130 key terms in PPC

Below is a list of the most important terms in PPC advertising. Its goal is to educate and to cover, in one place, all the terms that are key to understanding this type of advertising. We will continuously adapt it to new trends so that it is always up-to-date and relevant for reading.

1. Account Budget – An option available to advertisers who use monthly invoicing as a payment option. In this way, it is possible to determine a fixed amount that the advertiser wants to spend for a certain period of time, so that when that amount is spent, the ads stop running.
2. Active View –  is a technology on YouTube and certain Display Network websites and mobile apps that allows Google Ads to determine if your ad is viewable by potential customers.
3. Actual cost-per-click – The final cost-per-click, or the total amount actually paid per click. Google AdWords ranks ads based on multiple factors. These are ad quality, maximum cost-per-click, and the impact of ad add-ons. If your ad quality is high, your actual cost-per-click may be significantly lower than your maximum cost-per-click.
4. Ad delivery options – A setting that determines how your daily budget is distributed throughout the day, or how often your ad is shown. Ad delivery can be standard or expedited. Standard displays ads evenly so your budget doesn’t run out quickly, while expedited or accelerated delivery aims to show your ads as often as possible until they reach your budget.
5. Ad Extension – An ad format that provides additional information about a product / service. Highlights the ad in search results, which improves visibility and increases the value of the ad. Ad extensions can include a phone number, links to a specific part of the website, locations, reviews, etc.
6. Ad Formats – The most common types of ad formats are ad extensions. Some examples of ad extensions include location extensions (which attach your business address to your ads) and sitelinks (which include additional links to other pieces of relevant content from additional pages within your site).
7. Ad Group – Organize ads according to a common theme, e.g. according to the type of product / service from a certain category. Ads in the same ad group share the same keywords. Based on this, advertisers can better organize their campaigns and sort keywords.
8. Ad group default bids – The bid that applies to all keywords and placements in one ad group.
9. Ad position – The position occupied by an ad in the search engine. It’s determined by how your ad ranks against competing ads.
10. Ad Preview and Diagnosis tool – Helps advertisers see the position of their own and competing ads. They can see how their ad ranks in relation to the competition, but also who all their competitors are and which keywords are showing their ads.
11. Ad rank – determines which position the ad will occupy on the browser page (ad position). Ad Rank is recalculated each time, based on ad quality and bid, when your ad is eligible to run.
12. Ad relevance – A status that determines whether a keyword is relevant or closely related to the ad text. Ad relevance can be above average, average, and below average.
13. AdSense – is a program run by Google through which website publishers in the Google Network of content sites serve text, images, video, or interactive media advertisements that are targeted to the site content and audience. These advertisements are administered, sorted, and maintained by Google.
14. Ad status – The status that indicates whether the ad has been approved to run. Ad statuses can be: eligible, pending review, approved / displayed, approved (restricted), disapproved / not displayed.
15. Advertising policies – General terms of advertising on the Google Network that include prohibited content, prohibited practices, restricted content, editorial guidelines, and technical guidelines. Detailed instructions for advertising can be found in the Adwords guidelines.
16. AdWords API (Application Program Interface) – An application programming interface through which advertisers interact with their accounts and make changes through an application they create themselves. This option is recommended for those advertisers who have good technical skills, and AdWords Editor is recommended for those who do not.
17. AdWords Editor – A free tool to help advertisers manage their campaigns easily. It is intended for all types of updates, new data entry, etc. that are performed offline and then uploaded to AdWords.
18. AdWords promotional code – Promotional codes, or coupons that are added to an advertiser’s account when they meet all the required conditions. Terms vary from promotion to promotion.
19. Affiliate location extensions – Help people find store locations that sell an advertiser’s product.
20. All conversions – The total number of conversions that have occurred.
21. App extensions – Encourages people to download an app by displaying a link to the app below the ad.
22. Audience – A group of people that advertisers target for a specific product / service.
23. Auction – The process that determines whether an ad will show and in what position. When an ad is eligible to appear in a search, it participates in the auction process. The requirements that the ad must meet are the following: that the keywords match what is being searched, that the ads are approved by Google, and that they target the country in which the search was performed, and that the ad rank is high, or that the combination is high supply, quality and impact of ad add-ons.
