Internet Marketing GlossaryThe following list of terms provides a good summary of the key issues surrounding successful Internet marketing. For further explanation of these terms or questions related to terms not listed here, please contact 10x Marketing. We’re happy to answer any questions you may have.
Ready to talk to someone? Click here to get a free consultative session to see if Internet marketing is right for your company. There’s no better time to start generating more revenue from the Internet.
AffiliateThe publisher of an advertisement or salesperson in an affiliate marketing relationship.
The affiliate carries out the advertising or sales of the affiliate marketing relationship, depending on which analogy you prefer. The affiliate gives wider distribution to the affiliate merchant’s products in return for compensation based on performance. The affiliate’s source of distribution usually comes in the form of website traffic or e-mail list subscribers.
Affiliates face the daunting task of choosing from among the thousands of available programs to maximize revenue. Comparing the commission rates is not enough; they must check fine print in the contract for red flags, analyze destination sites and creative units for conversion potential, and evaluate the financial strength of merchant partners.
Affiliates have traditionally been smaller sites run by individual webmasters and small businesses, but some large companies have integrated affiliate programs into their revenue mix. Some companies even participate as a merchant of their own program and as an affiliate of other programs.
Affiliate DirectoryA categorized listing of affiliate programs.
Affiliate directories are a popular starting point for finding and comparing various merchant’s programs. The individual networks may also provide aggregated information for their programs, but lack the all-in-one overview of the directories.
Many of the directories provide simple text listings, but a few offer more advanced search capabilities. Other features may include articles, newsletters, and forums. A few of the biggest sites could rightfully be called affiliate portals.
There are countless affiliate directories, but only a few differentiate themselves from the rest. Be careful of directories that are only interested in hyping programs that make a quick buck for the directory, but offer nothing of lasting value for a site. A good directory helps to find the best programs for a site and its visitors.
Affiliate FraudBogus activity generated by an affiliate in an attempt to generate illegitimate, unearned revenue.
Fraudulent activity by affiliates comes in both automated and non-automated varieties. Automated scripts attempt to mimic the activity of legitimate, human visitors. Non-automated schemes may involve coordinated efforts by humans actively generating excess clicks or registrations.
After the fact, affiliate fraud can sometimes be spotted by checking activity logs for unusual patterns. Proactive protection may involve manually approving affiliate applications. This time consuming nature of this effort must be weighed against the risk of losing legitimate, productive affiliates who don’t want to wait for approval.
Affiliate MarketingRevenue sharing between online advertisers/merchants and online publishers/salespeople.
Online advertisers/merchants are typically referred to as affiliate merchants and online publishers/salespeople are referred to as affiliates. Compensation is based on performance measures, typically in the form of sales, clicks, registrations, or a hybrid model.
Benefits of affiliate marketing include the potential for automating much of the advertising process (accepting and approving applications, generating unique sales links, tracking and reporting of results) and payment only for desired results (sales, registrations, clicks).
Paying only for performance shifts much of the advertising risk from the merchants to the affiliates, although merchants still assume some risk of fraud from partner sites.
Affiliate marketing has contributed to the rise of many leading online companies. Amazon.com, one of the first merchants to adopt affiliate marketing in a significant way, now has hundreds of thousands of affiliate relationships. It is not uncommon to see industries where the major players have affiliate programs—often structured in a similar manner and making similar competitive changes over time.
Affiliate ProgramA type of eCommerce program which generates traffic to a company’s website by convincing affiliate sites to link to them. The merchant company essentially pays each affiliate company a commission for every online customer that they send to the merchant’s site that completes the desired action.
For example, a company that sells fitness gear would provide a link to the site of a fitness club that offers related (but not competing) products and services. The fitness gear company, the “affiliate" would then receive a commission from the sales gained from any buyers they direct to the fitness club, the “merchant." Since the fitness club gets more revenue from the new customers, both companies benefit.
Affiliate programs provide a powerful and popular way for many companies to generate significant revenue from the Internet. However, not every company is properly positioned for a successful affiliate program. 10x Marketing can help you determine whether or not affiliate marketing is right for your company and then provide the experience, tools, and expertise to help you build and maintain a profitable affiliate program.
Auto-respondersAutomatic replies sent by the e-mail software of the recipient after receipt of an e-mail.
Auto-responders are often used to indicate that the recipient is on vacation, out of the office or otherwise unable to read an e-mail.
Back (or Backward) LinksA link from one website directed toward another, outside website. Also known as inbound links.
Backward links offer two advantages: they generate more traffic for a site and positively influence search engine rankings. However, steer clear of shady backward linking practices such as "link farms." Search engines detect these links as well and often penalize a site's rankings.
Learn more about legitimate Link Development services.
Banner AdA graphical Internet advertising unit, typically measuring 468 pixels wide by 60 pixels high (i.e. 468x60).
Love them or hate them, banner ads are one of the dominant forms of advertising online. Due to the widespread acceptance of the standard 468x60 banner ad size, buyers can easily secure placements at most sites, and publishers can accept ads from most advertisers.
Banner ads were initially judged primarily on the basis of click-through rate (CTR). In the early days of the Internet, click-through rates were generally much higher than they are now, perhaps due to the novelty factor. Other causes for the decline in CTR may include technical limitations, the awkward horizontal shape, poor banner design, an excessive percentage of run-of-network buys, and accumulated bad experiences of Internet surfers.
"Banners never work" is a common anti-banner contention. Although click-through rates have gone consistently downward, the same can be said of banner ad prices. It is still possible to achieve a click-through rate many times the industry average by combining good placement and design. Combining below-average ad rates and above-average response rates can lead to an acceptable return on investment, just as in any other advertising medium.
