Glossary

Marketing, AI and web development terms explained in plain English, no jargon left unexplained.

SEO (Search Engine Optimisation): The practice of improving a website so it ranks higher in unpaid search engine results.
PPC (Pay-Per-Click): An advertising model where you pay a fee each time someone clicks your ad.
GEO (Generative Engine Optimisation): Structuring content so AI answer engines like ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews are more likely to cite it.
Core Web Vitals: Google's set of metrics measuring loading performance, interactivity, and visual stability of a webpage.
Backlink: A link from one website to another, used by search engines as a signal of authority and trust.
Domain Authority: A score predicting how well a website will rank on search engines, based on backlink profile and other factors.
Conversion Rate: The percentage of visitors who complete a desired action, such as a purchase or form submission.
Click-Through Rate (CTR): The percentage of people who click a link out of everyone who saw it.
Cost Per Acquisition (CPA): The average amount spent to acquire one paying customer through a marketing channel.
Quality Score: Google Ads' rating of the quality and relevance of your keywords and ads, affecting cost and ad position.
Meta Description: The short summary shown under a page title in search results, used to encourage clicks.
Schema Markup: Structured data code added to a page that helps search engines understand its content, enabling rich results.
Canonical URL: The preferred version of a webpage when duplicate or similar content exists at multiple URLs.
Crawl Budget: The number of pages a search engine will crawl on a site within a given timeframe.
Long-Tail Keyword: A longer, more specific search phrase with lower search volume but higher conversion intent.
Bounce Rate: The percentage of visitors who leave a website after viewing only one page.
A/B Testing: Comparing two versions of a page or ad to see which one performs better.
Retargeting: Showing ads to people who have already visited your website or engaged with your brand.
Lookalike Audience: An advertising audience built to resemble your existing customers, used to find new prospects.
UTM Parameter: A tag added to a URL to track the source, medium and campaign that drove a visit.
Large Language Model (LLM): An AI model trained on vast amounts of text, able to understand and generate human-like language.
Prompt Engineering: The practice of writing effective instructions to get useful, accurate output from an AI model.
AI Automation: Using AI and connected software to complete repetitive business tasks without manual input.
Chatbot: A software application that simulates conversation with users, often used for customer support.
Webhook: An automated message sent from one application to another when a specific event happens.
API (Application Programming Interface): A set of rules that lets two software systems communicate with each other.
CRM (Customer Relationship Management): Software used to manage a business’s interactions with current and potential customers.
Lead Scoring: A method of ranking prospects by their likelihood to become a paying customer.
Sales Funnel: The journey a prospect takes from first hearing about a business to becoming a customer.
Organic Traffic: Visitors who arrive at a website through unpaid search results.
Impressions: The number of times an ad or piece of content was displayed, regardless of clicks.
Google Business Profile: A free listing that controls how a business appears in Google Search and Maps.
Structured Data: A standardised format for providing information about a page to help search engines understand it.
Responsive Design: Web design that adapts a layout to look correct on any screen size, from mobile to desktop.
WCAG: The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, the international standard for making websites usable by people with disabilities.
React Native: A framework for building native mobile apps for iOS and Android from a single JavaScript codebase.
MVP (Minimum Viable Product): The simplest version of a product that can be released to validate an idea with real users.
GDPR: The UK and EU General Data Protection Regulation, governing how personal data must be collected and handled.
Double Opt-In: An email signup process requiring subscribers to confirm their email address before receiving marketing messages.
Attribution Model: A rule for deciding which marketing touchpoint gets credit for a conversion.

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