Internet Marketing Glossary of Terms
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The Internet Marketing Dictionary for terms related to
Search Engine Optimization
Domain Name Marketing
Blogs and RSS feeds
A
Above the Fold
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The top portion of a web document that can be viewed without scrolling down.
AdSense
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Google’s contextual ad program for website publishers. Publishers place text ads provided by google on their site, and earn a portion of the click through revenue.
Related Definitions
Adwords
Click Through
Google
Pay per click
AdWords
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Google’s contextual ad program for advertisers. Advertisers receive preferred placement (as Sponsored Links) for given keywords, based on a pay-per-click revenue model.
Related Definitions
Adsense
Google
Affiliate Link
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Links between a main company website and affiliate sites (sites selling products from main site, or with referral links to main site). Affiliate linking contributes to Link Popularity, and is often used to generate traffic from niche markets.
Related Definitions
Link Popularity
Niche Market
Aggregation
See: RSS Aggregation
Algorithm
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The detailed sequence of actions used by search engines to rank web pages. The most famous Search Engine Algorithm is PageRank – Google’s indexing method that assigns different weights to multiple variables of a website, including: keyword density, link popularity, website authority, etc. See: PageRank
Related Definitions
Authority
Google
Keyword Density
Link Popularity
PageRank
Search Engine
AltaVista
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One of the first major search engines, Later acquired by Overture. See: www.altavista.com.
Related Definitions
Overture
Search Engine
Alternative Text (Alt Text)
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The text placed inside graphic image tags in HTML code. The alt text will show if an image fails to download, or for text-only browsers and screen readers.
Alt Tag: The tag defining the image text, found inside the img tag
Related Definitions
Keyword
HTML
Screen Reader
Anchor Text
See: Link Text
Ask Jeeves
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Popular metasearch engine based on Question/Answer queries and results rather than direct search term queries. For more information, see: www.ask.com
Related Definitions
Search Engine
ASP (Active Server Page)
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A scripting language developed by Microsoft to create websites with dynamic content.
Authority
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For search engines, Authority is a measure of the number of links (or citations) pointing to a given site. In this sense, highly authoritative sites are those that have high link popularity (the internet method of peer-review).
Related Links
Link Popularity
PageRank
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
B
Backlink
See: Inbound Link
Beta
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The final testing phase for a software product before final release –is usually available online, but as an unfinished product.
Bid
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The amount an advertiser is willing to pay for AdWords traffic per click.
Related Definitions
AdWords
Pay Per Click
Traffic
Black Hat SEO
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Optimization methods that intentionally break the rules set by search engines to trick the page rank algorithm. Black Hat SEO techniques negatively affect the viewer experience because they use spam to return less relevant results. Evidence of Black Hat SEO is grounds for exclusion from a search engine index or directory listing.
Blog (Weblog)
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A frequently updated website involving reverse-chronological “posts” –or, short opinion, news, or gossip updates, with a collaborative interface. Though blogs originated as a form of live journal, today they are a form of real-time publication media for individual web users. Since 2004, blogs have gained increasing credibility as an influential source of news, political power, and consumer trends.
Business Blog: Blog run by a corporate representative (or group of representatives) to discuss topics related to the company. Business blogs may be used for customer relations, brand reputation management, brand development, or search engine optimization. For more information, see: www.namesatwork.com/blogs
For more information on business blogging for Fortune 500 companies, see: www.socialtext.net
Related Definitions
Blog Carnival
Post
Blog Carnival
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A topical collection of blog posts hosted by a rotating list of participating blogs. Participants contribute a post of their choice each week, to be reviewed and linked to by the carnival host. In turn, participants link to the host site as publicity for the carnival. Blog carnivals are a means of pooling traffic from participating sites, to take advantage of the aggregate popularity of a set of blogs.
For more information about blog carnivals, see www.blogcarnival.com
Related Definitions
Blog
Blogroll
Blogroll
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A collection of links to other blogs, usually found in the sidebar.
Related Definitions
Blog
Blog Carnival
Body Text
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The visible text on a webpage between the and tags in HTML code. Types of body text include text inside headings, paragraphs, lists and tables.
Boolean Search
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A search method using operators such as AND, OR, and NOT to refine a search.
