Marketing Terminology You Should Know
Whether you’re a new business owner entering the wide world of digital marketing or you’re working on an advertising campaign with an experienced marketing consultant, there’s quite a bit of lingo to be aware of that can help along the way. These terms, many of which are compacted into acronyms, are essential to understand in order to effectively communicate with your marketing consultant and get the results you want. As new platforms and advertising tools are released every few years, the lexicon of online marketing terms grows larger, and it’s up to you to stay one step ahead of the game to properly utilize each new addition. Here are just a few of the more long-standing marketing terms that can bridge the gap between novice and expert advertisers.
Search Engine Terms
SEO
One of the most important terms to be aware of in digital marketing is search engine optimization (SEO) because the way the majority of your audiences will find your brand is through search engines. The phrase itself refers to adjusting webpages with various techniques to improve their chances of appearing in a consumer’s search results with Google or Bing. This organic method of raising your page ranking can quickly attract new traffic, and because there are methods to be employed on every single webpage, it is a position that must be carefully carried out.
PPC
While SEO can take some time to kick into effect, PPC provides an instantaneous solution for reaching your audience’s screen. Through a system of “pay per click” advertisement options from Google, one can ascend to the top of a given keyword’s search results. Gaining such high rank allow your brand to persuade clicks before those below your top rank. This is where each word matters greatly, and if used in combination with SEO tactics, PPC can be an incredible way to increase traffic.
PA
Page authority is a rank determined by marketing analytics company Moz across each web page on your site. While domain authority gives a rank for your overall website’s authority, the PA refers to a singular page. This analytic is important to view because if your PA ranks aren’t properly distributed across your website, it will lower your chances of ranking higher in search engine results.
Email Marketing
CTR
When it comes to email marketing, obviously open rate and total opens matter, but they pale in comparison to click through rate. Click through rate refers to the act of an individual opening your marketing email, then clicking on one of your links to visit your website or designated campaign page. If you see that people are opening your emails but aren’t clicking, this may indicate that your subject lines are more impressive than the content of your messages.
Bounces
A “bounce” in the email world is an event where an email fails to be delivered to the recipient due to a personal blockage or technical error of some kind. Soft bounces are those that occur because a server issue may have taken place during the time of delivery, or perhaps the user’s inbox was full. Hard bounces, on the other hand, refer to a situation where the sender misspelled their recipient’s name or the recipient has already blocked them. If you’re having trouble avoiding hard bounces, consider taking on a digital marketing agency in West Palm Beach such as Smashed Media to help reduce your rate.
General Marketing Phrases
KPI
Throughout any marketing campaign, there are many different statistics that can be recorded to determine the campaign’s performance. Each of these results, also known as “key performance indicators,” can inform the marketing team about which techniques are working and which ones aren’t. Because not every campaign will yield immediate profit, a KPI such as reach may be the primary indicator of success, while in other campaigns, conversions may be used as the main signal of success.
CPA
Cost per acquisition refers to the amount that has been spent to successfully convert one customer over a given campaign. To calculate a promotion’s CPA, simply divide your marketing costs by your total number of conversions. No matter how much your other metrics are booming, this is obviously a crucial calculation to keep in mind to properly allocate your resources during your next campaign.
CTA
Anytime you’re asking for a consumer to sign up for your newsletter, make a purchase, or submit a survey, you’re calling them to perform an action. Call to action is a general marketing term that refers to the buttons used on landing pages, social media posts, or promotional emails that request a click for any number of reasons. There’s a deep science behind how to customize your call to action buttons, so don’t hesitate to do more research on this huge area of digital marketing.
Smashed Media
Knowing all of the terms we’ve discussed here today is only half of the battle. The other half is understanding the hidden secrets of each term and being able to put them into practice. Such expertise can only come with experience, and many start-up companies typically fail to realize just how vast an undertaking of these different compartments of online marketing can be. Nearly all of the terms mentioned above require personnel to successfully oversee the job, which is why there are many advantages to hiring a digital marketing agency in West Palm Beach such as Smashed Media. With the help of professionals who have been part of the online marketing shifts since the beginning stages of the internet itself, brands can utilize every proven marketing method as well as the lesser known ones.
When journeying to complete a project, success is largely determined by how effectively each team member can communicate with each other. At Smashed Media, we believe that maintaining total transparency with our clients is key, especially in the department of language. Our digital marketing agency located in West Palm Beach is always open to answering questions regarding marketing terminology if necessary. By learning just a few new terms, you’ll be able to converse with your team members or our own to more easily reach your goals.
