Digital Marketing Foundations and Terminology

Introduction

Digital marketing is the planned use of digital technologies, platforms, data and communication practices to create, communicate, deliver and exchange value with customers and other stakeholders. It is not simply advertising on the internet. It includes the management of customer experiences across websites, search engines, social networks, email, mobile applications, online marketplaces, connected devices and other digitally mediated environments.

The importance of digital marketing arises from changes in both technology and customer behaviour. Customers can compare products instantly, publish opinions publicly, move between devices and expect timely, relevant interactions. Organisations can reach narrowly defined audiences, measure responses, personalise content and adjust campaigns rapidly. These advantages also create responsibilities involving privacy, transparency, accessibility, security and responsible use of data.

This chapter establishes the vocabulary and conceptual foundations required for later study of search marketing, content marketing, social media, online advertising, analytics, conversion optimisation and digital strategy.

Learning Objectives

After studying this chapter, you should be able to:

1. Explain the evolution, scope and organisational role of digital marketing.
2. Distinguish digital marketing from traditional marketing and explain their relationship.
3. Compare inbound, outbound, omnichannel, owned, paid and earned media.
4. Use essential digital-marketing terminology accurately.
5. Apply basic frameworks to a practical marketing situation.
6. Recognise important ethical, legal and managerial implications of digital activity.

1. The Evolution of Digital Marketing

Marketing has always involved understanding needs, designing value propositions, communicating with audiences and facilitating exchange. Digital marketing represents a major development in how these activities are performed, rather than a complete replacement for marketing principles.

1.1 From mass communication to interactive communication

Traditional mass marketing developed around channels such as newspapers, magazines, radio, television, direct mail and outdoor advertising. These channels generally delivered a planned message from an organisation to a relatively broad audience. Feedback existed, but it was often delayed or expensive to collect.

The spread of the internet introduced websites, email and online publishing. Organisations could provide information continuously rather than only during scheduled media placements. Search engines changed information discovery: customers could actively seek solutions, compare suppliers and investigate claims before contacting a seller.

Social media and participatory platforms then enabled customers to create, distribute and discuss content. The audience became not only a recipient but also a reviewer, recommender, critic and co-creator. Smartphones extended digital interaction into everyday physical settings, while applications, location services and mobile payment made digital marketing more immediate.

More recently, marketing has been influenced by marketing-automation systems, customer-data platforms, connected devices, artificial intelligence and privacy-oriented measurement. These developments increase operational capability but do not remove the need for judgement. Automation can scale a poor strategy as efficiently as a good one.

1.2 A simplified development sequence

A useful historical sequence is:

• Mass-media era: broad targeting and one-way communication.
• Early web era: organisational websites and email provide information and direct response.
• Search and e-commerce era: customers actively search, compare and transact online.
• Social and mobile era: participation, sharing, reviews and always-connected access become central.
• Data and automation era: organisations integrate customer data, automate journeys and optimise campaigns.
• Privacy-conscious and AI-assisted era: first-party relationships, consent, responsible automation and human oversight become increasingly important.

These stages overlap. Television, print, radio and physical stores remain relevant, and digital platforms frequently support traditional media. The most effective organisations therefore design integrated customer experiences rather than treating “digital” as an isolated department.

2. Scope and Role of Digital Marketing

Digital marketing operates across the customer lifecycle. Its activities can be grouped into five connected roles.

2.1 Market understanding

Digital research may involve search-query analysis, website behaviour, social listening, customer interviews, online reviews, competitor observation and first-party customer data. These sources can reveal customer problems and language, but they are not automatically representative. For example, social-media comments may overrepresent highly satisfied or dissatisfied individuals.

2.2 Value creation and positioning

Marketing contributes to decisions about target segments, products, services, pricing, delivery and brand meaning. Digital evidence can inform these decisions, but analytics should not be confused with strategy. A high number of clicks does not prove that an offer is valuable or profitable.

2.3 Communication and demand generation

Digital channels allow organisations to publish educational content, answer questions, promote offers, build communities, generate leads and support sales. Communication should express a clear value proposition: the relevant benefit, for a defined audience, supported by a credible reason to believe.

2.4 Conversion and transaction

Conversion is the completion of a desired action, such as purchasing, submitting an enquiry, downloading a guide, booking a consultation or installing an application. Conversion may occur online or offline. A digital advertisement may influence a store visit, telephone enquiry or later purchase.

