AAAA (American Association of Advertising Agencies)
Founded in 1917, the American Association of Advertising Agencies (AAAA) is the national trade
association representing the advertising agency business in the United States.
Abandonment
When a user leaves a shopping cart with something in it prior to completing the transaction.
Abort
When a Web server does not successfully transfer a unit of content or ad to a browser. This is
usually caused by a user hitting the stop button or clicking on another link prior to the completion of a download.
Ad
For Web advertising, an ad is almost always a banner, a graphic image or set of animated images (in a file called an animated GIF) of a designated pixel size and byte size limit.
Ad audience
The number of unique users exposed to an ad within a specified time period.
Ad blocker
Software on a user’s browser which prevents advertisements from being displayed.
Ad campaign audit
An activity audit for a specific ad campaign.
Ad download
When an ad is downloaded by a server to a user’s browser. Ads can be requested, but aborted or
abandoned before actually being downloaded to the browser, and hence there would be no
opportunity to see the ad by the user.
Ad impression ratio
Click-throughs divided by ad impressions. See click rate.
Ad Impressions
The number of times an advertiser's banner is downloaded by users. Ad impressions are the number of times an ad is rendered for viewing. One impression is equivalent to one opportunity to see an ad.
Advertising network
A network representing many Web sites in selling advertising, allowing advertising buyers to reach broad audiences relatively easily through run-of category and run-of-network buys.
Above the fold
The section of a Web page that is visible without scrolling.
Ad recall
A measure of advertising effectiveness in which a sample of respondents is exposed to an ad and
then at a later point in time is asked if they remember the ad. Ad recall can be on an aided or
unaided basis. Aided ad recall is when the respondent is told the name of the brand or category
being advertised.
Ad request
The request for an advertisement as a direct result of a user's action as recorded by the ad server. Ad requests can come directly from the user’s browser or from an intermediate Internet resource, such as a Web content server.
Ad serving
The delivery of ads by a server to an end user's computer on which the ads are then displayed by a browser and/or cached. Ad serving is normally performed either by a Web publisher or by a third-party ad server. Ads can be embedded in the page or served separately.
Ad space
The space on a Web page available for advertisements.
Ad stream
The series of ads displayed by the user during a single visit to a site (also impression stream).
Animated GIF
The combination of multiple GIF images in one file to create animation. The multiple images,
displayed one after another, give the appearance of movement. Studies show that animated banners are more
effective than static banners. They generate higher ad awareness and recall, and click-thorough. unaided basis.
Aided ad recall is when the respondent is told the name of the brand or category being advertised.
ALT text
HTML attribute that provides alternative text when non-textual typically images, cannot be displayed.
Affinity Group
A special interest group identified for purposes of targeting specific ads.
Alternate text
A word or phrase that is displayed when a user has image loading disabled in their browser or
when a user abandons a page by hitting "stop" in their browser prior to the transfer of all images. Also appears as “balloon text” when a user lets their mouse rest over an image.
Audit
A report that counts and verifies a site's traffic or verifies the site's ad delivery for a particular ad campaign.
Ad Click
A click on an advertisement on a web site which takes a user to another site, it is referred
to as an ad click.
Affinity Links
URL links established between Web sites that reach similar demographics.
Authentication
Technique by which access to Internet or Intranet resources requires the user to identify
himself or herself by entering a username and password.
Ad layout
The way the ads are displayed on a publisher's site. You can choose the
format that best fits your site. For example, the banner ad layout will display up to 2 ads
horizontally across the page and the skyscraper will display up to 4 ads vertically.
Ad layout code (AdSense ad code)
The HTML that is placed on any page of anapproved site by the publisher who owns the site, allowing ads to be shown on that page in a specific ad layout format.
Ad rank/Positioning
An ad's position on a web page is determined by a combination of its maximum cost-per-click (price) and clickthrough rate (performance).
Ad rotation
Ads are often rotated into ad spaces from a list. This is usually done automatically by software on the Web site or at a central site administered by an ad broker or server facility for a network of Web sites.
Adware
Software that collects a user's information without their knowledge through the user's Internet
connection. This information is often used for the purposes of displaying advertisements through pop-ups or other means. Sites associated with Adware are not allowed to run the AdSense ad code.
Alternate ads
Alternate Ads allow you to monetize your ad space in the event that Google is unable to serve targeted ads to your page. By specifying an image or ad server of your choice, you can make sure that your advertising space is always being used effectively, either by targeted AdSense ads, or by your own choice of content. Alternate Ads, if specified, will be shown when there are no targeted ads available for your page.
ANA (Association of National Advertisers)
The Association of National Advertisers leads the marketing community by providing its members insights, collaboration and advocacy. The ANA strives to promote and protect all advertisers and marketers. See ana.net for more information.
Anonymizer
An intermediary which prevents Web sites from seeing a user’s Internet Protocol (IP) address.
Applet
A small, self-contained software application that is most often used by browsers to automatically
display animation and/or to perform database queries requested by the user.
ARF (Advertising Research Foundation)
The ARF is the premiere advertising industry association for creating, aggregating, synthesizing
and sharing the knowledge required by decision makers in the field. The principal mission of The ARF is to improve the practice of advertising, marketing and media research in pursuit of more effective marketing and advertising communications.
Artifacting
Distortion that is introduced into audio or video by the compression algorithm (codec).
Compressed images may have stray pixels that were not present in the original image. See
codec.
Availability Forecast
Forecasting tool is used to predict the availability of inventory. Availability Forecast is used in two ways: 1. during the sales process, to estimate how much inventory is available for sale; 2. when an ad is booked, if there is not enough inventory predicted to meet the requirements of the ad, the Availability Forecast report is automatically displayed to inform the trafficker of the problem.
Acquisition cost
Advertising or promotional costs divided by the number of click-throughs.
Ad Centre
Online Advertising channel where your ads appear in the MSN search engine as "Sponsored Sites".
Ad Sense
Google’s Contextual advertising network. As a website owner, Adsense gives you the opportunity to receive revenue by allowing the placement of Google advertisements on your site. Google will automatically crawl the content of your pages and place both text and image ads that are relevant to your audience and your site’s content. Whenever someone on your site clicks on one of the Adsense ads, you receive a payment. Advertisers can also bid to appear on your site on a CPM (cost per thousand impressions) basis and recently Google introduced the possibility of CPC (cost per click).AdWords Online Advertising Channel provided by Google. Adwords is a Cost-per-Click advertising channel which means that you only pay for an ad if people click on your ad. The ads appear in the Google search engine results as "Sponsored Links".
Anchor Text
The text that a user clicks on to follow a link to another web page or website. Search engines assume this text is an important term for the content of your website. For example if the anchor text was “Dublin Restaurant ”and this then linked to your restaurant’s website, search engines assume that this term is a goof term for locating your website or represents the content of the site.
AIDA
Stands for attention, interest, desire, and action (AIDA). This is a historical model of how advertising works, by first getting the consumer's attention, then their interest, etc.
B
Beta
A test version of a product, such as a Web site or software, prior to final release.
Blog
Online journal of entries in reverse chronological order that typically features multiple links; short for Web log.
Banner Ad
A graphical web advertising unit, typically measuring 468 pixels wide and 60
pixels tall (i.e. 468x60). A banner is an advertisement in the form of a graphic image that
typically runs across a Web page or is positioned in a margin or other space reserved for
ads. Banner ads are usually Graphics Interchange Format (GIF) images.
