The growth & AI marketing glossary.
Plain-English definitions of the terms behind modern growth — from SEO and GEO to CAC and ROAS.
Generative Engine Optimization (GEO)
Optimizing content so AI answer engines like ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini cite your brand as a source.
Read definition →Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Improving a website so it ranks higher in organic search results on Google and other engines.
Read definition →Answer Engine
An AI system (ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Google AI Overviews) that returns a synthesized answer instead of a list of links.
Read definition →llms.txt
A plain-text file that gives AI crawlers a curated map of your site's most important content.
Read definition →Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)
The total sales and marketing cost to acquire one new customer.
Read definition →Lifetime Value (LTV)
The total revenue a business expects from a customer over the whole relationship.
Read definition →Return on Ad Spend (ROAS)
Revenue generated for every dollar spent on advertising.
Read definition →Inbound Marketing
Attracting customers by creating valuable content and experiences tailored to them.
Read definition →Backlink
A link from another website to yours — a key signal of authority for search engines.
Read definition →Domain Authority
A score predicting how well a domain will rank, based largely on its backlink profile.
Read definition →Pay-Per-Click (PPC)
A paid advertising model where you pay each time someone clicks your ad.
Read definition →Core Web Vitals
Google's metrics for loading speed, interactivity, and visual stability that affect rankings.
Read definition →Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO)
CRO is the practice of increasing the percentage of visitors who take a desired action — buy, book, or sign up — through testing and design.
Read definition →Marketing Qualified Lead (MQL)
An MQL is a lead whose engagement and fit signal they are more likely to become a customer, but who is not yet ready for direct sales contact.
Read definition →Sales Qualified Lead (SQL)
An SQL is a lead that has been vetted by both marketing and sales as ready for a direct sales conversation and likely to buy.
Read definition →Lead Scoring
Lead scoring assigns points to leads based on fit and behavior so teams can prioritize the prospects most likely to convert.
Read definition →Marketing Funnel
The marketing funnel is the staged journey a prospect takes from first awareness to purchase and beyond, used to map and optimize growth.
Read definition →Keyword Research
Keyword research is the process of finding the words and questions your audience searches so you can create content that ranks and converts.
Read definition →Search Engine Results Page (SERP)
A SERP is the page a search engine returns for a query, now filled with ads, snippets, AI overviews, and other features beyond plain links.
Read definition →Featured Snippet
A featured snippet is the boxed answer Google pulls to the top of results to directly answer a query, often read aloud by voice assistants.
Read definition →Google AI Overviews
Google AI Overviews are AI-generated summaries at the top of search results that answer a query directly by synthesizing multiple sources.
Read definition →Schema Markup
Schema markup is structured code added to a page that tells search engines what its content means, enabling rich results and AI understanding.
Read definition →Structured Data
Structured data is information organized in a standardized, machine-readable format so search engines and AI can interpret a page accurately.
Read definition →E-E-A-T (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, Trustworthiness)
E-E-A-T is Google's framework for judging content quality based on real experience, expertise, authority, and trust signals.
Read definition →Topical Authority
Topical authority is the depth and breadth of trustworthy coverage a site has on a subject, which earns higher rankings across that topic.
Read definition →Content Cluster
A content cluster is a group of related pages — one pillar plus supporting articles — interlinked to build topical authority on a subject.
Read definition →Pillar Page
A pillar page is a comprehensive page covering a broad topic that links out to detailed subtopic pages, anchoring a content cluster.
Read definition →Organic Traffic
Organic traffic is visitors who reach your site through unpaid search results rather than ads, the most durable and cost-efficient channel.
Read definition →Click-Through Rate (CTR)
Click-through rate is the percentage of people who click a link, ad, or result out of everyone who saw it, measuring relevance and appeal.
Read definition →Attribution Modeling
Attribution modeling is the method of assigning credit for a conversion across the marketing touchpoints a buyer interacted with before buying.
Read definition →Retargeting
Retargeting shows ads to people who already visited your site or engaged with your brand, bringing warm prospects back to convert.
Read definition →Lifecycle Marketing
Lifecycle marketing delivers the right message at each stage of the customer journey, from first touch through retention and advocacy.
Read definition →Churn Rate
Churn rate is the percentage of customers or revenue lost over a period, the key metric for retention and recurring-revenue health.
