Below is a holistic glossary of terms for marketers:
A/B Testing: Comparing two variations of a single variable to determine which performs best. This test is often used in email marketing (with variations in the subject line or copy), calls-to-action (variations in colors or verbiage), and landing pages (variations in content). A/B Testing Best Practices
Analytics: Referring to meaningful patterns in data.
Anchor Text: Wording of a link on a website, in an email, or within another digital asset.
Backlink: When one website links to another with an anchor text. What Are SEO Backlinks? | Mailchimp
Banner Ad: Standard horizontal ad placement at the top of a web page.
B2B: Companies that sell to other businesses. (Like Oracle)
B2C: Businesses that sell directly to consumers. (Like Nordstrom)
Blogging: Short for web log or weblog; A core component of inbound marketing that website traffic growth, promotes thought leadership, and boosts leads. Regularly adding blogs to a website can improve SEO (or search engine optimization). Blog — Rebel Road Creative
Bounce Rate: Percentage of visits to a website where only one page was viewed. What is Bounce Rate? Mailchimp
Brand: A recognizable feeling a product or business evokes. What's In A Brand? — Rebel Road Creative
Brand Identity: Elements such as a brand’s name, logo, color palette, and type style that conveys a distinct image to customers. It also includes consistent standards for words, images, voice, and tone.
Buzzword: A word or phrase that is fashionable at a particular time; also known as jargon. Avoiding Buzzwords — Rebel Road Creative
Cache: Copies of web files downloaded locally to speed up display of webpages already visited; sometimes the cache needs to be cleared to view new content instead of the out-of-date, cached version.
Call-to-Action (CTA): A text link, button, image, or web link that motivates a reader to do more; go one step further in the customer journey. A CTA clearly articulates the next step: learn more, contact us, shop now, follow us, sign up. 5 Call to Action Example That Actually Work | Mailchimp
ChatGPT: A chatbot powered by artificial intelligence (AI) developed by OpenAI and launched in November 2022. Thoughts on ChatGPT and Clouds — Rebel Road Creative
Clickthrough’s: How many times a weblink is enabled or clicked, which leads readers to more content.
Conversion Rate: Percentage of people who completed a desired action on a web page, like downloading a document. Conversion Rate: What Is It & How to Calculate It | Mailchimp
Corporate Identity Style Manual: A unique guide for employees and consultants on how to refer to, identify and write about your company. Create A Style Guide For Your Corporate Identity — Rebel Road Creative
Cost-Per-Lead (CPL): Cost of efforts to acquire a viable lead. What Is Cost Per Lead? How To Calculate CPL (With Examples) | Indeed.com
Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC): Add up everything your company spent in a defined period to acquire customers (including salaries and bonuses) and divide by the number of customers you gained in that time frame. Customer Acquisition Cost: How to Calculate CAC [+Benchmarks & Formulas to Know] (hubspot.com)
Customer Relationship Management (CRM): Software that allows for sales tracking. (Think Salesforce or Cosential) The program can be customized to work with your business. CRM Meaning: What Is It & Why You Need It | Mailchimp
Digital Press Kit: Providing information about your company in digital formats on your website to make it easier for reporters. What’s In A Digital Press Kit? — Rebel Road Creative
DPI (dots per inch): Unit of measurement used to determine the resolution of an image.
Drip Email Campaign: A series of automated emails sent to prospects and clients. Six Email Marketing Tips For Better Open Rates — Rebel Road Creative | Mailchimp blog
Direct Mail Marketing: Sending a physical document through the US mail promoting a company or a service.
Ebook: Long form content used to generate leads and promote thought leadership.
Editorial Calendar: A plan for content often used in publications and social media strategies.
Email Bounce Rate: The rate at which an email was undeliverable to a recipient's inbox.
Engagement Rate: Used in social media to determine how well a post interacts with viewers. (Think likes, shares, and comments)
Evergreen Content: Pieces that are referenced long after they were originally published because the content remains valuable to the reader. [Example: Check out Rebel Road Creative’s Creativity Camp.]
Favicon: Very small, customized icons displayed in the location bar in most web browsers next to the web address. (Check out Rebel Road Creative’s favicon…)
Hashtags: # sign that allows for social media interaction and conversations around a particular piece of content. Hashtags tie public conversations on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram together into a single stream. (#marketing)
Infographic: Visual content that conveys complex concepts in a simple format.
Holiday Marketing: Planning reach outs to clients during the busy holiday season. Begin Your Holiday Marketing Plan Now — Rebel Road Creative
Ideal Client: A person who is loyal to your company by frequently buying products or using services. Define Your Ideal Client Early — Rebel Road Creative
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs): Ways to measure success. Marketers look at website traffic, clickthrough’s, website SEO, and homepage views.
Keywords: Topics that webpages get indexed for in search results by engines like Google, Yahoo, and Bing. Learn more about keywords here.
Landing Page: A website page containing a form used for lead generation. What is a Landing Page? Definition and How to Use | Mailchimp
Marketing Consultant: An individual hired on a temporary basis with an expertise in marketing. Five Things You Shouldn’t Expect From Your Marketing Consultant — Rebel Road Creative
Marketing Plan: Mapping out how a marketing department will promote services. For the best outcomes, marketing leaders should consult and update their plans regularly. Marketing Plans — Rebel Road Creative
Pay-Per-Click: Amount of money spent to get a click on a digital advertisement.
Pillar Page: Pillar pages are pieces of content that serve as the cornerstone of a topic cluster. They provide a comprehensive overview of a broad topic and link to related content pieces. Generally, pillar pages are longer than traditional blog posts. 9 Pillar Page Examples to Get You Started With Your Own (hubspot.com)
QR Code (Quick Response code): A unique matrix barcode (or two-dimensional code) that is readable by dedicated QR barcode readers and camera telephones.
Return on Investment (ROI): Another way to determine a marketing campaign’s success. Gain from Investment minus Cost of Investment, all divided by Cost of Investment.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO): Using keywords, backlinks, video links, tags and images to improve how a website shows up in search results. What is SEO? Basics of Search Engine Optimization | Mailchimp | SEO Primer for Small Business Websites
Society for Marketing Professional Services® or SMPS is a membership organization that engages, inspires, and empowers A/E/C professionals for leadership and lifelong learning.
Top of the Funnel: The first stage of the buying process.
Unique Visitor: A person who visits a website more than once within a period.
Vector: A file format that doesn’t use an array of dots to store image information but instead stores it as a set of mathematical properties that describe its attributes, dimensions, and positions.
Video Marketing: Using video to promote a product or service. A 4-Step Guide to Get Small Business Owners Started on Video Marketing — Rebel Road Creative
Check out these articles on the Rebel Road Creative blog:
Enlist Sales Insight to Create Content That Boosts Revenue
SEO Primer for Small Business Websites
How Can Content Marketers Optimize Email Performance?
SMS Marketing 101 For A/E/C Firms
Elizabeth Tuico’s LinkedIn profile portrait was taken by Kristina Sherk Photography. Check out Kristina Sherk’s portfolio at: kristinasherk.com