Social Media | SEO/SEM | Web Site Design |
Search Engine Marketing Glossary Terms
Above The Fold - the portion of a Web page that is viewable without scrolling.
Ad Blocking - the blocking of Web advertisements, typically the image in graphical Web advertisements.
Ad Click Rate - Sometimes referred to as "click-through," this is the percentage of ad views that resulted in an ad click.
Ad Clicks - Number of times users click on an ad banner.
Ad Network - An aggregator or broker of advertising inventory from many sites - 24/7 Media is an Ad Network.
Ad Space - the space on a Web page available for advertisements.
Ad Views (Impressions) - Number of times an ad banner is downloaded and presumably seen by visitors. If the same ad appears on multiple pages simultaneously, this statistic may understate the number of ad impressions, due to browser caching. Corresponds to net impressions in traditional media. There is currently no way of knowing if an ad was actually loaded. Most servers record an ad as served even if it was not.
Advertising Network - a network representing many Web sites in selling advertising, allowing advertising buyers to reach broad audiences relatively easily through run-of-category and run-of-network buys.
Address - A unique identifier for a computer or site online, usually a URL for a web site or marked with an @ for an email address. Literally, it is how your computer finds a location on the information highway.
Add URL - (see Search Engine Submission)
Affiliate - the publisher/salesperson in an affiliate marketing relationship.
Affiliate Directory - a categorized listing of affiliate programs.
Affiliate Forum - an online community where visitors may read and post topics related to affiliate marketing.
Affiliate Fraud - bogus activity generated by an affiliate in an attempt to generate illegitimate, unearned revenue.
Affiliate Marketing - revenue sharing between online advertisers/merchants and online publishers/salespeople, whereby compensation is based on performance measures, typically in the form of sales, clicks, registrations, or a hybrid model.
Affiliate Merchant - the advertiser in an affiliate marketing relationship.
Affiliate Network - a value-added intermediary providing services, including aggregation, for affiliate merchants and affiliates.
Affiliate Software - software that, at a minimum, provides tracking and reporting of commission-triggering actions (sales, registrations, or clicks) from affiliate links.
ALT Text - HTML attribute that provides alternative text when non-textual elements, typically images, cannot be displayed.
Animated GIF - a graphic in the GIF89a file format that creates the effect of animation by rotating through a series of static images.
Anchor - A word, phrase or graphic image, in hypertext, it is the object that is highlighted, underlined or "clickable" which links to another site.
Applet - An application program written in Java which allows viewing of simple animation on web pages.
Application Service Provider - provider of applications/services that are distributed through a network to many customers in exchange for a stream of smaller payments as opposed to one fixed, upfront price.
ARPA (Advanced Research Project Agency) - The U.S. Department of Defense agency that, in conjunction with leading universities, created ARPAnet, the precursor of the internet.
Auditor - Third-party company that tracks, counts and verifies ad-banner requests or verifies a Web site's ad reporting system.
Avatar - A digital representation of a user in a virtual reality site.
B2B - business that sells products or provides services to other businesses.
B2C - business that sells products or provides services to the end-user consumers.
Backbone - A high-speed line or series of connections that forms a large pathway within a network. The term is relative to the size of network it is serving. A backbone in a small network would probably be much smaller than many non-backbone lines in a large network.
Bandwidth - How much information (text, images, video, sound) can be sent through a connection. Usually measured in bits-per-second. A full page of text is about 16,000 bits. A fast modem can move approximately 15,000 bits in one second. Full-motion full-screen video requires about 10,000,000 bits-per-second, depending on compression.
Banner Ad - a graphical web advertising unit, typically measuring 468 pixels wide and 60 pixels tall. Web sites that are usually "hot-linked" to the advertiser's site.
Banner Blindness - the tendency of web visitors to ignore banner ads, even when the banner ads contain information visitors are actively looking for.
Banner Exchange - network where participating sites display banner ads in exchange for credits which are converted (using a predetermined exchange rate) into ads to be displayed on other sites.
Barter - to exchange goods or services directly without the use of money.
