Why This Glossary Exists
PPC is full of acronyms and jargon that can feel overwhelming. Whether you're new to PPC management or reviewing a report from your Google Ads agency, this glossary covers every term you need to understand.
Ad Extensions
Additional pieces of information that expand your ad with extra links, phone numbers, locations, or callouts. Now called Assets in Google Ads, they improve visibility and CTR without increasing cost per click. Common types include sitelinks, callouts, structured snippets, and call extensions.
Ad Group
A container within a campaign that holds a set of related ads and keywords. Each ad group targets a specific theme or product, allowing you to write tightly relevant ad copy for that group of keywords. Well-structured ad groups improve Quality Score and campaign performance.
Ad Rank
The value Google uses to determine your ad position and whether your ad will show at all. Ad Rank is calculated from your bid amount, Quality Score, the competitiveness of the auction, the context of the search, and the expected impact of ad extensions. A higher Ad Rank means a better position at a potentially lower cost.
Bid Strategy
The method you choose for Google to manage your bids. Options include Manual CPC (you set bids yourself), Maximise Clicks, Maximise Conversions, Target CPA, and Target ROAS. Automated strategies use machine learning to optimise bids in real time based on your goals.
Broad Match
The default keyword match type that triggers your ad for searches related to your keyword, including synonyms, related searches, and variations. Broad Match casts the widest net but requires strong negative keyword management to avoid irrelevant clicks and wasted spend.
Click-Through Rate (CTR)
The percentage of people who click your ad after seeing it, calculated as clicks divided by impressions. A higher CTR indicates your ad is relevant and compelling. Average CTR for Search ads is around 3-5%, though this varies by industry. CTR is a key component of Quality Score.
Conversion
A valuable action that a user takes after clicking your ad, such as making a purchase, submitting a form, or calling your business. Conversions are the ultimate measure of campaign success and must be properly tracked using conversion tags or Google Analytics.
Conversion Rate
The percentage of ad clicks that result in a conversion. Calculated as conversions divided by clicks. A typical Google Ads conversion rate is 2-5%, but this varies hugely by industry, offer, and landing page quality. Improving conversion rate is often the fastest way to improve ROAS.
Cost Per Acquisition (CPA)
The average cost to acquire one conversion. Calculated as total cost divided by number of conversions. CPA tells you how efficiently your campaigns are generating results. Target CPA is also a Smart Bidding strategy where Google automatically sets bids to get conversions at your target cost.
Cost Per Click (CPC)
The amount you pay each time someone clicks your ad. Actual CPC is usually lower than your maximum bid because Google charges just enough to beat the next competitor. Average CPCs in the UK range from £0.50 to £5+ depending on industry and competition.
Cost Per Mille (CPM)
The cost per 1,000 ad impressions, primarily used in Display and Video campaigns. CPM bidding is useful for brand awareness campaigns where visibility matters more than direct clicks. It gives you predictable costs for reach-based objectives.
Display Network
Google's network of over 2 million websites, apps, and videos where your ads can appear as banners, images, or responsive display ads. Display campaigns are typically used for brand awareness and remarketing rather than direct-response, and tend to have lower CTRs but broader reach than Search.
Exact Match
A keyword match type that triggers your ad only for searches with the same meaning or close variants of your keyword. Denoted by square brackets, e.g. [ppc agency london]. Exact Match gives you the tightest control over which searches trigger your ads, resulting in higher relevance but lower volume.
Google Ads
Google's online advertising platform (formerly Google AdWords) that allows businesses to display ads across Google Search, Display Network, YouTube, Shopping, and more. Advertisers bid on keywords and pay per click (PPC) or per impression. It is the largest and most widely used PPC platform globally.
Impression
A single instance of your ad being shown to a user. An impression is counted each time your ad appears on a search results page or across the Display Network, regardless of whether it is clicked. Impressions help measure the reach and visibility of your campaigns.
