Hey there! I’m Raju Kumar, a digital marketing trainer and strategist, and if you’re just getting started with Google Ads, you’re in the right place. One of the first steps to becoming proficient in running successful ad campaigns is understanding the terminology — and that’s where the Google Ads Glossary becomes your best friend.
Why Is It Important to Understand Google Ads Terms?
Google Ads may look simple on the surface, but it’s packed with jargon that can be confusing at first. Terms like CTR, Quality Score, Target ROAS, and Smart Campaigns may sound technical, but they’re the foundation of your ad strategy. Understanding these terms is essential to avoid mistakes, optimize campaigns, and communicate effectively with clients or team members.
How Mastering the Google Ads Glossary Helps Optimize Campaigns
When you know what each term means, you can:
- Set smarter bidding strategies
- Create better-performing ads
- Target the right audience
- Analyze reports with clarity
- Make data-backed decisions faster
From experience, I can say that most ad spend waste happens simply because advertisers don’t fully understand what metrics and features mean or how to apply them.
What to Expect in This Glossary
This Google Ads Glossary is structured to cover everything you need:
- Account Setup Terms: Campaign, Ad Group, Ad Copy
- Keyword & Targeting Concepts
- Bidding & Budgeting Jargon
- Metrics That Matter: CPC, CPA, ROAS, etc.
- Ad Types & Extensions (now Assets)
- Advanced Tools, Features, and Compliance Language
By the end of this glossary, you’ll feel confident navigating your Google Ads dashboard and speaking the language of PPC like a pro.
Ready? Let’s get into the terms!
Also Read: What Are Facebook Ads and How Do Facebook Ads Work
Google Ads Account & Structure (Google Ads Glossary)
- Account
In this Google Ads Glossary, a Google Ads account is your central hub—it holds your billing, campaigns, and access controls. - Campaign
A core term in the Google Ads Glossary, a campaign organizes ad groups by objective, audience, and ad format. - Ad Group
Every Google Ads Glossary should include this: Ad Groups house your ads and keywords, focusing on a single theme. - Ad Copy (Ad)
In the context of this Google Ads Glossary, ad copy refers to the text or creative that users see—crafted to attract clicks. - Campaign Type
A vital Google Ads Glossary entry—defines how and where your ads appear (Search, Display, Video, Shopping, or Performance Max). - Responsive Search Ads (RSA)
Included in every modern Google Ads Glossary, RSAs allow Google to test different headline and description combinations to improve performance. - Expanded Text Ads (ETA)
Though being phased out, ETAs remain in the Google Ads Glossary as an older ad format with fixed text elements. - Performance Max
A newer addition to the Google Ads Glossary, Performance Max campaigns use automation to deliver ads across all Google networks. - Smart Campaigns
Often featured in beginner Google Ads Glossary lists, Smart Campaigns offer simplified, automated ads ideal for small businesses. - Dynamic Search Ads (DSA)
A critical Google Ads Glossary term—DSAs automatically generate ads based on your site’s content, ideal for large e-commerce sites.
Also Read: Facebook Ads Timing: Best Times to Run Successful Campaigns
Keyword & Targeting (Google Ads Glossary)
- Keyword
In the Google Ads Glossary, a keyword is a word or phrase that triggers your ad when a user searches on Google. Choosing the right keywords ensures your ad reaches the right audience. - Keyword Match Type
This Google Ads Glossary entry refers to the setting that determines how closely a user’s search query must match your keyword. Options include Broad, Phrase, and Exact Match. - Broad Match
A key part of any Google Ads Glossary, Broad Match allows your ad to appear for a wide range of related searches—even if they don’t include your exact keyword. - Phrase Match
As defined in this Google Ads Glossary, Phrase Match triggers your ad when someone searches for your keyword phrase in the exact order, even if other words are before or after it. - Exact Match
One of the most precise targeting methods in the Google Ads Glossary, Exact Match shows your ad only when the search query exactly matches your keyword. - Negative Keywords
A crucial Google Ads Glossary concept—Negative Keywords prevent your ad from showing for irrelevant or unwanted search terms, helping reduce wasted ad spend. - Search Terms
This Google Ads Glossary item refers to the actual queries users typed that triggered your ads. Reviewing them helps optimize your keyword strategy. - Location Targeting
Included in every Google Ads Glossary, this feature lets you display your ads in specific geographic areas, like cities, countries, or even radius-based zones. - Language Targeting
A helpful entry in this Google Ads Glossary—Language Targeting ensures your ads appear only to users with their browser or Google settings in a particular language. - Device Targeting
As defined in this Google Ads Glossary, Device Targeting allows you to tailor ads for specific devices—such as mobile phones, tablets, or desktops—based on user behavior.
Bidding & Budgeting (Google Ads Glossary)
- Bid Strategy
In this Google Ads Glossary, a bid strategy is the approach you choose to control how much you pay for clicks or conversions. Google offers both automated and manual strategies depending on your campaign goals. - Manual CPC
A fundamental term in the Google Ads Glossary, Manual CPC (Cost-Per-Click) lets you set individual bids for keywords, giving you more control over your spending. - Enhanced CPC (ECPC)
Enhanced CPC is a semi-automated bidding method in this Google Ads Glossary. Google adjusts your manual bids to help you get more conversions while staying within your budget. - Maximize Clicks
As defined in the Google Ads Glossary, this automated bidding strategy aims to get the most clicks possible within your daily budget—great for traffic-focused campaigns. - Maximize Conversions
A powerful option in the Google Ads Glossary, this strategy automatically sets bids to help you get the most conversions, making it ideal for lead generation and eCommerce. - Target CPA (Cost-Per-Acquisition)
In the Google Ads Glossary, Target CPA is a smart bidding strategy that aims to get as many conversions as possible at your desired cost per action. - Target ROAS (Return on Ad Spend)
One of the more advanced strategies in the Google Ads Glossary, Target ROAS automatically adjusts bids to achieve a specific return on your ad spend. - Cost-Per-Click (CPC)
CPC is a core Google Ads Glossary metric. It refers to how much you pay each time someone clicks your ad. Lower CPC means better efficiency. - Cost-Per-Mille (CPM)
In this Google Ads Glossary, CPM (Cost per 1,000 impressions) is used mostly in Display or Video campaigns where visibility is the main goal, not clicks. - Cost-Per-Acquisition (CPA)
Another must-know term in the Google Ads Glossary—CPA tells you how much you’re paying for each conversion or customer acquisition.
Audience Targeting (Google Ads Glossary)
- Audience Segments
In the Google Ads Glossary, Audience Segments are predefined or custom groups of users you can target based on behavior, interests, or demographics. - Custom Intent Audiences
A powerful feature in the Google Ads Glossary, Custom Intent Audiences let you build a group of people actively researching products or services similar to yours using keywords and URLs. - In-Market Audiences
As included in every comprehensive Google Ads Glossary, In-Market Audiences are users actively researching or intending to purchase products/services in your category. - Affinity Audiences
This Google Ads Glossary term refers to users with long-term interests and habits—ideal for top-of-funnel branding campaigns. - Remarketing
One of the most important terms in the Google Ads Glossary, Remarketing allows you to target users who’ve already interacted with your website or app, helping boost conversions. - Customer Match
A critical Google Ads Glossary strategy—Customer Match allows you to upload your own customer data (like email lists) and target those users across Google properties. - Similar Audiences
Included in the Google Ads Glossary as a smart targeting tool, Similar Audiences lets you reach people with similar characteristics to your remarketing or Customer Match audiences. - Demographic Targeting
A key concept in the Google Ads Glossary, Demographic Targeting allows you to reach people based on age, gender, income, and household status. - Life Events
This unique targeting option in the Google Ads Glossary lets you reach users going through major milestones like moving, graduating, or getting married. - Parental Status
Found in every updated Google Ads Glossary, Parental Status targeting lets advertisers reach parents or non-parents depending on campaign goals—particularly useful for family-focused brands.
Performance Metrics (Google Ads Glossary)
- Impressions
In the Google Ads Glossary, Impressions refer to the number of times your ad is shown on Google or its partner networks, regardless of whether it was clicked. - Clicks
A foundational metric in this Google Ads Glossary—Clicks count how many times users interact with your ad by tapping or clicking on it. - Click-Through Rate (CTR)
As defined in the Google Ads Glossary, CTR is the percentage of impressions that result in clicks. It’s calculated as (Clicks ÷ Impressions) × 100. A higher CTR usually means your ad is relevant and engaging. - Conversion
In this Google Ads Glossary, a Conversion is a completed action on your website, such as a purchase, form submission, or phone call, directly resulting from an ad click. - Conversion Rate
This Google Ads Glossary term measures the percentage of ad clicks that lead to conversions. It’s calculated as (Conversions ÷ Clicks) × 100, and helps assess ad effectiveness. - Conversion Value
A critical term in the Google Ads Glossary, Conversion Value refers to the total monetary value generated from conversions. It helps determine campaign profitability. - Return on Ad Spend (ROAS)
ROAS is one of the most important performance metrics in this Google Ads Glossary. It tells you how much revenue you earn for every rupee spent on ads. It’s calculated as (Conversion Value ÷ Cost). - Quality Score
Featured prominently in the Google Ads Glossary, Quality Score is Google’s rating of the relevance and quality of your keywords, ads, and landing pages. It ranges from 1 to 10 and directly affects your CPC and Ad Rank. - Ad Rank
In the Google Ads Glossary, Ad Rank determines your ad’s position in the search results. It’s based on your bid amount, Quality Score, and expected impact of ad extensions. - Average CPC (Cost-Per-Click)
This Google Ads Glossary entry refers to the average amount you’re charged for each click. It’s calculated by dividing the total cost of clicks by the total number of clicks.