Beyond the banner
Online advertising not involving standard GIF and JPEG banner ads. Ad campaign that incorporates standard and nonstandard ad units (banners with buttons, tag lines, pop-ups or email), email, text links or wireless ads.
Button ad
A graphical advertising unit, smaller than a banner ad. A clickable graphic that takes the user to another page or executes a program, such as a software demo or a video player.
Bookmark
A link stored in a Web browser for future reference.
Banner networks
Banner networks sale advertising for a large number of sites. They serve
as a third party in the process and maintain ad serving technology, reporting tools and
sales teams. Banner networks can sell banners across the network of sites they are
affiliated with, increasing the reach of a certain campaign.
Booked space
This is the number of ad views for an ad space that are currently sold out.
Brand or Brand Name
A brand is a product, service, or concept that is publicly distinguished from other products, services, or
concepts so that it can be easily communicated and usually marketed.
B2B (Business-to-Business)
B2B, or Business-to-Business, defines a business, often a web site, targeting other commercial
entities rather than consumers.
Banner exchange
An alternative to banner ads, a banner exchange provides the potential to draw extra traffic to a web site through banner displays and is a good way to fill unsold or unprofitable inventory.
Bandwidth
The amount of data that can be transmitted in a fixed amount of time. For
digital devices, the bandwidth is usually expressed in bits per second (bps) or bytes per
second. For analog devices, the bandwidth is expressed in cycles per second, or Hertz .
Behavioral Targeting
A technique used by online publishers and advertisers to increase the effectiveness of their
campaigns. Behavioral targeting uses information collected on an individual’s web browsing
behavior such as the pages they have visited or the searches they have made to select which
advertisements to be displayed to that individual. Practitioners believe this helps them deliver
their online advertisements to the users who are most likely to be influenced by them.
Bonus impressions
Additional ad impressions above the commitments outlined in the approved insertion order.
Browser
Short for web browser, a software application used to locate and display web ages. The
browser interprets the HTML code on web servers and allows users to navigate, read and
listen to information, and it performs desktop functionality, such as accessing mail and
setting user preferences.
Broad match
Broad matches are often less targeted than exact or phrase matches. If you decide to
run your ads on broad-matched keywords, we recommend creating keyword phrases
containing at least two descriptive words.
Beacon
A line of code placed in an ad or on a web page that helps track the visitor's
actions, such as registrations or purchases. A web beacon is often invisible because it's
only 1 x 1 pixel in size and has no color. Also known as web bug, 1 by 1 GIF, invisible GIF
or tracker GIF.
Branding
Branding is the process of creating and disseminating the brand name.
Branding can be applied to the entire corporate identity as well as to individual product
and service names.
Bumper Ad
Bumper ad usually refers to a linear video ad with clickable all-to-action; format is usually shorter than full linear ads (i.e. 3-10 seconds) and call-to-action usually can load another video or can bring up a new site while pausing the content.
Bug
Bug is a persistent, graphical element that appears in the video environment. Clicking on it will take the user to a website.
Backbone
A central network connecting other networks together.
Black Hat
Search engines consider certain marketing techniques deceptive in nature, and label them as black hat SEO.
Brick and Mortar
Is an jargon term for a company that has a physical shop without a website. The opposite term, Click and Mortar refers to a company that sells online in addition to having a physical shop.
C
Click-through rate (CTR)
Average number of click-throughs for an online ad per 100 ad impressions; a 2% click-through rate means for every 100 times the ad was seen, two people clicked on it.
Cookies
Files from a Website that are transferred to and stored on a visitor’s Website that provide information, such as what the visitor purchased and what site the visitor was on immediately preceding the visit, to the Website.
Contextual marketing
Placing merchandise near relevant content.
CPC
Cost per click.
Cache
Memory used to temporarily store the most frequently requested content/files/pages in order to speed its delivery to the user. Caches can be local (i.e. on a browser) or on a network. In the
case of local cache, most computers have both memory (RAM), and disk (hard drive) cache.
Cache busting
The process by which sites or servers serve content or HTML in such a manner as to minimize or prevent browsers or proxies from serving content from their cache. This forces the user or proxy to fetch a fresh copy for each request. Among other reasons, cache busting is used to provide a more accurate count of the number of requests from users.
Cached ad impressions
The delivery of an advertisement to a browser from local cache or a proxy server’s cache. When a user requests a page that contains a cached ad, the ad is obtained from the cache and displayed.
Caching
The process of copying a Web element (page or ad) for later reuse. On the Web, this copying is
normally done in two places: in the user's browser and on proxy servers. When a user makes a
request for a Web element, the browser looks into its own cache for the element; then a proxy, if
any; followed by the intended server. Caching is done to reduce redundant network traffic,
resulting in increased overall efficiency of the Internet.
CARU (The Children's Advertising Review Unit) -
division of the Council of Better Business Bureaus that reviews advertising and promotional
material directed at children in all media. See caru.org for more information.
CGI script (Common Gateway Interface)
CGI’s are used to allow a user to pass data to a Web server, most commonly in a Web-based
form. Specifically, CGI scripts are used with forms such as pull-down menus or text-entry areas
with an accompanying submit button. The input from the form is processed by a program (the
CGI script itself) on a remote Web server.
CPM
Cost Per Thousand (Roman numeral) impressions. The price paid by an advertiser
for a site displaying their banner a thousand times.
Click-through
The process of clicking through an online advertisement to the advertiser's destination.
Conversion rate
The percentage of visitors who take a desired action.
Cascading style sheets (CSS)
A data format used to separate style from structure on Web pages.
CPA
Cost per Action. The advertiser pays not for the impression, but for any resulting immediate action taken from the viewer, like buying a product or subscribing to a service. Branding or secondary effects of an ad are not paid for.
CPC
Cost per Click. A model of CPA where the advertiser pays only if the visitor clicks on the ad (click-through).
Click-Through
Act of a visitor clicking on a banner. Click through percentage is expressed in terms of click throughs divided by banner impressions. This is sometimes used as a gauge of a banners call for action, but says nothing about branding.
Click stream
A click stream is a recorded path of the pages a user requested in going through one or more
Web sites. Click stream information can help Web site owners understand how visitors are using their site and which pages are getting the most use. It can help advertisers understand how users get to the client's pages, what pages they look at, and how they go about ordering a product.
Client-initiated ad impression
One of the two methods used for ad counting. Ad content is delivered to the user via two methods
Server-initiated and Client-initiated. Client-initiated ad counting relies on the user’s browser formaking requests, formatting and re-directing content. For organizations using a client-initiated adcounting method, counting should occur at the publisher’s ad server or third-party ad server,subsequent to the ad request, or later, in the process. See server-initiated ad impression.
Codec
Short for compressor/decompressor. Codecs are computer algorithms that are used to compress
the size of audio, video, and image files for streaming over a data network or storage on a
computer. Apple’s QuickTime, Microsoft’s Windows Media Video, and MP3 are examples of
common codecs.
Cost-per-lead
This is a more specific form of cost-per-action in which a visitor provides enough information at the advertiser's site (or in interaction with a rich media ad) to be used as a sales lead. Note that you can estimate cost-per-lead regardless of how you pay for the ad (in other words, buying on a pay-per-lead basis is not required to calculate the cost-per-lead).
