Advertising glossary
A plain-English glossary of the advertising metrics and terms that actually decide whether your ads make money. Each term is defined in one line and links to the full guide or a free calculator.
How to use this glossary
- Terms are grouped by topic — cost metrics, profitability, Google Ads, AI, channels, and measurement.
- Each definition links to a deeper guide so you can go from "what is it" to "what do I do about it".
- Free to reference or cite — an attribution link back to FlowMind is appreciated.
Cost & efficiency metrics
CPC (cost per click) — what you pay each time someone clicks your ad. Full guide.
CPM (cost per mille) — the cost of 1,000 ad impressions. Full guide.
CTR (click-through rate) — clicks divided by impressions, expressed as a percentage. Full guide.
CPA (cost per acquisition) — the average cost to generate one conversion. Full guide.
CPL (cost per lead) — the cost to generate one lead. Full guide.
Conversion rate — the share of visitors who complete a desired action. Full guide.
AOV (average order value) — average revenue per order; a higher AOV raises your break-even CPC. Full guide.
Profitability metrics
ROAS (return on ad spend) — revenue divided by ad spend. Full guide.
Break-even ROAS — the ROAS at which you neither profit nor lose; equals 1 ÷ gross margin. Calculator.
Blended ROAS — total revenue divided by total ad spend across every channel. Full guide.
MER (marketing efficiency ratio) — total revenue divided by total marketing spend. Full guide.
Marketing ROI — the profit from marketing relative to its cost. Full guide.
Break-even CPC — the most you can pay per click without losing money. Full guide.
Profit per click — the average profit each click generates after product and ad costs. Calculator.
CAC (customer acquisition cost) — the full sales and marketing cost to win one customer. Full guide.
CAC payback period — how many months of margin it takes to recover CAC. Full guide.
LTV (lifetime value) — the total profit you expect from a customer over time. Full guide.
LTV:CAC ratio — lifetime value divided by acquisition cost; 3:1 is a common healthy target. Full guide.
Google Ads
Quality Score — Google's 1–10 rating of ad and landing-page relevance. Full guide.
Ad Rank — the score that decides whether and where your ad shows, based on bid, Quality Score, and extensions. Full guide.
Impression Share — the share of available impressions your ads actually received. Full guide.
AI & automation
Performance Max (PMax) — Google's goal-based campaign that runs across all inventory. Full guide.
Demand Gen — Google's visual demand-creation campaign across YouTube, Discover, and Gmail. Full guide.
AI Max for Search — Google's AI-driven Search setting that expands matching and creative automatically. Full guide.
Zero-click search — a search answered on the results page with no click to a website. Full guide.
Channels & formats
Retail media — ads on retailer sites and apps such as Amazon. Full guide.
CTV advertising — ads on internet-connected TV and streaming. Full guide.
Programmatic advertising — automated, auction-based buying of ad inventory. Full guide.
Native advertising — paid content that matches the look of its host platform. Full guide.
Audio advertising — ads delivered through streaming music, podcasts, and digital radio. Full guide.
DOOH advertising — digital out-of-home ads on screens in public spaces. Full guide.
Remarketing — re-targeting people who already visited your site. Full guide.
Attribution & measurement
Marketing attribution — the rules that decide which touchpoints get credit for a conversion. Full guide.
Conversion tracking — measuring which clicks lead to sales or leads. Full guide.
Cookieless tracking — measuring conversions without third-party cookies. Full guide.
Marketing mix modeling (MMM) — statistical modeling of how each channel drives sales. Full guide.
Incrementality testing — experiments that isolate the conversions ads truly caused. Full guide.
Cite this glossary (free): copy the link below — a credit link back to FlowMind is appreciated.