You went to school to be a top-notch hearing healthcare provider, not a top-notch marketing executive, right?
Reaching your customers, however, requires you to engage digital marketing and the language that goes along with it.
Don’t stress yourself if you don’t know your site impressions from your unique visitors, or your bounce rate from your conversion rate — you have CQ’s Marketing Department and this glossary of website/digital marketing terms to help you make sense of the information.
Website Design
Blog |
A blog is a site page that features regularly updated content. That content could include office announcements/changes, event invites, and discussions about new device technology or health information. |
Content |
The copy, images and videos that make up a website. |
Domain |
The registered name of a website, purchased through a company like GoDaddy. For example, cq-partners.com. |
Hosting |
The “space” you rent on the internet where all the code and content (pictures, videos, copy) that makes up your website lives. A company such as GoDaddy must host your website for it be visible. |
Keyword |
A word or phrase that people use when searching for something online. Keywords are also the words or phrases included in a site’s content to increase search engine rankings. |
Meta Data |
Information built into the coded structure of a website that helps tell search engines what the site, individual site pages, images, and video are about. This can include meta-tags and meta-descriptions. Providing this information is part of the site design process and updating it can be a part of an SEO strategy. |
Mobile Responsive |
A site designed to automatically resize content and adjust to different screen sizes used across devices. The site would automatically resize to accommodate smartphone, tablet and desktop viewing. This is a must-have feature in 2017. |
Platform |
A reference to how a site was built. WordPress has become a standard platform used by many sites. |
Search Engine |
Website designed to provide a list of “results” based on the keywords searched. Google, Bing, Yahoo (in that order) are the three most used search engines. |
SERP |
Search Engine Results Page. The list of sites returned as answers to a search engine search. For example, if you were to search for “women’s suits,” you would want the search engine results page to list sites where you can buy women’s suits. |
URL |
The full web address of a website that is typed into an internet browser to access the site. For example, www.cq-partners.com. |
Webmaster |
The person who manages, and typically can make changes to, a website. If you use a “build-your-own website” platform like Wix, you are the webmaster. If you use a company to build your website or perform ongoing digital marketing, they may be the webmaster. Please Note: If you have a company managing your pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, they may not be managing your website. |
Website Analytics
Analytics |
The data and statistics about the users of a website and how they interact with the website. This can include the device they’re using, where they are, how long they visit the site, if they perform an action on the site (fill out a form), and some demographics. |
Bounce Rate |
The percentage of site visitors that leave from the same page they enter. For example, a person visits the home page and exits the site without viewing any other pages. |
Conversion Rate |
The percentage of unique site visitors who “convert” to leads. For an audiology practice, this would typically be someone who filled out a form on the site or called the office. |
Rank |
The place in search results where a site appears. This is determined by an algorithm (Google’s is considered the industry standard). The actual factors are secret but include keyword density (how many times keywords are included across a site), mobile responsiveness, content quality, and whether recent and regular content updates are made. The Google algorithm is updated about once a year. |
Session |
Can be interchanged with “visit.” Each time a site is viewed. |
Site Impressions |
The number of times a site was shown in search results. |
Traffic |
A total of how many people visited a website. This is typically broken into three segments:
|
Visitor |
A person who visits the site. Analytics software will typically break this count into unique (first time) visitors and total visitors. |
Digital Marketing
Ad Impressions |
The number of times your paid ad is displayed with search results. This is dictated in part by ad budget and quality of ad (how well Google says it matches a search keyword).. |
CPA |
Cost per “acquisition.” The average cost per conversion.. |
CPC |
Cost Per Click. The price paid when a person clicks on an ad. This is determined by a bid system and can vary widely based on factors such as geographical location, keyword competition (how many people want to buy a keyword), and time of day. |
CTR |
Click Through Rate. The percentage of ads that were clicked on. |
Display ads |
Image ads that are displayed on outside websites to people who have not been to your website. |
Landing Page |
A page visitors are directed to after they click on a paid ad. These are specifically built to encourage conversions and feature information specifically tied to the ad, a form, and a strong call to action. These pages can have a higher bounce rate than the rest of a site because they are specifically built to capture lead information rather than provide overall education. |
Local Listings |
A term for online directories that act like phone books, confirming a business’ NAP (name, address, phone number) across the internet. Google Maps is one of hundreds of public local listing resources online that search engines rely on to confirm information. |
PPC |
Pay Per Click. Ads that appear at the top and bottom of search engine result pages based on searched keywords. The cost is based on a bidding system and you only pay for an ad when someone clicks on it. |
Retargeting ads |
Also referred to as remarketing ads, they are image-based ads displayed on other websites, shown only to visitors of the original site. Have you ever looked at an item on Amazon, only to have an ad for that item shown on a news website later that day? That is a retargeting ad. |
SEM |
Search Engine Marketing. The broad term for continuing digital activities like search engine optimization (SEO), social media advertising, and pay-per-click (PPC) advertising. |
SEO |
Search Engine Optimization. The idea of using design and content to give a visitor the best possible user experience (menu order makes sense, images load correctly, mobile responsive), the most relevant information (developing quality content with relevant keywords throughout the site), and to obtain the best possible search results rank. |
Social Media |
Sites like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram that allow users to create and share their own content. These sites now also have their own advertising programs. |
If you have questions about any of the terms in our glossary, need guidance to effectively market your practice, or don’t know where to start, please call us at 800-984-3272 or email us at marketing@cq-partners.com.
We exist to alleviate the stress and jargon associated with marketing your practice so that you can stay focused on helping individuals hear well.
