Glossary of Online Advertising
Clearing up search engine jargon.
A:B Testing
The practice of creating various landing pages and
tracking which of these variants produce higher conversion rates. A:B testing is also known as “split run testing.” Adlucent
not only employs a:b testing, but also maintains extensive records on what elements
produce the greatest conversion rates, giving you the benefit of years of trials.
Above the Fold
Any position on a Web page visible to a user without
scrolling down the page. Advertisements with a higher search engine ranking
appear above the fold and are more likely to be clicked on. All critical elements on a page should be located above the fold using the screen resolution used by most of your visitors.
Analytics
Statistical monitoring of consumer actions on Web sites including time spent on each page, conversions, success of PPC marketing campaigns, pathway analysis, and efficacy of landing page elements. Adlucent studies several hundred different factors and applies the most rigorous pattern recognition protocols to help optimize conversions.
Algorithm
The set of instructions used by search engines to determine a Web site’s page rank. Each search engine uses a different set of factors to determine the relevance of a site’s content.
Anchor Text
The keyword or phrase used as a hyperlink to another
page or content. Anchor text is one key factor in
determining a page’s search engine rank.
Backlinks
The links that direct a user to a particular Web page.
Banning
Certain sites are banned or removed from a search
engine’s results because they have employed various techniques
to augment their ranking artificially. This process is also
known as “black hat” search engine optimization
and adds no value to the user.
Below the Fold
Any position on a Web page not visible to the user without scrolling. There are known ways to encourage people to scan below the fold such as placing a picture in the middle of the fold. Apple.com is a prime example where a high proportion of users will scroll through a page.
Benchmark Report
A report that determines where a Web site’s position is
on a search engine results page. After optimization has been implemented,
these reports track page rank and are used to determine the efficacy
of a particular optimization campaign.
Black Hat Search Engine Optimization
Artificially enhancing a site’s page rank with the use of
unethical techniques such as keyword stuffing, invisible text or doorway pages. The use of black
hat SEO can cause a Web site to be banned from a search engine’s
results pages.
Broad Match
A marketing technique by which a search engine displays
an advertisement when keywords similar to those specified
in the campaign are queried. This can lead to a larger viewing
audience but also may decrease the number of relevant consumers.
Click-Through Rate (CTR)
The percentage of users who click on an advertisement
versus the number of impressions served.
Content Targeted Advertising
Method that places advertisements on Web pages with
subject matter similar to that of the product or service. Content advertising is also referred to as contextual advertising.
Conversion Analytics
Search Engine Marketing researches and tests various
factors contributing to a successful campaign. Conversion analytics
is the study of factors such as landing page design, conversion
ratios and consumer actions.
Conversion Rate
The percentage of Web site patrons who complete an intended action such as purchasing a product or requesting
further information.
Conversion Reporting
Scripts and logs can be used to report conversion
and how a consumer came to the end result. This can help in optimizing
an entire campaign, from landing pages to keyword selection.
Cost Per Acquisition (CPA)
Comparison of sales or registrations to the marketing
costs of a particular campaign.
Cost Per Click (CPC)
Advertising model by which an advertiser must pay
a defined amount for every click an advertisement receives.
Cost Per Thousand (CPM)
Advertising model by which an advertiser must pay
a defined amount for every impression made by an advertisement.
CPM is most often associated with banner ads on Web sites and branding
campaigns.
Crawler
Programs, also known as bots or spiders, that search
engines use to index Web pages. The crawlers search through
Web pages, indexing content. Search engines then use this index
and specific algorithms to determine a Web site’s relevance.
Dayparting
A process that allows an advertisement to be shown
only during particular times of day. As part of campaign optimization,
dayparting can ensure an advertisement is displayed at times
when there is the greatest potential for conversion. Dayparting is now widely available, but is typically less effective than expected.
Deepbot
One of the Google bots that indexes sites monthly
and after algorithm updates.
Delisting
The act of removing Web pages from search engine listings
because of unethical SEO practices otherwise known as “black
hat” SEO. It is strongly recommended to abide by the best practices published by the search engines related to optimization techniques.
Directories
Web page listings compiled by submission. These submitted
Web sites usually undergo peer review before being included
in the directory.
Doorway Page
Page specifically designed to rank high in organic
search results, offering little customer value. Using doorway
pages can lead to the banning of a site and is considered to
be a bad practice by many search engines.
