Above the fold
the section of a Web page that is visible without scrolling.
Ad blocking
the blocking of Web advertisements, typically the image in graphical Web advertisements.
AdCenter
AdCenter is the name of Microsoft's Cost-Per-Click ad network. It currently has only has a limited market share as compared to Google and Yahoo!
AdSense
AdSense is Google's contextual advertising network. Website owners can enroll in this ad serving program to allow text, image, and video advertisements administered by Google to be shown on their sites. Revenue is generated on a per-click or per-thousand impressions basis. Publishers share the profits from those ad clicks with Google.
Ad space
the space on a Web page available for advertisements.
AdWords
AdWords is the name of Google's advertisement and link auction network. AdWords offers PPC advertising and site-targeted advertising for text and banner ads at the local, national, and international level.
Advertising network
a network representing many web sites in selling advertising, allowing advertising buyers to reach broader audiences through run-of-category and run-of-network buys.
Affiliate
the publisher/salesperson in an affiliate marketing relationship.
Affiliate directory
a categorized listing of affiliate programs.
Affiliate marketing
revenue sharing between online advertisers/merchants and online publishers/salespeople. Compensation is based on performance measures, typically in the form of sales, clicks, or registrations.
Affiliate merchant
the advertiser in an affiliate marketing relationship.
Affiliate network
a value-added intermediary providing services, including aggregation, for affiliate merchants and affiliates.
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.
Autoresponder
a program that sends an automatic form reply to incoming emails.
B2B
business that sells products or provides services to other businesses.
B2C
business that sells products or services to the end-user consumers.
Bandwidth
how much data can be transmitted in a time period over a communications channel, often expressed in kilobits per second (kbps).
Banner ad
a graphical web advertising unit, typically measuring 468 pixels wide and 60 pixels tall (i.e. 468x60).
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.
Blog
A frequent, chronological publication of personal thoughts and Web links.
Bookmark
a link, sometimes referred to as a “favoriteâ€, stored in a Web browser for future reference.
Business hosting
Web hosting geared towards the mission-critical functions demanded by business-class customers.
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.
Caching
the storage of Web files for later re-use at a point more quickly accessed by the end user.
Click
the act of clicking on an on-line link. A click on an on-line ad results in a hit, or a visitor, to a web site.
Click-through
the process of clicking through an online advertisement to the advertiser's destination.
Click-through rate (CTR)
The average number of click-throughs per hundred ad impressions, expressed as a percentage. CTR is a useful measure of an ad or link's effectiveness
Contextual Advertising
term used to describe advertising programs that generate and display relevant advertisements on a site based on the specific content of that webpage.
Conversion
a measure of a desired goal being achieved by a web site. It could be a sale transacted, a lead form filled out, or a phone call made to the company.
Conversion rate
the percentage of web site visitors who act as desired.
Cookie
information stored on a user's computer by a web site so preferences are remembered on future requests.
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)
the average cost of a click.
CPM
the cost per thousand impressions.
Customer acquisition cost
the average cost associated with acquiring a new customer.
Data transfer
The total amount of outbound traffic from a website, typically measured in gigabytes (Gb).
Dayparting
functionality that allows advertisers to adjust bids, or pause and resume campaigns based on the time-of-day or day-of-week.
Dedicated hosting
hosting option whereby the host provides and is responsible for the equipment, dedicating an entire server to the client's websites.
Dedicated IP
an IP address dedicated to a single website.
Deep linking
linking to a web page other than a site's home page.
Deep Link Ratio (DLR)
the number of internal pages which are linked from other website's most targeted relevant page to your most targeted relevant page.
Description tag
an HTML tag used by Web page authors to provide a description for search engine listings.
Domain name
the address of a web site on the Internet.
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 designed specifically to rank well in search engines for particular keywords, serving as an entry point through which visitors pass to the main content.
Email marketing
the promotion of products or services via email.
Email spam
unwanted, unsolicited email.
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.
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.
First-mover advantage
a sometimes insurmountable advantage gained by the first significant company to move into a new market.
Flash
multimedia technology developed to allow much interactivity to fit in a relatively small file size.
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.
Frequency cap
restriction on the amount of times a specific visitor is shown a particular advertisement.
Guerilla marketing
unconventional marketing intended to get maximum results from minimal resources.
Hit
request of a file from a Web server.