2.5 Relationship and retention

After acquisition, digital marketing supports onboarding, customer service, loyalty, cross-selling, renewal and advocacy. Retention is strategically important because customer value may be realised over several purchases rather than one transaction. However, retention messages must remain useful; excessive or irrelevant contact can create dissatisfaction and regulatory risk.

Digital marketing therefore connects marketing with sales, customer service, information technology, legal compliance, finance, operations and senior management. A campaign promising next-day delivery, for example, is not successful if operations cannot fulfil that promise.

3. Digital Marketing and Traditional Marketing

Traditional marketing uses established offline channels and practices, while digital marketing uses digitally mediated channels and data systems. The distinction is useful but not absolute.

Digital does not automatically mean better. A local business may obtain strong results from signage, community events or radio. Conversely, a digital campaign may fail because the message, product, landing page or fulfilment process is weak. Integrated marketing selects channels according to objectives, audience behaviour, cost, reach, credibility and organisational capability.

4. Core Channel and Media Classifications

4.1 Owned, paid and earned media

The owned–paid–earned framework classifies media according to the organisation’s control and the way exposure is obtained.

Owned media are channels or assets substantially controlled by the organisation. Examples include a website, blog, email list, mobile application, product documentation, branded community and physical retail environment. Owned media provide continuity and a place to develop first-party relationships, although audience access is never completely guaranteed. Search algorithms, email filtering and platform changes can affect visibility.

Paid media involve purchasing exposure, access or distribution. Examples include search-engine advertisements, social-platform advertisements, display advertising, sponsorships, influencer fees, promoted content and paid listings. Paid media can provide scale and targeting, but exposure normally stops or decreases when spending stops. It may also involve invalid traffic, opaque auctions or brand-safety concerns.

Earned media are attention or advocacy obtained from others rather than directly purchased. Examples include editorial coverage, organic recommendations, customer reviews, backlinks, reposts and word-of-mouth. Earned media can be credible, but it is difficult to control. Organisations should not manipulate reviews or misrepresent paid relationships as independent recommendations.

The categories may overlap. A brand may publish a video on an owned website, pay to distribute it through a platform and receive earned sharing from viewers. The classification describes the distribution mechanism, not the quality of the content.

4.2 Inbound and outbound marketing

Inbound marketing attracts people by providing relevant value when they are exploring a need. Search-optimised articles, tutorials, webinars, comparison tools, newsletters and useful social content are common examples. Inbound activity seeks to earn attention and move prospects through stages such as awareness, consideration, conversion and retention.

Outbound marketing initiates contact by sending a message to a selected audience. Examples include display advertising, promotional email, telemarketing, direct messages, sponsored content and interruption-based advertising. Outbound methods can create awareness quickly and reach people who are not actively searching, but they can be intrusive if poorly targeted or excessive.

Inbound and outbound are not moral categories. A useful outbound advertisement can solve a problem, while an inbound article can be manipulative or inaccurate. The relevant questions are whether the communication is valuable, appropriately targeted, transparent and consistent with consent requirements.

4.3 Multichannel and omnichannel marketing

Multichannel marketing uses several channels, but the channels may operate as separate programmes. A retailer may have a website, app, email programme and physical stores managed by different teams, with inconsistent promotions or customer information.

Omnichannel marketing coordinates channels around a connected customer experience. Customers may discover a product through social media, research it on a website, receive an email reminder, purchase through an application and obtain service in a store. Omnichannel design seeks consistency in information, identity, pricing where appropriate, service expectations and customer history.

Omnichannel does not mean being present everywhere. It means making relevant channels work together. Integration may require common customer identifiers, consent management, inventory visibility, consistent content governance and clearly defined responsibility across departments.

5. The Customer Journey and the Marketing Funnel

The customer journey describes the stages and touchpoints through which a person moves before, during and after an interaction with an organisation. A simplified journey includes:

1. Awareness: the person recognises a need or becomes aware of a brand.
2. Consideration: alternatives, benefits, evidence and risks are evaluated.
3. Conversion: a desired action or transaction occurs.
4. Retention: the organisation supports continued use, renewal or repeat purchase.
5. Advocacy: a satisfied customer recommends or publicly supports the organisation.

The traditional funnel is useful for planning, but real journeys are not always linear. Customers may enter through a review, leave to compare competitors, return through a branded search and seek assistance after purchase. Multiple people may influence a business purchase, and the purchaser may not be the final user.

A touchpoint is any interaction between a customer and an organisation, including an advertisement, search result, website page, salesperson, delivery notification, product experience or service conversation. A micro-conversion is a smaller action indicating progress, such as viewing a product page or subscribing to an email list. A macro-conversion is the principal desired outcome, such as a completed purchase or qualified application.

A call to action (CTA) is an instruction encouraging a next step, such as “Request a quotation” or “Start a free trial.” A good CTA is specific, visible, relevant to the user’s stage and honest about what will happen next.

6. Essential Industry Terminology

Audience, targeting and value

• Target audience: the group an organisation intends to reach.
• Market segment: a group with shared characteristics, needs or behaviours that may respond differently to marketing.
• Persona: a research-informed representation of a typical user or buyer; it should not be treated as a literal description of every customer.
• Value proposition: a clear statement of the benefit offered, for whom, and why the offer is credible.
• Call to action: a prompt directing the audience toward a desired next step.

Content and distribution

• Content marketing: creating and distributing useful, relevant content to attract, inform, engage or retain a defined audience.
• Search engine optimisation (SEO): improving the relevance, accessibility and discoverability of content in unpaid search results.
• Search engine marketing (SEM): a broad term often used for marketing through search engines; organisations should specify whether they mean paid search, SEO or both.
• Landing page: a page designed for a specific campaign, audience or action.
• Reach: the number of distinct people or accounts exposed to content, subject to the measurement system used.
• Impression: one recorded instance of content or an advertisement being displayed.
• Frequency: the average number of exposures among the reached audience. In simple reporting, frequency may be estimated as total impressions divided by reach; this is an average, not a description of every individual’s exposure.

Response and performance

• Engagement: interaction with content, such as reactions, comments, shares, saves, video completion or time spent; definitions vary by platform.
• Click-through rate (CTR): the proportion of measured impressions that result in clicks. Under a standard impression-based definition:

Clicks and impressions must be measured consistently, and the result describes click response rather than sales quality.

• Conversion rate: the proportion of a defined population that completes a specified conversion:

The denominator must be stated. It may be sessions, users, clicks, leads or another defined opportunity set. Different denominators produce different rates.

• Cost per click (CPC): total spend divided by measured clicks.
• Cost per acquisition (CPA): total campaign spend divided by completed acquisitions, where an acquisition is clearly defined.
• Return on advertising spend (ROAS): attributed revenue divided by advertising spend. ROAS is not the same as profit because it may omit product costs, salaries, overhead and returns.
• Key performance indicator (KPI): a selected measure used to evaluate progress toward an objective.
• Attribution: a method for assigning credit for an outcome to one or more marketing interactions. Attribution is a modelling choice, not direct proof of causation.

Data, systems and experience

• First-party data: information collected directly by an organisation through its own interactions with customers or users, subject to notice and lawful processing.
• Third-party data: information obtained from an external organisation rather than collected directly from the individual; its quality, provenance and permitted use require scrutiny.
• Cookie: a small piece of data stored by a browser or similar technology. Cookies can support functions such as sessions, preferences and measurement, but their use may be restricted by law, browser policy or consent requirements.
• Customer relationship management (CRM): processes and systems for managing customer interactions, records and relationships.
• Marketing automation: software-supported execution of recurring or conditional tasks, such as email sequences or lead routing.
• Personalisation: adapting content, offers or experiences using known or inferred information about an individual or segment.
• User experience (UX): the user’s overall perception of interacting with a product, service, interface or process.
• Conversion rate optimisation (CRO): systematic improvement of experiences to increase the likelihood of a desired action.

7. Basic Planning Frameworks

7.1 The SOSTAC framework

SOSTAC provides a practical sequence for planning:

• Situation: Where are we now? Consider customers, competitors, capabilities and performance.
• Objectives: Where do we want to go? Objectives should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound where appropriate.
• Strategy: What broad approach will take us there? Define priority audiences, positioning and customer-journey choices.
• Tactics: Which channels, content, offers and activities will implement the strategy?
• Action: Who will do what, when, with which resources and dependencies?
• Control: How will performance, learning, compliance and corrective action be managed?

The framework prevents a common error: selecting a platform before defining the business objective and audience problem.

7.2 The PESO model

The PESO model groups distribution into Paid, Earned, Shared and Owned media. Shared media emphasises social distribution and community participation. The model helps planners combine paid reach, owned assets, earned credibility and shared interaction. It is complementary to the owned–paid–earned framework rather than a competing claim that one model is universally correct.

