Each term is defined in one sentence, explained in a few lines, then illustrated with an example. The thread stays the same: only pay for the clicks that can lead to a purchase.
Every term in the glossary
12 terms
Ad group: An ad group holds the ads and keywords that share one theme inside a Google Ads campaign.
Bid: A bid is the most you are willing to pay for a click on your Google Ads ad, and you often pay less.
Click-through rate (CTR): Click-through rate, or CTR, is the share of people who click your ad out of those who see it: the number of clicks divided by the number of impressions, the times your ad was shown.
CPC (cost per click): CPC, or cost per click, is the amount you pay each time someone clicks your Google Ads ad.
Landing page: A landing page is the page on your site that a person reaches after clicking your ad.
Match types: Match types (broad, phrase, exact) set how far a search can drift from your keyword and still trigger your ad.
Negative keyword: A negative keyword is a word or phrase that stops your ad from showing on searches that contain it.
Quality Score: Quality Score is a 1 to 10 rating given to each keyword: it estimates the quality of your ads and landing page compared with other advertisers.
ROAS: ROAS, short for return on ad spend, is the value of the conversions you got (sales, quote requests) divided by what you spent on advertising.
Search intent: Search intent is what a person really wants to get when they type a query: to learn, to find a site, to compare or to buy.
Search term: A search term is the word or set of words a person actually typed into Google before seeing your ad.
SERP: The SERP, short for search engine results page, is the page a search engine shows after a query: ads, organic results and other blocks.
Why a Google Ads glossary?
The same words come up in every Google Ads decision: keyword, bid, intent, quality. A misunderstood word is paid for by the click. Here, each definition follows the official Google Ads Help and points to its source.