Reference
Advertising glossary
Every ad term you need to know, explained in plain English. 20 clear definitions with examples, no jargon.
A
Ad Angle
An ad angle is the specific perspective, story, or approach used to present a product or service in an advertisement. It determines what benefit is highlighted, which emotion is triggered, and how the product is positioned relative to the viewer's needs, desires, or pain points.
Read the definitionAd Copy
Ad copy is the written text used in an advertisement to persuade the audience to take action. It includes the headline, body text, call-to-action (CTA), and any additional text overlays on images or videos. Good ad copy communicates a clear benefit and drives a specific action.
Read the definitionAd Creative
An ad creative is the combination of visuals, copy, and design elements that make up a paid advertisement. It includes everything the viewer sees: the image or video, headline, body text, and call-to-action.
Read the definitionAd Fatigue
Ad fatigue is the decline in an advertisement's performance that occurs when the target audience has been overexposed to the same ads. It manifests as decreasing click-through rates, increasing costs per acquisition, and declining return on ad spend over time.
Read the definitionAd Spy
Ad spy (also called ad intelligence or competitive ad research) is the practice of monitoring and analyzing competitors' paid advertisements across platforms like Meta, TikTok, and Google to identify winning strategies, creatives, and trends.
Read the definitionB
C
CPA (Cost Per Acquisition)
CPA (Cost Per Acquisition) is the average cost of acquiring one customer or conversion through paid advertising. It is calculated by dividing total ad spend by the number of conversions. If you spend $1,000 and get 50 purchases, your CPA is $20.
Read the definitionCPM
CPM (Cost Per Mille) is an advertising metric that represents the cost an advertiser pays for 1,000 impressions of their ad. "Mille" is Latin for thousand. If your CPM is $10, you pay $10 every time your ad is shown 1,000 times.
Read the definitionCreative Fatigue
Creative fatigue occurs when an ad's performance declines because the target audience has seen it too many times. As frequency increases, click-through rates drop, cost per acquisition rises, and the ad stops generating profitable results.
Read the definitionCTR
CTR (Click-Through Rate) is the percentage of people who click on an ad after seeing it. It is calculated by dividing the number of clicks by the number of impressions, then multiplying by 100. A CTR of 2% means 2 out of every 100 people who saw the ad clicked on it.
Read the definitionD
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R
Retargeting
Retargeting (also called remarketing) is an advertising strategy that shows ads to people who have previously interacted with your brand (such as visiting your website, viewing a product, adding to cart, or engaging with your social media content) but did not complete a desired action.
Read the definitionROAS
ROAS (Return on Ad Spend) is a marketing metric that measures the revenue generated for every dollar spent on advertising. It is calculated by dividing total revenue from ads by total ad spend. A ROAS of 3x means every $1 spent returns $3 in revenue.
Read the definitionS
Split Testing (A/B Testing)
Split testing (also called A/B testing) is the practice of running two or more versions of an ad, landing page, or marketing element simultaneously to determine which version performs better. Traffic is split evenly between variants, and the winner is determined by whichever achieves the best results on a chosen metric.
Read the definitionSwipe File
A swipe file is a curated collection of advertisements, copywriting examples, design layouts, and marketing materials saved for future reference and inspiration. Marketers and copywriters use swipe files to study what works and apply proven patterns to their own campaigns.
Read the definitionU
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