Bounce Backs, Bounced E-mails
E-mails sent back to the server that originally sent the e-mails.
A server may return a bounced e-mail for many reasons. If the e-mail address or domain doesn't exist, it is considered a hard bounce. If the recipient's inbox is full or the server deems the message to be spam, it is considered a soft bounce. A good e-mail marketing system will automatically manage both hard and soft bounces.
Learn more about E-mail Marketing services.
Bulk, BulkingMostly synonymous with spam or unsolicited commercial e-mail (UCE), used by spammers to refer to their line of work.
Bulk e-mail generally violates the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 and is punishable by law.
Call to ActionThe words in text, an ad or an e-mail that entice recipients to take action.
Calls to action encourage recipients to visit a site, make a purchase or take some other action. Well-crafted calls to action increase a site’s conversion rate.
Calls to action can also take graphic or Flash form. While these forms may convert quite well, they are generally poorly indexed by search engines.
Click-ThroughThe process of clicking through an online advertisement to the advertiser's destination.
While the click-through is often the most immediate response to an advertisement, it is not the only interaction. Visitors may choose to type a company’s URL directly into the browser bar, or type the company’s name into a search engine box. This assumes, of course, that the company’s name and/or URL appears in its advertisements.
Accurate counting of click-throughs excludes "robot clicks" and duplicate clicks. This takes on added importance when payment is based on click-throughs.
Click-Through Rate (CTR)The average number of click-throughs per hundred ad impressions, expressed as a percentage.
It is important to understand what a click-through rate can measure. The CTR measures what percentage of people to arrive at the destination site; it does not include the people who failed to click, yet arrived at the site later as a result of seeing the ad.
As such, the CTR may be seen as a measure of the response to an ad, but not the full response to an ad. The exception involves ads that display no identifiable information about the destination site; in these cases the click-through rate always equals the overall rate.
Merely getting visitors to a site had value when website traffic was generally accepted as a measure of success. The trend toward profitability, along with better tracking tools, has resulted in less interest in click-through rates and more interest in conversion rates.
A high click-through rate does not assure a good conversion rate, and the two rates may even share an inverse relationship. An advertisement geared toward curiosity clicks will result in relatively fewer sales than an advertisement geared toward qualified clicks—even if there are fewer qualified clicks.
Learn more about increasing your click-throughs with
Commercial E-mailAny e-mail sent for commercial purpose, including an advertisement to buy a product or service, an order confirmation from an online store, or a paid subscription periodical delivered by e-mail.
E-mail is the most popular use of the Internet. Commercial e-mail takes advantage of the popularity of this medium to deliver markting materials directly to qualified buyers. Commercial e-mail is not synonymous with spam. Only unsolicited commercial e-mail can truly be considered spam. To comply with the CAN SPAM Act of 2003, commercial e-mailers can only send messages to recipients who have agreed to receive messages. A good e-mail marketing program will make sure that commercial e-mails follow all the regulations imposed in the CAN SPAM Act of 2003.
Learn more about
Conversion Rate (CR)The percentage of visitors who take a desired action.
The desired action can take many forms, varying from site to site. Examples include product sales, membership registrations, newsletter subscriptions, software downloads, or just about any activity beyond simple page browsing.
A high conversion rate depends on several factors, all of which must be satisfactory to yield the desired results. These factors include the interest level of the visitor, the attractiveness of the offer, and the ease of the process.
The interest level of the visitor is maximized by matching the right visitor, the right place, and the right time. Effective advertisements are geared toward these qualified visitors.
The attractiveness of the offer includes the value proposition and how well it is presented. It is worth noting that small, impulse items typically have a higher conversion rate than large shopping items.
The visitor’s ease of completing the desired action is dependent on site usability which includes intuitive navigation and fast loading pages. Learn more about Conversion Rate Enhancement services.
Cost-Per-Action (CPA)An online advertising payment model in which payment is based solely on qualifying actions such as sales or registrations.
The actions defined in a cost-per-action agreement relate directly to some type of conversion, with sales and registrations among the most common. This does not include deals based solely on solely clicks, which are referred to specifically as cost-per-click or CPC.
The cost-per-action (CPA) model is at the other end of the spectrum from the cost-per-impressions model (CPM), with the cost-per-click (CPC) model somewhere in the middle. In a CPA model, the publisher of the advertisement assumes most of the advertising risk, as the commissions are dependent on good conversion rates from the advertiser’s creative units and website.
Marketers looking for cost-per-action deals have several options. Publishers with considerable excess inventory may be willing to consider nonstandard offers. Sites specializing in incentive programs are in a position to offer CPA pricing on various types of leads, although the usual caveats concerning incentivized traffic still apply. Perhaps the most widespread use of performance-based pricing is affiliate marketing. In affiliate marketing, merchants/advertisers determine what actions they want to reward and how much they are willing to pay.
Learn more about Affiliate Marketing services.
Cost-Per-Click (CPC)The cost or cost-equivalent paid per click-through.
The terms pay-per-click (PPC) and cost-per-click (CPC) are sometimes used interchangeably, sometimes as distinct terms. When used as distinct terms, CPC indicates of cost on a per-click basis for contracts not based on click-throughs, while PPC indicates those based on click-throughs.
For example, consider a campaign where payment is based on impressions, instead of click-throughs. Impressions are sold for $10 per thousand impressions (CPM) and generate a click-through rate (CTR) of 2%.
