Marketing terms are useful when they make a decision clearer. This glossary groups 18 common terms by the questions they answer. When a report uses a metric, ask for its exact definition and denominator before comparing it with another report.
Who is the work for?
Audience: the people a message is intended to reach. Segment: a smaller group within that audience with a relevant shared characteristic. Positioning: the place you want your offer to occupy in the customer’s mind relative to alternatives. Value proposition: the reason a suitable customer should choose the offer.
Example: “business owners” is an audience; “first-time restaurant owners preparing a launch” is a segment. A positioning statement then explains the particular problem you help that group solve.
How does someone discover and act?
Channel: where you distribute or communicate, such as a website or Instagram. Organic traffic: visits from unpaid search results when used in web analytics. Paid media: placements you pay to distribute. Landing page: the page someone reaches after following a link or campaign. CTA, or call to action: the next step you ask them to take.
Conversion: a defined action you want to measure, such as submitting a suitable enquiry. Lead: a person or business that has expressed interest under your team’s agreed definition. A conversion is not necessarily a sale.
What do the numbers mean?
Reach: the number of distinct accounts or people reached under the platform’s methodology. Impressions: the number of times content is displayed. CTR, or click-through rate: clicks divided by impressions, multiplied by 100. Conversion rate: conversions divided by a specified eligible base, multiplied by 100.
If 20 out of 1,000 recorded visits submit a form, the visit-based conversion rate is 2%. State the period and denominator. Do not silently compare that figure to a platform metric based on clicks or users.
How do you interpret business impact?
CAC, or customer acquisition cost: acquisition costs divided by customers acquired, using a defined cost scope and period. Attribution: the rules used to assign credit to marketing interactions. Retention: continued customer activity or relationships over a defined period.
For example, a last-click report assigns credit differently from a model considering several touchpoints. Ask what the report includes and excludes before deciding which channel deserves more resources. Definitions support judgment; they do not remove the need for it.
The useful takeawayWhenever someone gives you a marketing number, ask: what is counted, divided by what, and over which period?
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