PPC glossary 2026: 200+ Google Ads & Microsoft Ads terms

This pillar glossary defines 200+ paid-search terms used in Google Ads and Microsoft Ads in 2026, organized into 11 themes. Each definition is 40-60 words — long enough to be precise, short enough to be scanned. Use it as a reference while reading our other guides, or jump directly to a section via the table of contents above.

Updated for 2026: this edition reflects the post-Consent Mode v2 era, the dominance of Performance Max in retail, the integration of Gemini and AI Overviews into Search, and the rise of cross-channel attribution. Terms specific to recent updates (Demand Gen, AI Overviews, Consent Mode v2, sGTM) are marked with a [2024+] tag.

How to use this glossary

Each section groups related terms in alphabetical order. Cross-references use italics and link to the relevant pillar guide on SteerAds. Numerical ranges (CPC, CTR, conversion rates) are 2025-2026 panel medians; expect ±25% variance by region and vertical. For region-specific benchmarks, see our CPC by industry & region guide.

Bidding & budget (25 terms)

Ad Rank — The score Google uses to determine ad position in the SERP. Calculated per auction as a function of bid, Quality Score, ad extensions, expected impact of formats and contextual signals. A higher Ad Rank wins better positions; a much higher Ad Rank can also lower the actual paid CPC.

Auction-time bidding — The bidding mode where Google sets the bid at the exact moment of each query, using real-time signals (device, time, query nuance, audience). Standard in all Smart Bidding strategies. The opposite of static manual CPC bids.

Bid adjustment — A percentage modifier (-100% to +900%) applied to bids based on device, location, audience, time of day, or remarketing list. Largely deprecated under Smart Bidding (which adjusts automatically) but still useful for floor-setting on Manual CPC and Maximize Clicks.

Bid cap — A maximum CPC ceiling on Smart Bidding strategies, available on Target CPA and Target ROAS. Protects against runaway auctions in long-tail or low-volume keywords. Use sparingly: a tight cap can starve volume.

Bid strategy — The rule that determines how bids are set. Includes Manual CPC, Enhanced CPC, Maximize Clicks, Target CPA, Target ROAS, Maximize Conversions, Maximize Conversion Value, Target Impression Share. Choice depends on conversion volume, attribution maturity and goal.

Bid stacking — The practice of layering bid adjustments and budget caps in a way that double-counts modifiers. Mostly an anti-pattern; produces unpredictable bidding behavior. Avoid combining multiple manual adjustments under Smart Bidding.

Budget — The maximum daily or monthly amount a campaign can spend. Daily budgets can spend up to 2× the daily amount on high-performing days but never exceed 30.4× per month. Shared budgets pool spend across multiple campaigns.

Budget pacing — The control system that ensures spend is distributed evenly through the day or month. Google's auto-pacing throttles delivery early in the day to leave headroom; advanced pacing scripts override this when specific dayparts matter. See our budget pacing guide.

Click cost — Synonym for CPC. The amount paid for a single click. Distinguish from "click value," which is the revenue or pipeline value produced by a click.

CPA (Cost Per Acquisition) — Total ad spend divided by the number of conversions in that period. The primary KPI for lead-gen and SaaS. Target CPA is the bidding strategy that optimizes toward a CPA goal; tCPA is the abbreviation.

CPC (Cost Per Click) — The average amount paid per click in a campaign or keyword. Real CPC is calculated per auction as (competitor_AdRank / your_QS) + $0.01. Distinguish between max CPC (the bid ceiling) and avg CPC (the realized average).

CPM (Cost Per Mille / 1000 impressions) — The cost per 1,000 impressions, dominant on Display, YouTube and Demand Gen. Used when the goal is reach or awareness rather than direct response. tCPM (target CPM) is the corresponding bid strategy.

Daily budget — The average daily spend cap on a campaign. Actual daily spend can fluctuate ±20% but the monthly total respects 30.4× the daily budget. Setting daily budgets too low starves Smart Bidding from finding optimal auctions.

Enhanced CPC (eCPC) — A semi-automated bidding strategy where the advertiser sets manual bids and Google adjusts them up or down based on conversion likelihood. Considered a transitional strategy; in 2026, fully Smart Bidding (tCPA / tROAS / Max Conv Value) is preferred.

Impression Share (IS) — The percentage of eligible impressions that your ad actually received. IS lost to budget and IS lost to rank diagnose whether you should spend more or improve Quality Score. See our impression share guide.

Manual CPC — The legacy bidding strategy where the advertiser sets a fixed max CPC per keyword. In 2026 used primarily for new campaigns lacking conversion data, brand-protection campaigns, or B2B with very long sales cycles.

Maximize Clicks — A Smart Bidding strategy that maximizes click volume within budget. Useful for traffic campaigns or when conversions are not yet trackable. Often a stepping stone before transitioning to tCPA when 30+ conversions/month are achieved.

Maximize Conversions — A Smart Bidding strategy that maximizes conversion volume within budget, without an explicit CPA target. Effective when budget is the binding constraint and CPA can fluctuate. The unconstrained version of tCPA.

