Stop me if you’ve heard this before: “So, we’ll run a geofenced PPC ad, add a pixel, retarget, and drive engagement with social ads.”
Huh? If you’re new to digital marketing, that’s quite a word salad. It was for me, too, when I first got started with marketing writing in 2022! And at Zoe Marketing & Communications, we work with plenty of marketing newcomers, so we like to keep things clear.
That’s why we created this go-to glossary — quick, simple and jargon-free.
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30 digital marketing terms that are worth knowing
A/B testing
Running two versions of an ad, email or webpage to see which performs better. Change one element at a time for clear results.
Brand awareness marketing
Building recognition and trust, not pushing for immediate sales. The opposite of conversion marketing.
Buyer’s journey
The three stages leading to a purchase:
- Awareness: Realizing a problem.
- Consideration: Researching solutions.
- Decision: Choosing a product/service.
Click-through rate (CTR)
The percentage of people who click a link in an email or ad. Averages:
Conversion marketing
Focused on immediate actions — think sign-ups, purchases, form fills. It’s the opposite of brand awareness marketing.
Conversion rate
The percentage of people who take a desired action after engaging with your marketing.
Customer journey
What happens after the buyer’s journey ends in a sale. Keeping customers engaged through content, rewards and support boosts loyalty.
Customer lifetime value (CLV)
How much a customer is worth over time. Knowing this helps determine how much to spend on acquiring new customers.
Content management system (CMS)
A platform like WordPress or Squarespace that lets you create, edit and manage your website content without coding.
Customer relationship management (CRM)
A tool (e.g., Salesforce, HubSpot) for managing customer interactions, email campaigns and data.
Email marketing
Direct communication via email. There are two main types:
- First-party: To your existing contacts.
- Third-party: Paid emails to targeted lists.
Engagement
Any action taken on your marketing — likes, clicks, shares, comments. High engagement means high interest.
Geofencing
Targeting ads to people within a specific physical location using their mobile data.
Impressions
The number of times your ad or content is seen — whether it’s clicked or not.
Inbound marketing
Attracting customers by offering helpful content (blogs, guides, videos) rather than pushing ads at them. It has three parts:
- Attract: Draw people in with helpful content and build trust.
- Engage: Provide advice and solutions to boost buying confidence.
- Delight: Support and empower new customers.
Marketing funnel
The journey prospects take before converting:
- Top: Awareness (blogs, social posts).
- Middle: Engagement (emails, remarketing).
- Bottom: Conversions (offers, follow-ups).
(Different tactics work at different stages.)
Open rate
The percentage of people who open your email. The average is 10%-25% and depends on industry.
Pageviews
The total number of times a webpage is loaded, including repeat views.
Pay-per-click marketing (PPC)
Paid ads where you’re charged per click. Google Ads is the most common example. (Also known as search engine marketing or SEM)
Pixel
A small piece of code that tracks site visitors and allows for retargeting.
Programmatic marketing
Automated, data-driven ad buying for better targeting and efficiency.
Reach
The total number of unique people who saw your content or ad.
Remarketing
Email-based marketing to people who’ve engaged with your brand.
Serving ads to people who visited your site but didn’t convert.
Optimizing your site to rank higher in search results organically (without paying).
Paying for visibility in search results via PPC ads.
Social media marketing
Using organic posts and paid ads on social platforms to engage and convert customers.
Paid articles that position your brand as a helpful resource while subtly promoting your expertise.
Tags added to links to track where website traffic comes from in Google Analytics.
Value proposition
A short, clear statement explaining why customers should choose you over the competition.
Next steps to learn more about digital marketing
Marketing is packed with terms, but now you have a solid foundation. Want to take the next step? Talk to us. Since 2020, Zoe Marketing & Communications has helped businesses turn marketing confusion into strategy.
Still figuring out what’s right for more? Read up on:
