Google Ads Glossary

A method of comparing two versions of an ad, landing page, or campaign element to determine which performs better. Marketers use it to optimize results by testing variations in headlines, descriptions, or creative assets, then allocating more budget to the winning version. It's essential for data-driven decision making and improving key metrics like click-through rate and conversion rate.

The real-time process Google uses to determine which ads appear and in what order each time a user performs a search. The auction considers your bid amount, Quality Score, and expected impact of ad extensions to calculate your Ad Rank. Understanding the ad auction helps marketers recognize that winning ad placements isn't just about bidding the most—relevance and quality matter too.

The written text that appears in your Google Ads, including headlines, descriptions, and calls to action. Effective ad copy is crucial because it directly influences click-through rates and determines whether users find your ad relevant to their search. Strong ad copy clearly communicates your value proposition and encourages users to take a specific action.

The method Google uses to pace how your ads are shown throughout the day based on your budget. Previously, advertisers could choose between standard delivery (spreading impressions evenly) or accelerated delivery (showing ads as quickly as possible), though Google now uses standard delivery by default. Understanding ad delivery helps you ensure your budget lasts throughout peak hours rather than being exhausted early in the day.

Additional pieces of information that expand your ad with extra details like phone numbers, links to specific pages, location information, or promotional offers. Extensions increase your ad's visibility and click-through rate by giving users more reasons and ways to engage with your business. Google automatically selects which extensions to show based on what it predicts will improve performance, and using them can also boost your Ad Rank at no additional cost per click.

A container within a campaign that holds a set of related keywords, ads, and bids that share a common theme. Ad groups allow you to organize your account by grouping tightly related keywords with ads that speak directly to those search terms. Well-structured ad groups improve Quality Score and make it easier to write relevant ad copy, leading to better performance and lower costs.

The specific location where your ad appears, whether on Google search results pages, within the Display Network on particular websites, apps, or YouTube videos. For Display and Video campaigns, you can target specific placements or let Google automatically select them based on your audience and goals. Reviewing placement reports helps you identify high-performing locations and exclude sites that waste budget or don't align with your brand.

The order in which your ad appears on a search results page relative to other ads, with position 1 being the top spot. Ad position is determined by your Ad Rank, which factors in your bid, Quality Score, and expected impact of extensions. While higher positions typically receive more clicks, they also cost more, so balancing position with profitability is key to optimizing campaign performance.

A Google Ads tool that lets you see how your ad appears in search results for specific keywords, locations, and devices without generating impressions or affecting your account data. It also diagnoses why an ad might not be showing, such as budget limitations, low Ad Rank, or disapproved content. Marketers use this tool to troubleshoot ad visibility issues without skewing performance metrics through repeated live searches.

The score Google calculates to determine your ad's position and whether it will show at all, based on your bid, Quality Score, search context, and expected impact of ad extensions. A higher Ad Rank means better placement without necessarily paying more, since improving relevance and quality can boost your rank. It's recalculated in every auction, making ongoing optimization of bids and ad quality essential for competitive positioning.

A setting that controls how Google displays multiple ads within the same ad group when they're eligible to show. You can choose to optimize for clicks or conversions, letting Google favor higher-performing ads, or rotate ads more evenly for testing purposes. Proper ad rotation settings help you either maximize results automatically or gather balanced data when comparing ad variations.

A feature that lets you specify which days and times your ads are eligible to appear, also known as dayparting. You can also apply bid adjustments to increase or decrease bids during specific time periods when conversions are more or less likely. Ad scheduling helps you focus budget on peak performance windows and avoid spending when your target audience is less active or your business is closed.

A Google Ads feature that allows you to test changes to your ads at scale across multiple campaigns or your entire account simultaneously. Instead of manually editing individual ads, you can create rules to swap headlines, update descriptions, or modify text, then measure performance differences. This tool streamlines A/B testing and helps you quickly identify which messaging resonates best with your audience.

Google's program that allows website owners and publishers to earn revenue by displaying ads on their sites, which are served from the Google Display Network. For advertisers, understanding AdSense matters because these publisher sites are where your Display Network ads may appear. The revenue model is typically based on clicks or impressions, with Google splitting the ad revenue between itself and the site owner.