Maximize Conversion Value — A Smart Bidding strategy that maximizes total conversion value (revenue) within budget, without an explicit ROAS target. Used heavily on e-commerce and Performance Max. Requires accurate conversion-value tracking.

Portfolio bid strategy — A bid strategy applied to multiple campaigns at once with a shared CPA or ROAS target. Useful for grouping campaigns with shared economics; Google pools learning across the portfolio. Reduces the volume threshold for Smart Bidding to perform.

Shared budget — A single budget pool shared by multiple campaigns. Spend is allocated by Google to whichever campaign has the highest expected return at any given moment. Reduces over-budgeting on slower campaigns and under-budgeting on hot ones.

Smart Bidding — Google's umbrella term for ML-driven automated bidding strategies (tCPA, tROAS, Max Conv, Max Conv Value, eCPC). All operate at auction time using real-time signals. Standard for any account with stable conversion tracking and 30+ conversions/month.

Target CPA (tCPA) — A Smart Bidding strategy that targets a specific average cost-per-acquisition. Google adjusts bids to meet the target; some auctions are higher CPA, some lower, averaging to target. Requires 30 conversions in the past 30 days as a learning floor.

Target Impression Share (tIS) — A bidding strategy that targets a specific impression share at a specific page location (top, absolute top, anywhere). Used for brand-protection campaigns and competitor terms where presence matters more than CPA.

Target ROAS (tROAS) — A Smart Bidding strategy that targets a specific return on ad spend (e.g. 4×). Google adjusts bids per auction to maximize value at that ROAS. Standard for e-commerce and any account with conversion-value tracking. See our tROAS vs tCPA comparison.

Keywords & match types (18 terms)

Ad group — The container that holds keywords, ads, and bidding settings inside a campaign. Best practice in 2026: thematic ad groups of ≤10 closely related keywords, with 3 RSAs and 15 unique headlines per RSA.

Branded keyword — A keyword that contains the advertiser's brand name (e.g. "SteerAds pricing"). Branded campaigns typically have very high CTR (15-30%), low CPC, high QS, and serve mostly to defend SERP real estate against competitors bidding on your brand.

Broad match — The match type where Google triggers your ad on the keyword, its variants, related queries, and semantic neighbors. In 2026, Broad match works only when paired with Smart Bidding — without it, Broad drifts to irrelevant queries within days.

Concept match — Microsoft Ads' term for its broadest matching, similar to Google Broad. Uses LLM-based query understanding (since late-2024 Copilot integration) to match on intent rather than exact tokens.

Dynamic Keyword Insertion (DKI) — A syntax ({KeyWord:Default}) that inserts the matched keyword into the ad headline at impression time. Useful in tightly themed ad groups; produces nonsense in broad ones. Boosts QS Expected CTR when used correctly.

Dynamic Search Ads (DSA) — Campaigns that auto-generate ads from a website's content, with no keywords. Useful for catalog sites with thousands of pages. Pair with Smart Bidding and tight URL exclusions to control which pages serve.

Exact match — The match type where ads trigger on the exact keyword and very close variants (plurals, misspellings, semantic equivalents). The most precise match type; used to protect high-value queries. Roughly 30% of keywords on a healthy account.

Keyword — A word or phrase the advertiser bids on to trigger ads. In 2026, the role of literal keywords has shrunk; Google's matching is more semantic, especially under Smart Bidding. Keywords now serve as theme indicators more than exact triggers.

Keyword harvesting — The practice of mining the Search Terms report for high-performing queries and adding them as exact-match keywords. Standard 2026 ops: weekly review of the top 50 search terms by spend and conversions.

Keyword stuffing — Cramming a keyword into multiple headlines or URL parameters. Hurts Quality Score (Ad Relevance) and Landing Experience. Modern best practice: keyword in headline 1 (pinned), let Google freely combine the other 14.

Long-tail keyword — A multi-word, low-volume, high-intent query (e.g. "CRM software for HVAC contractors with QuickBooks integration"). Long-tail traffic typically converts 2-3× better than head terms but represents less than 30% of total volume.

Match type — The setting that controls how strictly a keyword triggers ads. The three modern types are Exact, Phrase, and Broad. Best practice 2026 mix: 30% Exact / 50% Phrase / 20% Broad-with-Smart-Bidding.

Negative keyword — A term that prevents ads from showing on queries containing it. Critical hygiene; well-maintained accounts have 200+ shared negatives plus campaign-level lists. Auto-generated AI suggestions accelerate discovery in 2026.

Phrase match — The match type that triggers on queries containing the keyword's meaning (Google) or exact phrase (Microsoft, semi-aligned). Middle-ground between Exact (precise but narrow) and Broad (wide but drifty). Roughly 50% of keywords on a healthy account.

Search Terms report — The report listing the actual queries that triggered your ads. The single most important report in PPC ops; mined weekly for negatives and harvest opportunities. Increasingly redacted by Google for privacy reasons (less granular for low-volume queries).

