A-Z Marketing Glossary for Metrics & KPIs

A

Ad Impressions: The total number of times an advertisement is displayed on a user's screen. Each display counts as one impression, regardless of whether the user saw or clicked on it. This is a foundational metric for calculating CPM. → Calculate your CPM.
Average Customer Lifetime: The average period a person remains a paying customer. This is essential for calculating the total value a customer will bring to your business over time. → Model your customer lifetime value.
Average Order Value (AOV): The average dollar amount spent each time a customer completes an order, calculated as (Total Revenue / Number of Orders). It is a key input for understanding campaign profitability. → See how AOV impacts your campaign funnel.

C

Click-Through Rate (CTR): The percentage of ad impressions that result in a user clicking on the ad. It's a primary measure of ad relevance and creative effectiveness. → Calculate your CTR now.
Comments: User-generated text responses to a social media post, indicating a higher level of engagement than a simple 'like'. → Measure your social media engagement.
Conversion Rate: The percentage of users who take a desired action (e.g., make a purchase, fill out a form) after clicking on an ad or link. It is a critical metric for measuring the effectiveness of your landing page and offer. → See how conversion rate affects your profit.
Cost Per 1,000 Impressions (CPM): The standard price an advertiser pays for one thousand views (impressions) of their advertisement. It is the most common metric for pricing brand awareness campaigns. → Calculate your campaign's CPM.
Cost Per Acquisition (CPA): The total marketing cost to acquire one new paying customer through a specific campaign or channel. It is a tactical metric used to measure the efficiency of advertising efforts. → Model your campaign CPA.
Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC): A broader strategic metric representing the total cost (including marketing, sales, salaries, etc.) associated with acquiring a new customer. Often used interchangeably with CPA, but typically has a wider scope for overall business analysis. → Calculate your CAC and LTV:CAC Ratio.
Cost Per Click (CPC): The price you pay for each individual click on your ad. It's the core metric for performance-based advertising on platforms like Google Search. → Calculate your CPC.
Customer Lifetime Value (LTV): The total revenue you can reasonably expect from a single customer throughout their entire relationship with your company. A crucial metric for strategic planning. → Find your Customer Lifetime Value.

E

eCPM (Effective CPM): Your actual earnings per 1,000 ad impressions, regardless of the pricing model (CPM, CPC, etc.). It's a key metric for publishers to measure the true performance of their ad inventory. → Forecast your website's eCPM.
Engagement Rate: The percentage of your audience that interacts with your social media content (likes, comments, shares). It is a key indicator of content performance and community health. → Calculate your Engagement Rate.

F

Fill Rate: The percentage of ad requests on a website that are successfully filled with an ad. A 100% fill rate is rare; a typical rate is between 70-90%. → Model your revenue with different fill rates.
Followers: The total number of unique accounts that have subscribed to see your content in their social media feed. → Calculate engagement based on followers.

I

Impressions: See "Ad Impressions".

K

Key Performance Indicator (KPI): A measurable value that demonstrates how effectively a company is achieving key business objectives. In marketing, common KPIs include ROAS, CPA, LTV, and Engagement Rate.

L

Lead Conversion Rate (%): The percentage of website visitors or ad clickers who complete a desired action to become a "lead," such as filling out a form or downloading a guide. → Model your lead conversion funnel.
Likes: A simple form of engagement on social media indicating a user's positive reaction to a post. → Measure your social media engagement.
LTV to CPA Ratio: A critical ratio comparing the lifetime value of a customer to the cost of acquiring them. It is a primary indicator of long-term profitability. → Read our in-depth guide on the LTV:CPA Ratio.

N

Net Profit: The total revenue generated from a campaign or business activity minus all associated costs. This is the true measure of profitability. → Calculate your campaign's Net Profit.

P

Page RPM (Revenue Per Mille): The estimated earnings a website publisher accrues for every 1,000 pageviews. It's a holistic metric calculated as (Total Revenue / Total Pageviews) * 1000. → Learn more in our guide to Page RPM.
Publisher: An individual or company that owns a website and displays ads on it to generate revenue. Our tools are designed to help publishers forecast their earnings.

Q

Qualified Lead Percentage (%): The percentage of total leads that meet specific criteria (e.g., budget, authority, need), qualifying them as high-value prospects worthy of a sales team's follow-up. Also known as MQL to SQL conversion rate. → Model your lead qualification funnel.

R

Reach: The total number of unique accounts that have actually seen your social media post, regardless of whether they follow you. → Calculate engagement based on reach.
Return On Ad Spend (ROAS): A percentage that represents the gross revenue generated for every dollar spent on advertising. It is the primary metric for determining the profitability of ad campaigns. → Calculate your ROAS.

S

Sales Team Closing Rate (%): The percentage of qualified leads that your sales team successfully converts into paying customers. The final conversion step in the B2B or high-ticket sales funnel. → Model your sales closing rate.
Saves: An interaction (prominent on Instagram and TikTok) where a user saves a post to view later. It's a strong indicator of high-value, evergreen content. → Include saves in your engagement calculation.
Shares: Occurs when a user shares your social media post with their own network, significantly extending its reach. A key engagement metric. → Measure your social media engagement.

T

True Return on Investment (ROI): A percentage that represents the total lifetime profit generated from a single customer, relative to the cost of acquiring that customer. It provides the most accurate view of marketing profitability. → Understand the difference between ROAS and ROI.

U

Up-Sell: A sales technique where a seller invites the customer to purchase a more expensive item, an upgrade, or other add-ons in an attempt to make a more profitable sale. → Model the impact of up-sells on your revenue.

V

Visitors: The number of unique individuals who visit your website in a given period (e.g., a month). One person visiting multiple times still counts as one visitor. → Forecast your revenue based on visitors.