Article Marketing - The use of informative and entertaining writing pieces to bring targeted traffic to your website. The articles typically appear on content sites related to your niche and are typically written with the specific intention of increasing credibility and/or getting the reader more interested in your product or service.
Blog – A journal style website intended for viewing by the general public. Originally used for personal websites, blogs are increasingly being used by businesses to keep in touch with their customer base, build rapport, and create anticipation for upcoming product releases.
Copywriting – Using words, as part of an advertisement, to promote a person, product, or service. The promotional text may appear on any number of mediums ranging from television to direct mail. Online copywriting examples include banner ad text , email ads , pay-per-click ads, and sales letters.
Directory – A collection of links to website usually organized and grouped by area of topic. Can be a useful way to increase the number of incoming links to a website.
Discussion forum – (also known as web forums, message boards, discussion boards) A web application used for managing and displaying text discussions among users. A online venue for exchanging ideas. Can be used to spread the word about one’s business through the use of a signature file at the bottom of one’s discussion posts.
DNS – (Stands for “Domain Name System”) A web service that translates domain names into IP addresses. The Internet is really based on IP addresses, but domain names are used because they are much easier to remember.
Domain name – A name that represents one or more IP addresses. Domain names are used in URL’s to identify particular web pages in a website. For example, in the URL: http://www.smallbusinessmavericks.com/articles.htm, “smallbusinessmavericks.com” is domain name and “/articles.htm” specifies the web page.
Domain registrar – A company that provides domain registration services to the public. These services usually allow users to search for their desired domain name. If the domain name is available, the user can purchase ownership of the domain for a period of time for a usually inexpensive fee.
Domain Registration - The process of securing a domain name. Once domain registration is completed, the domain name becomes owned for the length of the contract. Before the contract expires, the purchaser may choose to renew the contract and so maintain ownership of the domain name.
Download – Transferring information stored an another computer to your computer. The opposite of upload.
e-book – An electronic text file that contains a lengthy document and is intended to be read digitally on a computer screen. Often in PDF format. An inexpensive but flexible means of publishing and distributing a book.
E-mail marketing - Keeping in touch with clients, customers, and prospects through electronic communications such as e-zines or e-newsletters [http://smallbusinessmavericks.com/email-marketing.htm]. A highly cost-effective method of communication compared to mailings or phone calls.
E-zine - An “electronic magazine” sent via email. Typically contains helpful and/or informative articles on a particular subject as well as advertising.
FTP – (Stands for File Transfer Protocol) A common method of transferring files between servers.
HTML – (Stands for Hypertext Markup Language) The coding language used to create web pages that are typically accessible via the Internet using a web browser.
Hypertext – Any text that contains links to other documents.
IP Address – A computer’s address on a local network or the Internet. A unique IP address is assigned to each electronic device so that it is able to identify and communicate with other devices.
ISP or Internet Service Provider – A company the provides access to the Internet.
Javascript – A programming language that is used mostly in web pages and usually to make them more interactive.
Keywords – A word or phrase that is entered in a search engine. These words and phrases are useful to know when optimizing one’s website for search engines as they are an indication of what phrases will bring targeted traffic to the website.
Landing pages – The web page where a visitor enters a website. The content found on the landing page is important because it is often a key factor in whether a visitor stays on the website or exits.
Link popularity – A measure of the quality and quantity of incoming links. There is considered to be a strong relationship between the amount of link popularity and one’s ranking in popular search engines such as Google and Yahoo.
Link-building – The process of obtaining multiple hypertext links from relevant and related websites that all point to a particular website usually to improve search engine rankings. Certain keywords may be used in the link in order to improve search engine rankings for specific terms .
Maverick – A small business owner who is fiercely independent, who doesn’t go along with the crowd. Someone who sets the standard and blazes a trail for others to follow. One who takes the initiative to harness the advertising power of the internet to promote their products and increase their sales.
Meta tag – A specific HTML tag that contains information not displayed to the user but that communicates information about the website for search engines to use. For instance, a meta tag may tell the search engine what the website is about by providing related keywords.
Mobile marketing – Advertising to users of wireless devices such as phones and PDAs often in the form of SMS messages.
Opt-in email –The sender has received the receiver’s permission to contact them via email. The receiver has supplied their email address to the sender thereby requesting the sender’s content.
PageRank
– A system of ranking pages developed by the founder’s
of Google. A complex algorithm used to assign value to web pages.
Pay-Per-Click
Search Engines – Search engines that allow advertisers
to appear in their search results. Typically, the ranking, or the
order of appearance in the search
results , is determined as a combination of the quality of the
ad and the bid price the advertiser has set for a particular term.
Podcasting – A form of audio broadcasting which relies on the internet for distribution. Podcasting has allowed people and companies to reach large audiences for relatively inexpensive costs.
POP/POS – (Stands for Point of Purchase/Point of Sale) The location where a customer buys from a vendor. Often a great opportunity for sellers to increase their sales by presenting small and/or inexpensive items to the consumer before they purchase their goods and leave the store.
Pre-press – The process of preparing digital files for print. The step in the printing process immediately following the design and creation of a document but before the actual printing.
Press release – A statement prepared specifically for distribution to the media. Can be a useful way to gain media exposure.
RSS – (Stands for “Really Simple Syndication”) A document type known as a “feed.” The “feed” typically contains a summary of an update made to a news site, blog , or podcast . Readers can subscribe to the RSS feed of a website so that they are notified when updates are made.
Search Engine Optimization – The ongoing process of increasing the quantity, and improving the quality, of visitors to a website coming from search engines (such as Google). Often includes manipulation of HTML code and website text to increase the ranking of a website for particular search phrases.
Signature file – A small (3-4 line) block of text that appears at the end of the document usually displaying contact information and/or other information about the creator of the document. May be used as a way to promote oneself or a product by including an advertising message.
SMS – (stands for Short Message Service) Brief text messages that are delivered to a mobile phone.
Social media – Websites whose content is centered around participation and interaction among users. May come in the form of social networking websites, social bookmarking websites, user driven content sites, etc.
SPAM – An unsolicited and/or inappropriate contact, often an advertisement. Sending the same message to many people who did not ask for it is called “spamming.” Differs from email marketing in that the person does give their permission to receive the SPAM message from the spammer.
Subject
line – The text that details the contents of an
email. It is specified by the sender when creating the email. Typically
it is viewable without opening the message so it is an important factor
in determining whether or not the email
is opened by the receiver.
Targeted
traffic – Visitors to a website that meet the exact
criteria that a website owner deems desirable in terms of demographic
and/or interest. Targeted traffic is considered more desirable than
untargeted traffic because visitors are more likely to be interested
in what the website is offering.
Tent cards – An imprinted and folded display that is viewable from either side of the fold.
Upload – Transferring data from your computer to another using the Internet. The opposite of download.
Web 2.0 - The name given to the second generation of hosted services and web-based communities. These services often facilitate Although the term implies a new version of the Internet, it does not actually refer to any new technical specifications but rather to changes in the way that web-based software is used and perceived.
Web Hosting – The rental of server space for
websites. Typically used by companies who do not have their own servers.