Seed keyword — A starter keyword used to expand into related terms via Keyword Planner, Search Terms reports, or LLM-based discovery. The first 5-10 seeds anchor a new campaign's theme structure.

Single Keyword Ad Group (SKAG) — A legacy structure where each ad group contains one exact-match keyword. Mostly obsolete in 2026 because Smart Bidding pools learning across keywords; SKAGs starve algorithms of data. Replaced by Single Theme Ad Groups (STAG).

Single Theme Ad Group (STAG) — The 2026 successor to SKAGs: one ad group per intent theme, with 5-10 closely related keywords, 3 RSAs, and tight negatives between groups. The structure that maximizes Smart Bidding learning and Ad Relevance.

Tracking & attribution (24 terms)

Attribution model — The rule that assigns credit for a conversion across the touchpoints in the user's journey. Google's models in 2026: Data-Driven (default), Last Click, First Click, Linear, Time Decay, Position-Based. Data-Driven dominates because it uses ML on actual user paths.

Auto-tagging — Google Ads' feature that appends the gclid parameter to ad URLs automatically. Mandatory for accurate Google Ads → GA4 attribution and for offline conversion uploads. Always-on by default; rarely disabled.

Click ID (gclid) — The unique parameter Google appends to ad URLs (e.g. ?gclid=Cj0KCQ...). Used to identify which click produced which conversion in analytics, CRM and offline conversion uploads. Microsoft equivalent: msclkid.

Conversion — A user action defined as valuable: form submission, purchase, signup, phone call, app install. Each conversion is logged with a value (revenue) and weight. Conversions feed Smart Bidding signal; mistracked conversions break Smart Bidding within 14 days.

Conversion action — A specific tracked event in Google Ads (e.g. "Lead form submit", "Purchase $50+"). Each action has a count behavior (one-per-click vs every), a value, and an attribution model. Best practice: 3-7 actions, primary + secondary.

Conversion lag — The time between click and conversion. SaaS B2B can be 30-90 days; e-commerce often under 1 hour. Smart Bidding accounts for lag automatically using historical distributions; lag-aware ops adjust bidding patience.

Conversion modeling — Google's ML-based estimation of conversions that cannot be observed directly (e.g. due to consent decline, cross-device, iOS ATT). Modeled conversions appear as part of total conversion counts; standard since Consent Mode v2.

Conversion tracking — The technical setup that captures conversion events and reports them to Google Ads. Implemented via Google Ads tag, GTM, sGTM, or server-to-server (Enhanced Conversions for Leads, offline conversion API). See our conversion tracking guide.

Cross-domain tracking — The setup that preserves user identity across multiple domains (e.g. main site → checkout subdomain). Critical for accurate funnel attribution. Configured in GA4 / GTM via the _gl parameter.

Cross-device conversion — A conversion where the click happens on one device (e.g. mobile) and the conversion on another (e.g. desktop). Modeled by Google using login signals; counted as a single conversion in Smart Bidding learning.

Data-Driven Attribution (DDA) — Google's default attribution model since 2023. Uses ML to assign fractional credit to each touchpoint based on observed conversion paths. Replaces Last Click as the recommended model for most accounts.

Enhanced Conversions — A feature that hashes user-provided data (email, phone, name) and sends it server-to-server to Google Ads. Improves attribution accuracy by 10-25% in privacy-restricted environments. Available for Web (via GTM), Leads (offline upload), and Apps.

Floodlight — Display & Video 360's equivalent of conversion tracking; less common in pure Google Ads accounts but standard in DV360-managed media. Less granular than Google Ads conversions.

GA4 (Google Analytics 4) — Google's analytics platform since the sunset of Universal Analytics in mid-2023. Event-based model, BigQuery export, modeled metrics. Linking GA4 to Google Ads enables audience sharing and DDA modeling. See our GA4 URL debugger.

Last-click attribution — The legacy attribution model that assigns 100% credit to the final ad click. Still common in older accounts; deprecated as the default in 2023. Tends to underweight upper-funnel display, YouTube and Demand Gen.

Multi-touch attribution — Any model that distributes credit across multiple touchpoints. Includes Linear, Time Decay, Position-Based, and Data-Driven. The realistic mental model for any journey >1 click.

Offline Conversion Tracking (OCT) — Uploading conversions that happen offline (sales calls, in-store, B2B closed-deal) back into Google Ads via the gclid. Critical for B2B SaaS and high-LTV verticals. Standard 2026 implementation: CRM → API daily upload.

Pixel — A 1×1 transparent image embedded on a page that fires a tracking event on load. The legacy form of conversion tracking. Largely replaced by JS event tags and server-side calls in 2026.

Server-side tracking (sGTM) — Sending conversion and event data through a server-side Google Tag Manager container before forwarding to Google Ads, Meta, etc. Bypasses ad-blockers, improves data quality 12-22%, gives data control. Standard for accounts >$50k/month. See our sGTM guide.

UET (Universal Event Tracking) — Microsoft Ads' equivalent of the Google Ads tag. Captures page views, conversions, and audiences. Required for Microsoft Smart Bidding and remarketing.

