Marketing Glossary

Above the fold is the part of a web page visible before scrolling. It holds your headline, core offer and first call to action,…

Account-based marketing (ABM) is a B2B strategy that targets a defined list of high-value companies with personalized campaigns, not a wide net.

ADAS calibration is the process of realigning a vehicle's driver-assistance cameras, radar and sensors after repairs so its safety features work correctly.

An ad campaign is a coordinated set of ads that share one goal, budget, audience and message, run across one or more channels over…

ADF/XML (Auto-lead Data Format) is the automotive industry's standard XML format for sending sales leads from websites and vendors into a dealer's CRM.

The aftermarket is the market for vehicle parts, accessories, upgrades and service sold after the original sale by companies other than the automaker.

Aged inventory is vehicles or parts that have sat in stock past a target age, such as 60 or 90 days, raising carrying costs…

Anchor text is the visible, clickable text in a hyperlink. It tells readers and search engines what the linked page is about and helps…

Annual recurring revenue (ARR) is the yearly value of a company's active subscription contracts, used to measure the size and growth of recurring income.

An application programming interface (API) is a set of rules that lets software systems exchange data and trigger actions with each other automatically.

Appointment show rate is the share of scheduled sales or service appointments where the customer actually arrives, a gauge of lead quality and follow-up.

Attribution modeling is the method for assigning credit for a conversion to the ads, channels and touchpoints a customer interacted with before acting.

Average contract value (ACV) is the typical yearly revenue a customer contract is worth, used by subscription and B2B companies to size deals and…

Average order value (AOV) is the average amount a customer spends per transaction, calculated by dividing total revenue by the number of orders.

Average selling price (ASP) is the typical price a product or service actually sells for, calculated by dividing total revenue by the number of…

B2C (business-to-consumer) describes companies that sell products or services directly to individual people for personal use, not to other businesses.

Backlinks are links from other websites to yours. Search engines treat relevant, trusted backlinks as votes of confidence that can improve your rankings.

Below the fold is the part of a web page or email visitors only see after scrolling, typically used for supporting details, proof and…

Black hat SEO refers to tactics that try to manipulate search rankings by breaking search engine guidelines, risking penalties and lost visibility.

Bottom of funnel (BOFU) marketing targets people who are ready to buy, using offers, proof and easy next steps to turn high intent into…

Bounce rate is the share of website sessions where the visitor didn't engage meaningfully, often leaving after a single page without taking any action.

Broad match modifier (BMM) was a Google Ads match type that used + signs to require words in a search. Google folded it into…

A Business Development Center (BDC) is a dealership team that handles leads, calls and follow-up to book sales and service appointments for the store.

A buyer persona is a semi-fictional profile of your ideal customer, built from real data, that captures their needs, motivations and buying behavior.

A call to action (CTA) is a prompt that tells people exactly what to do next, such as call now, book service or get…

A canonical tag is an HTML element that tells search engines which version of a page is the main one when similar or duplicate…

Ceramic coating is a liquid polymer applied to a vehicle's paint that cures into a hard, glossy protective layer that repels water and eases…

Certified Pre-Owned (CPO) is a used vehicle that passed a manufacturer or dealer inspection program and is sold with extended warranty coverage and perks.

A chatbot is software that holds automated conversations with website visitors or customers by text or voice, answering questions and capturing leads 24/7.

Click-through rate (CTR) is the percentage of people who click an ad, link or search result after seeing it, calculated as clicks divided by…

Closed-loop marketing connects marketing activity to actual sales by feeding sales outcomes back into marketing data to see which campaigns drive revenue.

Co-op advertising is a program where a manufacturer reimburses part of a dealer's or retailer's local ad spend when the ads meet the brand's…

Collision estimating software lets body shops and insurers build repair estimates from vehicle parts data, labor times and procedures, then share them.

Conquest marketing targets customers of competing brands or businesses to win them away, such as a dealer reaching owners of rival vehicle makes.

A content delivery network (CDN) is a network of distributed servers that stores copies of site files and serves them from locations near each…

A content management system (CMS) is software that lets you create, edit and publish website content without writing code, like WordPress or Shopify.

Content syndication is republishing your content on third-party websites or platforms to reach new audiences, build authority and drive traffic or leads.

