Optimization Glossary

The optimization space is full of acronyms and jargon, and Optipedia is here to help. Our optimization glossary is a dictionary of the terminology most commonly used by optimization professionals.

Expand your optimization vocabulary today!

Want to know the difference between A/B Testing, Split Testing, and Multivariate Testing? Or what the heck CRO, LPO, and EXO stand for? Maybe you're looking for a refresher on Statistical Significance and Sales Funnels? Browse our optimization glossary and learn to speak the language of optimizers!

A

A/A Testing

A method of comparing two versions of a webpage or mobile app experience against each other in order to test the accuracy of the testing tool.

Read full description
A/B/N Testing

A method of comparing multiple versions of webpage or mobile app against each other to determine which performs best.

Read full description
Above The Fold

The top most portion of a webpage that is visible without users having to scroll.

Read full description
A/B Testing

A method of comparing two versions of a webpage or mobile app experience against each other to determine which performs best.

Read full description
Account Based Marketing

A business marketing strategy that concentrates resources on a set of target accounts within a market.

Read full description
Ad Viewability

The concept of how visible ads on a website or mobile app are to users.

Read full description
App Personalization

The process of building a mobile application to meet the needs of specific audiences.

Read full description
Average Order Value

The average dollar amount spent each time a customer places an order on a website or mobile app.

Read full description

B

Behavioral Science

Behavioral science studies the way that emotions, the environment, and social factors influence our decisions.

Read full description
Below The Fold

The portion of a webpage that is not immediately visible when the page loads, that users must scroll to see.

Read full description
Bounce Rate

The percentage of site visits that are single-page sessions, with the visitor leaving without viewing any other pages.

Read full description
Bucket Testing

A method of testing two versions of a website or app against one another to see which one performs better on specified key metrics. Synonym for split testing.

Read full description

C

Call To Action

A call to action or CTA is a prompt on a website that tells the user to take some specified action.

Read full description
Canary Testing

A way to reduce risk and validate new software by releasing software to a small percentage of users.

Read full description
Click-Through Rate

The percentage of people that click on an element that they have been exposed to.

Read full description
Content Management System

An application that allows multiple contributors to create, edit and publish web content.

Read full description
Continuous Delivery

A software development process for getting code changes into production quickly and safely.

Read full description
Conversion

When a user completes some predetermined action on your site.

Read full description
Conversion Rate

The number of conversions on a webpage or app divided by the total number of visitors.

Read full description
Conversion Rate Optimization

The process of increasing the percentage of conversions from a website or mobile app.

Read full description

D

Decision Fatigue

When the mind becomes fatigued after a sustained period of decision making, such as when faced with too many options on a website.

Read full description

E

Experience Optimization

The process of providing your customers with the best possible experience across all touchpoints through analytics, user research, A/B testing, and personalization.

Read full description

F

Feature Flags

A software development technique that turns certain functionality on and off, without deploying new code.

Read full description
Feature Rollout

The software development process of introducing a new feature to a set of users.

Read full description

G

Growth Hacking

The use of resource-light and cost effective marketing tactics to help grow and retain an active user base, sell products and gain exposure.

Read full description

H

Headline Testing

The process of developing multiple title variations for an article or piece of online media to determine which one performs the best.

Read full description
Heatmap

A graphical representation of data such as clicks and scrolls that uses a system of color-coding to represent different values.

Read full description
Hero Image

An oversized image or video at the top of a website, often extending full-width and featuring a CTA and/or value proposition.

Read full description

I

How to Improve Conversion Rates

Learn how to improve your conversion rates through A/B testing to drive your business objectives.

Read full description
Inbound Marketing

A marketing methodology that is designed to draw visitors and potential customers in, rather than outwardly pushing a brand, product or service onto prospects.

Read full description
Information Scent

Visual and textual cues that provide website vistors with hints on what information a site contains.

Read full description
iOS A/B Testing

The process of running a controlled experiment comparing one or more versions of an iOS app against the original to improve certain metrics.

Read full description

L

Landing Page Optimization

The process of improving elements on a landing page to increase conversions.

Read full description
Lead Generation

The process of generating consumer interest for a product or service with the goal of turning that interest into a sale.