UTM parameters — URL tags (utm_source, utm_medium, utm_campaign, etc.) that pass campaign metadata to analytics. Standardized via Google's UTM convention; manual tagging recommended even alongside auto-tagging for cross-platform consistency.

View-through conversion (VTC) — A conversion attributed to an impression that was seen but not clicked. Common on Display, YouTube, Demand Gen. Counted separately from click conversions in Google Ads; debate over their real incrementality continues.

Web-to-app attribution — The setup that tracks a user from a web ad click into an app install or in-app conversion. Uses Firebase, Google Play / App Store deep links, and Google Ads Apps campaigns. Standard for apps with both web and mobile funnels.

Window — The time horizon during which a conversion is attributed to an ad click. Default: 30-day click, 1-day view. Adjusted longer (60-90 days) for B2B SaaS with longer sales cycles.

Audiences & targeting (20 terms)

Affinity audience — Google's broad interest audiences (e.g. "Sports Fans", "Cooking Enthusiasts"). Useful for upper-funnel awareness; rarely the primary targeting on direct-response. Layered as observation on Search, applied as targeting on Display/YouTube. See our audiences guide.

Audience signal — In Performance Max and Demand Gen, an audience hint provided by the advertiser to seed Google's targeting. Not a hard targeting constraint; Google extrapolates from the signal. Quality of signal directly affects PMax efficiency.

Combined audience — An audience built by combining (AND/OR/NOT) other audiences. Useful for narrow B2B targeting or excluding existing customers from acquisition campaigns.

Custom audience — A user-defined audience in Google Ads built from keywords, URLs, apps, and interests. Gives more control than affinity/in-market but requires research. Best for niche verticals or when Google's pre-built segments don't fit.

Customer Match — Google's first-party data audience: upload hashed emails / phone numbers from your CRM; Google matches them to logged-in users. Used for retention, lookalikes, and exclusion. Critical for high-LTV B2B and SaaS post-cookies.

Demographic targeting — Targeting by age bracket, gender, parental status, household income (US/some markets). Available as both targeting and exclusion. Gender and age data are increasingly modeled in privacy-restricted regions.

Detailed Demographics — Google's life-event and education-level segments (e.g. "Recently moved", "College graduates"). More granular than basic demographics; useful for category triggers (real estate ads to recent movers, etc.).

Exclusion list — A list of users (existing customers, past unconverters, employees) excluded from a campaign. Most accounts in 2026 exclude existing customers from acquisition campaigns to avoid wasted spend and brand cannibalization.

First-party data — Data the advertiser collects directly (purchase history, email signups, app installs). The post-cookie gold standard. Activated in Google Ads via Customer Match, Enhanced Conversions, and offline conversion uploads.

Geo-targeting — Targeting users by location: country, region, city, ZIP code, or radius around a point. Includes "presence" (where they are) vs "interest" (where they search about). Critical for local services and franchises.

In-market audience — Google's high-intent audiences of users actively researching a category (e.g. "In-market for SUVs"). Useful for consideration-phase campaigns. Layered as observation on Search to bid up; applied as targeting on Display/YouTube.

Lookalike audience — A Microsoft Ads / Meta term for an audience modeled on a seed (e.g. existing customers). In Google Ads, the equivalent is "Similar audiences" which was deprecated in 2023; PMax and Demand Gen use audience signals instead.

Negative audience — An audience excluded from targeting. The exclusion equivalent of an audience signal. Standard for excluding existing customers, employees, and disqualified leads.

Observation vs Targeting — On Search and Shopping, audiences can be added as Observation (collect data without restricting reach) or Targeting (restrict reach to that audience only). Best practice: Observation for layering signals, Targeting for narrowly defined segments.

Predicted audience — Google's ML-modeled audiences (e.g. "Predicted to convert next 30 days"). Available in PMax and Demand Gen. Limited transparency; quality varies by vertical and account history.

Remarketing — Showing ads to users who previously visited the site or used the app. Implemented via Google Ads tag (web) or Firebase (app). In 2026 increasingly served by Demand Gen and PMax rather than dedicated remarketing campaigns. See our remarketing post-cookies guide.

RLSA (Remarketing Lists for Search Ads) — Search campaign feature that adjusts bids or targeting based on whether the user has visited the site before. Useful for higher bidding on warm audiences or surfacing different ads to brand-aware users.

Similar audience — Google's deprecated lookalike audience type, replaced in 2023 by audience signals in PMax and Demand Gen.

Topic targeting — Display campaign targeting by content topic (e.g. "Sports/Football"). Targets pages/videos categorized into the topic, regardless of who the user is. Useful for contextual placements.

Workplace targeting — Microsoft Ads' B2B layer: target users by company name, industry or company size based on LinkedIn data. Unique selling point of Microsoft Ads vs Google Ads. See our Microsoft Ads B2B strategy.

Ad formats & creative (20 terms)

Ad asset — Google's umbrella term (since 2023) for what used to be called "ad extensions": sitelinks, callouts, images, videos, etc. Assets are inherited from account → campaign → ad group level.