1000 impressions x 2% CTR = 20 click-throughs
$10 CPM / 20 click-throughs = $.50 per click
Cost-Per-Mille (CPM)The cost per thousand ('mille') impressions.
The CPM model refers to advertising bought on the basis of impressions. This is in contrast to the various types of pay-for-performance advertising, in which payment is only triggered by a mutually agreed upon activity (i.e. click-through, registration, sale).
The total price paid in a CPM deal is calculated by multiplying the CPM rate by the number of CPM units. For example, one million impressions at $10 CPM equals a $10,000 total price.
1,000,000 / 1,000 = 1,000 units
1,000 units X $10 CPM = $10,000 total price
The amount paid per impression is calculated by dividing the CPM by 1000. For example, a $10 CPM equals $.01 per impression.
$10 CPM / 1000 impressions = $.01 per impression
Deep LinkingLinking to a page on a website other than the site's home page.
Deep linking has only begun to spark mild controversies in recent times as the Internet has become more commercialized. In fact, one of the fundamental strengths of the Internet is the ability for any public document to connect to any other public document.
The legality of deep linking has been called into question in several lawsuits involving well-known corporations. Opponents of deep links—typically large corporations—argue that deep linking unfairly eliminates the ability of the home page to contribute to brand building and ad serving functions.
Proponents of deep linking contend that the ability to link freely is central to the philosophy behind the public Internet. On a practical note, they also argue that a deep link is better than no link at all, and may even be more profitable than a home page link, especially if the target site has a poor navigational structure.
DemographicOne characteristic of a group of e-mail recipients. Also the group of recipients described by that characteristic.
Common demographics include age ranges, gender, and occupation/industry. In a targeted e-mail marketing campaign, appealing to a specific demographic can increase click-through and conversion rates.
Directory SiteA website that lists links to other websites, often sorted by category.
A directory site is one method of link recruitment or development. A link from a reputable directory site can help improve search engine rankings, but a link from a disreputable site could get a site delisted.
Most major search engines feature a directory, although some include links only on a payment basis.
Doorway DomainA 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 domains are doorway pages taken to the next level. Rather than adding some pages to an existing site for search engine optimization purposes, a new site is set aside to be completely optimized.
Doorway domains are often easy to spot:
ex. www.very-long-keyword-phrase-here.com
Doorway domains may be penalized by search engines instead of gaining the desired rankings, especially if there is little or no original content on the site.
Double Opt-InRequiring registering recipients to confirm their registration for an e-mail list; the normal operation of secure electronic mailing list software.
In a double opt-in, a new subscriber first gives his/her address to the list software (for instance, on a website) and then confirms subscription after receiving an e-mail asking for verification. This ensures that no person can subscribe someone else out of malice or error.
A perjorative intention of the term "double opt-in" is to make it appear that the confirmation is an unnecessary duplication of effort, justifying the failure to confirm subscriptions. Mail system administrators and non-spam mailing list operators may also refer to this as confirmed subscription or closed-loop opt-in.
E-mail BlastA single mailing in an e-mail marketing campaign.
An e-mail blast is a particularly effective Internet marketing strategy—but only when managed and executed correctly. Blasts may be a one-time occurrence or regular occurrence, such as weekly or monthly.
E-mail MarketingThe promotion of products or services via e-mail.
E-mail is the most popular use of the Internet today—95% of Internet users use e-mail. E-mail marketing is a cost effective way to appeal to this broad market.
E-mail is a very versatile medium. Formats range from simple text to HTML and rich media. Content can be one-size-fits-all or highly customized. E-mails can be sent at fixed, frequent intervals or sporadic intervals, with transmissions occurring only when something newsworthy comes along. Sophistication (and cost) can be very low or very high.
Along with the power of e-mail comes the abuse of e-mail, commonly known as spam or unsolicited commercial e-mail (UCE). Is spam e-mail considered marketing? Technically, the answer is probably yes, but it is certainly not good e-mail marketing. While some users fail to distinguish between permission marketing and e-mail spam, spam is actually a major threat to legitimate e-mail marketers, as a glut of messages could make the entire e-mail medium less effective. The CAN SPAM Act of 2003 imposed penalties on unsolicited commercial e-mail. A good e-mail marketing campaign complies with the regulations of the CAN SPAM Act and generates qualified traffic to the website. Learn more about legitimate E-mail Marketing services.
E-mail SpamUnwanted, unsolicited commercial e-mail.
The definition of e-mail spam is purposefully vague because everybody has his or her own definition. As it currently stands, e-mail spam is in the eye of the beholder. E-mail spam usually pertains to unsolicited commercial messages sent in bulk—although there are exceptions to this rule.
Some spammers will argue that e-mail spam is not any different than traditional junk mail, but there is one undeniable difference—cost. The cost of sending junk mail through conventional means is very real, including postage costs. The cost of sending e-mail spam is very small, and the costs may be offset by e-mail recipients.
The lack of significant barriers (cost) to entry (sending) is often cited as a key problem with e-mail spam. With traditional junk mail, a direct marketer must ensure that the offer and targeting are good enough to more than offset the costs of mailing. With e-mail spam, anything goes, often in the form of shady deals and outright scams.
While the monetary costs of e-mailing are small, there are other non-monetary costs that junk e-mailers face, such as the risk of getting kicked off of their ISP or webhost, or the risk of tarnishing their name within the legitimate marketing community. Learn more about legitimate E-mail Marketing services.
Express ConsentActively agreeing to subscribe to an e-mail by checking a box on an Internet or paper form, or by telephone.
Failing to uncheck a box is not express consent.
False PositivesE-mail that is not spam but is labeled spam by a recipient's spam filter.
