Glossary
New to performance marketing, or trying to broaden your industry knowledge? You’ve come to the right place: Swaarm’s glossary covers what you need to know about launching successful campaigns and beyond.
We define all those pesky industry acronyms, from DSPs to ATT, and everything else in between. Dive in below!
A
A/B testing
A/B testing refers to sending different variations of emails or social media posts to two segments of (more…)
Ad creative
Ad creative is the contents of an advertisement that can be served to users in a digital environment. (more…)
Ad exchange
An ad exchange is a digital marketplace that enables publishers and advertisers to sell and buy advertising space.
Ad format
Ad format refers to advertisements in different formats that can be used on TV and online.
Ad inventory
Ad inventory refers to the total number of slots a publisher has on a website for advertising at a given time.
Ad network
Ad Network refers to Advertising networks that connect advertisers with publishers who have inventory upon which ads (more…)
Ad space
Ad space refers to the designated area on the website or webpage dedicated to online ads.
Adtag
An ad tag is HTML code that has been inserted within a web page’s source code. This makes it possible to display an ad.
Advertiser
Advertiser is a company that would like to advertise their product or service.
Advertiser postback
An Advertiser postback is a signal from the advertiser’s servers that is sent to announce a conversion.
Affiliate commission
Affiliate commission refers to the amount paid to affiliates for referring customers to a company.
Affiliate conversion
Affiliate conversion refers to the number of sales you can make through the affiliate links.
Affiliate dashboard
The affiliate dashboard provides all data and analytical information about your affiliate sales.
Affiliate link
An affiliate link is a unique URL with the affiliate’s username or ID.
Affiliate marketing
Affiliate Marketing is an advertising model whereby companies pay affiliate partners to advertise their products to generate sales.
Affiliate marketing agency
Affiliate marketing agencies are companies that help businesses find the right affiliates or publishers.
Affiliate marketing case study
Affiliate marketing case study refers to the in-depth research of affiliate products in the real-world context.
Affiliate marketing community
Affiliate marketing community refers to online groups where new and experienced affiliates connect to guide, learn, and network.
Affiliate marketing niche
Affiliate marketing niche refers to the efforts the affiliate marketer puts into a specific category or niche.
Affiliate marketplace
The affiliate marketplace allows affiliates to discover different affiliate programs, ratings, commission rates, etc.
Affiliate network
Affiliate networks connects publishers – such as influencers and bloggers – with advertisers who want to work with (more…)
Affiliate products
Products of merchants or brands that affiliates sell are known as affiliate products
Affiliate program
Referral Marketing is a form of advertising used to drive sales and conversions. (more…)
Affiliate website
An affiliate website is a site where affiliates sell affiliate products.
Alpha testing
Alpha testing refers to the preliminary testing developers carry out to check and see if the product will perform as intended.
Alt-text
The alt-text or alternative text is an HTML element, which refers to the text that explains the components in an image.
Analytics
Analytics refers to the systematic computational analysis of statistics or data.
Anchor text
Anchor text refers to the clickable text or a snippet that takes a user to a specific webpage.
App review
App review is the process that app stores use to examine a new mobile app to determine its candidacy (more…)
App store optimization (ASO)
App Store Optimization (ASO) refers to the process app developers follow to improve app visibility (more…)
Apple app store
This is an app store platform developed and maintained by Apple Inc. Users can download approved mobile apps (more…)
Application programming interface (API)
Application Programming Interface (API) is a type of software interface that offers a service to other pieces of software.
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence refers to the intelligence that machines demonstrate in contrast with that of (more…)
Attribution
Attribution is the identification of where a conversion came from. For example, a tracking link can be used to identify (more…)
Average Revenue per User (ARPU)
Average Revenue per User (ARPU) is the average revenue that is generated per user.
Average time spent on the website
Average time spent on the website is the key performance indicator that measures how much time website visitors (more…)
B
Banner ads
Banner Ads is an ad format that displays an ad as a banner at the top or bottom of a user’s screen.
Behavioral targeting
Behavioral targeting uses peoples’ or individuals’ activities to decide which messages or ads resonate best with them.
Beta testing
Beta testing refers to the second stage of software testing. In this phase, real users get to use (more…)
Blogposts
A blog post refers to a news piece, article, or guide published on a website’s blog section.