Ad copy — The text content of an ad: headlines, descriptions, display URL. In 2026, RSAs (Responsive Search Ads) are the only Search ad format; expanded text ads were sunset in 2022.

Bumper ad — A non-skippable 6-second YouTube ad. Used for awareness; CPM-priced. Often paired with longer skippable ads in a frequency strategy.

Call-only ad — A Search ad that triggers a phone call instead of a website visit when clicked. Designed for mobile, dominant in local services (plumbers, lawyers, clinics).

Callout extension / asset — Short non-clickable text snippets shown below an ad (e.g. "Free shipping", "24/7 support"). Improves CTR via visible benefits. Best practice: 8-10 callouts at account level.

Carousel ad — Microsoft Ads' multi-image format on Audience Network and LinkedIn-targeted placements. Similar to Meta's carousel.

Demand Gen creative — The creative spec for Demand Gen campaigns: vertical and square images for YouTube Shorts/Discover, horizontal for YouTube in-stream, optional video. AI-generated assets supported since 2024.

Display ad — A visual banner ad served on the Google Display Network or third-party sites. Standard sizes: 300×250, 728×90, 320×50, 300×600, 970×250. Mostly responsive in 2026 (single asset, multiple sizes).

Headline — A short text element of a Search ad, max 30 characters. RSAs accept up to 15 headlines, of which Google selects 3 to display per impression. Headline 1 is the most prominent.

HTML5 ad — An interactive Display ad built in HTML5 (often via Google Web Designer). Less common in 2026 as static + animated GIFs and responsive Display ads dominate.

Image asset / extension — Static images appended to Search ads to improve visibility. 4:5 or 1:1 ratios. Adds 2-8% CTR when relevant; can hurt CTR if images don't match the offer.

In-stream ad — A YouTube ad that plays before, during, or after the video content. Skippable after 5s (standard) or non-skippable up to 15-30s. CPV (cost-per-view) priced or CPM, depending on placement.

Lead form asset / extension — A Google-hosted form that opens directly from the ad, capturing leads without a website visit. Used in healthcare, education, financial services. Pre-populated fields from logged-in users boost conversion rate.

Performance Max asset group — The container for creative in PMax: headlines, descriptions, images, videos, logos, audience signals, and final URL. Each asset group serves a distinct theme/audience.

Price extension / asset — Tabular price listings beneath an ad (e.g. "Plan A $9 / Plan B $19"). Useful for SaaS, services, e-commerce. Improves CTR and pre-qualifies clicks.

Promotion extension / asset — A discount or offer call-out (e.g. "20% off — ends Sunday"). Time-bound; rotates automatically based on dates.

Responsive Display Ad (RDA) — A Display ad built from individual assets (images, headlines, descriptions, logos) that Google combines into varying layouts. The default Display format in 2026.

Responsive Search Ad (RSA) — The only Search ad format since 2022. Up to 15 headlines + 4 descriptions; Google combines them per query. Pinning controls position. See our RSA writing method.

Sitelink extension / asset — Additional clickable links shown below an ad (e.g. "Pricing", "Demo", "Reviews"). 4-6 sitelinks recommended. Each can have its own descriptions for richer SERPs.

Video ad — Any ad that uses video as the main creative. Includes YouTube in-stream, bumper, Shorts, Demand Gen, and Performance Max video assets. Spec: 16:9, 9:16, 1:1; up to 60s typical for Demand Gen.

Performance Max & automation (15 terms)

Asset group — The PMax container holding creative + audience signals for a specific theme. Best practice: one asset group per product category or audience persona, never one giant catch-all.

Audience signal (PMax) — The advertiser-provided audience hints (Customer Match, in-market, custom) that seed PMax targeting. PMax extrapolates from signals; quality of signals directly drives quality of placements.

Brand exclusion list (PMax) — The list of brand keywords that should NOT trigger PMax. Critical to prevent PMax from cannibalizing branded Search campaigns. Available since 2023.

Catalog feed (PMax) — A Merchant Center product feed used as the inventory source for PMax campaigns. Enables Shopping-style placements within PMax. Required for retail PMax.

Demand Gen — Google's 2024+ campaign type that replaced Discovery Ads. Runs across YouTube (in-feed and Shorts), Discover, and Gmail. Designed for upper/mid-funnel demand generation. See our Demand Gen guide.

Final URL expansion (PMax) — PMax's ability to override the asset group's final URL with another page on your site if it predicts higher conversion. Recommend disabling for tightly themed asset groups; useful for catalog sites.

Insights (PMax) — The PMax-specific reporting tab showing search categories, audience contribution, asset performance, and content placements. Limited transparency vs traditional campaigns; the main lens advertisers have into PMax behavior.

Listing group (PMax) — In retail PMax, the segment of products targeted by an asset group. Equivalent to Shopping product groups. Allows different bidding/creative per category.

Negative keyword list (PMax) — Account-level negative keywords applied across all PMax campaigns. Critical for excluding irrelevant queries; brand exclusions are now native (2023+).

