By Lesley Carter, BKV Direct Response and Interactive
In this article, you will learn:
1) The 25 interactive definitions every marketer should know by heart;
2) How to track down the complete list of 100 interactive terms every marketer should know by heart (Hint: You can e-mail Brent Kuhn at BKV and he'll e-mail you the complete list).
What follows is a list of the 25 terms all interactive marketers (and, arguably, all marketers in general) should know. How many of them do you already know? Read on to find out.
Above the fold
The top part of a Web page that a user can see without scrolling down. Think 3-inch-tall bold newspaper headline.
Ad network
A “collector” of advertising inventory for many sites that acts as a sales representative for the sites it contains. Like a pawn broker, but for Web content.
Algorithm
The Rubik’s Cube of Web marketing — a compact, complex little puzzle that helps search engines determine the relevance of one Web page over another. But since search engines tend to keep updating their algorithms, Search Engine Optimization needs constant research to keep up with the times.
Avatar
A virtual “you” on a virtual reality site. With a virtual home, virtual job and a virtual Interactive Term Glossary to read.
Beacon
A snippet of code placed in an ad, on a Web page or in an e-mail which helps measure whether it was delivered to the browser — and helps track actions in general.
Beta
A test version of a Web site or software, prior to final release. A Web designer’s way of testing a site’s wings out in the big scary world.
Cloaking
“Tricking” a search engine into giving a site a higher ranking. Done by giving false content to the search engine’s spider, pretending the site is something it isn’t. This often gets users to visit a site based on a completely fabricated description, only to find that the site contains completely irrelevant — maybe even harmful — content. Ew!
Conversion Rate
This is the percentage of click-throughs that generate sales for your company. So, if a display banner ad generates 100 click-throughs and 5 of those turn into sales, then your conversion rate would be 5%.
Cookie
A file on your computer that tracks where you’ve been on the Web. Your browser stores this information, so sites you’ve visited can “recognize” you when you return. But if you want to go into stealth mode, you can always disable them.
Emoticons
Punctuation mark combos that look like smiley faces, sad faces, winking faces, etc. (We say “etc.” to acknowledge that there are, in fact, more complex emoticon options out there — but beware that your e-lameness is directly proportional to the complexity of your emoticons.) A way to compensate for the fact e-mail can’t communicate tone of voice. Useful if your e-friends never know when you’re joking.
Firewall
A security barrier placed between your internal computer network and the Internet. It keeps your information in, and unwanted people out — your very own Secret Service.
Hacker
Originally used to describe a computer enthusiast who pushed a system to its highest performance through clever programming. Problem is, a bunch of e-hooligans have given hackers a bad name.
Inventory
Ad inventory is determined by the number of ads on a page, the number of pages containing ad space and the number of page requests. Which is just a fancy way of saying that inventory is the number of ads available on a website.
Lag
The amount of time between making an online request and receiving a response. Often, a user will give up if a site lags too long. Until lag time disappears completely, the Internet can’t claim total user-friendliness.
Meta Search Engine
A search engine that pools the results of other search engines to offer up a wider range of results. Web search on steroids.
Micro-sites
Multi-page ads reached by clicking an initial ad. The user stays on the publisher’s Web site, but gets more information from the advertiser than would come from standard ad format.
Netiquette
The Internet’s own rules of conduct. In this electronic age, leaving the subject line blank or using excessive CAPSLOCK is as mortifying as picking up your meat fork during the salad course.
Organic Search Results
“All-natural” results from a Web search, appearing in the main body of a search page. These are the results that haven’t been paid for, and are placed according to how closely they match the search term.
Profiling
Learning about a consumer’s interests by tracking their movements online. Like a Private Eye. But without the narration and creepy saxophone.
Push
A server delivering ("pushing') information to a consumer rather than letting the user request ("pull") the information themselves. It’s where profiling pays off.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Using popular keywords and phrases on a Web site, making the site rank high when those terms are part of a Web search. Makes for good “packaging,” Web-wise.
Spider
A software program that combs the Web for new sites and updates, like a spider looking for a fly.
Stickiness
The effectiveness of a site in holding onto its users. A good way to quiet those who keep bringing up low traffic numbers. Forget quantity — look at that stick!
Wiki
A web application that allows users to add content, and also allows anyone to edit the content. And thus the phenomenon of Wikipedia was born.
WYSIWYG
A type of editor used for creating Web pages: What You See Is What You Get. Need we say more?
For the complete list of 100 terms compiled and edited by BKV Direct Response and Interactive, e-mail Brent Kuhn at Brent@BKV.com.
© 2008 The 60 Second Marketer
