Above the fold - The uppermost portion of a Web page. "Above the Fold" is the area a visitor can see on a screen without scrolling. Many Web sites consider this area the most valuable content "real estate" since it has the highest likelihood of being seen by a visitor.

Acquisition - The act of obtaining visitors to a Web site. Visitor acquisition is often an e-marketer's highest-priority objective.

Affiliate Marketing - A system of referrals where merchant sites pay affiliate sites a commission for sending them sales via links that promote the merchant's products or services. Affiliate marketing can have a number of goals, including boosting Web site traffic and/or revenue.

ASP Application Service Provider. - A company that offers Internet solutions on a subscription basis. In general, an ASP hosts a solution for the customer so no additional resources are required.
 
Banner Ad - A small advertisement, often rectangular, displayed on a Web page. Interested users click on the ads and are linked directly to the advertiser's site. Banners have become a ubiquitous form of Web advertising.
Bookmark A Web browser feature that allows you to save the current address (URL) of a Web page. With a bookmark, visitors can easily revisit the Web page later without having to search for it.

Bounce - E-mail message(s) that are returned to the originator because they are undeliverable for one of several reasons, i.e. the address is incorrect or no longer in use.

Bricks-and-Clicks - Retailers who have a presence both in a physical building as well as online. Bricks-and-Clicks use the Internet to drive additional sales and promote their traditional storefront business.

Bricks-and-Mortar - Retailers who have a traditional business housed in a building. Bricks-and-Mortar companies rely solely on their core business strengths, and use the Internet primarily as a marketing vehicle.

Browser - A software application that allows users to find and display Web pages. The most popular browsers, such as Netscape Navigator and Microsoft Internet Explorer, are graphical browsers – able to display both text and graphics.
 
Chat - (see also Chat Rooms) A form of online communication allowing users to conduct real-time conversations over the Internet. These conversations typically take place in chat rooms where participants enter text that appears on another participant's monitor.

Chat Rooms - (see also Chat) A virtual area on a Web site where users can instantaneously communicate (chat) with other people who share similar interests. Most chat rooms focus on a specific topic, such as movies or motorcycles.

Churn - The customer practice of switching to another supplier based on cheaper prices or special promotions. Clearly, a high churn rate is something Web sites want to avoid.

Click-through - The number of "clicks" or responses a promotional link, such as a banner ad or hotlink in an e-mail, receives. Click-through rates are used to determine the success of promotions, and are the preferred measurement for advertisers. Click-throughs are typically evaluated along with conversion rates and sales.

Clicks-and-Mortar  - Retailers with both an online and offline presence.

CPC Cost Per Click - The amount of money an advertiser pays when a Web site visitor clicks on a banner ad. CPC is used to price ad banners.

CPM Cost Per Thousand - The amount of money an advertiser pays for 1,000 page views of a banner ad. CPM is used to price ad banners as well as use of applications, e-mail sent, etc.

CTR Click-Through Rate - The percentage of times an ad is clicked, based on the number of times it's viewed.

CSP Commerce Service Provider - A company that provides businesses or individuals with the capability of conducting transactions over the Internet. A CSP provides tools and services to buy and sell products, as well as manage online enterprises.

Contextual E-Commerce - A purchase opportunity contained within or alongside related content. Contextual E-Commerce provides users with a commerce opportunity that is relevant or related to the information they are viewing without having to leave the current site.

Cookie - A coded message passed to a Web browser by a Web site's page server. The information is stored in a text file on the user's hard drive, and identifies the user's computer upon subsequent visits to that site. The purpose of cookies is to identify and track users in order to prepare customized Web pages, and to learn more about visitor behavior. Cookies may track information such as pages visited, operating system, browser, and information entered into a form.
Crawler A search-related program that scans the Web or selected URLs in search of new content. The results are then stored in a database visitors can then access using a search engine.

Cross-channel Marketing - A popular marketing tactic where companies use one of their sales channels to promote another. For example, a company may promote its bricks-and-mortar retail locations on its Web site, or promote its Web site in its catalogs.
 
Destination Site - A popular Web site that offers highly useful information on a particular topic and/or a multitude of desirable services such as e-mail, weather, horoscopes, etc.

Domain Name - A non-numerical Internet address for a Web site. For example, the domain name for Sandy Bay Networks is www.sandybay.com. The domain name is the portion of the URL following the www (abbreviation for World Wide Web) and ending with the type of domain, e.g. .com (commercial), .edu (educational), .org (non-profit organization) or .gov (government). A domain name may identify one or more IP addresses.

Double Opt-in - An e-mail subscription practice whereby a user must actively "check" a box on a Web site requesting further information or communications from a company.

Double Opt-out - An e-mail subscription practice whereby a user must "uncheck" a box to prevent receiving further communications. Unless this box is "unchecked," the user will receive future correspondence from the company.
 
