SAVN

Short answer: This glossary defines the marketing terms realtors and small business owners hear most, each in two plain sentences.

Marketing Glossary

AEO (Answer Engine Optimization)
AEO is the work of making your business easy for AI answer tools like ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews to understand, trust and recommend. It focuses on clear direct answers, consistent business details across the web and structured data. Read the AEO guide
GEO (Generative Engine Optimization)
GEO is another name for optimizing content so generative AI tools cite or mention it in their answers. Most people use GEO and AEO to mean almost the same thing.
SEO (Search Engine Optimization)
SEO is improving your website so it ranks higher in regular search results on Google and Bing. It covers technical health, useful content, local signals and links from other sites. What SEO costs
Local SEO
Local SEO helps a business show up for searches with local intent, like "realtor near me" or "plumber in Halifax". Your Google Business Profile, reviews and consistent address details matter most here.
Google Business Profile
Google Business Profile is the free listing that shows your business on Google Maps and in the local results panel. It holds your hours, service area, photos, reviews and contact details. Profile checklist
PPC (Pay Per Click)
PPC is an advertising model where you pay each time someone clicks your ad. Google Ads and Microsoft Ads search campaigns are the most common examples.
CPC (Cost Per Click)
CPC is the amount you pay for a single click on your ad. It is set by an auction and depends on competition, your bid and your ad quality.
CPA (Cost Per Acquisition)
CPA is what you spend in ads to get one result, such as a lead, booked call or sale. Divide total ad spend by the number of results to get it.
CPL (Cost Per Lead)
CPL is a type of CPA where the result is a new lead. It tells you how much each inquiry costs before you know whether it becomes a client.
ROAS (Return on Ad Spend)
ROAS is the revenue earned for every dollar spent on ads. A ROAS of 4 means $4 in revenue for each $1 of ad spend.
CTR (Click-Through Rate)
CTR is the share of people who click your ad or listing after seeing it. Divide clicks by impressions to get it.
Conversion rate
Conversion rate is the share of visitors who take the action you want, like submitting a form or calling. It shows how well your page turns traffic into leads.
Quality Score
Quality Score is Google Ads' 1 to 10 rating of how relevant your keyword, ad and landing page are to the searcher. Higher scores usually mean lower costs and better ad positions.
Negative keyword
A negative keyword tells Google not to show your ad for searches containing that word. For example, a realtor might exclude "rental" or "jobs".
Landing page
A landing page is the page someone arrives on after clicking an ad or link. A good one matches the ad's promise and makes the next step obvious.
Speed to lead
Speed to lead is how quickly you respond to a new inquiry after it arrives. Faster first contact usually means more conversations, so many teams automate the first reply. Lead follow-up system
Lead qualification
Lead qualification is sorting leads by how ready and able they are to buy or sell. It usually checks timeline, budget or price range, financing and location.
Drip campaign
A drip campaign is a planned series of emails or texts sent automatically over days, weeks or months. It keeps leads engaged until they are ready to talk.
CRM (Customer Relationship Management)
A CRM is software that stores every lead and client with their contact history, notes and next steps. It is the system your follow-up and automation run from. What to automate first
Lead nurturing
Lead nurturing is staying in helpful contact with leads who are not ready yet. It combines drip messages, personal check-ins and useful market information.
CASL
CASL is Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation, which governs commercial emails and texts. It requires consent, sender identification and an easy way to unsubscribe, so check your obligations before you send.
Structured data (Schema markup)
Structured data is code on a web page that labels facts like your business name, services, prices and FAQs in a format search engines read. It helps search engines and AI tools understand the page.
Retargeting
Retargeting shows ads to people who already visited your website or engaged with your content. It reminds warm prospects to come back.

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