BBS (Bulletin Board System) - Software that enables users to log into email, usenet and chat groups via modem.
Beta - This term has migrated from computer and software development, and it is usually used as "beta site." It means test site or test version. Beta is not the finally version of a product or web site, but it's close enough to show in public and work the bugs out.
Beyond The Banner - online advertising not involving standard GIF and JPEG banner ads.
Blog - A frequent, chronological publication of personal thoughts and Web links.
Bookmark - a link stored in a Web browser for future reference. A bookmark is an easy way to find your way back to a web site just like a real bookmark helps you keep your place in a book you are reading.
Bounce - This is what happens when email returns as undeliverable.
Branding - A school of advertising that says, "If the consumer has heard of us, we've done our job." Fortunately for agencies, brand value is extremely difficult to measure, so branding campaigns can be easily defended with grandiose predictions of future glory.
Browser - An application used to view information from the Internet. Browsers provide a user-friendly interface for navigating through and accessing the vast amount of information on the Internet.
Browser Caching - To speed surfing, browsers store recently used pages on a user's disk. If a site is revisited, browsers display pages from the disk instead of requesting them from the server. As a result, servers under-count the number of times a page is viewed.
Browsing - A term that refers to exploring an online area, usually on the World Wide Web.
Buttons - Objects that, when clicked once, cause something to happen.
Button Ad - a graphical advertising unit, smaller than a banner ad.
Button Exchange - network where participating sites display button ads in exchange for credits which are converted (using a predetermined exchange rate) into ads to be displayed on other sites.
Buzzword - a trendy word or phrase that is used more to impress than explain.
Cache - Cache is a storage area for frequently accessed information. Retrieval of the information is faster from the cache than the originating source. There are many types of cache including RAM cache, secondary cache, disk cache, and cache memory to name a few.
Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) - a data format used to separate style from structure on Web pages.
CD-ROM - Compact Disk-Read Only Memory, a storage medium popular in modern computers. One CD-ROM can hold 600 MB of data.
CGI - Common Gateway Interface. An interface-creation scripting program that allows Web pages to be made on the fly based on information from buttons, checkboxes, text input, etc.
Chat Room - An area online where you can chat with other members in real-time.
Click - The opportunity for a visitor to be transferred to a location by clicking on an ad, as recorded by the server.
Click-Through Rate - Percentage of times a user responded to an advertisement by clicking on the ad button/banner. At one time the granddaddy of Web-marketing measurements, click-through is based on the idea that online promotions that do what they're intended to do will elicit a click.
Click-Through Rate (CTR) - The average number of click-throughs per hundred ad impressions, expressed as a percentage.
Conversion Rate - the percentage of visitors who take a desired action.
Cookie - A file on your computer that records information such as where you have been on the World Wide Web. The browser stores this information which allows a site to remember the browser in future transactions or requests. Since the Web's protocol has no way to remember requests, cookies read and record a userÕs browser type and IP address, and store this information on the userÕs own computer. The cookie can be read only by a server in the domain that stored it. Visitors can accept or deny cookies, by changing a setting in their browser preferences.
Cost-Per-Action (CPA) - online advertising payment model in which payment is based solely on qualifying actions such as sales or registrations.
Cost Per Click (CPC) - Cost Per Click, the cost or cost-equivalent paid per click-through.
Cost Per Lead (CPL) - Cost Per Lead, the cost or lead paid for each lead referred to an affiliate site.
CPM - cost per thousand impressions. The letter M represents the Roman numeral for thousand.
CPT - Cost Per Transaction
CPTM - Cost per targeted thousand impressions.
CPU (Central Processing Unit) - The Central Processing Unit is the main "brain" of the computer, where the information is processed and calculations are done.
Coverage - The percentage of a population group covered by the Internet.
Crawler - A software that websites use to index pages throughout a site or several web sites on the internet.
Creative - The technology used to create or develop an ad unit. The most common creative technology for banners is GIF or JPEG images. Other creative technologies include Java, - HTML, or streaming audio or video. These are commonly referred to as rich media banners.
