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129 terms · Google Ads lexicon Last reviewed Apr 2026

Every Google Ads term, defined once.

A 129-term lexicon — the metrics, bid strategies, match types, asset slots, campaign types, and operational bits we use every day, written plainly. One definition per term, one place to point a teammate or a client.

10 sub-categories· 6 lanes· Schema.org/DefinedTerm· Open access

Six lanes, volume-ordered.

Lanes are how we work — Measurement first because that's where most search arrivals land, Basics last because it's where you go when nothing else made sense. Inside each lane, the raw sub-category becomes a chip you can toggle.

Lane 01 · Measurement18 terms

The numbers everyone is looking up.

Core metrics — impressions, clicks, conversions, ROAS, ACOS — and the quality signals stitched on top of them. Most search arrivals land here.

See all 18 →

Ad Rank

Ad Rank is the score Google uses to determine your ad's position and whether it shows at all.

core-metrics Open →

Advertising Cost of SalesACOS

Advertising Cost of Sales is the ratio of ad spend to ad-attributed revenue, expressed as a percentage.

core-metrics Open →

Bounce Rate

Bounce Rate is the percentage of single-page sessions where users left a landing page without further interaction.

core-metrics Open →

Click Share

Click Share is the estimated percentage of total achievable clicks your ads received in Google Ads.

core-metrics Open →

Click-Through RateCTR

Click-Through Rate is the percentage of impressions that result in a click on your Google Ads ad.

core-metrics Open →

Conversion Rate

Conversion Rate is the percentage of ad clicks that result in a conversion action in Google Ads.

core-metrics Open →
Lane 02 · Bidding & budgets11 terms

What tells the auction how to spend.

Bid strategies (Smart Bidding, Target ROAS, Manual CPC), budget controls, and the second-price-auction mechanics that turn intent into a paid click.

See all 11 →

Bid Adjustments

Bid Adjustments are percentage modifiers that increase or decrease bids based on device, location, time, or audience.

bidding Open →

Cost Per View (CPV) Bidding

Cost Per View bidding is a pricing model where you pay when a user watches your video ad.

bidding Open →

Enhanced CPCECPC

Enhanced CPC is a semi-automated bidding strategy that adjusts your manual bids based on conversion likelihood.

bidding Open →

Manual CPC

Manual CPC is a bidding strategy where you set the maximum cost-per-click for each keyword or ad group.

bidding Open →

Maximize Clicks

Maximize Clicks is an automated bidding strategy that sets bids to get the most clicks within your budget.

bidding Open →

Maximize Conversion Value

Maximize Conversion Value is an automated bidding strategy that sets bids to generate the highest total conversion value within your budget.

bidding Open →
Lane 03 · Targeting & match15 terms

How a query is matched to an ad.

Keywords, match types, audience signals, and the negative lists that keep traffic on-topic. Where most account hygiene work happens.

See all 15 →

Affinity Audiences

Affinity Audiences are Google-defined audience segments based on users' long-term interests, habits, and lifestyle patterns.

targeting Open →

Audience Segments

Audience Segments are predefined or custom groups of users in Google Ads based on their interests, behaviors, demographics, or interactions with your business.

targeting Open →

Broad Match

Broad Match is a keyword match type in Google Ads that triggers ads for searches related to your keyword, including synonyms, related queries, and variations.

targeting Open →

Custom Audiences

Custom Audiences are user-defined audience segments in Google Ads built from keywords, URLs, and apps that represent your ideal customer's interests and behaviors.

targeting Open →

Customer Match

Customer Match is a Google Ads feature that lets you upload first-party customer data to target or exclude known customers across Google properties.

targeting Open →

Demographic Targeting

Demographic Targeting in Google Ads lets you adjust bids or restrict ad delivery based on age, gender, household income, and parental status.

targeting Open →
Lane 04 · Creative & assets15 terms

The slots the ad renders into.

Headlines, descriptions, sitelinks, callouts, image and video assets, plus the responsive-ad slot machine that picks combinations.

See all 15 →

Ad ExtensionsAssets

Ad Extensions, now called Assets in Google Ads, are additional pieces of information that expand your ad with extra links, phone numbers, promotions, and other details.

ad-components Open →

Ad Groups

Ad Groups are organizational units within a Google Ads campaign that contain a set of related keywords, ads, and bids sharing a common theme.

ad-components Open →

Ad Rotation

Ad Rotation is a Google Ads campaign setting that determines how multiple ads within an ad group are served relative to each other.

ad-components Open →

Ad Strength

Ad Strength is a Google Ads diagnostic indicator that rates the quality and diversity of your Responsive Search Ad assets on a scale from Poor to Excellent.

ad-components Open →

Call Extensions

Call Extensions are Google Ads assets that display a clickable phone number alongside your ad, enabling users to call your business directly from search results.

ad-components Open →

Callout Extensions

Callout Extensions are non-clickable text snippets in Google Ads that highlight key business features, offers, or selling points alongside your ad.

ad-components Open →
Lane 05 · Structure30 terms

How accounts are shaped.

Campaign types, Performance Max specifics, agency-level constructs (MCC, sub-accounts, billing). The skeleton everything else hangs off.

See all 30 →
Sub-category

App Campaigns

App Campaigns promote mobile app installs and in-app actions across Google Search, Play, YouTube, and Display.

campaign-types Open →

Asset Groups

Asset Groups are collections of creative assets in Performance Max campaigns that Google combines to generate ads across all channels.

pmax Open →

Asset Performance Labels

Asset Performance Labels are Google's ratings (Best, Good, Low, Pending) assigned to individual assets in Performance Max and responsive search ads.

pmax Open →

Audience SignalsPMax

Audience Signals are targeting suggestions provided to Performance Max campaigns that guide Google's AI toward your ideal customers.

pmax Open →

Auto-Created Assets

Auto-Created Assets is a Google Ads feature that automatically generates text and image assets for your campaigns using AI.

pmax Open →

Brand Campaigns

Brand Campaigns target your own brand name and variations as keywords in Google Ads Search.

campaign-types Open →
Lane 06 · Basics40 terms

The vocabulary everything else assumes.

Features (extensions, drafts, experiments), technical bits (UTMs, conversion tracking, GTM), and industry shorthand (PPC, SEM, attribution).

See all 40 →
Sub-category

Ad Fatigue

Ad Fatigue is the decline in ad performance that occurs when the same audience sees the same ad creative too many times.

industry Open →

Ad Fraud

Ad Fraud is the deliberate manipulation of digital advertising metrics through fake clicks, impressions, or conversions to drain advertiser budgets.

industry Open →

Ad Preview and Diagnosis Tool

The Ad Preview and Diagnosis Tool shows how your ads appear in search results without generating impressions or affecting performance data.

features Open →

Ad Relevance

Ad Relevance is a Quality Score component that measures how closely your ad copy matches the intent behind a user's search query.

industry Open →

API Rate Limits

API Rate Limits are quotas imposed by the Google Ads API that restrict the number and frequency of requests an application can make within a given time period.

technical Open →

Attribution Models

Attribution Models are rules that determine how conversion credit is distributed across the multiple ad interactions in a customer's path to conversion.

features Open →
No matches

Nothing matched .

Full A–Z · 129 entries

Or just scroll the index.

Compact alphabetical list — the page the SEO crawlers love and the page you reach for when you forgot which lane a term lives in. Anchored from the strip above.

A24 terms
C22 terms
S12 terms
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