Marketing terms, simplified

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Know the terms. Use them right. Move smarter. What Is provides a clear and crisp guide to marketing terms that matter. Understand what they are and how they work. Each term is built to save you time, cut through noise, and give you the clarity to take action.

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Find it easily. In alphabetical order.

  • Basically it flips the traditional marketing funnel. Instead of casting a wide net, ABM focuses on a few high-value target accounts, usually companies you really want as customers, and treats each one like its own market.

    Here’s how it works: sales and marketing teams align closely to identify these dream accounts. Then, they create highly personalised campaigns, content, emails, ads, even events, crafted specifically for decision-makers at those companies. It’s less about volume, more about relevance.

    ABM works best in B2B, especially when the sales cycle is long and the deal size is big. It’s precise, efficient, and gives better ROI because you’re spending time and budget on people who actually matter to your business.

  • Benchmarking in marketing is the process of comparing your strategies, performance, or assets against industry leaders or competitors to identify what works, and why. It helps you spot gaps, make better decisions, and improve results.

    Beyond just numbers like conversion rates or cost per acquisition, benchmarking is also about using real examples, such as websites, ad designs, landing pages, or copywriting, as reference points. These examples are then upgraded or personalised to fit your company’s style, audience, and goals.

    It's not about copying. It's about adapting what’s proven to work. When done right, benchmarking keeps your marketing sharp, relevant, and competitive.

  • Branding is the process of making your business easy to recognize and remember. It starts with a brand name that’s easy to spell, pronounce, and recall. It includes a memorable logo — simple yet sophisticated.

    Branding also defines your value proposition: why should people buy from you instead of others? And it ties everything together with consistent graphic elements across all your materials — from your website to your packaging. That’s how branding works.

  • A brand message is the specific idea your brand wants to own in the customer’s mind. It’s not just a slogan. It’s the mental shortcut people make when they think of your category. For example, when people hear sportswear, they often think of Nike or Adidas. When someone says budget airline, AirAsia usually comes to mind.

    That’s how a brand message works, by creating a strong link between your business and a keyword, idea, or category. The clearer and more consistent your brand message is, the easier it is for people to recall your brand first when they’re ready to buy. Over time, this builds brand recognition, customer preference, and market leadership.

    If your brand message doesn’t clearly say what you want to be remembered for, your audience will forget you or worse, remember your competitor.

  • it is the strategy of defining how you want your brand to be perceived in the minds of your target audience, especially compared to others in the same space. It answers a simple but critical question: What makes us the better or more relevant choice?

    In marketing, positioning shapes everything from your messaging, visual identity, and pricing, to how you show up in ads or social media. A strong position isn’t about being everything to everyone, it’s about being the right thing to the right people.

    Take AirAsia, for example. They don’t just sell flight tickets. They’ve positioned themselves as the low-cost airline that opens up travel for everyone across Asia. That promise of affordability and accessibility is clear in everything they do, from their bold red visuals to their cheeky, confident tone of voice. It’s why they stand out in a highly competitive airline market.

    Done well, positioning makes your brand easier to remember, easier to trust, and easier to choose. It creates clarity both inside and outside the company, guiding marketing teams on how to talk, act, and deliver value in a way that sticks.

  • A content aggregator is a website or app that collects content from various online sources and displays it in one place. Instead of creating original articles or videos, it pulls in content through RSS feeds, APIs, or web scraping tools. This includes blog posts, news articles, podcasts, social media updates, and more.

    The goal of a content aggregator is to help users discover relevant content faster, without having to visit multiple websites. It organizes content by category, topic, or source—making browsing more efficient. Some aggregators are fully automated, while others are curated by editors or algorithms.

    Examples of popular content aggregators include Google News, Newswav, Flipboard, and Lumi News.

    For content creators, being featured on aggregators can increase visibility and drive traffic to their websites. For users, it’s like having a personalized newsfeed that updates in real-time.

    In short, content aggregators simplify content consumption by pulling everything into one easy-to-browse platform.

  • They are a set of specific metrics Google uses to measure real-world user experience on your website. They focus on three things: loading speed, interactivity, and visual stability which all are crucial for keeping visitors happy.

    The key metrics are: Largest Contentful Paint (LCP) for loading, First Input Delay (FID) for responsiveness, and Cumulative Layout Shift (CLS) for visual stability. If your site loads slow, lags when clicked, or jumps around while loading, you’re going to get hit.

    These vitals directly impact SEO rankings. Google wants users to have a smooth experience, and if your site fails here, you’re less likely to show up on the first page. So optimising Core Web Vitals isn’t just tech fluff, it’s a real performance booster.

  • Domain Authority, or DA, is a score from 1 to 100 developed by Moz. It predicts how well a website might rank on search engines. It’s not a Google ranking factor, but it’s still a handy way to size up how strong your site is compared to your competitors. Higher scores usually mean stronger websites. For instance, a brand-new blog might start at 1, while established sites like Wikipedia sit in the 90s.

    What makes DA useful is its comparative nature. It’s less about chasing a perfect number and more about asking, “Are we stronger than our competitors?” or “Are we building the kind of authority that helps us rank better?” That’s where DA starts to matter.

    DA changes frequently. Moz updates its algorithm, so the score can go up or down even if your actual SEO performance is stable. A drop in DA doesn’t mean your rankings are collapsing. What truly matters is whether your search traffic is growing and whether your content is ranking better.

    The best way to improve your DA is to focus on the stuff that matters: earning high-quality backlinks from reputable sites, publishing content that’s genuinely worth referencing, cleaning up spammy links, and tightening up your internal linking so your site structure supports itself better.