Interactions with your ads that contribute to a conversion but aren't the final click before the user converts. Assist clicks and impressions reveal how different keywords, ads, or campaigns work together in the customer journey by showing touchpoints that influenced a conversion without receiving direct credit. Analyzing these metrics helps you understand the full value of your campaigns and avoid cutting keywords that play an important supporting role.

Conversions where a particular campaign, ad group, or keyword appeared in the user's path but wasn't the final interaction before converting. This metric shows how often certain elements help drive conversions even when they don't get last-click credit. Reviewing assisted conversions prevents you from undervaluing upper-funnel campaigns that introduce customers to your brand and influence their eventual purchase decision.

A framework for assigning credit to different touchpoints in a customer's journey before they convert, such as first-click, last-click, linear, or data-driven models. Different models distribute conversion credit differently—last-click gives all credit to the final interaction, while data-driven uses machine learning to assign credit based on actual impact. Choosing the right attribution model helps you accurately evaluate campaign performance and make smarter budget allocation decisions.

A Google Ads report that shows how your ads perform compared to competitors participating in the same auctions. It displays metrics like impression share, overlap rate, and outranking share to reveal who you're competing against and how often you win. This data helps you identify competitive threats, spot opportunities to gain market share, and inform bidding and budget strategies.

A defined group of users you can target or observe based on their demographics, interests, behaviors, or past interactions with your business. Google Ads offers various audience types including in-market, affinity, remarketing, and custom audiences to help you reach people most likely to convert. Using audiences strategically allows you to tailor your messaging and bids to the users who matter most to your business goals.

A centralized hub within Google Ads where you can create, view, and manage all your audience segments in one place. It allows you to build custom audiences, upload customer lists, set up remarketing lists, and combine multiple audience sources for targeting. Using Audience Manager helps you organize and refine your targeting strategy without navigating through individual campaigns or settings.

A specific subset of users grouped by shared characteristics such as demographics, interests, purchase intent, or previous interactions with your website or app. Segments can be applied to campaigns for targeting (showing ads only to that group) or observation (monitoring performance without restricting reach). Effective use of audience segments improves ad relevance and helps you allocate budget toward users most likely to convert.

A Google Ads feature that automatically appends a unique tracking parameter called GCLID to your destination URLs when users click your ads. This enables seamless data sharing between Google Ads and Google Analytics, providing detailed conversion and behavior insights without manual URL tagging. Enabling auto-tagging is essential for accurate cross-platform reporting and conversion tracking.

Bid strategies where Google uses machine learning to automatically set bids for each auction based on your campaign goals, such as maximizing clicks, conversions, or return on ad spend. Options include Target CPA, Target ROAS, Maximize Conversions, and Enhanced CPC, each optimizing toward different objectives. Automated bidding saves time and leverages real-time signals like device, location, and time of day that would be impossible to adjust manually.

Custom instructions you set within Google Ads to automatically make changes to your account based on conditions you define, such as pausing ads when cost exceeds a threshold or increasing bids when conversion rate is high. Rules can adjust bids, budgets, and ad status on a scheduled basis without manual intervention. They help you maintain control over your account while reducing repetitive management tasks.

The average amount you pay each time someone clicks on your ad, calculated by dividing total cost by the number of clicks. This metric helps you understand how efficiently you're driving traffic relative to your budget and bids. Monitoring Avg. CPC alongside conversion data helps you evaluate whether you're paying a sustainable price for the results you're getting.

A legacy metric that showed where your ad typically appeared on the search results page relative to other ads, with 1 being the top position. Google has since replaced this metric with impression-based metrics like Top Impression Rate and Absolute Top Impression Rate, which more accurately reflect ad visibility. Understanding its replacement helps you interpret historical data and use current metrics for position optimization.

The portion of a webpage that users must scroll down to see, as opposed to content immediately visible when the page loads. For Display Network ads, below-the-fold placements typically receive fewer views and lower engagement than above-the-fold positions. Advertisers often monitor placement reports to assess whether their ads are appearing in high-visibility locations.