Note that e-mail marketers and e-mail recipients may have different opinions of what "spam" is.
FlashMultimedia technology developed by Macromedia to allow much interactivity to fit in a relatively small file size.
Flash can be used to create interactive and entertaining websites. Sites can be entirely "Flash sites" or simply add interactive elements to standard HTML sites. Some Flash-only sites are accompanied by non-Flash sites in an effort to cater to a wider audience.
The proper use of Flash has been a hotly debated topic between rich media evangelists and usability experts. Usability guru Jakob Nielsen threw down the gauntlet with an article titled, "Flash: 99 Bad." Since then Macromedia has added resources relating to usability and accessibility. Flash evangelists maintain that bad designers should be blamed for excesses, not the technology. Flash technology can also be used in interactive banner and button advertisements. The use of large-format rich media ads at CNET has attracted much attention, plus a little controversy, and may signal a trend toward large, rich ads by publishers looking to add premium CPM placements.
Flash can also impact search engine rankings, especially for exclusively Flash sites. Learn more about Search Engine Marketing services.
FormatThe layout and structure of an e-mail.
E-mails can be sent in plain text, HTML, Microsoft's Rich Text Format (RTF), or other rich media formats. Mail clients and servers may not be compatible with all formats, making e-mails difficult to read or rejecting rich media format e-mails altogether.
Google AdSenseAn affiliate marketing program that displays relevant text ads on a website. Publishers (affiliates) earn money when customer click on the ads.
Google AdSense is a fast and easy way for website publishers of all sizes to display relevant Google PPC ads on their websites’ content pages and earn money. Because the ads are related to what a site’s visitors are looking for on their site—or matched to the characteristics and interests of the visitors the site’s content attracts—that company has a way to both monetize and enhance its content pages. It's also a way for website publishers to provide Google Internet and site search to their visitors, and to earn money by displaying Google ads on the search results pages.
Google AdWordsA Google-sponsored PPC program where webmasters can create their own ads and choose keywords.
Google AdWords ads connect a merchant with new customers at the precise moment when they're looking for the merchant’s products or services. The Google Network reaches more than 80% of Internet users. With Google AdWords merchants can create their own ads, choose keywords to help match their ads to their audience and pay only when someone clicks on them.
Google-izationThe process of jointly localizing and optimizing a website to enhance the effectiveness of each process. See also iSEO (international search engine optimization).
A localized site is an excellent way to capture a market segment that speaks another language or lives in another country. However, it is essential that those potential customers be able to find the localized site. Google-ization (G5-6N) is the process of optimizing a localized site to rank well in search engines, including the most popular search engines used by the target audience. Without Google-ization, a localized website may never reach its intended audience.
Learn more about Search Engine Marketing and International Services.
Hard BounceA bounced e-mail that never got through because the e-mail address or domain are invalid.
Hard bounces indicate e-mail addresses that should be removed from e-mail marketing lists. An effective and efficient e-mail marketing list manager will automatically remove hard bounce e-mail addresses from the list.
Learn more about E-mail Marketing services.
HitThe request of a file from an Internet server.
The term "hit" is perhaps the most misused term in online marketing, mistakenly used to mean unique visitors, visits, page views, or all of the above.
A hit is merely a request for a file from an Internet server. A request for a page counts as a hit, but so does each request for a graphic on a page. Since the number of graphics per page can vary considerably, hits mean very little for comparison purposes.
Learn more about accurate comparisons with Web Analytics services.
ImpressionA single instance of an online advertisement being displayed.
There is no standard way to count impressions. All of the differences can add up to very large discrepancies, yet people make purchases based on impressions every day. Currently, the most applicable definition of an impression is whatever a buyer and seller agree upon in their contract.
Inbound Link
Inbound links send visitors to a website and can improve your search engine rankings. Many sites go to great lengths to achieve as much of this "free" advertising as possible, although a few sites are very particular about where the links are pointing (see deep linking).
Interactive AgencyAn agency offering a mix of design/development, Internet advertising/marketing, or e-business/e-commerce consulting.
Interactive agencies rose to prominence before traditional advertising agencies fully embraced the Internet. Offering a wide range of services, some interactive agencies grew very rapidly, although some have downsized just as rapidly due to changing market conditions.
Learn more about 10x Marketing’s interactive services, including Website Design and Development, Search Engine Marketing and more.
iSEOInternational search engine optimization; jointly localizing and optimizing a website. See Google-ization.
Localization, the process of translating a website into another language to extend its commercial influence, is incomplete if speakers of the target language are unable to find the website. iSEO, or Googlie-ization (G5-6N), is an important consideration during the localization process. iSEO optimizes a site for the search engines most commonly used in the target language to enable speakers to find the site easily.
KeywordA word or phrase used in a performing a search.
Keywords are used by Internet users to describe what they hope to find when performing an Internet search. This statement of a real-time want/need has not gone unnoticed by Internet marketers. With 10x Marketing, you can use the popularity of search engines in keyword advertising buys, pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns and/or search engine optimization to generate more qualified traffic to your website.
Keyword DensityThe number of keywords as a percentage of indexable text words.
Keyword density can vary when analyzing a page for various search engines. Different search engines may use different stop words or stemming techniques, resulting in a word being counted by one engine and not counted by another. Aside from the problem of determining what constitutes a word, there is also the problem of determining which tags various search engines will support. The most basic scenario might have a search engine reading only <body> text. More elaborate scenarios might have a search engine indexing <body> text, ALT tags, META tags, comment tags, and a handful of other tags.