Cost-per-sale
Sites that sell products directly from their Web site or can otherwise determine sales generated as the result of an advertising sales lead can calculate the cost-per-sale of Web advertising.
CPA (Cost-per-Action)
Cost of advertising based on a visitor taking some specifically defined action in response to an ad.
"Actions" include such things as a sales transaction, a customer acquisition, or a click.
CPO (Cost-per-Order)
Cost of advertising based on the number of orders received. Also called Cost-per-Transaction.
CPTM (Cost per Targeted Thousand Impressions)
Implying that the audience one is trying to reach is defined by particular demographics or other
specific characteristics, such as male golfers age 18-25.The difference between CPM and CPTM
is that CPM is for gross impressions, while CPTM is for targeted impressions.
Click-down ad, also Click-within ad
An ad that allows the user to stay on the same web page, while viewing requested advertising content.
Click-downs display another file on the user's screen, normally below or above the initial ad. Click-within allow the user to drill down for more information within the ad.
Crawler
A software program which visits Web pages to build indexes for search engines. See also spider,
bot, and intelligent agent.
Creative
The concept, design or artwork of an ad including the technology used to create or
develop the ad. The most common creative technology for banners is GIF, JPEG images
or animated GIFs. Other creative technologies include Java, HTML or streaming media.
Call to action
Ad copy that encourages users to take a defined action. Examples range from "Click here" or "Buy now" to "Enter now to win a free trip to Hawaii" or "Click to download a free white paper."
Cybersquatting
Cybersquatting is using a domain name with bad-faith intent to profit from the goodwill of a trademark belonging to someone else. Typosquatting is a form of cybersquatting, based on the probability that a certain number of Internet users will mistype the name of a URL when surfing.
Companion Ad
Both Linear and Non-linear Video ad products have the option of pairing their core video ad product with what is commonly referred to as companion ads. Commonly text, display ads, rich media, or skins that wrap around the video experience, can run alongside either or both the video or ad content. The primary purpose of the Companion Ad product is to offer sustained visibility of the sponsor throughout the video content experience. Companion Ads may offer click-through interactivity and rich media experiences such as expansion of the ad for further engagement opportunities.
Completes
Completes refer to whether the video played to completion.
Core video ad products
The root ad product that serves as the source or core ad that compliments the video ad experience.
Content integration
Advertising woven into editorial content or placed in a contextual envelope. Also known as "Web advertorial".
Cube
Sometimes used to refer to a 125x125 pixel banner ad.
D
Daughter window
An ad that runs in a separate ad window associated with a concurrently displayed banner. In
normal practice, the content and banner are rendered first and the daughter window appears
thereafter.
Demographics
Common characteristics used for population segmentation. Typical demographic data include age, gender, occupation, and income.
Description tag
An HTML tag used by Web page authors to provide a description for search engine listings.
Doorway domain
A 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 page
A 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.
Deep linking
Linking to a web page other than a site's home page.
DART
The ad serving technology by DoubleClick that performs the targeting, reporting and
inventory management for the sites in the Publisher Member Network.
DHTML (Dynamic Hypertext Markup Language)
An extended set of HTML commands which are used by Web designers to create much greater
animation and interactivity than HTML.
DPO (Distinct Point of Origin)
A unique address from which a browser connects to a Web site on the Internet.
Drill down
When an online user accesses more and more pages of the Web site, i.e., he or she goes deeper
into the content of the site.
Domain Name
Resource location identifier that corresponds with a particular IP address or set of IP
addresses.
Dynamic rotation
Delivery of ads on a rotating, random basis. Dynamic rotation allows ads to be served on different pages of the site and exposes users to a variety of ads.
Destination URL
This is the URL to which ads link. This is the page users see when they click
through to an advertiser's site from an ad.
Display URL
This is the URL displayed on ads to identify the advertiser's site to users.
DART MediaVisor
A hosted, web-based media planning, buying and campaign management workflow solution. This intuitive, easy-to-use tool automates many time-consuming, repetitive administrative tasks, such as RFPs, Insertion Orders, flow charts and more. Simply put: MediaVisor is the planning and operations center for your online advertising.
DART for Advertisers (DFA)
A hosted, web-based ad management and serving application, DART for Advertisers (DFA) is a reliable, scalable tool for targeting, serving and analyzing online campaigns.
DART for Publishers (DFP)
A hosted, web-based ad management and serving application, DART for Publishers (DFP) is a reliable, scalable tool for effectively monetizing a publisher's advertising inventory.
DART Enterprise
An in-house, licensed software solution for targeting, serving and reporting ads delivered online and through other digital channels such as kiosks and iTV.
DART Motif
DART Motif is the only fully integrated solution for all aspects of creating and managing rich media advertising. Motif is brought to you through an exclusive alliance between industry leaders DoubleClick and Macromedia.
Deep linking
Linking to a web page other than a site's home page.
Domain Name
Resource location identifier that corresponds with a particular IP address or set of IP addresses.
Dynamic ad insertion
The process by which an ad is inserted into a page in response to a user's request. Dynamic
ad placement allows alteration of specific ads placed on a page based on any data available to
the placement program. At its simplest, dynamic ad placement allows for multiple ads to be
rotated through one or more spaces. In more sophisticated examples, the ad placement could be
affected by demographic data or usage history for the current user.
Dead Link
A link to a page that no longer exists. Search engine spiders scan these types of links and eventually eliminate them from search engine results.
E
E-commerce
The process of selling products or services via the Web.
E-mail Advertising
Banner ads, links or advertiser sponsorships that appear in e-mail newsletters, e-mail marketing
campaigns and other commercial e-mail communications. Includes all types of electronic mail
(e.g., basic text or HTML-enabled).
E-mail Bounce
An e-mail that cannot be delivered to the mailbox provider and is sent back to the e-mail ServiceProvider that sent it. A bounce is classified as either “hard” or “soft.” Hard bounces are the faileddelivery of e-mail due to a permanent reason, such as a non-existent address. Soft bounces arethe failed delivery of e-mail due to a temporary issue, such as a full inbox or an unavailable ISP server.
E-mail campaign
Advertising campaign distributed via e-mail.
E-mail Inbox
Within a mailbox provider, the default, primary folder that stores delivered e-mail messages.
E-mail Mailbox Provider
The e-mail program, and by extension the server, that hosts the targeted e-mail address
E-mail Service Provider (ESP)
A business or organization that provides the e-mail campaign delivery technology. ESPs may also provide services for marketing, advertising and general communication purposes.
Encoding
The process of compressing and separating a file into packets so that it can be delivered over a
network.
Encoder
A hardware or software application used to compress audio and video signals for the purpose of
streaming. See codec
Extramercial
Banner ads placed in the extra space in the right column of Internet web pages.
Encryption
Securing digital information so that it is unreadable without the use of digital keys.
E-mail Preview Pane
A small window within a mailbox provider that allows the user to view some e-mail content withoutopening the e-mail.
Extranet
Group of Websites, each with a different owner, that joined together to share information; often used in supply chain management.
Electronic Commerce (E-Commerce)
The process of selling products or services via the Web on a secured platform.
Effective Frequency
The number of times an ad should be shown to one person to realize the highest impact of the ad without wasting impressions on that individual.
Effective Reach-
Estimated number of individuals in an audience that is reached at least once in a specific amount of time.
Expandable banner
A banner ad that can expand to as large as 468 x 240 pixels after a user clicks on it or after a user moves the cursor over the banner.
