Acronyms every marketer should know
For marketing acronyms that everyone in the industry should be familiar with, a small dictionary would definitely come in handy. Many of them are picked up even by the greenest beginners as soon as they dive into Google or Meta advertising interfaces, but it’s still helpful to gather everything in one place. You never know when something one person takes for granted might open someone else’s eyes.
Let’s start with the field of Search Engine Optimization, or SEO for short. (And no, this one isn’t part of the promised list below.)
SERP
SERP stands for Search Engine Results Page, the page displaying search results in a search engine, whether you’re using Google, Bing, or DuckDuckGo.
On the SERP, you’ll find: Google Search Ads, Organic Search Results (positions we aim for with solid SEO work), Featured Snippets (fields with specific answers to user queries), Knowledge Graphs and Videos.
PR
Aside from being widely recognized as an abbreviation for “public relations,” PR in the SEO world refers to PageRank. PageRank (PR) is Google’s metric for evaluating the importance of a webpage and determining its position on the SERP, based on the quality and quantity of backlinks.
While the significance of the PageRank algorithm has evolved over time and isn’t as crucial as it once was, it remains one of the signals Google uses to determine the relevance of a webpage.
LP
This abbreviation stands for Landing Page. The term often has a dual meaning, though one is more specific and accurate:
- Colloquially, a landing page refers to any page someone lands on after clicking an ad or link.
- More precisely, a Landing Page is a standalone webpage designed with a clear goal (conversion) and a prominent call-to-action (CTA). For instance, you might have a website homepage showcasing a promotional offer and a separate landing page dedicated solely to a specific product or service (accessible through a targeted ad), focused entirely on communicating the offer and encouraging users to apply the discount on their next purchase.
UX vs. UI
UX and UI are acronyms that often go hand-in-hand in the world of design and product development, so it’s no surprise people struggle to distinguish between them. Here’s a quick clarification:
- UX (User Experience Design) refers to the process of creating a pleasant user experience through intuitive design based on research and understanding of user needs. It applies to both physical and digital products, ensuring each step of use has a logical and clear flow.
- UI (User Interface Design) focuses solely on digital products. Its goal is to design the visual and interactive elements of a product, such as typography, color palettes, buttons, animations, and images, creating an aesthetically pleasing interface.
Now that we’ve covered some key concepts in web development and optimization, let’s move on to what comes next when you want to boost initial visibility: PPC (Pay-Per-Click) advertising. Some of these acronyms are well-known, while others might be new to you.
CTR
CTR stands for Click-Through Rate. While it’s often considered the most important metric in PPC advertising, that’s not entirely true. For example:
- Successful Google Search campaigns can achieve a CTR of over 10%.
- Google Display campaigns might only reach 2%.
- Google Video campaigns can have zero clicks, resulting in a CTR of zero, yet still be successful. If the goal of a video campaign is to get views, CTR becomes irrelevant since a click is not a success metric, but also a click could be very costly.
CPC
CPC stands for Cost Per Click. It’s pretty self-explanatory – the price of a single click on an ad. While we all aim for lower CPC, a higher CPC can still be justified by the ultimate value of the conversion it generates.
CPM
CPM stands for Cost Per Mille (from the Latin and French word for “thousand”). This metric measures the cost of 1,000 ad impressions. Some may also recognize this as “Cost Per Thousand.”
CPV
CPV is an important metric for video campaigns and stands for Cost Per View, the price of a single video view.
CPA
CPA stands for Cost Per Acquisition or Cost Per Action. Both refer to calculating conversion rates. CPA is determined by dividing the total ad spend by the number of new customers and is an excellent indicator of a campaign’s financial efficiency.
ROAS
ROAS means Return on Ad Spend. It’s calculated by dividing the value of conversions (or campaign revenue) by the cost of the campaign.
The difference between ROAS and ROI (Return on Investment) can be summarized as follows:
- ROAS focuses on the ratio between spending on a single campaign (Google Ads, Meta Ads, or others) and the revenue generated from that campaign.
- ROI takes a broader perspective, looking at the ratio between total ad spend and overall profit.
Additionally, there are some Google Ads metrics that might be useful and new to you.
If a client ever asks, “How is my ad positioned? Where is it appearing?”, two metrics in Google Search campaigns can provide the answer:
Impr. (Abs. Top) %
Absolute Top Impression Rate: The percentage of impressions where your ad appears as the first ad above the top organic search results. Briefly, it shows how often your ad appears first when triggered by the keyword.
Impr. (Top) %
Top Impression Rate: The percentage of impressions where your ad appears among the highest organic results. It means that your ad is showing among top ads above top organic results, but they can still appear at the bottom of the SERP and still qualify to be included in this rate.
Now that we’ve touched on specific areas, let’s step back and revisit some universal marketing acronyms every professional should know.
USP vs. UVP
You’ve probably heard of USP (Unique Selling Point), but UVP (Unique Value Proposition) might be new to you. Here’s the difference:
- USP is a clear, concise statement explaining what makes a product or service unique and why it’s the best solution for the user’s needs.
- UVP summarizes the overall functional and emotional value a product or service offers users.
Example: An app that teaches history, geography, and culture through short lessons.
- USP: “5-minute lessons you can listen to on your way to work.”
- UVP: “Explore the world, learn about other cultures, and broaden your horizons even when traveling isn’t an option.”
ToFu, MoFu & BoFu
These aren’t cartoon characters – they’re the three stages of the Conversion (Sales) Funnel:
- ToFu (Top of Funnel): Capturing attention and sparking interest through PR, SEO, influencer partnerships, and social media campaigns.
- MoFu (Middle of Funnel): Nurturing relationships with tactics like email marketing, webinars, and free trials.
- BoFu (Bottom of Funnel): Converting potential customers into actual customers and brand advocates using limited-time offers, live demos, and customer success stories.
And there you have it – a complete overview of key acronyms every marketer should know. If you’ve read this far, thank you for converting into (at least a one-time) reader of our blog! If you just skimmed through, we hope you found what you were looking for.
Because yes, there are acronyms every marketer should know, but it’s human to forget. That’s why we’ve compiled everything into one place – so you’ll always know where to come back to.
