CAC

Customer Acquisition Cost

How much it costs to convince a stranger to give you money.

nCAC

New Customer Acquisition Cost

Like CAC, but only for first-time buyers. Because keeping old customers is easier.

CPC

Cost Per Click

Paying every time someone taps your ad—whether they meant to or not.

PPC

Pay-Per-Click

Another term for CPC, but makes you sound more official.

CTA

Call to Action

That “BUY NOW” button nobody clicks unless your ad is 🔥.

CPA

Cost Per Acquisition

What you actually pay to get a customer—not just a click, but a sale.

nCPA

New Customer CPA

Same as CPA, but only counting new customers. 

ROAS

Return on Ad Spend

The north star of marketing. If it’s below 3X, someone is panicking.

SEO

Search Engine Optimization

The art of making Google love your site (without paying for ads).

UGC

User-Generated Content

When customers do your marketing for you—for free. Genius.

LTV

Lifetime Value

How much a customer is worth over time (a.k.a. why retention matters).

USP

Unique Selling Proposition

The one thing that makes your brand stand out—hopefully more than just “we’re the best.”

7DC1V

7-Day Click 1-Day View

A Meta Ads attribution model that even experts pretend to fully understand.

ASC

Advantage+ Shopping Campaign

Facebook’s way of saying, “Give us money, we’ll handle the details.”

PMAX

Performance Max

Google’s version of ASC. Same concept, different tech overlord.

TTS

TikTok Shop

TikTok’s in-app store for selling directly—not to be confused with TikTok Ads Manager.

AMZ

Amazon

The eCommerce overlord that either fuels or destroys your DTC brand.

BFCM

Black Friday Cyber Monday

The most stressful 4-day weekend in eCommerce history.

RPU

Revenue Per User

How much money each visitor should be making you.

ARPU

Average Revenue Per User

Like RPU, but less exciting because it includes window shoppers.

TOF

Top of Funnel

The “just browsing” crowd. They saw your ad, but aren’t ready to buy (yet).

MOF

Middle of Funnel

The maybe-buyers. Still thinking, still clicking, still not checking out.

BOF

Bottom of Funnel

The sweet spot. These people are ready to give you their credit card.

UI

User Interface

What your website looks like.

UX

User Experience

What using your website feels like. If it’s bad, people bounce.

PDP

Product Detail Page

Where people pretend to read specs but really just look at reviews.

LP

Landing Page

A hyper-focused page designed to convert (or lose you money).

AOV

Average Order Value

The average amount customers spend per order. Higher = better.

MER

Marketing Efficiency Ratio

ROAS for finance teams. Total revenue divided by total ad spend.

MRR

Monthly Recurring Revenue

The subscription business jackpot.

ARR

Annual Recurring Revenue

MRR, but bigger. Investors love it.

CX

Customer Experience

The full journey from first impression to post-purchase. Bad CX = lost customers.

GMV

Gross Merchandise Value

Total sales before reality (returns, fees) kicks in.

ICP

Ideal Customer Profile

The imaginary person you build your marketing strategy around.

CTR

Click-Through Rate

How many people actually click your ad. Higher = good.

CRO

Conversion Rate Optimization

The science (or black magic) of turning clicks into cash.

B2C

Business to Consumer

Selling directly to people.

B2B

Business to Business

Selling to other businesses—harder, but higher budgets.

CVR

Conversion Rate

The percentage of visitors who actually buy.

CPM

Cost Per Impression

What you pay for 1,000 ad views—whether they cared or not.

CPG

Consumer Packaged Goods

Fancy term for “stuff you buy in stores.”

CRM

Customer Relationship Management

Software that helps you pretend to know your customers personally.

DTC

Direct to Consumer

Selling straight to customers, no middleman (except Shopify, Meta, Google…).

POS

Point of Sale

Where money changes hands—usually a checkout page.

SKU

Stock Keeping Unit

The number that keeps your inventory somewhat organized.

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Where customers go instead of emailing support.

ERP

Enterprise Resource Planning

Clunky software that somehow keeps your business running.

3PL

Third-Party Logistics

The company shipping your stuff so you don’t have to.

EBITDA

Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization

The profit metric finance people won’t stop talking about.

Q5

The Secret Fifth Quarter

The January-February eCommerce gold rush.

TACoS

Total Advertising Cost of Sale

Not lunch. A key Amazon metric for ad efficiency.

SaaS

Software as a Service

Subscription-based software—like Shopify, Klaviyo, and AdBeacon.

BAU

Business as Usual

A fancy way of saying “just keep spending.”

GWP

Gift With Purchase

A freebie that hopefully increases AOV.

aMER

Adjusted Marketing Efficiency Ratio

MER, but “adjusted” so finance teams don’t panic.

VSL

Video Sales Letter

A dramatic, long-form sales video meant to convince you to buy.

SMS

Short Message Service

Text marketing—the most direct way to remind people to buy.

MA

Marketing Automation

The bots that send your emails and SMS campaigns while you sleep.