Brand Value
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The intangible value associated with brand awareness, image, reputation, and loyalty.
Broken Link
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A link that doesn’t work or doesn’t lead anywhere, usually appearing as a 404 Error.
Browser
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A program that translates coded pages (in HTML, Javascript, etc), allowing users to users to navigate the Internet.
Buzz Marketing
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Type of Word of Mouth Marketing that attracts consumer and media attention by generating entertaining, conversation-worthy ‘buzz’ around a brand.
Related Definitions
Buzzword
Buzzword
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A popular trend word.
Related Definitions
Buzz Marketing
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
C
CGI (Common Gateway Interface)
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A server-side communication interface that enables data exchange between HTML pages and external programs.
Related Definitions
HTML
Click Stream
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The recorded click path of an Internet visitor through one or more website links.
Related Definitions
Click Through
CTR
Click Through
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Action taken by a visitor to click on an advertising link and arrive at an indexed site.
Click Through Rate (CTR): Ratio between the number of clicks on an ad and the number of page impressions delivered for the ad arrival site.
Related Definitions
Click Stream
Pay Per Click
Cloaking
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The process of masking keyword-heavy content in the hidden text of a webpage. Cloaking is a black-hat SEO technique, and is grounds for de-listing from a search engine or directory.
Related Definitions
Black-Hat SEO
De-Listing
Search Engine
Comment
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1. HTML tags used to insert explanations of code that won’t be visible to users. Comments tags are largely ignored because they were at one point abused by keyword-spammers. Comments are placed between < !- - comments - - >
2. Blog reader’s reply to a specific post. Comments allow for interactive participation from viewers, and often serve as discussion spaces on a blog.
Compatibility
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The ability of a website to be integrated into (or read by) different web browsers. Website compatibility is generally associated with complying to W3C standards. For more information, see: www.w3.org
Related Definitions
Browser
Usability
Competitive Analysis
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Assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of a business as compared to its competitors.
Related Definitions
Gap Analysis
Consumer Generated Media (CGM)
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Media based on consumer-to-consumer information sharing networks. Types of Consumer Generated Media include blogs, forums, discussion boards, Flickr, MySpace, and other social networking software.
For more information, see: FC Now
Related Definitions
Blog
Podcast
RSS
Vlog
Content Management
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The acquisition, organization, and publication of digital content on the Internet.
Content Management System (CMS): System developed to manage the acquisition, organization and publication of digital content on the Internet.
Related Definitions
Compatibility
Usability
Contextual Advertising
Displaying ads that match the nearby text on a web page. For example, if a user is viewing a website about downloading music, the ads displayed might be for a music program like ITunes or Limewire.
Adsense
Adwords
Conversion
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A website visitor completing a desired action. Types of conversions include signing up for a newsletter, buying a product or service, registering to receive more information, joining an email list, and other transactions.
Related Definitions
Conversion Point
Conversion Rate
Conversion Point
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Point at which visitor has completed desired action – usually denoted by a “thank you” page, or a return to the homepage.
Related Definitions
Conversion
Conversion Rate
Conversion Rate
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A measure of the number of visitors who follow a call to action on a website. Calls to action include: purchasing goods or services, subscribing to a newsletter or email list, contacting the website provider, entering personal information, etc.
Related Definitions
Click-through
Conversion
Conversion Point
Visitor
Cost-Per-Click (CPC)
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Amount paid for each click-through from an ad to the advertiser’s website.
Related Definitions
AdSense
AdWords
Bid
Pay-Per-Click
Crawler
See: Spider
Crawler Lag
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The delay between the point when a web page is scanned by a crawler (or spider) and the point at which it is added to the search engine database.
Related Definitions
Database
Search Engine
Spider
Cross Linking
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Linking between related websites – either related by owner, as business affiliates, or within the same niche community. Cross-linking is used as a way to build link popularity, and in excess is considered a form of spam.
Related Definitions
Affiliate Links
Link Popularity
Link Building
Black-Hat SEO
CSS (Cascading Style Sheets)
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Website format used to define the style elements of an HTML document.
Related Definitions
HTML
Customer Relations Management (CRM)
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The management of relationships with potential and current customers to better meet customer needs and identify business development opportunities.
