| Term |
Definition |
| Clickthrough |
A click on a text ad link that leads to a website. |
| Clickthrough rate (CTR) |
The total clicks on a link divided by the number of times that ad link has been shown, expressed as a percentage. |
| Conversion rate |
The number of conversions divided by the number of visitors, expressed as a percentage. |
| Cost per action (CPA) |
The amount paid when a certain action is performed by a user. |
| Cost per click (CPC) |
The amount paid when a link is clicked on. |
| Google AdWords |
Google’s search advertising program, which allows advertisers to display their adverts on relevant search results and across Google’s content network. |
| Impression |
Each time an advert is shown. |
| Key phrase |
Two or more words that are combined to form a search query - often referred to as keywords. |
| Keyword |
A word found in a search query. For example, a search for ‘blue widgets’ includes the keywords ‘blue’ and ‘widgets’. |
| Organic results |
Also known as natural results. Search results served by the search engine’s algorithm. The search engine does not charge website owners to list these results. |
| Paid search advertising |
Usually refers to advertising on search engines, sometimes called PPC advertising. The advertiser pays only for each click on the advert. |
| Quality score (QS) |
A measure used by Google AdWords to indicate how relevant a keyword is to an ad text and to a user’s search query. |
| Return on investment (ROI) |
The ratio of profit to cost. |
| Search term |
The keywords a user enters when searching on a search engine. |
| Search engine results page (SERP) |
The actual results returned to the user based on the search query. |
| Sponsored results |
Search engine results that are paid for by the advertiser. |
