Discover the ins and outs of digital marketing with our glossary of industry terms and acronyms. Cutting through the technical jargon, our guide defines common terms to help you understand key digital processes.

Looking for help on a particular topic? Use the links below to quickly find the definitions you’re looking for.

Quick Links

• Analytics and Insight
• Content Marketing
• Conversion Optimisation
• Paid Media
• SEO
• Social Media
• Web Design and Development

Analytics and Insight

Buyer Persona

A buyer persona is a semi-fictional profile which represents your ideal customer. They’re based on quantitative data, market research and user behaviour – information sourced from analytics and customer discovery tools.

Learn how to create customer personas

Competitor Benchmarking

Competitor benchmarking is the process of comparing two or more businesses using set metrics. Common metrics can include total web traffic, social followers, or backlink profile.

Lab Testing

Lab testing is the process of using an automation interface to test a website or mobile app on multiple platforms, devices and browsers. It provides insights on user behaviour which inform design changes.

Tag Management

Tag management is a platform that allows marketers to connect digital and analytics tools. It enables granular research and discovery across multiple applications.

User Research

User research is the process of discovering the behaviour and motivations of customers. It relies on a combination of analytics tools, as well as user feedback in the form of surveys or interviews.

Content Marketing

Content Auditing

A content audit is a review of the content on a website. It’s designed to highlight gaps which may be negatively affecting organic search performance, like duplicated or ‘thin’ content – when a page has insufficient relevant information.

Digital PR

Digital PR is a marketing strategy whereby businesses increase their online presence through creative PR campaigns. By partnering with journalists, bloggers or influencers, brands can benefit from gaining quality backlinks and social media mentions, which improve organic search performance.

Dynamic Content

Dynamic content is when a different content experience is served to users depending on their behaviour. For example, a CTA may change for a return user, based on their previous interactions.

Evergreen Content

Evergreen content refers to content that is always relevant. Like evergreen trees, this type of content isn’t affected by time, trends or seasonality. It brings a huge amount of value to a site and boosts brand authority.

Link Acquisition

Link acquisition, or link building, is the process of gaining links from authoritative sources to improve a site’s organic search performance. It’s a fundamental part of content marketing and SEO, and remains one of the most valuable ways to boost rankings in search engines.

Conversion Optimisation

A/B Testing

A/B testing is the process of comparing two versions of a web page to find out which performs best. Different elements of a page, like the CTA, are tweaked to see which version prompts users towards a conversion goal.

Conversion Rate

Conversion rate is a metric used to measure the percentage of people who complete a desired goal on your site, compared to the total number of visitors. An optimised and well-designed site can expect a high conversion rate, with users able to easily access products, services and information.

Conversion Funnel

A conversion funnel is a visualisation of the stages a user goes through to convert on a website. It can be used to inform different marketing strategies and approaches, and has a direct influence on site design.

Journey Mapping

A journey map is a visualisation of the actions a user made to accomplish a goal on your site. Journey mapping relies on analytics tools and audience discovery, with quantitative user data positioned on a timeline to visualise their journey through a website.

Multivariate Testing (MV)

Multivariate testing (or MV testing) is the process of determining which variations of a web page perform the best when specific elements are changed. While A/B testing is used to test two elements, multivariate testing allows for multiple variables to be tested at once.

Paid Media

Ad Copy

Ad copy is the text which appears in a paid advert. Most types of paid ads require compelling copy which is designed to encourage click-throughs.

Read our comprehensive guide on writing paid ad copy

Audience Targeting

Audience targeting is the process of serving paid ads to specific audiences based on a range of identifying factors. Analytics tools and ad platforms allow brands to target users based on their age, location and device type, among others.

Display Ads

A display ad is a paid advert that appears on a website, app or social media interface. Display ads often take the form of banners, appearing at the top of a page to promote a brand’s products and services.

Paid Search

Paid search is when a brand pays to display ads at the top of a search engine results page. These ads work on a pay-per-click model, meaning that the more clicks an ad gets, the more a brand will pay.