Ad Extensions (Assets) (Google Ads Glossary)
- Sitelink Extensions
In this Google Ads Glossary, Sitelink Extensions allow you to add additional links below your ad. These links direct users to specific pages like contact, pricing, or services—boosting CTR and ad visibility. - Call Extensions
A common term in the Google Ads Glossary, Call Extensions let you include a phone number directly in your ad, making it easy for users to call your business with one tap. - Location Extensions
Location Extensions, as defined in the Google Ads Glossary, display your business address and a map link, helping nearby users find your physical location quickly. - Price Extensions
In this Google Ads Glossary, Price Extensions let you showcase your services or products with pricing information, allowing users to compare options before clicking. - Promotion Extensions
As covered in every updated Google Ads Glossary, Promotion Extensions highlight special offers or discounts—perfect for seasonal campaigns or limited-time deals. - Structured Snippets
A useful addition in the Google Ads Glossary, Structured Snippets show predefined categories like “Courses,” “Brands,” or “Destinations,” giving users more context about your offerings. - Callout Extensions
This entry in the Google Ads Glossary allows you to include short, punchy text like “Free Shipping” or “24/7 Support” below your ad, helping highlight key selling points. - App Extensions
App Extensions, as explained in the Google Ads Glossary, link directly to your app download page on the Google Play or Apple App Store—ideal for businesses with mobile apps. - Lead Form Extensions
A relatively new feature in the Google Ads Glossary, Lead Form Extensions let users submit their contact info directly from your ad without visiting your site—great for lead generation. - Image Extensions
Image Extensions add relevant visuals to your text ads, making them more engaging and noticeable. In this Google Ads Glossary, it’s highlighted as a feature that increases click-through rates significantly.
Tools & Features (Google Ads Glossary)
- Keyword Planner
A must-have in the Google Ads Glossary, Keyword Planner helps you discover relevant keywords, see search volume, and estimate bid costs—perfect for campaign planning. - Ad Preview Tool
In this Google Ads Glossary, the Ad Preview Tool lets you view how your ads appear in search results without affecting performance metrics like impressions or CTR. - Google Ads Editor
A vital tool featured in the Google Ads Glossary, Google Ads Editor is a downloadable application that enables offline bulk edits to your ads, campaigns, and keywords. - Google Analytics
Google Analytics, included in every comprehensive Google Ads Glossary, tracks user behavior on your website and helps you analyze the performance of your ad traffic and conversions. - Google Tag Manager
In the Google Ads Glossary, Google Tag Manager is a tag management tool that allows you to add, update, and manage tracking codes and pixels without modifying website code. - Conversion Tracking
A key term in the Google Ads Glossary, Conversion Tracking monitors the actions users take after clicking your ads—such as purchases, sign-ups, or downloads—to measure ad effectiveness. - Auto-tagging
Auto-tagging, as explained in the Google Ads Glossary, automatically adds tracking parameters to your ad URLs to help you view campaign performance in Google Analytics. - Smart Bidding
Featured prominently in the Google Ads Glossary, Smart Bidding uses machine learning to optimize bids for conversions or conversion value in real-time across all auctions. - Audience Manager
Audience Manager allows you to create, manage, and reuse audience segments across campaigns. It’s a crucial term in the Google Ads Glossary for personalized targeting. - Auction Insights
Auction Insights, covered in this Google Ads Glossary, let you compare your ad performance with competitors who participated in the same auctions—helpful for refining strategy.