Conversational marketing engages customers through real-time, one-to-one conversations via chat, text, messaging and calls to speed up buying decisions.

Conversion rate is the percentage of visitors, clicks or recipients who complete a goal action, such as a form fill, call, booking or purchase.

Cost per acquisition (CPA) is the average ad spend required to win one conversion, such as a lead, booked appointment or sale.

Cost per click (CPC) is the amount an advertiser pays each time someone clicks an ad, the core pricing unit for most search and…

CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) is the language that controls how web pages look, including layout, colors, fonts, spacing and responsive behavior.

Customer acquisition is the process of attracting, converting and winning new customers through coordinated marketing, sales and follow-up efforts.

Customer acquisition cost (CAC) is the total sales and marketing spend needed to win one new customer, used to judge how efficiently a business…

Customer churn rate is the percentage of customers who stop buying or cancel during a given period, a key measure of retention and loyalty.

The customer journey is the full path a person takes with a brand, from first becoming aware of a need through purchase, ownership and…

Customer pay is service and parts work paid for directly by the vehicle owner rather than by a manufacturer warranty or internal account.

Cycle time in collision repair is the number of days from a vehicle's drop-off at the body shop to its delivery back to the…

Days' supply is how many days a dealer's current vehicle inventory would last at the recent sales pace, showing whether stock is too lean…

Dealer holdback is money a manufacturer pays back to a dealer after a new vehicle sells, usually a small percentage of MSRP or invoice.

A Dealer Management System (DMS) is the core software dealers use to run sales, F&I, service, parts, inventory and accounting from one database.

Demand generation is marketing that builds awareness and interest in your offer over time, creating future buyers instead of only capturing current ones.

A digital marketing strategy is a plan for using online channels, content and data to reach defined business goals with a clear audience and…

Digital retailing lets car shoppers complete much of a vehicle purchase online, from payments and trade value to credit approval and delivery.

Digital transformation is using technology to rethink how a business operates, serves customers and creates value, rather than just digitizing old tasks.

Direct marketing is promotion sent straight to specific individuals, such as mail, email, text or calls, asking for a measurable response.

A Direct Repair Program (DRP) is an agreement between an insurer and a collision shop to repair policyholders' vehicles under agreed standards and pricing.

Discoverability is how easily people can find your business, products or content across search, AI answers, maps, marketplaces and social platforms.

Duplicate content is identical or near-identical text appearing at more than one URL, which can confuse search engines and split ranking signals.

Ecommerce SEO is optimizing an online store's category and product pages so they rank in organic search and attract shoppers ready to buy.

Effective labor rate (ELR) is the average labor revenue a shop actually earns per hour billed, after discounts, warranty and internal work.

Engagement rate measures how actively people interact with your content, such as likes, comments, shares or engaged sessions, relative to reach or traffic.

Enterprise SEO is search optimization for large, complex websites, using scalable processes, automation and team coordination to grow organic traffic.

Equity mining is a dealer retention tactic that uses DMS and loan data to find customers who can upgrade to a newer vehicle at…

Evergreen content is material that stays useful and relevant for a long time, attracting steady search traffic long after it's first published.

Finance and Insurance (F&I) is the dealership department that arranges vehicle financing or leases and sells protection products after a deal is agreed.

Firmographics are descriptive attributes of businesses, such as industry, size, revenue, location and structure, used to segment and target B2B audiences.

Fitment data (ACES and PIES) is the industry standard for describing which auto parts fit which vehicles and the product details behind each part.

Fixed operations (fixed ops) are a dealership's service, parts and often body shop departments, earning steady revenue from maintenance and repair.

Fleet sales are vehicle sales to businesses, governments and organizations that buy multiple units, often through a dedicated dealer fleet department.

Floor plan financing is a revolving credit line dealers use to buy vehicle inventory, repaying each unit's loan plus interest when that vehicle is…

Forecasting is estimating future results, such as leads, sales, revenue or demand, using historical data, trends and assumptions to guide planning.

Geographic segmentation divides a market by location, such as country, region, city, ZIP code or radius, so you can tailor targeting, offers and budgets.

A go-to-market (GTM) strategy is the plan for launching a product or entering a market, covering audience, positioning, pricing, channels and sales.

Google Ads, formerly AdWords, is Google's advertising platform for running paid ads on Search, Shopping, YouTube, Maps, Display and partner sites.

