16 Digital Marketing Terms Business Owner Should Know

Not everyone is fully familiar with the terms used in the digital marketing industry. Although it is commonly heard everyday, most people may not be fully aware of the terms used in the industry. Some people struggle with digital marketing due to the acronyms and abbreviations used every day, but they don’t have to be that difficult or confusing.

Therefore, this article will help you understand the meanings behind popular digital marketing terms like SEO, PPC, SEM, CPC etc.

1. CPC (Cost Per Click)

Cost per click is the cost you pay for a single click when someone clicks on your ad.

2. CTA (Call to Action)

Call to Action refers to the next step where a marketer wants its audience to take an action. The CTA can have a direct link to a landing page or to enter payment info after clicking a particular button such as Buy Now, Learn More, Sign Up, or others.

3. SEO (Search Engine Optimization)

Search engine optimization or SEO is a process of optimizing a website to get a top ranking in search results. SEO is very focused on organic keyword searches and is different from SEM which focuses on advertising media provided by Google.

4. PPC (Pay-Per-Click)

Pay per click is a digital marketing strategy where advertisers pay a fee each time one of their ads is clicked. The way PPC works can be described by buying visits or visits to your website instead of getting website traffic organically.

5. SMM (Social Media Marketing)

Social Media Marketing is a strategy that utilizes social media as a means of promoting products or services. For instance, using Facebook, Instagram, TikTok social platforms to achieve desired goals like drive traffic to website, increase conversion, build brand awareness and more.

6. SMO (Social Media Optimization)

Social Media Optimization is almost the same as SEO, namely increasing targeted traffic to the website through social media. SMO is an optimization technique by increasing the visibility of profiles on social media and posting social network activity which can be easily found by people looking for information related to our content.

7. CPM (Cost per Mile)

CPM stands for Cost Per Mille or Cost Per 1000 Impressions. CPM is the advertising fee that advertisers have to pay when the ad has been viewed or reaches 1,000 people or 1,000 Impressions.

8. Clickthrough Rate (CTR)

Clickthrough rate (CTR) is the percentage of clicks a campaign receives relative to the number of impressions. A higher CTR often implies that campaigns are resonating more effectively with viewers. The formula for CTR is:

(clicks on a campaign ÷ total campaign impressions) × 100 = CTR

For example, if a given ad campaign has 5 clicks and 500 impressions, the CTR is 1%: (5 ÷ 500) × 100 = 1

9. Reach

Reach refers to the number of unique accounts that have viewed the content. If 300 accounts have viewed your content, then the total reach you get is 300.

10. Impressions

Impressions refer to the number of times your content has appeared on the user’s screen. For example, if your content has appeared on 200 user screens, then the total impression that your content can get is 200.

The number of impressions is usually greater than the reach because, depending on the number of users seeing the content, 1 user can create more than one impression.

11. A/B Testing

A/B testing or also known as split testing, is the process of comparing two different variants such as webpage, email, ad, or other digital asset to determine which one is more successful.

12. Bounce Rate

Bounce rate is the percentage of visits to a single-page that are not followed by further actions (visitors leave immediately). A higher percentage bounce rate indicates something is wrong with the page which failed to attract visitors to stay longer and take actions.

13. CMS (Content Management System)

Content Management System is a software that supports modes of work such as generating, administrating, distributing, publishing and browsing information in the system. CMS software such as WordPress is one of the examples.

14. CRM (Customer Relationship Manager)

Customer relationship Manager or CRM is a business technology that combines process, people and technology. It can help attract sales prospects, convert them into customers, and retain existing, satisfied and loyal customers.

15. Conversion

Conversion in digital marketing refers to a desired action in which you want visitors to perform such as purchase, sign up a form, register a webinar, and sign up a newsletter.

16. SEM (Search Engine Marketing)

Search engine marketing is a method of internet marketing, which promotes a website by enhancing its visibility through paid advertising on search results pages (SERPs).

CONGRATS! Now You Know the Terms!

Memorizing and understanding these common digital marketing terms can take you from novice to professional in no time! In addition, these terms can help improve your knowledge in digital marketing and ensure you are ready to take the next step in growing your business digitally.