Glossary

A

Abandoned cart

A shopper adds something to their cart and leaves without buying. Abandoned cart emails remind them, answer the objection that stopped them, and bring them back to checkout. More on Abandoned cart.

Ad set

The middle layer of a Meta campaign. It holds the budget (unless the campaign holds it), the audience, the placements and the schedule. Ads sit inside it. More on Ad set.

Advantage+

Meta's name for its automated campaign options, where Meta's system makes more of the targeting, placement and creative decisions for you. You give up control in exchange for more data per decision. More on Advantage+.

AI agent

Software that uses an AI model to work through a task in steps: read something, decide, take an action, check the result. Unlike a simple chatbot, it can use tools such as your inbox, calendar or CRM. More on AI agent.

AOV (average order value)

Revenue divided by the number of orders over the same period. Raising it, with bundles or a better offer, lets you afford more per customer on ads. More on AOV (average order value).

Attribution window

How long after someone clicks or views an ad a sale still gets credited to that ad. Different windows give different numbers for the same campaign, so compare like with like. More on Attribution window.

Automation

A rule that does a repeat task without a person: when this happens, do that. It follows the same steps every time, which makes it reliable for routine work and poor at judgement calls. More on Automation.

B

Break-even ROAS

The return on ad spend at which an ad pays for itself and no more. Roughly 1 divided by your profit margin before ad costs. Below it, every sale loses money. More on Break-even ROAS.

Broad targeting

Running Meta ads with few or no interest filters, often just location and age, and letting the delivery system find buyers. It tends to work when the creative itself makes clear who it's for. More on Broad targeting.

C

CAC (customer acquisition cost)

Everything you spent to win new customers in a period, divided by the number of new customers. Ad spend is part of it. Tools, fees and time can be too. More on CAC (customer acquisition cost).

Call to action (CTA)

The one thing you ask the reader to do next: book a call, add to cart, reply. A page with five equal asks usually gets fewer of each. More on Call to action (CTA).

CASL

Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation. It covers commercial electronic messages such as email and text: you need consent, you must identify yourself, and every message needs a working unsubscribe. More on CASL.

Chatbot

A program that answers messages in a chat window. Simple ones follow scripts. AI ones write replies. Either way, it should hand over to a person when it is out of its depth. More on Chatbot.

Churn

The share of customers or subscribers who stop buying in a period. High churn means new customers are refilling a leaking bucket. More on Churn.

Contribution margin

What is left from a sale after the costs that come with it: product, shipping, payment fees, and often ad spend. It is the money that actually pays for the business. More on Contribution margin.

Conversion rate

The share of visitors or leads who take the action you want, such as buying or booking. A small change here often matters more than a big change in traffic. More on Conversion rate.

Conversions API

A way of sending purchase and lead events to Meta from your server rather than only from the visitor's browser. It helps when browsers or ad blockers stop the pixel from reporting. More on Conversions API.

CPA (cost per acquisition)

Ad spend divided by the number of results, such as purchases or leads. Compare it with what a customer is worth, not with someone else's average. More on CPA (cost per acquisition).

CPC (cost per click)

Ad spend divided by clicks. Cheap clicks that never buy are not a win, so read it next to conversion rate. More on CPC (cost per click).

CPM (cost per thousand impressions)

What you pay for your ad to be shown 1,000 times. It reflects competition for the audience and how well Meta rates your ad. More on CPM (cost per thousand impressions).

Creative fatigue

An ad wears out as the same people see it again and again. Signs are rising frequency, falling click-through rate and rising cost per result on an ad that used to work. More on Creative fatigue.

Creative testing

Running different ads against each other on purpose, one idea at a time, to learn what makes people stop, click and buy. More on Creative testing.

CRM (customer relationship management)

One place that holds every lead and customer, where each came from, what was said and what happens next. A shared spreadsheet is a basic CRM. More on CRM (customer relationship management).

CRO (conversion rate optimisation)

Changing a page or checkout so more of the same visitors buy or book. It starts with finding where people drop off, not with button colours. More on CRO (conversion rate optimisation).

CTR (click-through rate)

Clicks divided by impressions. It tells you whether the ad earns attention from the people who see it. More on CTR (click-through rate).

Custom audience

A Meta audience built from your own data, such as site visitors, video viewers or a customer list. It is the base for retargeting and lookalikes. More on Custom audience.