Google Business Profile, formerly Google My Business, is the free listing that shows your business on Google Search and Maps with hours, reviews and…

Google Tag Manager (GTM) is a free tool for adding and managing tracking tags, such as analytics and ad pixels, on a site without…

Guest posting is writing articles for other websites in your industry to reach their audience, build credibility and earn relevant links back to your…

A heat map is a color-coded visual of where visitors click, scroll, and move on a web page, showing which elements get attention and…

HTML (HyperText Markup Language) is the standard code that structures web pages, defining headings, text, links, images and forms for browsers to display.

An ideal customer profile (ICP) describes the type of business or buyer that gets the most value from your offer and delivers the most…

Image alt text is a short written description added to an image in HTML that explains what it shows to screen readers, search engines,…

An impression is counted each time an ad, post, or search result is displayed to a user, whether or not they interact with it,…

Inbound marketing attracts customers by creating useful content and experiences they find on their own, instead of interrupting them with outbound pitches.

An insurance referral is a repair job an insurer sends or recommends to a collision shop, usually through a direct repair program relationship.

Internal links are hyperlinks that point from one page on your website to another page on the same domain, guiding visitors and search engines…

Internal marketing is the practice of promoting a company's goals, brand, and offers to its own employees so they deliver on them with customers.

Inventory turn measures how many times a dealer sells and replaces its average vehicle or parts inventory in a year, showing how efficiently stock…

Invoice price is the amount a manufacturer bills a dealer for a new vehicle, though the dealer's true cost is often lower after holdback…

JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) is a lightweight, text-based format for storing and exchanging structured data between systems, apps, and websites.

Jobs to Be Done (JTBD) is a framework stating that customers buy products to make progress on a specific job, rather than for the…

A key performance indicator (KPI) is a measurable value that shows how effectively a business, team, or campaign is achieving its most important goals.

A landing page is a focused web page built for a single conversion goal, usually where visitors arrive after clicking an ad, email, or…

Lead-to-sale close rate is the share of a dealership's leads that turn into sold vehicles, the clearest test of lead quality and sales follow-up.

Lead generation is the process of attracting potential customers and capturing their contact information so your business can follow up and convert them.

Lead scoring is a method of ranking leads with points based on fit and behavior, so sales teams know which prospects to contact first.

Lifetime value (LTV) estimates the total revenue or profit a business can expect from one customer over the full length of their relationship with…

Long-tail keywords are longer, more specific search phrases with lower volume that often show clearer intent and convert better than broad, generic terms.

Manufacturer incentives and rebates are automaker-funded offers, like customer cash, low-APR financing and lease deals, that help dealers move new cars.

Marketing analytics is the practice of measuring, analyzing, and interpreting marketing data to understand performance, prove ROI, and improve decisions.

Marketing automation uses software to run repetitive marketing tasks, like emails, texts, and lead follow-up, automatically based on rules and triggers.

A marketing channel is a route a business uses to reach and communicate with its audience, such as search, social media, email, video, or…

A marketing funnel is a model of the stages people move through, from first learning about a business to becoming a customer, and often…

Marketing operations (MOPs) is the function that manages the people, processes, technology, and data that let a marketing team run efficiently at scale.

A marketing qualified lead (MQL) is a lead that marketing judges more likely to buy than others, based on fit and engagement, but not…

A meta description is an HTML attribute that summarizes a web page's content and is often shown as the snippet below the title in…

A Monroney sticker is the federally required window label on new cars showing MSRP, standard and optional equipment, fuel economy and safety info.

Motor club dispatch is the system where roadside assistance providers send towing and service calls to contracted tow operators at agreed rates.

MSRP (Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price) is the price an automaker recommends dealers sell a new vehicle for, shown on the window sticker.

A multi-point inspection (MPI) is a standardized check of a vehicle's key systems during a service visit, used to spot needed maintenance and repairs.

Multivariate testing compares many combinations of changes to several page elements at once to see which combination produces the best conversion results.

N-gram analysis breaks search terms or text into word sequences of a set length to reveal patterns, wasted spend, and opportunities across large datasets.

Natural language processing (NLP) is the branch of AI that lets software read, interpret and generate human language, from search queries to chat replies.

