Even More Handy Marketing Acronyms You Should Know
When you are navigating the marketing world as a small business owner it can be a bit intimidating. Acronyms get thrown around that you might have passing familiarity with, or can infer their general meaning from the conversation. But maybe you don’t honestly know for sure what it means.
We’re here to help!
Here are a few more common acronyms you’ll encounter when researching marketing programs, trends, and opportunities for your business. Sorted alphabetically for your convenience!
Ready for more? Check out our first and second installments of Handy Marketing Acronyms You Should Know!
SaaS - Software-as-a-Service
Definition: SaaS refers to a method of software delivery and licensing in which software is accessed online via a subscription, rather than bought and installed on individual computers.
A Practical Example: SaaS provides web-based software that provides any number of different services. Popular programs include Salesforce, Quickbooks Online, Docusign, and many others.
SEO - Search Engine Optimization
Definition: SEO refers to the process of maximizing the number of visitors to a particular website by ensuring that the site appears high on the list of results returned by a search engine.
A Practical Example: SEO isn’t something that you do once; it’s something that needs to take place on a regular basis for your website and business listings. SEO strategies allow your site and branded information to appear higher in the search results than your competitors. Want to know something cool? We rank #1 in organic results (under 3 ads) in Google search for ‘marketing services near me’!
SEM - Search Engine Marketing
Definition: SEM is a form of Internet marketing that involves the promotion of websites by increasing their visibility in search engine results pages primarily through paid advertising.
A Practical Example: The next time you Google something pay extra attention to the top results flagged with “Ad”. These are an example of SEM!
SERP - Search Engine Results Page
Definition: SERP refers to the pages displayed by search engines in response to a query by a searcher.
A Practical Example: Open up the search engine of your choice and type in the first thing that comes to mind. Hit search: the results that appear make up the SERP!
SMS - Short Message Service
Definition: SMS is a text messaging service that uses standardized communication protocols to enable mobile devices to exchange short text messages.
A Practical Example: SMS was established to allow a consistent method for communicating messages across various devices, regardless of manufacturer. For example: Apple phones have an internal messaging service called iMessage. It has various features and functionality that only work when communicating with other iPhone users; but they can also send and receive SMS texts, allowing them to chat with connections who use phones made by other manufacturers.
UGC - User-Generated Content
Definition: UGC is any form of content, such as images, videos, text and audio, that have been posted by users on online platforms such as social media and wikis.
A Practical Example: User Generated Content is on the rise in brand marketing because instead of staged marketing imagery, it is taken from the perspective of the end user who is interacting with the brand’s products or experiences. Destinations like Discover Buellton leverage UGC on their website in a social gallery, highlighting visitors enjoying various local businesses and experiences to help potential visitors see what the area has to offer. Check it out here!
UI - User Interface
Definition: UI is anything a user may interact with to use a digital product or service.
A Practical Example: For a great discussion on the differences between UI and UX, check out this piece by UserTesting.com.
URL - Uniform Resource Locator
Definition: URL is the address of a World Wide Web page.
A Practical Example: While there are almost limitless combinations of numbers, letters and select characters that can be used to create a web address, or URL; no two can be identical. You are reading this on SolutionsOn2nd.com, our unique URL. Someone else could purchase SolutionsOn2nd.info or SolutionsOn2nd.net, but these would be completely separate from this site that you are currently on.
UTM - Urchin Tracking Module
Definition: UTMs are the format used by Google to track your unique URLs.
A Practical Example: UTMs are helpful for digital advertising because they allow you to create unique trackers that translate to your Google Analytics, making it easier to measure the impact they have. Interested in building your own UTMs? Check out Google’s Campaign URL Builder here!
UX - User Experience
Definition: UX represents the aspects of the user’s interactions with a brand, its services and its products.
A Practical Example: For a great discussion on the differences between UI and UX, check out this piece by UserTesting.com.
This concludes our collection of handy marketing acronyms you should know!