For example, if a keyword is used 5 times in page with 100 indexable text words, the page has a keyword density of 5%. Generally, keyword density should be high enough that a keyword is recognized as a main topic of a page and not an incidental, unimportant word. At the same time, keyword density should not be too high, as some search engines may penalize a page for keyword stuffing.
Keyword ResearchThe search for keywords related to a website, and the analysis of which keywords may yield the highest return on investment (ROI).
Keyword research consists of at least three major steps:
1. Finding as many keywords as possible relating to the website. Online tools can speed up the discovery process and allow marketers to search for related keywords and their relative search popularity.
2. Determining which keywords are the most valuable for the website. The most generic keywords are the most widely searched, but also the most competitive, and sometimes bring mediocre conversion rates. Generally, phrases that describe unique qualities of a site yield the highest ROI.
3. Analyzing the strength of competitors for potential keywords. Competitive factors include how attentive sites are to optimization issues and the number of relevant inbound links they have received. Clustered metasearch engines such as Ixquick and Zworks can provide a quick overview of the competitive landscape on any given search term.
Landing Page, Doorway PageA 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.
In practice, use of landing pages varies considerably, and there are countless other terms used to describe them. The pages themselves range from unique, content-rich pages to generic, keyword-stuffed pages. True landing pages should be engineered to serve as a smooth transition from the user's search to the client's website as well as appeal to search engine spiders.
Doorway pages have acquired somewhat of a bad reputation due to the frequent use (and abuse) of landing pages in spamming search engines. The most flagrant abuses include mass production of machine-generated pages with only minor variations, and using re-direction or cloaking so the visitor does not see the actual page requested. Landing pages used in this manner add to the clutter that search engines and Internet searchers must contend with.
Critics of landing pages contend that the time and effort spent generating pages would be better spent optimizing pages that are integrated into the content of the website, plus producing content to attract repeat visitors.
A wide range of opinions exists concerning what constitutes a landing page and when they are acceptable. One of the most common justifications is for sites which have database-driven content that would otherwise be invisible to the search engines.
Some would argue that every single page on a website is a doorway. Perhaps, but then the term “doorway page" would lack any distinct meaning, with no term to describe pages created specifically for the search engines.
Link CheckerA tool used to check for broken hyperlinks.
Link checking is one aspect of site management, the regular maintenance necessary to keep a site up-to-date.
A "broken hyperlink" does not correctly point to the intended destination page. The most common scenario involves a hyperlink "breaking" when the destination page is deleted or moved to another location.
Basic link checking involves testing for "404 - File Not Found" responses. Many link checkers can also test for slow-loading pages, noting pages that fail to respond within a reasonable time limit.
While link checking tools eliminate a considerable amount of manual work, they do not completely eliminate the need for human review. For example, a link may point to the wrong page or the content of a page may have changed drastically—especially in the case of expired domains and objectionable content.
Link PopularityA measure of the quantity and quality of sites that link to a site.
Link popularity is an example of the move by search engines toward off-the-page-criteria to determine quality content. Off-the-page-criteria adds the aspect of impartiality to search engine rankings, as citations and links from other authors in the Internet community help define a site’s reputation. In theory, great sites will naturally attract many links, and content-poor sites will have difficulty attracting any links.
Link popularity assumes that not all inbound links are equal. For example, an inbound link from a major directory carries more weight than an inbound link from an obscure personal home page. A backward link from a "link farm" may actually damage a site's search engine ranking.
Link Recruitment or Link DevelopmentThe process of recruiting or developing inbound links to a site.
Link recruitment or development is an important part of search engine optimization (SEO). Because search engines see backward or inbound links like a “vote" for the content of a website, developing these links can improve search engine rankings.
Linked TextThe text contained in (and sometimes near) a hyperlink.
Linked text pertains primarily to text hyperlinks, as most other linking methods contain no text that is readable as such by search engines.
In the following example, the phrase "check link popularity"" is the linked text.
<a href="http://www.linkpopularity.com>check link popularity</a>
Linked text is becoming an increasingly important factor in search engine optimization. It is another example of off-the-page criteria. The assumption is that the external descriptions are relatively impartial in describing the target site’s content, in contrast to the descriptions written by the actual site owner.
List BrokerA reseller of e-mail address lists.
When enlisting the services of a list broker, be careful. Many e-mail lists are not resellable, and sending commercial e-mails to a list that has not opted-in for these specific mailings may be considered a violation of the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003. At the very least, an unsolicited commercial e-mail will most likely convert poorly, no matter how well crafted.
List BuildingThe process of generating a list of e-mail addresses for use in e-mail campaigns.
List building is an important part of a successful e-mail marketing campaign. With a unique, opt-in list, an e-mail marketing campaign is more likely to have higher click-through and conversion rates. 10x Marketing can help your company build its own e-mail list for an e-mail marketing campaign.
List HostAn Internet service that provides tools to manage large e-mail address databases and to distribute large quantities of e-mails.
A list host is an important part of effectively managing an e-mail campaign. 10x Marketing can manage your e-mail campaign and report to you on important statistics, minimizing wasted time and effort and maximizing the effectiveness of your campaign.
List ManagerThe owner or operator of opt-in e-mail newsletters or databases. Also the software used to maintain a mailing list.
To comply with the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003, a list manager must remove unsubscribe requests. Bounced and invalid e-mails are also a challenge for list managers. With 10x Marketing as your e-mail list manager, you don’t have to worry about unsubscribes, bounces or invalid e-mails.
Localization (L10N)Translating website content into another language, usually done with the purpose of extending a website's commercial influence.