Duplicate Content
Content that has been taken from other Web sites and
can affect a Web site’s rank negatively. Search engines
check for duplicate content on sites and penalize those who
do not have a wealth of original content.
Dynamic Keyword Insertion
A function that allows advertising agencies to create
a single template advertisement and then dynamically add any
keyword or phrase queried by a user to personalize the advertisement.
Dynamic Landing Page
Page that creates personalized content for an individual
user. This personalization can involve keyword or phrase inclusion
as well as biographical information such as regional shipping
costs without the need for user input.
Entry and Exit Pages
Pages that report which URLs customers come from and
on what page they leave a site. This knowledge can help the
optimization process to increase conversions.
Everflux
The slight changes in page rank during a month caused
by Google’s deepbot and freshbot crawls.
E-mail Marketing
Advertising campaigns that primarily use e-mail to
advertise to consumers.
Flash Optimization
The process of making a site more search-engine friendly
by either adding a site map with the same information contained
in the Flash site or by optimizing the Flash coding itself,
necessary because search engines have a difficult time reading
flash elements. A site should never be coded only in Flash and Flash elements should be used only for demonstration and never for content or navigation.
Freshbot
The Google bot that crawls Web pages at a higher rate
than deepbot. Freshbot indexes fewer page elements than its
deepbot counterpart.
Geographical Targeting
Allows advertisers to restrict an advertising campaign
to a specific region, targeting a specific audience.
Geographic Segmentation
The process of determining where Internet traffic
comes from for the purpose of delivering geo- targeted content
or advertising.
Hilltop Algorithm (Hilltop)
The new Google algorithm that determines a Web site’s credibility
by determining whether or not it is an authority on its theme
or subject.
Impression
Any time a Web page displays a page element such as an advertisement.
Inbound Links
Links from other sites pointed to your site. The PageRank of a page is related to the number and quality of the inbound links.
Index
When a crawler visits your Web site, your page content is indexed so it is easily searchable in real-time. An index includes the information extracted from sites allowing it to be quickly searched.
Indexed Pages
Pages that have been visited by a search engine are “indexed” for
that search engine, which then uses these pages to determine their
relevance to a given set of keywords or phrases.
Internal Links
Links that point to the same Web site. Anchor text of internal links is less important than anchor text of incoming links. However, proper naming of hyperlinks will help the search engines attribute meaning to the linked page.
Internet Marketing
Marketing that allows any company to reach out to
their consumers easily through an effective, flexible media
outlet. Adlucent offers a three step, comprehensive Internet marketing solution that includes PPC marketing, bid management, and landing page design and optimization.
Internet Marketing Consultant
Creates and manages an individualized marketing strategy
based on your specific wishes and situation. This plan can include
SEM and SEO as well as other tracking and reporting.
Keyword
A word or phrase used in a search engine to query
a particular subject or theme.
Keyword Density
The relative amount of keywords present within the
context of a Web site.
Keyword Frequency
The exact number of times a keyword occurs within
a Web site.
Keyword Misspellings
A method to ensure that additional consumers can find
their way to your landing pages, potentially leading to conversion,
whereby common or likely misspellings of a keyword are targeted
towards your advertisement. Rather than incorporating misspellings into your text, they can be included in your meta tags.
Keyword Prominence
Use of keywords in Web page titles, meta tags, and
other prominent labels.
Keyword Proximity
The number of words found between keywords. Search engines attribute a higher likelihood of a relationship between two words if they appear closely. A search for "apple ipod nano" is more likely to return a page with the exact phrase "apple ipod nano" than a page where these words are separated by other keywords.
Keyword Submission
When beginning a PPC campaign,
you bid on a set of keywords so your advertisements will only be displayed when someone searches on these terms. With different types of keywords, consumers can be pre qualified for interest in your product so you only pay for qualified leads.
Landing Page
The page where a conversion occurs and where the consumer is given the first opportunity to buy. Landing page optimization
leads to more conversions and improves the consumer’s experience.
Listings
The results found when a search engine queries a keyword.
Marketing Analytics
An Adlucent specialty whereby every aspect of an online
campaign is tested, from keywords, conversions, landing page
design, and advertisement elements. These factors are then studied
to ensure that you have the most optimized marketing solution
for your company.