Home page
the main page of a Web site.
Impression
a single instance of an online advertisement being displayed.
Inbound link
an active link from a site outside of your web site.
Incentivized traffic
visitors who receive some form of compensation or return for visiting a web site.
Interstitial
an advertisement that loads between two content pages.
Invisible Web
the portion of the Web not indexed by search engines.
JavaScript
a scripting language developed by Netscape and used to create interactive Web sites.
Keyword
a word used in a performing a search.
Keyword density
keywords as a percentage of indexable text words.
Keyword marketing
putting your message in front of people who are searching particular keywords or 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.
Landing Page
the webpage that a visitor arrives at after clicking on a link or advertisement. It is also referred to as a destination page, destination URL, or target URL.
Link Building
the process of getting websites to link to your website in order to increase link popularity and page rank. Search engines consider websites with high quality inbound links to be more relevant, authoritative, and trustworthy.
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 a hyperlink.
Log file
file that records the activity on a web server.
Long Tail Keywords
keyword phrases (normally composed of 3 to 4 keywords) that are more precise and specific. Long tail keyword phrases are generally more likely to result in conversions than more generic keywords.
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 used to describe various aspects about a web page.
Mousetrapping
the use of unethical browser tricks in an effort to keep a visitor captive at a site, often by disabling the "Back" button or by generating repeated pop-up windows.
Navigation
that which facilitates movement from one Web page to another Web page.
Network effect
the phenomenon whereby a service becomes more valuable as more people use it, thereby encouraging ever-increasing numbers of adopters.
One-Way Links
links to your site from sites that do not receive a link from your site. These are much more effective in increasing link popularity than reciprocal links because they show that other sites want to link to your site without receiving an inbound link in return.
Opt-in email
email that has been explicitly requested by the recipient.
Organic Rankings
search results that are the most relevant natural results to the search query in question. Organic rankings are based on many factors, including the content on the site, the links from other sites to that site, and the age of the site. Good organic rankings can take years to achieve and existing, incumbent sites have a huge advantage over newcomers.
Outbound link
A link to a site outside of your site.
Overture
Founded in 1997, Overture is the pioneer of search marketing and PPC advertising. In 2003, it was purchased by Yahoo! and branded as Yahoo! Search Marketing (YSM).
Page view
request to load a single HTML page. For example, a visitor accessing a web site with a single click could then visit ten pages within the site and tally 10 page views.
PageRank
PageRank is the index used by Google to rank websites on a scale of 0 to 10. This score is determined by Google using a complex logarithmic scale, based on a variety of factors including link popularity.
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.
Permission marketing
marketing centered around getting customer's consent to receive information from a company.
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 featuring a suite of commonly used services, serving as a starting point and frequent gateway to the web (web portal) or a niche topic (vertical portal).
Quality Score
a measurement used by Google to assess the quality and relevance of your ads and determine your keyword status, minimum CPC bid, and ad rank. The score is determined by your keyword's click-through-rate and the relevance of your ad text, keyword, and landing page.
Query
a particular word, phrase, or group of words that a searcher enters into a search engine.
ROI
a measure of how much return you will receive from each marketing dollar.
Rich Site Summary
a method of sharing content among different websites.
Reciprocal links
links between two sites, often based on an agreement by the site owners to exchange links.
Search engine
a program that indexes documents and then attempts to match documents relevant to the users search requests.
Search Engine Marketing
a broad term that refers to any effort that has the objective of achieving leads and sales from the use of on-line search engines.
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.
SEM
search engine marketing.
SEO
search engine optimization.
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.
Site Map
a visual model of the pages of a website. It is used to help search engines navigate through your website.
Site search
search functionality specific to one site.
Skyscraper ad
an online ad significantly taller than the 120x240 vertical banner.
Spam
an inappropriate commercial message of extremely low value.
Splash page
a branding page before the home page of a Web site.
Stickiness
the amount of time spent at a site over a given time period.
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.
Trick banner
a banner ad that attempts to trick people into clicking, often by imitating an operating system message.
Unique visitors
individuals who have visited a Web site (or network) at least once in a during a fixed time frame.
URL
location of a resource on the Internet.
Vertical banner
a banner ad measuring 120 pixels wide and 240 pixels tall.
Viral marketing
marketing that encourages people to pass along a marketing message and is self propagating.
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 web site.
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.