7.3 Objectives, metrics and measurement quality

A sound measurement plan connects business objectives to indicators. For example:

A metric is useful only when its definition, data source, time period, denominator and decision purpose are clear. Vanity metrics may look impressive but offer little guidance, such as follower counts without evidence of relevant reach or business impact.

8. Worked Application: Interpreting a Campaign Report

Suppose a campaign records 50,000 impressions, 1,250 clicks, 100 completed purchases and advertising spend of $2,000. Using the definitions above:

If the denominator for conversion rate is clicks:

The cost per acquisition is:

These results do not by themselves establish campaign success. The marketer must compare the $20 CPA with contribution margin, customer quality, returns, repeat purchase, the campaign objective and an appropriate benchmark. If purchases were counted using a last-click rule, the report may also understate the contribution of earlier exposures.

The example illustrates three principles: metrics require definitions, arithmetic does not establish causality, and business interpretation requires financial and customer context.

9. Illustrative Case: GreenBite Meal Kits

Background

GreenBite is a fictional small business selling plant-based meal kits through a website and selected supermarkets. It has a limited advertising budget, inconsistent email activity and strong customer reviews. Its management wants to increase online subscriptions without damaging trust.

Problem

The company initially proposes spending most of its budget on short-term social advertisements because competitors appear to receive many comments and views. However, GreenBite does not yet know which customer segment is most valuable, whether its landing page communicates delivery conditions clearly, or whether its fulfilment operation can support rapid growth.

Analysis

A situation analysis identifies two priority segments: busy professionals seeking convenient weekday meals and environmentally conscious households seeking reduced food waste. Interviews reveal that both groups value convenience, but the second group requires credible evidence about packaging and sourcing. Website data show substantial product-page visits but a low subscription completion rate. Customer-service records show confusion about delivery areas and cancellation terms.

The team distinguishes objectives from tactics. The objective is to increase qualified subscriptions while maintaining profitable fulfilment and transparent customer relationships. It chooses a strategy based on useful recipe content, search visibility for relevant meal-planning questions, a clearer subscription landing page, email onboarding and carefully targeted paid search.

Approach and solution

GreenBite creates an owned content hub with recipes and storage guidance, supported by evidence-based sustainability information. It improves accessibility, displays delivery charges and cancellation terms before checkout, and uses a clear CTA: “Choose your first four meals.” Paid search targets high-intent queries, while social advertising retargets visitors only where consent and platform rules permit. Email messages explain the service, provide preparation advice and invite feedback rather than sending constant discounts.

Measurement is arranged around a defined funnel: landing-page visits, completed meal selection, subscription, first delivery and second-order retention. The team uses tagged links and a CRM, documents definitions and reviews results by segment. It avoids treating every reported platform conversion as an incremental sale and compares campaign periods with suitable historical or experimental evidence.

Outcome

In this illustrative case, the improved landing page increases completed meal selection, while the strongest long-term improvement comes from clearer delivery information and onboarding. Paid search generates fewer but more qualified visitors than broad social promotion. Management continues both paid and owned activity, but reallocates budget toward profitable segments and improves operational coordination before expanding reach.

Learning points

1. Channel popularity is not a substitute for a defined objective.
2. Customer experience and fulfilment are part of digital marketing performance.
3. Owned content can support discovery, trust and retention.
4. Measurement definitions must be agreed before results are compared.
5. Ethical transparency can improve both compliance and commercial credibility.

10. Ethics, Governance and Regulation

Digital marketing creates asymmetries of information and influence. Responsible practice requires more than legal minimum compliance.

Privacy and consent: Organisations should collect only data that are necessary for stated purposes, provide understandable notices, protect personal information and respect applicable consent and withdrawal requirements. Requirements vary by jurisdiction; marketers must consult current law and organisational legal guidance.

Transparency: Sponsored content, affiliate relationships, endorsements, material conditions and automated interactions should be disclosed clearly. Claims about price, performance, health, environmental impact or scarcity should be evidence-based and not misleading.

Fairness and inclusion: Targeting and automated decision systems can exclude groups or reproduce historical bias. Marketers should test audiences, creative and outcomes for discriminatory effects and provide accessible experiences.

Security and governance: Access controls, retention schedules, vendor assessment, incident response and data-quality procedures reduce operational risk. A CRM record should not be treated as accurate merely because it is stored in a system.