Prospecting

Prospecting is the process of identifying potential customers to target during a paid media campaign. The end goal is to build a database of potential customers which you can target with ads and remarketing material, encouraging them to convert.

SEO

Mobile-first Optimisation

Mobile-first optimisation is when a site is optimised for mobile devices, as opposed to desktop. In July 2019, Google switched to mobile-first indexation – where mobile-ready sites are ranked above others – so optimising for mobile has become an even more significant consideration for SEO.

Local SEO

Local SEO means optimising a site for local search queries. It’s a powerful way to increase engagement and conversions. To achieve local SEO, businesses should optimise their site with regional information, including place names, contact details and addresses.

Meta Data

Meta data is the information a search engine sees on a webpage; this is then served to users in the form of a title and meta description in search results. It’s possible to optimise meta data to improve organic search rankings, with keywords and character count essential to well-optimised meta data.

Check out our guide on how to write meta descriptions that win more traffic.

On-Page Ranking Factor

An on-page ranking factor is an element of a web page that affects how well it ranks in search engines. There are many ranking factors that can be optimised to improve organic search performance, from title tags to ‘fraggles’. Our guide to on-page ranking factors can show you how to optimise your site for better SEO results.

Page Speed

Page speed is the time it takes to display all the content on a webpage. It’s also used to describe the ‘time to first byte’ – how long it takes a browser to receive information from a web server. Page speed is a key ranking factor, with Google positioning faster web pages at the top of SERPs.

Take a look at our in-depth guide to page speed and how to improve it.

Social Media

Brand Advocate

A brand advocate is a customer, user or follower who regularly engages with a brand. They share content, comment on posts and engage with other users, effectively becoming an extension of the marketing team by helping to spread the word about a brand and their products/services.

Content Amplification

Content amplification is a term used to define how content can be amplified using specific online channels. Social media platforms, such as Facebook and Instagram, are two major channels through which brands share content with their audience – ultimately amplifying it to a broader readership base.

Crisis Management

Crisis management is the process of dealing with online fallout, specifically on social media channels. It defines how a brand responds to negative feedback, trolling or bad reviews. Thanks to the growth of social media, all businesses need to have a crisis management strategy – our guide can show you how to deal with negative reviews and feedback online.

Engagement Rate

Engagement rate is the percentage of users that saw a social media post and interacted with it, either through a click, share, comment or retweet. It’s a metric that allows businesses to measure the effectiveness of their social media strategy, showing what works and what doesn’t to help them refine their campaign.

Influencer Marketing

Influencer marketing is a type of social media marketing that calls on influencers (individuals with a dedicated social following) to endorse a brand’s products and services. It’s effective because of the impassioned following that most influencers have, which helps to boost brand advocacy and engagement.

Find out more about running your own influencer marketing campaign.

Web Design and Development

CMS

CMS stands for content management system. It’s the platform that lets you modify and customise the content on a webpage, incorporating images, content, design, graphics and custom code. There are dozens of CMS platforms offering different functionality; here’s a rundown of 10 of the best content management systems.

Front and Back End Development

Front and back end development are the main facets of website design and development. Front end development refers to the user interface, with visual and content changes being made in a common editor. Back end development refers to changes to the database, server and application.

Information Architecture

Information architecture (IA) is a visual representation of how a website will look in situ. The level of detail included in this blueprint is determined by the designer, so IA may include navigation, functionality and content, anticipated user behaviour and journey flows.

UX Design

UX design refers to user experience and how this informs the design of a website. UX covers many different aspects of how a website is designed and developed, including branding, usability, functionality, design and the conversion cycle.

Website Requirements Document

A website requirements document outlines the characteristics, functions and capabilities of your website and the steps required to complete the build. It should include technical specifications, wireframes, functionality preferences and notes on individual design elements.

Find out more about how to write a website requirements document and pitch a new web build.

If you need guidance and advice in managing a digital strategy, Banc can help. With expertise in all aspects of digital, we can deliver practical solutions and comprehensive support for your business. Visit the homepage to find out more or call us today on 0345 459 0558.