CPM, CPC, KPIs, BBQ.

Okay, one of those doesn’t belong, but you’ll often hear us tossing around at least a few acronyms when discussing digital marketing campaigns. These terms help us both internally and in reporting to our clients, to define everything about what we measure for campaign success.

A lot of these may sound like gibberish to those not in the industry. As your digital marketing agency, we use this lingo so you don’t have to. But, that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t be in the know. We’ll take care of everything for you, but we will do it transparently, not like some shady blackhat agency. So with that in mind, we created a Digital Marketing Terms Glossary would help get our ideas across. Click on the below terms to jump to the definition.

Here are the key Digital Marketing Terms we think you should know:

Absolute Top Impression Rate

The percent of your ad impressions (times your ad is seen) that are shown as the very first ad above the organic search results in SEM campaigns. Back to Top

Action

The total number of actions people took that are attributed to your ads. Actions may include engagement, clicks or conversions. Back to Top

Clicks

The number of clicks on an impression, or ad view, that led to the landing page or website. Back to Top

Completion Rate

A ratio of completed views divided by the total number of impressions. Back to Top

CPC (cost per click)

A ratio of budget spent divided by clicks. Back to Top

CPM (cost per mille)

The cost to serve 1,000 impressions. Back to Top

CTA (call to action)

A button or actionable phrase either on an ad or on a webpage that prompts users to take action, such as making a purchase, reserving a table, etc. Back to Top

CTR (click through rate)

A ratio of clicks divided by impressions; this means the percentage of users that saw your ad and actually clicked through. Back to Top

Engagement

The number of unique users who engaged with your page, includes any clicks, for a specific amount of time. Back to Top

Engagement Rate

A ratio of engagements divided by page views; this means the percentage of users that saw your ad and engaged with it. Back to Top

Frequency

The average number of times each person saw your ad. Back to Top

Goals

Pre-determined trackable KPIs Deep Fried has set up on your website. Back to Top

Impressions

The number of individual ad messages served to date, or how many times your ad was viewed. Back to Top

KPI (Key Performance Indicator)

A measurable value that demonstrates how effectively a company is achieving key business objectives. Similar to goals, but these may be less trackable. Learn more about KPIs here. Back to Top

Open Rate

The ratio of email opens divided by total emails delivered that shows the percentage of users that saw your email and proceeded to open it; unique open rate breaks it down to the number of unique recipients, eliminating multiple opens. Back to Top

People Taking Action

The number of people who took an action that was attributed to your ads. Back to Top

Platform

The place an ad can run, e.g. social networks, search services, websites, etc. Back to Top

Quality Ranking (Facebook)

How your ad’s perceived quality compared to ads competing for the same audience. Back to Top

Quality Score (Google)

An estimate of the quality of your ads, keywords, and landing pages, which can lead to lower prices and better ad positions. Back to Top

Reach

The number of unique users who have seen any ads or content associated with your page, as opposed to impressions, which count total views regardless of user. Back to Top

SEM

Search Engine Marketing; buying keywords on Google, Bing, Yahoo, etc. Back to Top

Top Impression Rate

The percent of your ad impressions that are shown anywhere above the organic search results in SEM campaigns. (Previously a part of Average Position) Back to Top

Views

The number of impressions where the video was watched. Back to Top

View Rate

A ratio of views divided by impressions; this means the percentage of users that saw your ad and watched it through. Back to Top