Children and vulnerable audiences: Additional safeguards may be required when marketing reaches children or people vulnerable to manipulation. Dark patterns—interfaces designed to pressure, confuse or obstruct user choice—undermine informed consent.

Artificial intelligence: AI can assist with ideation, segmentation, forecasting, translation, customer-service triage and creative variation. Risks include fabricated claims, copyright concerns, confidential-data leakage, bias, poor disclosure and over-automation. Professional practice requires human review, documented prompts or sources where relevant, quality testing, brand controls and a clear escalation route.

11. Challenges and Limitations

Digital marketing is often described as highly measurable, but measurement remains imperfect. Users may switch devices, block tracking, delete cookies, use privacy tools or interact offline. Platforms define metrics differently, and attribution systems can claim credit for outcomes that would have occurred without advertising.

Other challenges include algorithmic changes, platform dependency, ad fraud, bot activity, content saturation, short attention cycles, cybersecurity threats and the pressure to optimise immediate clicks at the expense of brand trust. A/B testing can improve a page under particular conditions, but results may not generalise to other audiences or periods. Correlation between exposure and purchase is not proof that exposure caused the purchase.

Good practice combines quantitative evidence with qualitative research, controlled comparisons where feasible, customer feedback, financial analysis and professional judgement. It also preserves durable assets such as customer trust, useful content, service quality and direct relationships rather than relying entirely on rented platform access.

12. Best-Practice Principles

1. Begin with a customer or organisational problem, not a favourite platform.
2. Define the audience, value proposition, objective and conversion before selecting tactics.
3. Use owned, paid, earned and shared activity in a coordinated way.
4. Design for the whole journey, including post-purchase service and retention.
5. State metric definitions, denominators, attribution rules and data limitations.
6. Prioritise relevance and usefulness over excessive frequency.
7. Integrate marketing promises with sales, operations and customer service.
8. Obtain appropriate permissions and protect personal information.
9. Make content, sponsorship, automated interactions and commercial conditions transparent.
10. Test responsibly, learn from evidence and retain human accountability.

Chapter Summary

Digital marketing is the strategic use of digital technologies, channels, data and interactions to create and exchange value across the customer lifecycle. It evolved from websites and email through search, social, mobile, automation and AI-assisted systems, while traditional media remain important in integrated marketing.

Owned media are controlled organisational assets; paid media are purchased exposure; earned media result from independent attention or advocacy. Inbound marketing attracts audiences through relevant value, whereas outbound marketing initiates contact. Multichannel activity uses several channels, while omnichannel activity coordinates them around a connected experience. The customer journey includes awareness, consideration, conversion, retention and advocacy, although actual journeys are non-linear.

Essential terminology includes SEO, SEM, landing page, reach, impression, engagement, CTR, conversion rate, CPA, ROAS, KPI, attribution, CRM, personalisation and CRO. Metrics require precise definitions and do not automatically demonstrate causation or profitability. Effective planning connects situation, objectives, strategy, tactics, action and control. Ethical practice requires privacy, transparency, fairness, accessibility, security and human accountability, particularly when AI and automated decision systems are used.

Key Terms

Digital marketing: Marketing conducted through digital technologies, channels, data and interactions.

Traditional marketing: Marketing using established offline media and practices such as print, radio, television and outdoor advertising.

Owned media: Organisational channels or assets substantially controlled by the organisation.

Paid media: Exposure or distribution purchased by an organisation.

Earned media: Attention, coverage or advocacy gained from independent parties or audiences.

Inbound marketing: Attracting audiences through relevant and useful content or experiences.

Outbound marketing: Initiating communication with a selected audience.

Omnichannel marketing: Coordinating channels to provide a connected customer experience.

Customer journey: The stages and interactions through which a customer moves before, during and after an exchange.

Touchpoint: An interaction between a customer and an organisation.

SEO: Improving the discoverability and relevance of unpaid search results.

SEM: Marketing through search engines, commonly referring to paid search, SEO or both.

Landing page: A page designed for a particular campaign, audience or action.

Impression: A recorded display of content or advertising.

Click-through rate: Clicks divided by measured impressions, expressed as a percentage.

Conversion rate: Completed conversions divided by a defined set of eligible opportunities.

CPA: Campaign spend divided by completed acquisitions.

Attribution: A method for assigning credit for an outcome to marketing interactions.

CRM: Processes and systems for managing customer relationships and interactions.

Marketing automation: Software-supported execution of recurring or conditional marketing tasks.

