If you’ve been following the digital marketing world for any length of time, you’ve probably heard most of the buzzwords and terms. If you’re new to the field or just diving in, there’s a lot of information overload. That’s why we’ve gone ahead and curated this glossary of SEO, social media and online marketing terms and phrases. Hopefully, this will be a useful guide for you as you start your career or venture into the world of freelance marketing.

Clickbait (urbandictionary)

This is exactly what it sounds like: a form of marketing that encourages readers to click on whatever is being promoted, usually a flashy or eye-catching headline that seems too good to be true. Websites use this technique to attract visitors to their content – usually, but not always, the purpose is to drive affiliate sales. Remember: the goal is to gain advertising revenue, so the site owner can continue to fund the platform.

The term was first used by the marketing firm Huge to describe the phenomenon of online clickbait. That firm defined it as “a marketing technique where you try to grab people’s attention with provocative, stimulating and exciting content, often using tactics such as provocative headlines, bold fonts or colorful graphics, to encourage them to click on your content.”

Content Marketing (google)

This is more than enough info to get you up to speed with what Google thinks is important to know in this space. In short, content marketing is a way of marketing that seeks to engage audiences through the creation and sharing of valuable and relevant content.

Whether you’re creating blog posts, social media posts or videos, having compelling, consistent content is a great way to attract and retain customers. It also helps your blog or website gain authority in your industry.

Duplicate Content (google)

If you’ve ever worked in SEO or content marketing, you might be familiar with the concept of duplicate content.

When one or more of your articles – or parts of your blog post – appear on multiple platforms, the search engine algorithms will see this as a sign you’re trying to game the system. Since Google doesn’t want to promote content that’s been previously published, you’re often left with the choice of either removing the content or leaving it up and potentially making an effort to ensure it’s always available.

This is why it’s important to develop a content strategy that will help you decide what type of content to create and for which platforms. If you have a physical storefront as well as an online one, you might want to consider creating additional content for the retail side – such as an Instagram account to highlight items sold at the store or an online store tour.

Headline (HubSpot)

This is the first part of any article, blog post or social media post that will be used to draw attention to a piece of content. In other words, it’s the hook that will catch the reader’s attention.

You want to write a headline that will inspire curiosity and encourage a click. To get inspired, look at how others are doing it and what’s working for them.

Headlines are extremely important because they appear at the top of articles, blog posts and social media posts. Therefore, you want to craft a memorable headline that will stick out among your readers.

Knowing what makes headlines memorable is essential in order to create compelling content that will draw in and retain your readers. According to HubSpot’s Senior Manager of Marketing Essie Acolatse, “A well-crafted headline can be the difference between a dull piece of content and a memorable article.”

Keyword Research (Wordtracker)

To create content that’ll be popular and effective, you’ll need to know the right keywords.

The first step in creating content is defining the target audience and setting the right tone for the piece. Once you’ve established the ideal reader, you can begin to craft content that’ll pique their interest.

One of the best tools for quickly finding the keywords related to your target audience is Wordtracker, a free Keyword Research tool from Yext. Just enter your desired search term or terms and click the Go button. You’ll then see a list of potential keywords and phrases that are associated with your search term. From here, you can either scroll through the list or use the filter function to find the keywords you need.

Keep in mind that just because you find a keyword doesn’t mean you’re guaranteed to rank well for that term. You also need to make sure you incorporate the keyword into your content regularly and in a natural manner.

Keyword Planning (Long Tail Pro)

Once you have a pool of potential keywords generated from your last piece of content or campaign, you can begin the process of developing search terms that can be used to effectively find and target your ideal audience. This is where your objective, ideal reader persona comes in handy.

You can use the information you’ve gathered to create an ideal buyer persona and write down any information you know about them. Doing this will help you find content that’ll be a fit for them. In terms of planning, begin by looking at how others are doing it and what’s working for them. You can then use this information to begin to develop your own strategy.

One of the best platforms for doing this is Long Tail Pro. It offers a keyword planner that’ll analyze your target audience and the competition in your niche. With this tool, you can easily find content that’ll be relevant to your target audience’s needs and interests. In addition, you can use this tool to find content that’s been curated specifically for your target audience.

Marketing Channels

Depending on your niche, you’ll need to consider the various channels available to you to reach your audience. The most popular ones (typically, the most expensive ones) include:

• Pay-per-click (PPC) Advertising
• Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
• Social Media Marketing (SMM)
• Traditional Advertising

To determine which ones to utilize, you first need to consider your target audience. Are they more likely to be found on Pinterest or Instagram? What platform do your best customers prefer to use?

Once you’ve established what channels you’ll use, you can begin to craft content for those channels and track its effectiveness (ROI). Remember: not all marketing channels will give you the same return on investment! For example, paid search channels will not necessarily perform as well as SEO or content marketing for social media.

Monetization

Depending on your skill set, you may decide to monetize your blog or website. If so, you’ll need to make sure you adhere to the rules and regulations set by Google. For example, you can’t sell affiliate products unless you’re also a registered merchant. There are also rules about how your blog or website should be constructed. Make sure you know what you’re doing and consult with a professional if you’re not sure.

One of the largest online marketing platforms, Google Adsense allows you to make money off of display ads on your site. You’ll simply need to create a free account and then opt-in for the service. When visitors view an ad on your site, you’ll receive a small amount of money.

Mobile Marketing

With the explosion of mobile technology, all digital marketing has shifted to mobile. About 78% of all Google search requests come from mobile devices. It would be safe to assume that the majority of your audience is doing their research while on the go. This is why it’s important to have a mobile-friendly website.

One of the most popular methods of online marketing is mobile marketing. With mobile marketing, you’ll use a variety of tools to reach your audience including but not limited to:

• Text Messages
• SMS Publishing
• MMS Marketing
• App Re-Downloads
• In App Purchases
• Website Crawling

There’s a variety of tools you can use to create a mobile marketing strategy. Some of the best-known examples include: