Glossary

Every key term from this course, in plain English. No jargon left unexplained.

GA4 (Google Analytics 4)

Google's free analytics tool that tracks what visitors do on your website — which pages they visit, where they came from, and whether they converted. This course configures it to track revenue actions, not just visits.

Conversion

The action a visitor takes right before becoming a customer: a phone call, a quote form, a purchase, a booking. The only website events worth optimizing for.

KPI (Key Performance Indicator)

One of the 3–5 numbers that drive your decisions. If a metric wouldn't change what you do, it's not a KPI — it's decoration.

UTM parameters

Tags you add to a link (like ?utm_source=email) so analytics can tell you exactly which campaign, email, or ad produced each visit and conversion.

Bounce rate

The percentage of visitors who leave after viewing one page. High isn't always bad — it depends on the page's job.

Session

One visit to your website, from arrival to departure. A single person can have many sessions over weeks.

Traffic source

Where a visitor came from: Google search, a Facebook ad, an email, direct typing. Knowing this per conversion is the whole game.

Google Search Console

Google's free tool showing how your site appears in search results — which queries bring impressions and clicks, and which pages Google can't see.

Click-through rate (CTR)

The percentage of people who click after seeing your ad or search listing. Low CTR means the message or targeting is off.

Cost per lead

Your ad spend divided by the number of inquiries it produced. The number that tells you whether a channel earns its keep.

Attribution

Figuring out which marketing touch deserves credit for a customer. Rarely one touch — usually a chain.

Funnel

The steps a visitor takes from first touch to purchase. Measuring drop-off at each step shows you where customers leak out.

Event

A tracked action in GA4 — a button click, a form submission, a phone number tap. You define which events matter.

Dashboard

A one-screen view of your key numbers. If it takes more than a minute to read, it's a report, not a dashboard.

Impression

One time your ad or listing was shown. Impressions without clicks are just wallpaper.