ICDL Digital Marketing (ICDL) key terms

Promoting products, services, or brands through digital channels such as websites, search engines, email, and social media. It covers activities that reach and engage customers online and can be measured and adjusted quickly.

A model describing the stages a person moves through before buying, typically awareness, consideration, and purchase. Marketers use it to choose suitable messages and channels for each stage.

The specific group of people a campaign is designed to reach, defined by shared characteristics such as age, interests, location, or buying behaviour. A clear target audience guides message, channel, and budget choices.

A written profile of a typical customer in a target audience, including goals, frustrations, and habits. Teams use personas to write relevant content and choose appropriate channels.

The series of interactions and touchpoints a person experiences with a brand, from first learning about it to buying and beyond. Mapping it helps identify where messages or support are needed.

The completion of a desired action by a visitor, such as buying, registering, downloading, or subscribing. Each conversion is usually tracked and counted as a measurable success.

A short instruction that tells the audience what to do next, such as 'Buy now' or 'Sign up'. Effective calls to action are clear, visible, and placed where the audience is ready to act.

The extent to which people recognise a brand's name, logo, or products and can recall it when a need arises. It is often built through consistent, repeated exposure across channels.

The unique address a website uses on the internet, such as example.com, chosen when registering a site. It must be registered with an accredited registrar and renewed periodically.

A service that stores a website's files and makes them available to visitors over the internet. The provider supplies server space, bandwidth, and often email and security features.

The full address of a specific page or file on the web, including the domain name and the path, such as example.com/products. Each URL should point to one clear destination.

A single web page built for a specific campaign or offer, usually with one main call to action. Visitors often arrive from an ad, email, or search result rather than general browsing.

A way of building websites so layout and text adjust automatically to different screen sizes, from phones to desktops. It keeps content readable and usable without separate mobile versions.

Software that lets people create, edit, and publish website content without writing code. It separates content from design and often supports multiple user roles and templates.

The practice of improving a website so it ranks higher in unpaid search results for relevant queries. It involves content, keywords, technical health, and links from other sites.

A word or phrase people type into search engines or social platforms when looking for information. Marketers research keywords to match content and ads to real searches.

A public profile on a social platform created for a company, brand, or organisation rather than an individual. It usually offers extra tools such as insights, advertising, and multiple admin roles.

The short username that identifies an account on a social platform, often shown with an @ symbol. A consistent, easy-to-remember handle helps people find and tag the brand.

A keyword preceded by the # symbol that groups posts on a topic and makes them discoverable in searches. Using relevant, not excessive, hashtags helps reach interested audiences.

A user who chooses to subscribe to an account's updates so its posts appear in their feed. Followers are often the core audience for organic social content.

Controls that decide who can see a profile, posts, or personal information on a platform. For business accounts, they determine how publicly content and contact details are shown.

A schedule showing what will be published, where, and when across channels. It helps teams plan ahead, keep a consistent rhythm, and coordinate campaigns with other activities.

Monitoring social platforms for mentions of a brand, competitors, or relevant topics and analysing what people say. It supports reputation management, customer service, and content planning.

The day-to-day work of responding to comments and messages, encouraging discussion, and handling problems in an online community. It builds trust and keeps conversations constructive and on-brand.

Material such as photos, reviews, or videos that customers create and share about a brand. Marketers often request permission and reuse it because it feels authentic to other buyers.

Software that lets a team prepare posts in advance and publish them automatically at set times on one or more platforms. It also helps keep an overview of planned content.

Written guidelines telling staff or members what is acceptable when posting on behalf of an organisation or about it. It covers tone, confidentiality, disclosure, and handling complaints.

The number of times an ad or post is displayed, whether or not anyone interacts with it. One person viewing the same item several times counts as several impressions.

The number of distinct people who see a piece of content or an ad within a given period. Unlike impressions, repeated views by the same person are counted once.

An advertising model where the advertiser pays only when someone clicks the ad. Search and social platforms usually sell ads this way, with costs set by bidding.

The amount an advertiser pays each time someone clicks an ad, calculated by dividing total cost by clicks. It is a common measure of paid traffic efficiency.

The cost of showing an ad one thousand times, used when advertisers buy impressions rather than clicks. It helps compare the price of building awareness across channels.

The percentage of people who click an ad or link after seeing it, found by dividing clicks by impressions and multiplying by 100. Higher rates suggest the message and audience fit well.

Showing ads to people who previously visited a website or interacted with a brand, to bring them back. It relies on tracking cookies or platform audiences and usually targets warmer prospects.

The collection and study of data about visitors to a website or app, such as where they came from and what they did. It shows which pages and campaigns perform well.

A measure chosen to judge whether an activity is meeting a specific business objective, such as cost per lead or conversion rate. Good indicators are few, relevant, and reviewed regularly.

The percentage of visits in which a person leaves after viewing only one page without further action. A high rate may signal unclear content, poor targeting, or slow loading.

Running two versions of a page, ad, or email with one difference and comparing results to see which performs better. Only one element should change so the cause is clear.