Effective CPM
Cost per 1000 impressions. From a publisher's perspective, CPM is a useful way to compare revenue across different channels and advertising programs. It is calculated by dividing total earnings by the number of impressions in thousands.
Exclusive
A contract that allows advertisers to purchase all inventory on a given page or for chosen keywords.
Exit Page
The last page on a site accessed during a visit, signifying the end of a visit/session.
Eyeballs
Slang term for audience; the number of people who view a certain website or advertisement.
F
Family/Ad family
A collection of one or more ad creative's. Also called ad campaign.
Filtering
Filtering is the immediate analysis by a program of a user Web page request in order to determine which ad or ads to return in the requested page. A Web page request can tell a Web site or its ad server whether it fits a certain characteristic such as coming from a particular company's address or that the user is using a particular level of browser.
Filtration guidelines
IAB voluntary guidelines for removing non-human activity in the reported measurement of ad impressions, page impressions, unique visitors and clicks. See iab.net for ad campaign measurement guidelines.
Frequency cap
Restriction on the amount of times a specific visitor is shown a particular advertisement.
Flash
Multimedia technology developed by Macromedia to allow much interactivity to fit in a relatively small file size.
Fold
The line below which a user has to scroll to see content not immediately visible when a Web page
loads in a browser. Ads or content displayed “above the fold” are visible without any end-user
interaction. Monitor size and resolution determine where on a Web page the fold lies.
Frames
A structure that allows for the dividing of a Web page into two or more independent parts.
Frame rate
The number of frames of video displayed during a given time. The higher the frame rate, the more high-quality the image will be.
FAST
FAST is a coalition of the Internet Advertising Bureau (), the ANA, and the ARF that has recommended or is working on guidelines for consumer privacy, ad models and creative formats, audience and ad impression measurement, and a standard reporting template together with a standard insertion order.
Floating ads
An ad that appears within the main browser window on top of the page's normal content, appearing to "float" over the top of the page.
FTP
File Transfer Protocol is a standard method of sending files between computers over the
Internet.
Finger
A program tool for locating user information while they are online to verify personal information
or website login.
Fourth-Party Ad Server
For a campaign, the entity other than the publisher or third-party ad server, who holds the
rich media creative assets (or facilitates obtaining the creative asset through the ad media or
creative server) and serves them into a web site.
G
GIF (Graphical Image Format)
A common compression format uses to transfer graphic files between different computers. GIF images are the most common form of banner creative and web graphics.
Geo-targeting
The distribution of ads to a particular geographical area. For example, you can use a place name
in your keyword, such as "Minnesota multimedia" or "Sacramento farm equipment." Some search engines allow you to target specific countries and languages without using keyword relevance.
Gross exposures
The total number of times an ad is served, including duplicate downloads to the same person.
Guerilla Marketing campaign
Tactic involving the placement of often humorous brand-related messages in unexpected places either online or in the real world; intended to provoke word-of-mouth and build Buzz.
GUI (Graphical User interface)
A way of enabling users to interact with the computer using visual icons and a mouse rather than
a command-line prompt/interpreter.
H
Hard Cut-off
A feature that automatically stops an ad on the end date specified, even if the ad has not met its delivery goals.
Head end
The site in a cable system or broadband coaxial network where the programming originates and
the distribution network starts. Signals are usually received off the air from satellites, microwave relays, or fiber-optic cables at the head end for distribution.
Heuristic
A way to measure a user's unique identity. This measure uses deduction or inference based on a
rule or algorithm which is valid for that server. For example, the combination of IP address and
user agent can be used to identify a user in some cases. If a server receives a new request from
the same client within 30 minutes, it is inferred that a new request comes from the same user and the time since the last page request was spent viewing the last page. Also referred to as an inference.
History list
A menu in a web browser which displays recently visited sites. The same mechanism makes it
possible for servers to track where a browser was before visiting a particular site.
Home page
The page designated as the main point of entry of a Web site (or main page) or the starting point
when a browser first connects to the Internet. Typically, it welcomes visitors and introduces the
purpose of the site, or the organization sponsoring it, and then provides links to other pages
within the site.
Hotlists
Pull-down or Pop-up menus often displayed on browsers or search engines that contain new or
popular sites.
HTML banner
A banner ad using HTML elements, often including interactive forms, instead of (or in addition to) standard graphical elements.
House ad
Self-promotional ad a company runs on its media outlets to put unsold inventory to use.
Host
A computer that is connected to a TCP/IP network, including the Internet. Each host has
a unique IP address. As a web server, a company acts as host, providing the computer
hardware, software, and communications protocols for accessing websites.
HTML (Hypertext Markup Language)
The language that converts raw ASCII text into formatted text, hyperlinks, and graphics
for display in a World Wide Web browser. HTML defines the page layout, fonts and
graphic elements, as well as the hypertext links to other documents.
HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol)
The set of rules for transferring text from a web server to a browser over the Internet.
Homepage Rib splitter
An ad which loads in the browser window before the homepage loads and it usually stays for
8 to 10 seconds.
Hypertext
Any text that contains links connecting it with other text or files on the Internet.
Hoax
An attempt to trick an audience into believing that something false is real. Hoaxes are generally sent via email.
Hidden text
Refers to the inclusion of text on a webpage which is not visible to visitors to a site but can be seen by search engine spiders. This is considered as a Black Hat Technique. While some sites may get away with it for a while, generally the risk to reward ratio is inadequate for most legitimate sites to consider using hidden text.
Hill top
An algorithm approach to assessing the quality of links between pages based on the identification of hub and authority pages. Hub pages A concept related to hill top. A page which contains many outbound links about a particular topic.
I
Intranet
Online network designed to be accessible only to members of a specific
organization, with firewalls keeping out other potential users.
Internet Service Provider (ISP)
An organization that provides Internet access for a fee or hosting of web pages.
Interstitial Ads
Online ad that loads between two content pages. Interstitial ads are ads that appear in a separate
browser window while another page is loaded. If a user, on page A, clicks a hyperlink to go to
page B, the user will see the interstitial ad before arriving at page B.
Interstitial advertisements are usually full-page ads displayed while a user is in transit from one
page to another, triggered by code included in the link. CPM rates can be as high or higher than
popup and popunder rates, and interstitials, due to their similarity to traditional television advertising. Ads that appear between two content pages. Also known as transition ads.
Invisible Web
The portion of the Web not accessible through Web search engines.
Insertion order
An insertion order is a formal, printed order to run an ad campaign. Typically, the insertion order identifies the campaign name, the Web site receiving the order and the planner or buyer giving the order, the individual ads to be run (or who will provide them), the ad sizes, the campaign beginning and end dates, the CPM, the total cost, discounts to be applied, and reporting requirements and possible penalties or stipulations relative to the failure to deliver the impressions.
IAB-Internet Advertising Bureau
The IAB, or Internet Advertising Bureau, is an association dedicated to helping online, interactive broadcasting, email, wireless and interactive television media companies increase their revenues.
Image map
A GIF or JPEG image with more than one linking hyperlink. Each hyperlink or hot spot can lead to a different destination page.
Infoglut
Information overload due to the explosive growth of the World Wide Web.
Inventory
The number of ad impressions available for sale on a website. Ad inventory isdetermined by the number of ads on a page, the number of pages containing ad space and the number of page requests. Also defined as the number of banner ad impressions delivered via an ad space during a given period.
