is the percentage of people who see an ad and then click on it, calculated as clicks divided by impressions.
Client-Side Tracking
Client-side tracking captures user actions with JavaScript directly in the browser and sends them from there to analytics and ad platforms.
Consent Management
Consent management means collecting, storing and managing your website visitors' consent, for example for analytics and marketing cookies.
Conversion API · CAPI
A Conversion API (CAPI) is an interface that sends conversions directly from server to server to ad platforms like Meta or Google, without the browser.
Conversion Rate
Conversion rate is the percentage of visitors or leads who complete a desired action, such as submitting a form or making a purchase.
Conversion Tracking
Conversion tracking records which users complete a desired action after clicking an ad – such as submitting a form, booking a call or buying.
Cost per Acquisition
Cost per acquisition (CPA) measures the average ad spend per conversion such as a purchase or closed deal: ad spend divided by the number of conversions.
Cost per Click
Cost per click (CPC) is the average amount you pay for a single click on an ad: ad spend divided by the number of clicks.
Cost per Lead
Cost per lead (CPL) is the average amount you pay to acquire a single lead: ad spend divided by the number of leads generated.
CPM · Cost per Mille
CPM (cost per mille) is the price you pay for 1,000 impressions of an ad: ad spend divided by impressions, multiplied by 1,000.
CRM · Customer Relationship Management
A CRM (customer relationship management) is a system for managing contacts, leads, deals and all communication with prospects and customers in one place.
Cross-Domain Tracking
Cross-domain tracking follows a visitor across multiple domains as one session, for example from your website through a funnel to the checkout.
Customer Acquisition Cost
Customer acquisition cost (CAC) is the total marketing and sales spend required, on average, to win one new customer – not just ad spend.
Customer Journey · The path from first contact to closed deal
The customer journey describes every step and touchpoint a prospect goes through, from the first contact with your brand to the purchase or signed deal.
Customer Lifetime Value
Customer lifetime value (CLV) is the total revenue or contribution margin an average customer brings in over the entire business relationship.
E
Engagement Rate
Engagement rate shows what percentage of people or impressions interact with a post or ad – through likes, comments, shares, saves or clicks.
Event Deduplication
Event deduplication makes sure a conversion sent through both the pixel and the Conversion API is only counted once by the ad platform.
Event Match Quality
Event Match Quality (EMQ) is a Meta score from 0 to 10 that rates how well your server events can be matched to a Meta account using customer data.
F
fbclid · Facebook Click Identifier
The fbclid (Facebook Click Identifier) is an ID Meta appends to links from Facebook and Instagram so conversions can be attributed to the original click.
First-Click Attribution · The attribution model that credits the first contact
First-click attribution gives 100% of the credit for a conversion to the first touchpoint – the channel through which a user found you for the first time.
First-Party Cookies
First-party cookies are set by the domain you are currently visiting. They store things like logins, shopping carts or tracking IDs for that same website.
Frequency · Ad Frequency
Frequency is the average number of times one person saw your ad in a given period, calculated as impressions divided by reach.
G
gclid · Google Click Identifier
The gclid (Google Click Identifier) is a unique ID that Google Ads appends to the landing page URL on every ad click so conversions can be tied to that click.
GDPR · General Data Protection Regulation
The GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) is the EU law protecting personal data. Since May 2018 it applies to anyone processing data of people in the EU.
L
Last-Click Attribution · The attribution model that credits the last contact
Last-click attribution gives 100% of the credit for a conversion to the last touchpoint before it – the click that led directly to the lead or purchase.
Lead
A lead is a potential customer who has shown interest and shared their contact details with you, for example through a form, a funnel or a lead form.
Lead Ads
Lead ads are ads with a built-in form that let users submit their contact details right inside the ad platform without having to visit a website.
Lead Generation
Lead generation is the process of making potential customers aware of your offer and capturing their contact details, for example through ads and funnels.
Lead Scoring
Lead scoring rates leads with points based on profile and behavior to identify which contacts are most likely to buy and should be followed up first.
Lead Value
Lead value is the average revenue or contribution margin a single lead brings in: customer value multiplied by the lead-to-customer close rate.
Lookalike Audience
A lookalike audience is a target audience an ad platform builds from people who closely resemble a source list you provide, such as your best customers.
M
MQL · Marketing Qualified Lead
An MQL (marketing qualified lead) is a lead that, based on marketing's criteria, shows enough interest and fit to be actively nurtured or handed to sales.
Multi-Touch Attribution · Splitting a conversion across several touchpoints
Multi-touch attribution splits the value of a conversion across several touchpoints in the customer journey instead of crediting only the first or last contact.
R
Reach
Reach is the number of unique people who saw your ad at least once in a given period – each person is counted only once, no matter how often they saw it.
Retargeting
Retargeting shows ads to people who have already interacted with your brand, for example by visiting your website without filling out a form yet.
ROAS · Return on Ad Spend
ROAS (return on ad spend) measures how much revenue every dollar spent on advertising brings in: revenue from ads divided by ad spend.
ROI · Return on Investment
ROI (return on investment) measures the profit of an investment relative to its cost – in marketing: profit from campaigns divided by all costs.
S
Sales Funnel
A sales funnel describes the stages a prospect goes through from first contact to purchase, and how many people drop off at each stage along the way.
Sales Pipeline
The sales pipeline shows all of a company's open sales opportunities with their value and current stage, from qualified lead to closed deal.
Server-Side Tracking
Server-side tracking sends tracking data to ad and analytics platforms from a server instead of the browser – more robust and under your control.
SQL · Sales Qualified Lead
An SQL (sales qualified lead) is a lead that sales has vetted and classified as ready to buy – with a real need, budget and decision-making authority.
T
Third-Party Cookies
Third-party cookies are set by a different domain than the one you visit, such as an ad network, and let that domain track users across many websites.
Touchpoint · A point of contact between customer and brand
A touchpoint is any single point of contact between a prospect and your brand – for example an ad click, a website visit, an email or a phone call.
Tracking Pixel
A tracking pixel is a snippet of code from an ad platform that captures page views and conversions in the browser and reports them to Meta, Google and others.
V
Value-Based Bidding
Value-based bidding is a bid strategy in which the ad platform optimizes for the highest possible conversion value instead of the largest number of conversions.
View-Through Conversion · A conversion after seeing an ad without clicking
A view-through conversion is a conversion credited to an ad because the user saw it but didn’t click it, and converted within the view window.