Digital Marketing Terms: Complete Glossary 2026

Search Engine Optimization - the practice of increasing quantity and quality of traffic to your website through organic search engine results.

A link from one website to another. Search engines use backlinks as a ranking signal.

Search Engine Results Page - the page displayed by a search engine in response to a query.

A third-party score that estimates how likely a website is to rank. It is not a Google ranking metric.

A brief summary of a webpage's content that may appear under the title in search results.

The percentage of words on a page that match a keyword. Relevance and natural coverage matter more than a fixed density target.

The clickable text in a hyperlink that helps search engines understand what the linked page is about.

The preferred version of a webpage when there are multiple pages with similar content.

Structured data that helps search engines understand your content better and display rich snippets.

A set of specific factors that Google uses to assess parts of a webpage's user experience.

Pay-Per-Click - an internet advertising model used to drive traffic to websites.

Click-Through Rate is the ratio of clicks to impressions for a link or advertisement.

Cost Per Click is the amount paid for each click in a pay-per-click campaign.

Cost Per Mille - the cost an advertiser pays for one thousand views of an advertisement.

A Google Ads metric that rates the quality and relevance of your keywords and PPC ads.

A value that determines your ad position relative to other ads.

The percentage of visitors who take a defined action on your website.

A standalone webpage designed specifically for a marketing or advertising campaign.

A network of websites that show Google Ads, including YouTube, Gmail, and partner sites.

A feature that lets you show ads to people who have previously visited your website.

A metric that measures the level of interaction that content receives from an audience.

The total number of unique people who have seen your content.

The number of times content is displayed, including repeat views by the same person.

A word or phrase preceded by a hash sign used to group content around a topic.

A type of marketing that focuses on using key leaders to drive a brand's message to the larger market.

Content created by consumers rather than brands, often shared on social media.

The influence that the actions and attitudes of other people have on our own behavior.

Content that spreads rapidly because people choose to share it.

The process of monitoring public conversations to understand what people say about a brand or topic.

The extent to which consumers are familiar with the distinctive qualities or image of a particular brand.

A strategic approach to creating and distributing useful content for a defined audience.

A regularly updated collection of articles published by a person or organization.

Content that remains useful after its publication date and is maintained when facts change.

A prompt that asks the reader or visitor to take a specific next step.

A useful resource offered in exchange for contact information and clear consent.

A schedule used to coordinate content topics, owners, formats, channels and publication dates.

The practice of contributing a post to another person's blog to build relationships, exposure, authority, and links.

A substantial resource that covers a core topic and links to more specific supporting material.

A structured review of published content, performance, accuracy, ownership and next action.

The use of a clear narrative to explain people, events, choices and outcomes.

A web analytics service offered by Google that tracks and reports website traffic.

An analytics measure for sessions that do not meet the platform's engagement criteria.

A group of user interactions recorded within a defined period on a website or app.

The total number of pages viewed on your website.

The average recorded time associated with website sessions under a specific analytics definition.

The recorded origins of website visits, such as organic search, direct, referral and social media.

The process of monitoring and measuring user actions that lead to conversions on your website.

A visual representation that uses colour to show relative activity or values.

A controlled comparison of two variants using a defined outcome and audience allocation.

Return on Investment - a performance measure used to evaluate the efficiency of an investment.

The practice of sending commercial messages to a group of people using email.

The percentage of email recipients who open a given email.

The percentage of delivered email recipients who clicked one or more tracked links.

The process of dividing an email list into groups based on relevant criteria.

A series of automated emails sent to subscribers on a schedule or based on user actions.

The use of software to automatically send emails based on predefined triggers and schedules.

The percentage of delivered recipients who unsubscribe after an email campaign.

The process of building relationships with potential customers at every stage of the sales funnel.

The ability of legitimate email to reach recipients without being rejected or filtered.

The practice of adapting email content using relevant, consented recipient data.