Net Promoter Score (NPS) measures customer loyalty by asking how likely people are to recommend a business, then subtracting detractors from promoters.

A North Star Metric (NSM) is the single measure that best captures the core value a business delivers to customers and predicts its long-term…

An OEM (original equipment manufacturer) is the automaker that builds a vehicle, such as Ford or Toyota; the term also covers its factory-spec parts.

OEM certification is an automaker's official recognition that a collision or repair shop has the training, tools and equipment to fix its vehicles to…

OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) are a goal-setting method pairing an ambitious, qualitative objective with a few measurable results that show progress.

Omnichannel marketing connects every channel a customer uses into one consistent experience, so messages and data follow them between touchpoints.

Online marketing is promoting a business through internet channels such as search, social media, email and websites to attract and convert customers.

Organic traffic is website visits that come from unpaid search engine results, rather than from ads, referrals, email or social media links.

Outreach marketing is proactively contacting people, publishers or partners to build relationships, earn coverage or links, and open new opportunities.

PageSpeed Insights is a free Google tool that scores a web page's loading performance on mobile and desktop and suggests specific fixes to make…

Paint protection film (PPF) is a clear, durable urethane film applied over a vehicle's paint to protect it from rock chips, scratches and road…

Per vehicle retail (PVR) is the average gross profit a dealership earns on each retail vehicle sold, combining front-end and F&I back-end gross profit.

A pixel is a snippet of tracking code on a website that records visitor actions and sends them to ad platforms for measurement, targeting…

PPC (pay-per-click) is an advertising model where you pay each time someone clicks your ad, common on search engines, social platforms and marketplaces.

A product detail page (PDP) is the ecommerce page for a single product, showing its photos, price, specs, options and add-to-cart button.

The product life cycle (PLC) is the series of stages a product moves through: introduction, growth, maturity and decline, each needing its own strategy.

Product marketing is the function that positions a product, defines its messaging and audience, and drives its launch, adoption and sales enablement.

A qualified lead is a prospect who fits your target customer criteria and has shown real interest or intent, making them worth active follow-up.

Quality Score is Google Ads' 1–10 keyword rating of ad relevance, expected click-through rate and landing page experience compared with other advertisers.

A query is the exact word or phrase someone types or speaks into a search engine or AI assistant, revealing what they want and…

Real-time bidding (RTB) is an automated auction where ad impressions are bought and sold in milliseconds as a page or app loads for a…

Recall marketing is outreach that tells vehicle owners about open safety recalls and invites them to book the free repair, often at a franchised…

Relationship marketing focuses on building long-term customer loyalty and repeat business rather than chasing one-time transactions.

Remarketing is showing targeted ads or messages to people who have already visited your website, used your app or engaged with your brand.

A repair order (RO) is the work document a service department or repair shop opens for each vehicle visit, listing the concern, labor, parts…

Repair severity is the average dollar value of a collision repair, used by body shops and insurers to gauge job size, revenue per vehicle…

Responsive design is a web design approach where pages automatically adapt their layout to fit any screen size, from phones to large desktop monitors.

Return on ad spend (ROAS) measures the revenue earned for every dollar spent on advertising, showing how efficiently a campaign turns ad budget into…

Return on investment (ROI) measures the profit an investment generates relative to its total cost, showing whether marketing spend actually made money.

Revenue operations (RevOps) aligns marketing, sales and customer success around shared data, tools and processes to grow revenue more predictably.

Rich snippets are enhanced search results that show extra details such as star ratings, prices, availability or FAQs, usually powered by structured data.

A sales accepted lead (SAL) is a lead that marketing passed to sales and that sales has reviewed and agreed is worth following up…

A sales development rep (SDR) is a salesperson who qualifies new leads and books meetings or appointments, so closers can focus on ready buyers.

A sales qualified lead (SQL) is a prospect that sales has vetted and confirmed is ready for direct sales engagement and likely to become…

Search engine marketing (SEM) is promoting a business in search engine results, most often through paid search ads and sometimes including SEO.

A Search Results Page (SRP) is the inventory listing page on a dealer site that shows multiple vehicles matching a shopper's filters, linking to…

SEO (search engine optimization) is improving a website's content, technical health and authority so it ranks higher in unpaid search results.

