108 of the Most Popular Content Marketing Terms and Definitions
Have you ever found yourself… in a meeting and someone uses a bunch of content marketing terms you don’t know but should?
At that moment, you likely decided to either:
- Fake it ‘til you make it, hoping no one asks you a related question
- Ask for clarification, outing yourself as not knowing
- Walk out of the room (disguising a “bloody nose”)
Hey, you’re here now, ready to level up, and we dig that!
This glossary on online marketing demystifies the terms you should know and gives you access to the content strategy terms the industry insiders use so you sound wicked smaht.
What is a sales funnel?
A sales funnel describes the process of drawing in new customers. It starts with identifying potential customers and extends through to gaining a customer’s recurring business.
Why is a sales funnel important?
A sales funnel is an important concept in visualizing how your firm can strategize and succeed in bringing in new cases.
It focuses your marketing efforts to make potential clients aware of your firm, hire your services, and remain lifelong clients.
When should I think about my sales funnel?
You should think about your sales funnel if your sales process isn’t efficiently identifying new leads.
What are the stages in a sales funnel?
The stages in a sales funnel include:
- Awareness: making potential customers aware of your business
- Interest: giving potential clients a reason to consider hiring your firm
- Decision: converting leads to customers with a quick and easy engagement process
- Loyalty: showing the client you can execute so well they keep coming back to you with their business and refer others
What is search engine indexing?
Search engine indexing is the process by which search engines build and maintain a database of all the websites on the internet. Search engines use indexing to provide relevant, quality results when people search for keywords.
Why is search engine indexing important?
Search engine indexing is important because it helps people find what they’re looking for.
It’s important to understand indexing because it acts as a guide for what search engines look for when ranking pages. You can cater to the search engines’ preferences by optimizing your content.
When is search engine indexing used?
Search engines send out "spiders" or "bots" to crawl your website any time you post content.
How is search engine indexing done?
Search engines use two types of crawling during their indexing process:
- Discovery, where they find new web pages to add to the index
- Refresh, where they identity changes in webpages that existed previously
What is search engine marketing (SEM)?
Search engine marketing (SEM) is the process of paying to increase the visibility and ranking of a website or web page in the search engine results pages (SERPs).
It differs from search engine optimization (SEO), which uses organic methods to gain visibility in unpaid search results.
Why is SEM important?
SEM is important because you can position your content ahead of your competitors’ in the SERPs.
When should I use SEM?
You should use SEM in combination with SEO to supercharge your content marketing. Using both tactics means your content shows in organic and paid search reults.
This means more opportunities for new clients to find your firm.
What are examples of SEM?
Examples of SEM include:
- Google Adwords
- Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising
- YouTube ads
What is search engine optimization (SEO)?
Search engine optimization, or SEO, is the process of enhancing your content so search engines deem it more relevant to people’s searches. The more relevant your website, the higher it’ll rank in the search engine results pages (SERPs).
Why is SEO important?
SEO is crucial to content marketing. It improves your website’s visibility and ranking so more people see your content, leading to more traffic and new visitors who turn into clients.
When should I use SEO?
Aim to optimize all your content. That said, search engines track when someone writes content intending to boost SEO. They penalize tactics like keyword stuffing or SEO plagiarism, which negatively impact your website ranking.
How can I improve my SEO?
Improve your SEO by:
- Adding internal links to your other content.
- Gaining backlinks from reputable websites.
- Integrating long-tail keywords.
- Assessing white space on your website.
- Increasing page speeds.
- Boosting your keyword research.
What are search engine results pages (SERPs)?
Search engine results pages (SERPs) are the lists of content and information you see when you search for something.
They include organic search results, paid search, and pay-per-click (PPC) ads.
Search engines determine the order of the SERPs by rewarding relevancy, quality, popularity, and reputability.
Why are SERPs important?
SERPs make or break your content. People won’t see your posts if they don’t come up early in their search.
The goal of the search engine is to provide the best possible results for the user's query, so it’s constantly working to improve its algorithms.
When should I look at SERPs?
Consumer behavior trends and search engine algorithms change constantly. Staying up-to-date on the SERPs keeps your content relevant and means you won’t waste time creating fruitless content.
Specifically, look at SERPs when you’re doing a competitive review to find gaps you can leverage. The SERPs show what people are searching for and the information search engines find valuable.
What’s an example of SERPs?
Common examples of SERPs are:
- Featured snippets
- Related questions
- Ratings and reviews
- Images and videos
- Top stories
- Shopping ads
- Tweets and forum answers
What is searchability?
Searchability is how easily visitors can find your content when they’re seeking information. It relates to a page’s position in the search engine results pages (SERPs).
Why is searchability important?
Searchability is important because people need to find your website in order to hire your firm. Visitors won’t see content with low visibility, even with high-quality content.
Searchability means more conversions from your marketing, more people finding your content, and more calls to your intake team.
When should I look at searchability?
You should look at searchability to see how visible your content is to people who search for it. Compare your website’s position in the SERPs against your competitors to identify strategies you can improve.
How can I improve searchability?
To improve searchability, focus on creating search engine optimized (SEO) content. Search engines reward SEO-friendly content with a higher position in the SERPs.