Review Questions

Short Answer Questions

1. What is digital marketing, and why is it broader than online advertising?
2. State two differences between digital and traditional marketing.
3. Define owned, paid and earned media and give one example of each.
4. What is the difference between inbound and outbound marketing?
5. Why must the denominator be specified when reporting a conversion rate?

Long Answer Questions

1. Explain the evolution of digital marketing from mass communication to privacy-conscious, AI-assisted marketing.
2. Compare multichannel and omnichannel marketing, including organisational requirements for omnichannel coordination.
3. Explain the customer journey and discuss why the traditional funnel may not represent all real customer behaviour.
4. Describe the SOSTAC framework and show how it can guide a digital marketing plan.
5. Discuss the ethical, legal and governance responsibilities of organisations using customer data and AI.

Analytical / Application Questions

1. A retailer receives 80,000 impressions, 2,000 clicks and 120 purchases from a campaign costing $3,000. Calculate CTR, click-based conversion rate and CPA, then explain why these figures are insufficient by themselves to judge profitability.
2. A college has a website, social accounts, email newsletter and campus events, but each team publishes different course information. Diagnose the multichannel and omnichannel issues and recommend three improvements.
3. A small service business wants more leads but plans to measure success only by follower growth. Critique this KPI choice and propose an objective, a conversion definition and three more suitable measures.

Multiple Choice Questions with Answers

Question 1

Which statement best describes digital marketing?

A. Only paid advertising displayed on social-media platforms

B. The use of digital technologies, channels, data and interactions to create and exchange value

C. The replacement of all traditional marketing with websites

D. The automated sale of products without human involvement

Correct Answer: B. The use of digital technologies, channels, data and interactions to create and exchange value

Question 2

Which is an example of owned media?

A. A newspaper article written independently about a brand

B. A sponsored search advertisement

C. A company’s email newsletter sent to its permission-based list

D. A customer’s unpaid product recommendation

Correct Answer: C. A company’s email newsletter sent to its permission-based list

Question 3

What distinguishes omnichannel marketing from basic multichannel marketing?

A. Omnichannel uses only mobile applications

B. Omnichannel coordinates channels around a connected customer experience

C. Omnichannel excludes physical stores

D. Omnichannel always uses more channels

Correct Answer: B. Omnichannel coordinates channels around a connected customer experience

Question 4

Which activity is most characteristic of inbound marketing?

A. Publishing a useful guide that answers a customer’s search question

B. Interrupting television programming with an advertisement

C. Purchasing a billboard beside a competitor’s store

D. Sending unsolicited promotional messages to every available contact

Correct Answer: A. Publishing a useful guide that answers a customer’s search question

Question 5

A campaign records 40,000 impressions and 1,000 clicks. What is its click-through rate?

A. 0.25%

B. 2.5%

C. 4%

D. 40%

Correct Answer: B. 2.5%

Question 6

Why should a marketer state the denominator when reporting conversion rate?

A. Because all conversion rates must use impressions

B. Because different denominators produce different interpretations

C. Because conversion rates cannot be expressed as percentages

D. Because the denominator determines the advertising platform

Correct Answer: B. Because different denominators produce different interpretations

Question 7

Which statement about attribution is most accurate?

A. It proves that the credited touchpoint caused the purchase

B. It is a method for assigning credit to marketing interactions and depends on a chosen model

C. It is identical to measuring profit

D. It applies only to offline advertising

Correct Answer: B. It is a method for assigning credit to marketing interactions and depends on a chosen model

Question 8

Which measure is most directly associated with advertising efficiency in relation to completed acquisitions?

A. Cost per acquisition

B. Reach

C. Impressions

D. Follower count

Correct Answer: A. Cost per acquisition

Question 9

Which is an appropriate ethical practice when using AI in digital marketing?

A. Publishing AI-generated claims without review to increase speed

B. Uploading confidential customer data to any public AI tool

C. Maintaining human review, testing outputs and protecting personal information

D. Hiding all automated interactions from customers

Correct Answer: C. Maintaining human review, testing outputs and protecting personal information

Question 10

What is a key limitation of digital marketing measurement?

A. Digital activity can never be measured numerically

B. Users, platforms and devices create gaps and inconsistencies in tracking and attribution

C. Digital campaigns cannot influence offline purchases

D. All platforms use identical metric definitions

Correct Answer: B. Users, platforms and devices create gaps and inconsistencies in tracking and attribution