Comprehensive 2024 Glossary of PPC Terms for Beginners
Are you aware that investing $1 in a Google Ads pay-per-click (PPC) ad can yield $8 in profit? Or that individuals clicking on ads are 50% more likely to make a purchase compared to organic visitors? Given these statistics, it’s evident that PPC ads can deliver substantial outcomes for your advertising initiatives. Before you dive in, acquaint yourself with essential definitions related to PPC campaigns.
After implementation, you’ll witness immediate results, translating to revenue in your pocket. Armed with this handy PPC glossary, you’ll be well-prepared to take on any PPC campaign.
However, what exactly is pay-per-click advertising (PPC)?
The definition of PPC entails paid advertisements positioned at the top of search engine results pages (SERPs), surpassing organic results, and extending to various sites on the internet. Typically, PPC ads in search results are marked with green [Ad] indicators, signaling to searchers that they are encountering paid content.
Why is PPC crucial?
The remarkable aspect of PPC lies in the fact that, with a PPC ad, you only incur costs when a user clicks on the ad’s link, directing them to your landing page. This makes it the most cost-effective advertising method available, with the added benefit of instant results!
Are you delving into the realm of PPC ads for your upcoming advertising campaign? This beginner’s glossary of frequently used PPC terms is designed to demystify the myriad acronyms. Even if you’re a seasoned PPC expert, you might uncover some hidden gems to enhance your next campaign.
The PPC terminology is meticulously arranged alphabetically. To locate a specific PPC term and its definition, click on one of the letters below to navigate to a section, or simply continue scrolling until you find the term you seek. Keep reading for your comprehensive PPC glossary!
Explore all the essential PPC terms you need to be familiar with in 2024 right here.
A
Active view cost-per-thousand impressions (active view CPM) is a bidding type where you bid for 1000 viewable impressions. This means you only pay for impressions where at least 50% of the ad is on-screen for no less than one second.
An ad campaign refers to a set of advertisements that share the same concept, theme, and goal. The campaign can have one or multiple ad groups, meaning that the PPC ads in the ad groups and the whole ad campaign will generally target related keywords.
Ad copy encompasses any text that occurs with an ad. For PPC, this generally includes the headline, any descriptions, and the URL. The best ad copy engages the viewer.
Ad delivery is a setting in Google Ads that paces the delivery of your ad throughout the periods of time that you set or throughout the day.
Ad extensions are Google Ads features that allow additional pieces of information, like price, extra links, ratings, etc. You can add these free of charge to your pay-per-click ad. If a user clicks on the additional information, you will be charged the same as when they click on your PPC ad’s main link.
An ad group is a set of ads that target related keywords, generally under one bid. Ad groups are used to keep your account and campaign organized.
An ad network is any company that specializes in serving as a broker between advertisers and websites wanting to host ads.
Ad position refers to the position that your advertisements show in the search engine results pages (SERPs). There are, on average, ten paid ad positions on each page. Usually, the first ad on the search page, ad position “one,” earns the most clicks.
Ad rank is the value used to determine your ad position in the SERPs. It is calculated by the amount you bid multiplied by your ad keyword’s quality score.
Ad rotation is a Google Ads setting that allows you to automatically rotate the set of ads within your ad group every time the SERP is refreshed. You can either rotate your ads evenly or have Google select the best-performing ads to rotate.
AdSense is a Google program that compensates sites for showing paid ads. AdSense works by matching relevant text and display ads to the content and visitor demographics on the hosting sites.
Ad scheduling, also called “dayparting,” allows you to customize the periods that your ads run so that you can target times of the day in which your ad would be more successful.
Ad status is a description from Google that marks whether your ad is eligible to run, along with any restrictions on how or where it runs.
Advertising policies are guidelines from advertising platforms for your advertising campaign. These guidelines can include requirements for your ads, keywords, or site. Ads that violate the platform’s policies won’t run.
