Digital Marketing Terms
Everything you need to know about email and digital marketing
Trying to decode some corporate email jargon? We got you. The Reply Two glossary spells out most digital marketing terms in language we can all understand.
A/B Testing
A/B testing (aka split testing) is when you send two versions of your newsletter to different audience segments to see which performs better. Your current best version, the "control" or "champion," competes against a new variant, the "challenger." Instead of guessing what works, you get clear data on which version wins based on opens, clicks, or conversions. Winners become your new control for future tests.
Read more on A/B TestingAnalytics
Analytics for email marketing is the collection, measurement, and analysis of subscriber data to understand performance and behavior. It's your newsletter's report card. It shows you what happened, helps you to discover why, and informs you about what to try next.
Read more on AnalyticsClick Through Rate
Click Through Rate (CTR) is the percentage of subscribers who click on any link in your email. Unlike its sketchy cousin Open Rate, CTR measures actual, intentional engagement. That's someone making a conscious choice to interact with your content.
Read more on Click Through RateControl Champion Challenger
In newsletter testing, these three terms form the foundation of structured experimentation: Control is your baseline version, the original against which you compare all changes Champion is your current best-performing version, which may be the original control or a previous winner Challengers are new variants you test against your champion. When a challenger wins, it becomes your new champion for future tests, creating a continuous improvement cycle.
Read more on Control Champion ChallengerConversion Rate
Conversion rate is the percentage of folks who actually do the thing you want them to do. While your pals in finance obsess over conversion rates for purchases, in newsletter land it applies to any goal along the reader's journey. Including signups, clicks, replies, form completions, or that elusive "forward to a friend." Think of it as your newsletter's batting average for turning lurkers into doers.
Read more on Conversion RateOpen Rate
Open Rate refers to that percentage your email service provider brags about when people supposedly "open" your emails. It's tracked by a tiny invisible pixel that loads when someone views your message, or when their device pretends to.
Read more on Open RateSplit Testing
Split testing (also known as A/B testing) is dividing your subscriber list to send different newsletter versions and see which performs better. You test one element at a time by pitting your current best version, the "control" or "champion," against a new version, the "challenger." You can test anything from subject lines to layout to CTAs, measuring success through opens, clicks, or conversions to make data-driven decisions.
Read more on Split TestingURL
URL stands for Uniform Resource Locator. It's the web address that points readers to your content. In newsletters, URLs connect readers to your articles, landing pages, or resources. A well-crafted URL is readable, memorable, and helps both humans and search engines understand what your content is about.
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