Read definition →Product-Led Growth (PLG)
Product-led growth is a strategy where the product itself drives acquisition, conversion, and expansion, often via free or freemium access.
Read definition →Demand Generation
Demand generation is the full-funnel marketing discipline of creating awareness and interest that turns into qualified pipeline and revenue.
Read definition →Account-Based Marketing (ABM)
ABM is a B2B strategy that targets specific high-value accounts with personalized campaigns, aligning marketing and sales on the same list.
Read definition →User-Generated Content (UGC)
User-generated content is any content — reviews, photos, videos, posts — created by customers or fans rather than the brand itself.
Read definition →Programmatic SEO
Programmatic SEO is generating many targeted pages at scale from structured data and templates to capture large sets of long-tail queries.
Read definition →Entity SEO
Entity SEO optimizes content around clearly defined people, places, brands, and concepts that search engines recognize, not just keywords.
Read definition →Knowledge Graph
A knowledge graph is a structured network of entities and their relationships that search engines and AI use to understand and answer queries.
Read definition →Influencer Marketing
Influencer marketing is partnering with trusted creators who recommend your product to their audience, turning their credibility into demand for your brand.
Read definition →Micro-Influencer
A micro-influencer is a creator with roughly 10,000 to 100,000 followers whose smaller, highly engaged niche audience often converts better than a celebrity's.
Read definition →Nano-Influencer
A nano-influencer is a creator with under 10,000 followers whose tight-knit, highly trusting audience delivers outsized engagement and authenticity.
Read definition →Creator Economy
The creator economy is the ecosystem of individuals who earn a living by building audiences and monetizing content, and the brands and tools that support them.
Read definition →Engagement Rate
Engagement rate is the percentage of an audience that actively interacts with content — likes, comments, shares, saves — and a key signal of an influencer's real influence.
Read definition →Brand Ambassador
A brand ambassador is a creator or customer in an ongoing relationship with a brand, repeatedly promoting it over time rather than in a single one-off post.
Read definition →Affiliate Influencer
An affiliate influencer promotes a product using a trackable link or code and earns a commission on the sales they drive, aligning their incentive with your revenue.
Read definition →Influencer Whitelisting
Influencer whitelisting is when a creator grants a brand permission to run paid ads from the creator's own social account, combining authenticity with paid scale.
Read definition →Influencer Seeding
Influencer seeding is sending your product free to relevant creators with no obligation to post, earning authentic, unpaid coverage when they genuinely like it.
Read definition →Sponsored Content
Sponsored content is creator content a brand pays for and that is disclosed as an ad, blending the creator's voice with the brand's message.
Read definition →Social Commerce
Social commerce is buying and selling directly inside social platforms — shoppable posts, in-app checkout, and live shopping — collapsing discovery and purchase.
Read definition →Share of Voice (SOV)
Share of voice is your brand's portion of total conversation or visibility in a market versus competitors — across social, search, or AI answers.
Read definition →Creator Brief
A creator brief is the document that tells an influencer the campaign goal, must-say points, dos and don'ts, and deliverables — while leaving room for their voice.
Read definition →Sponsored Post
A sponsored post is a single paid, disclosed social post in which a creator features a brand — the most common unit of an influencer campaign.
Read definition →Macro-Influencer
A creator with roughly 100,000 to 1 million followers, offering broad reach with reasonably targeted audiences.
Read definition →Mega-Influencer
A creator or public figure with over 1 million followers, used for mass-reach awareness campaigns.
Read definition →Celebrity Endorsement
A paid arrangement where a well-known public figure publicly promotes or aligns with a brand.
Read definition →Key Opinion Leader (KOL)
A trusted expert whose specialized authority shapes purchase decisions within a specific field or community.
Read definition →Content Creator
A person who produces and publishes original media — video, photo, audio, or writing — for an online audience.
Read definition →UGC Creator
A creator paid to produce authentic-style brand content that the brand owns and runs as ads or organic posts.
Read definition →Brand Deal
A paid agreement in which a creator promotes a brand to their audience under defined terms.
Read definition →Paid Partnership
A disclosed, compensated collaboration between a brand and creator, often tagged via platform partnership tools.