    In short, Domain Authority is just one signal. Use it as a guide, not a goal. If you stay focused on delivering real value, building trust, and improving your site’s foundation, your rankings will follow regardless of what your DA says.

  • An infographic is a visual way to explain information using images, icons, charts, and short text. Instead of reading long paragraphs, you get the key points quickly through pictures and simple words.

    It works by turning complicated facts or data into easy-to-understand visuals. This makes it faster for people to grasp the message and remember it. Infographics are great for showing steps in a process, comparing numbers, or highlighting important ideas.

    In marketing, infographics help grab attention and make information clearer, so people don’t have to work hard to understand what you’re saying. They’re easy to share and perfect for simplifying complex topics.

  • A marketing funnel is a visual model that maps out the customer journey from first discovering your brand to finally making a purchase (and beyond). It’s called a funnel because people drop off at each stage, narrowing down the pool of potential buyers.

    It usually starts with awareness (when people first hear about you), then moves to interest (they’re curious and want to learn more), consideration (they compare you with others), intent or desire (they’re ready to buy), and finally action (they purchase). Some models also include loyalty and advocacy at the bottom, where customers stick around and even refer others.

    Each stage requires a different approach. You can’t sell too hard during awareness, and you shouldn’t educate too much at the intent stage. It’s all about guiding people naturally from one step to the next, using the right message at the right time.

  • It is the blend of neuroscience and marketing. It studies how our brains respond to ads, branding, and product placements, often on a subconscious level. The goal here is to craft marketing that taps into what people really feel, not just what they say.

    It works by using tools like eye-tracking, EEG, or fMRI to see how consumers emotionally and cognitively react to visuals, sounds, or messages. Marketers then use these insights to fine-tune everything from ad layouts to packaging and even pricing.

    The magic of neuromarketing is that it goes beneath surface-level data. Instead of relying on surveys or guesswork, it helps brands understand the instincts driving behavior—what grabs attention, builds trust, and nudges people to act.

  • Off-page SEO refers to all the actions taken outside of your own website to improve its search engine rankings. It focuses on building authority, relevance, and trustworthiness—factors that search engines consider when determining where to rank a site in search results.

    The core of off-page SEO is backlink building. When reputable websites link to your content, it signals to search engines that your site is credible and valuable. Not all backlinks are equal, though. Links from high-authority domains in your niche carry more weight than links from unrelated or low-quality sites. Earning these links through content marketing, digital PR, guest posting, or partnerships is key to an effective off-page SEO strategy.

    Social signals, brand mentions, influencer collaborations, and even online reviews also contribute to off-page SEO. While these factors may not directly impact rankings the same way backlinks do, they increase visibility, drive referral traffic, and build your brand’s online reputation—all of which support higher search performance over time.

    Trust is a major element of off-page SEO. The more often your site is referenced in credible places across the internet, the more search engines see it as authoritative. That’s why ethical link building and genuine engagement matter more than shortcuts or spammy tactics.

    In short, off-page SEO works by increasing your site’s authority and trust in the eyes of search engines through external signals. It complements on-page SEO and is essential for ranking competitively, especially in crowded or competitive industries.

  • On-page SEO refers to the practice of optimising individual web pages to improve their rankings in search engines and drive relevant traffic. It focuses on both the content and the HTML source code of a page, unlike off-page SEO, which involves external signals like backlinks.

    The key elements of on-page SEO include optimising title tags, meta descriptions, header tags (H1, H2, etc.), and using keywords naturally throughout the content. Search engines use these signals to understand the context of a page. A well-structured title tag with a focus keyword, for example, can significantly boost a page’s visibility in search results.

    Content quality is another critical component. Search engines prioritise helpful, original, and well-organised content that directly answers search intent. Incorporating relevant internal links, using descriptive image alt texts, and ensuring mobile-friendliness and fast load times are all essential for both SEO performance and user experience.

    On-page SEO also involves creating clean URL structures, using schema markup when applicable, and maintaining a logical content hierarchy. These technical and content-level tweaks help search engine crawlers index your pages efficiently while making them easier for users to navigate.

    Effective on-page SEO improves discoverability, increases click-through rates, and lays a strong foundation for long-term search visibility. When done right, it ensures that every page on your site is optimised not just for search engines, but for actual human readers.

  • Outbound marketing is the classic, proactive approach to getting your brand in front of people—whether they’re looking for you or not. Think cold and warm email outreach, ads, referrals and partnership-building. It’s all about pushing your message out to a wide audience to spark interest which will lead to inbound marketing.

    How it works is simple. You identify your target segment, craft a compelling offer or message, and deliver it through a paid or direct channel. The goal is to grab their attention and drive immediate action. Unlike inbound marketing, outbound is about going out and getting them.

    It’s interruptive by nature, but when done right, it still works—especially for brand awareness or B2B lead generation where volume and visibility matter.

  • Retention in marketing refers to how well a business keeps its existing customers coming back. It’s not about getting new people in. It’s about making sure the ones who already bought from you, come back again and again or stays longer as a customer.

    Retention works by delivering consistent value, building trust, and staying top of mind. This can include quality products, quality services and quality user experience, follow-up emails, loyalty programs or simply a great customer service that keeps solving the customer’s problem.

    Retention matters because it’s cheaper to retain a customer than to acquire a new one, and returning customers tend to spend more over time. A strong retention strategy grows your revenue, strengthens your brand, and gives your business long-term stability.