Brand awareness
Brand awareness refers to the extent customers can recall or recognize a brand through its name.
Buyer’s journey
The buyer’s journey is the process customers follow before buying a product or service.
C
Call to action
Call to action (CTA) refers to words or phrases used on social media posts, webpages, and sales scripts (more…)
Campaign management system (CMS)
A campaign management system (CMS) is a software solution that businesses can use to manage different components (more…)
Campaigns
A campaign is a the promotion of a product using strategically chosen advertising channels.
Casual mobile game
A casual mobile game is a video game specifically designed to target a mass market audience.
Channel account manager
Channel account manager or CAM works in business-to-business(b2b) sales. They work on securing (more…)
Channel partner marketing
Channel partner marketing refers to the collaboration of two parties in which partners (more…)
Channel partnership management
Channel partnership management (CPM), or channel partnership, refers to building, (more…)
Channel VARs
Channel VARs or value-added resellers are a crucial distribution channel for product manufacturers, (more…)
Click-injection
Click injection is a type of mobile ad fraud for Android devices whereby a fake click is triggered just before an app is (more…)
Click-Spamming
Click-Spamming or Click spam is a type of ad fraud. It occurs when a fraudster executes fake clicks that are attributed to real users
Click-through rate (CTR)
Your CTR is the percentage of users who clicked on your ad when delivered an impression.
Click-to-open rate (CTOR)
Click-to-open rate (CTOR) is an email marketing metric that indicates the percentage of people who opened the email (more…)
Cloud service providers
Cloud service providers are firms that manage private clouds, create public clouds, (more…)
Competitor analysis
Competitor analysis is the process of identifying competitors and researching their marketing strategies.
Competitor research
Competitor research refers to the study you conduct to check how your competitors sell or market their products.
Competitors
Competitors are companies engaged in economic or commercial competition with other firms.
Content creator
A content creator is anyone who creates educational or entertaining content that they can publish (more…)
Content curation
Content curation is the process of collecting information related to a particular area of interest or topic.
Content marketing
Content marketing is a form of marketing that focuses on creating, publishing, and distributing content online to (more…)
Conversion
A conversion occurs when a user completes a desired action. For example, a conversion can be any time a user installs (more…)
Conversion rate
A conversion rate is the percentage of users who have converted. (more…)
Conversion tracking
Conversion tracking is the practice of using tracking links to learn the percentage of users who (more…)
Cookie
A cookie is a file sent by the website to your computer. It helps in saving browsing activity and tracking other crucial information.
Cost models
This is how advertisers purchase campaign inventory, which is agreed by advertisers and publishers (more…)
Cost per acquisition (CPA)
This is the marketing metric that measures the cost to acquire a user. (more…)
Cost per action (CPA)
Cost per action (CPA), also known as cost per acquisition, refers to the amount spent for a specific (more…)
Cost-per-click (CPC)
Cost per Click is a cost model that gives payment to the publisher for every click generated as a result of their exposure.
Cost-per-conversion
This is a cost model that gives payment to a publisher or affiliate partner for every conversion that occurs as a result (more…)
Cost-per-install (CPI)
This is a cost model that gives payment to a publisher or affiliate partner for every install that is generated as a result (more…)
Customer acquisition
The process of bringing in new customers to use your app, platform or any other service.
Customer journey
A customer journey refers to the entire experience a customer has when communicating with a particular brand. (more…)
Customer lifecycle
Marketing analysts Matt Cutler and Jim Sterne developed a matrix to break down the customer lifecycle (more…)
Customer reviews
Customer reviews refer to the customer’s evaluation of the company’s product, service, or customer service.
D
Data visualization
Data visualization is the representation of information or data collected in the form of a picture, diagram, graph, etc.
Demand-side platform (DSP)
This is a system that enables advertisers to manage their ad exchange and exchange accounts using a single interface.
Demographics
Demographics means statistical data related to a population and a certain group of people within it. (more…)
Digital marketing
Digital marketing is a segment of marketing that uses online-based technologies such as mobile phones, (more…)
Direct sales
Direct sales refer to a manufacturer or seller selling products or services to the customer (more…)
Display advertising
Display advertising is digital or graphic advertising that you can find on websites, apps, and social media.