Cybersquatting
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The practice of registering an unused domain name for the purpose of selling it back at an inflated price. This is usually done with trademarked or branded domain names, or names very similar to a trademark or brand.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
D
Database
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A collection of information. For search engines, the storage body for information gathered by the search engine spider, organized by the index, and held for retrieval by the user interface.
Related Definitions
Index
Search Engine
Spider
Dead Link
See: Broken Link
Deep Linking
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Linking to pages embedded in a website’s hierarchy, rather than to entrance pages.
De-Listing
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The removal of a website from a search engine or directory index– usually for breaking the search engine or directory rules.
Related Definitions
Black Hat SEO
Spam
Directory
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An internet index categorized by human editors – as opposed to a search engine, which is categorized according to automatic algorithms.
DogPile
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A metasearch engine. For more information, see: www.dogpile.com
Domain Name
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A unique name corresponding to an IP Address. Ex: www.namesatwork.com
Domain Name Portfolio: A collection of domain names
Domain Name Tasting: Testing and monetizing a domain name during the 5-day grace period after purchase that allows a return and full refund.
For more information on Domain Tasting, visit: ICANN Wiki
Doorway Page
See: Landing Page
Dynamic Content
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Content that changes automatically in response to user input, or at regular intervals.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
E
Entry Page
See: Landing Page
Exact Match
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Search query in quotation marks, used to find an exact phrase or key term.
Excite
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A popular search engine. For more information, visit: Excite
External Links
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Links to and from one website and another. The quantity and quality of external links related to a website affect the website’s overall Page Rank.
Inbound Link: Link pointing towards a website.
Outbound Link: Link pointing out of a website.
Related Definitions:
Internal Links
Page Rank
Link Popularity
Link Building
Evangelist
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An emotive individual who voluntarily markets a trend to recruits new followers.
Customer Evangelist: A loyal customer who adamantly promotes a brand, and acts as a powerful word of mouth marketing vehicle.
Related Definitions
Influencer
Word of Mouth Marketing
Ezine
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Online magazine publication –typically delivered via email.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
F
Feed
See: RSS Feed
Feed Reader
See: RSS Feed Reader
Flash
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Software developed by macromedia used to create animated graphics for websites, games, and other desktop presentations.
Flickr
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A website developed by Ludicorp as a digital photo sharing service. Flickr is an example of User Generated Content.
Related Definitions
User Generated Content
Footprint
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The elements of a web page that affect search engine ranking but are not located on the page itself.
Forum
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An open online discussion space for individuals who share a niche interest.
Related Definitions
Blog
RSS
User Generated Content
Frames
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HTML construct that allows two or more HTML documents to be displayed in a single web browser screen as separately scrollable regions.
Full-Text Search
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The ability to search the entire contents of a digital document.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
G
Gap Analysis
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An assessment of the variance between the actual (current) performance and the potential performance of a business system.
Ghost Site
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A website that is no longer maintained but is still available online.
permalink
Currently the most popular search engine, with the largest database and arguably the most accurate search results. Google pioneered the PageRank algorithm as a means of indexing websites and other web documents. For more information about Google services, see: Google.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
H
Header
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The top region of a website that contains the page title and URL.
Heading
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An HTML tag that assigns greater weight to a set of keywords. The excessive use of headers to increase keyword strength for SEO can be grounds for de-listing.
Related Definitions
De-listing
SEO
Hidden Text
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Text that is visible only to search engines, usually for the purpose of artificially inflating keyword density. Keyword spamming through hidden text is grounds for de-listing from a search engine.
Related Definitions
De-listing
Keyword Density
Search Engine
Hit
permalink
A single file request from a web server. Note: There may be many hits for a single page view. Hits are a preliminary measure of website activity, but are a poor measure of the number of visitors.
Related Definitions
Impression
Traffic
Unique Visitor
Visitor
Home Page
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The main point of entry for a website.
Related Definitions
Landing Page
Hyperlink Text
See: Link Text
HTML
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Hypertext Markup Language: The publishing language of the Internet; a coding language used to create hypertext documents for the web.
Related Definitions
Hypertext
HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol)
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The protocol that enables digital file transmission over the Internet.
Related Definitions
Domain Name
Hub
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An authoritative website that links to many other sites related to a niche topic.