Customer Acquisition Cost - the cost associated with acquiring a new customer.
Cyberspace - Coined by author William Gibson in his 1984 novel Neuromancer," cyberspace is now used to describe all of the information available through computer networks.
Deep Linking - linking to a web page other than a site's home page.
Deep Web - (see invisible Web)
Description Tag - an HTML tag used by Web page authors to provide a description for search engine listings.
Direct Response - The school of advertising that says, "The Internet is an interactive medium. If the consumer interacts with our marketing efforts, we've done our job." Unfortunately for agencies, there's nowhere to hide with interactive campaigns, as they produce precise success or failure measurements.
Disintermediation - the elimination of intermediaries in the supply chain, also referred to as "cutting out the middlemen."
Domain Name - A domain is the main subdivision of internet addresses, the last three letters after the final dot, and it tells you what kind of organization you are dealing with. There are six top-level domains widely used in the US: .com (commercial) .edu educational),.net (network operations), .gov (US government), mil (US military) and .org (organization). Other, two letter domains represent countries; thus;.uk for the United Kingdom and so on.
Domain Consolidation Level - Data reflects the consolidation of multiple domain names and/or URL's associated with the main site.
Doorway Domain - a domain used specifically to rank well in search engines for particular keywords, serving as an entry point through which visitors pass to the main domain.
Doorway Page - a page made specifically to rank well in search engines for particular keywords, serving as an entry point through which visitors pass to the main content. Doorway pages when used in bulk are considered to be search engine spam.
Drill Down - A term used to express what a surfer does as he or she goes further into a web site, deeper into the back pages, deeper into data. Make certain that when someone takes the time to "drill down" into your site that they come back with information worth digging for.
Dynamic Rotation - Advertisements rotate on a timed or pre-designated basis.
Email - Electronic Mail, text files that are sent from one person to another.
Emailing - The sending of Email, text files that are sent from one person to another.
Email Marketing - the promotion of products or services via email.
Email Spam - unwanted, unsolicited email.
Emoticons - The online means of facial expressions and gestures. Examples: :) Tip your head to the left and you will see the two eyes and smiling mouth. Use them where applicable in chats and e-mail. Other emoticons include: :( sad :0 surprised o:) innocent.
Exclusivity - contract term in which one party grants another party sole rights with regard to a particular business function.
Ezine - an electronic magazine, whether delivered via a Web site or an email newsletter.
Ezine Directory - directory of electronic magazines, typically of the email variety.
FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) - FAQ is a commonly used abbreviation for "Frequently Asked Questions." Most Internet sites will have a "FAQ" to explain what is in the area and how to use its features.
Favicon - a small icon that is used by some browsers to identify a bookmarked Web site.
FFA - free-for-all links list, where there are no qualifications for adding a link.
Firewall - A security barrier placed between an organization's internal computer network either its IS system or intranet and the internet. It keeps your information in, and unwanted people out. It consists of one or more routers which accept, reject or edit transmitted information and requests.
First-Mover Advantage - a sometimes insurmountable advantage gained by the first significant company to move into a new market.
Flame - An intentionally crude or abusive email message or usenet post. Rule: Don't do it. Ever. Not only is it bad netiquette, you
leave a trail.
Flash - multimedia technology developed by Macromedia to allow much interactivity to fit in a relatively small file size.
Forms - The pages in most browsers that accept information in text-entry fields. They can be customized to receive company sales data and orders, expense reports or other information. They can also be used to communicate.
Forum - an online community where visitors may read and post topics of common interest.
Frames - a structure that allows for the dividing of a Web page into two or more independent parts. The use of multiple, independent sections to create a single Web page. Each frame is built as a separate HTML file but with one "master' file to identify each section. When a user requests a page with frames, several pages will be displayed as panes. Sites using frames may report one page request with several panes as multiple page requests. Most audit firms count only the master HTML page request and therefore can accurately report the page requests.
Free - without monetary cost.
Freeware - Shareware, or software, that can be downloaded off the internet for free.
