Glossary of Terms

 

The digital advertising industry contains some metrics, terminology and acronyms that may not always be understood at first glance. We have created a glossary to help you to decode this terminology, and assist anyone new to the industry or in need of a refresher. 

Digital Campaign Metrics Terms

 

Clicks

Total user clicks on your ads. Key for gauging user interaction with your content.

 

Click-Through Rate (CTR)

The proportion of clicks to impressions. Higher CTR suggests better user interest capture.

 

Cost Per Click (CPC)

The average expense for each ad click. Useful for assessing campaign cost-effectiveness.

 

Cost Per Mille (CPM)

Cost for every thousand impressions. A common measure for pricing display and video ads.

 

Impressions

Measures how often your ads were shown. A higher count means more exposure and reach.

 

Viewable Impressions

Only counts ads actually seen by users. Offers a truer measure of ad visibility and impact.

 

Email Marketing Metrics Terms

 

A/B Testing Results

Comparing different versions of emails (subject lines, content, layout) to determine which performs better can help refine future campaigns for better results.Bounce Rate

The percentage of emails that couldn't be delivered to the recipient's inbox due to various reasons like invalid email addresses or full mailboxes.

 

Click-Through Rate (CTR)

The percentage of recipients who clicked on at least one link within the email. It measures the engagement level and relevance of the content.

 

Conversion Rate

The percentage of recipients who completed the desired action (e.g., made a purchase, signed up for a service) after clicking on a link in the email.

 

Customer Lifetime Value (CLV)

Analyzing how email campaigns affect the long-term value of customers can help in understanding the impact beyond immediate conversions.

 

Device and Platform Analytics

Understanding which devices (mobile, desktop) and email clients subscribers use to interact with your emails provides insights for optimizing email design and formatting.

 

Engagement Over Time

Tracking engagement metrics over time helps understand trends, peak engagement periods, and the effectiveness of ongoing campaigns or changes made.

 

Forward/Share Rate

The percentage of recipients who forwarded or shared the email content with others. It indicates the level of engagement and relevance of the content.

 

List Growth Rate

The rate at which your email list is growing over a specific period. It helps measure the success of your efforts in attracting new subscribers.

 

Open Rate

The percentage of recipients who opened the email. It indicates the effectiveness of subject lines, sender reputation, and timing.

 

Revenue Attribution

Tracking how much revenue is directly attributed to email marketing efforts. This metric demonstrates the financial impact of your email campaigns.

 

Unsubscribe Rate

The percentage of recipients who opted out of receiving future emails from your campaign.

 

Industry Terms

 

Ad Exchange

A technology platform that facilitates the buying and selling of ad inventory from multiple ad networks. Prices for the ad space are determined through real-time bidding.

 

Ad Inventory

The total amount of ad space a publisher has available to sell to advertisers.

 

Data Clean Rooms

A data clean room is a secure collaboration environment which allows two or more participants to leverage data assets for specific, mutually agreed upon uses, while guaranteeing enforcement of strict data access limitations for e.g, not revealing or exposing the personal data of their customers to other parties.

 

Data Management Platform (DMP)

A system that collects and manages data, mainly for digital marketing purposes. It helps advertisers create target audiences based on gathered data.

 

Demand-Side Platform (DSP)

A system that allows buyers of digital advertising inventory to manage multiple ad exchange and data exchange accounts through one interface.

 

First-Party Data

This is data collected directly by your organization from your audience or customers. It includes information gathered from your websites, apps, CRM, surveys, and subscriptions. First-party data is highly valuable due to its relevance and accuracy.

 

Programmatic Advertising

Automated buying and selling of online advertising. This process uses software and algorithms to purchase display space efficiently.

 

Second-Party Data

This is essentially someone else's first-party data that you acquire directly from them. It's not collected by your organization but bought or acquired through partnerships from a source that has a direct relationship with the data. It’s more trustworthy than third-party data as its source and collection method are known.

 

Supply-Side Platform (SSP)

A technology platform that allows publishers to manage their ad impression inventory and maximise revenue from digital media.

 

Third-Party Data

This is data that’s collected by an entity that doesn’t have a direct relationship with the user the data is being collected on. It’s aggregated from various sources and often purchased from external data providers or data aggregators. Third-party data enables businesses to reach a broader audience but is generally considered less reliable than first or second-party data.

 

Publisher Side Metric Terms

 

Fill Rate

The ratio of delivered ad impressions against the total number of ad requests.

 

STR

Sell Through Rate (STR) is the percentage of paid impressions sold compared to total available ad impressions.

 

eCPM

Effective Cost per Mille (thousand impressions), providing a standardised measure for publishers across various pricing and advertising models.

 

rCPM

rCPM stands for real cost-per-thousand. The calculation of rCPM shows the average price of 1000 ad requests. 

 

Viewability

Viewability refers to the measurement of how visible ads are to users on a website or mobile app.

 

Search Engine Optimsation Metrics Terms

 

Backlink Profile

Evaluating the quantity and quality of external websites linking to your site. Quality backlinks are a crucial ranking factor, so ensuring you have trusted domain links is important to the ranking structure.

