Tracking Glossary - Plain-English Definitions for Click and Ad Tracking (2026)

Tracking has a lot of jargon. Here are the terms you'll meet most, in plain English, each linked to the guide that covers it properly.

A

Ad Blocker

A browser extension or setting that stops ads and many tracking scripts loading. A major reason browser pixels under-report. See first-party tracking.

Attribution

Deciding which touchpoints get credit for a conversion. See what is ad attribution.

Attribution Model

The rule for splitting credit, such as last click, first click, linear, position-based or time decay. See multi-touch attribution.

Attribution Window

How long after a click a conversion can still be credited to it. See Facebook attribution settings.

Audience Optimization

ClickMagick's name for sending your conversion data back to ad platforms so their algorithms optimise on real results. See Audience Optimization explained.

B

Bot Traffic

Clicks and visits from automated software rather than people. Inflates clicks and wastes ad spend. See click fraud prevention.

C

CAPI (Conversions API)

Meta's server-to-server route for sending conversions, used alongside the pixel. See Conversions API explained.

Click Fraud

Invalid clicks on ads, from bots, competitors or click farms. See click fraud prevention.

Click ID

A unique code in a URL, such as GCLID or fbclid, that lets a later sale be matched to the exact click. See click IDs explained.

Click Tracking

Recording every click on a link or ad, with its source. See what is click tracking.

Cloaking (Link)

Replacing a long affiliate URL with a branded redirect. See affiliate link cloaking.

CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost)

All sales and marketing costs divided by new customers; broader than CPA. See how to calculate CPA.

CNAME Record

A DNS record that points one domain name at another; used to set up a custom tracking domain. See custom tracking domain.

Consent Mode

Google's way for your cookie banner to tell its tags what each visitor agreed to. See cookie consent tracking.

Conversion

The action you care about: a sale, lead, signup or booked call. See conversion tracking guide.

Conversion Rate

Conversions divided by visitors or clicks, as a percentage.

Cookie

A small file a browser stores to remember information, such as who a returning visitor is. See first-party vs third-party cookies.

CPA (Cost per Acquisition)

Ad spend divided by conversions. See how to calculate CPA.

CPC (Cost per Click)

Ad spend divided by clicks.

Cross-Device Tracking

Linking one person's visits on different devices. See cross-device tracking.

D

Deduplication

Making sure a conversion sent by both the browser and the server is only counted once, usually by matching event IDs.

Deterministic Matching

Linking visits with a known identifier like an email or login. Accurate but needs people to identify themselves.

E

Enhanced Conversions

A Google Ads feature that sends hashed customer data with conversions to match more of them to ads. See enhanced conversions.

Event

Any action your tracking records: a page view, button click, video play, opt-in or purchase. See event tracking.

Events API

TikTok's server-side route for sending conversions alongside its pixel. See TikTok Events API.

Event Match Quality (EMQ)

Meta's 0–10 score for how well your server events can be matched to its users.

Exclusion Audience

A list of people an ad platform won't show your ads to; ClickMagick's Click Shield builds these from suspicious clickers. See Click Shield.

F

First-Party Data

Information you collect directly from your own visitors and customers, with consent.

First-Party Tracking

Tracking that runs on your own domain, so browsers treat it more favourably. See first-party tracking.

Funnel

The sequence of pages from first visit to sale, such as ad, opt-in, sales page, checkout. See funnel tracking.

I

Incrementality

Whether an ad caused sales that wouldn't have happened anyway, usually proven with holdout tests. See incrementality testing.

ITP (Intelligent Tracking Prevention)

Safari's privacy feature that limits cross-site tracking and some cookie lifespans. See iOS tracking changes.

L

Last Click

The attribution model that gives all the credit to the final click before a conversion.

Lifetime Value (LTV)

What a customer is worth over their whole relationship with you, not just the first order. See lifetime value tracking.

Link Rotator

One link that sends clicks to several destinations. See what is a link rotator.

M

Marketing Mix Modelling (MMM)

A statistical method that estimates each channel's contribution from aggregate spend and sales data. See marketing mix modelling.

Multi-Touch Attribution

Sharing credit across several touchpoints instead of one. See multi-touch attribution.

O

Offline Conversion

A sale that closes away from your website, such as by phone, credited back to the ad click. See offline conversion tracking.

P

Pixel

A snippet of code that reports events to a platform when it loads. See what is a tracking pixel.

Postback URL

A URL an affiliate network calls from its server to report a conversion to your tracker. See postback URL tracking.

Probabilistic Matching

Estimating that visits belong to one person from signals like device and network. Broader reach, less certainty.

R

Redirect

Sending a visitor from one URL to another; tracking links use quick redirects to record clicks.

ROAS (Return on Ad Spend)

Revenue from ads divided by ad spend. See how to calculate ROAS.

S

S2S (Server to Server)

Data sent directly between servers, without the visitor's browser. See server-side tracking.

Smart Links

ClickMagick's branded, trackable short links. See ClickMagick Smart Links.

Solo Ad

Paying an email list owner to send a set number of clicks to your offer. See how to track solo ads.

Split Test

Sending traffic to two or more versions and comparing conversions. See split testing links.

Sub-ID

A parameter in an affiliate link that carries your own tracking value, such as a click ID, to the network. See how to track affiliate links.

T

Third-Party Cookie

A cookie set by a domain other than the one you're visiting; increasingly blocked by browsers.

Touchpoint

Any interaction with your marketing, such as an ad click, email click or site visit.

Tracking Template

A Google Ads setting that wraps your final URL for third-party click trackers. See Google Ads tracking templates.

Tracking Link

A link that records each click before redirecting. See how to track link clicks.

TrueTracking

ClickMagick's first-party tracking technology. See ClickMagick TrueTracking.

U

UTM Parameters

Tags added to a URL, such as utm_source and utm_campaign, that tell your analytics where a visit came from. See UTM parameters guide.

V

ValueTrack Parameters

Google Ads placeholders such as {campaignid} that are filled in with real values when someone clicks. See tracking templates.

View-Through Conversion

A conversion credited to an ad someone saw but didn't click. Meta now offers only a 1-day view window. See Facebook attribution settings.

Where to Go Next

New to all this? Start with what click tracking is, then conversion tracking. If you're comparing tools, our best click tracking software roundup is the next stop.