Frequency Cap - restriction on the amount of times a specific visitor is shown a particular advertisement. The number of times an ad is delivered to the same browser in a single session or time period. A site needs to use cookies in order to manage ad frequency.
FTP - File Transfer Protocol. A protocol that allows the transfer of files from one computer to another. FTP can also be used as a verb.
Gateway - A link from one computer system to a different computer system.
GIF (Graphic Interchange Format) - GIF (pronounced "gift") is a graphics format that can be displayed on almost all web browsers. It is a common compression format used for transferring graphics files between different computers. Most of the "pictures" you see online are GIF files. They display in 256 colors and have built-in compression. GIF images are the most common form of banner creative.
GIF89a or Animated GIF - A GIF animation tool that creates sequences of images to simulate animation and allows for transparent background colors. Animated GIF's can generate higher response rates than static banners.
Gross Exposures - Each time a Web server sends a file to a browser, it is recorded in the server log file as a "hit." Hits are generated for every element of a requested page (including graphics, text and interactive items). If a page containing two graphics is viewed by a user, three hits will be recorded - one for the page itself and one for each graphic. Webmasters use hits to measure their server's work load. Because page designs vary greatly, hits are a poor guide for traffic measurement.
Guerilla Marketing - unconventional marketing intended to get maximum results from minimal resources.
Hacker - Originally used to describe a computer enthusiast who pushed a system to its highest performance through clever programming. The term Hacker has since been used to identify computer enthusiasts who use their abilities to enhance and better computer systems these hackers are referred to as White Hat, the term is also used to describe those who use their abilities to alter computer systems in a negative way also known as Black Hat.
Helper Application - This term refers to software programs that run along with browser programs enabling them to perform additional functions. Good examples are Shockwave for downloading and viewing moving images and RealAudio for hearing sounds and music online.
History List - Most browsers have a pull-down menu which displays the sites you've recently visited so you can return to site instantly or view your latest surfing session. The same mechanism makes it possible for servers to track where you were before visiting a particular site better viewing habit information than television networks ever dreamed of providing.
Hit - The sending of a single file, whether text, graphic, audio or other type of file. When a page request is made, all elements or files that comprise the page are recorded as hits on a servers log file. While there is no accurate formula for determining the number of visitors to a page or site based on the number of hits one visitor could go back and forth twenty times or twenty people could visit a single time each a hit at least indicates somebody was there. Thus, hits can be far more valuable than the tracking devices in any other media.
Home Page - the main page of a Web site. The page designated as the main point of entry of a Web site (or main page) or the starting point when a browser first connects to the Internet. Typically, it welcomes you and introduces the purpose of the site, or the organization sponsoring it, and then provides links to the lower-level pages of the site. In business terms, it's the grabber. If your home page downloads too slowly, or it's unclear or uninteresting, you will probably lose a customer.
Host - An Internet host used to be a single machine connected to the Internet (which meant it had a unique IP address). As a host, it made available to other machines on the network certain services. However, virtual hosting has now meant that one physical host can now be actually many virtual hosts.
Hot lists - These can be pull-down or pop-up menus on browsers that contain new or popular sites. Major browser and search engine home pages also contain updated hot lists, and there are entire sites such as Cool Site O' the Day.
House Ad - self-promotional ad a company runs on their own site/network to use unsold inventory.
HTML - Hypertext Markup Language is a coding language used to make hypertext documents for use on the Web. HTML resembles old-fashioned typesetting code, where a block of text is surrounded by codes that indicate how it should appear. HTML allows text to be "linked" to another file on the Internet.
HTML Banner - a banner ad using HTML elements, often including interactive forms instead of (or in addition to) standard graphical elements.
HTML Email - email that is formatted using Hypertext Markup Language, as opposed to plain text email.
HTTP - Hyper-Text Transfer Protocol, the format of the World Wide Web. When a browser sees "HTTP" at the beginning of an address, it knows that it is viewing a WWW page.
Hypertext - Any text that that can be chosen by a reader and which causes another document to be retrieved and displayed.
Hyperlink - This is the clickable link in text or graphics on a web page that takes you to another place on the same page, another page or a whole other site. It is the single most powerful and important function of online communications. Hyperlinks are revolutionizing the way the world gets its information.
