7 Conversion Marketing Terms as Explained by Urban Dictionary

Conversion marketing is serious business over here. In fact, we care about it so much that we created a whole glossary to help explain it to the world.

But clearly, not everyone is on the same page as us. And we’re okay with that – especially when the results make us LOL.

So take a break from your super serious life to peek deep into the armpit of the internet (aka Urban Dictionary) and compare actual conversion marketing definitions to more… creative ones.

Since context is everything, let’s start there.

1. Context

Good marketing experiences don’t leave prospects hanging. Smart marketers keep the conversion going from click to click, acknowledging where prospects came from.

And that’s really what context is all about. Here’s the down-low from Oli Gardner:

Oli’s definition:

On a high converting landing page, typically context is used to design an experience that speaks to the desires and motivations that someone had prior to clicking on your ad.

But what do the pros over at Urban Dictionary have to say about context?

Urban Dictionary’s definition:

That’s a good start, right? Sounds like a reasonable explanation.

Oh, wait a minute…

Well that escalated quickly.

2. Credibility

Credibility is an age-old (but still important) marketing concept. In a nutshell, it tells people whether the operation you’re running is to be trusted.

Here’s how Peep Laja explains it:

Peep Laja’s definition:

You say you’re awesome, but is that enough? You want to come across as somebody savvy that knows what they’re doing. And you need to back it up with proof.

Proof could come in the form of endorsements, testimonials, badges, yada yada. You’re probably sick of reading about credibility.

But what do the goons over at UD have to say about it?

Urban Dictionary’s definition:

Sounds like Bob could use some social proof to help his case.

3. Friction

Friction is the psychological resistance that visitors experience when trying to complete an action.

It can be caused by unclear messaging, lack of information or unintuitive layout (and so many other things).

As Bryan Eisenberg sees it, though, the presence of friction is an opportunity for improvement:

Bryan’s definition:

Where there is friction there is opportunity. Either you solve it for your customers today or a competitor will do it tomorrow.

But what does friction mean for the users of Urban Dictionary?

Urban Dictionary’s definition:

In other words, “friction bad.”

Half a point.

4. Hero shot

Let’s pull this definition straight from the Conversion Glossary.

Conversion Glossary definition:

A visual representation of your offer that demonstrates how your product or service actually works so your prospects can picture themselves using it.

The hero shot is generally a photo or a video and should clearly show benefits and context of use.

Pretty straightforward. Let’s see what the UD trolls had to say about this one…

Urban Dictionary’s definition:

Actually, they basically nailed it.

Choose the ideal image of your product or service in action and put it front and center on your landing page. There’s your hero shot.

5. Landing page

You really should know what a landing page is by now. Nothing new here.

But just in case, here’s how Oli breaks it all down:

Oli’s definition:

Now let’s see how Urban Dictionary so eloquently puts it…

Urban Dictionary’s definition:

Whoa, that’s not very nice!

Clearly someone had a brutal landing page experience he’ll never forget. I kind of feel his pain.

Let’s move on to my personal favorite…

6. Lead

A lead is someone who has shown interest in your business by providing their email or other contact information.

Why does this matter to marketers? Let’s see what Kipp Bodnar has to say about that.

Kipp’s definition:

Leads are the metric that, as marketers, we have to rely on. Because leads mean money.

Lead, on the other hand…

Urban Dictionary’s definition

Err… I think that’s exactly the opposite of what we want.

Alright, one more before we get back to the real world…

7. Urgency

Urgency is another one of those age-old sales/marketing tricks; the use of trigger words such as “act now” or “limited supply” to increase your prospects sense of having to act now.

Or, as Neil Patel puts it…

Neil’s definition:

Urgency is when a buyer feels like they need to act quickly… [it’s] the feeling that whatever is going on is really important, and therefore, immediate action should be taken.

Check out this example of urgency straight from NeilPatel.com:

A great illustrative example. Almost as evocative as the one from Urban Dictionary…

Urban Dictionary’s definition:

Damn son.

The verdict?

Surprisingly, it seems as though some of these trolls have a bit of marketing knowledge after all.

Who’da thunk? ¯_(ツ)_/¯

Let us know some of your favorite “alternative” definitions of common conversion terms in the comments.*

*Warning: Urban Dictionary is pretty NSFW. My computer is probably going to be confiscated once IT sees my search history…

— Tia Kelly