Related Definitions
Influencer
Page Rank
Hyperlink
See: Link
Hypertext
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Text that is cross-linked to other documents.
Related Definitions
HTML
Hyperlink
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
I
Image Tag
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Command to retrieve a given image file from a web server.
Related Definitions
HTML
URL
Image Map
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A graphic containing two or more clickable hyperlinked regions.
Impression
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A single display of an online advertisement. Banner advertisements are sometimes measured according to Cost Per (1000) Impressions (CPM).
Inbound Link
See: External Link
Index
permalink
Information organized in a search engine database.
Indexer: Tool that organizes information for the search engine database.
Indexing: Process of storing information as an ordered collection.
Related Definitions
Database
Search Engine
Spider
Influencer
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Influential individual who is recognized as an expert in a subject, and acts as a powerful word of mouth marketing vehicle.
Related Definitions
Blog
Evangelist
Word of Mouth Marketing
Intranet
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A network of web documents that are only accessible to people within a specific group or organization. Like the Internet, an intranet is used to share information within an enterprise.
Intent Categories
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The definition of a search term is in part informed by the searcher’s intent. Intent is divided into three different categories:
Informational: User is searching for information about a topic.
Navigational: User is searching for a specific web page or website.
Transactional: User is seeking to make a transaction online – to buy, rent, subscribe, download, or follow a call to action.
Related Definitions
Search Engine Optimization
Search Term
Internal Links
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Links to and from pages within a website. The quantity and quality of internal links related to a page determines that page’s importance in the overall website hierarchy.
Related Definitions
External Links
Link Popularity
Link Building
Invisible Text
See: Hidden Text
IP (Internet Protocol)
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The standards that enable the transfer of data between dissimilar networks. IP and TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) are the essential components of the Internet.
Related Definitions
IP Address
IP Address
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The numeric identification code assigned to every user and every server online.
Related Definitions
TCP
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
J
Java
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A cross-platform programming language originally developed by Sun Microsystems, used to create complex programs that can run on multiple different operating systems, for easy Internet distribution.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
K
Keyword
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A significant word used as a reference point to find more information.
Related Definitions
Title Tag
Meta Tags
Alternative Text
Hyperlink Text
Body Text
Search Term
Keyword Density
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Keyword Density is the ratio of the number of times a keyword appears within a web page’s text.
Keyword Relevance
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A measure of the relevance of a website to a keyword (or set of keywords) used in a search query. Keyword Relevance is primarily measured by the use of keywords in the title tag, meta tags, alternative text, hyperlink text, or document text of a website.
Keyword Research
See: Search Term Research
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
L
Landing Page
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The page a visitor arrives at after clicking a link (from an advertisement, search engine results page, email, or other type of hyperlink). Also called an Entry Page.
Related Definitions
Home Page
Link
Visitor
Link
permalink
1. An image or segment of text that serves as a cross reference between parts of a website or web document.
2. In HTML: A specific url between the < .a href> and tags.
Related Definitions
External Links
Hyperlink Text
Internal Links
Link Building
Link Popularity
Link Building
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The process of researching, requesting, and creating inbound links to a website, to increase link popularity.
Related Definitions
Link Popularity
Inbound Links
Page Rank
Link Farm
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A page used to boost link popularity by allowing users to register their website and receive an inbound link. Being associated with link farms decreases a site’s search engine rakings.
Link Popularity
permalink
A measure of the quantity and quality of internal and external links associated with a website.
Related Definitions
Internal Links
External Links
Link Building
Link PR
permalink
The distribution of link-embedded press release content to multiple RSS news aggregators. Link PR, also called Search PR, is a means of spreading inbound links by incorporating them into news-worthy RSS content that can be re-distributed by other news sites.
Link Text
permalink
The text contained within a link.
Related Definitions
External Links
Hyperlink
Hyperlink Text
Internal Links
Link Building
Link Popularity
Log File
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File stored by the server of each website that records traffic statistics, including: visitors, unique visitors, visitor IP address, page views, hits, etc. Analysis of the log file is essential to measuring the progress of SEO and the usability of a website.
The Long Tail
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The economic concept first coined by Chris Anderson in 2004 to describe the distribution of wealth on the Internet. The Long Tail represents the millions of niche market audiences that drive the majority of sales for sites such as Amazon and Ebay.
