Search Engine Advertising

Deliberate split of a Google Ads account by brand, language, country, product line, or funnel stage — prerequisite for clean steering and reporting.

A structural layer in Google Ads between campaign and ad. Bundles keywords, ads, and optionally audiences that belong together thematically and are managed jointly.

One of the three Quality Score components in Google Ads. Rates how closely the ad copy matches the meaning of the booked keyword. Scale: above/average/below average.

A Google Ads rating for Responsive Search Ads and asset groups that measures how varied and complete the supplied assets are. Scale: Incomplete, Poor, Average, Good, Excellent.

SEA strategy of bidding on your own brand name to secure the top SERP position and intercept competitor clicks.

The widest Google Ads match type. Triggers ads on synonyms, related searches, and adjacent topics — driven by AI signals such as landing page, account history, and prior user searches.

A Google Ads asset/ad extension that displays short, non-clickable text snippets under the ad — typically USPs like "Free shipping" or "24/7 support".

SEA strategy of bidding on search terms containing competitor brand names to capture market share and switching-prone users.

An advertiser-defined user action that counts as a successful outcome of an ad — purchase, lead, call, newsletter signup. The driver of Smart Bidding and the basis for ROAS, CPA, etc.

The configuration object in Google Ads that fully defines a single conversion: name, source, value, counting rule, conversion window, and whether it counts as primary or secondary.

Advertising KPI: share of clicks (or sessions) that result in a conversion. Central efficiency metric for landing page and offer quality.

The measurement setup that lets Google Ads recognize when a click led to a defined conversion. Typically implemented via the Google tag or Google Tag Manager.

Advertising KPI: average cost per conversion. Central efficiency metric for lead gen and performance marketing, and the steering input for tCPA bidding.

Advertising KPI: cost per click. In Google Ads, the primary billing model for Search and the key short-term efficiency lever for bidding.

Advertising KPI: cost per generated lead. Standard efficiency metric for B2B and service marketing where the conversion is an inquiry rather than a purchase.

Advertising KPI: cost per thousand impressions. Standard billing model for Display, Video, and awareness campaigns where visibility is the goal.

Advertising KPI: cost per order. Standard efficiency metric in e-commerce, where an order is the typical conversion.

Advertising KPI: cost per video view. Standard billing for YouTube In-Stream skippable ads — paid only if the user watches at least 30 seconds (or finishes shorter videos).

Advertising KPI: share of impressions that result in a click. Indicator of ad relevance and a component of the Google Ads Quality Score.

A Google Ads campaign type that serves image and video ads across the Google Display Network — millions of websites, apps, and Gmail.

The narrowest Google Ads match type. Triggers only when the query carries the same meaning as the keyword. Close variants (plurals, typos, acronyms) are included.

Strategic model that splits SEA activity by funnel stage: Top (reach), Middle (consideration), Bottom (conversion).

Three-way segmentation of SEA keywords: generic terms, your own brand terms, competitor brand terms — used for steering and reporting.

Google's advertising platform for paid ads across Search, Display, Shopping, YouTube, and apps. The central tool for SEA and performance marketing across Google properties and the Display Network.

GA4 as the analytics backend for SEA — delivers conversions, audiences, and engagement signals that flow into Google Ads for reporting, Smart Bidding, and remarketing.

Google's tag management system. Tracking codes, pixels, and event logic are deployed centrally via a container snippet — no code changes required.

A search term an advertiser targets to trigger ads. In Google Ads a keyword is not a literal user query but a trigger rule paired with a Match Type — Phrase, Exact, or Broad.

Free research tool inside Google Ads. Returns search volume, competition, CPC estimates, and new keyword ideas — the data backbone for campaign planning and SEO research.

Advertising KPI: share of ad spend in attributed revenue, expressed as a percentage. Mathematical inverse of ROAS, common in DACH e-commerce reporting.

One of the three Quality Score components in Google Ads. Rates the destination page's content, usability, and speed. Scale: above/average/below average.

Attribution model that gives full conversion credit to the last clicked touchpoint before the conversion — historically the default in Google Ads.

A Google Ads asset/ad extension that opens a pre-filled lead form directly inside the ad — no redirect to a landing page.

A manual cost-per-click bidding strategy in Google Ads. Advertisers set bids per keyword or ad group themselves — Google does not automatically adjust them based on conversion likelihood.

The rule that defines how closely a booked keyword must align with a user query to trigger an ad. Active types in Google Ads: Broad, Phrase, Exact.

An automated Google Ads bidding strategy. Google sets bids so that the daily budget yields as many clicks as possible — without considering conversions.

An exclusion keyword in Google Ads. Prevents an ad from serving when the user query contains the excluded term. Negative keywords also support match types.

A reusable collection of negative keywords in Google Ads, maintained at the account level and applied to multiple campaigns. Cuts maintenance overhead in large accounts.

Fully automated Google Ads campaign type. A single campaign serves across all inventory — Search, Shopping, Display, YouTube, Discover, Gmail, Maps — driven by Google's AI toward a conversion goal.

The middle Google Ads match type. Triggers when the query includes the keyword's meaning. Since 2021 the old quotation-mark rules have been replaced by meaning-based logic.

Advertising KPI: ratio of gross profit to ad spend. Margin-aware alternative to ROAS, especially relevant for broad assortments and sale dynamics.

Classification of conversion actions in Google Ads: Primary drives Smart Bidding, Secondary is observed only and does not feed into bids.

A Google Ads diagnostic per keyword on a 1–10 scale, indicating how well the ad and landing page match the search query. Components: expected CTR, ad relevance, landing page experience.

Re-engaging users who already interacted with a website, app, or ad — across Display, Search (RLSA), Video, or Shopping campaigns.

The standard ad type in Google Ads Search campaigns. Up to 15 headlines and 4 descriptions are uploaded; Google assembles them into an ad matching the search query.

Advertising KPI: ratio of conversion revenue to ad spend. Central steering metric in e-commerce and the input for tROAS bidding.

A Google Ads campaign type for product ads with image, price, and merchant name. Data comes from the Google Merchant Center feed; targeting is product-attribute-based, not keyword-based.

A Google Ads asset/ad extension that displays additional clickable links under the main ad — pointing to subpages, categories, or promotions.

A structural pattern where each ad group contains exactly one keyword. Historically popular for maximum ad-copy control — largely obsolete given Close Variants and Smart Bidding.

Umbrella term for the conversion- and value-based automated bid strategies in Google Ads: tCPA, tROAS, Maximize Conversions, Maximize Conversion Value. Driven by ML and real-time auction signals.

A structural pattern where each ad group covers a tightly scoped theme with several keyword variants. The modern alternative to SKAG — compatible with Smart Bidding.

Two ways to advertise products on Google: Standard Shopping gives granular control and transparency; Performance Max maximizes reach across all inventory via AI-driven optimization.

A Google Ads asset/ad extension that shows a structured list with a fixed header (e.g. "Brands", "Models", "Services") below the ad.

A Google Ads Smart Bidding strategy that adjusts bids so the average cost per acquisition lands on the target value the advertiser sets.

A Google Ads Smart Bidding strategy that adjusts bids so the return on ad spend lands on the target value the advertiser sets. Requires tracked conversion values.