24. Automated bid strategy – Automatically adjust your ad bid.
25. Automated rules – A feature that can automatically make changes to ad status, bids, and budget so that advertisers don’t have to spend a lot of time manually entering them.
26. Automatic payments – Advertising costs are charged automatically only after they have been accrued. The bill is issued 30 days after the last payment or when the costs reach the set amount.
27. Automatic placements – Places, web pages, applications and videos on the Display Network, where ads are displayed based on keywords or topics.
28. Average cost-per-click (Average cost-per-click) – The average price charged when someone clicks on an ad. It is calculated by dividing the total cost of clicks by the total number of clicks.
29. Average CPA – The average amount charged per conversion. They are obtained by dividing the total cost of conversions by the total number of conversions.
30. Average position – Ranking ads on the page relative to competitors. It can vary which shows how the ads compete and outperform each other. An average position of one to eight means that the ad is on the first page of the search. 9 to sixteen means it’s on the second page.
31. Bid Adjustment – Allows you to show your ad less often or more often based on location, device type, and a specific time of day when people search.
32. Bidding – Bidding on clicks, conversions, impressions, etc.
33. Broad match – A keyword option that allows your ad to show when someone searches for that keyword, variations of it, as well as other related topics.
34. Bulk edits – Edit multiple items in your account at the same time using Google AdWords tools and features.
35. Call extensions – A phone number or button that makes a phone call when clicked.
36. Callout extensions – Promote unique advertiser offers and thus promote your ad.
37. Call-to-action – The part of a website or ad that invites visitors to take a specific action – click on the ad, buy a product / service, call, fill out a contact form, download a catalog, etc.
38. Campaign – A way of organizing product / service categories. A set of ad groups that share the same budget, location targeting, and other settings. It is possible to have one or more campaigns, and each campaign can consist of one or more ad groups.
39. Campaign group – A set of campaigns that have similar goals and share a key performance indicator (KPI).
40. Campaign status – The status that shows whether ads can be displayed in the campaign. Campaign status can be: eligible, paused, removed, completed, pending, budget-limited.
41. Change history – A tool that lists changes made to an account in the last two years. It is possible to see the pause time of the campaign, who entered which keyword, budget settings, etc. This tool is useful because it is possible to see the changes made for a specific period of time.
42. Click – A click is recorded the moment someone clicks on the ad.
43. Consolidated billing – A payment option most commonly used by agencies, companies, or advertisers who have a large number of accounts and that allows multiple invoices to be charged to multiple accounts. It is necessary that the orders use the same currency.
44. Contextual targeting – A system for advertising on the Display Network in which the Google system matches ads with relevant sites based on keywords, location, and other parameters.
45. Conversion – User interaction with an ad, that is, taking actions such as filling out a contact form, calling, or making a purchase. The advertiser himself decides which of these actions will be defined as a conversion.
46. Conversion rate – A parameter that shows the percentage of site visitors who are interested in buying. If there is a big difference between the realized sales and the average conversion rate, i.e. if the average conversion rate is much higher than the sales, it can cause problems, especially if both parameters are in constant decline. It is a signal that something needs to change in the campaigns.
47. Conversion tracking – A tool that measures how clicks lead to conversions.
48. Conversion window – A certain number of days after the click, during which the conversions will be monitored.
49. CPA (Cost Per acquisition) – The price paid for a particular action or conversion performed on the website.
50. CPC (Cost per click) – The price paid per click, or when someone clicks on an ad.
51. CPM (Cost-per-thousand impressions) – is a marketing term used to denote the price of 1,000 advertisement impressions on one webpage. If a website publisher charges $2.00 CPM, that means an advertiser must pay $2.00 for every 1,000 impressions of its ad
52. CPV (Cost-per-view) – The price paid per video shown.
53. CTR (Clickthrough rate) – The clickthrough rate that shows how often people who see an ad click on it. CTR is used to measure the quality of your ads and keywords. It is calculated by dividing the number of clicks by the number of ad impressions. CTR can determine how useful and relevant your keywords and ads are to users.