What are semantically related keywords?
Semantically related keywords are words or phrases that are related to a primary keyword with a similar meaning.
Why are semantically related keywords important?
Semantically related keywords are important because they provide the search engine “spiders” or “bots” with greater insight into the content of your web page.
This can boost your ranking in the search engine results pages (SERPs), increase your page’s visibility, and draws more traffic to your website.
When should I use semantically related keywords?
You should use semantically related keywords to boost your search engine optimization (SEO).
What’s an example of semantically related keywords?
For the key phrase “law firm content marketing,” examples of semantically related keywords include:
- Digital marketing
- Search results
- Search engines
- Keyword research
- Legal services
- Calls to action
- Marketing for law firms
What is SEO plagiarism?
SEO plagiarism is when someone takes another person's content and uses it on their own website in an attempt to improve their own search engine rankings.
Why is SEO plagiarism important?
Knowing about SEO plagiarism is important because search engines penalize content they deem plagiarism. In serious cases, search engines hide websites in the search engine results pages (SERPs).
This means people won’t find your website when they search for information, which means opportunities to gain new clients.
When should I use SEO plagiarism?
You should never use SEO plagiarism because it’s unethical and can have serious ramifications against your search ranking.
What’s an example of SEO plagiarism?
The simplest example of SEO plagiarism is copying and pasting someone else's work without giving them credit.
What is search engine optimization (SEO) positioning?
Search engine optimization (SEO) positioning relates to your website’s placement in the search engine results pages (SERPs). It shows how your content ranks against similar websites.
Why is SEO positioning important?
SEO positioning is crucial to your firm’s success because it determines how many people see your content.
A low positioning in the SERPs means your content won’t reach as many potential clients.
A high positioning means potential clients will see your website in their search results before finding your competitors’. It means you make the most of the time and money you spend on your content marketing.
When should I think about SEO positioning?
You should think about SEO positioning when you’re creating, optimizing, and refreshing your website content.
How can I improve my SEO positioning?
To improve your SEO positioning, try these tactics:
- Publish relevant, quality content
- Update your content regularly
- Optimize your metadata
- Research your keywords
- Make sure your website is mobile-friendly
What are search engine optimization (SEO) rankings?
Search engine optimization (SEO) rankings show your website’s placement in the search engine results pages (SERPs). Your ranking indicates where your content shows against similar websites when people look up information.
Why are SEO rankings important?
SEO rankings are crucial to your firm’s success because they determine how many potential clients will see your content.
A low SEO ranking means your content won’t get as many views and you’ll miss out on traffic to your website.
A high ranking in the SERPs means potential clients will see your website before finding your competitors’ when they search for information. This means you make the most of your time and budget. (And get more calls to your firm!)
When should I think about SEO rankings?
You should think about SEO rankings when you’re creating, optimizing, and refreshing your website content.
What are examples of SEO ranking?
To improve your SEO ranking, try these methods:
- Publish high-quality, relevant content
- Update your content regularly
- Make sure your website is mobile-friendly
- Optimize your metadata
- Research your keywords
What is shared media?
Shared media, also known as social media, are online platforms people use to connect online through sharing and creating content.
Why is shared media important?
Shared media is important because it’s a crucial resource for people seeking information.
Shared media:
- Lets you showcase yourself and your firm
- Increases awareness for your firm
- Allows you to cultivate relationships with future and current clients
- Boosts visibility in the search results pages (SERPs)
- Helps you extend the life of your content by repurposing it
- Provides insight into your target audience
This leads to more cases and stronger relationships with clients.
When should I think about shared media?
You should think about shared media after creating website content so you can share it with your followers.
It’s important to think about using different platforms as you’ll reach different groups of people.
What are examples of shared media?
Examples of shared media include:
- TikTok
What are shorttail keywords?
Shorttail keywords are terms people enter into search engines when they’re looking for information. They typically contain three or fewer words.
Why are shorttail keywords important?
Shorttail keywords are important because they drive large amounts of traffic due to their broad scope.
They can boost your search engine optimization (SEO) because search engines assess shorttail keywords when ranking content. The better you use keywords, the higher your page’s visibility and the more opportunities for visitors to find your firm.
When should I use shorttail keywords?
You should use shorttail keywords to guide your content creation.
This includes your:
- Social media posts
- Blog posts
- Website pages
- Articles
What’s an example of a shorttail keyword?
For example, a shorttail keyword for this glossary is “marketing terms.”
What is social media?
Social media, also known as shared media, are online platforms people use to connect through sharing and creating content.
Why is social media important?
Social media is important because it’s a crucial resource for people seeking information.
Social media:
- Lets you showcase yourself and your firm
- Increases awareness for your firm
- Allows you to cultivate relationships with future and current clients
- Boosts visibility in the search results pages (SERPs)
- Helps you extend the life of your content by repurposing it
- Provides insight into your target audience
This leads to more cases and stronger relationships with clients.
When should I think about social media?
You should think about social media after creating website content so you can share it with your followers.
It’s important to think about using different platforms as you’ll reach different groups of people.
What are examples of social media?
Examples of social media include:
- TikTok