Percentage modifiers that increase or decrease your bids based on specific criteria like device type, location, time of day, or audience segment. For example, you might set a +20% adjustment for mobile users if they convert at a higher rate. Bid adjustments let you fine-tune your bidding strategy to prioritize the contexts where your ads perform best without creating separate campaigns.

The spending amount that triggers an automatic charge to your payment method before your monthly billing date. Google charges your account each time you reach this threshold or at the end of your billing cycle, whichever comes first. Your threshold typically starts low and increases over time as you build a positive payment history with Google.

A bidding strategy where advertisers intentionally bid low to capture cheaper clicks in lower ad positions, often targeting less competitive placements. While this approach reduces cost-per-click, it typically results in fewer impressions and clicks overall. It can be useful for budget-conscious campaigns where volume is less important than cost efficiency.

When a user clicks your ad, lands on your website, and leaves without taking any further action or visiting additional pages. A high bounce rate may indicate that your landing page doesn't match user expectations set by your ad or has usability issues. Reducing bounces by aligning ad copy with landing page content improves Quality Score and conversion rates.

The default keyword match type that allows your ad to show for searches related to your keyword, including synonyms, related queries, and variations Google deems relevant. It provides the widest reach but least control, potentially triggering ads for loosely connected searches. Broad match works best when paired with Smart Bidding, which helps optimize for conversions across the expanded traffic.

A former match type that used plus signs (+) before keywords to require those terms be present in the user's search query while still allowing flexibility in word order and additional terms. Google phased out this match type in 2021, merging its functionality into phrase match. Historical campaigns may still reference BMM keywords, which now behave as phrase match.

A feature that allows you to make changes to multiple campaigns, ad groups, keywords, or ads simultaneously within the Google Ads interface. This saves significant time when applying the same modification across many elements, such as updating bids or pausing underperforming keywords. Bulk edits are accessible through the interface or by using Google Ads Editor for larger-scale changes.

A method for making large-scale changes to your Google Ads account by uploading spreadsheets containing campaign data and modifications. This is ideal for creating or editing hundreds of keywords, ads, or targeting settings at once. Bulk uploads can be done through Google Ads Editor or directly in the platform using supported file formats.

A campaign type designed specifically to drive phone calls to your business directly from ads, rather than website visits. These ads display your phone number prominently and allow users to call with a single tap on mobile devices. Call campaigns are ideal for businesses where phone conversations are the primary conversion goal, such as service providers or appointment-based businesses.

An ad extension that adds your phone number to your ads, allowing users to call your business directly from search results. On mobile devices, users can tap to call instantly, making it easy to connect with potential customers. Call extensions can be scheduled to show only during business hours and provide call reporting to track performance.

A method for measuring phone calls generated by your ads, allowing you to attribute calls to specific campaigns, ad groups, or keywords. Google Ads provides call reporting that tracks call duration, caller area code, and whether calls came from ads or your website. Call tracking helps you understand the full value of campaigns that drive phone leads rather than just online conversions.

A phrase in your ad or landing page that prompts users to take a specific action, such as 'Buy Now,' 'Get a Quote,' or 'Sign Up Today.' Strong CTAs create urgency and clearly communicate what you want users to do next. Effective CTAs improve click-through and conversion rates by guiding users toward the desired outcome.

Ad extensions that display additional descriptive text highlighting specific features, benefits, or offers like 'Free Shipping' or '24/7 Support.' Unlike sitelinks, callouts are not clickable and simply add extra selling points beneath your ad. They help differentiate your business and increase ad visibility without requiring separate landing pages.

The highest organizational level in your Google Ads account where you set budget, targeting, bidding strategy, and campaign type. Each campaign contains ad groups and controls broad settings like geographic targeting, language, and network placement. Structuring campaigns around distinct goals, products, or audiences helps you manage performance and budget allocation effectively.

Settings that prevent your Display or Video ads from appearing on specific websites, apps, YouTube channels, or categories of content. Exclusions help protect brand safety by avoiding inappropriate or low-performing placements and ensure your budget is spent on relevant inventory. You can exclude individual placements or entire content categories like gambling or mature content.