Read full description
Lean Hypothesis Testing

An approach to agile product development that’s designed to minimize risk, increase speed of development, and hone product market fit by building and iterating on a minimum viable product (MVP)

Read full description
Lifetime Value

An estimate of the average revenue that your customers will generate throughout their lifespan as a customer.

Read full description

M

Marketing Automation

The replacement of repetitive manual marketing processes and tasks with solutions that are automated, especially in regards to e-mail marketing.

Read full description
Marketing Technology Stack

A grouping of technologies that marketers leverage to conduct and improve their marketing activities.

Read full description
Mobile App A/B Testing

The practice of using A/B testing to test different experiences within mobile apps.

Read full description
Multi-Armed Bandit

A form of A/B testing that uses machine learning algorithms to dynamically allocate traffic to variations that are performing well.

Read full description
Multivariate Testing

A technique for testing a hypothesis where multiple variables are modified, in order to determine the best combination of variations on those elements of a website or mobile app.

Read full description
Multivariate Testing vs A/B Testing

Learn about the key differences between A/B testing and multivariate testing, and when is the best time to use each approach.

Read full description

O

Online Marketing

The strategy for leveraging web-based channels to spread a message about a company’s brand, products, or services to its potential customers.

Read full description

R

Revenue Per Visitor

A metric for website performance calculated by dividing the total revenue by the total number of visitors to your website.

Read full description

S

Sales Funnel

The path taken by a potential customer through a website or app as they move towards becoming a customer.

Read full description
Search Engine Marketing

A digital marketing strategy used to increase the visibility of a website in search engine results pages, especially with regards to paid advertising.

Read full description
Search Engine Optimization

The art and science of getting pages to rank higher in search engines such as Google and Bing.

Read full description
Visitor Segmentation

The process of dividing your visitors to your website based on a specific criteria, such as demographics or user behavior.

Read full description
Server-Side Testing

A form of experimentation where unlike in client-side testing, the variations of a test are rendered directly on the web server before it is delivered to the client.

Read full description
Shopping Cart Abandonment

When a potential customer starts a check out process for an online order but drops out of the process before completing the purchase.

Read full description
Social Proof

Evidence that a product or service is popular with a large number of people.

Read full description
Split Testing

A strategy for conducting controlled, randomized experiments with the goal of improving a conversion metric on a website or mobile app.

Read full description
Squeeze Page

A landing page which is specifically designed to 'squeeze' e-mail addresses out of visitors and prospects.

Read full description
Statistical Significance

The likelihood that the difference in conversion rates between a given variation and the baseline is not due to random chance.

Read full description

T

Testing in Production

A software development practice in which new code changes are tested on live user traffic rather than in a staging environment.

Read full description
Trunk-Based Development

A strategy where engineers merge smaller changes more frequently into the main codebase and work off the trunk copy rather than work on long-lived feature branches.

Read full description
Type 1 Error

A statistics term used to refer to an error that is made in testing when a conclusive winner is declared although the test is actually inconclusive.

Read full description
Type 2 Error

A statistics term used to refer to a testing error that is made when no conclusive winner is declared between a control and a variation when there actually should be one.

Read full description

U

Unique Selling Point

The competitive differentiators that a business has over its competitors.

Read full description
Usability Testing

A method of evaluating a website or app’s readiness for release by testing it with real users who are part of your target audience.

Read full description
User Flow

The path taken by a prototypical user on a website or app to complete a task.

Read full description
User Journey Map

A diagram of the entire user experience, starting with initial contact or discovery, and continuing through the process of engagement into long-term loyalty and advocacy.

Read full description

V

Value Proposition

The essence of the value that your product or service provides to the customer.

Read full description
Viewable Impression

A standard measure of ad viewability defined by the IAB to be an ad which appears at least 50% on screen for more than one second.

Read full description

W

Web Analytics

The measurement and analysis of data to inform an understanding of user behavior across web pages.

Read full description
Website Optimization

The process of using controlled experimentation to improve a website's ability to drive business goals.

Read full description
Website Personalization

The process of creating customized experiences for visitors to a website.

Read full description