Crowdcreate Resource · Glossary The Marketing Glossary: 150+ Terms Across SEO, AI Search, PR, Paid Ads, Influencer Marketing, Lead Generation and Fundraising Last updated: November 2026 · New terms added monthly · Link to any term with its anchor
Plain-English definitions for the terms that come up in marketing, growth and fundraising conversations. Every term has its own anchor, so you can link directly to a definition. Type to filter.
SEO and AI search Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) Structuring content so AI answer engines can extract and cite it. AI Overviews Google’s generated summaries shown above classic results, with cited sources. AI visibility How often and how favorably a brand appears in AI-generated answers. Backlink A link from another website to yours; a core authority signal. Canonical URL The preferred version of a page when duplicates exist. Core Web Vitals Google’s page-experience metrics for loading, interactivity and visual stability. Crawl budget How many pages a search engine will crawl on a site in a period. Domain authority (DA / DR) Third-party scores estimating a site’s link strength; useful for comparison, not a Google metric. E-E-A-T Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness; Google’s quality framework. Entity A distinct thing (brand, person, product) that search systems recognize and connect with attributes. Featured snippet A highlighted answer box at the top of Google results. Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) Increasing a brand’s presence and favorability in AI-generated answers. Indexing A search engine storing a page so it can appear in results. Keyword difficulty An estimate of how hard it is to rank for a query, based on competing pages’ authority. llms.txt A proposed site summary file for language models; adoption remains unconfirmed. Local SEO Optimizing for location-based searches, including Google Business Profile and reviews. Nofollow / sponsored / UGC Link attributes telling search engines not to pass full endorsement. Pillar page A comprehensive hub page linked to supporting articles on subtopics. Programmatic SEO Generating many pages from structured data; risky without unique value per page. Query fan-out AI search breaking one query into several sub-queries searched separately. Retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) Feeding retrieved documents to a model so it can answer with citations. Schema markup Structured data (JSON-LD) that labels page content for machines. SERP Search engine results page. Share of voice Your presence as a share of all visibility for a set of queries or prompts. Technical SEO Site-level work on crawlability, speed, structure and indexation. Topical authority Demonstrated depth on a subject through interlinked coverage and recognition. Zero-click search A search resolved on the results page or in an AI answer without a click. Digital PR Advertising value equivalency (AVE) Estimating coverage value by what equivalent ad space would cost; crude but common. Byline An article published under a named author, often a company executive. Contributor program An outlet’s arrangement allowing outside experts to publish articles. Digital PR Earning online coverage, mentions and links that build authority and SEO. Earned media Coverage you did not pay for, won through newsworthiness and relationships. Embargo Giving journalists information early on the condition it is not published before a set time. Exclusive Offering a story to one outlet first. Guaranteed placement A paid arrangement ensuring publication in a specific outlet, usually via contributor or sponsored routes. Source request platforms Services where journalists request expert quotes; a route to mentions and links. Media kit A package of company facts, logos, images and bios for journalists. Media list A researched list of journalists and outlets relevant to a story. Newsjacking Attaching your expertise or data to a breaking story. Owned media Channels you control: website, blog, newsletter, social accounts. Paid media Advertising and sponsored placements. Pitch A short message proposing a story to a journalist. Press release An official announcement written for media distribution. Brand-paid articles on a publisher site, labeled as such. Syndication Republishing content across multiple outlets or networks. Thought leadership Content that establishes a person or company as an expert voice. Wire service A distribution network that pushes press releases to news sites and databases. Paid advertising Attribution Assigning credit for a conversion to the touchpoints that preceded it. Break-even ROAS 1 divided by gross margin; the ROAS at which ads cover product cost. Customer acquisition cost (CAC) Total acquisition spend divided by new customers. Conversions API (CAPI) Server-side conversion tracking that supplements browser pixels. Cost per acquisition (CPA) Ad spend divided by conversions. Cost per click (CPC) Average amount paid per ad click. Cost per mille (CPM) Cost per 1,000 ad impressions. Creative fatigue Declining performance as an audience sees the same ad repeatedly. Click-through rate (CTR) Clicks divided by impressions. Conversion rate Conversions divided by clicks or visits. Frequency Average number of times a person sees an ad. Incrementality The lift caused by advertising versus what would have happened anyway, measured with holdouts. Lookalike audience An audience modeled on the traits of an existing customer list. Lifetime value (LTV) Total profit or revenue expected from a customer over the relationship. Performance Max Google’s automated campaign type running across all Google inventory. Quality Score Google’s rating of ad relevance, expected CTR and landing-page experience. Retargeting Showing ads to people who previously visited or engaged. Return on ad spend (ROAS) Revenue from ads divided by ad spend. UGC ads Ads built from creator-style, user-generated-looking content. UTM parameters URL tags that identify traffic source, medium and campaign in analytics. Whitelisting (creator licensing) Running paid ads from a creator’s own account with their permission. Influencer and creator marketing Affiliate marketing Paying a commission for sales or leads tracked to a partner’s link or code. Brand ambassador A creator or customer in an ongoing, usually