Intermercial
Web-based commercial.
Invalid click or impression
Clicks or page impressions generated through prohibited means, and intended to artificially increase click or impression counts on a publisher account.
IP Address
Every computer connected to the Internet is assigned a unique number known as an Internet Protocol (IP) address. Since these numbers are usually assigned in country-based blocks, an IP address can often be used to identify the county from which a computer is connecting to the Internet.
In-unit click
A measurement of a user-initiated action of responding to an ad element which generally causes
an intra-site redirect or content change. In-unit clicks are usually tracked via a 302 redirect. Also known as click-downs, click-ups and click-withins. See ad click; 302 redirect.
In-Text Video
A relevant video ad experience displayed only when a user chooses to mouse-over,
a highlighted word or phrase within the text of web content.
In-Banner Video
A video ad experience displayed or triggered within a display banner.
Incentivized Click
A type of click through in which the person clicking on the advertisement does so in order to receive some reward. Often results in low visitor quality.
Internal page impressions -
Web site activity that is generated by individuals with IP addresses known to be affiliated with the Web site owner.
Internal activity that is associated with administration and maintenance of the site should be excluded from the traffic or measurement report.
J
JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group)
Standard web graphic file format that uses a compression technique to reduce graphic file sizes.
Jump page ad
Microsite which is reached via click-through from button or banner ad. The jump page itself can list several topics, which are linked to either the advertiser's site or the publisher's site.
JavaScript
A scripting language developed by Netscape and used to create interactive Web sites.
Jump Page
The page that is displayed when a user clicks on a banner. Can be used for just about anything from promoting a website, product or service, user registration to contests.
Junk E-mail Folder
A folder within an e-mail client or on an E-mail Service Provider server that stores e-mail messagesthat are identified, either by the user or by an automated spam filter, as undesired or undesirable.
K
Keyword marketing
Putting your message in front of people who are searching using particular keywords and
keyphrases.
keyword density
Keywords as a percentage of indexable text words.
keyword research
The search for keywords related to your Web site, and the analysis of which ones yield the highest return on investment (ROI).
Keywords tag
META tag used to help define the primary keywords of a Web page.
Keyword
A specific word, or combination of words, entered into a search engine that results in a list of pages related to the keyword. A keyword is the content of a search engine query. Keyword Search Revenues Revenue generated from advertisements delivered with a user’s search results.
Keyword Frequency
Is a measure of the frequency that a word appears on a webpage in comparison to the total number of words on a webpage. Keyword density is measured by dividing the number of times a keyword is showing on a webpage in comparison to the total number of words on a web page. The higher a keyword density is the better; but over-optimising may lead to Keyword stuffing which is penalised by search engines.
Keyword stuffing
Writing copy that uses excessive amounts of a particular keyword, the objective of which is to improve the page's ranking for that keyword. Search engines penalise sites heavily for keyword stuffing. When people use keyword stuffed copy it tends to read mechanically and consequently does not convert well.
L
Lag
The delay between making an online request or command and receiving a response. See latency.
LAN (Local Area Network)
A group of computers connected together (a network) at one physical location.
Latency
1) Time it takes for a data packet to move across a network connection;
2) Visible delay between request and display of content and ad. Latency sometimes leads to the
user leaving the site prior to the opportunity to see. In streaming media, latency can create stream degradation if it causes the packets, which must be received and played in order, to arrive out of order.
Large rectangle
An IMU size. The IAB’s voluntary guidelines include seven Interactive Marketing Unit (IMU) ad formats; two vertical units and five large rectangular units. See iab.net for more information.
Link
A clickable connection between two Web sites. Formally referred to as a hyperlink.
Link popularity
A measure of the quantity and quality of sites that link to your site.
Log file
File that records the activity on a Web server.
Landing page
A landing page is the advertiser's web page to which a user is directed after clicking an ad.
Lead
A lead indicates a potential customer who has expressed interest in a product or service,
generally by means of requesting additional information or following through on an online registration. Some affiliate programs pay on a CPL, or Cost Per Lead, basis.
Link farms
Websites that are created and maintained solely for the purpose of constructing links between member sites. You should avoid listing your website on these sites as it could result in your website being banned by search engines.
M
Make goods
Additional ad impressions which are negotiated in order to make up for the shortfall of ads
delivered versus the commitments outlined in the approved insertion order.
Media broker
Since it's often not efficient for an advertiser to select every Web site it wants to put ads on, media brokers aggregate sites for advertisers and their media planners and buyers, based on demographics and other factors.
Media buyer
A media buyer, usually at an advertising agency, works with a media planner to allocate the money provided for an advertising campaign among specific print or online media (magazines, TV, Web sites, and so forth), and then calls and places the advertising orders. On the Web, placing the order often includes requesting proposals and negotiating the final cost.
Maximum cost-per-click
The maximum cost-per-click (CPC) an advertiser is willing to pay. Our Discounter automatically
reduces this amount so that the actual CPC the advertiser is charged is just one cent more than the minimum necessary to keep his/her ad's position on the page.
Maximum cost-per-thousand-impressions
The maximum cost-per-thousand-impressions (CPM) an advertiser is willing to pay. The AdWords
Discounter automatically reduces this amount so that the actual CPM the advertiser is charged is just
one cent more than the minimum necessary to keep his/her ad's position on the page.
Micro-sites
Multi-page ads accessed via click-through from initial ad. The user stays on the publisher’s Website,
but has access to more information from the advertiser than a display ad allows.
Midroll
Form of online video ad placement where the ad is played during a break in the middle of the
content video. See Preroll and Postroll.
MIME (Multi-purpose Internet Mail Extensions)
A method of encoding a file for delivery over the Internet.
MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Role-Playing Game)
Any of a variety of three dimensional, highly immersive, PC or console based video games where
many players interact, competing or co-operating to achieve goals in real time.
Mouseover
The process by which a user places his/her mouse over a media object, without clicking. The
mouse may need to remain still for a specified amount of time to initiate some actions.
MP3
Codec most commonly used for digital music online. Generic term for any digital music file,
regardless of codec used to create or play it.
MPEG
1) The file format that is used to compress and transmit movies or video clips online;
2) Standards set by the Motion Picture Exports Group for video media.
MRC (Media Rating Council)
A non-profit trade association dedicated to assuring valid, reliable and effective syndicated audience research. The MRC performs audits of Internet measurements as well as traditional media measurements.
Meta Tags
Meta tags are HTML codes that are inserted into the header on a web page, after the Title tag.
They take a variety of forms and serve a variety of purposes, but in the context of search engine optimization when people refer to meta tags, they are usually referring to the Meta Description tag and the Meta Keywords tag. Meta-information is associated with a web page and placed in the HTML but not visible for the user. Meta tags are an optional feature of Websites with strict Search Engine Optimization purposes and little else.
Minutes/Visit (Minutes per Visit)
The average calculated by dividing the total number of minutes spent by all users in specific section by the total number of visits to/by that section.
Minutes/Visitor (Minutes/Visitor)
The average calculated by dividing the total number of minutes spent by all users in specific section by the total number
of visitors to/by that section.
Mirror Site:
A site which mirrors or is a duplicate of the contents of another website. This is usually where a company will more than one domain name particular for geographical search engines. For example having http://www.mywebsite.ie/ and http://www.mywebsite.com/
N
Navigation
That which facilitates movement from one Web page to another Web page.