Localization is an important step in reaching a target language audience. However, without international search engine optimization (iSEO, International Services.
Look and FeelAppearance, layout, design, functions and anything not directly related to the actual message on an e-mail.
The look and feel of an e-mail often play a greater role in click-through and conversion rates than any other aspect.
Meta TagsHTML tags, usually visible only in the code of a page, used to describe various aspects about the page.
Meta tags may be used for a wide variety of metadata—data that describes other data—but many site promoters focus primarily on the description tag and the keyword tag. Some search engines use the description tag as the first choice for a search engine listing, using alternate methods only if the tag is missing. Some search engines may also use the keywords tag to reinforce the main topics of the page. Not all search engines use meta tags, and the others may not pay much attention to their contents.
Meta tags that are hidden from the visible page, such as the keyword tag, have been subject to much abuse over the years. As a search rating factor gets abused, the natural reaction for the search engines is to de-emphasize the offending factor. This seems to be the case with meta tags, as search engines increasingly seek "reputation" factors less directly controlled by the website owner.
Natural RankingsThe rankings on a search engine results page (SERP) awarded to a website naturally, based on the relevancy of the site’s content to the search term.
Generally considered the most desirable positions on a search engine results page, the top ten natural rankings have the best click-through rates of any search results—100% for a #1 listing in some cases. Search engine optimization (SEO) by 10x Marketing creates relevant content for your site engineered to capture high natural rankings.
NavigationThe system that facilitates movement from one page to another within a website.
Navigation is often taken for granted, but it plays a crucial role in getting site visitors to view more than just the home page. If navigation choices are unclear, visitors may elect to hit the "Back" button on their first (and final) visit to a website. Once they enter a site, the real challenge begins, as it is not easy for first-time visitors to take maximum advantage of a site.
Over time, some more-or-less standard navigation layouts have developed:
Main Navigation: Above the fold left side column.
Secondary Navigation: Below the fold right side column.
As with any rules, there are exceptions. Another popular navigation layout is listing choices across the top of the page. Making navigation more understandable and intuitive can play a large role in improving conversion rate. Learn more about Conversion Rate Enhancement services.
Open RateThe ratio of e-mails actually opened by recipients to the total number of e-mails sent in a particular campaign.
Open rates may be artificially low if many servers classify an e-mail campaign as spam or many e-mail addresses bounce the e-mail. With 10x Marketing, you can get an accurate open rate on your e-mail marketing campaign as well as manage bouncing and invalid e-mail addresses.
OperatorIn regard to search engines, a series of words or symbols which can be used to further define or narrow an Internet search.
Operators can also be used to search a single site from the main search engine, find sites linking back to a site or find cached or related sites. The actual commands may vary from search engine to search engine.
Opt-InAgreeing to receive e-mails from a particular company, group of companies or associated companies, by subscribing to an e-mail list.
Opt-in mailing lists are generally considered better and more targeted than opt-out mailing lists, while double opt-in are the “best."
Opt-In E-mailE-mail explicitly requested by the recipient.
The definition of opt-in e-mail has been a matter of intense debate.
"single opt-in" versus "double opt-in"
The term single opt-in simply means that a subscriber took an action to sign up for the e-mail in question. The term double opt-in means that the subscriber has actively confirmed their subscription, typically by responding to an automatically-generated message sent to the e-mail address. Proponents of double opt-in may not actually use that term, as they feel any e-mail labeled "opt-in" must be verified.
Learn more about E-mail Marketing services.
Opt-OutA mailing list which transmits e-mails to people who have not subscribed and lets them "opt-out" from the list.
The subscribers' e-mail addresses in an opt-out list may be harvested from the Internet, USENET, or other mailing lists. ISP policies and some regions' laws consider this equivalent to spamming.
Outbound LinkA link to another, outside website.
Outbound links send visitors away from a website. Attitudes toward outbound links vary considerably among site owners. Some site owners link freely. Some refuse to link at all, and some provide links that open in a new browser window.
Proponents argue that providing high quality references actually enhances the value of a site and increases the chance of return visitors.
Opponents of outbound linking argue that it risks losing time and money from site visitors. This can be a large risk if a site is facing high customer acquisition costs.
Page ViewA request to load a single HTML page.
Page views are only important to the degree they play a part in a site’s revenue model. If a site earns much of its revenue from advertising, then page views are important because of their contribution to ad inventory. If a site only earns revenue on sales, then page views are not a key statistic. Page views without corresponding sales may even be viewed as an expense. As a statistic, page views may be useful in determining which pages of a site need search engine optimization or conversion rate enhancement to minimize that expense. Learn more about Search Engine Marketing or Conversion Rate Enhancement services.
Paid ListingsThe results on a search engine results page (SERP) that a company pays for or sponsors.
Usually found directly above the natural listings as well as on the right hand side of the search engine results page, the paid listings are essentially text-based ads relevant to a search. The rankings of these ads are determined by a bidding system, with the highest rank going to the highest bidder. The bids also determine the cost per click (CPC): the company agrees to pay that amount for each legitimate, unique visitor that clicks through to the site. This is also called pay-per-click (PPC) advertising.
Pay-For-Performance (PFP)Programs in which affiliate sites (including search engines) receive payment based on performance in the campaign. Includes PPC and affiliate programs.
The “performance" requirement of a PFP campaign ranges from thousands of impressions (displays of the ad) to a customer clicking through to the site and completing a desired action (making a purchase, filling out a form, etc.). In an impression-based program, the merchant (or author of the ad) assumes the most risk. In a program based on completion of the desired action, the affiliate or publisher of the ad assumes the most risk. In between these ends of the spectrum is pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, in which merchants pay for legitimate, unique visitors clicking on the ad and visiting their site.
