As we set out to create a digital marketing glossary, we didn’t make it past the C’s, as we realized there are seven C acronyms tossed around frequently in the digital marketing space that you should know.

  1. Call to Action (CTA) refers to the action you’re asking an end user to take via a button or another type of call out. For example, perhaps you have a digital ad with a button that reads “click here to learn more” or you sent an email with the request to “call for more information.” Your CTA should be clear, concise and easily identifiable to obtain the most conversions.
  2. Click through Rate (CTR) is the ratio between how many clicks your ad received and how many times your ad was displayed. The CTR is calculated by dividing the total clicks generated by the total impressions and then converting the result to a percentage.
  3. Conversion Rate Optimization (CRO) is the process of optimizing your website or online channels for the best conversion rate possible by both increasing site visits and also eliciting an increased number of conversions through an enhanced user experience.
  4. Cost Per Acquisition (CPA) refers to the cost to actually acquire one new customer. This number is often used to identify whether or not a campaign is worth its investment, or even if a customer is worth the required investment.
  5. Cost Per Click (CPC) is simply a term referring to how much a click costs. When you have a paid campaign set up, this refers to the amount you pay on an advertising platform for every click it generates. This is generally referenced for Google and Bing ads. You calculate your cost per click by dividing your advertising costs by the number of times your ad was clicked. For example, if you receive 10 clicks on your ad, and you are charged $10.00 then your CPC is $1.00. You may also hear CPC referred to as PPC or pay per click which is the model of advertising that uses this metric.
  6. Cost Per Thousand Impressions (CPM) measures the amount you pay on an advertising platform per thousand times people see your ad. If you pay $10.00, and your ad generated 5 thousand impressions then your CPM is $2.00.
  7. Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) refers to the total sales and marketing cost required to earn customers over a specific time period. You can calculate the CAC by dividing the total marketing expenses by your total customers. The CAC generally refers to an average of all customers’ acquisition cost vs. CPA which is calculated at the individual level.

Now that you know your seven digital marketing “C” acronyms, go out and “C’s” the day! 😉