NAI (Network Advertising Initiative)
A cooperative group of network advertisers which has developed a set of privacy principles in
conjunction with the Federal Trade Commission. The NAI provides consumers with explanations
of Internet advertising practices and how they affect both consumers and the Internet. See
networkadvertising.org for more information.
Netiquette
A term that is used to describe the informal rules of conduct ("do's and don'ts") of online behavior.
Newsgroup
An electronic bulletin board devoted to talking about a specific topic and open to everybody. Only
a handful of newsgroups permit the posting of advertising.
Non-registered user
Someone who visits a Web site and elects not to, or is not required to, provide certain information, and hence may be denied access to part's of the site.
Nonqualifying page impressions
Page impressions which should be excluded from traffic or measurement reports, such as
unsuccessful transfers of requested documents, successful transfers of requested documents to
a robot or spider, and/or pages in a frame set. See frames.
Newbie
A term to describe someone new to the Internet.
O
Off-site measurement
When a site forwards its log files to an off-site Web research service for analysis.
On-demand
The ability to request video, audio, or information to be sent to the screen immediately by clicking something on the screen referring to that choice.
On-site measurement
When a server has an appropriate software program to measure and analyze traffic received on
its own site.
OPA (Online Privacy Alliance)
A group of corporations and associations who have come together to introduce and promote
business-wide actions that create an environment of trust and foster the protection of individuals'
privacy online. See privacyalliance.org for more information.
OPA (Online Publishers’ Association)
Trade association representing a segment of online publishers. See online-publishers.org for more information.
Opt-in e-mail
Opt-in e-mail is e-mail containing information or advertising that users explicitly request (opt) to
receive. Subscribers have registered to receive specific information of interest.
Opt in
Refers to an individual giving a company permission to use data collected from or about the
individual for a particular reason.
Opt out-
When a company states that it plans to market its products and services to an
individual unless the individual asks to be removed from the company's mailing list.
OTS (Opportunity to See)
Same as page display - when a page is successfully displayed on the user's computer screen.
P
P3P (Platform for Privacy Preferences Project)
Browser feature that will analyze privacy policies and allow a user to control their privacy needs.
Packet sniffer
A program used to monitor and record activity and to detect problems with Web transactions on a network., also known as a network sniffer, network analyzer or protocol analyzer.
Page impression
A measurement of responses from a Web server to a page request from the user’s browser,
which is filtered from robotic activity and error codes, and is recorded at a point as close as
possible to the opportunity to see the page by the user. See iab.net for ad campaign
measurement guidelines.
Page request
The opportunity for an HTML document to appear on a browser window as a direct result of a
user's interaction with a Web site.
Page view
Request to load a single HTML page.
Pay per click (PPC)
Online advertising payment model in which payment is based solely on qualifying click-throughs.
Pay per lead (PPL)
Online advertising payment model in which payment is based solely based on qualifying leads.
Pay per sale (PPS)
Online advertising payment model in which payment is based solely based on qualifying sales.
Pay-per-view
Since this is the prevalent type of ad buying arrangement at larger Websites, this term tends to be used only when comparing this most prevalent method with pay-per-click and other methods.
Performance pricing model
An advertising model in which advertisers pay based on a set of agreed upon performance.
criteria, such as a percentage of online revenues or delivery of new sales leads. See CPA, CPC,
CPL, CPO, CPS, CPT.
PII (Personally Identifiable Information)
Refers to information such as an individual’s name, mailing address, phone number or e-mail
address.
Pop-up ad
An ad that displays in a new browser window.
Pop-under ad
An ad that displays in a new browser window behind the current browser window.
Portal
A web page that works as a starting point for a user's session on the Internet. Portals typically
include a directory of websites, access to web services and shopping sites, and search functionality powered by a search engine provider. Example of portals are AOL, Netscape, CompuServe, and EarthLink.
Pay per click search engine
Search engine where results are ranked according to the bid amount, and advertisers are charged when a searcher clicks on the search listing.
Psychographic characteristics
This is a term for personal interest information that is gathered by
Web sites by requesting it from users. For example, a Web site could ask users to list the Web sites that they visit most often. Advertisers could use this data to help create a demographic profile for that site.
Pixel
Picture element (single illuminated dot) on a computer monitor.
The metric used to indicate the size of Internet ads.
Pop-up transitional
Initiates play in a separate ad window during the transition between content pages. Continues
while content is simultaneously being rendered. Depending primarily on line-speed, play of a
transitional ad may finish before or after content rendering is completed.
Portal
A Web site that often serves as a starting point for a Web user’s session. It typically provides
services such as search, directory of Web sites, news, weather, e-mail, homepage space, stock
quotes, sports news, entertainment, telephone directory information, area maps, and chat or
message boards.
Proxy Server
A server that sits between a client application, such as a web browser, and a real server.
It intercepts all requests to the real server to see if it can fulfill the requests itself. If not, it
forwards the request to the real server.
Psychographics
Subjective information about a population of World Wide Web viewers, such as
propensity towards sports, arts, or business. Includes personality characteristics.
Push
A tool that sends automatically sends information to a web user. The delivery ("pushing
of") information that is initiated by the server rather than being requested by the user
("pulled"). Examples would be PointCast, BackWeb, and Marimba.
Paid placement
Guaranteed listing with high ranking among search results, usually in
relation to specified keywords. Paid placement programs are typically based on CPC
or CPM pricing, with higher overall costs than paid inclusion. Also known as pay-for placement.
Paid inclusion
Guaranteed inclusion on a search engine's results in exchange for payment, without any guarantee of how high the listing will appear. A paid inclusion appears to the user as an editorial listing rather than as a sponsored link. Paid inclusion pricing is typically based on a flat fee or index fee.
Public service ad (PSA)
PSAs are non-profit organization ads that are served to pages when targeted ads are unavailable. Publishers do not receive earnings for clicks made on PSAs.
Postroll
Form of online video ad placement where the advertisement is played after the content video plays. See Preroll and Midroll.
Pre-caching
Storing advertising or content in a computer's RAM or hard disk memory before it is displayed on the user's
screen, rather than at the time that it plays, to reduce delays in rendering. See cache, caching.
Preroll
Form of online video ad placement where the advertisement is played before the content video
plays. See Postroll and Midroll.
Profiling
the practice of tracking information about consumers' interests by monitoring their movements
online. This can be done without using any personal information, but simply by analyzing the
content, URL’s, and other information about a user’s browsing path/click-stream.
Push advertising -
Pro-active, partial screen, dynamic advertisement which comes in various formats.
PIT (Page Information Transfer)
The successful text transfer of a Web page to a browser.
Q
Query
A request for information, usually to a search engine or a database. The user types in words or topics, and the search engine returns matching results from its database. A query is at the center of every search engine interaction.
R
Rectangle ad
Any one of the large, rectangular banner sizes suggested by the IAB.
Rate card
Document detailing prices for various ad placement options.
Re-direct
When used in reference to online advertising, one server assigning an ad-serving or ad-targeting
function to another server, often operated by a third company. For instance, a Web publisher's ad management server might re-direct to a third-party hired by an advertiser to distribute its ads to target customers; and then another re-direct to a "rich media" provider might also occur ifstreaming video were involved before the ad is finally delivered to the consumer. In some cases, the process of re-directs can produce latency. See ad serving, latency.
