Below is a brief glossary of terms that are commonly used with pay-per-click and search engine marketing campaigns.

Google AdWords – Google’s Paid Search Program

Keywords – The keywords selected for a pay per click campaign include targeted words and phrases that will bring qualified leads to your website based on what users’ are searching on Google and other search engines.

Ad Groups – Similarly themed groups of keywords and ads; one PPC campaign can have multiple ad groups.

Match Type – Four keyword match types are used by Google to determine which searches, in relation to a campaign’s keyword list, can trigger your ads:

• Broad Match – Allow your ad to show on similar phrases, general or specific, that at least include part of your keyword.
• Phrase Match – Your ad will appear when the user searches at least the exact keyword or phrase as well as any other adjectives, modifiers, or details before or after the search term.
• Exact Match – Your ad will appear when users enter only the exact keyword or phrase.

Negative Match – A negative keyword is a keyword you want to ensure that your ads DO NOT appear for.

Impressions – The number of times an ad appears on a search results page. There is generally no charge for impressions.

Clicks – The number of actual clicks on an ad. This is when you are charged.

CTR – Stands for click through rate, a percentage determined by dividing the number of clicks by the number of impressions.

Cost per click – The average cost of a click on an ad. The cost per click varies by keyword.

Avg Position – The average position of a PPC ad on a search engine results page. 10-12 ads generally appear on a regular Google search results page.

Ad Title – The ad title is the headline of a PPC ad. This is the clickable portion of the ad.

Ad Description – The two sentence sales pitch/detail for an ad.

Display URL – The basic parent URL for an ad.

Landing Page – The landing page is the page that a PPC ad directs users to once they click on an ad. The landing page can be any website within the display URL’s site. The best landing pages are highly targeted to the ads and keywords.

If you have any questions about any PPC terms or general pay-per-click marketing campaigns, e-mail Ray at Ray@dynamicsus.com.