Hybrid Model - a combination of two or more online marketing payment models.
Impression (Ad Impression or Page Impression) - a single instance of an online advertisement being displayed.
Inbound link - a link from a site outside of your site.
Incentive Traffic - visitors who have received some form of compensation for visiting a site.
Infopreneur - Someone who starts up a business in information technology or online communications.
Interactive Agency - an agency offering a mix of Web design/development, Internet advertising/marketing, or E-Business/E-Commerce consulting.
Interactivity - If your web site isn't interactive, it's dead.
Internet - A collection of independent, inter-connected networks that use the TCP/IP protocols and that evolved from ARPANet of the late '60s and early '70s. The Net," is a worldwide system of computer networks providing reliable and redundant connectivity between disparate computers and systems by using common transport and data protocols.
Internet Domain Name - The unique name that identifies an Internet entity.
Internet Marketing - A form of online marketing strategies to help a website improve its ranking in search engines and can also refer to marketing strategies that include Website Optimization, displaying ads, or links throughout the internet with the common goal of improving the quantity and quality of visitors to a web site.
Internet Marketing Company - A company that provides Internet Marketing and often Search Engine Marketing for their clients.
Internet Marketing Software - search engine optimization software. Internet Marketing Software is an online or offline application that is intended to help webmasters optimize their WebPages to make them more search engine friendly.
Interstitial - an advertisement that loads between two content pages. Means "something in between" and is a page that is inserted in the normal flow of content between a user and a site. An Interstitial Ad is an "intrusive" ad unit that is spontaneously delivered without specifically being requested by a user. Blocking the site behind it, Interstitial Ads are designed to grab consumers' attention for the few nanoseconds it takes them to close the window. Interstitials can be full pages or small daughter windows. Also referred to as "pop-ups."
Intranet - Intranets are private networks, usually maintained by corporations for internal communications, which use web protocols, software and servers. They are relatively inexpensive, fast, and reliable networking and information warehouse systems that link offices around the world. They make it is easy for corporate users to communicate with one another, and to access the information resources of the internet.
IRC (Internet Relay Chat) - A facility that allows people from many different places in the world at one time to chat in real time. The chats, or forums, are typed remarks, and they can be either public or private. This, understandably, is a wildly popular consumer area of the internet. A sort of "ham radio" for the '90s, it offers intimacy combined with autonomy. Many celebrities are also talking to the public at pre-announced times, so IRC has commercial publicity uses, too. Business meetings can be conducted in the same way.
Invisible Web - the portion of the Web not indexed by search engines.
Inventory - The number of ads available for sale on a Web site. Ad inventory is determined by the number of ads on a page, the number of pages containing ad space and the number of page requests.
IP Address - Internet Protocol address. Every system connected to the Internet has a unique IP address, which consists of a number in the format A.B.C.D where each of the four sections is a decimal number from 0 to 255. Most people use Domain Names instead and the resolution between Domain Names and IP addresses is handled by the network and the Domain Name Servers. With virtual hosting, a single machine can act like multiple machines (with multiple domain names and IP addresses).
ISDN (Integrated Digital Services Network) - ISDN lines are high-speed dial-up connections to the internet. That's good. What's bad is that their cost and availability is determined by local telephone companies, which means in some places they are available, in other places not; and sometimes they're cheap, and at other times wildly expensive. It is a lot of commotion for a connection roughly four times faster than a normal phone line.
ISP (Internet Service Provider) - A business that provides access to the internet. Its services are available to either individuals or companies, and include a dial-in interface with the internet, software supply and often web site and intranet design. There are currently over 3,000 ISPs in the U.S. alone. It's a growth business, and as a result pricing is highly competitive.
Java - Java is an object oriented programming language created by Sun Microsystems that supports enhanced features such as animation, or real-time updating of information. If you are using a web browser that supports Java, an applet (Java program) embedded in the Web page will automatically run.
JavaScript - a scripting language developed by Netscape and used to create interactive Web sites.
JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) - JPEG (pronounced "jay peg") is a graphics format newer than GIF which displays photographs and graphic images with millions of colors, it also compresses well and is easy to download.
Keyword - a word used in a performing a search. A keyword is used to focus a search by helping to categorize web sites and to locate specific topics.
Keyword Density - keywords as a percentage of text words that can be indexed.
Keyword Marketing - putting your message in front of people who are searching using particular keywords and keyword phrases.
Keyword Research - the search for keywords related to your Web site, and the analysis of which ones yield the highest return on investment (ROI).
Keywords Tag - META tag used to help define the primary keywords of a Web page.
Lag Time - The amount of time between making an online request or command and receiving a response. Until lag time becomes no time at all the internet will not be consumer-friendly, and its profit potential will remain limited.
LAN (Local Area Network) - A computer network which for some reason is pronounced "land" limited to a certain area, usually a single floor or building. The web is a network, but not a LAN.
Link - An electronic connection between two Web sites also known as a "Hot Link"
Link Checker - tool used to check for broken hyperlinks.
Link Popularity - a measure of the quantity and quality of sites that link to your site.
Link Text - the text contained in (and sometimes near) a hyperlink.
Link Rot - when Web pages previously accessible at a particular URL are no longer reachable at that URL due to movement or deletion of the pages.
List Server - A program that automatically sends email to a list of subscribers. It is the mechanism that is used to keep newsgroups informed.
Load - Usually used with up-load or down-load, it means to transfer files or software to "load" from one computer or server to another computer or server. In other words, it's the movement of information online.
Log File - file that records the activity on a Web server and keeps track of network connections.
Login - The identification or name used to access log into a computer, network or site.
Long Domain Name - domain names longer than the original 26 characters, up to a theoretical limit of 67 characters (including the extension, such as .com).
Mailing List - Online a mailing list is an automatically distributed email message on a particular topics going to certain individuals. You can subscribe or unsubscribe to a mailing list by sending a message via email. There are many good professional mailing lists, and you should find the ones that concern your business.
Manual Submission - adding a URL to the search engines individually by hand.
Marketing Plan - the part of the business plan outlining the marketing strategy for a product or service.
Media Kit - a resource created by a publisher to help prospective ad buyers evaluate advertising opportunities.
Meta Search Engine - a search engine that displays results from multiple search engines.
META Tag Generator - tool that will output META tags based on input page information.
META Tags - tags to describe various aspects about a Web page.
MIME - Multi-purpose Internet Mail Extensions, a method of encoding a file for delivery over the Internet.
Modem - A contraction for "modulation/demodulation," it is the device that converts a digital bit stream into an analog signal (and back again) so computers can communicate across phone lines.
Moderator - at a forum, someone entrusted by the administrator to help discussions stay productive and within the guidelines.
Mouse Trapping - the use of browser tricks in an effort to keep a visitor captive at a site, often by disabling the "Back" button or generated repeated pop-up windows.
MPEG - The file format that is used to compress and transmit movies or video clips online.
Navigation - that which facilitates movement from one Web page to another Web page.
Netiquette - short for network etiquette, the code of conduct regarding acceptable online behavior.
Network Effect - the phenomenon whereby a service becomes more valuable as more people use it, thereby encouraging ever-increasing numbers of adopters.
Newsgroup - A discussion group on Usenet devoted to talking about a specific topic. Also called usenets, newsgroups consist of messages posted on electronic bulletin boards.
Online - It's where you are right now and where the rest of the world is heading to get its information and entertainment, to communicate and buy products and services.
Online Business Community - It's a social network for business that allows users to promote and find businesses.
Online Marketing - Online Marketing is a form of website promotion that is completed online as opposed to offline.
Opt-In Email - email that is requested by the recipient.
Opt-Out - Opt-Out means the type of program that assumes inclusion unless stated otherwise. Opt-Out also means to remove oneself from an opt-out program.
Outbound Link - A link to a site outside of your site.
Page Jacking - theft of a page from the original site and publication of a copy (or near-copy) at another site.
Page View - request to load a single HTML page.
