The Marketing Dictionary
SEO and digital marketing glossaryWhat is Caching?
Caching is when a version of a webpage is saved. Caching is used in web development to make pages load faster. When a user visits a page, files are cached. Then, when the next person visits, the website can display the saved files which will load more quickly due to the cache. Sometimes, a cached copy of a page is displayed by your browser. This explains why sometimes you might make a change to a webpage in your CMS, but your browser still shows you the old, cached version. Google also has a cache of the last time it visited each page. You can see the cached version of a webpage by finding it in the search results and clicking on the little triangle and then clicking ‘Cached’.
What is Cloaking?
Cloaking refers to content presented to search engines which is different to that which is presented to users. For example, many years ago, webmasters would sometimes place lots of keywords in white text on a white background, to try to trick search engines into ranking the page for those keywords. Cloaking is against search engine guidelines and can lead to a penalty.
What is Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO)?
The process of improving the quality or quantity of conversion on a website is CRO. Popular CRO tactics include A/B testing for website design, images, call-to-action, price, copy, and messaging.
What is Caffeine?
Caffeine is the name of Google’s web indexing system. With the launch of Caffeine in 2010, Google completely rebuilt the search engine to make it faster and deliver more relevant search results.
What is Closed-Loop Marketing?
Closed-loop marketing (CLM) is the use of analytics data to track marketing efforts all the way from the first touchpoint through to the purchase of a product or service. This enables marketers to work out which marketing campaigns or SEO tactics produced the best return on investment.
What is CMS?
CMS stands for Content Management System. This is the software application which is used to build and display the content on a website. An example of a CMS is Wordpress.
What is CRM?
CRM stands for Customer Relationship Management. The role of a CRM manager is to analyse data about how customers interact with a business to improve customer retention and grow sales.
What is ccTLD?
ccTLD stands for ‘country code top level domain’. For example, .fr is the ccTLD for France and .it is the ccTLD for Italy.
What is Client-Side & Server-Side Rendering?
Client-side and server-side rendering refer to the location where the code runs to render a webpage. With server-side rendering, files are executed at the server, and then the server sends them to the browser in a fully-rendered state. With client-side rendering, however, files are executed in the browser. Client-side rendering is a relatively new approach to rendering websites and it can have SEO implications if not implemented correctly.
What is Conversion Path?
A conversion path is the sequence of steps a website visitor takes from visiting the website for the first time until they purchase a product or service. A conversion path may include multiple sessions and entries to the website via multiple channels.
What is CPL?
CPL stands for Cost Per Lead. This is the amount of marketing spend it takes, on average, to create one sales lead.
What is Critical Rendering Path?
The critical rendering path is the sequence of steps a browser follows to convert HTML, CSS and JavaScript into a visible webpage. Optimising the critical rendering path results in faster page load times.
What is CSS?
CSS stands for Cascading Style Sheets. These files are used to form the layout of webpages, defining layout, colors, and fonts.
What is CRO?
CRO stands for Conversion Rate Optimisation. CRO involves understanding what actions visitors take on a website and what’s stopping them from completing your desired goals.
What is Canonical URL?
If you have duplicate content on different pages of your website, search engines won’t know which one to index. The correct URL, which you want to be indexed, is known as the ‘canonical’ URL. You can inform search engines of which version is the canonical URL by using a canonical tag in a piece of code which looks like this:
<link rel="canonical" href="www.example.com" />
The canonical tag can be placed in all versions of a webpage to tell search engines which URL is the canonical URL to be included in the index.
What is a CTA or Call-To-Action?
A call-to-action (CTA) is a critical component of digital marketing. CTAs are designed to encourage users to take a specific action, such as making a purchase, downloading an app, or filling out a form. They play a crucial role in converting website visitors into customers and are an essential part of any successful marketing strategy.
The primary goal of a CTA is to drive engagement and convert visitors into customers. Effective CTAs are specific, actionable, and easy to understand. They should be placed prominently on a website and be accompanied by clear, concise messaging. The CTA itself should be easy to find and follow, with a noticeable color that stands out against the background of the website.
One of the key elements of a successful CTA is its placement. It is recommended to place CTAs above the fold, meaning on the portion of a website that is visible without scrolling. This placement increases the visibility of the CTA and ensures that it is seen by as many visitors as possible. In addition, it is important to place CTAs in multiple locations on a website, such as in the header, footer, and throughout the body of a page.
The language used in a CTA is also critical. CTAs should use language that is clear and concise, with a strong sense of urgency. For example, instead of using vague language such as "click here," a CTA should use language such as "Download Now" or "Get Started." This type of language clearly communicates the action that the user should take, and is more likely to result in conversions.
In addition to language, the design of a CTA is also important. CTAs should be eye-catching and easy to locate. A common design for a CTA is a button, with a contrasting color that stands out against the background of the website. The button should be large enough to be easily clickable, with enough white space around it to ensure that it is easy to find.
One of the most important aspects of a CTA is its relevance. The CTA should be relevant to the page it is located on and should align with the overall goals of the website. For example, a CTA on a product page should encourage visitors to make a purchase, while a CTA on a blog post should encourage visitors to read more articles or sign up for a newsletter.
Another factor to consider when designing a CTA is the tone of the website. The tone of a website should be consistent throughout, and this includes the tone of the CTAs. For example, a website with a serious tone should use serious language in its CTAs, while a website with a fun, lighthearted tone should use language that reflects this.
Finally, it is important to measure the success of CTAs. This can be done using metrics such as click-through rates (CTR), conversion rates, and bounce rates. These metrics can help determine which CTAs are performing well and which need improvement. By regularly monitoring and analyzing these metrics, it is possible to optimize CTAs and increase conversions.
In conclusion, a CTA is a crucial component of any digital marketing strategy. It plays a vital role in converting website visitors into customers and is an essential part of any successful marketing plan. To be effective, a CTA must be well-designed, well-placed, and relevant to the website. By measuring its success, it is possible to optimize CTAs and increase conversions, driving engagement and success for a business.
What is CTR?
CTR stands for Click-Through Rate. In search engine marketing, this refers to the ratio of the people who saw a link on the search engine results page to those who clicked it to visit the website. For example, if you had 100 impressions and 5 clicks, your CTR would be 5%.
What are Citations?
A citation is a mention of your brand online. This may or may not include a link to your website.
What are Crawler Directives?
Crawler directives tell search engines how to behave when crawling and indexing your website. Examples of crawler directives are the robots meta tag, the x-robots tag and the robots.txt file.
What is CAC?
CAC stands for Customer Acquisition Cost. This is the cost of convincing a potential customer to buy a product or service. CAC is calculated by dividing your marketing expenses by the number of customers acquired. For example, if you spent £100 on marketing and acquired 10 customers, then your CAC would be £10.