Distributors
A distributor is an agent who supplies or delivers goods to retailers.
E
Earned advertising
Earned advertising refers to the additional exposure that a brand or company receives from the media (more…)
Earnings per click (EPC)
Earnings per click (EPC) refers to the average amount of money an affiliate earns each time someone clicks on the affiliate link.
eBook
An eBook is an electronic book that consists of images and text, which you can read on almost any digital device.
Editorial calendar
An editorial calendar, also known as a publishing calendar, is used by businesses, bloggers, and groups to manage (more…)
Email automation
Email automation refers to the process of creating and automatically sending emails to the right people at the right time (more…)
Email content
Email content refers to any message you send to a customer, subscriber, or prospect’s inbox.
Email deliverability rate
Email deliverability rate is a metric that measures the success rate of an email marketer (more…)
Email domain
An email domain refers to that part of the email address that starts after the @ symbol.
Email list
An Email list refers to the email addresses collected by an individual or organization to send marketing materials.
Email marketing
Email marketing refers to the act of sending an email with a commercial message to a group of people that are either (more…)
Email sequence
Email sequence refers to the series of emails that are sent automatically to a user or prospect using an automation software.
Email service provider (ESP)
Email service provider or ESP refers to the technology you can use to manage and deliver marketing communications in email.
Email spam
Email spam refers to junk emails or unsolicited emails sent to many recipients.
Email subscribers
Email subscribers are internet users that permit a particular company or brand to send emails to them regularly.
Engagement rate
Engagement rate refers to the total number of interactions a content gets, and (more…)
F
Facebook ads manager
Facebook ads manager helps you see how your ad campaigns perform.
G
Game icon
These are simple square images that easily enable users to identify the games or apps.
Game localization
Game localization is when developers produce video game content to appeal to a specific region, (more…)
Geofencing
Geofencing refers to the virtual perimeter that you set for a geographical area.
Geolocation
Geolocation in simple terms refers to the geographical or longitudinal/latitudinal location of a device (more…)
Google ads universal app campaigns
It’s an automated ad format in Google ads that helps advertisers get more app installs (more…)
Google analytics
Google Analytics is the web analytics service that Google offers.
Google play store
Formerly known as Android Market, Google Play or Google Play Store allows android users to download and use (more…)
H
Hackers
Hackers are individuals that use computers to get unauthorized access to restricted online data.
Hyper-personalization marketing
Hyper-personalization marketing taps into individual wants and needs and tailors campaigns to best suit a person. (more…)
Hypothesis
A hypothesis is a concession or assumption made for an argument on known facts for which there is no proof yet.
I
Impression
An impression occurs every time a user is delivered an advertisement (ad) on a publisher’s inventory.
In-app journey
An in-app journey refers to a series of steps that companies want users to take when interacting with an app. (more…)
Inbox rate
Inbox rate is a metric that measures how many emails land up in the inbox rather than bouncing or landing up in the spam folder.
Indirect sales
Indirect sales refer to the sales done by third-party individuals or companies such as affiliates and partners.
Influencer
An influencer is anybody who has an influence over an online audience. (more…)
Influencer marketing
Influencer marketing is the process of utilizing external content creators to engage or advocate your brand’s message (more…)
Infrastructure as a service (IaaS)
Infrastructure as a service, or IaaS, is a cloud computing model in which customers receive (more…)
Install
An install occurs when a user downloads an app and opens it for the first time.
Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB)
IAB, or interactive advertising bureau, refers to an organization that primarily works with publishers (more…)
Interstitial ads
Interstitial ads is a full-screen advertising format for mobile devices.
K
Key performance indicators (KPIs)
Key performance indicators (KPIs) are the metrics that can be used to observe the performance of your campaigns.
Keyword
A keyword means a word or group of words that internet users use to search in a search engine.
Keyword research
Keyword research refers to tasks such as analyzing, comparing, and prioritizing keywords to use in content (more…)
Knowledge base
A knowledge base is an online library that companies publish to let end-users and others know about a product, (more…)
L
Landing page
A landing page acts as an entry point to a website or a specific part of the website.
Latency
Latency refers to the time it takes for data to travel from one point on a network to another.
Lead generation
Lead generation is when a campaign has resulted in a new lead or prospect.
