Marketing glossary.
Plain-language definitions for the terms we use every day. Each one links to the service or resource where we put it into practice.
- A/B Testing
- A controlled experiment that compares two versions of a page, email, or ad to see which performs better. Version A (control) runs alongside version B (variant); traffic is split evenly. The version with the higher conversion rate wins. Minimum sample sizes of 1,000+ visitors per variant are needed for statistical significance.
- Brand Book
- A reference document that codifies a brand's visual identity and voice: logo usage, color palette, typography, photography style, tone of voice, and dos/don'ts. It ensures consistency across every touchpoint -- website, social media, print, packaging, and internal communications.
- CPL
- Cost Per Lead -- total campaign spend divided by the number of leads generated. If a campaign costs $1,000 and produces 50 leads, the CPL is $20. CPL benchmarks vary widely by industry: B2B services often see $50-200, while local services may see $10-40.
- CRM
- Customer Relationship Management -- software that centralizes every interaction with leads and clients into a single timeline. A CRM replaces spreadsheets, scattered emails, and sticky notes with a searchable, automatable record of who said what, when, and what happens next.
- CTR
- Click-Through Rate -- the percentage of people who see an ad or link and click on it. Calculated as clicks divided by impressions multiplied by 100. A Google Ads CTR above 3% is generally considered strong for search campaigns.
- Cloudbeds
- A hospitality management platform that combines property management (PMS), channel management, booking engine, and revenue management in one system. Popular with boutique hotels and vacation rentals in Costa Rica. Integrating Cloudbeds with a CRM like HubSpot connects guest data to marketing workflows.
- Content Calendar
- A planning document that maps out what content will be published, on which platform, and when. It typically covers 30-90 days and includes blog posts, social media updates, email campaigns, and video releases. The calendar prevents last-minute scrambles and ensures consistent brand presence.
- Conversion Rate
- The percentage of visitors who complete a desired action -- submitting a form, making a purchase, booking a call. Calculated as conversions divided by total visitors multiplied by 100. A landing page with 200 visitors and 10 form fills has a 5% conversion rate.
- Core Web Vitals
- A set of three Google metrics that measure real-world user experience: Largest Contentful Paint (loading speed), Interaction to Next Paint (responsiveness), and Cumulative Layout Shift (visual stability). Sites that pass all three thresholds receive a ranking boost in Google Search.
- Email Nurture Sequence
- A pre-written series of emails sent automatically after a trigger event (form fill, purchase, inactivity). Each email moves the recipient toward a goal -- booking a call, making a purchase, or re-engaging. A good sequence has 4-8 emails spaced 2-5 days apart.
- GA4
- Google Analytics 4 -- Google's current analytics platform, replacing Universal Analytics. GA4 uses an event-based data model (every interaction is an event, not a pageview) and integrates with Google Ads for conversion tracking. It is the default analytics tool for most websites.
- HubSpot
- An all-in-one CRM and marketing platform that bundles contact management, email marketing, landing pages, forms, live chat, reporting, and sales pipeline tools. HubSpot offers a free tier and scales to enterprise. Maureen Digital is a HubSpot solutions partner.
- Landing Page
- A standalone web page designed for a single conversion goal. Unlike a homepage, it has no navigation distractions -- just a headline, value proposition, social proof, and a form or CTA button. Paid media campaigns typically drive traffic to landing pages rather than homepages.
- Lead Scoring
- A method of ranking prospects by assigning points based on behavior (page visits, email opens, form fills) and profile fit (industry, budget, location). The score tells sales which leads are ready to talk and which need more nurturing.
- Marketing Attribution
- The practice of identifying which marketing touchpoints contributed to a conversion. First-touch attribution credits the channel that brought the visitor in; last-touch credits the final interaction before purchase; multi-touch distributes credit across the entire journey.
- Marketing Automation
- Software that executes repetitive marketing tasks without manual intervention -- sending email sequences, assigning leads, updating CRM records, triggering internal notifications. HubSpot, ActiveCampaign, and Mailchimp are common platforms.
- PPC
- Pay-Per-Click -- an advertising model where the advertiser pays each time a user clicks on an ad. Google Ads and Meta Ads are the two largest PPC platforms. Costs are set by auction: advertisers bid on keywords or audience segments.
- ROAS
- Return on Ad Spend -- revenue generated divided by ad cost. A ROAS of 4.0 means every dollar spent on ads produced four dollars in revenue. It is the primary efficiency metric for paid media campaigns.
- Retargeting
- Showing ads to people who have already visited your website or interacted with your content. A retargeting pixel tracks visitors, then serves them ads on other sites or social platforms to bring them back. Conversion rates on retargeted traffic are typically 2-3x higher than cold traffic.
- SEO
- Search Engine Optimization -- the practice of improving a website's visibility in organic (unpaid) search results. Core disciplines include technical SEO (site speed, crawlability, structured data), on-page SEO (content, keywords, meta tags), and off-page SEO (backlinks, citations, brand mentions).