Entries are in alphabetical order. The formulas are the ones in common use; platforms may calculate them with small differences.
In brief
The metrics and concepts of digital marketing, explained simply. Acronyms are spelled out and, where useful, the formula is included.
- A/B test
- A comparison between two versions of a page, a message or an email, shown to different groups, to see which one works better.
- CAC
- Customer acquisition cost: how much you spend on average in marketing and sales to win a new customer.
- CPC
- Cost per click: how much you pay on average each time someone clicks on an ad.
- CPM
- Cost per mille (thousand impressions): what a thousand views of an ad cost.
- CTR
- Click-through rate: clicks divided by impressions. It tells you how many of the people who see a piece of content click on it.
- Funnel
- The sequence of steps from awareness to purchase, seen from the company’s point of view, with the conversions from one step to the next. Read more →
- GEO
- Generative Engine Optimization: the practices for getting a brand found, cited and described correctly in AI assistants’ answers. Read more →
- Keyword
- The word or phrase people type into a search engine. In SEO, what matters is volume, difficulty and the searcher’s intent.
- LTV
- Customer lifetime value: how much margin a customer generates on average over the whole relationship.
- Omnichannel
- A consistent experience across store, online, app and customer service, in which customers move from one channel to another without starting over.
- ROAS
- Return on ad spend: revenue attributed to advertising divided by the spend.
- SEO
- Search Engine Optimization: the practices for improving a website’s visibility in search engines’ organic results.
- SERP
- A search engine’s results page, with organic links, ads and generated answers.
- Conversion rate
- The percentage of people who take the desired action — a purchase, a sign-up — out of everyone who arrives.
Written by the MAPS editorial team with the help of AI, checked and reviewed by the team.
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