Lead magnets
Lead magnets refer to the free product or service given to those willing to leave their contact information.
Life time value
Life time value (LTV) means customer lifetime value. It refers to the amount of money a customer (more…)
M
Managed service providers
Managed service providers or MSPs are third-party companies that remotely work or (more…)
Marketing automation
Marketing automation is the use of automation technology to complete actions related to marketer’s tasks. (more…)
Marketing channel partners
Marketing channel partners are sales or trade intermediaries who help to move products from the suppliers to the consumers.
Mentorship
Mentorship refers to the guidance you receive from an expert or experienced individual(s) in the industry.
Meta description
A meta description is an HTML element that provides a concise webpage summary.
Meta tags
Meta tags are snippets of text mainly used to describe the contents of a webpage.
Microsoft advertising
Microsoft advertising is the service that allows you to publish pay-per-click ads on search engines (more…)
Microtransactions
Microtransactions refer to players’ digital purchases within a gaming app to unlock (more…)
Mobile game monetization
Mobile game monetization is the process developers follow to generate money from the game app.
Mobile marketing automation
Mobile Marketing Automation (MMA) refers to the usage of smart or intelligent tools to oversee, execute, and automate (more…)
Mobile-friendly applications
Mobile-friendly applications are applications that display elements and components of a site seamlessly (more…)
N
Native advertising
Native Advertising, also called sponsored content, is a type of advertising that matches the form and function of the (more…)
Newsletter
A newsletter is a printed or digital report about a business that they send to members, employees, customers, and others.
O
Off-page seo
Off-page SEO or off-site SEO refers to the actions you take outside of the website which impact the website’s (more…)
On-page seo
On-page SEO or on-site SEO refers to optimizing web pages to improve a website’s search ranking, thereby increasing (more…)
One-time commission
The one-time commission is the one-time payment that an affiliate receives when they help generate a lead or a sale.
Opt-in rate
Opt-in rate refers to the total percentage of site visitors interested in subscribing to your email list.
Organic installs
Organic installs is an install that cannot be attributed to a campaign. It indicates that the user converted organically, (more…)
Organic user acquisition
Organic customer acquisition is the process of gaining customers without paying any direct fees, such as paid ads.
Owned advertising
Owned advertising or media refers to digital marketing channels that companies own and have total control over.
P
Paid search (Pay-per-click or PPC)
Pay-per-click (PPC) is anvadvertising model used to drive traffic to websites, in which an advertiser pays a publisher (more…)
Paid user acquisition
In paid user acquisition, you pay for targeted advertising about your app or game on user acquisition channels (more…)
Partner ecosystem
Partner ecosystem refers to the network of partners in the world of partnerships that work towards (more…)
Partner life cycle management
Partner life cycle management refers to the strategies that businesses follow to maintain relationships with their partners.
Partner lifecycle stages
Partner lifecycle stages include identifying, recruiting, onboarding, engagement, cultivation, and innovation.
Partner portal
A partner portal is a web-based site that allows third parties to do business with a company and gain access to specific resources.
Partner program
Partner program enables companies to connect with channel partners who provide marketing support to get (more…)
Partner relationship management (PRM) software
Companies use partner relationship management software to communicate, measure, and work with their partners.
Partnership marketing
Partnership marketing refers to the collaboration between two parties to reach the key objectives of both parties.
Pay-per-lead
Pay-per-lead is a payment scheme wherein affiliates receive commission only when they can generate a lead for the merchant.
Pay-per-sale
Pay-per-sale is a payment scheme wherein an affiliate receives a commission from the advertiser or product (more…)
Performance marketing
Performance marketing or Performance-based advertising is a form of advertising in which the purchaser pays only (more…)
Platform as a service (PAAS)
Platform as a service, or PaaS, is a cloud computing model wherein the third-party provider (more…)
Player archetype
Player archetype refers to the player personas that a game appeals to in particular.
Podcasts
A podcast is an audio file available in digital format for download over the internet.
Premium ad networks
Premium ad networks are ad networks that hold the inventory of the most popular publishers.
Product creators
Product creators are individuals or companies that manufacture products to sell them.
Product review
A product review is an expert’s opinion regarding a product. It can also be a comparison done on similar products.
