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A complete glossary of PPC, Google Ads, and Paid Social terms, acronyms, and definitions. Updated for 2025 to include platform-specific metrics (Meta, LinkedIn, TikTok), automation features, and attribution models. Ideal for agencies, advertisers, and PPC specialists.
Account Access
Manages users and their permission levels for your Google Ads account. Found via Tools & Settings > Setup > Account Access.
Account Preferences
Basic account-level settings like timezone, language, and contact info. Found under Tools & Settings > Setup > Preferences.
Ad Extensions
Extra features added to ads (e.g. sitelinks, callouts, prices) to provide more context and increase CTR.
Ad Group
A container for ads, keywords, and bids within a campaign. Inherits campaign-level settings.
Ad Preview and Diagnosis
Tool to preview how your ads appear and diagnose visibility issues. Allows geolocation/device preview without affecting metrics.
Ad Schedule
Specifies days/times when ads are eligible to show. You can set bid adjustments by time of day and day of week.
Ads
Creative units that appear when campaign targeting criteria are met. Format varies by campaign type (Search, Display, Video, etc).
Affiliate Location Extension
Shows nearby retail stores that sell your product (limited to select countries and verticals).
App Extension
Links users directly to your mobile app from your search ad.
Audience Manager
Tool for creating, managing, and analyzing audience lists. Includes segments based on site behavior, demographics, etc.
Audiences
Groups of users you can target or exclude based on interests, behaviors, or site interactions.
Attribution Model
Rules for assigning credit to touchpoints in a conversion path (e.g. last-click, first-click, data-driven).
Billing Documents
Invoices and payment records for your account.
Billing Settings
Stores payment methods and billing contacts. Found under Tools & Settings > Billing > Settings.
Billing Summary
Overview of spend and payment status.
Bid Strategy Type
Defines how your bids are managed (manual, enhanced CPC, target CPA, etc).
Broad Match
A keyword match type. Ads can show for related searches, synonyms, and variations.
Broad Match Modifier (BMM)
Deprecated match type that required specific terms to appear in the query. Replaced by updated broad match logic.
Budget
Daily or monthly spend cap set at the campaign level.
Business Data
Data feeds used to manage ad content or targeting. Access via Tools & Settings > Setup > Business Data.
Call Extensions
Adds a clickable phone number to your ad.
Callouts
25-character snippets that highlight key value points in your ad.
Campaign
Top-level structure in Google Ads that houses ad groups, settings, and budget.
Change History
Shows all changes made to your account, ad groups, keywords, etc.
Chats
Counts of tracked conversations initiated through Message Extensions.
Chat Rate
Percentage of impressions that result in a chat. Chats ÷ Message Impressions.
Clicks
Total number of times users clicked your ads.
Click-Through Rate (CTR)
Clicks ÷ Impressions. Measures ad engagement.
Click Share
The estimated share of clicks your ads received vs the total eligible.
Consent Mode
Modifies tag behavior based on user consent (important for privacy compliance).
Conversion Rate
Conversions ÷ Clicks. Indicates the effectiveness of turning clicks into actions.
Conversion Value
Total value attributed to conversions (e.g. purchase revenue).
Conversions
Tracked actions that count as goals, such as purchases, sign-ups, or calls.
Cost
Total ad spend over a given period.
Cost Per Acquisition (CPA)
Cost ÷ Conversions. Measures the efficiency of your spend.
Cost Per Click (CPC)
The average amount you pay for a click on your ad.
Cost Per Mille (CPM)
Cost per 1,000 impressions. Common for awareness/display campaigns.
Cost Per View (CPV)
Used in video campaigns. Cost ÷ Video Views.
Cross-Device Conversion
Tracks conversions that begin on one device and complete on another.
Customer Match
Upload customer data (emails, phones) to retarget or exclude users.
Data-Driven Attribution (DDA)
Uses machine learning to assign conversion credit across touchpoints.
Demographics
User attributes like age, gender, and household income. Used for audience targeting.
Devices
Tracks performance by device type (desktop, mobile, tablet).
Drafts and Experiments
Tools for testing changes before applying them to live campaigns.
Engagement Rate
Interactions ÷ Impressions. Used in social/video platforms.
Exact Match
Keyword match type that triggers ads only when the query closely matches.
Extensions
Add-ons to ads like sitelinks, callouts, prices, etc.
First-Click Attribution
Assigns conversion credit to the first clicked ad.
Frequency
Average number of times each user sees your ad.
GA4 (Google Analytics 4)
Google’s event-based analytics platform. Replaces Universal Analytics.
Google Analytics
Web analytics platform to track behavior and conversion paths.
Google Merchant Center
Feeds product data for Shopping ads.
Google Search Network (GSN)
Includes Google Search, Maps, and partner search sites.
