Digital marketing glossary of terms and platforms

A/B testing - Also known as split testing, A/B testing is a process where email and content marketers compare two versions of a single variable to determine which one performs better. This method is used to optimize content and marketing efforts.

Ad network - An ad network is a system that manages ad inventory from publishers and operators, efficiently matching the inventory with advertiser demand.

Ad space - Ad space refers to the designated area on a website or within a mobile app that is dedicated to displaying advertisements.

Alt text - Alt text is a textual description of an image on a website, used to describe the image to users who are unable to see it.

Audience perception - Audience perception refers to the collective beliefs, attitudes, and experiences that an audience brings with them about a particular object, person, thing, or event.

Audience behavior - Audience behavior encompasses the attitudes that influence the behavior of an audience towards a brand or category.

Audience research - Audience research involves the process of determining the composition, habits, communities of interest, and density within an audience.

B2B content - B2B content refers to content specifically targeted for business-to-business audiences. Examples include white papers, industry-relevant articles, blog posts, podcasts, and infographics created for clients, potential clients, colleagues, partners, and suppliers.

B2C content - B2C content is content that is tailored for business-to-consumer customers. B2C customers respond well to content that evokes emotional satisfaction, highlights benefits, and demonstrates value for the price on highly targeted and relevant channels.

Banner ad - A banner ad is a display ad unit that utilizes simple creative assets and hyperlinks.

Brand Awareness - Brand awareness is the level of recognition and familiarity a target audience has with a particular brand.

Business-To-Business (B2B) - Business-to-business refers to a business that primarily provides products or services to other companies or organizations. The term is also used to describe the marketing content of such businesses.

Business-To-Consumer (B2C) - Business-to-consumer is used to describe a company that primarily provides products or services directly to consumers, as opposed to other businesses. The term is also used to describe the marketing content of such businesses.

Buyer persona - A buyer persona is a fictional representation of an ideal customer, created based on market research and real data about existing customers.

Call to action (CTA) - A call to action is a text prompt found on a web page, in an email, or on an advertisement that instructs the user to perform a specific action, such as clicking a button or a link. CTAs are typically written as commands, such as "Sign Up" or "Buy Now."

Campaign - A campaign refers to a marketing project that is tracked or managed.

Competitive research - Competitive research involves the process of analyzing and understanding the strengths and weaknesses of competitors, as well as identifying the audience(s) that the competition is or is not serving well.

Content curation - Content curation involves the act of gathering relevant and valuable third-party content online and appropriately sharing or reposting it to support a digital sales strategy.

Content strategy - A content strategy encompasses the planning, creation, curation, and distribution of useful, usable, and appropriate content as part of an overall digital selling strategy.

Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) - Conversion Rate Optimization involves optimizing websites, marketing efforts, and digital content to increase the rate at which visitors convert into customers or take desired actions.

Conversion tracking - Conversion tracking is a form of tracking that provides advertisers with insights into how many consumers are taking valuable actions or making conversions on their website or mobile app. Advertisers achieve this by defining traceable events to assess consumer engagement or the impact of direct-response campaigns.

Cookie - A cookie is a text file placed on a web user's hard drive by a website to store data about the user's visit, enabling the website to remember information.

Customer persona - A customer persona is a representation of an ideal customer based on research and data about existing customers.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) - CRM is a tool used for managing all business relationships with existing and potential customers. It enables businesses to track interactions, create reports, and make informed decisions.

Digital channels - Digital channels refer to online methods of distributing social content. These channels include owned media, paid media, and earned media methods.

Digital display advertising - Digital display advertising is a form of digital marketing that uses display ads on web pages to communicate relevant commercial messages to a specific audience based on their profile.

Digital engagement - Digital engagement is the process of building relationships, both proactively and reactively, with contacts, prospects, and leads.

Digital marketing plan - A digital marketing plan outlines the strategy and implementation of digital marketing efforts within a business.

Digital research - Digital research involves getting to know the target audience better in order to create more engaging content, allocate budgets more effectively, understand the audience's culture, identify influencing factors, and ultimately develop more successful digital strategies.

Digital sales messaging - Digital sales messaging involves tailoring communications to a digital target audience to encourage them to purchase products or services.

Email marketing - Email marketing is a form of permission-based direct marketing that uses email to communicate relevant commercial messages to a specific audience based on their profile.

Email Service Provider (ESP) - An ESP is a commercial-level email host that offers integrated features for digital marketing.

Evergreen content - Evergreen content refers to content that remains relevant and interesting to readers for an extended period, even years after its initial creation and publication.

Funnels - Funnels represent the pathways that visitors typically follow on a website towards a conversion point.Hashtag - A hashtag is a clickable keyword that summarizes the content of a tweet or social media status update. Hashtags are commonly used on platforms like Twitter and Instagram.

Inactive client - An inactive client refers to a customer who is no longer actively using a product or service.

Inbound link - An inbound link is a link from an external web page to your website. These links contribute to trust and page rank for organic search and are also known as in-links or incoming links.

Influencers - Influencers are high-profile individuals who have the ability to sway the opinions or buying decisions of a target audience, often due to their significant social media following.

Instant message - An instant message is a real-time message sent between two connections through a social media network or email platform. Examples of platforms that support instant messaging include Facebook, Skype, and WhatsApp.

Internet Protocol Address (IP address) - An IP address is a numerical label assigned to every device or entity participating in a computer network that uses the internet protocol for communication.

Key Performance Indicator (KPI) - A Key Performance Indicator is a measurable value that demonstrates how effectively a company is achieving key business or marketing objectives. KPIs provide metrics, data, and benchmarks to improve processes, campaigns, and content in digital marketing.

Key phrase - A key phrase refers to a search phrase or keywords that advertisers choose to trigger the display of their ads when entered by users.

Keyword density - Keyword density is the percentage of words on a web page that are related to target SEO keywords.

Keyword research - Keyword research involves the process of determining which keywords are appropriate for targeting in digital marketing efforts.

Keyword spam - Keyword spam refers to inappropriately high keyword density, also known as keyword stuffing.

Landing page - A landing page is the web page that users land on when they click on an online advertisement, email, or link in a search engine result page.

Lead nurturing - Lead nurturing is the process of developing relationships with potential buyers at every stage of the sales funnel and through every step of the buyer's journey. It involves understanding the needs of prospects and providing them with the necessary information and support.

Lead nurturing funnel - A lead nurturing funnel represents the process of developing relationships with potential buyers at every stage of the sales funnel and throughout the buyer's journey.

Location-based advertising - Location-based advertising involves delivering mobile ads to users based on specific geographic coordinates, such as latitude, longitude, or designated market areas.

Mail merge - Mail merge is a tool used to send personalized emails to recipients in an address list. Each message has the same type of information but unique content.

Meta tag - A meta tag is a statement in a web page's HTML that provides important information about the page's content. Search engines use this information to index a site.

Prospect nurturing - Prospect nurturing refers to building trust with prospects by providing them with relevant and valuable content, as well as highly targeted communications and messaging.

Onboarding client - Onboarding a client refers to the stage in the client lifecycle where a prospect becomes a client and needs to be introduced to the value of a product or service.