A log within Google Ads that records all modifications made to your account, including who made them and when. It tracks changes to bids, budgets, keywords, ads, targeting, and settings, providing a detailed audit trail. Reviewing change history helps you troubleshoot performance fluctuations and understand what adjustments may have caused shifts in results.

When a user interacts with your ad by clicking on it, typically directing them to your website or triggering a call. Clicks are a fundamental metric indicating user interest and are the basis for cost in cost-per-click (CPC) campaigns. Tracking clicks alongside conversions helps you measure how effectively your ads drive engagement and results.

The percentage of people who click your ad after seeing it, calculated by dividing clicks by impressions. CTR is a key indicator of ad relevance and directly impacts your Quality Score—higher CTRs suggest your ad resonates with searchers. Industry benchmarks vary, but improving CTR through better ad copy and targeting typically lowers costs and improves ad position.

A Display Network targeting method that shows your ads on websites or pages with content related to your chosen keywords or topics. Google analyzes page content and matches it with your targeting criteria to find relevant placements. Contextual targeting reaches users while they're engaged with related subject matter, even if they're not actively searching for your product.

A valuable action you want users to take after clicking your ad, such as making a purchase, submitting a form, signing up for a newsletter, or calling your business. Conversions are tracked through code snippets or tags placed on your website and are essential for measuring campaign ROI. Defining and tracking the right conversions allows you to optimize campaigns toward meaningful business outcomes.

The webpage a user sees after completing a desired action, such as a thank-you page after a purchase or form submission. This page is typically where conversion tracking code is placed to record completed actions. Ensuring your confirmation page loads correctly and contains the tracking tag is essential for accurate conversion measurement.

Categories or specific webpages from your site that Google uses to automatically match your Dynamic Search Ads to relevant user searches. You can target all pages, specific page categories, or individual URLs based on page content, titles, or custom labels. Dynamic ad targets let Google's algorithms find search queries your keyword lists might miss by scanning your website content.

A feature that automatically inserts a user's search query into your ad text, making ads appear more relevant to what they searched for. You implement it using a special code snippet like {KeyWord:Default Text} in your headlines or descriptions. DKI can improve click-through rates but requires careful setup to avoid awkward phrasing or unintended keyword insertions.

An advanced remarketing technique that shows users personalized ads featuring the specific products or services they previously viewed on your website. It requires a product feed and proper tagging to match users with relevant inventory from your catalog. Dynamic remarketing typically outperforms standard remarketing by delivering highly relevant, personalized ad content that reminds users of items they already showed interest in.

Display ads that automatically combine your uploaded assets—images, logos, headlines, and descriptions—with product information from your feed to create personalized ads. Google optimizes which combinations to show based on performance and user context. These ads scale easily across the Display Network and adapt their format to fit various placements and screen sizes.

A campaign type where Google automatically generates ad headlines and selects landing pages based on your website content rather than keywords you specify. Google matches user searches to relevant pages on your site and creates ads on the fly. Dynamic Search Ads are useful for capturing traffic from searches you haven't explicitly targeted and for sites with large or frequently changing inventory.

An optional campaign setting that specifies when your campaign will automatically stop running. Setting an end date is useful for time-sensitive promotions, seasonal campaigns, or fixed-budget initiatives that shouldn't continue indefinitely. Without an end date, campaigns run continuously until manually paused or budget is exhausted.

A semi-automated bidding strategy that adjusts your manual bids up or down based on how likely a click is to result in a conversion. Google uses machine learning signals like device, location, and time of day to optimize bids while you maintain base bid control. ECPC offers a middle ground between fully manual bidding and completely automated strategies.

A keyword match type that triggers your ad only when users search for your exact keyword or very close variants like misspellings, plurals, or reordered words with identical meaning. Exact match provides the tightest control over which searches trigger your ads, typically resulting in higher relevance and conversion rates. Denoted by brackets [like this], it's ideal for high-intent terms where precision matters most.

A method of comparing attribution models to understand which campaigns, keywords, or channels initiate customer journeys versus which ones close conversions. First-click attribution credits the touchpoint that introduced the user, while last-click credits the final interaction before conversion. Analyzing both perspectives helps you identify which efforts drive awareness versus which drive action, informing more balanced budget decisions.