PMax (Performance Max) — Fully automated campaign type that runs across all Google inventory. Single goal-based setup; AI handles bidding, placement, creative combinations. Dominates 2026 e-commerce ad spend. See our PMax complete guide.

Search themes (PMax) — Advertiser-provided keyword themes that PMax uses as additional targeting hints. Introduced in 2024 to address advertiser demand for more PMax control.

Smart campaigns — Simplified campaign type for SMBs with minimal manual setup. Largely deprecated in 2026 in favor of PMax for SMBs.

Smart Shopping — The predecessor to retail PMax, sunset in mid-2023. Existing Smart Shopping campaigns were migrated to PMax automatically.

Standard Shopping — The traditional Shopping campaign type with manual product targeting. Still useful as a parallel to PMax for granular control on key SKUs. See our Shopping vs Search allocation.

Value rules (PMax) — Rules that adjust conversion values based on audience, location, or device, to feed Smart Bidding more accurate value signals. E.g. "+30% value if user is logged-in customer, -10% if visitor from low-LTV country".

AI & LLM era (15 terms)

AI Overviews [2024+] — Google's AI-generated summaries shown above the SERP for many queries. Powered by Gemini. Affects PPC by reducing organic clicks and reshuffling SERP real estate. See our GEO playbook.

AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) — The discipline of optimizing content to be the direct answer in AI engines (ChatGPT, Perplexity, AI Overviews, Gemini). Adjacent to SEO; uses FAQ schema, concise lead paragraphs, structured data.

AI-generated asset — Creative (images, video, text) generated by Google's AI inside Google Ads. Supported in PMax and Demand Gen since 2024. Reduces creative production cost; quality requires human review.

Asset Studio — Google Ads' built-in creative tool for generating, editing, and managing assets, with AI generation features (since 2024). Integrates Imagen for images and Veo for video.

Conversation summary (Gemini in Search) — The Gemini-powered feature that summarizes a SERP into a chat-style response. Affects how users interact with Search results; pushes ads down or replaces some queries entirely.

Custom intent (with LLM signals) — Custom audiences in Google Ads that use LLM-derived signals (since late-2024) to interpret keyword themes more semantically. Improves audience precision.

Generative AI ad — An ad whose creative was substantially generated by AI (text, image, or video). In 2026, most large e-commerce accounts use AI for ≥30% of creative volume.

GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) — The discipline of getting your content cited as a source by generative AI (ChatGPT, Perplexity, AI Overviews). Requires authoritative content, structured data, citation-friendly formatting, and brand entity recognition.

MCP (Model Context Protocol) — Anthropic's open standard for letting LLMs (Claude, others) connect to data sources and tools. Used for Google Ads automation: a Claude/MCP setup lets an LLM read Google Ads data and propose changes. See our MCP Google Ads guide.

Negative keyword discovery (AI) — Using LLMs to cluster Search Terms into themes and propose negative keywords. Speeds up the manual review process by 5-10×. See our AI negative keywords guide.

Prompt template (PPC) — A reusable LLM prompt for PPC tasks: writing RSAs, mining negatives, audit reports, client recaps. The 2026 PPC manager builds and refines a personal prompt library. See our PPC prompts library.

RSA generation (LLM) — Using ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini to generate RSA headlines and descriptions at scale. Best practice: generate 30-50 candidates, human-curate to 15 unique. See our AI RSA generation.

Search Generative Experience (SGE) — Google's earlier name for AI Overviews (2023-2024). Used interchangeably; AI Overviews is the production name since mid-2024.

Veo / Veo 3 — Google's video generation model, integrated into Google Ads Asset Studio for Demand Gen and PMax video creation. See our AI creative guide.

Voice search — Queries spoken to voice assistants (Google Assistant, Siri, Alexa). Affects PPC indirectly; voice-friendly RSAs use natural-language headlines. Emphasis on FAQ-style content for AEO.

Microsoft Ads-specific (15 terms)

Audience Network (Microsoft) — Microsoft's native ad placements outside search: MSN, Outlook, Edge browser, Microsoft apps. Distinct from Search; CPM-priced; focused on awareness and remarketing. See our Audience Network guide.

Bing Merchant Center — Microsoft's product feed platform, equivalent to Google Merchant Center. Required for Microsoft Shopping campaigns. Often imported directly from GMC.

Concept match — Microsoft's broadest match type, similar to Google Broad. Uses LLM-based query understanding (Copilot integration since late-2024) to match on intent.

Copilot in Microsoft Ads [2024+] — The LLM assistant embedded in the Microsoft Ads UI for campaign creation, keyword discovery, and creative generation. See our Copilot for Microsoft Ads.

Edge browser inventory — Microsoft Ads placements specifically on the Edge browser (new tab, sidebar). Often higher-quality than legacy MSN placements; frequently isolated for performance.

Import from Google Ads — Microsoft's tool that copies entire Google Ads accounts into Microsoft Ads with one workflow. Critical for getting started; supports incremental sync. See our import guide.

Microsoft Advertising Editor — Microsoft's desktop editor (equivalent to Google Ads Editor). Used for bulk campaign management.