Reach
1) Unique users that visited the site over the course of the reporting period, expressed as a
percent of the universe for the demographic category; also called unduplicated audience;
2) The total number of unique users who will be served a given ad.
Real time
Events that happen “live” at a particular moment. When one chats in a chat room, or sends an
instant message, one is interacting in real time.
Referral link
The referring page, or referral link is a place from which the user clicked to get to the current page.In other words, since a hyperlink connects one URL to another, in clicking on a link the browser moves from the referring URL to the destination URL. Also known as source of a visit.
Referral fees
Fees paid by advertisers for delivering a qualified sales lead or purchase inquiry.
Return visits
The average number of times a user returns to a site over a specific time period.
Run-of-network (RON)
Ad buying option in which ad placements may appear on any pages on any sites within an ad network.
Run-of-site (ROS)
Ad buying option in which ad placements may appear on any pages on same site.
Roadblock
Inventory blocked by a particular ad for a short period of time (1 to 3 days).
ROI
ROI (return on investment) is "the bottom line" on how successful an ad or campaign was in terms of what the returns (generally sales revenue) were for the money invested.
Rich media ads
Rich media advertisements are banners (or popups, skyscrapers, interstitials, etc.) which are constructed
using dynamic tools such as Flash, html forms, Java, ASP, Shockwave, Javascript, or other languages or applications that increase the appearance and/or functionality of the ad beyond that which can be achieved with a static or animated image.
Referrer
URL of an HTML page that refers to your Web site.
Robots
Also knows as spiders or web crawlers. Robots search the web to scan and collect documents to be accessed on search engines.
Reciprocal links
Links between two Websites based on an agreement between the two owners.
RSS
Rich Site Summary or Real Simple Syndication; means of distributing dynamic
content to subscribers via an XML (Extensible Markup Language) format rather than email.
Remnant inventory
Low-cost advertising space that is relatively undesirable or otherwise unsold.
Repeat visitor
A unique visitor who has accessed a website more than once over a specific time period.
Rep Firm
Ad sales partner specializing primarily in single-site sales.
RPM (Revenue per thousand page views)
The sum total of all ad placements on a single page. For example, if you had three ads on a web page,
each selling for a $5 CPM, your RPM would equal $15.
302 Redirect
The process of a server sending a browser the location of a requested ad, rather than sending the
ad itself. Ad servers use 302 redirects to allow them to track activities such as ad requests or ad
clicks
ROC
Run of category (ROC) means a banner will appear anywhere within a category on a web site or ad network. More targeted than a run of site (ROS) campaign where the banner would appear randomly on any page of the site.
S
Sample
A subset of a universe whose properties are studied to gain information about that universe.
Sampling frame
The source from which the sample is drawn.
Scripts
Files that initiate routines like generating Web pages dynamically in response to user input.
Site stickiness
The amount of time spent at a site over a given time period.
Surround session
Advertising sequence in which a visitor receives ads from one
advertiser throughout an entire site visit.
Self-serve advertising
Advertising that can be purchased without the assistance of a sales representative.
Shopping bots
Software programs that help Web users search for and compare specific products across multiple
Websites; also called bots, intelligent agents.
Search Engine
Helps users locate information on the Internet by searching for keywords or phrases. Indexes are
developed from resource lists or created by robots, spiders, crawlers or agents.
Search engine marketing (SEM)-
A form of Internet Marketing that seeks to promote websites by increasing their visibility in the
Search Engine result pages.
Sell-through rate
The percentage of ad inventory sold as opposed to traded or bartered.
Server
A computer which distributes files which are shared across a LAN, WAN or the Internet. Also
known as a "host".
Server centric measurement
Audience measurement derived from server logs.
Server-initiated ad impression
One of the two methods used for ad counting. Ad content is delivered to the user via two methods server-initiated and client-initiated. Server-initiated ad counting uses the publisher’s Web content server for making requests, formatting and re-directing content. For organizations using a server-initiated ad counting method, counting should occur subsequent to the ad response at
either the publisher's ad server or the Web content server, or later in the process. See client initiatedad impression.
Server pull
A process whereby a user's browser maintains an automated or customized connection or profile
with a Web server. The browser usually sets up a unique request that is recorded and stored
electronically for future reference. Examples are: requests for the automated delivery of e-mail
newsletters, the request for Web content based on a specific search criteria determined by the
user, or setting up a personalized Web page that customizes the information delivered to the user based on pre-determined self selections.
Server push
A process whereby a server maintains an open connection with a browser after the initial request
for a page. Through this open connection the server continues to provide updated pages and
content even though the visitor has made no further direct requests for such information.
Session
1) A sequence of Internet activity made by one user at one site. If a user makes no request from a site during a 30 minute period of time, the next content or ad request would then constitute the beginning of a new visit;
2) A series of transactions performed by a user that can be tracked across successive Web sites. For example, in a single session, a user may start on a publisher's
Web site, click on an advertisement and then go to an advertiser's Web site and make a
purchase. See visit.
Session cookies
These are temporary and are erased when the browser exits at the end of a web surfing session.
See cookie.
Search Engine optimization
Tactics and techniques that make it easier for spiders or web crawlers to find your page, contributing to higher ranking on a list of search engine results. Basic optimization starts with listing relevant keywords in your metatags and building clear and descriptive words into page copy, title, text hyperlinks, and image file names. It's also important to design your site on a logical link structure and follow standard HTML conventions, avoiding the use of frames, dynamic URLs, Image Maps, and JavaScript for navigation.
Search engine submission
The act of supplying a URL to a search engine in an attempt to make a search engine aware of a site or page.
Search Referrer
The search referrer is an internal or external referrer for which the URL has been generated by a search function.
Site search
Search functionality specific to one site.
SGML (Standard Generalized Markup Language)
The parent language for HTML.
Shockwave
A browser plug-in developed by Macromedia (now part of Adobe) which allows multimedia objectsto appear on the Web (animation, audio and video).
Shopping bot
Intelligent agent which searches for the best price.
Skins
Customized and interchangeable sets of graphics, which allow Internet users to continually
change the look of their desktops or browsers, without changing their settings or functionality.
Skins are a type of marketing tool.
Site-centric measurement
Audience measurement derived from a Web site's own server logs.
Splash page
A branding page before the home page of a Web site. A splash page (also known as an interstitial) is a preliminary page that precedes the regular home page of a Web site and usually promotes a particular site feature or provides advertising. A splash page is timed to move on to the home page after a short period of time.
Sponsor: It can also mean an advertiser that has a special relationship with the Web site
and supports a special feature of a Web site, such as a writer's column, a Flower-of-the-
Day, or a collection of articles on a particular subject.
Sponsor
It can also mean an advertiser that has a special relationship with the Web site and supports a special feature of a Web site, such as a writer's column, a Flower-of-the- Day, or a collection of articles on a particular subject.
SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol)
The protocol used to transfer e-mail.
Sponsorship
Advertising that seeks to establish a deeper association and integration between an advertiser and a publisher, often involving coordinated beyond-the-banner placements. Sponsorship is an association with a Web site in some way that gives an advertiser some particular visibility and advantage above that of run-of-site advertising.
Shopping cart
Software used to make a site's product catalogue available for online ordering, whereby visitors
may select, view, add/delete, and purchase merchandise.
Skyscraper, skyscraper ad, skyscraper banner
A common banner ad format. Skyscraper ads are most commonly 120x600 pixels, although a
relatively new variation on the theme, the wide skyscraper, is gaining ground. These are 160x600.