Pass Along Rate - the percentage of people who pass on a message or file.
Pay Per Click (PPC) - online advertising payment model in which payment is based solely on qualifying click-throughs.
Pay Per Click Search Engine (PPCSE) - search engine where results are ranked according to the bid amount and advertisers are charged only when a searcher clicks on the search listing.
Pay Per Lead (PPL) - online advertising payment model in which payment is based solely based on qualifying leads.
Pay Per Sale (PPS) - online advertising payment model in which payment is based solely based on qualifying sales.
Payment Threshold - the minimum accumulated commission an affiliate must earn to trigger payment from an affiliate program.
PDF - Portable Document Format. Word processing software, business applications or desktop publishing files on the Web that look exactly like the originals. Must have Adobe Acrobat Reader to view.
PDF Files - Adobe's Portable Document Format (PDF) is a translation format used primarily for distributing files across a network, or on a web site. Files with a .PDF extension have been created in another application and then translated into PDF.
Permission Marketing - marketing centered around getting customer's consent to receive information from a company.
Plug-in - A program application that can easily be installed and used as part of a Web browser. Once installed, plug-in applications are recognized by the browser and its function integrated into the main HTML file being presented.
Pop-Under Ad - an ad that displays in a new browser window behind the current browser window.
Pop-Up Ad - an ad that displays in a new browser window.
Portal - a site that offers many commonly used services, serving as a starting point and frequent gateway to the Web.
PPP (Point to Point Protocol) - The language that enables a computer to use telephone lines and a modem to connect to the internet. Gradually replacing SLIP as the preferred means of connection.
PR (Page Rank) - The Page Rank of a site is the position of your site overall throughout the internets search engines. This phrase was initially coined by google search engine as a way to rate your sites internet presence value throughout the internet.
Protocol - A set of rules that governs how information is to be exchanged between computer systems. Also used in certain structured chat rooms to refer to the order in which people may speak.
Query - A request for information, usually to a search engine
Rank - An ad's standing in comparison to other ads, based on the graphical click-through rate. Rank provides advertisers with information on an ad's performance across sites.
Rate Card - document detailing prices for various ad placement options.
Reach - Unique Web users that visited the site over the course of the reporting period, expressed as a percent of the universe for the demographic category. Also called unduplicated audience
Real Time - Events that happen in real time are happening virtually at that particular moment. When you chat in a chat room, or send an instant message, you are interacting in real time since it is immediate.
Reciprocal Links - links between two sites, often based on an agreement by the site owners to exchange links.
Rectangle Ad - any one of the large, rectangular banner sizes suggested by the IAB.
Rep Firm - ad sales partner specializing primarily in single-site sales.
Return Days - the number of days an affiliate can earn commission on a conversion (sale or lead) by a referred visitor.
RFP - Request for proposal.
RFC (Request for Comment) - The documents that contain the protocols, standards and information that define the internet. Gathered and published by the Internet Engineering Task Force, a consensus-building body made up of institutions and corporations involved with online communications, they are preceded by RFC and followed by anumber. RFC archives can be found at InterNIC.
Rich Media - new media that offers an enhanced experience relative to older, mainstream formats.
ROI - Return on investment.
Router - The hardware or software that handles connections between networks online. In other words, it tells your computer where to go.
Run of Network (RON) - ad buying option in which ad placements may appear on any pages on sites within an ad network.
Run of Site (ROS) - ad buying option in which ad placements may appear on any pages of the target site.
Search Engine - a program that searches and indexes documents, then attempts to match documents relevant to the users search requests.
Search Engine Marketing - The act of marketing a web site via search engines, whether this be improving rank in organic listings, purchasing paid listings or a combination of these and other search engine-related activities.
Search Engine Optimization - the process of choosing targeted keyword phrases related to a site, and ensuring that the site places well when those keyword phrases are part of a Web search.
Search Engine Spam - excessive manipulation to influence search engine rankings, often for pages which contain little or no relevant content.
Search Engine Submission - the act of supplying a URL to a search engine in an attempt to make a search engine aware of a site or page.