Amazon advertising is Amazon’s advertising platform for advertising on product pages as product display ads, banner ads, or suggested searches.
Assisted conversion is a measure of the interaction of users leading up to conversion, excluding the last click to convert on your site. This value allows you to see which channels perform the best in your multi-channel advertising campaign.
An audience is a group of users with predefined demographics that you want to convert with your advertising campaign. It can also refer to users who have completed specific actions, such as visiting your website or showing interest in your services.
Automated Extensions are a set of Google Ads features that automatically generate information snippets for your paid ad.
Automated Rules is a Google Ads feature that makes automatic adjustments to your ad campaign based on customizations, such as seasonal factors, that you set in place beforehand.
Automatic Bidding is when Google Ads places your bid amount for you to gather the highest number of clicks possible while staying within your budget. Your bid will automatically increase by the amount you specify after a competitor bids for the same keyword.
Auto-tagging is a Google Ads feature that automatically tags your destination URLs with Google Click Identifiers (GCLID) to help track your ad performance with Google Analytics.
Average Cost-Per-Click (Avg. CPC) is the average amount of money spent when users click on your ad’s landing page.
B
B2C PPC, which stands for Business-to-Client PPC, is a digital advertising method that involves running pay-per-click campaigns to target individual customers or online consumers.
Bid, also known as “Keyword Bid,” refers to the maximum price you’re willing to spend for clicks on keywords targeted by your paid ads.
Bidding types encompass four ways to bid for your target keywords and their ad space: Cost-per-click (CPC), Cost-per-thousand impressions (CPM), Active View Cost-per-thousand impressions (Active View CPM), and Cost-per-engagement (CPE). Advertisers choose the bidding method that aligns best with their advertising goals.
Bid management involves regulating bids to achieve the minimum bid for a keyword by grouping and optimizing keywords. Google offers features for automatic bid management, or you can handle this manually or enlist the services of a bid management agency like CreaRank.
Bounce refers to a single-page session on your site where users click to your page and then leave before viewing any other pages.
Bounce rate is the ratio of users who bounce after visiting your page.
Broad match is the default keyword matching option for ads, enabling your ad to appear when the search query includes your keyword in any order or features misspellings, synonyms, related searches, or relevant variations.
C
Call extensions, also known as “Click-to-Call,” are a Google Ads feature enabling the addition of your business phone number beneath the text of your PPC ad. This feature allows users to click the number to initiate a call.
Callout extensions, another Google Ads feature, serve to promote offers like free shipping, price matching, or 24-hour service beneath your ad’s text.
Call-To-Action (CTA) refers to any action you encourage visitors to take, such as calling in, signing up for email newsletters, or making a purchase. In the context of PPC, it entails clicking on your ad’s link and heading to your landing page, where additional CTAs may be present.
Change history is a Google Ads tool that provides a view of all changes made within a specific date range, with filter options for specific modifications, including bid adjustments, status changes, and keyword additions.
Click denotes the action of following a link to a website. In PPC, it specifically refers to how many people click on the link to your landing page.
Click fraud involves maliciously intended clicks on PPC ads.
Click-Through Rate (CTR) represents the ratio of the number of clicks to the number of times the ad was displayed (impressions). It serves as a metric to measure the performance of your advertising campaign.
Client ID is a 10-digit string of numbers assigned to each browser or device within the Google system.
Conversion refers to any action considered valuable, such as calling, filling out a form, subscribing to a newsletter, or making a purchase. In PPC campaigns, the goal often revolves around generating a specific type of conversion.
Conversion optimizer is a Google Ads feature that aids in adjusting bids based on the likelihood that clicks will be profitable.
Conversion rate is the ratio of the number of conversions to the number of clicks. It helps evaluate the success of an ad campaign by determining how frequently a click results in a conversion.
Cookies are small files used to track user preferences and search history, assisting search engines in monitoring conversions and returning visitors.
