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The Essential Paid Search Glossary
The Summit PPC team has compiled a glossary of the most important terms in the industry today.
From bidding strategies to campaign types, we’ve covered the core terminology to help you navigate your accounts with total confidence in the table below:
| Full Name | Acronym | Definition |
|---|---|---|
| Ad Rank | Determines the position of an ad in search results based on bid, quality score, and other factors. | |
| App | Promote mobile apps across Google properties, including Search, Display, YouTube, and Google Play. | |
| Broad Match | The default keyword match type in Google Ads, and it allows ads to appear in searches that are related to the keyword, even if they don’t contain the exact keyword terms | |
| Broad Match Modifier | BMM | A keyword match type that required specific words to appear in the search query (deprecated by Google). |
| Comparison Shopping Services | CSS (Paid Media) | A program that allows merchants to participate in Google Shopping ads and product listings, brought into place after Google recieved a hefty fine for monopolising the Shopping results |
| Connected TV | CTV | Ads shown on streaming platforms via internet-connected devices. |
| Demand Gen (Discovery) | Native, visually rich ads displayed across Google’s Discover feed, YouTube Home feed, and Gmail Promotions and Social tabs. Formerly called Discovery. | |
| Demographics Targeting | DEM | Using age, gender, income, etc., to target specific audiences. |
| Display | Visually engaging banner or image ads shown across the Google Display Network (GDN), which includes millions of websites and apps. | |
| Dynamic Search Ads | DSA | Automatically created ads based on website content. |
| Enhanced Cost Per Click | ECPC | A bid strategy that adjusts bids for better conversion opportunities. |
| Exact Match | A keyword targeting type where ads appear only for searches identical to the keyword. | |
| Expanded Text Ads | ETAs | Formerly the primary ad format in Google Ads (phased out for RSAs). |
| Geographic Targeting | GEO | Targeting users based on location. |
| Google Display Network | GDN | A network of websites where display ads can be shown through Google Ads. |
| Google Merchant Center | GMC | A tool used to upload and manage product data so that products appear across Google Search, Shopping, Maps, YouTube and more |
| Impression Share | IS | The percentage of impressions that your ads receive compared to the total number of impressions that your ads could get or were eligible for.
Calculation: (Impressions / Total Eligible Impressions) x 100 |
| Keyword | KW | Words or phrases that are used to match your ads with the terms that people are searching for. |
| Local | Ads designed to drive offline visits, such as to physical stores or service locations, across Google Search, Display, Maps, and YouTube. | |
| Local Inventory Ads | LIA | The local inventory ads and free local listings add-on allows you to showcase your products and shop information to nearby shoppers searching with Google. |
| Manual Cost Per Click | Manual CPC | A bidding strategy that lets you set your own maximum CPC for your ads. This differs from automated bid strategies, which set bid amounts for you. |
| Microsoft Ads | Bing Ads | Microsoft Advertising platform, often used interchangeably with “Microsoft Ads.” |
| Modern Search | A strategy where each ad groups contains many keywords and match types for a more consolidated account structure. Generally considered best practice by Google. | |
| Pay per view | PPV | A billing model where you pay based on the number of times your video or ad is viewed. |
| Pay-Per-Click | PPC | A model of online advertising where advertisers pay a fee each time their ad is clicked. |
| Performance Max Campaigns | PMax | A goal-based campaign that leverages machine learning to serve ads across all Google properties, including Search, Display, YouTube, Gmail, Discover, and Maps. |
| Phrase Match | Phrase Match | A keyword targeting type where your ads appear for searches that include the meaning of your keyword. |
| Quality Score | QS | A Google metric between 1-10 that rates the relevance and quality of ads, keywords, and landing pages. |
| Real-Time Bidding | RTB | An auction-based method for buying ad inventory instantly. |
| Remarketing Lists for Search Ads | RLSA | A feature that allows targeting of previous website visitors in search campaigns. |
| Responsive Search Ads | RSAs | Ads that automatically combine multiple headlines and descriptions to create optimized ads. |
| Search | Text-based ads appear on Google search results when users search for relevant keywords. | |
| Shopping | Showcase product images, prices, and descriptions in Google Shopping results and search engine results pages (SERPs). | |
| Single Keyword Ad Group | SKAG | A strategy where each ad group contains only one keyword for tight targeting. Generally considered dated practice as Google now encourages “Modern Search”. |
| Target CPA | TCPA | A bidding strategy in Google Ads aimed at achieving a specific CPA. |
| Target Impression Share | Target IS | A bidding strategy in Google Ads aimed at achieving a specific IS. |
| Target Return on Ad Spend | TROAS | A bidding strategy in Google Ads aimed at achieving a specific ROAS. |
| Universal Event Tracking | UET | Bing Ads tracking system, similar to Google’s conversion tracking. |
| Urchin Tracking Module | UTM | Tags added to URLs to track campaign performance in analytics. |
| Video | Video ads displayed on YouTube and other video partner sites. | |
| View-Through-Rate | VTR | The rate at which users view a full video ad (without skipping). |
Mastering the terminology is just the first step toward high-performance campaigns.
To see these concepts in action and stay updated on the latest shifts in the digital landscape, explore our blog.
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