Google Acronyms and what they mean.

Google Ads aka Paid Ads Dictionary

Ever wondered what the acronyms mean?

If you are setting up a Google Ad Campaign learn these terms.

Here’s a clear breakdown of the most common Google advertising acronyms — explained in plain English. If you're running campaigns on Google Ads, you’ll see these everywhere.

Core Cost & Performance Metrics

CPC – Cost Per Click
How much you pay each time someone clicks your ad.

CPM – Cost Per Mille (Cost Per 1,000 Impressions)
What you pay for 1,000 views of your ad (used more in display campaigns).

CPA – Cost Per Acquisition
How much it costs you to get one lead or sale.

CTR – Click-Through Rate
The percentage of people who click your ad after seeing it.
(Calculated as clicks ÷ impressions.)

CVR – Conversion Rate
The percentage of people who complete your goal (call, form, purchase) after clicking.

ROAS – Return on Ad Spend
Revenue generated divided by ad spend.
Example: Spend $1,000 → Make $4,000 = 4x ROAS.

Targeting & Keyword Terms

KW – Keyword
The search term you’re targeting.

SKAG – Single Keyword Ad Group
A structure where one ad group focuses on one keyword for tighter control.

Search Terms
The actual phrases users typed into Google (important for building negative keywords).

Negative Keywords
Keywords you exclude so your ads don’t show for irrelevant searches.

Match Types:

  • Exact Match – Shows only for that specific keyword or very close variations.

  • Phrase Match – Shows when the search includes your keyword phrase.

  • Broad Match – Google has more freedom to interpret the search.

Google Campaign & Strategy Terms

PPC – Pay Per Click
The overall advertising model where you pay per click.

PMax – Performance Max
An automated campaign type that runs across all Google placements.

QS – Quality Score
Google’s rating of your ad relevance, landing page experience, and expected CTR. Higher score = lower CPC.

A/B Testing
Running variations of ads to see which performs better.

Bid Strategy
How Google sets your bids (Manual CPC, Max Conversions, Target CPA, etc.).

Conversion & Tracking Terms

GA4 – Google Analytics 4
Google’s analytics platform for tracking website activity.

GTM – Google Tag Manager
Tool used to manage tracking codes without editing website code directly.

Conversion Tracking
Measuring when someone completes a goal (form, call, sale).

The Honest Truth

If you’re new to Google advertising, the acronyms can feel overwhelming at first.

But once you understand what they mean, you realise they’re just measurement tools — and measurement is what turns guessing into strategy.

And if you ever feel buried in CPCs and ROAS calculations… that’s when having a Google ad expert on your side makes life a lot easier.

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