54. Customer ID – A unique number to identify an AdWords account
55. Daily budget – The amount allocated to each campaign that determines how much is spent on average each day. In this case, your ads will run as often as possible to reach your daily value. When this value is reached, your ads will stop running on that day. However, if there is an excessive demand for the ad during one day, the system will automatically spend 20% more than the estimated daily amount, and in the following days that amount will be reimbursed.
56. Deep link – Links used for mobile applications and lead people to a specific page in the application.
57. Destination URL – The address to which the ad leads by clicking on it, which is not displayed along with the ad.
58. Digital marketing – Promotion of products / services through digital communication channels.
59. Display Network – Display a variety of ad formats (video, image, text) on over two million websites, YouTube, Gmail, and mobile apps. In the case of the Display Network, ads are displayed to people who are interested in the category of product / service being advertised, at the time they are interested in that category. For example, if you sell anti-wrinkle cream, you will show an ad to women who search for cream brands on the Internet, their effectiveness or results.
60. Display partners (Multimedia advertising network partner sites) – Sites that display ads in partnership with Google.
61. Display Planner – A tool that generates ideas (such as keywords, interests, topics, videos, etc.) for planning a campaign for a rich media network.
62. Display URL – The address displayed next to the ad.
63. ECPC (Enhanced cost-per-click) – An improved cost-per-click that helps you get more conversions while maintaining or reducing your cost-per-conversion. Adjusts the manual bid by a maximum of 30% in situations where there is a high probability of a sale and reduces it by as much as 100% depending on the reduced chances of conversions.
64. Exact match – Marked in square brackets and means that the ad is shown only for a specific phrase or word, without the possibility of any variations.
65. Family status – After reviewing your ad, Google decides who the ad is suitable for and assigns it status: family-friendly, non-family-friendly, and adult-friendly.
66. Filter – An option that allows limited search in the account depending on what data the advertiser wants to see in the table.
67. First page bid estimate – The approximate cost-per-click that needs to be set for an ad to occupy any position on the first page of a search engine.
68. First position bid estimate – The approximate cost-per-click that needs to be set in order for an ad to reach the top position in a search engine.
69. Frequency capping – Limits the number of times an ad is displayed to a single user over a period of time.
70. Google Account – An account consists of an email address, password, and basic billing information.
71. Google AdWords – Google’s advertising service that allows you to place ads on the Google advertising network, or a service through which ads are shown only to those people who are interested in a particular product / service. Ad serving is free, and is charged only when someone clicks on the ad. Ads are displayed based on manually inserted Google AdWords keywords that are relevant to the advertised product / service.
72. Google Analytics – A system that monitors site traffic statistics and visitor behavior information.
73. Google forwarding phone number – The phone number that appears next to the ad and that when clicked, Google forwards the call to the advertiser. This makes it easier to track phone calls from ads.
74. Google My Business – Verify your business on Google to display business information on maps.
75. Image ad – Consists of an image that contains basic information about the company / organization / product / service. When an image is clicked, it takes the user to a website.
76. Impression – Shows how often your ad appears in search results. When an ad is shown online, it counts as a single impression.
77. Impression Share – The percentage of ad impressions accrued relative to the total number of impressions that can be achieved based on all keywords. It helps to monitor the general situation in the campaign, and if it is less than 70%, it is a sign that something is wrong and that we need to react.
78. Invalid clicks – Clicks that the browser considers illegal. For example, if someone maliciously clicks on an ad to spend an advertiser’s budget, clicks generated by various software, etc.
79. IP address – A unique number assigned to each device that has the ability to connect to the Internet.Campaign – Organize product or service categories, or a set of ad groups. It is possible to have one or more campaigns, and each campaign can consist of one or more ad groups.