Related Definitions
Niche Market
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
M
Meta Search
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Type of search performed across multiple search engines – on a meta search engine.
Meta Tag
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An HTML tag that gives information about the content of a website. Meta tags are non-visible text, that help define your website for search engine spiders.
Related Definitions
Spider
HTML
Micro-Site
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A small closely linked network of related web pages within a larger website.
Mozilla Firefox
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A popular open-source cross-platform browser, developed by the Mozilla Foundation.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
N
Natural Language Processing
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The intelligent translation of natural language phrases into keyword search queries. Natural Languate Processing programs use multi-level linguistic statistics and analysis to “understand” human language queries.
Natural Link
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A hyperlink included in natural language text for the purpose of expanding an idea, and not necessarily with the intention of increasing link popularity.
Related Definitions
Link
Link Popularity
Natural Language Processing
Natural Traffic
Natural Traffic
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Traffic from directly typed-in domain names or urls.
Related Defintions
Domain Name
Natural Link
Newsgroup
See: Forum
Niche Market
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A specifically-focused market segment. Niche Markets are often discussed in the context of the Long Tail – or the economic concept that the distribution of wealth on the Internet is a “long tail” made up of millions of niche markets.
Related Definitions
Long Tail
Word of Mouth Marketing
No Follow Tag
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A tag that directs search engines to skip certain pages: rel=”nofollow”
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
O
Off Page
See: Footprint
Operators
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Boolean search words that inform search results but are not considered keywords: AND, OR, NOT
Related Definitions
Boolean Search
Optimization
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The process of improving a website for search engine visibility. Optimization may include building keyword density, link popularity, search engine compatibility, and/or improving layout/design.
Outbound Link
See: External Link
Overture
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A search engine that returns results based on paid placement rather than algorithmic rankings. Overture is currently owned by Yahoo!
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
P
Page Impression
See: Impression
Page Rank
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The algorithm used to determine the hierarchy of pages and websites in the search engine index. Devised by Google, Page Rank is a measure of the quality and quantity of traffic, links, visitors, and keyword content of a website.
Although the PageRank algorithm is kept secret by google, it is widely discussed by search engine optimization experts. For more information about the factors that affect page rank, see: www.seomoz.org
Related Definitions
Google
Keyword
Link
Search Engine Optimization
Visitors
Page View
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Single request to load a full HTML page (as opposed to Hits – single requests to load each file in an HTML page)
Related Definitions
Hit
HTML
Traffic
Paid Placement
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Program that allows advertisers to pay for placement on the search results page.
Related Definitions
Search Results Page
PPC
Partial Match
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Search results that match all or part of a keyword phrase.
Pay-Per-Click (PPC)
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An advertising payment model that allows advertisers to bid on keywords and pay only when the ad is clicked, thus paying for actual traffic rather than page impressions. The highest keyword bidders receive the highest rankings in search engine results pages, and therefore, the most traffic. The PPC model was first introduced to search by Overture, and made famous by the enormous profits generated by Google’s Adsense and Adwords programs.
Podcast
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A digital audio file that is distributed through RSS feeds, usually at regular intervals as a radio broadcast.
Related Definitions
Blog
RSS
Vlog
Portal
permalink
A website that acts as a starting point for web users, usually offering browser services such as customized search, email, news updates, etc.
Related Defitions
Yahoo!
Positioning
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The process of optimizing a website for a target audience.
Related Definitions
Optimization
Post
permalink
A time-stamped article published on a blog.
Related Definitions
Blog
PPC
See: Pay Per Click
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Q
Query
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A keyword phrase used to request information from a search engine.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
R
Ranking
See: Page Rank
Reciprocal Link
permalink
Link exchange between two websites.
Related Definitions
Link
Link Popularity
Referrer
permalink
A webpage referring users to another page with a link.
Refresh
permalink
Button used to reload a web page. The refresh command can also be included as an html tag used to automatically redirect visitors to another page. This type of automatic redirection is considered spam, and is grounds for de-listing.
Relevance
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A measure of how closely the search engine results match a search query – or , a measure of how closely search results match the information sought by the user. Arguably the most relevant search engine today, Google assesses website relevance through its complex Page Rank algorithm.