Search Spy - a perpetually refreshing page that provides a real-time view of actual Web searches.
Self Serve Advertising - advertising that can be purchased without the assistance of a sales representative.
SEO - search engine optimization.
SEO Software - search engine optimization software. SEO Software is an online or offline application that is intended to help webmasters optimize their WebPages to make them more search engine friendly.
Server - Servers are the backbone of the internet, the computers that are linked by communication lines and "serve up" information in the form of text, graphics and multimedia to online computers that request data. (When a server "goes down" it loses its online link and the information it holds can not be accessed.)
Session - A series of transactions or hits made by a single user. If there has been no activity for a period of time, followed by the resumption of activity by the same user, a new session is considered started. Thirty minutes is the most common time period used to measure a session length.
Shareware - Software programs that are openly available, and usually they can be downloaded online. They are often free, though not always.
shopping cart - software used to make a site's product catalogue available for online ordering, whereby visitors may select, view, add/delete, and purchase merchandise.
Sig File - a short block of text at the end of a message identifying the sender and providing additional information about them.
Site Search - search functionality specific to one site.
Skyscraper Ad - an online ad significantly taller than the 120x240 vertical banner.
Social Network - A social Network is a community website that allows users to create profiles and find friends. Often a Social Network will also allow users to find other users based on interest, location, or by name searches.
Spam - inappropriate commercial email message of extremely low value.
Spider - A software that websites use to index pages throughout a site or several web sites on the internet.
Splash Page - a branding page before the home page of a Web site.
Sponsorship - advertising that seeks to establish a deeper association and integration between an advertiser and a publisher, often involving coordinated beyond-the-banner placements.
Static Rotation - Advertisements rotate based on the entry of users into a screen. Regardless of the amount of time a user spends with a screen, advertisements will remain on the screen for the entire time and will not change.
Stickiness - the amount of time spent at a site over a given time period.
Super Affiliate - an affiliate capable of generating a significant percentage of an affiliate program's activity.
Surround Session - advertising sequence in which a visitor receives ads from one advertiser throughout an entire site visit.
Targeted Marketing - Banners or other promotions aimed, on the basis of demographic analysis, at one specific subsection of the market.
TCP - Transmission Control Protocol works with IP to ensure that packets travel safely on the Internet. This is the method by which most Internet activity takes place.
Text Ad - advertisement using text-based hyperlinks.
Text Link Exchange - network where participating sites display text ads in exchange for credits which are converted (using a predetermined exchange rate) into ads to be displayed on other sites.
Throughput - The amount of data transmitted through internet connectors in response to a given request.
Title Tag - HTML tag used to define the text in the top line of a Web browser, also used by many search engines as the title of search listings.
Top 10 - the top ten search engine results for a particular search term.
Trick Banner - a banner ad that attempts to trick people into clicking, often by imitating an operating system message.
Under Delivery - delivery of less impressions, visitors, or conversions than contracted for a specified period of time.
Unique Visitors (Unique Users) - individuals who have visited a Web site (or network) at least once in a during a fixed time frame.
Upload - To send a file from one computer to another via modem or other telecommunication method.
URL - location of a resource on the Internet.
Usability - (see Web site usability)
Vertical Banner - a banner ad measuring 120 pixels wide and 240 pixels tall.
Viral Marketing - marketing phenomenon that facilitates and encourages people to pass along a marketing message.
Volunteer Directory - a Web directory staffed primarily by unpaid volunteer editors, the most popular volunteer directory to date is DMOZ.Web Browser - a software application that allows for the browsing of the World Wide Web.
Web Design - the selection and coordination of available components to create the layout and structure of a Web page.
Web Directory - organized, categorized listings of Web sites.
Web Hosting - the business of providing the storage, connectivity, and services necessary to serve files for a website.
Web Ring - a means for navigating a group of related sites primarily by going forward and backward.
Web Site Traffic - the amount of visitors and visits a Web site receives.
Web Site Usability - the ease with which visitors are able to use a Web site.
Whois - a utility that returns ownership information about second-level domains.
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