Cost-Per-Click (CPC) is a digital advertising bidding model where advertisers pay for each user’s click on their ad. CPC is a critical metric to consider for campaigns like PPC advertising.
Cost-Per-Conversion refers to the average cost needed for a conversion on your site.
Cost-Per-Engagement is the average cost for any instance when a user interacts with your ad.
Cost-Per-Impression (CPI) represents the average cost per ad shown on search pages and serves as an alternative bidding option to cost-per-click.
Cost-Per-Lead (CPL) indicates the average cost required to generate a lead.
Cost-Per-Acquisition (CPA) signifies the average cost involved in acquiring a customer.
Cost-Per-Thousand impressions (CPM) is the maximum price one is willing to bid for every thousand impressions received.
Cost-Per-View (CPV) denotes the average cost per view of a video ad.
Customer lifetime value (CLV) is an estimate of the profit a customer is expected to generate over the entire duration of their relationship with your business.
D
Daily budget refers to the chosen amount of money to be spent each day on your ad campaign.
Destination URL is the URL of your landing page.
Display network, also known as the “Content Network,” is a network of partnered sites and apps where your ad can be displayed if you agree to pay a portion of the ad’s revenue.
Display URL is the URL presented with your PPC ad. It can be your destination URL or a separate, shorter URL. It’s advisable to have only one display URL for each ad group with the same root domain as your destination URL.
Dynamic keyword insertion (DKI) is a Google Ads feature that enables the dynamic insertion of keywords users search for directly into your ad copy. This insertion is bolded to make it more noticeable to searchers.
E
Effective Cost-Per-Click (eCPC), also known as “Estimated Cost-Per-Click,” is the ratio of total earnings to total clicks. It serves as a metric to gauge the cost-effectiveness of the clicks acquired in your campaign.
Enhanced Cost-Per-Click (ECPC) is a Google Ads feature offering automatic bid management for your manual bids. It adjusts your custom bids for keywords anticipated to have a higher or lower likelihood of conversion, thereby enhancing the return on investment (ROI) for your ad campaign.
Exact match allows you to specify whether to display ads only when the search query precisely matches your keyword word-for-word.
Expanded text ad comprises two 30-character headings, an optional third heading, and two 90-character description fields. This expanded format provides more space for text in your ads.
F
Facebook ads refer to Facebook’s advertising platform, leveraging demographic data gathered by Facebook to target specific groups with personalized ads.
Facebook dynamic ads are automatically generated from an uploaded product catalog, directly targeting users who have previously shown interest in your brand across the web.
Free clicks involve interactions with your interactive ad that result in clicks, requiring no payment.
Frequency capping is a Google Ads feature that enables you to limit the number of times a particular user sees your ad over a specified period.
G
Geofencing involves targeting a specific geographic radius (at least one mile) by creating a virtual fence, using GPS to track user data and displaying ads to users located within that area. It is considered more accurate than geotargeting.
Geotargeting, also known as “Location Targeting,” involves limiting advertisements to a broader geographical region than geofencing, and it considers demographic criteria such as age range.
Google Ads, originally known as “Google AdWords,” is Google’s online advertising platform that helps advertisers manage and maximize the performance of their advertising campaigns.
Google Ads Application Programming Interface (API) enables developers to create applications that interact directly with their Google Ads account, simplifying the management of complex ad campaigns.
Google Ad Grants allow non-profit organizations to advertise on Google Ads free of charge, providing qualifying non-profits with $10,000/month to create text-based ads and effective campaigns.
Google Optimize is Google’s platform for website testing and optimization, allowing users to conduct tests on their landing pages against variant pages to make incremental improvements to their site’s performance.
H
Headline is the initial line of your PPC ad, with a maximum of 25 characters, serving as the first point of notice for users.
Head terms, also known as “head keywords” or “short tail keywords,” refer to short, high-volume, highly competitive keywords like “pizza.” These terms are broad in meaning and are generally more expensive to bid for in PPC compared to lower volume, less competitive keywords.