Related Definitions
Google
Page Rank
Robot
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An automatic program that scans websites by following links. See: Spider
Related Definitions
Search Engine
Spider
ROI (Return on Investment)
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Percentage of profit returned for the funds invested to produce it. In terms of search engine optimization, ROI refers to the sales directly attributed to an SEO or SEM campaign.
RSS (Really Simple Syndication)
permalink
Digital content syndicated to a specified source (the RSS feed reader) as a convenient way to collect information quickly from multiple sources. Any digital content – text, images, audio files, or video files – can be streamed through RSS. RSS is most commonly used as a way to gather regularly updated content, such a blog posts, podcasts or news headlines.
RSS Aggregation: the collection of RSS feeds
RSS Feed: The digital content syndicated through RSS readers.
RSS Feed Reader (or RSS Aggregator): Information management program that gathers and translates RSS feeds.
RSS Subscription: to sign up for a specific RSS feed and have feed updates sent regularly to an email address, or RSS feed reader.
Related Definitions
Blog
Podcast
Vlog
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
S
Screen Reader
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A device for visually impaired users, that translates the contents of a webpage into Braille or speech.
Search Engine
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A tool for finding information on the Internet. Search engines use a complex Page Rank algorithm to categorize websites and web documents. The basic components of a search engine are:
1. Spiders /Crawlers- gather information
2. Indexer – categorizes information
3. Database – stores information
4. Search Engine Software – uses page rank algorithm to retrieve information from the index and return it to the website interface.
5. Website Interface – the website used by viewers to retrieve information related to a search query.
Related Definitions
Database
Page Rank
Search Engine Optimization
Search Query
Spider
Search Engine Marketing
The process of marketing a website through search engines. Search engine marketing drives traffic by paying for ad words, page rank and/or inbound links.
Related Definitions
Pay Per Click
Paid Placement
Search Engine Optimization
Search Engine Optimization
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The process of optimizing a website to improve search engine ranking. Search Engine Optimization is often divided into two different schools: White Hat SEO and Black Hat SEO
Search Engine Optimization differs from Search Engine Marketing, in that SEO involves only natural (unpaid) techniques to improve search engine ranking, and SEM involves paid ads or paid placement. Both SEO and SEM are used to increase website traffic, conversions, page rank, and ROI.
Related Definitions
Black Hat SEO
Conversions
Page Rank
Search Engine Marketing
White Hat SEO
Search Engine Spider
See: Spider
Search Term (or Search Query)
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Keyword phrase used to find information through a search engine. Search terms are defined both by the lexical meaning of a keyword and by the intent of the searcher. See: Intent Categories
Related Definitions
Intent Categories
Keyword
Search Engine
Search Term Research (STR)
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Discovery and analysis of keywords (or word) to target for an SEO or SEM campaign.
Related Definitions
Keyword
Search Engine Marketing
Search Engine Optimization
Search Term
Search Query
See: Query
SEM
See: Search Engine Marketing
SEO
See: Search Engine Optimization
SERP (Search Engine Results Page)
permalink
The results listed by the search engine for a given search query. SERPs display listings in descending order of relevance to the search query.
SiteMap
paralink
A hierarchical list with links to all pages on a website. Used to show the structure of a site and aid navigation.
Social Bookmarking
permalink
The process of sharing a personal collection of bookmarks with a network of Internet users. “Bookmarks” may include favorite photos, websites, music, news articles, blog posts, or other online content. For more information, see del.icio.us
Related Definitions
Blog
Podcast
Post
RSS
Vlog
Spam
permalink
An unsolicited advertisement, or Black Hat SEO tactic.
Related Definitions
Black Hat SEO
Search Engine Marketing
Search Engine Optimization
Spider (or Spyder)
A program that constantly scans the internet to collect information for search engines. Spiders follow internal and external links to create an index of all documents on the Internet.
Also called a “crawler”.
Related Definitions
External Links
Internal Links
Search Engine
Splash Page
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An image-based branding page shown before the home page (usually done in Macromedia Flash).
Related Definitions
Flash
Home Page
Sponsored Links
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Paid placement advertisement links. Usually found at the top or on the sidebar of a search engine results page.