An account structure strategy where you use broader match types at the campaign or ad group level and progressively narrower match types for more specific terms. This approach helps control traffic flow, ensuring broad terms capture volume while exact match terms handle high-intent searches with tailored bids. Keyword tapering prevents internal competition and allows you to allocate budget more strategically across the conversion funnel.

Custom tags you can apply to campaigns, ad groups, ads, or keywords to organize and filter your account based on categories meaningful to your business. Labels help you group elements across different campaigns for reporting, such as tagging all brand terms or seasonal promotions. Using labels streamlines analysis and bulk management without changing your account structure.

The webpage users arrive at after clicking your ad, which should be relevant to the ad content and optimized for conversion. Landing page experience is a component of Quality Score, so page speed, mobile-friendliness, and content relevance directly impact ad performance. A well-designed landing page aligns with user intent and makes it easy to complete the desired action.

A targeting setting that determines which users see your ads based on their Google interface language settings or inferred language preferences. You can target one or multiple languages per campaign to reach users who speak those languages. Language targeting ensures your ads appear to users who can understand your ad copy and website content.

Ad extensions that display your business address, phone number, and a map marker alongside your ads, helping users find your physical location. They're linked through Google Business Profile and can show distance to your store on mobile devices. Location extensions are essential for businesses with physical locations that want to drive foot traffic and local engagement.

An automated bidding strategy where Google sets bids to get as many clicks as possible within your budget. You can optionally set a maximum CPC limit to control costs while still automating bid management. This strategy works well for driving traffic when brand awareness or site visits are the primary goal rather than specific conversions.

The highest amount you're willing to pay for a single click on your ad, either set manually or as a cap within automated bidding strategies. Setting a max CPC helps control costs but may limit your ability to compete in higher-priced auctions. Balancing bid limits with performance goals ensures you remain competitive without overspending on individual clicks.

A legacy ad setting that indicated a preference for showing a specific ad on mobile devices rather than desktops or tablets. Google has largely phased out this option in favor of responsive ad formats that automatically adapt to all devices. Modern campaigns use responsive search ads and device bid adjustments instead of creating separate mobile-preferred versions.

A feature that locks a specific headline or description to a particular position within a responsive search ad, overriding Google's automatic optimization. Pinning ensures certain messaging always appears, such as a required disclaimer or brand name in headline one. Use pinning sparingly, as it limits Google's ability to test combinations and may reduce overall ad performance.

Specific websites, apps, YouTube channels, or videos where your Display or Video ads appear or where you want them to appear. You can manually select placements for precise targeting or let Google automatically choose them based on your audience and goals. Reviewing placement reports helps identify high-performing sites and exclude those that waste budget or don't fit your brand.

A bidding approach that applies a single automated bid strategy across multiple campaigns, ad groups, or keywords to optimize toward a shared goal. Portfolio strategies pool performance data for more informed bid decisions and allow you to set targets at the portfolio level rather than individually. This method simplifies management and can improve results for accounts with related campaigns pursuing similar objectives.

The former name for what is now called Google Shopping Ads, which display product images, prices, and merchant names directly in search results. These ads pull data from your Merchant Center product feed rather than traditional keywords and ad copy. Shopping campaigns have replaced PLAs, offering enhanced features like product groups, local inventory ads, and Performance Max integration.

A 1-10 diagnostic rating that reflects the relevance and quality of your keywords, ads, and landing pages compared to other advertisers. It's calculated based on expected click-through rate, ad relevance, and landing page experience. Higher Quality Scores typically lead to lower costs-per-click and better ad positions, making it a crucial metric for efficient campaign performance.

A section in Google Ads that provides personalized suggestions to improve campaign performance, such as adding keywords, adjusting bids, or enabling new features. Each recommendation includes an estimated impact and can often be applied with one click. While recommendations can be helpful, they should be evaluated against your specific goals since Google's suggestions may prioritize spend increases.

