PPC & GBP RESOURCE LIBRARY
Plain-English definitions of the Google Ads, PPC, Google Business Profile and local SEO terms we use when analysing campaigns and reporting performance. No unnecessary marketing jargon — just clear explanations of what each metric means, why it matters, and how businesses should interpret it.
Ad Rank determines whether your Google Ad is eligible to appear and where it may appear relative to other advertisements. It is influenced by your bid, ad quality, expected impact of assets, auction competitiveness, search context and minimum thresholds.
Why it matters: Improving campaign relevance and quality may allow advertisers to compete more efficiently without relying entirely on higher bids.
Attribution is the process of assigning credit for a conversion to one or more marketing interactions. A customer may click an advertisement, return through organic search, and convert several days later. The attribution model determines how conversion credit is assigned.
Why it matters: Different attribution models can change how campaigns and channels appear to perform.
Broad match is a Google Ads keyword match type that allows advertisements to appear for searches Google considers related to the advertiser's keyword. Broad match can discover additional search demand but may also generate irrelevant traffic when campaigns lack strong conversion signals or negative keyword management.
Click-through rate measures the percentage of impressions that resulted in clicks.
CTR = Clicks ÷ Impressions × 100
If an ad receives 1,000 impressions and 50 clicks, the CTR is 5%.
Why it matters: CTR can help evaluate whether advertisements are relevant and compelling to users.
Google Ads CTR Benchmarks →A conversion is an action that a business considers valuable — examples include purchases, form submissions, phone calls, WhatsApp enquiries, appointment bookings and account registrations. Conversion definitions should align with actual business objectives.
Conversion rate measures the percentage of visitors or advertising interactions that generate conversions.
Conversion Rate = Conversions ÷ Clicks × 100
If 100 users click an advertisement and 5 convert, the conversion rate is 5%.
Google Ads Conversion Rate Benchmarks →Cost per click is the amount an advertiser pays for each advertising click.
CPC = Advertising Cost ÷ Clicks
CPC varies based on competition, bidding, ad quality, targeting and auction conditions.
Cost per acquisition measures how much advertising spend is required to generate one conversion or customer acquisition. The definition of acquisition must be clearly established when evaluating CPA.
CPA = Advertising Cost ÷ Conversions
Cost per lead measures how much advertising spend is required to generate one lead.
CPL = Advertising Cost ÷ Number of Leads
If a business spends ₹50,000 and generates 100 leads, CPL = ₹500.
Why it matters: CPL helps businesses evaluate lead-generation efficiency, but lead quality and sales conversion rates must also be considered.
Google Ads Cost Calculator →Enhanced conversions is a Google Ads measurement feature that uses first-party customer data in a privacy-conscious way to improve conversion measurement. It can help recover conversion data that might otherwise be lost because of browser restrictions or measurement limitations.
Exact match is a Google Ads keyword match type that provides advertisers with greater control over the searches that can trigger advertisements. It may include searches that Google considers to have the same meaning or intent as the keyword.
An impression is counted when an advertisement is displayed. Impressions measure advertising visibility but do not indicate whether users clicked, engaged or converted.
A keyword is a word or phrase advertisers use to help Google Ads determine when advertisements may be eligible to appear. Keywords should reflect relevant customer search behaviour and commercial intent.
Match types control how closely a user's search must relate to an advertiser's keyword. The primary Google Ads keyword match types are broad match, phrase match and exact match.
A negative keyword prevents advertisements from appearing for searches containing or matching specified irrelevant terms. Negative keyword management helps reduce wasted advertising spend.
Performance Max is a goal-based Google Ads campaign type that can distribute advertisements across Google's advertising inventory, including Search, YouTube, Display, Discover, Gmail and Maps. It relies heavily on conversion data, creative assets, audience signals and automated bidding.
Performance Max Not Converting →Phrase match is a Google Ads keyword match type that allows advertisements to appear for searches that include the meaning of the advertiser's keyword. It generally provides more control than broad match while allowing greater reach than exact match.
Quality Score is a diagnostic metric Google Ads provides for Search campaign keywords, based on expected click-through rate, ad relevance and landing page experience. It is reported on a scale from 1 to 10.
ROAS measures the revenue generated for each unit of advertising spend.
ROAS = Revenue Attributed to Advertising ÷ Advertising Cost
If a business generates ₹5,00,000 in attributed revenue from ₹1,00,000 in advertising spend, ROAS = 5 (or 500%).
A search term is the actual query entered by a user before seeing or clicking an advertisement. Search terms are different from keywords — advertisers select keywords, users enter search terms.
Target CPA is an automated Google Ads bidding strategy that attempts to generate conversions at approximately the advertiser's desired average cost per acquisition. Campaign performance may fluctuate around the target.
Target ROAS is an automated bidding strategy that attempts to maximise conversion value while achieving an advertiser's desired return on ad spend. It is commonly used by businesses tracking transaction values or other conversion values.
A business category describes the primary type of business represented by a Google Business Profile. Businesses select one primary category and may add relevant secondary categories. Category selection can influence which searches Google considers the business relevant for.
