Untangling the Marketing Jargon

Alright, you kind of know a little bit about marketing but there’s so much jargon and random letters it can be bit overwhelming. It’s time to untangle all of that. It’s nothing mystical but this will arm you when you see these numbers floating around.

Digital marketing


Marketing that happens online. Websites, search engines, ads, social media, email. Same goal as traditional marketing, just different channels and better tracking.

SEO

Search Engine Optimisation. Helping your website show up in search results when people look for what you offer. Its about structure, relevance, and useful content, not tricks or hacks.

Conversion

When someone takes a meaningful action. Buying, enquiring, booking, signing up. Conversions are the point where marketing turns into real business.

Content

Anything you publish to communicate with people. Words, photos, videos, emails, social posts. Good content informs, helps, or connects. Bad content just fills space.

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ROI

Return on investment. A simple way to measure if marketing made money. Spend $1,000, earn $2,500, that’s $1,500 profit or a 150% ROI.

SEM

Search Engine Marketing. Usually paid search ads like Google Ads. It gets you visible quickly in search results by paying for placement instead of earning it over time.

CRO

Conversion Rate Optimisation. Improving pages and experiences so more visitors take action. Clear messaging, better layouts, fewer distractions. Often small changes with big impact.

ROAS

Return on Ad Spend. How much revenue you make for every dollar spent on ads. Spend $1, make $4, your ROAS is 400%. Straightforward, but often misunderstood.

CTR

Click Through Rate. The percentage of people who see something and click it. It shows interest, but clicks alone don’t equal success.

CPC

Cost Per Click. How much you pay when someone clicks an ad. Useful for managing budgets and efficiency.

KPI

Key Performance Indicator. A metric used to track progress. Good KPIs tie directly to growth, leads, or sales.

CPA

Cost Per Acquisition. The cost to gain a customer or lead. One of the clearest ways to understand marketing effectiveness.

Funnel

The journey from first awareness to becoming a customer. People enter at the top, some drop off, some convert. The funnel shows where things are working or leaking.

CMS

Content Management System. The platform that runs your website. It lets you update content without breaking everything. Think WordPress, Shopify, or similar.

Landing page

A page built for one specific action. One message, one goal. Impressions
How many times something is shown. It doesn’t mean it was read or clicked, just displayed.

Engagement rate

How people interact with content. Likes, comments, clicks, replies. It shows interest, not revenue.

Attribution

How credit is given to different marketing channels for a result. Useful for insight.Automation
Using tools to handle repeat tasks like emails and follow ups. Done well, it saves time and keeps things consistent.