Hits represent the number of views a website receives, encompassing both new and returning visitors. It aids in assessing the effectiveness of your click-through-rate for your PPC ad.
I
Image ads are graphic advertisements conveying information about your product.
Impression signifies the overall count of times your ad appears in a Search Engine Results Page (SERP) or on a Google Network site.
Impression share (IS) denotes the ratio of the actual number of impressions you garner compared to the estimated number of impressions you could have received.
Instagram ads pertain to the advertising platform on Instagram, enabling the creation of video or photo ads for your target audience.
Interest categories, a Google Ads feature, enable the targeting of user groupings based on their interests.
Invalid clicks, also known as “Click Fraud,” refer to clicks on ads produced by automatic and sometimes malicious software.
K
Key performance indicator (KPI) stands for the performance value of your primary metric, aiding in assessing whether you are achieving the goal of your advertising campaign.
Keywords refer to words, and sometimes phrases, employed by digital marketers, such as SEOs and PPC advertisers, to enhance a page’s visibility in search results when users enter a search query that precisely matches the keyword or is related to it.
Keyword matching options, also termed “Match Types,” are settings at the keyword level that allow control over whether your ad is triggered for search queries containing your exact keyword phrase, a close keyword phrase, or related keyword phrases. Match types encompass broad, modified broad, phrase, exact, and negative match types.
Keyword research, alternatively known as “Keyword Mining,” involves the process of identifying and optimizing for relevant keywords related to your target keyword. It also includes understanding the user intent behind a keyword.
Keyword planner is Google’s tool for keyword research, assisting advertisers in discovering related keywords and negative keywords, estimating keyword traffic volume, and evaluating competition pages.
L
Landing page refers to the page on your site, indicated by your destination URL, where users land after clicking on your PPC ad.
Lead denotes potential customers or users expressing interest in your brand, product, or services but have not yet taken the action to convert.
LinkedIn ads are advertisements placed on LinkedIn’s advertising platform, allowing you to showcase your ads on prominent pages within the LinkedIn network.
Location extensions, a Google Ads feature, incorporate your business address and phone number beneath your PPC ads.
Location targeting is a Google Ads setting that enables you to display your ads to users in specific geographic locations.
Long-tail keywords are keyword phrases comprising two or more words, such as “deep crust pepperoni pizza.” These keywords are more specific than head terms and are typically less competitive, aiding in generating qualified web traffic.
Low search volume pertains to keywords with minimal or no search history on Google Search, remaining inactive until searches for them increase.
M
Manual bidding involves setting and adjusting custom bid amounts without activating Automatic Bidding, providing greater control over maximizing your cost-per-click.
Manual tagging entails personally tagging your destination URLs instead of using automated software, allowing for flexibility, customization, and potential use with third parties.
Marketing metrics refer to measurable values like conversions, clicks, or leads, aiding in determining the performance of an advertising campaign.
Message extensions, a feature on Google Ads, integrate text messaging capabilities directly into your ad, enabling potential customers to quickly contact you for more information.
Modified broad match, also known as “Broad Match Modifiers,” is a keyword match type that allows for more specific keyword matching than broad match but more general matching than phrase match or exact match.
My client center (MCC) serves as a central account for managing multiple Google Ad accounts.
N
Negative keywords, also known as “Negative Match,” are keywords added to your account to specify that you don’t want your ads to appear on search pages for queries containing those keywords. Identifying negative keywords enhances the quality of clicks in your ad campaign.
Negative placement, also referred to as “Placement Exclusion,” operates similarly to Negative Keywords in Google Ads, enabling you to specify ads that you want to prevent from appearing on particular sites to increase ad relevance.
New visitor denotes an individual who visits your site for the first time.
O
The Opportunities tab is a Google Ads tool that provides suggestions, including budget recommendations and potential keywords, to assist you in refining and maximizing your existing PPC campaign.