 

Bounce Rate

The percentage of visitors who navigate away from your site after viewing only one page. High bounce rates may indicate issues with relevance or user experience.

 

Click-Through Rate (CTR)

The percentage of users who click on your website's link in search results compared to the total number of users who saw the link (impressions).

 

Crawl Errors

Identifying issues encountered by search engine bots while crawling your site, such as broken links, server errors, or pages not found (404 errors).

 

Domain Authority/Page Authority

Metrics that indicate the strength of a domain or specific page in terms of search engine rankings.

 

Indexation Status

The number of pages from your site that have been indexed by search engines. Monitoring this helps ensure important pages are crawled and indexed.

 

Keyword Rankings

Monitoring the positions of your website's pages for specific keywords/phrases in search engine results pages (SERPs).

 

Local SEO Metrics

For businesses targeting local audiences, metrics like local search rankings, citations, images of your businesses and Google My Business insights are vital.

 

Mobile Responsiveness

Ensuring your website is mobile-friendly, as search engines prioritize mobile-responsive sites for rankings, especially in mobile searches.

 

Organic Traffic

The number of visitors that arrive at your site through unpaid (organic) search results on search engines like Google, Bing, etc.

 

Page Load Speed

The time it takes for your web pages to load. Fast-loading pages tend to rank better in search engines and improve user experience.

 

User Engagement Metrics

Time spent on page, pages per session, and other engagement metrics help search engines gauge the relevance and quality of your content.

 

Social Media Metrics Terms

 

Click-Through Rate (CTR)

The percentage of users who clicked on a link in your post out of the total number of users who saw it. It measures the effectiveness of your call-to-action.

 

Comments and Replies

The number of comments and replies on your posts. It reflects user interaction and engagement with your content.

 

Engagement Rate

The percentage of users who interacted with your content (likes, comments, shares, clicks) out of the total number of people who saw it. It measures the level of interaction and interest generated.

 

Follower Growth Rate

The rate at which your social media followers are increasing over a specific period. It helps gauge the success of your efforts in attracting new followers.

 

Impressions

The total number of times your content has been displayed. It reflects how frequently your content is being viewed, regardless of whether it's from the same user.

 

Influencer Performance

For influencer marketing campaigns, tracking metrics like engagement rates, follower growth, and conversions attributed to influencers helps measure their impact on your campaigns.

 

Reach

The total number of unique users who have seen your content. It indicates the potential audience size your content has reached.

 

Sentiment Analysis

Analyzing the sentiment of comments or mentions (positive, negative, neutral) can provide insights into how your audience perceives your brand or campaign.

 

Share/Retweet Rate

The number of times your content is shared or retweeted by users. It indicates the level of engagement and the potential for your content to reach a wider audience.

 

Social Media Ad Metrics

Metrics specific to paid advertising, including cost per click (CPC), cost per acquisition (CPA), return on ad spend (ROAS), etc., help evaluate the performance and efficiency of paid campaigns.

 

Social Media Referral Traffic

The amount of website traffic generated from social media platforms. It helps measure the effectiveness of your social media in driving users to your website.

 

Video Metrics

For video content, tracking metrics such as views, watch time, completion rates, and engagement within the video (likes, comments) provides insights into video performance.

 

Website Metrics Terms

 

Average Session Duration

The average time users spend on your site per visit. Longer durations often indicate engagement.

 

Bounce Rate

The percentage of visitors who leave your site after viewing only one page. A high bounce rate might indicate issues with content or user experience.

 

Click-Through Rate (CTR)

For elements like banners, buttons, or links, measuring the percentage of users who click on them compared to the total who saw them.

 

Conversion Rate

The percentage of visitors who complete a desired action (e.g., make a purchase, fill out a form). It's a key metric for measuring campaign success.

 

Device and Browser Metrics

Understanding which devices (mobile, desktop) and browsers visitors use can inform optimisation strategies for better compatibility.

 

Engagement Metrics

Metrics like scroll depth, time spent on specific pages, or interaction with multimedia content (videos, infographics) provide insights into user behavior.

 

Exit Pages

Pages from which users most frequently leave your website. Helps identify potential issues or areas for improvement.

 

Goal Completions

Tracking specific actions or milestones defined as goals (e.g., signing up for a newsletter, downloading a guide).

 

Journey Completion Rate

Measuring the web or app journey for completion to desired action. Analysing the drop out zones and optimising behaviour to ensure completion of the journey happens.

 

Page Load Time

The time it takes for your web pages to load. Faster load times generally lead to better user experience and higher engagement.

 

Return on Investment (ROI)

For e-commerce sites, tracking revenue generated against the cost of marketing efforts to measure the effectiveness of campaigns.

 

 

Traffic Metrics

 

Visits/Sessions

The total number of times users visit your website within a specific period.

 

Unique Visitors

The count of individual users who visited your website, indicating the size of your audience.

 

Pageviews

The total number of pages viewed by visitors, indicating user engagement with your content.

 

 

Traffic Sources

 

Referral Traffic

The websites or platforms that direct users to your site.

 

Organic Traffic

Visitors coming from search engines.

 

Direct Traffic

Users who directly typed your website URL or used bookmarks to access your site.

 

Paid Traffic

Visitors driven by paid advertising campaigns.

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