E

Express consent

Under CASL, a clear yes from someone to receive your messages, given knowingly, such as ticking an unticked box. Unlike implied consent, it does not expire on a timer. More on Express consent.

F

Fractional CMO

A senior marketing lead who works part time for several companies. You get strategy and leadership without a full-time executive salary. More on Fractional CMO.

Frequency

The average number of times each person has seen your ad. Rising frequency with falling results is a common sign of creative fatigue. More on Frequency.

Funnel

The steps from first seeing you to buying: attention, interest, enquiry or cart, purchase. Looking at it as steps shows you which one leaks most. More on Funnel.

G

Gross margin

Revenue minus the direct cost of what you sold, as a share of revenue. It sets how much you can spend to win a customer. More on Gross margin.

H

Hold rate

How many people keep watching a video ad past the first few seconds, usually measured as a share of those who started. It tells you whether the ad keeps the attention the hook earned. More on Hold rate.

Hook rate

The share of people shown a video ad who watch the first few seconds. A common version is 3-second video plays divided by impressions. It tells you whether the opening stops the scroll. More on Hook rate.

I

Implied consent

Under CASL, permission that comes from an existing relationship rather than a clear yes. For example, a purchase gives it for two years and an enquiry for six months. More on Implied consent.

L

Landing page

A page built for one audience and one action, usually where an ad sends people. It removes everything that does not help that one decision. More on Landing page.

Lead magnet

Something useful you give away in exchange for contact details, such as a checklist or guide. It works when it solves a real, small problem for the right person. More on Lead magnet.

Learning Limited

A Meta status shown when an ad set isn't getting enough results to finish the learning phase. Delivery can stay less stable until it does. More on Learning Limited.

Learning phase

The period after an ad set launches or is significantly edited, while Meta's system works out who to show it to. Results tend to be less stable until it ends. More on Learning phase.

Lookalike audience

A Meta audience of people who resemble a source audience you provide, such as past buyers. More on Lookalike audience.

LTV (lifetime value)

What a customer is worth over the whole time they buy from you, ideally as profit rather than revenue. It sets how much you can afford to win them. More on LTV (lifetime value).

M

MER (marketing efficiency ratio)

Total revenue divided by total marketing spend, across every channel. It ignores platform attribution, which makes it a useful check on what the ad dashboards claim. More on MER (marketing efficiency ratio).

N

Niche

A specific group of customers you serve better than anyone else. Narrow enough that they recognise themselves in your message. More on Niche.

Nurture sequence

A planned series of messages to leads who aren't ready to buy yet. Each one is useful on its own and moves them a step closer. More on Nurture sequence.

O

Offer

Everything someone gets when they say yes: the product or service, the price, the terms, any guarantee or bonus, and why now. A weak offer makes every ad look bad. More on Offer.

P

Payback period

How long it takes the profit from a new customer to cover what you spent to win them. The shorter it is, the faster you can grow without running out of cash. More on Payback period.

Pixel (Meta pixel)

A snippet of code on your site that tells Meta when people view pages, add to cart, buy or enquire. Ads can't optimise for what the pixel doesn't report. More on Pixel (Meta pixel).

Positioning

Where you sit in the customer's mind compared with the alternatives, including doing nothing. Good positioning makes the choice obvious for the right person. More on Positioning.

R

Retargeting

Showing ads to people who already interacted with you, such as site visitors or people who watched a video, but haven't bought yet. More on Retargeting.

ROAS (return on ad spend)

Revenue from ads divided by ad spend. A ROAS of 3 means CA$3 in sales for every CA$1 spent. It says nothing about profit until you compare it with your break-even ROAS. More on ROAS (return on ad spend).

S

Social proof

Evidence that other people chose you and were happy: reviews, ratings, real customer photos. It only works when it is genuine. More on Social proof.

Speed to lead

How long it takes to send a real reply after someone enquires. Research on online leads found replies within an hour far more likely to reach a real conversation. More on Speed to lead.

U

UGC (user-generated content)

Content made by customers or creators rather than the brand, such as a phone video review. In ads, "UGC style" means made to look like that, and it must not pretend to be a real customer if it isn't. More on UGC (user-generated content).

Unit economics

The money in and out for one sale or one customer: price, costs, cost to acquire, and repeat purchases. If one unit loses money, more volume loses more. More on Unit economics.

V

Value proposition

A plain statement of who you help, what result they get, and why you rather than the alternatives. Visitors should get it in seconds. More on Value proposition.