Pay-Per-Click (PPC)An online advertising payment model in which payment is based solely on qualifying click-throughs.
In a PPC agreement, the advertiser only pays for qualifying clicks to the destination site based on a prearranged per-click rate. Popular PPC advertising options include per-click advertising networks, search engines, and affiliate programs.
Paying per click is sometimes seen by some as a middle ground between paying per impression and paying per action. When paying per impression, the advertiser assumes the risk of low-quality traffic generated by the publisher of the ad. When getting paid for actions, the publisher assumes the risk of low-converting offers by the advertiser. In the PPC model, the publisher does not have to worry about the sales conversion rate of the target site, and the advertiser does not have to worry about how many impressions it takes to attract the specified number of clicks.
Pay-Per-Click Search EngineSearch engine whose results are ranked according to bid amounts. Advertisers are charged when a searcher clicks on the search listing.
Advertisers supply the following details:
- Listing: includes title, description, and URL.
- Keywords: the keywords that apply to the listing.
- Bids: amount paid per click (varies by keyword).
When a search is performed, the first search engine listing is the one with the highest bid for that keyword. The ranking of listings continues from highest to lowest bids. A higher ranking generally brings more traffic.
Critics claim that PPC search results are not useful in finding information. The claim is often made that paid results are tainted and contrary to the very essence of the Internet.
Proponents of PPC search maintain that the free market is effective in bringing the best results to the top, at least for commercial searches. In theory, the highest bids will be held by the best companies for each keyword, because a company’s ability to bid is determined largely by its conversion rate.
From a marketing perspective, it is important to determine which PPC search engines generate sufficient quality and quantity of visitors for a particular product category.
Permission MarketingMarketing centered around obtaining customer consent to receive information from a company.
Coined and popularized by Seth Godin, permission marketing is the opposite of traditional marketing. Permission marketing is about building an ongoing relationship of increasing depth with customers. In the words of Seth Godin, permission marketing is about "Turning strangers into friends, and friends into customers."
Permission marketing has been hailed as a way for marketers to succeed in a world increasingly cluttered with marketing messages.
Learn more about hoe to get your message through with E-mail Marketing services.
PortalA site featuring a suite of commonly used services, serving as a starting point and frequent gateway to the Internet (Web portal) or a niche topic (vertical portal).
Web portal services often include a search engine or directory, news, e-mail, stock quotes, maps, forums, chat, shopping, and options for customization. These are only some of the most frequently offered services; large portals often include dozens or hundreds of bundled services.
Portals are one-stop destinations for advertisers and marketers as well, offering an endless variety of choices. These choices include keyword-, geography- or demography-based results as well as ad formats ranging from graphic to text.
Reciprocal LinksLinks between two sites, often based on an agreement by the site owners to exchange links.
Reciprocal links are based on an agreement by two sites to link to each other. Reciprocal linking is often used by small/midsize sites as an inexpensive way to increase website traffic and link popularity.
Search EngineA program that indexes documents, then attempts to match documents relevant to a user's search requests.
The term search engine is most commonly used to refer to Internet search engines, although other types of search engines exist. Internet search engines attempt to index a large portion of pages on the World Wide Web. Other search engines are topic-specific, region-specific, and even site-specific.
There is also some confusion about the different between a search engine and a search destination. A search engine powers the search process and provides results for a search destination. A search destination can use its own engine, a third party engine, or a combination. Knowing the difference between an engine and a destination is important when submitting URLs; a destination using its own engine can accept direct submissions, while a destination using external engines may or may not provide a submission option.
Search Engine Marketing (SEM)A form of Internet marketing that promotes a website within search engines and to the people who use it.
Millions of people worldwide perform searches online every day, and many of them could be searching for the very products or services that your business offers. Search engine marketing (SEM) helps online businesses be more visible to search engines and to the many people who use search engines. If your name is the first they see on a search results page instead of your competitors', you are likely to see a visible increase in sales.
The two primary ways to increase visibility in search engines are through paid listings and natural rankings. Paid listings provide more immediate results, but can be extremely costly if not managed well. Natural rankings are free and provide long-term results, but take longer to develop.
10x Marketing can help you profitably use both methods to successfully boost your online revenues. Search engine optimization (SEO) helps your site get higher natural rankings and pay-per-click (PPC) management gets you into the paid listings.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)The process of choosing targeted keyword phrases related to a site and ensuring that the site ranks well when those keyword phrases are part of a search.
There is much confusion about search engine optimization (SEO) and its relation to search engine spamming. Generally, legitimate search engine optimization adds to the user experience, while search engine spamming takes away from the user experience, although there is much gray area between the clear-cut examples on either side.
Optimization involves making pages readable to search engines and emphasizing key topics related to the content. Basic optimization may involve nothing more than ensuring that a site does not unnecessarily become part of the portion of the Internet not accessible through search engines. Advanced optimization may include significant research into every element of page design, and site structure, as well as off-the-page criteria.
Before pages can be optimized, research must be done to determine which keywords to target. This involves finding relevant keywords, determining their popularity, assessing the amount of competition, and deciding which keywords can be best supported with quality content.
When done properly, search engine marketing is an effective way to increase Internet traffic and bring more qualified visitors to a website.
Search Engine SpamExcessive manipulation to influence search engine rankings, often for pages which contain little or no relevant content.