A local citation is an online mention of a business's name, address and phone number. Citations may appear on business directories, industry websites, local portals and mapping platforms. Citation consistency can help search engines understand business information.
Google Business Profile is Google's platform for businesses to manage how their information appears across Google Search and Google Maps, including business name, categories, opening hours, phone numbers, websites, photos, services and reviews. It was previously called Google My Business.
Google Business Profile FAQs →Google Maps ranking refers to a business's position within local search results displayed on Google Maps or Google's local results. Local visibility is influenced broadly by relevance, distance and prominence.
The Local Pack is the group of local business results that may appear prominently in Google Search for queries with local intent. It commonly displays business names, ratings, locations and links to additional information.
Local SEO is the process of improving a business's visibility for geographically relevant searches. It may involve Google Business Profile optimisation, website SEO, location pages, reviews, citations, local links, structured data and content optimisation.
Explore Local SEO Services →NAP stands for Name, Address, Phone Number. Consistent NAP information helps search engines and customers identify accurate business information across online platforms.
The primary category is the main business category selected for a Google Business Profile. It should represent the business's core service or activity. Primary category selection can significantly influence the searches for which a business is considered relevant.
Prominence describes how well-known and authoritative a business appears. Google identifies prominence as one of the primary factors influencing local search rankings, and it may be influenced by reviews, links, citations, website authority and broader recognition.
Relevance describes how closely a business matches what a user is searching for. Accurate categories, services, website content and business information can help search engines understand relevance.
Review velocity describes the rate at which a business receives new customer reviews over time. Businesses should focus on consistently generating genuine customer reviews rather than creating unnatural spikes in review activity.
A secondary category is an additional business category added to a Google Business Profile. Secondary categories should represent genuine services offered by the business.
A Service Area Business, or SAB, is a business that travels to customers rather than serving customers at a publicly accessible storefront — examples include plumbers, electricians, cleaners and home service providers. Eligible Service Area Businesses can hide their physical address on Google Business Profile.
A Google Business Profile suspension occurs when Google restricts access to or visibility of a profile because of suspected guideline violations or other issues. Businesses should identify and correct the underlying problem before requesting reinstatement.
Verification is the process Google uses to confirm that a business exists and that the person managing the profile is authorised to represent it. Verification methods may vary by business.
Customer Acquisition Cost measures the total cost required to acquire a new customer. Unlike CPA or CPL, CAC may include costs beyond advertising spend.
CAC = Total Sales and Marketing Costs ÷ New Customers Acquired
A landing page is the webpage users reach after clicking an advertisement or campaign link. High-performing landing pages align closely with user intent and provide a clear path toward conversion.
Lead quality describes how likely a lead is to become a paying customer. High lead volume does not necessarily indicate successful advertising when leads are irrelevant, unqualified, fraudulent or unlikely to purchase.
Lifetime Value estimates the total value a customer generates throughout their relationship with a business. LTV can help businesses determine sustainable customer acquisition costs.
A Marketing Qualified Lead is a lead considered more likely to become a customer based on predefined marketing criteria. Definitions vary between businesses.
Return on Investment measures the profitability of an investment relative to its cost. ROI and ROAS should not be treated as interchangeable metrics — ROAS measures advertising revenue efficiency, ROI evaluates profitability relative to investment cost.
ROI = (Return − Investment Cost) ÷ Investment Cost × 100
| Term | Often Confused With | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| CPC | CPA | CPC measures click cost. CPA measures conversion cost. |
| CPL | CAC | CPL measures advertising cost per lead. CAC measures total cost to acquire a customer. |
| ROAS | ROI | ROAS measures advertising revenue efficiency. ROI measures profitability. |
| Keyword | Search Term | Advertisers choose keywords. Users enter search terms. |
| Conversion | Customer | Not every conversion becomes a paying customer. |
| GBP Optimisation | Local SEO | GBP optimisation is one component of local SEO. |
| Primary Category | Secondary Category | Primary represents the core business. Secondary categories represent additional services. |
| Impressions | Impression Share | Impressions are ad displays. Impression share measures captured eligible visibility. |
PPC stands for Pay-Per-Click. It is an advertising model where advertisers generally pay when users click their advertisements.
CPL means Cost Per Lead. It measures how much advertising spend is required to generate one lead. CPL is calculated by dividing advertising cost by the number of leads generated.
CPL measures the cost required to generate a lead. CPA measures the cost required to generate a defined acquisition or conversion. Depending on the business's conversion tracking setup, CPA may represent a purchase, booking, qualified lead or another valuable action.
ROAS measures advertising revenue efficiency. ROI measures profitability after considering the cost of an investment. A campaign can generate strong ROAS while producing weak ROI if product costs, agency fees, sales costs, refunds and other expenses significantly reduce profit.
GBP stands for Google Business Profile. It is the platform businesses use to manage their presence across Google Search and Google Maps.
Understanding CPC, CPA, CPL, ROAS, CTR, conversion rate and Google Maps visibility is useful. Improving them requires accurate tracking, campaign diagnosis and consistent optimisation. Deltanoid helps businesses identify where marketing performance is being lost and which improvements are most likely to produce measurable results.
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