Marketing language is so full of acronyms and abbreviations it's hard not to get mixed up. From CTRs to KPIs to SMMs and UGCs, this bouquet of randomized letters can confuse even the most seasoned digital marketers. So if you've ever bumped into a strange abbreviation and couldn't decode it, this list of marketing acronyms is for you!
Jan 08 2020 ● 3 min read
ABM (account-based marketing): a B2B marketing strategy that focuses its resources on a specific list of target accounts that are the most valuable.
AIDA (Awareness, Interest, Desire, Action): a marketing model that shows the steps a customer takes when going through the purchasing process.
AMA (ask me anything): an event that allows speakers to connect with the audience via answering questions. This term was popularized by Reddit. [related to Q&A]
B2B (business-to-business): a term that refers to businesses that offer their products or services to other businesses. [related to B2C]
B2C (business-to-consumer): a term that refers to businesses that offer their products or services to consumers directly. [related to B2B]
BoFU (bottom of funnel): type of content that is created for the decision stage. This content should persuade them to choose your brand as a solution. [related to ToFU and MoFU]
CAC (customer acquisition cost): a metric that plays a crucial role in identifying the value of the customer to the company. This number is calculated by dividing all the costs of customer acquisition by the number of acquired customers.
CPA (cost-per-acquisition): also known as cost-per-action, it’s a metric that shows the total cost of customers taking an action that leads to conversion, such as purchase, click, download or install. This number is calculated by dividing all the costs of a campaign by the number of conversions.
CPC (cost-per-click): the price you pay for every click in your PPC marketing campaign. Often used interchangeably with pay-per-click, CPC signifies the metric whereas PPC is an overall online marketing approach. [related to PPC]
CPM (cost-per-mille): also known as cost per thousand or CPT, it’s a term used to measure the cost of obtaining 1,000 impressions or views for a specific advertisement.
CR (conversion rate): the number of all people who converted into the desired action. [related to CRO]
CRO (conversion rate optimization): a process that helps to optimize your site or increase landing page CRO to increase the percentage of visitors that will take the desired action on a page. [related to CR]
CTA (call to action): it is usually a button or text that seeks to encourage a visitor to perform a certain act instantly. For instance, buy now, register today, free download, etc.
CTR (click-through rate): the number of clicks that your content receives divided by the number of times your ad is shown and can be used to measure how successfully keywords and ads are performing.
DA (domain authority): a search engine ranking score that can forecast a page’s capacity to rank on a search results page. Domain authority scores can be evaluated between 1 and 100. [related to SERPs]
ESP (emotional selling proposition): a type of communication that intends to focus on emotional rather than rational fulfillment of a customer. [related to USP]
FAQ (frequently asked questions): a list of questions together with answers on a specific topic and details about solutions, processes, and services.
GRP (gross rating point): a measurement of advertising effectiveness across media channels.
HiPPO (highest paid person’s opinion): a decision-making option that is based on the opinion of the most senior person in the room rather than data.
IBL (inbound link): also known as a backlink, it’s a link back to your site from another web page [related to OBL].
JK (just kidding): a term often used in social media to show that someone was being playful and did not mean a bad thing.
KPI (key performance indicator): a type of performance measurement and report that shows how successfully a company or individual is achieving the set goals. For instance, leads, sales growth, website traffic, etc.
LTV (lifetime value): a value that a customer brings over the life of their account with your brand.
LP (landing page): a page on your website that is created for a particular purpose, such as offering a free trial, app downloads, ebooks, newsletter subscription, etc.
MTD (month to date): it means that the period of your data is starting from the beginning of the current month and ending at the current date.
MoFU (middle of funnel): a type of content that is created for the consideration stage. Your audience is aware of their issues and they’re searching for solutions.
