PPC advertising has a large number of terms and abbreviations that can be very confusing for someone without experience. We have compiled a dictionary of the main terms associated with contextual PPC advertising to make it easier.
Topics Covered
- Basic PPC Terms
- 1. Keywords
- 2. Negative words
- 3. Static ad
- 4. Dynamic ad
- 5. Google Display Network (CMN)
- 6. The budget for the advertising campaign (AC)
- 7. Budget for a day or a week
- 8. Geo targeting
- 9. Time targeting
- 10. Location
- 11. Unique visitor (unique)
- 12. Target visitor
- 13. Impressions
- 14. Clicks
- 15. CTA (Call To Action)
- 16. UTM tag
- Performance Indicators Terms
- 17. BR (Bounce Rate)
- 18. CR (Conversion Ratio)
- 19. CTR (Click-Through Rate)
- 20. CPC (Cost Per Click)
- 21. CPUC (Cost Per Unique Click)
- 22. CPV (Cost Per Visitor)
- 23. CPM (Cost Per Mile)
- 24. CPUI (Cost Per Unique Impression)
- 25. CPA (Cost Per Action)
- 26. CPL (Cost Per Lead)
- 27. CPI (Cost Per Install)
- 28. CPS (Cost Per Sale)
- 29. CPO (Cost Per Order)
- 30. RPC (Revenue Per Click)
- 31. COS (Cost of Sale)
Basic PPC Terms
1. Keywords
Keywords are queries for which contextual advertising ads will be displayed. For example, if a person enters the phrase “buy a digital piano” in the search box, he will see ads only from those advertisers who are placed on this request.
2. Negative words
Negative keywords are words and phrases for which the ad will not be shown for queries. For example, if you add the negative keyword “jobs” to the phrase “warm floor”, then the ad will not be displayed for the query “software testing jobs”.
3. Static ad
A static ad is an ad that is written by a specialist. To correct its content, you will need to manually change the text and make changes to the system.
4. Dynamic ad
Dynamic advertising is an advertisement that is generated by an advertising platform based on the content of the site or the information provided. When making changes to the site, the system will automatically create new ads. But not always all texts are formed correctly. To avoid unforeseen situations, it is best to double-check everything.
5. Google Display Network (CMN)
The Google Display Network (CMN) is a thematic platform where Google AdWords ad units are placed. For example, YouTube, Gmail, etc. The system automatically selects sites that match the advertisement by subject. When demonstrating offers, other factors are also considered: advertising campaign settings, characteristics of the target audience, etc.
6. The budget for the advertising campaign (AC)
Budget for an advertising campaign (AC) – the amount of money spent or will be spent on advertising ads in the search engine results.
7. Budget for a day or a week
Daily or weekly budget – a limited amount that will be spent on advertising ads in search engine results for a day or a week.
8. Geo targeting
Geo-targeting is a method of displaying advertisements based on the geographic location of users. For example, if you set up geo-targeting to Unites Status, ads will be seen only by those who have USA specified in their browser location.
9. Time targeting
Time targeting is a method of showing ads at specific times and on specific days of the week. For example, if you set your ads to run Monday through Friday from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm, users will only see your ad at that time.
10. Location
Placement is the ad unit on the page where the ad is displayed. For example, above the search results, below the search results or to the right of it.
11. Unique visitor (unique)
A unique visitor (unique) is a user who first visited the site within a certain time or whose data on whose visit was not saved on the Internet resource.
12. Target visitor
Target visitor – a user who is interested in purchasing the goods or services you offer.
13. Impressions
Impressions – The number of times a particular ad has been shown to interested users.
14. Clicks
Clicks – The number of clicks on ads.
15. CTA (Call To Action)
CTA (Call To Action) – a call to the user to action. CTAs are used in ad copy to grab the visitor’s attention and encourage them to take these actions. For example, go to the website, call, place an order, etc.