Read definition →Product Gifting
Sending free products to creators with no payment, hoping for organic, authentic coverage.
Read definition →Unboxing Video
A video capturing the first-time experience of opening and revealing a product's packaging and contents.
Read definition →Haul Video
A video where a creator showcases and reviews a batch of recently purchased or gifted products.
Read definition →Instagram Reels
Instagram's short-form vertical video format, built for discovery, reach, and creator-led marketing.
Read definition →YouTube Shorts
YouTube's short-form vertical video format for quick discovery and channel growth.
Read definition →TikTok Shop
TikTok's native in-app commerce feature that lets users buy products directly from videos and livestreams.
Read definition →Live Shopping
Real-time livestream selling where hosts demo products and viewers buy during the broadcast.
Read definition →Story Ad
A full-screen vertical ad placed between users' Stories on Instagram, Facebook, or similar platforms.
Read definition →Link in Bio
A single clickable link in a social profile that routes followers to products, content, or landing pages.
Read definition →Influencer Collaboration
A partnership where a brand and creator co-create content or products, sharing audiences and credibility.
Read definition →Influencer Reach
The total number of unique people who saw an influencer's content, counted once per person regardless of repeat views.
Read definition →Influencer Impressions
The total number of times an influencer's content was displayed, including repeat views by the same person.
Read definition →Cost Per Mille (CPM)
The cost an advertiser pays per one thousand impressions of influencer or media content.
Read definition →Cost Per Engagement (CPE)
The amount an advertiser pays for each like, comment, share, or save on influencer content.
Read definition →Earned Media Value (EMV)
An estimated dollar value of organic influencer exposure, calculated as if it had been bought as paid media.
Read definition →Influencer Marketing ROI
The net return generated by influencer spend, measured as revenue or value relative to total campaign cost.
Read definition →Follower Growth Rate
The percentage rate at which an account gains followers over a set period, signaling momentum or stagnation.
Read definition →Audience Quality Score
A composite metric rating how real, relevant, and engaged an influencer's audience is.
Read definition →Fake Followers
Bot, inactive, or purchased accounts that inflate an influencer's follower count without adding real audience.
Read definition →Influencer Fraud
Deceptive practices like fake followers, bought engagement, or misrepresented metrics that mislead brands paying for influence.
Read definition →FTC Disclosure
A clear, conspicuous statement that influencer content is paid or sponsored, required by US advertising rules.
Read definition →Content Usage Rights
The contractual terms defining how, where, and how long a brand may reuse an influencer's content.
Read definition →Exclusivity Clause
A contract term barring an influencer from working with competing brands for a defined period and category.
Read definition →Influencer Rate Card
A creator's published pricing for content deliverables across formats, platforms, and usage terms.
Read definition →Influencer Marketing Platform
Software for discovering, vetting, managing, and measuring influencer campaigns from one system.
Read definition →Conversion Tracking
Measuring which clicks, codes, or links drive desired actions like leads or sales back to a campaign.
Read definition →Influencer Campaign KPI
A measurable goal, such as reach, engagement, or conversions, used to judge influencer campaign success.
Read definition →Dark Social
Sharing that happens through private channels like DMs and messaging apps, invisible to standard analytics.
Read definition →Speak the language of modern growth
Growth has its own vocabulary — and in 2026 it spans both classic search and AI answer engines. This glossary defines the terms that decide whether you rank, get cited, and convert: from SEO and GEO to CAC, LTV, and ROAS. Each definition is written answer-first so AI engines can cite it — and so you can put it to work.
Glossary FAQs
What is the difference between SEO and GEO?
SEO (Search Engine Optimization) wins ranking positions in classic search results; GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) wins citations inside AI answers from ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, and Google AI Overviews. Modern growth needs both, from one content strategy.
Why does a marketing glossary matter for AI search?
Clear, well-structured definitions are exactly what AI answer engines extract and cite. A glossary with DefinedTerm schema helps your brand become the quoted source for category terms — a core GEO tactic.
How does Gigde use these concepts to drive growth?
Gigde turns these fundamentals — SEO, GEO, CAC, LTV, ROAS, inbound, backlinks, Core Web Vitals — into a done-for-you growth engine that lowers cost per lead while compounding traffic, citations, and pipeline.
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