MoM (month-over-month): change in figures in comparison with the previous month. [related to YoY]
MQL (marketing qualified lead): it means that marketing activities encouraged to engage a potential customer that is likely to become a buyer. For example, communicating on social media, downloading ebooks, reading newsletters, filling an online form, etc. [related to SQL]
NPS (net promoter score): survey-based customer satisfaction metric that counts, on a scale of 0-10, the level to which an audience would recommend your business.
OBL (outbound link): a link from your site to another website [related to IBL].
OKR (objectives and key results): management strategy that helps to set measurable goals and keep teams within an organization focused.
PPC (pay-per-click): online advertising strategy where the advertiser pays each time someone clicks on their ad. Popularly used to drive traffic to websites via social media or search engines. [related to CPC]
Q&A (questions and answers): most commonly, Q&A is a type of interview format used by journalists to interview subjects. However, on the internet, it can refer to interactions on social media platforms, such as Reddit, or a content section on a website that answers the most common questions about a product or service [related to AMA].
ROAS (return on ad spend): a type of performance measurement that is used to evaluate the success of a digital advertising campaign.
ROI (return on investment): a type of performance measurement that is used to evaluate the profitability of a campaign for a specific period compared with the initial cost [related to ROMI].
ROMI (return on marketing investment): a type of performance measurement that is used to evaluate the overall success of a marketing campaign [related to ROI].
SEM (search engine marketing): a strategy that helps to target users via paid advertising that can be found on search engine results pages. [related to SEO]
SEO (search engine optimization): a technique that helps to rank your website higher in terms of organic search results. Therefore, it increases the visibility of your brand when people search it via search engines like Google, Yahoo or Bing. [related to SEM]
SERP (search engine results page): a search engine page that displays results based on the search query that was requested.
SM (social media): a type of media that allows you to post content in order to get engagement. For instance, Facebook (FB), Youtube (YT), Twitter (TW), Instagram (IG), and Linkedin (Li). [related to SMM]
SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, time-bound): type of goal-setting analysis that helps to set measurable goals within a certain timeframe.
SMM (social media marketing): a form of digital marketing that employs social media platforms to produce content that will achieve a specific goal. For example, brand awareness, website traffic, leads, build a community, etc.
SQL (sales qualified lead): it means that the sales team has identified a lead as a potential buyer. [related to MQL]
SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats): type of company analysis that helps to identify all strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats before making important decisions.
TL;DR (too long; didn’t read): this term, popularized by Reddit, signifies a short summary of a preceding long text.
ToFU (top of funnel): a type of content that is created for the awareness stage. Customers are unaware of your company and you want to get their attention. [related to MoFU and BoFU]
UGC (user-generated content): written or visual content created by the user (fan) of a product or service. UGC can be expressed as testimonials, blog posts, social media posts, websites, images, videos, etc.
USP (unique selling proposition): a type of communication that intends to focus on the element that differentiates your business from competitors, such as the cost, quality or being the first in its category. [related to ESP]
VOD (video on demand): a system that allows users to access and view video content without the traditional broadcasting system, i.e. whenever they prefer via their computers and TVs.
WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get): it is used when you want to say that the data in the editing mode is what it will look like in the final version. This term is widely used in HTML editors and content management systems.
WoM (word of mouth): a form of free promotion that is shared organically by satisfied customers. In word of mouth marketing, advertisers “seed” messages for people to spread. [related to UGC]
XML (extensible markup language): a computer language used for producing and arranging e-text according to a specific set of rules that enable it to be shared.
YoY (year over year): change in figures in comparison with the previous year. [related to MoM]
Z (???): Okay we admit it, we are a little bit lost here. However, If you have any suggestions feel free to let us know!
Otherwise, congratulations! Now you can call yourself fluent in marketing abbreviation and acronym world. This cheat sheet should help you to feel comfortable in any conversation with your colleagues and marketing specialists.
Published on Jan 08 2020
WRITTEN BY
Krystyna KrajevskajaKrystyna believes optimizing the way you report data is the key to a good marketing strategy. A seasoned social media manager with experience in B2B companies, she loves to identify and share new business opportunities.
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