Digital Marketing Glossary

A link from one website pointing to another, used by search engines as a vote of authority and relevance.

An HTML tag that tells search engines which version of a duplicate or similar page is the preferred one to index.

A Core Web Vital that measures the visual stability of a page — how much content unexpectedly shifts during loading.

Google's set of speed and UX metrics — LCP, INP, and CLS — used as ranking signals.

The number of pages Googlebot will crawl on your website within a given timeframe.

A third-party metric (developed by Moz) that predicts how likely a website is to rank in search results, scored 1–100.

Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness — Google's quality framework for evaluating content.

A free Google tool that lets businesses manage how they appear in Google Search and Maps, including reviews, hours, and photos.

A Core Web Vital that measures a page's responsiveness to user interactions like clicks, taps, and keyboard input.

The practice of overloading a webpage with keywords in an attempt to manipulate search rankings — a black-hat technique penalised by Google.

A Core Web Vital that measures how long it takes for the largest visible element on a page to fully load.

Optimisation strategies that help businesses appear in local search results and Google Maps for nearby queries.

The HTML title tag of a page, displayed as the clickable headline in search results and browser tabs.

The consistent business information — name, address, and phone number — used across all online directories for local SEO.

Website visitors who arrive through unpaid search engine results rather than paid ads.

Enhanced search result listings that display additional information — star ratings, FAQs, prices — pulled from structured data markup.

Structured data code added to a webpage to help search engines understand content context and display rich snippets.

The page displayed by a search engine in response to a query, containing organic results, ads, and features like Local Pack and Knowledge Graph.

Google's system for determining the position and eligibility of ads in search results, based on bid, Quality Score, and other factors.

The average cost spent on advertising to acquire one customer or conversion.

The amount an advertiser pays each time a user clicks on their ad.

The cost of 1,000 ad impressions, used as the pricing model for display and social media advertising.

The percentage of users who click on an ad or link after seeing it, calculated as clicks divided by impressions.

The percentage of total available impressions your ads actually received, out of the total they were eligible for.

A targeting feature that finds new users who share characteristics with an existing audience of customers or high-value users.

Google Ads' 1–10 rating for each keyword reflecting the expected relevance of your ad and landing page to a user's search.

Advertising to users who have previously visited your website or interacted with your brand.

A metric measuring revenue generated for every pound or dollar spent on advertising.

A method of comparing two versions of a webpage or ad to determine which performs better.

The process of crediting marketing touchpoints with conversions or sales.

The percentage of visitors who leave a website after viewing only one page without taking any action.

A technique that groups users by a shared characteristic (usually acquisition date) to track their behaviour over time.

The percentage of visitors who complete a desired action — a purchase, sign-up, form fill — out of total visitors.

The process of measuring specific user actions — purchases, sign-ups, calls — that represent business goals.

Google's current analytics platform, using an event-based data model designed for cross-device and cookieless measurement.

A visual representation of where users click, scroll, or move their mouse on a webpage.

Tags added to URLs that let analytics tools identify the source, medium, and campaign driving traffic.

The percentage of your audience that interacts with your content through likes, comments, shares, or saves.

Reach is the number of unique users who saw your content; impressions is the total number of times it was displayed.

The psychological phenomenon where people follow the actions of others — used in marketing through reviews, testimonials, and follower counts.

Content created by customers or users — photos, videos, reviews — rather than the brand itself.

The portion of a webpage visible without scrolling — the most prime real estate for first impressions and key messages.

A button, link, or instruction that directs users to take a specific desired action.

The prominent introductory section at the top of a webpage, typically containing the primary headline, subheadline, and call to action.

A standalone web page designed with a single focused objective — typically to convert visitors from a specific ad or campaign.

A strategy of creating and distributing valuable content to attract, engage, and convert a target audience.

A framework representing the stages a prospect goes through from initial awareness of a brand to becoming a customer.

MQL (Marketing Qualified Lead) is a lead ready to be nurtured by marketing; SQL (Sales Qualified Lead) is ready for a sales conversation.

A comprehensive page covering a broad topic in depth, linking to related cluster content as part of a topic cluster strategy.

A content strategy grouping a pillar page with multiple related cluster pages to build topical authority.