Digital marketing glossary 2027: more than 60 terms explained without jargon

Marketing terms sound complicated because many are used without explanation. Here are the 60 that come up most in meetings, reports and proposals, with a direct definition and an example. It is updated every time the industry’s vocabulary changes.

A

A/B testing. Testing two versions of something (a headline, a button, an ad) with similar audiences to see which one performs better. Example: two email subject lines, and you keep the one with the most opens.

AEO (Answer Engine Optimization). Optimizing to appear inside the answer given by a search engine or an assistant. Google considers it part of SEO.

AI Overviews and AI Mode. Google features that show AI-generated answers in search. They use Google’s quality and ranking systems.

Analytics. Collecting and studying data to make decisions: from your website, your social media and your campaigns.

Audience. The group of people you speak to or who already follow you.

B

Backlink. A link from another website to yours. Those from trustworthy sites signal authority.

Bounce rate. The percentage of visits that leave your website without doing anything else.

Branding. Everything that makes your brand recognizable: name, visual identity, voice and what you promise.

Buyer persona. A detailed profile of your ideal customer: what they need, what holds them back and where they get information.

C

Call to action (CTA). The invitation to do something: “Message us on WhatsApp”, “Book your appointment”.

Channel. Each route through which you reach your customer: Instagram, Google, email, WhatsApp.

Churn. The percentage of customers who stop buying from you in a period.

Content marketing. Creating useful content to attract and keep customers.

Conversion. The action you are after: a purchase, a message, an appointment, a form.

Cost per acquisition (CPA). How much it costs you to get a customer or a conversion.

CPC (cost per click). What you pay each time someone clicks your ad.

CPM (cost per thousand impressions). What you pay to show your ad a thousand times.

CRM. A system to store and manage customer data and conversations. A tidy spreadsheet can be your first CRM.

CRO (conversion rate optimization). Improving a page so more visitors do what you want.

CTR (click-through rate). Clicks divided by impressions. It tells you whether your message grabs attention.

D

Dark social. Shares that cannot be tracked, such as a link sent over WhatsApp.

Domain. Your website’s address, like onviral.agency.

E

E-commerce. Selling products online.

Email marketing. Communicating by email with people who gave you permission, to inform, sell or retain.

Engagement. Interactions with your content: comments, saves, messages. It does not equal sales.

Evergreen content. Content that stays useful over time, like a size guide.

F

Feed. The sequence of posts a person sees on a social network.

Frequency. How many times the same person sees your ad.

G

GEO (Generative Engine Optimization). Optimizing so generative models find, understand and cite your content.

Google Analytics and Search Console. Free Google tools to measure your website’s traffic and how people find you in search.

Google Business Profile. Your business’s free listing on Google and Google Maps.

H

Hashtag. A word or phrase preceded by # to group content by topic.

Hook. The first seconds or lines of a piece of content, which decide whether someone keeps going.

I

Impression. Each time your ad or content appears on screen.

Inbound marketing. Attracting customers with useful content instead of interrupting them with advertising.

Influencer. A person with their own audience who recommends products or brands. A micro-influencer has a smaller, closer audience.

Influencer marketing. Working with creators to reach their audience.

K

Keyword. A term someone types into a search engine. It is chosen for its intent, not just its volume.

KPI. Key performance indicator: the metric you decide to track to know whether you are on course.

L

Landing page. A page designed for a single action, reached by whoever clicked an ad or a link.

Lead. A person who showed interest and left their details or wrote to you.

Lead magnet. Something useful you offer for free in exchange for contact details.

Link building. Getting links from other sites to yours.

M

Meta Ads. The advertising platform for Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp.

O

Omnichannel. Giving a consistent experience across every channel.

Organic. Reach or traffic you get without paying for it.

P

Pixel. Code that measures people’s actions on your website to optimize ads.

Positioning. The place your page holds in the results, or the idea your brand holds in your customers’ minds.

Prospect. A person who could become a customer.

R

Reach. The number of different people who saw your content or ad.

Remarketing. Showing ads to people who already visited your website or interacted with you.

Retention. Getting a customer to buy again.

ROAS. Revenue generated for each unit invested in ads.

ROI. Return on investment: how much you earned compared with everything you spent.

S

Sales funnel. The path a person follows from discovering you to buying.

Schema (structured data). Code that helps search engines understand your page’s content.

SEM. Search engine marketing with paid advertising, such as Google Ads.

SEO. Search engine optimization: getting organic traffic.

SERP. A search engine’s results page.

Storytelling. Telling a story to connect with your audience.

T

Traffic. The visits your website receives.

U

UGC (user-generated content). Reviews, photos and videos your customers create.

UX (user experience). How easy and pleasant your website or app is to use.

V

Vanity metric. A number that looks good but does not move the business, like followers without sales.

Viral marketing. Content people share on their own initiative. It cannot be guaranteed.

Virality. See viral marketing.

W

WhatsApp 24-hour window. On WhatsApp Business, the period in which you can reply with free-form messages after the customer’s last message. More in the WhatsApp Business guide.

What’s next?

A glossary is useful when you use it. If you want to see these terms applied, start with what digital marketing is, what SEO is and how to sell more with WhatsApp Business. And if a term is missing, message us on WhatsApp and we will add it.

Sources

• Google Search Central, Optimizing your website for generative AI features on Google Search, May 2026.
• Meta for Developers, WhatsApp Business Platform pricing.