Marketing terms, in plain English.

The terms, A to Z

AEO (answer engine optimization)

Making your content easy for AI assistants and answer boxes to quote: clear questions, direct answers, and accurate facts about your business.

Bounce rate

The share of visitors who leave after one page. A high rate on a contact page can be fine; on a homepage it often means a confusing first screen.

Call to action (CTA)

The one thing you want people to do next, like “Book now” or “Call us”. Every page should have one clear one.

Citation

Any listing of your business name, address, and phone number on another site, such as Yelp or a chamber directory. Consistent citations help local SEO.

Conversion

When a visitor does what you wanted: calls, books, buys, or sends a message.

Conversion rate

Conversions divided by visitors. Ten bookings from 500 visits is a 2% conversion rate.

Cost per click (CPC)

What you pay each time someone clicks an ad.

Cost per lead (CPL)

What you pay, on average, for each enquiry. More useful than cost per click, because a click is not a customer.

Click-through rate (CTR)

The share of people who saw a link or ad and clicked it.

Domain

Your website address, such as yourbusiness.com. Make sure it is registered in your name.

Google Business Profile

Your free listing in Google Maps and local search results. For most local businesses, the most important marketing asset there is.

Google Search Console

A free Google tool that shows which searches bring people to your site and flags problems.

Hosting

The service that keeps your website online. Included with most website builders.

Landing page

A page built for one purpose, often where an ad or email sends people.

Lead

A potential customer who has shown interest, such as a call, a form message, or a booking request.

Local SEO

Everything that helps you appear in local searches and the map results.

Local Services Ads

Google ads for service businesses that charge per lead and show at the very top of the search, with a verification badge.

Map pack

The block of three businesses with a map that Google shows above the regular results for local searches.

NAP

Name, address, and phone number. Keep them identical everywhere you are listed.

Organic

Traffic or results you did not pay for, as opposed to ads.

PPC (pay per click)

Advertising where you pay only when someone clicks, such as Google Ads.

Review gating

Only asking happy customers for reviews, or screening customers first. Google does not allow it.

Schema markup

Hidden labels in a web page that tell search engines what things are: a business, a review, an FAQ.

SEO (search engine optimization)

Improving your website and listings so you show up higher in search results without paying for ads.