A budget suggestion Google provides based on your campaign's recent performance, estimated traffic, and missed opportunities due to budget constraints. This recommendation appears when your campaigns are frequently limited by budget and could potentially gain more clicks or conversions. Consider it alongside your actual ROI data rather than automatically increasing spend based solely on Google's suggestion.

How closely your keywords, ads, and landing pages match the intent and expectations of users searching for your products or services. High relevance improves Quality Score, click-through rates, and conversion rates while lowering costs. Maintaining relevance requires tight alignment between what users search for, what your ad promises, and what your landing page delivers.

A targeting strategy that shows ads to users who have previously visited your website, used your app, or interacted with your business. Remarketing keeps your brand visible as potential customers browse other sites or search again, encouraging them to return and convert. It typically produces higher conversion rates and ROI because you're reaching users who have already shown interest.

A feature that lets you customize search campaigns for users who have previously visited your website, allowing you to adjust bids or show different ads when past visitors search on Google. You can bid more aggressively for returning visitors or target broader keywords only for users already familiar with your brand. RLSAs combine the high intent of search with the qualified audience of remarketing.

A video ad format where you provide multiple video assets, headlines, descriptions, and calls-to-action, and Google automatically assembles combinations optimized for different placements and audiences. This format adapts to various YouTube and Display Network placements without creating multiple ad versions manually. Responsive video ads simplify creative production while allowing machine learning to identify top-performing combinations.

A metric that measures revenue generated for every dollar spent on advertising, calculated by dividing conversion value by ad cost. For example, a ROAS of 4:1 means you earn $4 for every $1 spent. ROAS is essential for evaluating campaign profitability and is used as a target in automated bidding strategies like Target ROAS.

JavaScript code that automates tasks and makes changes to your Google Ads account based on custom logic you define. Scripts can automate bid adjustments, generate reports, pause underperforming ads, check for broken URLs, and more on a scheduled basis. They offer powerful customization for advertisers comfortable with coding or willing to use pre-built scripts shared by the community.

The page displayed by Google after a user enters a search query, containing organic listings, paid ads, and various features like featured snippets, maps, and shopping results. Understanding SERP layout helps you anticipate where your ads appear and how they compete for attention with organic results and other ad formats. SERP features vary based on query type, device, and user location.

A set of reports in Google Ads that show the path users take before converting, including all the searches, clicks, and impressions that contributed to a conversion. These reports reveal how different keywords and campaigns work together across multiple interactions before a user completes a desired action. Search funnel data helps you understand the full customer journey and avoid undervaluing upper-funnel touchpoints.

Websites and search engines beyond Google.com that partner with Google to display search ads, including sites like YouTube search, Google Maps, and hundreds of non-Google partner sites. You can opt campaigns in or out of Search Partners at the campaign level. Search Partners often deliver lower CPCs but may also have different conversion rates, so monitoring performance separately is recommended.

The former name for what is now called the Search Terms Report, which shows the actual searches users typed that triggered your ads. This report helps you identify valuable new keywords to add and irrelevant queries to exclude as negative keywords. Regularly reviewing this report is essential for refining targeting and eliminating wasted spend on unrelated searches.

The exact word or phrase a user types into Google when performing a search, which may differ from the keywords you're bidding on. Your keywords trigger ads, but search terms show what users actually searched for when your ad appeared. Analyzing the gap between your keywords and actual search terms helps improve targeting precision and identify new opportunities.

A Google Ads report that displays the actual queries users searched when your ads were shown and clicked, along with performance metrics for each term. It reveals which searches are driving results and which are wasting budget on irrelevant traffic. Use this report regularly to discover new keywords to add and negative keywords to exclude for better campaign efficiency.

A budget that's distributed across multiple campaigns automatically, allowing Google to allocate spend to whichever campaigns have the most opportunity at any given time. This simplifies budget management and can improve overall performance by shifting spend to higher-performing campaigns within the shared pool. Shared budgets work best for campaigns with similar goals and comparable performance expectations.

A section in Google Ads that stores reusable assets and settings that can be applied across multiple campaigns, including audience lists, negative keyword lists, shared budgets, bid strategies, and placement exclusions. Centralizing these elements in the Shared Library saves time and ensures consistency across your account. Changes made in the library automatically apply wherever those assets are used.