A SERP (search engine results page) is the page a search engine shows after a query, mixing ads, organic listings, maps, AI answers and…

Service lane marketing is the set of tactics a dealership uses to sell more service, retain customers and source sales while vehicles are in…

Service retention is the share of a dealer's buyers or service customers who keep coming back for maintenance and repairs instead of going elsewhere.

Single persona ad groups are paid search ad groups built around one specific buyer type, so keywords, ad copy and landing pages all speak…

Software as a Service (SaaS) is software delivered over the internet on a subscription, so users access it in a browser instead of installing…

Split testing (A/B testing) compares two versions of a page, ad or email by showing each to a random share of users to see…

Statistical significance indicates how unlikely it is that a test result happened by random chance, telling you whether a measured difference is real.

Subprime auto lending is vehicle financing for borrowers with lower credit scores or thin credit, typically at higher rates with tighter terms.

A supplement is an addition to a collision estimate for hidden damage, parts or procedures found after the first estimate, which the insurer must…

Talent acquisition is the ongoing strategy a business uses to find, attract, hire and keep skilled people, going beyond filling one open job at…

A target audience is the specific group of people a business wants to reach with its marketing, defined by traits like needs, location and…

Third-party automotive marketplaces are independent sites where many dealers list vehicles for shoppers to browse, compare and contact, usually for a fee.

Third-party leads are sales inquiries a dealer or shop gets from outside providers such as marketplaces, OEM sites and lead vendors, not its own…

Tier 1, Tier 2 and Tier 3 advertising are the automaker, regional dealer association and individual dealership levels of automotive advertising.

A title tag is the HTML element that names a web page, shown as the clickable headline in search results and browser tabs. It…

Top of funnel (TOFU) marketing is the awareness stage, where you reach people who are just starting to notice a need and do not…

A total loss is a vehicle an insurer decides is not worth repairing, usually because repair costs approach or exceed its pre-accident value.

A trade-in is a vehicle a buyer gives to the dealer as partial payment toward another car, and a key source of used inventory…

A Uniform Resource Locator (URL) is the unique web address of a page or file, telling a browser which protocol, domain and path to…

A unique value proposition (UVP) is a clear statement of the specific benefit you deliver and why customers should choose you over every alternative.

Ups are dealership showroom opportunities, meaning each shopper who walks in or arrives for a visit and gets helped by a salesperson.

User experience (UX) is how people perceive and interact with a website, app or product, covering ease of use, speed, clarity and overall satisfaction.

UTM (Urchin Tracking Module) codes are tags added to a URL that tell analytics tools exactly which source, medium and campaign sent each visitor.

A value gap is the difference between the value a customer expects or needs and the value they believe a product, service or brand…

Variable operations are a dealership's new vehicle, used vehicle and F&I departments, whose revenue swings with sales volume, inventory and the market.

A Vehicle Detail Page (VDP) is the dealer or marketplace page for one specific vehicle, showing its photos, price, specs, features and contact options.

A vehicle lease is a contract to use a new car for a set term and mileage, paying mainly for the expected depreciation rather…

Vehicle Listing Ads (VLAs) are Google ads showing specific in-stock vehicles with photo, price and mileage, linking shoppers to the dealer's listing.

View-through rate (VTR) is the share of video ad impressions watched to completion or a set point, showing how well a video holds attention.

A VIN (Vehicle Identification Number) is the unique 17-character code assigned to each vehicle, identifying its maker, specs, model year and plant.

Viral marketing is a strategy built to get people to share content or a message on their own, so it spreads rapidly from person…

Warranty work is vehicle repair performed by a franchised dealer and paid for by the manufacturer under a factory warranty, recall or goodwill program.

Website analytics is the collection and analysis of visitor data, like traffic sources, behavior and conversions, to understand and improve a site.

A website mockup is a static, high-fidelity visual design of a web page that shows layout, colors, fonts and imagery before any code is…

White hat SEO is the practice of improving search rankings using methods that follow search engine guidelines and put real value for users first.

A white paper is an in-depth, authoritative report that explains a problem and a recommended solution, used to educate buyers and generate qualified leads.

An XML sitemap is a file that lists a website's important URLs in a machine-readable format, helping search engines discover and crawl your pages.

Year/Make/Model (YMM) search is a vehicle selector that filters a parts or service site to items that fit the shopper's exact vehicle.