Every industry has jargon — the list of terms that professionals use to describe what they do and why — and mobile marketing is no different. That’s why in our latest blog piece, we thought we’d create a jargon-buster article to help you make sense of it all.
Of course, this list is far from exhaustive. There may still be some mobile marketing terms you’ll come across in future that won’t be included here. However, this A-Z list should give you a solid understanding of the essential terms within mobile marketing. Read on to learn more and discover the exciting world of mobile marketing.
The A-Z of essential mobile marketing terms
Jargon buster: A and B’s
- A/B or Multivariate Testing: Where you test two or more variables (e.g creative elements or audience targeting) in a controlled environment to understand the impact on a KPI.
- Active User: A user who regularly uses your app – past the point of just an install.
- AEO (App Event Optimisation): A campaign setup targeting users likely to perform a desired in-app event (e.g. sign up, make an in-app purchase).
- App Store Optimisation (ASO): The process of improving how users find and download your app, commonly through copy and keyword optimisation, as well as App Store Testing (AST).
- App Store Testing (AST): The process of improving your Store Page Conversion Rate through Icon, Video and Screenshot Multivariate Testing.
- App Tracking Transparency (ATT): An iOS feature that tells users which apps track and share their data.
- Attribution: How a certain marketing channel or campaign material contributed to a sale, conversion, app download, etc.
- Average Revenue per User (ARPU): A measure of your app’s monetization, dividing revenue by the number of installs or paying users (ARPPU), often broken down a fixed time period from install e.g. D7 ARPU.
- Business as Usual vs. Automatic App Campaigns: A Facebook Campaign type; BAU offers a manual, more granular campaign targeting setup, whereas AAC (formerly AAA) functions as an automatic targeting setup where the algorithm does more of the leg work.
Jargon buster: C - G
- Channel: Where your ads appear. For example, on Meta, TikTok, Snap, etc.
- Click Fraud: Where your database records fake or accidental clicks (usually from bots) to boost your click-through rate.
- Click-Through Rate (CTR): The rate at which consumers click on your ads after an impression, calculated as Clicks / Impressions
- Cloud Games: A game streamed from remote servers directly to players’ personal devices.
- Cost per Action (CPA): How much it costs to get your target audience to do what you want – e.g. visit your website, calculated as Cost / Actions. (See also: ‘Cost per Install’.)
- Cost per mille (CPM): The cost a marketer will pay for every one thousand impressions of an ad. Calculated as (Cost / Impressions) * 1000
- Call to Action (CTA): The text that prompts users to complete an action, for example, ‘Buy now’, ‘Click here’, etc.
- Click to Install (CTI): A step in the funnel of how many users clicked on the ad versus how many actually downloaded. Calculated as Installs / Clicks
- Cost per Install (CPI): The cost an advertiser is paying to acquire a user. Calculated as Cost / Installs
- SKAN Conversion Value Schema (CV Schema): The event setup to measure user action and engagement with Apple’s SKAdNetwork.
- Daily Active users (DAU): The number of people who log-in and or use your app at least once a day.
- Dynamic Language Optimisation (DLO): An advertising feature from Meta which allows you to run adverts in different languages.
- Dynamic Placement Optimisation (DPO): An advertising feature from Meta which helps you segment different different creative formats across different platforms and placements (Facebook, Instagram, Reels vs Feed etc.).
- Geofencing and Geotargeting: The process of restricting your ad campaign to certain regions (for example, cities over rural areas).
Jargon buster: I - N
- In-App Advertising (IAA): An app monetization model where revenue is earned through in-app ad placements.
- In-App Purchases (IAP): Another app monetization model where users make a purchase in your app (for example, for additional content or a subscription service).
- Instant Games: Small games available within apps, often with multiplayer features.
- Installs per Mille (IPM): The number of app installs you receive per thousand ad impressions, calculated as (Installs / Impressions) * 1000
- Lookalike Audience (LAL): An advertising audience that’s highly similar to your target consumer or existing followers which is created out of a seed audience of real users.
- Lifetime Value (LTV): A measure of revenue a certain customer (segment) generates (See also: ‘pLTV’) over time. Often LTV is described over a fixed period, e.g. d30 LTV or 12m LTV
- Mobile App Installs (MAI): A campaign optimisation type looking to reach users who are most likely to install the app.
- Monthly Active Users (MAU): The number of people who log in and or use your app at least once a month.
- Mobile Measurement Partner (MMP): A third party that helps you measure your advertising campaign’s performance.
- Net-Promoter Score: A measure of how likely your users are to recommend your app to their friends and family.
Jargon buster: O - Z
- Opt-Out: Where users deny apps from sharing their data.
- Personalisation: The process of delivering tailored content to users.
- Platform: iOS or Android.
- Predicted LTV (pLTV): An estimate of a customer’s LTV.
- Postbacks: Event feedback that iOS and Android devices give to advertisers usually via an SDK.
- Sessions: The number of times a consumer opens your app.
- Session Interval and Length: How long a user goes between two sessions and how long each session lasts.
- StoreKit Ad Network (SKAN): A privacy-centric API run by Apple that helps advertisers measure campaign performance and user engagement.
- Store Reviews: The feedback that users leave on your app store listing.
- User Acquisition: The process of getting your target audience interested in downloading and using your app for the first time.
- User Behaviour: How users behave once they’ve installed your app and start to use it. (See also ‘Postbacks’.)
- User Segments: Groups of users with shared traits or behaviours. (See also ‘Lifetime value’.)
- User Experience (UX): How developers structure the interactions and steps that users must navigate within their app.
- Value Optimisation (VO): A campaign optimization type looking to reach users who are the most likely to be high-value purchasers within the app, can also be called ROAS optimization.
- Web Apps: Apps that run in browsers and don’t need to be installed by users. (See also ‘Instant Games’.)
Access leading mobile marketing solutions, and more, from Miri Growth
This A-Z list is just the tip of the iceberg in the fast-paced world of mobile marketing. Whether you have an app in development or you’re a seasoned pro looking to broaden your User Acquisition horizons, finding an expert partner is vital.
Miri Growth is a performance marketing and creative agency working with Paid Social channels (Meta, Google, TikTok, Snapchat) and DSPs. We offer comprehensive mobile marketing services – from fully managed User Acquisition to Creative Strategy and Production – helping your app or game to scale.
Learn more about essential mobile marketing terms by checking out our summary of the metrics that really matter. Alternatively, learn more about our services by getting in touch today.