E-Business Marketing Lifecycle - An evolutionary series of stages (site development, visitor acquisition, retention, loyalty, revenue, and refinement to improve the business or online presence) a marketing organization must execute to develop an effective Web presence.

E-Commerce Electronic Commerce. - Business transactions that take place over the Internet.

E-mail- (also see opt-in e-mail, opt-out e-mail, double opt-in e-mail, double opt-out e-mail) Electronic Mail. Electronic messages, transmitted from a computer over communications networks, that may consist of text and/or files. These messages require Internet access and special software to interpret and manage.

E-mail Newsletter - An electronic version of a traditional newsletter used to announce sales, specials, product releases and other important company information. Many companies have their own e-mail newsletter – sometimes 5 or 10 depending on product offering.

E-zine - Electronic Magazine or newsletter. Some online magazines are electronic versions of traditional print magazines, and others are only offered online.

ESP E-Marketing Services Provider. - A new class of companies that provide Internet marketing solutions to businesses with a Web presence. These services allow customers to improve overall site development, and increase visitor acquisition, retention, loyalty, and revenue.
 
Filter - Software that gathers data, categorizes it, and then outputs the categorized data. For example, many Internet Service Providers (ISPs) offer customized filters to users of their free e-mail products as a means for organizing their incoming e-mail messages. Filters can help keep unwanted e-mail or "spam" out of a user's inbox, and are utilized by Web site operators to gather, categorize, and output visitor data into reports.

Firewall - A security barrier designed to prevent unauthorized access to or from a company's computer network. Firewalls may be implemented in hardware, software, or both. Messages must pass through this security gate which examines each message and blocks those that do not meet specific requirements.

Flame - An inflammatory e-mail or posting, usually sent in response to inappropriate Internet etiquette ("netiquette"), such as SPAM. These e-mail messages may be written to a public forum or may be sent privately.

Form - A Web page mechanism used for collecting information or taking orders from a visitor. A form is processed once the visitor clicks the "submit" button. These pages contain blank data fields that users complete.

Frames - A viewing and layout style, used by some Web sites, where two or more Web pages are simultaneously loaded and displayed. With frames, Web pages are broken into segments, and each frame becomes a separate page with its own attributes.

Forum - A computer communication session, devoted to a specific topic, where participants with common interests can exchange messages.
 
Hit - The request for access to a server for a page or graphics file. "Hits" or "impressions" are used to determine the amount of traffic a Web site receives. However, because different statistical packages count hits differently, page views are now the preferred method for determining Web site traffic by site owners.
Also, in the context of a search query, "hits" is a measurement of the number of web pages the search engine returns listing URLs that match the query.

HTTP HyperText Transfer Protocol. - The original communications protocol of the Web that defines how messages are formatted and transmitted. Browsers use HTTP to connect to Web servers, and servers use HTTP to talk to other servers. Another key Web standard is HTML, which controls how Web pages are formatted or displayed.

Homepage - The introductory page of a Web site. The homepage is the main entrance for a group of linked, related Web pages, or a single Web page dedicated to one person, institution, company, etc.
Hosted An application or service that resides on a remote server and is accessed by users over the Internet.
 
Impressions - The number of times a banner ad is downloaded and reviewed by a visitor. Impressions are used to measure the number of views an ad receives, and are often sold on a cost per thousand (CPM) basis. (Note: Impressions may not be a true indicator of whether users actually saw the ad, since they may not have scrolled down far enough to view it.)

Infrastructure - The physical network and computing resources a company utilizes in support of their business.

Internet - The global association of computers that carries data and makes the exchange of information possible. The Internet is a self-governing network that communicates in a common language.

IP Address Internet Protocol Address. - A unique, numeric address given to servers and users connected to the Internet. The IP address is an identifier for a computer or any device on a TCP/IP network.

ISP Internet Service Provider. - A company providing access to the Internet and Web hosting services, typically for a monthly fee. ISPs may provide service to companies or individuals.
 
Jump Page - A mechanism that allows a user to "jump" or move to another location. Typically, a jump page appears as an interim or transitional page when a user clicks on a link. The jump page reminds them that they are leaving the original site and moving to another site.
 
Keyword - A word used in a search engine query to find Web pages on a certain topic.
 
Link - A hypertext connection between one file and another. A link is a reference to another document and lets the reader "jump" to another location.

List Broker - A professional who acts as an intermediary between a list owner and a list buyer.
Loyalty An ongoing marketing initiative aimed at convincing visitors to continue visiting a Web site, purchasing a product, etc. Typical loyalty-building initiatives used by site owners include rewards programs and sweepstakes.
 
Membership Programs - Special programs offered by a company to its customers or members, generally aimed at building loyalty.