80. Keyword insertion – Inserting a code into the ad text includes one of the keywords that matches the search term.
81. Keyword matching options – Search matching keyword options that make it easier to control your ad delivery.
82. Keyword Planner – To help you come up with keyword ideas, but also to expand and upgrade your existing list, advertisers can use the Keyword Planner tool. This tool provides insight into statistics for the previous period, for each keyword. Statistics refer to the average number of monthly searches, whether the competition uses a particular keyword, the bid, the average ad position, and so on. It is possible to set the location and language for which the search is performed. Keyword Planner also helps when searching for negative keywords, group formation ideas, bid adjustment.
83. Keywords – Words or phrases selected by the advertiser, which are related to the type of service / product offered and are similar to the search terms that potential customers type in the search engine. Each keyword has its own price, which depends on several factors.
84. Keyword status – A status that indicates whether the keyword has been approved to run the ad. Statuses can be: inherited (campaign / ad group paused, removed, pending, ended, suspended), manually set (paused, keyword removed), approval statuses (approved, eligible, pending review, under review, disapproved) , system statuses (low search volume, rarely displayed due to low Quality Score, below first page bid estimate, low number of matching pages).
85. KPI (Key Performance Indicator) – Key Performance Indicators; Performance measurement that results from the most important data for the success of the company. For example, cost per share or conversions can be key performance indicators for an advertiser.
86. Landing page experience – An indicator that shows how clear and useful the landing page to which the ad leads is to the people searching, but also related to the keywords and terms being searched.
87. Landing pages – A page that highlights a product / service. Ads lead to this page and its task is to sell. Each landing page requires its own, unique design and text. If you have different types of products / services, it is good to create an individual page for each, so that after clicking on the ad, the visitor gets accurate and concise information and thus more easily decides to buy.
88. Location extensions – Help people find a business location. They show an ad with an address, map, and distance.
89. Location targeting – This setting allows you to select the geographic location or locations where advertisers want their ads to appear.
90. Managed placements – Places, i.e. web pages, applications and videos on the Display Network, where ads are displayed and which are chosen by the advertisers themselves. This gives you better control over where your ads can appear.
91. Manual CPC bidding – Allows you to manually set the maximum cost-per-click. This strategy is good if certain keywords perform better and the advertiser wants to bid more for them.
92. Manual payments – Advertising costs are charged before your ads start running, and your ads run until the estimated amount is used up.
93. Maximize clicks – A bid that automatically adjusts bids to get the most clicks possible within your budget.
94. Maximum cost-per-click – The maximum amount an advertiser is willing to pay per click. A click never costs more than the set amount. It can be set for each keyword or for all keywords in one ad group.
95. MCC (My Client Center) – If an advertiser has multiple accounts, they can combine them all into one manager account. This makes it easier to track multiple accounts and manage them from one place.
96. Message extensions – Encourage people to send messages from ads.
97. Mobile ad – Ads created for mobile phones and tablets that can be text, image, or video ads.
98. Negative keywords – To prevent your ads from showing for certain non-product / service terms, a list of negative keywords is created. This list reduces costs and prevents the ad from showing to those who are not interested in the advertiser’s offer. For example, if you sell mobile phones, you don’t want your ad to appear to people who buy TVs. Therefore, you will turn off the TV, or set the phrase not to trigger your ad. Negative keywords can be added as broad-matched, full-matched, and phrase-match negative keywords.
99. Organic search result – Search results that are not charged, but the position on the search engine depends on the optimization of the site with keywords and links. Organic searches are located in the middle of the search engine, i.e. between the results of paid searches.
100. Performance target – By setting this parameter, advertisers have the ability to monitor the performance of a campaign group relative to a goal.
101. Phrase match – With phrase match, you can show your ad to customers who are searching for your exact keyword and close variants of your exact keyword, with additional words before or after. Phrase match is more targeted than the default broad match, but more flexible than exact match. It gives you more control over how closely the keyword must match someone’s search term so your ad can appear.
102. Placements – Websites and online applications for multimedia advertising that are Google partners and on which ads may appear.
103. Portfolio bid strategy – Automatic bidding based on goals that group multiple campaigns, ad groups, or keywords.
104. PPC (Pay-per-click) – Pay per click; Paid ads on Google, Bing or Yahoo search engines where you are only charged when someone clicks on the ad. Relevant ad text with a link to a specific page on the company’s website is displayed only when the user activates it in a search engine using certain phrases.
