Performance marketing glossary
The terms we use in our reports and in the Decision Log, explained with examples from real campaigns. Every entry opens with a two-sentence definition.
Metrics5
- CPACPA (cost per action, also called cost per acquisition) is your ad spend divided by the number of conversions.
- CPCCPC (cost per click) is the average price of one click on your ad.
- CTRCTR (click-through rate) is the percentage of people who clicked your ad after seeing it.
- POASPOAS (profit on ad spend) is the gross profit from a campaign’s sales divided by what the campaign cost.
- ROASROAS (return on ad spend) is the revenue a campaign brings in divided by what it cost.
Analytics5
- AttributionAttribution is how a tool decides which ads get credit for a conversion, out of everything the customer saw or clicked along the way.
- CAPICAPI (Conversions API) is a connection that lets your website’s or shop’s server send events straight to Meta.
- Consent Mode v2Consent Mode v2 is a Google mechanism that passes a visitor’s cookie banner choice to your Google Ads and GA4 tags.
- ConversionA conversion is the action you want people to take as a result of your campaign, such as a purchase, a submitted form or a phone call.
- Meta PixelThe Meta Pixel (formerly the Facebook Pixel) is a piece of code on your website that tells Meta Ads what visitors do there, such as viewing a product or making a purchase.
Campaigns and platforms2
- Microsoft AdsMicrosoft Ads (full name Microsoft Advertising, formerly Bing Ads) is Microsoft’s advertising platform, covering the Bing search engine, Copilot and the audience network across Microsoft’s own sites.
- Performance MaxPerformance Max is a campaign type in Google Ads and Microsoft Ads where a single campaign shows ads across every placement the platform has.
Tools and downloads
Tools
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