Google Ads Glossary (2025): Key Terms You Need to Know

This comprehensive Google Ads glossary provides clear definitions of the most important terms used in Google Ads, making it easier to navigate your campaigns and maximise results.

Understanding the terminology for Google Ads is essential for running successful ad campaigns. Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced advertiser, knowing key terms like CPC, Quality Score, and Ad Rank helps you optimise performance and budget effectively.

To help make these terms easier to digest, we’ve grouped them into categories based on their relevance to the different aspects of Adwords advertising.

Use this guide and gain the knowledge needed to run high-performing ads in 2025.

Google Ads Bidding & Budgeting Terms

CPC (Cost-Per-Click) – This is the amount you pay each time someone clicks on your ad. You only get charged when a user interacts with your ad, making it a cost-effective way to drive traffic.

CPC Example: If your ad gets 200 clicks and you spend R5,000, your CPC is R25 per click (R5,000 ÷ 200 clicks).

CPM (Cost-Per-Thousand Impressions) – CPM refers to the amount you pay for every 1,000 times your ad is shown. This bidding strategy is commonly used for brand awareness campaigns rather than direct conversions.

Max Bid – This is the highest amount you’re willing to pay for a single ad click. Google Ads uses your max bid to determine if your ad appears in the search results or on the display network.

Google Ads Auction – Every time someone searches for a keyword, Google runs an auction to decide which ads appear and in what order. The auction considers factors like bid amount, ad quality, and expected performance.

Ad Spend – This is the total amount you’ve spent on running Google Ads campaigns. Keeping track of your ad spend helps you stay within budget and measure the effectiveness of your ads.

Bid Adjustments – Allows you to increase or decrease bids based on time, location, or device.

Portfolio Bidding – A bid strategy that applies across multiple campaigns.

ROAS (Return on Ad Spend) – A metric that measures the revenue generated for every rand spent on Google Ads.

ROAS Example: If you spend R2,000 on Google Ads and generate R10,000 in revenue, your ROAS is 5:1 (R10,000 ÷ R2,000). This means you earn R5 for every R1 spent.

Google Ads Performance Metrics Terms

CTR (Click-Through Rate) – This measures how often people click on your ad after seeing it. A high CTR indicates that your ad is relevant and engaging to your audience.

CTR Example: If your ad is shown 1,000 times and 50 people click on it, your CTR is 5% (50 clicks ÷ 1,000 search impressions × 100)

Conversion Rate – The percentage of users who take a desired action after clicking your ad, such as making a purchase or signing up for a service. A strong conversion rate shows that your landing page and ad messaging are effective.

Quality Score – Google’s rating of your ad’s relevance, landing page experience, and expected CTR. A higher Quality Score can help lower your cost-per-click and improve ad rankings.

Impressions – The total number of times your ad is displayed to users. More impressions mean greater visibility, but high impressions without clicks may indicate a need for ad optimisation.

Ad Rank – A score that determines where your ad appears in search results. It is based on your bid, Quality Score, and expected impact of ad extensions and formats.

Auction Insights – A report comparing your ads to competitors’ in the auction.

Google Ads Targeting & Audience Terms

Keywords – Words or phrases that trigger your ads when users search on Google. Choosing the right keywords ensures your ads reach the right audience.

Negative Keywords – These prevent your ads from showing for unrelated or irrelevant searches. Adding negative keywords helps reduce wasted ad spend and improve targeting.

Geo-Targeting – A feature that lets you show ads to users based on their location. This is useful for businesses targeting customers in specific cities, regions, or countries.

Audience Segments – Groups of users categorised by interests, demographics, or behaviour. Google Ads allows you to target specific segments to improve ad relevance and performance.

Lookalike Audiences – Audiences similar to your existing customers, based on Google’s data analysis.

Google Ads Tracking & Attribution Terms

UTM Parameters – UTM (Urchin Tracking Module) parameters are tracking codes added to URLs in Google Ads to measure campaign performance in Google Analytics. They help advertisers track traffic sources, ad effectiveness, and conversion attribution with greater accuracy.

Google Click Identifier (GCLID) – A unique tracking parameter added to ad URLs for auto-tagging and conversion tracking.

Offline Conversion Tracking – A way to import sales data from offline sources (e.g., phone calls, in-store sales) into Google Ads.

Conversion Attribution – Determines which ad interactions contributed to a conversion. Google Ads offers multiple attribution models, including last-click, first-click, linear, and data-driven attribution, to help advertisers analyse campaign impact.

Google Ads Account & Settings Terms

Ad Delivery – Determines how quickly your budget is spent throughout the day.

Ad Rotation – Controls how often different ads in an ad group are shown.

Change History – A tool to track changes made to your Google Ads account.

Labels – Used to organise campaigns, ad groups, and keywords for easy tracking.

Terms for Google Ads Campaign & Ad Types

Search Ads – Text-based ads that appear at the top of Google Search results when users enter relevant keywords. These ads are effective for capturing high-intent traffic.

Display Ads – Banner or image ads that appear on websites within Google’s Display Network. They are great for brand awareness and retargeting campaigns.

Responsive Ads – Ads that automatically adjust their size, format, and messaging to fit different placements across Google’s advertising network.

Shopping Ads – Product-based ads that showcase images, prices, and descriptions directly in Google’s search results. These are commonly used for eCommerce businesses.

Video Ads – Ads that appear on YouTube and other Google video partner sites. They can be skippable, non-skippable, or bumper ads to engage users with visual content.

Ad Variations – Allows advertisers to test different versions of an ad.

Dynamic Search Ads – Ads that are automatically generated based on website content.

Google Ads Billing & Payment Terms

Google Ads Payment Threshold – The spending limit at which Google automatically charges your account. The threshold increases as you build a history of successful payments.

Automatic Payments – A billing option where Google charges you after reaching your payment threshold or at the end of a billing cycle. This is the default payment method for most accounts.

Manual Payments – A prepaid option where you add funds to your account before your ads run. Ads stop displaying once the balance runs out, requiring you to top up manually.

Ad Credits – Promotional credits offered by Google to new advertisers. These credits help businesses test campaigns before committing to a full ad budget.

Google Ads Extensions & Features

Callout Extensions – Adds non-clickable highlights to text ads.

Ad Preview and Diagnosis – A tool that checks if an ad is displaying correctly and why it may not be showing.

Sitelinks – Additional links below a text ad that direct users to different pages on a website.

Google Ads Policies & Compliance Terms

Google Ads Transparency Center – A publicly accessible tool that allows users to see which ads are currently running across Google’s platforms, including Search, YouTube, and Display. It provides insights into advertiser identity, ad placements, and policy compliance, helping businesses track competitor ads and stay informed on industry trends.

Applying these Google Ads Terms to Your Strategy

Understanding all the Google Ads terms is more than just learning definitions—it plays a crucial role in how you set up, manage, and optimise your campaigns. By knowing key bidding strategies, performance metrics, and targeting options, you can make more informed decisions that improve your ad efficiency and budget allocation.

Regularly reviewing these terms and applying them to your campaigns will help you refine your approach, track performance effectively, and ensure you’re getting the best possible return on investment. Whether you’re new to Google Ads or refining an existing strategy, having a solid grasp of these terms will help you run successful campaigns with confidence.

If you’re looking for expert guidance in managing your campaigns and applying these strategies effectively, working with a Google Ads agency can help you maximise your ad performance while saving time and resources.