In the field of mobile marketing there are different terms and acronyms that need to be mastered.

Mobile is transforming Search Engine Marketing as well as content marketing, and terms from those disciplines are taking on new mobile-related meanings.

In the industry that constantly grows, it is essential to at least have a grasp of the fundamentals. Here are some of them, all in one place:

30 basic terms of mobile marketing

1 A/B testing – A methodology used for determining the correct message and layout of a web page.

There are two or more versions of a page; one group of visitors sees one version, while another sees a different version. Behavior and results are tracked, so the page that results in more conversions gets selected.

2 Acquisition rate – A percentage of respondents who opted in to participate in a mobile campaign.

Acquisition rate is calculated by dividing the number of participants with the total audience.

3 App monetization – A way of making a profit from mobile apps.

There are different options for monetizing apps, like In-App advertising, In-App purchases or charging for the download of the app.

4 Campaign – A series of advertising messages that promote a single theme and/or idea.

5 Click to call – A service that enables mobile users to initiate a voice call by clicking on a link within a mobile ad.

6 Direct marketing – A use of personal mass media as a marketing tool in order to get a direct response from users.

It usually includes sending e-mails or text messages. Direct marketing results in measurable responses so the effectiveness of campaigns can always be evaluated.

7 Expandable ad formats – Ads that expand in size when users interact with them; for instance, when a small banner expands to full-screen.

There are different formats; the most common ones are interstitials and in-banner videos.

8 Gamification – A use of solutions characteristic for games in non-game applications.

The goal is to boost engagement through different actions, such as competing with others, scoring points, solving tasks or receiving rewards.

9 Geo-fencing – A technology that enables advertisers to create a virtual boundary.

By creating a virtual fence of a defined radius, certain offers or messages are delivered to users who enter that radius. For example, a user receives a discount coupon for items in a shop they get close to.

10 Impression – A number of times a consumer is exposed to an advertisement. Basically, impressions measure the reach of an ad.

11 In-App messaging – Messages sent inside the app, which means users must actively use the app in order to receive the message.

In-app messages are an important part of the app experience because they notify users about new offers, features, etc.

12 In-App purchases – Purchases made within the app, such as physical goods and services, upgrades from the free to the paid version of the app, in-game currency and so on.

13 Incentivized traffic – Traffic based on offering users an incentive for performing a specific action.

It is in the form of a page that appears within the app and enables users to get rewards or incentives in exchange for completing an action.

14 Interstitial ad – A full screen static banner that covers the content, which means users will definitely see it.

When an interstitial as shows up, users have the choice to either tap on the ad to see where it leads, or close it and return to the app.

15 Lifetime value (LTV) – A value users deliver throughout their whole lifetime engagement with the app.

Lifetime value can be expressed in a form of a monetary amount or in a form of data, such as completed levels, read articles, taken images, etc.

…we’re halfway there…

16 Offer wall – A landing page where multiple products are shown.

Instead of driving traffic to one offer, the traffic is driven to an offer wall with multiple choice of offers.

17 M-commerce – A section of e-commerce, enabling sales via mobiles.

M-commerce apps are shopping apps focused on getting users to make purchases through their mobile devices.

18 Micropayments – Small transactions completed on mobiles, usually billed directly to users’ mobile phone bill or credit card.

19 Microsite – Websites created to achieve a very specific goal that represents only a small part of the company’s or brand’s overall marketing goals.

20 Monthly Active Users (MAU) – A number of users actively using an app in any given month.

MAU is a great metric for analyzing app performance because it keeps the track of not only users who download the app, but also those who actually continued using it.

21 MRAID – Stands for „Mobile Rich Media Ad Interface Definitions“ and presents a standardized set of commands for creating and delivering rich media experience within the mobile app.

22 Near-field communication (NFC) – A technology that relies on high-frequency messages sent and received from two enabled devices. NFC sends its own signal but can sometimes work with RFID.

23 Opt-In – A decision mechanism that enables users to become part of campaigns. It consists of users giving an explicit consent after receiving a notice from the mobile marketer.

24 Premium content – A content for which the provider charges an additional amount.

25 Push notification ­- A message generated by application owner, sent to user’s device in order to increase their engagement.

If users are not actively using the app, push notifications are delivered to their home screen to attract their attention and drive traffic back to the app.

26 Quick Response (QR) codes – Small square dot matrix bar codes that can be captured by a camera phone and decoded by software on the phone in order to do a specific task.

These tasks include opening a website, placing a call, transmitting a vCard or sending a text message.

27 Responsive web design – A web design practice that enables content to automatically adapt to a users’ device.

Ads’ layout and appearance adjust to the size of a device, so it displays properly according to the screen size or type of the device.

28 SDK – An abbreviation for Software Development Kit. A tool set that helps developers build apps for specific phones or operating systems.

29 Short code – A five or six digit phone numbers that can be dialed as a destination for a text message. Short codes must be registered and leased, much like a domain name.

30 Targeting – A type of advertising where reaching users is based on certain traits, like demographics, users’ interests, their device type, etc.

Congratulations, you’ve made it!

And so we conclude our mobile marketing glossary. Ready for a pop quiz?

(We’re just kidding, no one will quiz you here.)

But in this changing and growing industry, it’s wise to always be prepared for embracing new concepts and ideas to achieve success. If you haven’t already, be sure to check our other advertising glossaries – like programmatic and video.