Shopping & Display (Google Ads Glossary)
- Google Merchant Center
In the Google Ads Glossary, Google Merchant Center is a platform where retailers upload and manage their product data, which feeds into Shopping Ads on Google. - Shopping Ads
Shopping Ads, a vital term in the Google Ads Glossary, are product-based ads that include an image, title, price, store name, and more—ideal for e-commerce visibility. - Product Feed
As covered in every detailed Google Ads Glossary, the Product Feed is a file containing details like product title, description, price, availability, and image used for Shopping Ads. - Product Groups
This Google Ads Glossary term refers to how products are categorized within Shopping campaigns, allowing advertisers to manage bids and performance by group. - Display Ads
Display Ads, a foundational term in the Google Ads Glossary, are visually engaging banner or image ads that appear on the Google Display Network across millions of websites and apps. - Responsive Display Ads
In the Google Ads Glossary, Responsive Display Ads automatically adjust size, appearance, and format to fit available ad spaces—making them a versatile option for advertisers. - Lightbox Ads
Lightbox Ads, mentioned in advanced sections of the Google Ads Glossary, are interactive display ads that expand when clicked or hovered over—great for brand engagement. - Gmail Ads
A specialized term in the Google Ads Glossary, Gmail Ads appear in the Promotions tab of Gmail inboxes and expand like emails—useful for personalized promotional campaigns. - App Campaigns
App Campaigns, featured prominently in this Google Ads Glossary, promote mobile apps across Search, Play Store, YouTube, and the Display Network, with automated targeting and bidding. - Discovery Campaigns
In the Google Ads Glossary, Discovery Campaigns deliver visually rich ads across YouTube Home Feed, Gmail, and Discover—optimized to reach users in the exploration phase.
Advanced Concepts (Google Ads Glossary)
- Attribution Models
In the Google Ads Glossary, Attribution Models refer to the rules that determine how credit for conversions is assigned to different touchpoints in the customer journey. - First-Click Attribution
As explained in this Google Ads Glossary, First-Click Attribution gives full credit for a conversion to the very first ad interaction, helping you understand initial interest sources. - Last-Click Attribution
Last-Click Attribution, a classic model in the Google Ads Glossary, gives all credit to the final interaction before a conversion—ideal for evaluating closing effectiveness. - Data-Driven Attribution
One of the most recommended models in the modern Google Ads Glossary, Data-Driven Attribution uses machine learning to assign credit based on actual user behavior across multiple interactions. - View-Through Conversions
Defined in this Google Ads Glossary, View-Through Conversions track when a user sees (but doesn’t click) your ad and later converts through another channel—useful for Display Ads impact. - Frequency Capping
Frequency Capping limits how many times your ads appear to the same user over a given period. It’s a key term in the Google Ads Glossary for preventing ad fatigue and overspending. - Ad Rotation
As covered in the Google Ads Glossary, Ad Rotation determines how multiple ads in an ad group are shown—options include “optimize” for best performance or “rotate evenly” for testing. - Smart Goals
Smart Goals use machine learning to automatically identify the most engaged website visits and turn them into conversion signals. In the Google Ads Glossary, they’re recommended for advertisers without custom goals. - Conversion Windows
In the Google Ads Glossary, Conversion Windows are the timeframes during which a conversion is attributed to a click or view—commonly set between 7 to 30 days depending on the funnel. - Cross-Device Conversions
Cross-Device Conversions track users who click an ad on one device (like mobile) but convert later on another (like desktop). This Google Ads Glossary term helps measure the full customer journey.
Policy & Compliance (Google Ads Glossary)
- Ad Disapproval
In the Google Ads Glossary, Ad Disapproval refers to ads that are rejected due to non-compliance with Google’s advertising policies. Disapproved ads won’t run until fixed. - Policy Violation
A crucial entry in the Google Ads Glossary, Policy Violation means an ad, keyword, or landing page has broken Google’s guidelines, which can affect account performance and credibility. - Account Suspension
As explained in this Google Ads Glossary, Account Suspension occurs when repeated or severe violations lead to the disabling of your entire Google Ads account. - Billing Setup
Billing Setup refers to the process of configuring your payment methods, thresholds, and cycles. The Google Ads Glossary includes this as an essential step before launching campaigns. - Shared Budgets
In the Google Ads Glossary, Shared Budgets allow advertisers to allocate a single daily budget across multiple campaigns to maximize cost efficiency and ad delivery. - Two-Step Verification
Two-Step Verification adds a security layer to your Google Ads account. According to the Google Ads Glossary, it’s strongly recommended to prevent unauthorized access. - Business Verification
Business Verification is a policy requirement to confirm the legitimacy of your business before running ads—especially for regulated industries. It’s a key compliance term in the Google Ads Glossary. - Personalized Ads Policy
This policy governs how advertisers can use user data to create customized ad experiences. In the Google Ads Glossary, it’s highlighted as essential for audience targeting compliance. - Consent Mode
Consent Mode helps advertisers comply with data regulations by adjusting how Google tags behave based on users’ consent status. A must-know for privacy-conscious campaigns in the Google Ads Glossary. - Limited Data Processing
Limited Data Processing (LDP) is a setting to help comply with U.S. privacy laws like CCPA. As defined in the Google Ads Glossary, it restricts data usage for ad personalization and measurement.
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