Organic search results are outcomes that naturally appear on search pages in response to users’ search queries. These results are not sponsored.
P
Pay-Per-Action (PPA), also known as “Pay-Per-Acquisition” or “Cost-Per-Action,” refers to the amount of money paid to a site each time a user, led by one of your ads hosted on that site, makes a purchase.
Pay-Per-Click (PPC) is an internet advertising strategy where advertisers pay the publisher (such as Google or Bing) only when users click on their ads. This approach provides advertisers with quick visibility among their target audience while maintaining a high return on investment (ROI).
Pay-Per-Click management involves optimizing and tracking PPC campaigns to achieve specific goals and minimize costs while maximizing returns. Many companies choose to outsource their PPC management to specialized agencies.
Phrase match allows ads to appear only when users’ search queries closely match your specified keyword.
Pinterest ads are part of Pinterest’s advertising platform, enabling targeted promotions based on locations, demographics, or devices through promoted pins.
Placement targeting, also known as “Managed Placement,” enables advertisers to target specific sites within the Partner Network for ad placement.
The Placement tool is a Google Ads feature that aids in identifying targets for ad placement within the Display Network.
Price extensions, a feature in Google Ads, showcase a list of products or services along with their prices beneath the text of your PPC.
The primary metric is a measurable value, such as leads, considered most crucial for the success of your advertising campaign.
Product Listing Ads (PLA), also known as “Google Shopping ads,” are a type of paid advertisement that provides additional information about products, including images, prices, and brand names. Similar to PPC, payment is made only when users click on the ad.
Promotion extensions, a free-to-add feature in Google Ads, highlight ongoing sales to the target audience by incorporating promotional offers beneath text ads.
A prospect is a lead that meets specific criteria, qualifying them to progress through the sales funnel. These criteria include fitting into your target market and having the means and purchasing power.
Q
Qualified web traffic refers to visitors who genuinely express interest in your content, products, or services, making them more likely to convert compared to general web traffic.
Quality score is a ranking system encompassing both disclosed and undisclosed factors that search engine algorithms employ to assess the relevance of keywords in relation to their corresponding ads and the landing pages linked to those ads. The higher the relevance of the keywords you bid on to your ad campaign, the higher your ad ranks, and consequently, the lower the bid costs.
R
Remarketing, also referred to as “retargeting,” is a marketing campaign focused on displaying targeted ads to returning visitors, enhancing the likelihood of conversion.
Remarketing lists for search ads (RLSA) is a Google Ads feature facilitating the targeting of returning visitors with paid search ads specifically tailored for them.
A returning visitor is an individual who has visited your site on more than one occasion.
Return on ad spend (ROAS) is a ratio that assesses the amount of money gained (or lost) relative to the amount invested. It is valuable for comparing the performance of two ad campaigns.
Return on investment (ROI), akin to ROAS, is a ratio gauging the amount of money gained (or lost), encompassing any expenditures made, against the amount spent. ROI is utilized to evaluate the efficiency of your PPC performance and to ascertain whether the investment proved worthwhile.
S
Sales funnel denotes the step-by-step process through which companies guide consumers, culminating in users making a purchase.
A search engine, like Google or Bing, is utilized by searchers to find information. It employs algorithms and machine learning to build an index of sites, enabling the retrieval of relevant information based on user search queries.
Search engine marketing (SEM) encompasses online marketing strategies aimed at enhancing a site’s visibility through paid search advertisements, such as PPC.
Search engine optimization (SEO) involves a set of strategies like keyword optimization, enhancing organic traffic to your site and elevating your site’s rank on pertinent search pages.
Search engine results page (SERP) is the page displayed by Google after users input a search query. It includes links to relevant sites based on organic results and paid ads, along with any pertinent Featured Snippets.
The search network consists of partner sites collaborating with Google, including Google Maps and Google Images, where paid ads can be showcased.
