Digital marketing comes with its own set of terms, and understanding them can make it easier to share your ideas and needs. Whether you’re working with a web designer, running ads, or planning a strategy, knowing the right words helps you make clearer decisions and get better results. From SEO to PPC to analytics, this guide breaks down the essential digital marketing terms you need to know:

A

• Above the Fold: The part of a webpage that appears on the screen before you scroll. This area is important because it’s the first thing visitors see.  
• Accessibility Compliance (ADA/WCAG): The process of making websites usable by people with disabilities by following legal requirements and universally accepted design standards enforced by the Americans With Disabilities Act and communicated in the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines published by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C).
• A/B Testing: Comparing two versions of a webpage, email, or ad for the purpose of analyzing which instance performs better relative to a campaign’s Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).
• Ad Targeting: The practice of displaying ads to specific audiences based on factors such as demographics, interests, geo-location or browsing behavior.
• Anchor Text: Clickable text embedded within a website that links to another location.
• Artificial Intelligence (AI): A technology that enables computers, machines, and systems to simulate human intelligence processes.
• Attribution Model: A system that determines how credit for conversions is assigned to touchpoints in the customer journey.

B

• Back-End Development: The behind-the-scenes work that makes up one part of how a website or application functions, such as configuring a database or building a server environment.
• Backlink: A link on one website that leads to another.  The number and quality of backlinks to a particular webpage is an important factor of SEO.
• Banner Ad:  A visual advertisement displayed on a webpage or app, designed to drive awareness and traffic to a webpage. Typically served by an ad network banner ads can feature images or text and may be static or animated. 
• Bid Strategy: A bidding method in Google Ads designed to align with your marketing objectives. You can choose from three bid types—pay per click, pay per conversion, or pay per impression—allowing you to optimize campaigns based on your specific goals.
• Bounce Rate: The percentage of visitors who leave a website after looking at just one page versus visitors that engage with more than one page.
• Bottom of Funnel Marketing: Also known as the Decision or Conversion Stage, this is the final stage of the marketing funnel, focused on converting leads into customers through strategies like consultations, product demos, and sales messaging.
• Brand Identity: The unique look and feel of a business, including its logo, colors, and messaging.
• Brand Positioning: The way a business defines its place in a market, stands out from competitors and appeals to customers.

C

• Call to Action (CTA): A button or message that encourages visitors to take action, like “Contact Us” or “Schedule a Tour.”
• Click-Through Rate (CTR): The percentage of people who click on a link or ad versus those that see the link or ad and do not click. A higher CTR is an indicator of higher interest.
• Content Management System (CMS): A tool (such as WordPress, Squarespace or Wix) that allows users to edit and update their website without needing coding skills.
• Content Marketing: Creating useful articles, videos, or posts to attract and inform potential clients.
• Conversion Rate: The percentage of visitors who complete a desired action, like signing up for a newsletter or booking an appointment.
• Content Pillars: Themes that represent your services and Unique Value Proposition (UVP), around which all your marketing content should fall under to reinforce your brand.
• Cost Per Click (CPC): The amount paid each time someone clicks on a digital ad.
• Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC): The total cost of marketing and sales efforts needed to gain a new client.
• Cost Per Acquisition (CPA): The cost of ad spend needed to get a lead.
• Customer Lifetime Value (CLV/LTV): The total revenue a business expects from a customer over the course of their entire relationship.

D

• Display Ads: The promotion of products or services through banners in the form of images, videos, or GIFs shown to users on a third-party website or app.
• Domain Name: The web address of a website, such as blok.co.
• Drip Campaign: A series of automated emails sent over time to keep leads engaged.

E

• Engagement Rate: A metric measuring user interaction with content, including likes, shares, and comments.
• Evergreen Content: Content that remains relevant and valuable over time, regardless of trends.
• E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness): A set of guidelines Google uses to evaluate the reliability and credibility of online content. This helps Google to assess the quality of information by considering the author’s expertise, the website’s authority, and the overall trustworthiness of the source.

F

• Facebook Audience Insights: A tool that provides demographic and behavioral data about Facebook users for targeted marketing.
• Facebook Business Page: A public profile on Facebook designed for businesses to promote their services and engage with audiences.
• First-Party Data: Information collected automatically from customer interactions, such as website visits, purchases, and email engagement.

G

• Generative AI: Artificial intelligence that creates content, such as text, images, or videos, based on patterns learned from data.
• Google Ads: An online advertising platform where businesses can display paid ads on Google search results and other networks.
• Google Analytics: A web analytics tool that tracks and reports website traffic, user behavior, and marketing performance.
• Google Business Page: A business profile on Google that displays company information, reviews, and location details in search results and Google Maps.
• Geofencing: A virtual perimeter set around a real-world location used to trigger an action on a person’s electronic device when they enter the area.
• Geotargeting: Showing ads or content to people based on their physical location or interest in a physical location.

H

• Hashtag: A keyword or phrase preceded by “#” that categorizes content for users and improves searchability on social media.
• Heatmap: A visual tool that shows where website visitors click, scroll, and interact most on a website.
• Hyperlink: A clickable link that directs users to a webpage, document, or another online location.

I

• IDX (Internet Data Exchange): A tool that allows real estate agents to display live property listings sourced from an MLS on their website
• Image Optimization: The process of improving image quality, file size, and metadata for better performance and search visibility.
• Impressions: The number of times digital content is displayed to users, regardless of interaction.
• Incrementality: A measurement of the additional impact of a marketing effort beyond what would have happened naturally.

