This glossary defines common marketing, advertising, analytics, and unit-economics acronyms. Many terms are simple abbreviations, but a few can be misleading if the cost scope, time period, or platform definition is not clear.
Paid Media Terms
| Acronym | Meaning | Definition note |
|---|---|---|
| CTR | Click-through rate | Clicks divided by impressions, multiplied by 100. |
| CPC | Cost per click | Average cost paid for a click. |
| CPM | Cost per mille | Cost per 1,000 impressions. |
| CPA | Cost per acquisition/action | Cost divided by conversions or acquisitions, depending on the defined action. |
| CPL | Cost per lead | Cost divided by leads generated. |
| CVR | Conversion rate | Conversions divided by interactions or visitors, depending on the report. |
| ROAS | Return on ad spend | Attributed ad revenue divided by ad spend. |
| ROI | Return on investment | Profit or return compared with investment cost; broader than ROAS. |
Customer and Revenue Terms
| Acronym | Meaning | Definition note |
|---|---|---|
| CAC | Customer acquisition cost | Acquisition-related costs divided by new customers acquired. |
| LTV / CLV | Lifetime value | Estimated value of a customer over the relationship. It may be revenue-based or margin-adjusted. |
| LTV:CAC | Lifetime value to CAC ratio | LTV divided by CAC. Interpret with margin and payback context. |
| MRR | Monthly recurring revenue | Recurring subscription revenue normalized to a month. |
| ARR | Annual recurring revenue | Recurring subscription revenue normalized to a year. |
| AOV | Average order value | Revenue divided by number of orders. |
| COGS | Cost of goods sold | Direct cost of producing or delivering what was sold. |
| MER | Marketing efficiency ratio | Often total revenue divided by total marketing spend; define scope before comparing. |
Analytics Terms
| Acronym | Meaning | Definition note |
|---|---|---|
| GA4 | Google Analytics 4 | Google’s current analytics property type. |
| BR | Bounce rate | In GA4, the percentage of sessions that were not engaged sessions. |
| ER | Engagement rate | In GA4, engaged sessions divided by sessions. |
| UTM | Urchin Tracking Module | URL parameters used to classify campaign traffic in analytics tools. |
| SEO | Search engine optimization | Work intended to improve organic search visibility and usefulness. |
| SEM | Search engine marketing | Often used for paid search advertising. |
Use Definitions Consistently
Most reporting errors come from mixing definitions: platform CPA vs business CAC, revenue LTV vs margin-adjusted LTV, customer churn vs revenue churn, or ROAS vs ROI. When a metric appears in a dashboard or client report, label the formula and data source.
The Marketing KPI Formula Library and Marketing KPI Dashboard are useful next steps for applying the terms.
Sources and Methodology
This version removes the unsupported “150+ terms” promise and focuses on high-use acronyms that affect reporting accuracy.