Programmatic advertising
Programmatic advertising is a way to automatically buy and optimize digital campaigns, rather than buying directly (more…)
Psychographics
Psychographics is the study of customers based on their activities, interests, and opinions (AIOs).
Publisher postback
Postback is a function that will notify publishers when a conversion occurred or was approved/rejected.
R
Real-time bidding
Real-time bidding refers to the practice of buying and selling ads in real time on a per-impression basis in an instant auction.
Real-time reporting
Real-time reporting is a business intelligence practice that instantly collects and relays up-to-the-minute data (more…)
Recurring commission
Recurring commission refers to the commission paid to an affiliate each time their referral makes a purchase.
Remarketing
Remarketing is a feature that allows you to display ads to people who have already visited your website (more…)
Retailers
Retailers are businesses or a person that sell products to a target audience in smaller quantities for consumption or use.
Retargeting
Retargeting ads are a type of online targeting advertisements that aim to serve people already in your contact database (more…)
Retention
Retention – This refers to the percentage of users who are still active in an App after a defined period of time.
Return on ad spend (ROAS)
Return on ad spend (ROAS) is the overall return on the amount spent on ads.
Return on investment (ROI)
ROI is the overall return on an investment for a campaign or marketing channel.
S
Sales funnel
The sales funnel, also known as the purchase funnel, is a visual representation of the customer journey that depicts (more…)
Search engine advertising
Search engine advertising refers to the ads that appear on search engines.
Search engine optimization (SEO)
This is the practice of making strategic changes to your online content to gain a higher ranking on search engines.
Service providers (SP)
Service providers refer to companies that offer consulting, real estate, legal, communications, storage, and (more…)
Site speed
The site speed refers to the time users take to access and interact with the content on a webpage.
SKAdNetwork
Apple introduced the SKAdNetwork in 2018, a different approach to campaign measurement where data (more…)
SMART goals
SMART refers to Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Timebound. (more…)
Social media advertising
Social media advertising is a form of digital marketing that enables you to publish paid ads on social media channels or networks.
Social media marketing
Social media marketing (SMM) refers to the use of social media websites and platforms to promote a product or service.
Soft launch
Soft launch refers to the product’s release to a limited number of users. (more…)
Software as a service (SaaS)
Software as a Service (SaaS) is centrally hosted software that typically works on a subscription basis. It is a method (more…)
Spam email
Spam email refers to unwanted or unsolicited junk emails sent in bulk to an indiscriminate recipient list for commercial purposes.
Supply-side platform (SSP)
A supply-side platform (SSP) enables publishers to manage advertising inventory, such as filling it with ads and receiving revenue.
T
Target audience
A target audience is a specific group of people who are likely to buy a product and become customers.
Top-selling products
Top-selling products are extremely popular items that the company sells in larger quantities than products from other brands.
Tracking link
A tracking link is a URL with appended tags – or parameters – that can be used to indicate which channel (more…)
Traffic source
The traffic source refers to the origin of how people found your website.
Trial period
The trial period is the duration of time companies give to their clients to test the product for free.
U
Unsubscribe page
The exit or unsubscribe page is the web page your users will see when they click on the unsubscribe link, which you can see at the email footer.
User acquisition (UA)
User acquisition is a process through which you gain new customers for your mobile app, platform, (more…)
User engagement
User engagement mainly focuses on measuring how long and how frequently users (more…)
User personas
User personas are a semi-fictional character that you create based on your existing or ideal customer.
User segments
It is the process of splitting users into segments of distinguishable groups based on certain shared characteristics. (more…)
UX/UI design
UX stands for ‘user experience,’ and UI stands are the ‘user interface.’ (more…)
V
Value-added reseller (VAR)
Value-added resellers or VARs are companies that focus on enhancing the value of third-party products (more…)
Vertical ad networks
Vertical ad networks are topic-specific networks such as fashion ad networks, technology (more…)
Video
A video refers to the Broadcasting, recording, and reproducing of moving visual images.
Video ads
Video ads is an ad format that utilizes video to promote a product or brand.
Vlog
A vlog refers to the video posts that a person posts on a social media channel or a personal website.
W
Waterfalling
Waterfalling, also known as waterfall tags or daisy chains, is the process publishers use to sell their remnant inventory.
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