Marketing & business jargon, explained

A/B test

Showing two versions of something (an email subject line, a web page, an advert) to different people to see which performs better, then keeping the winner.

Why it matters: Takes the guesswork out of small decisions — but only worth it once you have enough traffic for the result to mean something.

Acquisition

The act (and cost) of winning a new customer, as opposed to keeping an existing one.

Why it matters: Almost always more expensive than retention — worth knowing your cost to acquire before you scale spend.

Awareness

How many people know your business exists. The top of the marketing funnel.

Why it matters: You can't sell to someone who's never heard of you — but awareness alone doesn't pay the bills; it has to lead somewhere.

Bounce rate

The share of visitors who land on your site and leave without doing anything else.

Why it matters: A high bounce rate on a key page usually means the page isn't matching what the visitor expected or wanted.

Brand

Not your logo — the overall impression and reputation people hold of your business: what you stand for and what it feels like to deal with you.

CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost)

The total marketing and sales cost to win one new customer — spend divided by customers gained.

Why it matters: If your CAC is higher than what a customer is worth to you (their lifetime value), the maths doesn't work.

Call to action (CTA)

The specific next step you ask someone to take — "Get a quote", "Call us", "Download the guide".

Why it matters: Every page should have one obvious CTA. Competing or missing CTAs are where most enquiries are lost.

Conversion

When a visitor does the thing you wanted — buys, enquires, books, signs up.

Conversion rate

The percentage of people who convert out of everyone who had the chance — e.g. 20 enquiries from 1,000 visitors is a 2% conversion rate.

Why it matters: Improving conversion rate is often cheaper than buying more traffic to a page that doesn't convert.

CPA (Cost per acquisition)

What you pay, on average, for each actual sale or customer (not just a lead).

CPC (Cost per click)

What you pay each time someone clicks your advert.

CPL (Cost per lead)

What you pay, on average, for each enquiry or lead an advert generates.

Why it matters: A more useful number than CPC — clicks don't pay the bills, leads might.

CRM

Customer Relationship Management — software (or even a tidy spreadsheet) that keeps track of your customers, leads and the conversations you've had with them.

Why it matters: The backbone of follow-up and retention; you can't nurture relationships you don't record.

CTR (Click-through rate)

The percentage of people who click after seeing something — an advert, a search result, an email link.

Funnel

The journey from stranger to customer, imagined as a funnel: many become aware, fewer show interest, fewer still buy.

Why it matters: Helps you spot where people drop off so you fix the right stage instead of guessing.

GEO (Generative Engine Optimisation)

Optimising your content so AI answer engines (ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Perplexity) cite and recommend your business — the AI-era cousin of SEO. Also called AEO (Answer Engine Optimisation).

Why it matters: A growing share of people ask an AI instead of searching; being quotable to those engines is the new front door.

Impressions

How many times your content or advert was shown — whether or not anyone clicked.

KPI (Key Performance Indicator)

The few numbers you've decided actually measure success — e.g. enquiries per month, cost per lead, repeat-purchase rate.

Why it matters: Pick a small number of KPIs that tie to revenue; tracking everything means focusing on nothing.

Landing page

A focused page built for one purpose — usually where an advert or campaign sends people, designed to drive a single action.

Why it matters: A dedicated landing page almost always converts better than sending ad traffic to your homepage.

Lead

A potential customer who has shown interest — made an enquiry, downloaded something, or given you their details.

Lead magnet

Something useful you give away (a guide, checklist, template) in exchange for someone's contact details.

Why it matters: A polite way to start a relationship before asking for a sale.

LTV (Lifetime Value)

The total profit you expect from a customer over the whole time they stay with you — not just their first purchase.

Why it matters: The number that tells you how much you can afford to spend winning and keeping a customer.

Organic

Traffic or reach you earn for free — through search rankings, content and word of mouth — rather than paying for it.

Why it matters: Slower to build than paid, but it compounds and doesn't stop the moment you stop spending.

Paid (media)

Reach you buy — search ads, social ads, sponsored placements.

Why it matters: Fast and controllable, but the traffic stops when the budget does.

Positioning

How you want your business to be understood relative to the alternatives — the distinct place you occupy in a customer's mind.

Why it matters: Clear positioning makes every other marketing decision easier and cheaper.

PPC (Pay per click)

A paid-advertising model (like Google Ads) where you pay only when someone clicks, not when your ad is shown.

Retargeting

Showing ads to people who already visited your site or engaged with you, to bring them back.

Why it matters: Usually some of the most cost-effective spend, because it reaches people who already know you.

Retention

Keeping the customers you already have, and getting them to buy again.

Why it matters: The cheapest growth there is — far less costly than acquisition.

ROAS (Return on Ad Spend)

How much revenue you get back for every pound spent on advertising — £5 back per £1 spent is a 5:1 ROAS.

Why it matters: A quick read on whether a paid channel is paying for itself; pair it with margin to judge real profit.

ROI (Return on Investment)

The profit a marketing activity returns relative to its cost, across everything — not just ads.

SEO (Search Engine Optimisation)

Improving your website and content so it ranks higher in unpaid Google results for the things your customers search.

Why it matters: Slow to build but compounds for free over time — the long game alongside paid ads' short game.

SERP

Search Engine Results Page — the page of results Google shows for a query, including ads, the map pack and AI overviews.

USP (Unique Selling Point)

The genuine reason a customer should choose you over the alternative — what you do better, differently or more credibly.

Why it matters: If you can't state yours in a sentence, your customers can't either.