Virtually every business has its share of industry-specific terms that tend to permeate the conversations and correspondence of those in it. Marketing is no exception.
A new marketing landscape and language.
In fact, aligned with the growth of the Internet, marketing is one industry that seems to have exploded with ever-increasing use of digital acronyms that are often downright confusing.
A lot has changed from the old days of just having to know what a CPM was when considering how to most effectively reach a target through traditional media. And whether people are using acronyms to sound smart or just trying to cram more meaning into fewer words, their use in marketing isn’t going away anytime soon.
Digital marketing acronym overload.
For those with an aversion to jargon or industry-speak, there’s just no getting around the fact that knowing and understanding the right language in digital marketing is essential for navigating a path to success. We’ve compiled a handy guide to help everyone get up to speed, or at least stay current, with today’s digital lingo.
Below are 100 of the most common acronyms that every digital marketer should get familiar with. Some of these are just about marketing whereas others fall into more of a technical category. The intent here is to extract the words, and meaning, from which the acronym is constructed. You can always search Google or Wikipedia for a more comprehensive definition of each of these 2 to 5 letter wonders.
100 Digital Acronyms to get familiar with.
AIDA | Attention, Interest, Desire, Action
AJAX | Asynchronous Java Script
API | Application program interface
AR | Augmented reality
ASP | Application service provider
ATD | Agency trading desk
B2B | Business to business
B2C | Business to consumer
CLV | Customer lifetime value
CMS | Content management system
CPA | Cost per acquisition / action
CPC | Cost per click
CPL | Cost per lead
CPM | Cost per thousand
CPV | Cost per view
CR | Conversion rate
CRM | Customer relationship management
CSS | Cascading style sheets
CTR | Click-through rate
CX | Customer experience
DM | Direct mail (or Direct Message for Twitter)
DMP | Data management platform
DNS | Domain name system
DSP | Demand-side platform
ECPM | Effective CPM
EPC | Earnings per click
EPM | Earnings per thousand
ESP | Email service provider
FB | Facebook
FBML | Facebook Markup Language
FTP | File transfer protocol
GA | Google Analytics
HIPPO | Highest paid person’s opinion
HTML | HyperText Markup Language
HTTP | Hyper Text Transfer Protocol
HTTPS | Hyper Text Transfer Protocol Secure
IM | Instant Messaging
IMAP | Internet Message Access Protocol
IP | Intellectual property (or Internet Protocol)
IPTV | Internet protocol television
ISP | Internet service provider
KPI | Key performance indicator
LTV | Lifetime value
MoM | Month on month
MLM | Multi-level marketing
MVT | Multivariate testing
OEM | Original equipment manufacturer
OS | Operating system (or Open Source)
PHP | Hypertext Preprocessor
POS | Point of sale
PPC | Pay per lead
PPV | Pay per view
PR | PageRank
PV | Pageviews
QA | Quality assurance
QR Code | Quick response code
RFI | Request for information
RFP | Request for proposal
ROI | Return on investment
RON | Run of network
ROR | Ruby on Rails
ROS | Run of site
RSS | Really Simple Syndication
RT | Retweet
RTB | Real time bidding
RTD | Real time data
S2S | Server to server
SaaS | Software as a service
SEM | Search engine marketing
SERP | Search engine results page
SLA | Service level agreement
SM | Social media
SMB | Small / medium business
SMM | Social media marketing
SMO | Social media optimisation
SMP | Social media platform
SMS | Short message service
SOV | Share of voice
SOW | Statement of work
SSL | Secure Sockets Layer
SSP | Supply-side platform
SWOT | Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats
TLD | Top level domain
TOS | Terms of service
UCD | User-centric design
UI | User interface
UGC | User-generated content
URL | Uniform resource locator
USP | Unique selling proposition
UV | Unique visitor
UX | User experience
VOD | Video on demand
VM | Viral marketing
WOMM | Word of mouth marketing
WSIWYG | What you see is what you get
YOY | Year on year
YTD | Year to date
XML | Extensible Markup Language
What did we forget?
Did we leave anything out? Are there other acronyms that are worth knowing about or that you use often in digital and online marketing?
As president and creative director of TeamworksCom, Paul develops brand strategy, engineers content to express customer value and creates integrated online and content marketing solutions to help businesses succeed. Connect with Paul, send an Email, or just call 415.789.5830.
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