Impression Share
The percentage of total eligible impressions your ads actually received. If your Impression Share is 60%, your ads appeared in 60% of the auctions you were eligible for. Lost Impression Share is split into two causes: budget (you ran out of daily budget) and rank (your Ad Rank was too low).
Keywords
The words and phrases you bid on in Google Ads that trigger your ads when users search for those terms. Effective keyword selection is the foundation of any PPC campaign. Keywords should be relevant to your offering and matched with appropriate match types and negative keywords to control targeting.
Landing Page
The web page a user arrives at after clicking your ad. Landing page quality directly affects Quality Score and conversion rates. A good landing page is relevant to the ad, loads quickly, is mobile-friendly, and has a clear call to action. Never send paid traffic to your homepage when a dedicated landing page would convert better.
Match Type
A setting that controls which search queries trigger your ads. Google Ads offers three match types: Broad Match (widest reach), Phrase Match (moderate control), and Exact Match (tightest control). Choosing the right match types is critical for balancing reach with relevance and controlling wasted spend.
Negative Keywords
Keywords you explicitly exclude from your campaigns to prevent your ads from showing for irrelevant searches. For example, a premium PPC agency might add "free" and "cheap" as negative keywords. Regular negative keyword management is one of the most effective ways to reduce wasted spend and improve ROAS.
Performance Max
A goal-based Google Ads campaign type that uses AI to serve ads across all Google channels — Search, Display, YouTube, Gmail, Maps, and Discover — from a single campaign. Performance Max uses your creative assets and audience signals to find converting users automatically. It offers broad reach but less granular control than traditional campaign types.
Phrase Match
A keyword match type that triggers your ad when a search includes the meaning of your keyword. Denoted by quotation marks, e.g. "ppc agency". Phrase Match is a middle ground between Broad and Exact, offering decent reach while maintaining relevance. It captures queries that contain your keyword phrase in the correct order.
Quality Score
A diagnostic metric rated 1-10 that reflects the quality and relevance of your keywords, ads, and landing pages. Quality Score is based on expected CTR, ad relevance, and landing page experience. Higher Quality Scores lead to better Ad Rank and lower CPCs, making it one of the most important metrics to monitor and improve.
Remarketing
A strategy that shows ads to people who have previously visited your website or interacted with your business. Remarketing keeps your brand in front of interested users as they browse other websites or use Google Search. It typically delivers higher conversion rates and lower CPAs than cold targeting because the audience is already familiar with your brand.
Return on Ad Spend (ROAS)
The revenue generated for every pound spent on advertising, calculated as revenue divided by ad spend. A ROAS of 5:1 means you earn £5 for every £1 spent. ROAS is the gold-standard metric for measuring PPC profitability and is the primary KPI most businesses should optimise towards.
Search Network
The group of search-related websites and apps where your text ads can appear, including Google Search results, Google Maps, Google Shopping, and search partner sites. Search Network campaigns target users who are actively searching for your products or services, making them the highest-intent PPC channel.
Search Terms Report
A report in Google Ads that shows the actual search queries users typed before clicking your ad. This is different from your keywords — it reveals what people really searched for. Reviewing the Search Terms Report regularly is essential for finding new keyword opportunities and adding negative keywords to eliminate irrelevant traffic.
Smart Bidding
A subset of automated bid strategies that use Google's machine learning to optimise for conversions or conversion value in each auction. Smart Bidding strategies include Target CPA, Target ROAS, Maximise Conversions, and Maximise Conversion Value. They adjust bids in real time using signals like device, location, time of day, and audience.
Wasted Spend
Ad budget spent on clicks that never convert or are irrelevant to your business. Common causes include poor keyword targeting, missing negative keywords, low-quality landing pages, and bidding on non-commercial search terms. Studies suggest the average Google Ads account wastes 20-30% of its budget. Regular auditing and optimisation are key to reducing wasted spend.