Natural Optimization (Natural SEO)
The same notion as Search Engine Optimization, also
known as SEO. “Natural” results are those determined
by the search engine, and a site’s position on these natural
lists depends on the relevance of a site’s content as determined
by the search engine. Through a process of augmenting site content
and design, Adlucent can help your site achieve the greatest optimization
possible, which will enhance a pages rank in organic result pages.
Negative Keywords
Keywords that exclude an advertisement from being
shown if they are queried. This is especially important for
campaigns with keywords that have a broad scope, and multiple
connotations. With negative keywords, an advertising campaign
is further streamlined to be as efficient as possible.
Off-Page Factors
All of the aspects of a Web page that are not on the page itself but that affect its search engine ranking. Inbound links are the most influential off- page factors. Properly managing inbound links is key to a decent page rank.
On-Page Factors
All the aspects of a Web page that may be seen by the user, including the coding. Proper optimization of on-page factors can enhance a page’s ranking. On-Page factors are also important for SEM as the search engines attempt to rank your advertisement based upon the relevance of the landing page to the ad copy.
Optimization Services
Services offered by an online marketing company to optimize your pages, titles, meta tags, site structure, and copy to be readable by the search engines. The goal with search engine optimization is to focus on your primary audience while ensuring the site can be easily indexed.
Organic Listings
The natural results search engines return after a
user submits a keyword query. These results are ranked by the
search engine’s determination of a Web site’s relevance
to a given keyword. Applying SEO techniques can help achieve
higher rank within organic result pages.
Outbound Links
Links on your site that direct users to another URL.
Outbound links can have both positive and negative effects on
a Web site’s rank. It is now true that outbound links can actually improve your ranking when utilized properly.
Page Rank
The numerical value a search engine assigns a Web
page based on the page’s relevance and the quality of
its information in response to a given keyword query. Every
search engine determines page rank differently, using various
factors located both on and off the page. The "PageRank" algorithm was first described by Google's founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin. The algorithm was modeled on the same mechanism used to determine the "impact" of a research journal article. Namely, the more people who cite a paper, the more likely it was of major value. PageRank simply takes into account the number of incoming links and the quality of the pages referring to your site. Search engines are far more clever today in ranking sites, but the basic principle of PageRank is still used by all major search engines.
Paid Inclusion
A practice by some search engines to allow Web sites
to submit pages for an index for a fee. This is largely an antiquated method of advertising on the Web as SEO and SEM are more cost effective and sustainable. There are some directories, such as Yahoo directory, that are still considered to be highly valuable for paid submissions.
Paid Listings
Listings that appear because they were purchased rather than ranked naturally. As it is virtually impossible to rank highly on every term related to your products and services, paid listings are used to drive a major proportion of traffic to your site.
Paid Placement
Web site listings that have been purchased for specific
keywords and are shown at specific locations. Placements of
such ads are usually bought through an auction process, in which
the higher ranked positions cost more. Google
Adwords, Yahoo Search Marketing, and MSN are some of the largest
search engines that offer paid placement advertising.
Pay for Performance
The principle driving pay per click (PPC) advertising
models. Advertisements are shown to consumers when particular
keywords are queried, but the advertiser is charged only when
an ad is clicked on. This advertising model is different from
cost per thousand models that cost advertising dollars whenever
an advertisement is seen regardless whether or not it results
in a click through.
Pay Per Click (PPC)
An advertising model that places paid advertisements
alongside a search engine’s natural results. The positions
of these advertisements are purchased from the search engine
and appear when a set of criteria, including keywords, has been
met. Although these advertisements always appear when chosen
keywords are queried, they only cost advertisers if a user clicks
on them.
Pay Per Click Advertising Management
Your bid position for a keyword term is based on an ever fluctuating bid system. PPC advertising management is necessary to ensure you stay in the position you need to reach your targeted audience.
Position
Position is the rank of a Web site in the search engine listings, directly
correlated with its page rank, as determined by a search engine.
Most traffic occurs for sites above the fold, making search engine
marketing optimization essential for greater site performance.
Position Reporting
These reports detail how a Web site’s page rank has changed
over a period of time. Position reporting demonstrates the effectiveness
of optimization efforts and can help in the quest for higher page
rank.
Query
The word or phrase entered into a search engine’s search
box. Search engines use these words to find online content thought
to be relevant to the subject of the query.
Rank
The numerical value assigned to a Web page by a search
engine. A page’s rank determines its position in the search
engine results page.
Reciprocal Link
Links directing a user to another Web site that also
contains links directing users to your site.
