If you’re new to digital marketing or want to make sense of your reports, understanding Google Ads and Analytics terminology is a must.
Use this quick guide as a handy reference for acronyms and metrics you’ll see every day.
Google Ads (AdWords) Key Terms
Search Network: Text ads displayed on Google search results pages.
Display Network: Image or banner ads shown on websites partnered with Google, alongside relevant content.
Clicks: The total number of times your ads are clicked.
Impressions: Every time your ad is shown (viewed) on Google search or partner sites—each showing counts as one impression.
Click-Through Rate (CTR): Percentage of impressions that resulted in clicks. Calculated as clicks ÷ impressions.
Average Position: The average spot your ad appears in the paid (sponsored) search results.
Cost per Click (CPC): The average amount paid each time someone clicks your ad.
Budget: The maximum daily spend set for your campaign.
Spend: Total money spent on driving ad clicks in a given period.
View-Through Conversion: The number of online conversions that happen within 30 days after someone sees (but doesn’t click) your display ad.
New Visitor: Someone who has not clicked your ad in the past 30 days.
Google Analytics Key Terms
Visits (Sessions): The total number of individual browsing sessions on your website (includes both new and returning visitors).
Unique Visitor: An individual user visiting your site for the first time within a set timeframe. (One person can have multiple visits; counted as one unique visitor.)
Direct Traffic: Website visits from users typing your domain directly into their browser or using a bookmark.
Referral Traffic: Visitors coming from links on other websites.
Search Traffic: Visitors from search engines, both paid (Google Ads) and unpaid (organic search).
Paid Traffic: Users who arrived after clicking on a paid ad (e.g. Google Ads).
Organic Traffic: Users who arrived from a natural (unpaid) search result.
Email Traffic: Visits that started by clicking a link in an email campaign.
New Visit: A visit from someone who has not been to your site in the chosen date range.
Returning Visit: A visit by someone who has visited your site before, in the given timeframe.
Bounce Rate: The percentage of sessions where visitors view only one page and then leave your site.
Page Views: The total number of website pages viewed; often measured as an average per visit.
Time on Site: The average amount of time a user spends on your website per visit.
Tip: Knowing what these metrics mean can help you make smarter decisions, improve website performance, and spend your advertising budget more effectively.
Our reputation goes hand-in-hand with our team’s dedication to best practice. As a registered Premier Google Partner, our team refreshes our certifications every 12 months — A tradition we started over a decade ago. To stay ahead, we are always looking forward to upcoming certifications for online advertising, website development and search engine optimisation.