Microsoft Audience Ads — Native ad format on the Microsoft Audience Network. Includes image and copy; programmatic-style placements.

msclkid — Microsoft's click ID, equivalent to Google's gclid. Auto-tagged on ad URLs; used for offline conversion uploads via the Microsoft Ads API.

Performance Max for Microsoft — Microsoft's PMax-equivalent campaign type, launched 2024. See our Microsoft PMax guide.

Promoted Content — Microsoft's native-ad format on partner publisher sites. CPM-based; mid-funnel.

Smart Shopping (Microsoft) — Microsoft's automated shopping campaign type. Similar to Google's pre-PMax Smart Shopping.

UET (Universal Event Tracking) — Microsoft Ads' tag for tracking page views and conversions. Equivalent of the Google Ads tag. Required for Microsoft Smart Bidding and remarketing. See our UET guide.

Workplace targeting — Microsoft Ads' B2B layer: targets users by company, industry, company size based on LinkedIn data. Unique to Microsoft; key advantage for B2B SaaS. See our B2B strategy.

Yahoo / AOL inventory — Microsoft Ads' inheritance of Yahoo and AOL search inventory through the Microsoft Search Alliance. Adds reach; some quirks in reporting. See our Yahoo/AOL placements guide.

Privacy & compliance (15 terms)

CCPA / CPRA — California's privacy laws (CCPA 2020, CPRA 2023). Grant California residents rights to know, delete, and opt out of data sales. Affects Google Ads via "Do Not Sell" signal handling.

Consent Mode v2 [2024+] — Google's framework for adjusting tag behavior based on user consent. Mandatory in EU/EEA since 2024 for advertisers using Google Ads with EU traffic. Sends modeled (cookieless) conversions when users decline.

Cookie banner — The UI element that solicits user consent for tracking cookies. Required by GDPR and ePrivacy in EU, and by CCPA/CPRA in California. Must integrate with Consent Mode v2 for Google Ads to function correctly.

DPDP (Digital Personal Data Protection Act) — India's 2023 privacy law, effective 2024-2025. Sets consent requirements similar to GDPR. Affects all Google Ads accounts targeting India.

ePrivacy Directive — The EU regulation governing electronic communications privacy, including cookies. Predates GDPR; complements it. Stricter than GDPR on cookie consent: opt-in required before any non-essential tracking.

First-party cookie — A cookie set by the domain the user is visiting. Persists longer than third-party cookies and not blocked by most browsers. The 2026 standard for cross-session tracking.

GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) — The EU's 2018 privacy law. Foundational regulation governing Google Ads tracking in Europe. Key concepts: lawful basis, consent, data subject rights. Fines up to 4% of global revenue.

Hashed identifier — A user identifier (email, phone) processed through SHA-256 hashing before being shared. Used in Customer Match and Enhanced Conversions to preserve privacy while enabling matching.

LGPD (Lei Geral de Proteção de Dados) — Brazil's 2020 GDPR-inspired privacy law. Affects all Google Ads tracking in Brazil. Similar consent and data subject rights to GDPR.

PDPL (Personal Data Protection Law) — Saudi Arabia's 2023 privacy law, effective 2024. Imposes consent and data residency obligations. Affects advertisers targeting GCC.

PII (Personally Identifiable Information) — Information that can identify a specific individual (name, email, phone, government ID). Banned from being passed in URL parameters or page views; must be hashed for matching.

Privacy Sandbox — Google's set of replacement APIs for third-party cookies (Topics, Protected Audience, Attribution Reporting). Rollout slowed in 2024 after the cookie deprecation reversal; partial adoption in 2025-2026.

Server-side tagging — Sending tracking events through your own server before forwarding to Google Ads, Meta, etc. Improves privacy posture (you control what's shared) and bypasses ad-blockers.

Third-party cookie — A cookie set by a domain other than the one being visited (e.g. doubleclick.net on a publisher site). Phase-out paused in 2024 but tracking still degraded; first-party + Consent Mode v2 is the 2026 standard.

Tracking opt-out — The user's right to refuse tracking. Mandated by GDPR (consent), CCPA (opt-out of sale), and similar laws. Triggers Consent Mode's modeling fallback in Google Ads.

Reporting & metrics (20 terms)

Avg CPC — Average cost per click over the period. Realized number, not the bid. Avg CPC = total cost / total clicks.

Avg position — Deprecated in 2019. Replaced by Top Impression Rate and Absolute Top Impression Rate, which measure where ads appeared on the SERP.

Bounce rate — The percentage of single-page sessions in GA4. High bounce rate on PPC traffic signals message-mismatch or slow landing.

Click-through rate (CTR) — Clicks ÷ impressions. Industry healthy range: 4-8% on Search, 0.5-1.2% on Display, 1-3% on YouTube. Strong driver of Quality Score Expected CTR.

Conversion rate (CVR) — Conversions ÷ clicks. Industry healthy range varies wildly: 5-15% B2B SaaS leads, 1-3% e-commerce, 30%+ branded.

Conversion value — The monetary value of a conversion. Sent at conversion fire-time; required for tROAS bidding. Best practice: dynamic value (actual order value), not static.