exclusive, relationship with a brand. Creative brief The document telling a creator the goal, messages, must-haves and deadlines. Disclosure Clearly stating a material connection, such as #ad, as required by the FTC. Engagement rate Likes, comments, saves and shares divided by followers or reach. Exclusivity A creator agreeing not to work with competitors for a period. FTC Endorsement Guides US rules requiring honest endorsements and clear disclosure of material connections. Gifting / product seeding Sending free products to creators with no posting obligation. Hybrid deal A reduced flat fee plus affiliate commission. Influencer tiers Nano (1K–10K), micro (10K–100K), mid (100K–500K), macro (500K–1M), mega (1M+). Key opinion leader (KOL) A trusted expert whose opinion shapes a market; common term in Asia and B2B. Material connection Any payment, free product or relationship that could affect how an endorsement is viewed. Creator media kit A creator’s audience stats, past work and rates. Rate card A creator’s or agency’s published prices by deliverable. Review gating Asking only satisfied customers for public reviews; prohibited on Amazon and risky under FTC rules. User-generated content (UGC) Content created by customers or creators for brand use, often without posting on their own channels. Usage rights Permission to reuse creator content, priced by scope and duration. Amazon Vine Amazon’s sanctioned program providing free products to vetted reviewers. Lead generation and outbound Account-based marketing (ABM) Targeting a defined list of high-value accounts with coordinated outreach and content. Bounce rate (email) Share of emails that could not be delivered; keep under 2%. Cold email An unsolicited, personalized email to a prospect with no prior relationship. Deliverability The likelihood that email reaches the inbox rather than spam. SPF, DKIM, DMARC Email authentication records that prove a sender is legitimate. Email verification Checking that an address exists before sending, to prevent bounces. Ideal customer profile (ICP) A description of the company type that gets the most value from your product. Inbox warm-up Gradually increasing sending volume from a new mailbox to build reputation. Intent data Signals that a company is researching a category, used to prioritize outreach. Lead list A researched set of contacts matching an ICP, with verified details. MQL / SQL Marketing-qualified and sales-qualified leads; stages of readiness. Multichannel sequence A scheduled series of touches across email, LinkedIn, phone and social. Positive reply rate Replies that advance the conversation, as a share of emails sent. Reply rate All replies divided by emails sent; the key outbound health metric. Speed to lead Time between an inquiry and the first response; minutes matter. Trigger event A change at a company (funding, hiring, launch) that makes outreach timely. Fundraising and investors Accelerator A fixed-term program providing funding, mentorship and a network, usually for equity. Angel investor An individual investing personal money in early-stage companies. Cap table A record of who owns what percentage of a company. Capital introduction Connecting companies with suitable investors through research and warm introductions. Convertible note A loan that converts into equity at a later priced round. Data room A secure folder of due-diligence documents shared with investors. Dilution Reduction in ownership percentage when new shares are issued. Family office A private firm managing a wealthy family’s investments. High-net-worth investor group A network of wealthy individuals who invest together. Lead investor The investor who sets terms and anchors a round. Option pool Shares reserved for employee equity grants. Post-money valuation Company value immediately after new investment. Pre-money valuation Company value before new investment. Private equity Funds investing in mature companies, often with control and leverage. Runway Months of cash remaining at the current burn rate. SAFE Simple Agreement for Future Equity; converts to shares at a future priced round, often with a valuation cap. Syndicate A group of investors pooling money into one deal, often led by one lead. Term sheet A non-binding summary of investment terms. Investment thesis The stated types of companies, stages and markets an investor backs. Valuation cap The maximum valuation at which a SAFE or note converts. Venture capital Funds investing pooled capital in high-growth startups for equity. Warm introduction An introduction made by someone the investor already trusts. Analytics and general A/B test Comparing two versions to see which performs better. Average order value (AOV) Revenue divided by number of orders. Brand awareness The share of a target audience that recognizes a brand. Churn The rate at which customers stop buying or subscribing. Cohort analysis Tracking groups of customers acquired in the same period over time. Contribution margin Revenue minus variable costs, including acquisition cost. Conversion funnel The stages from awareness to purchase and the drop-off between them. GA4 Google Analytics 4, the current event-based analytics platform. Go-to-market (GTM) The plan for reaching customers: segments, channels, pricing and messaging. Growth marketing Experiment-driven marketing across the whole funnel, not only acquisition. Key performance indicator (KPI) A metric chosen to track progress against a goal. Marketing mix modeling (MMM) Statistical analysis of how each channel contributes to outcomes. North-star metric The single metric that best captures the value delivered to customers. Payback period Months needed to recover acquisition cost from a customer’s margin. Positioning How a brand is defined relative to alternatives in the customer’s mind. Product-market fit When a product satisfies strong demand from a defined market. Retention The share of customers who keep using or buying over time. TAM / SAM / SOM Total, serviceable and obtainable market size estimates. Cite or link to this glossary Crowdcreate. “The Marketing Glossary.” crowdcreate.us, updated November 2026. Link to a term with its anchor, for example #roas.
<a href='https://crowdcreate.us/marketing-glossary/#roas'>ROAS, defined (Crowdcreate Marketing Glossary)</a>
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