Search engine spamming often gets confused with legitimate search engine optimization (SEO). While there is much gray area between the two extremes, in their most clear-cut forms the terms are very different. Spamming involves getting a site more exposure than it deserves for its keywords, leading to unsatisfactory search experiences. Optimization involves getting a site the exposure it deserves on the most targeted keywords, leading to satisfactory search experiences.
Examples of search engine spam include:
- Irrelevancy: targeting keywords unrelated to the site/page.
- Hidden Text: putting keywords where visitors will not see them to increase keyword count.
- Hidden Links: putting links where visitors will not see them to increase link popularity.
- Doorway Clutter: mass production of low-quality doorway pages, sometimes of the machine-generated variety.
Search Engine SubmissionSupplying a URL to a search engine in an attempt to make a search engine aware of a site or page.
At a minimum, submitting to a search engine involves adding the URL of the site or page that will be under consideration. Search engines sometimes ask for additional contact information, including a name and/or e-mail address.
Policies for adding URLs vary among search engines. Some search engines only ask for the main URL of a site, claiming that the rest of the site will be spidered; others require the submission of individual pages. Variation also exists with regard to how often URLs may be added, as some engines have tried to discourage bulk submissions in an attempt to minimize spamming.
Submitting sites/pages can be done manually or in an automated manner. Manual submission involves going to each of the "Add URL" pages and filling out the form fields individually. Automatic submission involves filling out information only one time; the necessary information is then used by a software program to submit to many search engines.
Confusing search engine submission with search engine optimization is a common mistake. The mere act of submitting does nothing to optimize the pages in question and achieve higher rankings. In fact, submitting poorly-optimized pages can do more harm than good.
Shopping CartSoftware used to make a site's product catalog available for online ordering, through which visitors may select, view, add/delete, and purchase merchandise.
Shopping carts are available as standalone software or as part of hosted storefronts. Companies with special needs may prefer standalone software that can be integrated with their other systems. Companies with simple needs may prefer one-size-fits-all hosted storefronts.
Soft BounceAn e-mail returned to the originating e-mail server for reasons other than an invalid e-mail address or domain.
Soft bounce e-mails may need to be resent, or may constitute an abandoned e-mail address. A full inbox is one common reason for a soft bounce. A good e-mail marketing list manager can track and manage soft bounces.
Learn more about E-mail Marketing services.
Return to top
Super AffiliateAn affiliate capable of generating a significant percentage of an affiliate program's activity.
Affiliate marketing can give a merchant access to an army of virtual salespeople, but many affiliates generate few, if any, actual results. A super affiliate might account for more results than hundreds or thousands of smaller affiliates combined. Partnering with a super affiliate allows affiliate managers to spend less time on administrative duties and more time on generating results.
However, the demand for super affiliates gives them more leverage than the average affiliate. To achieve more favorable promotion, affiliate merchants must be able to hold up their end of the bargain in the form of attractive commissions and conversion rates. Additionally, they might have to offer custom rates and terms.
Text AdAn advertisement using text-based hyperlinks.
Text-based ads, although common in e-mail, have been dominated on the Internet by their graphical-based counterparts.
Affiliate marketing is one area where text ads have flourished. However, many mainstream advertisers are only beginning to discover the power of text. Google has caused a buzz with its text advertising options, generating a self-proclaimed "click-through rate 4-5 times higher than industry standard for banner ads."
While lacking some of the advantages of graphical ads, text-based ads have some powerful advantages of their own. They download almost instantly and are not affected by ad blocking software.
Top 10 RankingThe top ten search engine results for a particular search term.
Note that a top 10 ranking in and of itself means very little in terms of driving website traffic. More specific details are needed before it becomes meaningful. Considerations include the popularity and value of the search term, the standardness of the search term, the size and demographics of the search engine, and the relevance of the site to the search term.
Nevertheless, some companies are obsessed with getting top 10 search engine rankings, and some companies even use this as a means of determining payment. If you are contemplating this payment method, consider specifying the following points up front with the SEO firm you are dealing with:
- A list of the major search engines to be targeted. This avoids after-the-fact haggling over what constitutes a major search engine.
- The way you want the search to be found. Try to determine the default search style for your keywords. This typically does not include quotes or symbols, uses only lowercase, and uses the most natural singular/plural option, although these generalities may vary significantly by keyword and industry.
Unique VisitorsIndividuals who have visited a website (or network) at least once in a fixed time frame, typically a 30 day period.
Most measurements of unique visitors are estimates.
Sites often calculate unique visitors based on the IP address information found in the log files, and sometimes through cookies. However, many factors may skew the results.
Traffic rating companies typically calculate unique visitors by monitoring actual usage of a group of volunteers, then applying the results to the Internet population. Results fluctuate considerably for small sites due to their small sample sizes.
Learn more about accurately counting unique visitors with Web Analytics services.
Return to top
Unsolicited Commercial E-mail (UCE)
E-mail sent to promote products or services to recipients who have not previously consented to receiving commercial e-mails from the sender.Also known as e-mail spam, unsolicited commercial e-mail can weaken legitimate commercial e-mail's influence. The recipient's definition of "spam" may be very different from that of the sender. The CAN SPAM Act of 2003 imposed regulations on commercial e-mail and penalties on UCE. A good e-mail marketing list manager will always comply with the CAN SPAM Act of 2003. Learn more about E-mail Marketing services. Return to top
Web AnalyticsPieces of code included on each page of a website to track visitors’ paths through a site, conversion and other performance factors.
While not an online marketing technique in and of itself, Web analytics is a vital component to any successful search marketing campaign in that it provides valuable information about what exactly visitors are doing when they come to a site. Knowing such information as how they got there, | 