Submission
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Submission of a web page title, description, and link to a search engine or directory, to be included in the index. Submissions may either be done automatically or manually.
Subscription
See: RSS Subscription.
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T
Tagging
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Labeling a blog post, image, or audio file with a set of keywords, for the purpose of categorization and recovery. Tagging is most often used for social bookmarking sites, blog directories, or user generated media.
Tag Cloud: A list of tag groups, displayed in “cloud” formation and in varying font sizes. A tag in larger font denotes a larger or more frequently visited group, whereas a smaller font denotes a smaller or less popular tag group.
Related Definitions
Blog
Flickr
Podcast
RSS
Social Bookmarking
Consumer Generated Media
Vlog
Target Site Analysis
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Analysis of traffic patterns, keyword density, link popularity, and structure, for a specific website.
Related Definitions
Keyword
Keyword Density
Link Popularity
Traffic
TCP (Transmission Control Protocol)
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The standards that enable one network to translate web data received from another dissimilar network. TCP and IP are the essential components of the Internet.
Related Definitions
IP
Teoma
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A popular search engine that values subject-specific popularity over link popularity in its ranking algorithm. For more information, see: www.teoma.com
Related Definitions
Search Engine
Title Tag
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An HTML tag defining the title of a page, as displayed at the top of the browser. The title is an important element used by search engines to determine a page’s relevance to a given search query.
Related Definitions
HTML
Page Rank
Search Engine
TLD (Top Level Domain)
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The rightmost extension at the end of a domain name following the dot. Top Level Domains include both Generic Top Level Domains (gTLDs) and Country Code Top Level Domains (ccTLDs)
gTLDs: .com, .net, .org, .edu, .info, .biz, .gov, etc.
For more information see: www.icann.org
ccTLDs: .uk, .fr, .au, .de, .es, .eu, etc.
For a full list, see: www.iana.org
Traffic
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The number of files served or visitors to a website. Traffic may be measured by hits, impressions, clicks, page views, visitors, unique visitors, or other indications of website activity.
Related Definitions
Click-Through-Rate
Hit
Impression
Page view
Unique Visitor
Visitor
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
U
Unique Visitor
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An individual Internet user accessing a website over a period of time. The log file for a single unique visitor may show multiple visits, thus the importance of differentiating between “visitor” and “unique visitor” when measuring website statistics.
Related Definitions
Log File
Visitor
URL (Uniform Resource Locator)
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The “address”, or location, of a resource on the Internet.
Usability
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The ease of user navigation and comprehension of a website.
User Generated Media
See: Consumer Generated Media
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
V
Viral Marketing
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A marketing technique that takes advantage of pre-existing online networks to encourage the spread of advertising information by “word of mouth”.
Related Definitions
Buzz Marketing
Evangelist
Influencer
Word of Mouth Marketing
Visibility (Website Visibility)
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Measure of a website’s ranking in search engines or directories.
Visitor
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A single instance of an individual Internet user accessing a website. Not to be confused with a Unique Visitor.
Vlog (Video Blog)
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A weblog that uses video content as it’s primary media - streaming video files through RSS like a podcast or blog feed.
Related Definitions
Blog
Podcast
RSS
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
W
Weblog
See: Blog
White Hat SEO
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Ethical SEO methods that adhere to rules set by search engines. White Hat SEO is concerned with improving page ranking and increasing traffic by naturally increasing the keyword relevance of a website.
Related Definitions
Black Hat SEO
Keyword Relevance
Page Rank
Search Engine
WHOIS
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An Internet database providing information on the nameserver, registrar, and contact information for each domain name.
Related Definitions
Domain Name
Word of Mouth Marketing
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Marketing technique that uses pre-existing social networks to spread publicity information by word of mouth.
Related Definitions
Buzz Marketing
Evangelist
Influencer
Link PR
Viral Marketing
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
X
XML (Extensible Markup Language)
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A standard for creating markup languages that describe the structure of data. XML was developed by the W3C to create a common information format for data sharing between different systems.
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Y
Yahoo!
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A popular web portal and directory.
For more information see: Yahoo!
Related Defintions
Directory
Portal
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Z
Zone Search
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An advanced search that limits results to a particular topic area (or zone).
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