ADVERTISING, IN PLAIN ENGLISH
Advertising glossary for beginners
A little less jargon. A clearer next step.
Find the meaning of the words used in our guides, with examples you can apply to your own ads. Definitions explain the basics; individual platforms and affiliate programs can use different counting rules and conditions.
Affiliate link
A special link that lets an affiliate program identify the person who referred a visitor. Whether a referral earns commission depends on that program’s rules.
Example: Use the link supplied by your affiliate program and check that it opens the right offer.
Attribution
The rule used to connect an outcome, such as a signup, to a marketing source or earlier visit. Different tools can credit the same outcome differently.
Example: A first-touch report credits the earliest recorded source within its tracking window.
Audience
The people you want an ad to reach, described by their needs or interests.
Example: A beginner advertising guide is aimed at people preparing their first campaign.
Banner ad
An image-based advertisement displayed in a page placement, usually with a clickable destination.
Example: A banner might invite readers to visit your offer’s landing page.
Baseline
A recorded starting result that you use when comparing later changes.
Example: Save this week’s views and clicks before testing a new headline.
Call to action (CTA)
The instruction that tells someone what to do next.
Example: “Read the guide” is a call to action with one clear next step.
Campaign
A planned advertising effort with an offer, audience, message, placements, and a goal.
Example: Promoting one beginner-friendly offer through two placements can be one campaign.
Click
A recorded interaction with a link or ad. A click does not prove that the destination loaded, that the visitor was unique, or that a sale happened.
Example: Record ad clicks separately from signups reported by your destination.
Click-through rate (CTR)
The percentage of recorded ad views or impressions that resulted in recorded clicks: clicks ÷ views × 100. Compare figures that use the same counting rules.
Example: 10 clicks from 1,000 views gives a CTR of 1%.
Conversion
An action you have chosen as a goal, such as a completed signup or purchase. State which action you mean when reporting conversions.
Example: A signup conversion is not the same thing as a sale.
Conversion rate
The percentage of a stated group that completed a chosen action. Always name the denominator, such as clicks or visitors.
Example: 5 signups from 100 tracked visitors is a visitor-to-signup conversion rate of 5%.
Creative
The words, image, and other visible parts of an advertisement.
Example: Changing the headline changes part of your ad creative.
Credits
Units used within an advertising service to obtain eligible exposure or other benefits. Their value and permitted uses depend on the service and credit type.
Example: Check the placement’s current requirements; credits are not automatically cash or sales.
Destination URL
The web address an ad sends someone to when they click.
Example: Open your destination URL on a phone before submitting the ad.
Headline
The main line of text intended to get attention and explain why the offer matters.
Example: Use a specific, truthful benefit that the destination actually supports.
Impression / view
A recorded display of an ad under a platform’s counting rules. It does not necessarily represent a unique person or prove that someone read the ad.
Example: 1,000 recorded views should not be described as 1,000 interested buyers.
Landing page
The page someone reaches after following an ad or campaign link. It should explain the offer and make the next step clear.
Example: An ad promising a checklist should lead to a page where that checklist is easy to find.
Lead
Someone who has expressed interest, often by submitting contact details or an enquiry. A lead is not automatically a customer.
Example: A completed enquiry form may count as a lead if that is your stated goal.
Offer
The product, service, or resource you are asking people to consider, together with what they receive and any conditions.
Example: Describe whether the resource is free, requires registration, or has a price.
Organic traffic
Visits from unpaid search results when discussing search performance. Keep this separate from ad, referral, and traffic-exchange visits.
Example: A visitor finding a guide through an unpaid search result is organic search traffic.
Placement
The location or format where an ad is displayed.
Example: A Post It board placement and a banner placement are different ways to display an ad.
Post It ad
SubmitAds4Free’s short text-ad format on the Post It board. Ads have a subject, body, destination, and category, and are subject to review.
Example: Follow the first-ad walkthrough for the form limits and approval process.
Referral
A visitor or account introduced through a referring source or member. Eligibility for referral credit or commission follows the relevant program’s rules.
Example: A tracked referral does not by itself mean a commission has been earned.
Sample size
The number of observations behind a result. Small samples can produce large swings in percentages.
Example: One click from ten views is too little evidence to declare an ad a dependable winner.
Split test (A/B test)
A comparison of two versions shown to comparable groups to investigate which performs better on a chosen measure.
Example: Compare two headlines while keeping the offer and placement consistent; a simple before-and-after change can also be affected by timing.
Tracking
Recording visits or actions so you can understand what happened. Tools may miss events or use different definitions, so totals can differ.
Example: Compare ad clicks, destination visits, and purchases as separate measurements.
Traffic
Visits to a website or page. The amount of traffic alone does not tell you whether visitors are interested or likely to buy.
Example: Look at what visitors do after arriving, as well as how many arrive.
Traffic exchange
A service where members view other members’ pages to earn advertising exposure, subject to the service’s rules.
Example: Check that an affiliate program permits traffic-exchange promotion before advertising its offer.
UTM parameters
Named pieces of information added to a URL to label a campaign for compatible analytics tools. They do not create affiliate credit by themselves.
Example: Use consistent source and campaign labels, and only modify affiliate links when the program permits it.