Results Pages
See Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs)
Return On Investment (ROI)
The percentage of revenue produced from a particular
online campaign versus the cost of the campaign.
Rich Media
A special effect added to an online advertisement
such as color, styling, or even audio and video elements.
Robot
Sophisticated programs, also known as “bots,” “crawlers,” or “spiders,” that
search the Internet for Web page content and index it for use
by the search engine. These programs continue their search to
all the links contained within a site, constantly updating the
search engine’s database with new pages of content.
Sandbox
The name given to the phenomenon of new Web sites
not being listed on Google results pages. The sandbox effect
can be countered with proper link strategies and an efficient online marketing campaign.
Search Engine Marketing (SEM)
The process of using paid placement alongside organic
search results to increase exposure and effectiveness.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
The process focusing on making changes to a Web site
in such a way that it performs better in search engines’ organic
results. Search engine optimization is typically performed on
a selected set of keywords and only for one major search engine.
SEO is also prone to fluctuating algorithms by major search
engines.
Search Engine Optimization Strategy
A strategy including all HTML content editing, keyword
placement, anchor link maintenance, and Web site design. The
goal of search engine optimization is to improve the ranking
of a Web site in the organic results.
Search Engine Ranking Report
Reports that track a Web site’s position within a search
engine’s organic results page. These reports help monitor
the progress and efficacy of an optimization campaign.
Search Engine Registration
Process that allows new Web sites to submit themselves
for indexing. Otherwise, if a new Web site does not contain
any links from other Web sites, it is unlikely a search engine
will index the site in a timely fashion.
Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs)
The listings of Web sites called up by a search engine
once it has determined the relevance of its indexed pages in
reference to the user’s keyword query. In search engine raning, the most relevant Web page is listed first.
Search Terms
The keyword or phrase a user types in order to query
a database.
Site Map
A site map is a general road map to a Web site, listing
all the site’s contents. Site maps make it easy for consumers
to find exactly what they need and can make a site more “searchable” for
a search engine indexing robot.
Site Promotion
Any event or campaign designed to increase a Web site’s
consumer traffic. These campaigns not only increase consumer traffic,
but also play a critical role in product branding. Online site
promotions are not necessarily confined to online promotions but
can occur in many marketing disciplines.
Spider
Search engine indexing programs, also known as “bots” or “crawlers". Spiders constantly follow links and index new content to be used for easy retrieval by the search engines.
Style sheet
Web templates that explain how every page should look,
including text, color, and style. Style sheets are also used to minimize bandwidth usage to ensure pages load faster and can be indexed more easily.
Submissions
A way to allow search engines to find site so that
indexing takes less time. The alternative is to link to other
pages and wait until next periodic indexing.
Trademark Infringement
The use of any portion of another company’s advertising
campaign or trademark to sell third party products.
Traffic
The number of users that are visiting and using your
Web site.
Uniform Resource Locators (URLs)
Internet addresses for online resources, such as Web
pages, files, mailboxes, and newsgroups.
Unique Visitor
A count of the number of first time visitors to a Web site. This differs from page views in that each new visitor is only counted once. A unique visitor may be interpreted strictly to be a new visitor that has never previously visited a site or may be interpreted more liberally to someone who hasn't visited within a set period of time.
Visitor Segmentation
The categorizing of Web site consumers by sex, age,
etc.
Web Analytics
The numerous studies, tests, and benchmarks used to
scrutinize online consumer traffic. Over the lifetime of a campaign,
results can be checked, tested, and perfected to maximize conversions and reach.
Web site Marketing
All measures taken to advertise a site, not just SEO.
The goal of any Web site marketing campaign is to increase a
site’s page rank, and thus its position in natural or
organic search results.
Web site Optimization
A variety of methods used to help increase a Web site’s
page rank in search engines’ organic listings. As with all
SEO strategies, the content and design of the Web site is altered in order
to achieve higher page rank, and place higher in the organic listings.
Web site Promotion
Also known as site promotion, Web site promotion
covers all the search engine optimization techniques required to increase a
Web site’s page rank.
Web site Submission
Rather than waiting for a search engine crawler to
find a Web site, submission allows for quicker indexing. When
particularly important changes are made to a Web site, submission
speeds up the indexing process.
XML Feeds
XML stands for eXtensible Markup Language. This language
allows information to be easily shared, exchanged, and reformatted
by a variety of programs and Web pages. |