16. UTM tag
UTM tags are additional parameters that are added to the landing page URL and allow you to send information about the clicks on these links to analytics systems. For example, you can send data to Google Analytics that a user went to a site for a specific key phrase.
Performance Indicators Terms
17. BR (Bounce Rate)
BR (Bounce Rate) – bounce rate in statistics counters. Each analytics system uses its own algorithm for determining and counting failures. In Google Analytics, if he visited only one page (in this case, the session duration is always considered to be 0 seconds and is a bounce).
18. CR (Conversion Ratio)
CR (Conversion Ratio) – site conversion.An indicator that shows the ratio of the number of site visitors who have performed the target action (click, registration, call, purchase, etc.) to the total number of attracted visitors.
19. CTR (Click-Through Rate)
CTR (Click-Through Rate) – The click-through rate of your ads. It is calculated as the ratio of the number of clicks to the number of impressions.
20. CPC (Cost Per Click)
CPC (Cost Per Click) – the price for each click of a user on an advertisement with a subsequent transition to the site or one of its pages. CPC makes it clear how expedient it is to invest in one or another advertising channel. It is calculated as the ratio of the cost of an advertising campaign to the number of clicks.
21. CPUC (Cost Per Unique Click)
CPUC (Cost Per Unique Click) – the price for unique clicks on an ad. It is calculated as the ratio of the cost of ad placement to the number of unique clicks on the ad.
22. CPV (Cost Per Visitor)
CPV (Cost Per Visitor) – the price per visitor who is guaranteed to go to the advertiser’s website. Unlike CPC, payment is made based on third-party analytics systems (for example: Google Analytics) and not advertising site statistics. It is calculated as the ratio of the cost of advertising to the traffic to the site.
23. CPM (Cost Per Mile)
CPM (Cost Per Mile) – the price per 1000 impressions of an advertisement. It is calculated as the ratio of the cost of ad placement to the number of views multiplied by 1000 impressions.
24. CPUI (Cost Per Unique Impression)
CPUI (Cost Per Unique Impression) – the price for each unique impression. It is calculated as the ratio of the cost of ad placement to the number of unique ad impressions.
25. CPA (Cost Per Action)
CPA (Cost Per Action) – the price for a specific action on the site. For example, downloading a whitepapers, visiting a certain page, etc. It is calculated as the ratio of the cost of advertising to the number of actions on the site.
26. CPL (Cost Per Lead)
CPL (Cost Per Lead) – price per lead, i.e., for a potential client’s appeal. For example, a call to a company, filling out an application, a call-back form, etc. It is calculated as the ratio of the cost of advertising to the number of leads.
27. CPI (Cost Per Install)
CPI (Cost Per Install) – the price for installing a mobile application. It is calculated as the ratio of the cost of advertising to the number of app installs on mobile devices.
28. CPS (Cost Per Sale)
CPS (Cost Per Sale) – the price for the sale of a product / service. It is calculated as the ratio of the cost of advertising to the number of sales received. CPS can be calculated both for the entire advertising campaign to understand the big picture, and for each ad to identify the most effective ones.
29. CPO (Cost Per Order)
CPO (Cost Per Order) – the price for a confirmed order that a user has made on the site. Unlike CPS, CPO considers absolutely all orders, even unpaid ones. It is calculated as the ratio of advertising costs to the number of orders received.
30. RPC (Revenue Per Click)
RPC (Revenue Per Click) – income from each click on an ad. It is calculated as the ratio of the total revenue from the ad campaign to the total number of clicks in the campaign. Provides insight into how costs and benefits per click relate to each other. If the RPC is slightly higher than the CPC (Cost Per Click), it is worth considering why the campaign does not bring as much money as we would like, and how it can be improved.
31. COS (Cost of Sale)
COS (Cost of Sale) – average cost of sale. It is calculated as the ratio of the cost of an advertising campaign to the total revenue from it. Gives you an understanding of how much you are spending and how much you are getting. If you’re spending more, review your ad campaign settings.