L

• Landing Page: A webpage designed for a specific purpose, like capturing leads or promoting a property.
• Lead: A potential customer who has shown interest in a product or service.
• Lead Capture Form: A form on a website where visitors enter their contact details in exchange for something valuable, like a homebuyer’s guide.
• Lead Generation: The process of attracting and capturing potential customers through marketing efforts.
• Lead Magnet: A free resource (like a checklist or market report) offered to attract potential clients.
• Lead Nurturing: Keeping in touch with potential clients through emails, calls, or content until they’re ready to buy or sell.
• Local Service Ads: Pay-per-lead ads displayed at the top of Google’s search results when users search for local service providers.
• Long-Tail Keywords: Specific, multi-word search phrases that target niche audiences and typically have lower competition.
• Lookalike Audiences: A targeting method where advertisers find new audiences similar to their existing customers.

M

• Marketing Automation: The use of software to automate marketing tasks such as email campaigns and social media posting.
• Marketing Funnel: A model representing the stages customers go through from awareness to conversion.
• Middle of Funnel Marketing: Also called the Consideration or Engagement Stage, this is the second stage of the marketing funnel, where leads are nurtured with content, case studies, email marketing, and webinars to guide them toward a decision.
• Mobile Optimization: Ensuring a website looks and works well on phones and tablets.
• Multichannel Marketing: Engaging customers across multiple platforms (email, social media, PPC, etc.).

N

• Native Advertising: Ads that blend seamlessly with the content of a website or platform, making them less intrusive.
• Negative Keywords: Words or phrases that prevent ads from showing for irrelevant searches in digital advertising.
• Niche Marketing: A strategy focused on targeting a specific, well-defined segment of the market.

O

• Off-Page Optimization: SEO activities conducted outside of a website to improve search engine rankings.
• On-Page Optimization: SEO techniques applied within a website, such as optimizing content and metadata, to improve search visibility.
• Open Rate: The percentage of people who open an email from a marketing campaign.
• Organic Traffic: Website visitors who arrive through unpaid sources, such as a Search Engine Results Page (SERP).

P

• Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Advertising: A type of online advertising where businesses pay only when someone clicks on their ad.
• Personal Branding: The process of building a recognizable and trustworthy reputation as an individual professional.
• Performance Max: A goal-based Google Ads campaign that uses AI to optimize ad performance across multiple channels, including Search, Display, Video and GMail, maximizing conversions and reach.
• Pixel Tracking: A small snippet of code placed on a website to track user behavior, conversions, and retargeting efforts.
• Programmatic Advertising: Automated buying of digital ads using AI and algorithms.

Q

• Qualified Lead: A potential client who has shown genuine interest and fits the ideal customer profile.
• Quality Score: A Google Ads metric that measures the relevance and effectiveness of an ad, keywords, and landing page.
• Query: A term or phrase entered into a search engine to find information.
• QR Code: A barcode that is scannable by smartphone and links users to digital content such as websites or contact details.

R

• Remarketing/Retargeting Ads: Ads shown to people who have previously visited a website to remind them of a brand or service.
• Responsive Design: A way of building websites so they automatically adjust to different screen sizes, from desktops to smartphones.
• Return on Investment (ROI): A performance measure that takes the ratio of net profit over the cost of the investment in order to determine efficiency.

S

• Schema Markup: Code added to a website to help search engines better understand and display content in rich results.
• Search Engine Optimization (SEO): Making a website more visible in search results by improving content, structure and hundreds of potential variables.
• Search Ads: Pay-per-click ads that appear at the top of Google’s search engine results according to the keywords a user has searched for.
• Sentiment Analysis: AI-driven analysis of customer opinions and emotions based on social media or review data.
• Search Engine Results Page (SERP): The page displayed by a search engine in response to a user’s query.
• Social Proof: Customer reviews, testimonials, or endorsements that build trust in a business.
• Squeeze Page: A simple webpage designed to capture visitor information, usually in exchange for a free resource.
• SSL Certificate (Secure Sockets Layer): A security measure that protects a website and ensures data shared on it stays private.

T

• Target Audience: A defined group of people that a business aims to reach through marketing efforts.
• Time on Page / Session Duration: A metric that tracks how long a visitor spends on a webpage before leaving.
• Top of Funnel Marketing: Also referred to as the Awareness or Attract Stage, this is the first stage of the marketing funnel, aimed at generating awareness and attracting potential customers through content, social media, SEO, and paid advertising.
• Tracking Cookie: A small piece of data stored in a user’s browser to track online behavior for analytics and advertising.

U

• Unique Value Proposition (UVP): A clear statement that defines the benefits that clients will experience when using your services. Also known as a USP (Unique Selling Proposition).
• URL (Uniform Resource Locator): The web address of one specific webpage.
• User Experience (UX): The study, design and optimization of a user’s experience of a website or application with the intent of making the website or application enjoyable and easy to use. User Interface (UI): The design of a website or app that makes it easy for people to navigate and interact with.

V

• Video Marketing: The use of video content to promote products, services, or brands.
• Virtual Tour: A digital walkthrough of a property, often using 3D images or video.
• Visits: The number of times users access a website.

W

• Webinar: An online seminar that educates or engages potential clients.
• Website Analytics: The collection and analysis of data related to website traffic and user behavior.
• Website Hosting: A service that makes a website available on the internet.

Z

• Zero-Click Searches: Google searches that provide answers directly on the results page, so users don’t click on a website.
• Zero-party data: Information that customers voluntarily provide, such as preferences, survey responses, or stated purchase intentions.
• Z-Score: A statistic that shows how different a campaign or customer behavior is from the average. It helps marketers track performance and spot trends.