105. Price extensions – Shows products / services with prices alongside the ad text.
106. Product group – Organize a product group for a purchase campaign using product information and then bidding for those groups.
107. Product Shopping ad – Ads in the format of a price, title, image or link to a store that provide information about the product / service and appear on Google shopping, search, and search partner sites.
108. Prominence – Estimates the visibility of an ad in search results affected by the position and format of the ad.
109. Quality Score – Estimates the quality of your ads based on your keyword’s relevance, ad quality, and landing page content. Higher quality ads can lead to lower prices and better ad positions.
110. Remarketing – Showing ads to visitors who have already interacted with the ad, or to certain groups of people who have already visited your website, searched your business, or used your app. These campaigns are ideal if visitors of your site leave and don’t buy anything because you’ll be able to target them again and remind them to make a purchase. Remarketing campaigns can further increase your return on investment for all types of advertisers.
111. Responsive ads – Ads that automatically adjust the size, format, and appearance to fit in the intended ad space.
112. Review extensions – Additions to ads that highlight quoted or paraphrased experiences and opinions of consumers who have already encountered the advertised product / service.
113. ROAS (Return on advertising spend) – The return on advertising costs used to determine the effectiveness of advertising. Refers to campaign elements such as ad groups or keywords.
114. ROI (Return of investment) – Return on investment, i.e. the realized profit from the advertisement in relation to the invested money. ROI is calculated by deducting the total cost from the generated ad revenue and dividing that amount by the total cost. This is the most important indicator for advertisers because it shows how much money they have earned from advertising, more precisely what the real impact of the campaign is on the business.
115. Search Network – Display text ads in search results. Ads are activated when a user’s search is relevant to the keyword being advertised.
116. Search partners – Search sites that are Google partners and on which ads can appear.
117. Search terms report – A list of terms whose search resulted in an ad showing. This list helps advertisers with ideas for new keywords but also for inserting negative ones.
118. Shared budget – A daily budget can be assigned to each campaign individually, but it can also be assigned to a campaign group. This option is called a Shared budget account and is a good way to split your budget into smaller accounts. In this case, Google AdWords automatically schedules and adjusts your daily budget to the given campaigns.
119. Shopping ad – Displays detailed information about one or more products being sold.
120. Showcase Shopping ad – Displays information for several related products and is displayed when people search for more general terms. These ads are good for product branding.
121. Sitelink extensions – Appears below the ad text and displays links to specific pages on the website.
122. Split test (A / B) test – Testing two versions of an ad, page or banner (A and B) in order to find the ones that bring the best results.
123. Structured snippet extensions – Ad add-ons that list, for example, product / service categories, brands, benefits, and more.
124. Target CPA bidding – Helps to automatically get more conversions within your budget, ie. adjusts bids to get as many conversions as possible at a set target cost per conversion.
125. Targeting method – A method chosen to match ads to places where they may appear. These are mostly keywords and placement destinations.
126. Text ad – Ads whose primary display area is on the search network, but can also appear on partner sites and the Display Network. They consist of three components: title, URL and description. They appear at the top or bottom of the search engine and are labeled ad.
127. Text overlay ad – Text ads whose destinations are video ads. They are displayed inside the video player or in the lower part of the space where the video is displayed. They are used to increase brand awareness.
128. Top of page bid estimate – The approximate cost-per-click that needs to be set in order for your ad to show at the top of the search engine.
129. TrueView video ad formats – Video ads that offer viewers the opportunity to choose the ads they want to see and when. This is a great opportunity for advertisers because they will not be charged for unwanted ad impressions. There are two TrueView ad formats: in-stream ads and video discovery ads. In-stream ads appear before, during, and at the end of a video, can be skipped after five seconds, and are an ideal option for those advertisers who want to increase brand awareness. Video discovery ads appear in search results and invite people to click on the ad to watch the video.
130. URL (Uniform Resource Locators) – The unique address of a web page.
131. View rate – Represents the ratio of paid impressions and the number of realized impressions.
132. View-through-conversion – A way to track conversions that users have made only after seeing ads.