Meta Tags - Special HTML "tags" used on some Web sites to specify information, such as keywords or descriptions, about the content of a Web page. Meta tags are often used to increase the likelihood that Web crawlers will index a site's pages in their database, thus enhancing the probability that the page will be listed on a search results page.
Merchant An online retailer. Merchants typically sell products, services, or technologies.
 
Netiquette Internet Etiquette. - Socially acceptable behavior for people using networks, in particular, the Internet. Netiquette includes guidelines for posting messages to services or newsgroups as well as technical guidelines.
 
Opt-in - An e-mail subscription practice that occurs when a user requests to be added to an e-mail distribution list by submitting their e-mail address. Typically, users voluntarily sign up to receive commercial e-mail about topics of interest.

Opt-out  - An e-mail subscription practice by which users request to be deleted from an e-mail distribution list by either selecting a link, or sending an e-mail that requests their address be deleted.
 
Page Views - The number of times a Web page is requested from a Web host's server. Page views are widely used to quantify traffic estimates by site owners. A page view differs from a hit because it only counts the number of times a page is accessed. In contrast, a hit counts the number of times all elements in a page have been accessed.

Portal - A destination site that attempts to provide all the content and services that a consumer needs, such as news, e-mail, stock quotes, shopping, weather forecasts, etc. Popular portals include AOL and Yahoo.

Pull - The percent of response to an online offer. The higher the pull, the more successful the campaign.
 
Recency, Frequency, Monetary (RFM) - A marketing methodology used to segment customers based on how recently they made a purchase, how frequently they purchase, and how much money they spend. The best customers are those with a high RFM rate.

Reciprocal Link - A Link on one Web site that connects to another Web site containing a link back to the original site. Reciprocal links are a common practice aimed at increasing Web site traffic, and may be used as a courtesy or may be contractually required.

Results Page - A Web page listing meaningful matches in response to a search engine query.
Retention (see Stickiness) The act of keeping customers or visitors on a site by providing compelling content and/or useful services.

Re-direct - A coding method that causes a user's browser to be sent to an alternative URL.

Robot - (see Spider) A software program that follows hypertext links and accesses Web pages. Robots run automatically without human intervention.
 
Search Box - A small, typically rectangular, box into which Web users type a keyword or phrase they wish to find either on an individual Web site or across the Internet. Search boxes are coded to access Web addresses stored in a database.
Shopping Cart - A software program that allows Web site visitors to select items for purchase from one or more Web pages, review the order, and make necessary changes before submitting the order.

Spam - The equivalent of traditional junk mail. Spam refers to unsolicited information received via e-mail or newsgroup postings.

Spider - (see Crawler)  A robot that responds automatically to a user's activity and searches the Web for new and updated pages. Typically, spiders "crawl" the Web to obtain pages and store them in databases for access by search engines.

Splash Page - An "entry" or first page on a Web site. The splash page is designed to entice visitors to "enter" the site to learn more through the use of flashy animation and/or intriguing text. The Web site's main content is placed behind the splash page.

Stickiness - A Web site's ability to engage a visitor by providing useful content. "Sticky" sites keep visitors on the site longer by using graphics, relevant content, games, free value-added services, and other elements. Sticky sites are better able to increase customer retention, and ultimately revenue potential, through increased online sales, advertising revenue, etc. Stickiness is typically measured by the average number of minutes a user spends on a site in a month.

Subscribe - The act by which people willingly provide their names and e-mail addresses for inclusion on an e-mail distribution list, to join a forum or discussion group, or to receive an online publication, etc.

SSL Secured Sockets Layer. - A protocol that delivers server authentication, data encryption, and message integrity. SSL was developed to transmit private documents over the Internet. Using SSL on both the client and the server ensures that no one but the end user and the merchant receiving the payment information can view the transaction.

Sweepstakes - An offer to give away a randomly drawn prize to winners regardless of whether or not the respondents buy the sponsor's product or service. Many Web sites use sweepstakes as a vehicle for customer acquisition and/or loyalty.

Syndicated Content - Content that is generated or provided on a Web site from another source and is updated automatically without your intervention.
 
Traffic - The number of users who visit a particular Web site. Traffic may be measured by hits or impressions.
 
Unique Visitors - The number of individual visitors to a particular Web site. Visitors are counted based on their unique IP address.

URL Uniform Resource Locator. - A standard format for a page, document, or other resource on the Internet.
 
Vertical Portal (vortal) - A Web site focused on a particular industry, topic, or interest, such as law, parenting advice, or sports. In general, this type of Web site is popular because it provides a vast amount of focused information within one site.
 
Web Host - A company that provides all the software, services, and resources required to store a Web site and make it accessible to Internet users. ISPs typically provide Web hosting services.
Webmaster A professional responsible for maintaining and managing a Web site.


If you see a term that we don't have please let us know.