To say we love digital marketing would be an understatement. We live, breathe, and think digital marketing. However, we do have one beef with our industry – the acronyms. LOL there are so many acronyms we often find ourselves ROTFL.
We want to help ourselves by helping you – the more you understand about digital marketing, search engine optimization, page conversions, and social media marketing – the better off we’ll all be. When we’re all talking the same language, it’s easier for us to explain to you what we can do for you and it’s easier for you to ask questions about how we do our job for you.
Let’s get to it and dig into the common and not-so-common acronyms you’re likely to hear and read. Now, we promise the first time we meet or chat, we’ll do our best to the keep the acronyms to the minimum and please do stop us to get the explanations that you need.
What is CMS?
A Content Management System makes it easier for non-technical users to edit, update, and maintain their website. Often this web application allows users to write in a What You See Is What You Get (WYSIWYG) mode, so you don’t have to worry about knowing Hypertext Markup Language (HTML). Examples of common CMS applications include WordPress or Drupal.
What is CR?
The higher your Conversion Rate the better your webpage is performing. The CR is a measure of how many people followed-through with your intended action. For example, subscribing to a newsletter, clicking a link, or clicking the Contact button.
What is CTA?
The Call To Action is the link, button, or image that encourages your website visitors to take action. For example, you want your website visitors to learn more about your product or to subscribe to a newsletter, so you embed specific links and text to stimulate action. It can be challenging to work a CTA into your website copy – the CTA needs to be subtle but actionable.
What is CTR?
The Clickthrough Rate is a measure of the number of times a reader or recipient clicks a link to move through your marketing campaign. For example, clicking a link to a blog from your newsletter or downloading an eBook. The CTR is a good indicator of how well your content is resonating with your demographic and is a real count of the number of clicks the content generates. Knowing your CTR is especially useful when tracking the success of a specific CTA campaign.
What is DM?
There are two meanings for DM: Direct Message and Direct Mail. For our purposes, we’ll focus on Direct Message since this meaning is more applicable to digital marketing. (Direct Mail is a politer term for the junk mail that makes it to your physical mailbox.)
A Direct Message is used on social media to communicate directly with a specific recipient or group. For example, in Facebook you use the Messenger App to send a DM to one or more people (this message is not visible on your newsfeed) or on Twitter you send a DM through the Twitter application (this message does not appear in your Twitter feed). Think of DM as the social media version of texting. Many young people prefer DM communication over email and phone calls.
What is KPI?
We use the Key Performance Indicators to tell us how well a given digital marketing campaign is performing. By measuring different KPIs such as acquisition costs, website views, blog subscriptions, etc. we can learn what is and isn’t resonating with the target audience.
What is PPC?
A Pay-Per-Click campaign is an online advertising campaign through which an advertiser pays a website owner or search engine whenever an advertisement is clicked. Now with smart algorithms, it’s easier for search engines and website owners to display targeted ads connected to user search patterns and history. There is a very close connection between the PPC campaign and keywords.
What is SEM?
Search Engine Marketing is a marketing strategy that allows you to pay search engines for better search engine ranking results. You’ve likely noticed featured results at the top of the Google search results page – these are paid for search engine results. This strategy is different from relying only on organic search results for visibility and ranking. If you’re curious about the differences between SEM and organic search results, contact us and we can explain this further.
What is SMM?
More and more businesses are recognizing the power of social media in reaching their target demographic. With a smart Social Media Marketing campaign, you can convert Tweets and Posts to generate sales, word-of-mouth, and website traffic. Think of how Instagram has transitioned to a sales tool for companies, enabling them to reach their targets and encourage website traffic.
What is SEO?
Search Engine Optimization is the specialized approach that supports your website in standing out from the rest of the crowd. With the right SEO components and strategy, your website can rank higher in the Search Engine Results Page. SEO goes beyond keywords to include page formatting, website layout, content structure, links, image tags, and more. Hint: we’re experts at SEO – contact us and we’ll give your website an SEO audit and help you fill any holes in your SEO strategy.
What is SERP?
The Search Engine Results Page displays the results of your search engine request. These results can be a mix of images, news articles, websites, and sponsored ads. Most companies contact us wanting to know “how they can rank first in Google SERP?” – the truth is that this takes more than tweaking website content or generating a new list of keywords. Contact us to discuss your SERP ranking and how can improve your digital marketing and SEO strategies to get you better results.
If we missed an acronym, let us know on our Facebook, LinkedIn, or Twitter accounts. Ask your digital marketing acronym (or any other digital marketing question) and we’ll get back to you PDQ.
