If you’re like me, you open your inbox each morning to at least 5-10 cold emails from marketers, agencies, or software salesmen. You start reading and there they are -- confusing buzzwords, cheesy platitudes lamenting how they "haven’t heard back from you", and 5 confusing acronyms for every 1 verb. Normally in polite society, we use acronyms for convenience or aesthetic. Who wants to tell someone you have to quickly run to the “Automated Teller Machine”? No, you’d use ATM. Or, how much MORE time would be wasted if we actually told people we were headed to the “Department of Motor Vehicles” rather than the DMV? Acronyms are so common in our lexicon that there are several that people think are actually words (see: SCUBA, LASER, and PIN). But, all convenience (and sometimes a little pride) is lost when we don’t understand their meaning. It can lead to time wasted looking them up, or a tendency to ignore the information all together, sometime to the point of losing opportunities, or even money. So, I, your faithful guide, am here to help. Below is a list of acronyms that you may encounter most in the online advertising world:
CPC: Cost Per Click
An advertising metric used to identify the cost to the buyer of a single user click.
CPM: Cost Per Thousand (M)
An advertising metric used to identify the cost to the buyer of one thousand ad impressions. ‘M’ is the roman numeral for 1,000
CTR: Click-Through Rate
Usually delivered as a percentage, the ratio of the number of users who click on a specific link to the number of total ad impressions.
URL: Uniform Resource Locator
Often referred to as a website address, an address to a resource on the Internet. A ‘link’.
GIF: Graphical Interchange Format
A lossless format for image files that supports both animated and static images
HTML: Hypertext Markup Language
The most common language of code on the web, used to create web pages and display advertising.
JPEG: Joint Photographic Experts Group
The most common file type for static images, provides the best tradeoff of quality and file size.
UTM: Urchin Tracking Method
A string of characters pasted on the end of a URL to help identify the source of an incoming link in Google Analytics.
ROI: Return on Investment
The benefits returned from an investment to the investor.
CRM: Customer Relationship Management
Most often used in reference to software databases and services where client and relationship details (i.e. address, phone, notes, etc) are stored.
CTA: Call to Action
A phrase or word used to instruct or persuade an audience to take action, i.e. to click, buy, or read more.
SaaS: Software as a Service
A software business model where software is licensed on a subscription basis as opposed to purchased outright.
SEO: Search Engine Optimization
The process of optimizing a website’s content to appear higher in search engine results.
SEM: Search Engine Marketing
A branch of marketing that improves the visibility and traffic of websites by increasing their visibility in search engine results.
KPI: Key Performance Indicator
A measurable value chosen by an advertiser or company that best demonstrates their desired success or outcome.
RTB:Real-Time Bidding
A method of purchasing unsold inventory by CPM via programmatic auction.
ROS:Run-of-Site
Refers to the distribution method of advertising to the totality of a website and not specific pages.
If you’re struggling to make sense of the ever-changing lingo of the online marketing world, give me a call or sign up for a FREE 30 minute consultation below. Together, we can help identify your KPI, get ideas for your SEO, help you decide on the best SaaS for your goals, or STS (shoot the sh*t). Regardless, I’m here to help!
Nearly 40 years ago, Nuno Bettencourt walked into Mouradian Guitar Co. in Boston, where Pat Badger was working. They formed a bond that would change their worlds—and ours—with the multi-platinum band Extreme. In March of 2024, Badger, Bettencourt, and their tech John Thayer invited PG’s John Bohlinger to talk through their current rig.
Brought to you by D'Addario:
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Washburn Wrecking Crew
This Washburn N4 was developed in collaboration with Nuno Bettencourt, Washburn, and Seattle-based luthier Stephen Davies. The guitar was introduced in the mid-to-late 1990s and became Bettencourt's primary guitar. The 4N features a balanced alder body with a Seymour Duncan ’59 in the neck and a Bill Lawrence L-500 in the bridge, plus an ebony fretboard and a Kahler whammy that was featured on the earliest iterations. Later production models included a Schaller tremolo before landing on the current Floyd Rose dive bomber for off-the-rack N4s. Nuno’s strings are a custom set of GHS Boomers (.009–.052) and his custom-made picks come from Grover Allman in Australia.
Sweet As Honey
This is “Bumble Bee,” a custom-painted N4 tribute to King Edward that was done by the luthier Craig Stofko behind CHS Custom Guitars, based out of Carmel, New York. It’s a standard Nuno Washburn signature, but with a maple fretboard (a first for Nuno and the N4 series).
Softer Sounds
This Washburn Festival EA20S-Nuno Bettencourt is in the video for Extreme’s song “More Than Words,” which was filmed over 30 years ago.
This custom-painted Washburn 12-string acoustic is heard on “Hole Hearted.”
Triple Duals
Nuno tours with three Marshall JCM 2000 Dual Super Leads. Usually, he only runs one through a Marshall 4x12 cab. (There are six total onstage but only one is hot and mic'd.) All the cabs are loaded with Celestion G12T-75s that combine a huge, tightly controlled low-end and aggressive mid-range with a softened top-end.
Nuno runs few effects. In front of the amp, there’s a battery powered Pro Co RAT (which stays on all the time), a Boss OC-5 Octave (plugged in and connected for just two solos), and a script logo MXR Phase 90 without a light. There’s also a Boss GT-8 that runs through the effects loop of the Marshall for delays.
Kingly Gifts
This Mouradian CS-74 bass is Pat Badger’s number-one. The alder-bodied bass, fitted with an EMG pickup, was built for Tom Hamilton from Aerosmith. About two years ago, Tom gave the bass to Pat. This and all of Badger’s basses are strung with Rotosound Ultramag Strings (.045–.105).
This Mouradian one-pickup bass was built for Michael Anthony from Van Halen. Michael passed it along to Pat a few years ago.
This classic ’80s Hamer Blitz bass is a recent Reverb purchase.
Badger's Den
Badger tours with two Ampeg amps: a SVT-4 Pro and a SVT Classic. There’s a wall of 4x10 cabs underneath them, but only one is used.
Pat runs his bass into a Boss TU-3 tuner, Boss GE-7 EQ, EHX Micro POG, Pro Co Rat, Tech 21 SansAmp Bass Driver DI, and EBS Billy Sheehan Signature Drive.
Shop Nuno Bettencourt & Pat Badger's Gear
Washburn N4-Nuno Vintage USA Electric Guitar
Washburn Nuno Bettencourt N4 Authentic Signature - Natural Matte
Seymour Duncan SH-1n '59 Model Neck 4-conductor Humbucker Pickup - Black
MXR CSP026 '74 Vintage Phase 90 Pedal
Pro Co RAT 2 Distortion / Fuzz / Overdrive Pedal
Boss OC-5
EMG 35DC Active Ceramic Modern Humbucker Bass Pickups
Rotosound UM45 UltraMag Type 52 Alloy Bass Guitar Strings - .045-.105 Standard 4-String
Ampeg SVT-CL 300
Ampeg SVT-810AV 8x10"
Ampeg SVT-4PRO 1200-watt Tube Preamp Bass Head
EBS Billy Sheehan Ultimate Signature Drive Pedal
Tech 21 SansAmp Bass Driver DI V2 Pedal
Electro-Harmonix Micro POG Polyphonic Octave Generator Pedal
Boss GE-7 7-band EQ Pedal
Boss TU-3 Chromatic Tuner Pedal with Bypass