Search marketing serves as an umbrella term for online marketing approaches, encompassing search engine optimization, social media marketing, and paid online advertisements, all geared towards increasing a site’s visibility in search pages.
Search partners are Google partner sites that agree to display PPC ads for a share of the generated profit.
A search query or search term is the term or phrase users input into a search bar to find information. Ads will appear on the search page if the query contains the keywords bid for.
The search query report (SQR), also known as the search terms report, is generated by Google Ads, specifying how well targeted keywords perform against users’ search queries. It identifies the search terms users enter before clicking on PPC.
SMB PPC is a paid ads digital marketing strategy for small to mid-sized businesses (SMBs) where ads are paid to be displayed through digital channels.
Search volume is the estimated number of searches expected for a keyword within a specific time frame.
Seller central is Amazon’s web interface for third-party brands and merchants, enabling them to set product prices and stock items for sale on Amazon.
Seller ratings extension is a Google Ads extension displaying the number of ratings gathered from Google and third-party sites on a five-star scale beneath ad text.
Shared budgets are a Google Ads budgeting option that distributes the paid ad budget across multiple campaigns.
Sitelinks extensions, a Google Ads extension, promote additional links (with separate URLs from the main one) to your site below the text of the paid ad.
Snapchat ads refer to Snapchat’s advertising platform, consisting of self-serviced, 10-second-long, vertical videos displayed in full-screen with sound.
Smart bidding, a subset of automated bidding strategies, enhances conversion and conversion value across bidding campaigns using machine learning.
A split test, also called A/B testing or bucket testing, involves testing two versions of an ad with one slight difference to determine which performs more effectively.
Sponsored product ads are Amazon PPC ads promoting products on SERPs and product detail pages on Amazon.
Sponsored results, also known as Sponsored Links, is an alternative term for Google Ads advertisements optimized to appear on search pages for targeted search queries.
Structured snippet extensions, a feature in Google Ads, allow more information on specific products and services to be displayed beneath the PPC text ad in the form of a header and a list of features.
T
Topic targeting is a Google Ads feature enabling the selection of specific topics for ad targeting, as opposed to relying on keywords or placements. While this approach can generate more impressions, it may not necessarily translate to increased conversions.
A tracking code is a JavaScript snippet designed to monitor a user’s activities post-visit to a website.
The traffic estimator is a complimentary tool provided by Google Ads, offering predictions on keyword performance based on search volume. Additionally, it aids in researching average prices and ad positions.
TrueView video ads represent a YouTube video format that empowers viewers with the choice of which messages they wish to see and when. Notably, it allows users to skip ads, ensuring that you only pay for views that they are actively engaged with.
U
Unique visitors are individuals who access a website once during a specific reporting period.
A user, in the context of online activities, refers to a person with the capacity to make a purchase, obtain information for a benefit, or address a problem.
User ID, also known as a “Username,” is a tag created by users to identify themselves on a computer or network.
V
Vendor central is Amazon’s web interface tailored for manufacturers and distributors, providing tools for managing and selling their products. The key distinction between Vendor Central and Seller Central lies in the fact that, with Vendor Central, Amazon directly purchases and resells the products. Access to a Vendor Central account (by invitation only) is a prerequisite for utilizing Amazon Marketing Services (AMS).
View-Through Conversion denotes the count of online conversions occurring within a 30-day timeframe. It quantifies users who have viewed a paid ad but didn’t click on it, yet were subsequently converted through other channels.
View-Through-Rate (VTR) is a ratio specific to skippable ads, gauging the number of completed views relative to the initial impressions.
A visitor is an individual who accesses a website. Anyone clicking on a PPC ad falls into the category of visitors, further categorized into returning visitors and new visitors.
W
The website optimizer is a tool designed to test alterations made to your site’s page content. It aids in identifying elements that contribute to generating conversions. For instance, you can utilize the tool to assess various versions of your PPC landing page, determining which one exhibits superior performance.
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