Google Search Partners
Non-Google sites that show ads from the Google Search Network.
Impressions
Number of times your ad was shown.
Interaction Rate
Percentage of interactions (clicks, views, etc) per impression.
Interactions
Main action type for the ad format (clicks, views, calls, etc).
Invalid Clicks
Illegitimate clicks filtered out by Google (e.g. bots, accidental taps).
Invalid Click Rate
Percentage of clicks flagged as invalid.
Keyword Planner
Tool for researching keywords and estimating search volume/CPC. Found via Tools & Settings > Planning > Keyword Planner.
Labels
Custom tags to organize campaigns, ad groups, or keywords.
Landing Page
Destination page users reach after clicking your ad.
Last-Click Attribution
Assigns all credit for a conversion to the final ad clicked.
Leads (Social)
Tracked submissions via lead gen forms in Meta, LinkedIn, etc.
Linked Accounts
Links between Google Ads and platforms like GA4, Merchant Center.
Location Extension
Displays your business address in your ad.
Locations Report
Breaks down performance by physical or targeted location.
Lookalike Audience
Social targeting based on characteristics of existing high-value users.
Manual CPC
Bid strategy where you set your own max CPC.
Match Type
Controls how closely a keyword must match a user’s search for your ad to appear. Includes Broad Match, Phrase Match, and Exact Match. Each type balances reach with relevance and can influence performance and cost.
Maximize Clicks
Automated strategy to get the most clicks within your budget.
Maximize Conversions
Sets bids to drive the highest number of conversions within your budget.
Maximize Conversion Value
Optimizes for the highest total conversion value.
Message Extension
Lets users initiate SMS chats from the ad.
Meta ThruPlays
Video plays to completion or 15 seconds on Meta platforms.
Message Impressions
Count of times your message extension was shown.
Negative Keyword
A keyword that prevents your ad from showing for irrelevant queries.
Negative Keyword List
Reusable list of negative keywords applied across multiple campaigns.
Performance Max (PMax)
All-in-one campaign using Google’s full inventory and automation.
Performance Planner
Forecast tool for planning budgets and predicting conversion lift.
Phone Calls
Tracked calls from call extensions or call-only ads.
Phone Impressions
Count of times your ad showed with a call option.
Phone-Through Rate (PTR)
Phone Calls ÷ Phone Impressions.
Placement Exclusion List
Blocks specific sites, apps, or videos from serving your display ads.
Policy Manager
Tool to check for disapprovals or policy violations in your account.
Portfolio Bid Strategies
Automated bidding across multiple campaigns.
Post Engagement
Total likes, shares, and comments on your paid posts.
Price Extension
Displays products/services with prices as part of your ad.
Promotion Extension
Highlights limited-time offers directly in your ad.
Quality Score
Google’s 1–10 rating of ad quality, based on expected CTR, ad relevance, and landing page experience.
Reach
The number of unique users who saw your ad.
Reach Planner
Forecast reach/frequency for video campaigns.
Responsive Search Ads (RSA)
Ad format with multiple headlines and descriptions that Google tests automatically.
Return on Ad Spend (ROAS)
Revenue ÷ Ad Spend. Measures efficiency of your investment.
Rules
Automation feature that lets you apply changes based on predefined conditions.
Scripts
Use JavaScript to automate Google Ads changes at scale.
Search Attribution
Conversion path analysis tools within Google Ads.
Search Impression Share
Your share of total available impressions.
Search Lost IS (Rank)
Percentage of impressions lost due to low ad rank.
Search Lost IS (Budget)
Percentage of impressions lost due to budget limitations.
Search Lost Top IS (Rank/Budget)
Same as above, but specifically for the top-of-page positions.
Search Abs. Top IS
Share of impressions in the #1 position.
Search Exact Match IS
Impression share for searches that exactly match your keyword.
Shared Budgets
A single daily budget shared across multiple campaigns.
Sitelinks
Clickable links under your main ad, directing users to different parts of your site.
Smart Bidding
Google’s automated bidding using machine learning.
Social Proof
Total engagement (likes/comments/shares) on a paid post.
Structured Snippets
Predefined headers with lists (e.g. Brands, Types, Services).
Target CPA
Smart bidding strategy to hit a specific cost-per-acquisition.
Target Impression Share
Aims to show ads in a particular page position.
Target ROAS
Smart bidding strategy for achieving a target return on ad spend.
Uploads
Bulk import of data or campaign changes.
User Segments
Groups of users defined by shared attributes or behaviors.
Video Views
Total count of video ad views (varies by platform).
View Rate
Video views ÷ impressions. Indicates creative effectiveness.
View-Through Conversion
Conversion that occurs after a user views an ad (but doesn’t click), then converts later.
