The Plain-English Marketing Glossary for small business owners.
Agencies use acronyms to make marketing sound harder than it is. Here is what the common ones actually mean.
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Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)
Plain English definition: How much money you have to spend in marketing and sales to win one new paying customer.
Why it matters to your bank account: If your CAC is $200 and a customer only pays you $150, your business loses money with every sale. If CAC is $50 and they pay $500, you have a money-making engine.
Lifetime Value (LTV)
Plain English definition: The total amount of money an average customer spends with your business over their entire relationship with you.
Why it matters to your bank account: A healthy business aims for an LTV that is at least 3x higher than its CAC (the 3:1 golden ratio).
Google Search Console (GSC)
Plain English definition: A free tool from Google that shows you the exact words people typed into Google before clicking on your website.
Why it matters to your bank account: Unlike vanity rankings, GSC shows you real search volume, real impressions, and what questions your buyers want answered.
Conversion Rate (CVR)
Plain English definition: The percentage of people who visit your website or landing page and take an action (like filling out a quote form or booking a call).
Why it matters to your bank account: If 100 people visit your site and 4 submit a form, your conversion rate is 4%. Lifting it from 2% to 4% doubles your leads without spending an extra dime on ads.
Click-Through Rate (CTR)
Plain English definition: The percentage of people who see your link (in an email, Google search result, or ad) and actually click on it.
Why it matters to your bank account: High CTR means your headline or subject line is compelling and addresses what the reader cares about.
Human-in-the-Loop
Plain English definition: A software safety standard where an AI can generate drafts and suggestions, but an actual human must review and approve before anything goes live.
Why it matters to your bank account: It is what stops unreviewed content reaching your customers.
Return on Ad Spend (ROAS)
Plain English definition: How many dollars in revenue you make for every single dollar you spend on paid advertising.
Why it matters to your bank account: A ROAS of 4.0x means you made $4,000 for every $1,000 spent on Google or Meta ads.
Schema Markup (Structured Data)
Plain English definition: Hidden code placed on your website that helps search engines like Google understand your business hours, reviews, pricing, and services.
Why it matters to your bank account: It helps you qualify for rich Google search snippets with star ratings and direct phone buttons.
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