Cost per Mille (CPM) — See bidding section. Reported metric on Display, YouTube, Demand Gen, PMax.

CTR uplift — The relative improvement in CTR vs baseline. Used to evaluate creative tests; statistically meaningful at 95% confidence with 30-50k impressions per variant.

Frequency — The average number of times an ad has been seen by a unique user. Tracked on Display, YouTube, Demand Gen. Frequency caps prevent oversaturation.

Impressions — The number of times an ad was shown. Distinct from clicks. The base of CTR and impression share.

Lift study — A measurement methodology that compares conversion rates between users who saw ads (test) vs users in a holdout (control). Available in Google's Brand Lift, Conversion Lift, and Search Lift studies.

Lifetime value (LTV) — The total revenue a customer will produce over their lifetime. Used in Customer Match value rules and offline conversion uploads to weight Smart Bidding signals correctly.

MER (Marketing Efficiency Ratio) — Total revenue ÷ total marketing spend across channels. A blended ROAS used by DTC brands to evaluate cross-channel efficiency. See our MER calculator.

Quality Score (QS) — 1-10 score per keyword. Composed of Expected CTR (~42%), Landing Experience (~30%), Ad Relevance (~28%). Direct CPC driver. See our QS guide.

ROAS — Revenue ÷ ad spend. Expressed as a multiple (e.g. 4× ROAS = $4 revenue per $1 spent) or percentage. Primary KPI for e-commerce and Shopping.

Search Impression Share — Impressions ÷ eligible impressions on Search. Measures market share of voice. IS lost to budget vs IS lost to rank diagnoses the binding constraint.

Top Impression Rate — Percentage of impressions in any of the top positions (above organic results). Replaces the deprecated Avg Position.

View rate (VR) — Views ÷ impressions on YouTube ad formats. A view on YouTube = 30s watched (or 100% if shorter than 30s). Healthy range: 25-40% on TrueView in-stream.

Wasted spend — Ad spend on irrelevant or unconverting queries. Diagnosed via Search Terms reports and zero-conversion keyword reports. Standard hygiene metric. See our wasted spend analyzer.

Win rate — In auction terms, the share of auctions won (impressions / auctions). Not directly available in standard reports; auction insights show overlapping shares with competitors.

Account structure & ops (15 terms)

Account — The top-level container in Google Ads. Each account has a unique customer ID (CID). One advertiser entity may have multiple accounts under an MCC for separation by brand, region, or business line.

Audit — A systematic review of an account's setup, performance, and waste. Standard 2026 audit checklist covers ~150 points across structure, tracking, bidding, audiences, creative. See our audit checklist.

Auto-applied recommendation — Google's feature where some recommendations are applied automatically to your account. Recommended to disable selectively; some auto-applied changes (broad match expansion, target raise) materially change results.

Campaign — The mid-level container in Google Ads. Holds bidding, budget, audiences, locations, languages, devices, schedule. One campaign per goal/audience theme is the 2026 norm.

Campaign experiment — A controlled A/B test inside Google Ads. Splits traffic between control and variant; reports statistical significance. Available for Search, Performance Max, and Display.

Change history — The log of every change made in an account. Critical for diagnosing performance shifts. Best practice: review change history before declaring a Smart Bidding "issue".

Cross-account budget — A shared budget pool spanning multiple accounts under an MCC. Available since 2023 for select large accounts.

Customer ID (CID) — The unique 10-digit identifier of a Google Ads account, formatted xxx-xxx-xxxx.

Editor (Google Ads Editor) — The desktop application for bulk Google Ads management. Critical for any manager handling more than ~50 campaigns. Faster than the web UI for bulk edits.

Frequency cap — The maximum number of times an ad can be shown to the same user in a period. Available on Display, YouTube, Demand Gen, PMax. Prevents oversaturation.

Manager Account (MCC) — A multi-account container for managing several Google Ads accounts from one login. Standard for agencies, consultants, and large advertisers. See our MCC strategy.

Optimization Score — Google's 0-100% rating of how well your account follows their recommendations. Use as directional, not gospel; some recommendations (broad match without negatives) hurt accounts when applied blindly.

Parallel structure — Running two or more campaign types in parallel (e.g. Standard Shopping + retail PMax) to compare performance and avoid full reliance on automation.

Recommendation — Google's algorithmic suggestion for an account. Includes both useful (negative keywords) and contentious (broad match expansion, target raises). Review weekly; auto-apply selectively.

Script — A JavaScript program that automates Google Ads tasks (reporting, alerts, bid adjustments). Run via the Google Ads UI or via API. See our 10 ready-to-copy scripts.

For deeper dives on individual terms, every cross-reference above links to a dedicated pillar guide on SteerAds. Start with our Google Ads audit checklist, the Quality Score complete guide, or our Performance Max 2026 guide. To put any of these concepts to work on your own account, our free audit diagnoses your top opportunities in 2 minutes.

Sources

Official sources consulted for this guide:

• support.google.com
• support.google.com
• support.google.com
• blog.google

FAQ