Server Error
An error occurring at the server. Web server errors have codes in the 500 range.
Scalability
Ability of a system to adapt to increased demands. The elimination of all points of pressure where a system could break down.
Syndication
An option that allows you to extend your reach by distributing ads to additional partner sites.
Shoskeles
An animated ad that moves across the browser, usually with sound effects. It animates only long
enough to play a message before settling into a stationary ad on the page.
Social marketing
Marketing tactic that taps into the growth of social networks, encouraging users to adopt and pass along widgets or other content modules created by a brand, or to add a brand to the user’s social circle of friends.
Social network
An online destination that gives users a chance to connect with one or more groups of friends,
facilitating sharing of content, news, and information among them. Examples of social networks
include Facebook and LinkedIn.
Space
Location on a page of a site in which an ad can be placed. Each space on a site is uniquely
identified. There can be multiple spaces on a single page.
Software Developer Kit (SDK)
Targeted marketing messages embedded within software applications. This medium offers precise targeting capabilities to a very high-tech savvy audience, and the ability to reach consumers on or off the Internet.
Spam
Unsolicited email.
Sniffer
Software that detects capabilities of the user's browser (looking for such things as Java capabilities,
plug-ins, screen resolution, and bandwidth).
Static Ad
A fixed ad unit that remains on a page and does not rotate throughout the site.
Split-Run
The testing process of sending the same advertisement to two or more groups with different headlines or copy to
determine effectiveness of each
Shoskeles
An animated ad that moves across the browser, usually with sound effects. It animates only long
enough to play a message before settling into a stationary ad on the page.
Social marketing
Marketing tactic that taps into the growth of social networks, encouraging users to adopt and pass
along widgets or other content modules created by a brand, or to add a brand to the user’s social
circle of friends.
Social network
An online destination that gives users a chance to connect with one or more groups of friends,
facilitating sharing of content, news, and information among them. Examples of social networks
include Facebook and LinkedIn.
Space
Location on a page of a site in which an ad can be placed. Each space on a site is uniquely
identified. There can be multiple spaces on a single page.
Software Developer Kit (SDK)
Targeted marketing messages embedded within software applications. This medium offers precise targeting capabilities to a very high-tech savvy audience, and the ability to reach consumers on or off the Internet.
Spam
Unsolicited email.
Sniffer
Software that detects capabilities of the user's browser (looking for such things as Java capabilities, plug-ins, screen resolution, and bandwidth).
Static Ad
A fixed ad unit that remains on a page and does not rotate throughout the site.
Split-Run
The testing process of sending the same advertisement to two or more groups with different headlines or copy to determine effectiveness of each
Streaming Media
A technique that allows audio and visual files to run and does not require that a file be
downloaded before the user can see or hear the content. Streaming media improves
the users' experience in viewing rich media.
Spider
A program that automatically fetches web pages and feeds them to search
engines. Because most web pages contain links to and from other pages, a spider can
start almost anywhere. As soon as it recognizes a link to another page, it goes off and
fetches it. Large search engines have many spiders working simultaneously. Also
known as a crawler.
Share of voice
A relative portion of inventory available to a single advertiser within a defined market sector over a specified time period.
Static ad placement/Static rotation
Ads that remain on a Web page for a specified period of time; 2) embedded ads.
Stickiness
A measure used to gauge the effectiveness of a site in retaining individual users. Stickiness is
usually measured by the duration of the visit.
Superstitials®
An interstitial format developed by Unicast which is fully pre-cached before playing. Specs are
550 x 480 pixels (2/3 of screen), up to 100K file size and up to 20 seconds in length.
Surfing
Exploring the World Wide Web.
SERP
Stands for "Search Engine Results Page", the page of site listings that a search engine returns in response to
a user’s entry of a search query.
SSL
An SSL certificate is an electronic key that will ensure an online transaction is secure.
T
Target audience
The intended audience for an ad, usually defined in terms of specific demographics (age, sex,
income, etc.) product purchase behavior, product usage or media usage.
Title tag
HTML tag used to define the text in the top line of a Web browser, also used by
many search engines as the title of search listings.
Targeting, ad targeting, targeted, targeted ads
Targeting refers to the means by which advertisers attempt to reach a desired audience through choice of category (in an ad network), choice of web site, choice of demographic, geographic location, or whateverother criteria the advertiser finds interesting. Targeted ads command higher CPM rates than non-targeted ads, with the most finely targeted, site-specific, usually earning the highest rate.
Traffic
Traffic refers to the rate at which a site is visited. The term is general, but the best true measures of traffic are calculated in terms of unique visitors and page views.
Text ad
Advertisement using text-based hyperlinks. An ad designed for text delivery, with concise, action-oriented
copy and a link to your website. Because they are not accompanied by graphics, text links are easy to create and improve page download time. Also known as a sponsored link.
Tracking
Online advertising opens the opportunity to track audience response throughout the life of your
campaign. Tracking and reporting tools can help you learn as you go, so you can refine your ad creative, placement options, and spending levels if you're not seeing the results you expect. The publisher of your ads typically will provide reports on ad impressions and clickthrough. For additional analysis of your traffic and actual customer conversion rates, you'll need to build tracking mechanisms into your website.
Third-party ad server
Independent outsourced companies that specialize in managing, maintaining, serving, tracking,
and analyzing the results of online ad campaigns. They deliver targeted advertising that can be
tailored to consumers' declared or predicted characteristics or preferences.
Throughput
The amount of data transmitted through Internet connectors in response to a given request.
Token
Tracer or tag which is attached by the receiving server to the address (URL) of a page requested
by a user. A token lasts only through a continuous series of requests by a user, regardless of the
length of the interval between requests. Tokens can be used to count unique users.
Transfer
The successful response to a page request; also when a browser receives a complete page of
content from a Web server.
Transitional ad
An ad that is displayed between Web pages. In other words, the user sees an advertisement as
he/she navigates between page ‘a’ and page ‘b.’ Also known as an interstitial.
Transitional pop up
An ad that pops up in a separate ad window between content pages.
Triggers
A command from the host server that notifies the viewer's set-top box that interactive content is available at
this point. The viewer is notified about the available interactive content via an icon or clickable text.
Once clicked by using the remote control, the trigger disappears and more content or a new interface appears
on the TV screen.
Trick banner
A banner ad that looks like a dialog box with buttons. It simulates an error message or an alert.
Trap Door
A trap door is a type of banner advertisement that leads to a page that does not easily allow the visitor to return to
the previous page the banner was on. This is accomplished by using a meta refresh tag set to 0 on the destination
page immediately sending them to another page or launching a browser windows that has hidden the browsers back button.
TrustRank
Search relevancy algorithm which places additional weighting on links from trusted websites that are controlled by
major corporations, educational institutions, or governmental institutions.
U
Underdelivery
Delivery of less impressions, visitors, or conversions than contracted for a
specified period of time.
Unique users, unique visitors, unique, unique impressions
Unique users refers the the number of distinct individuals, as determined by IP address, user login,
cookie, or some combination thereof, who visit a web site or view a banner ad. Most ad networks favor
sites which generate a large number of unique impressions over sites whose users view large numbers
of pages. A typical ad network will often not show more than five or six individual ads of any one type to
a single user in a single browser session.
User Session
A session of activity (all hits) for one user of a web site. A unique user is determined by the
IP address or cookie. By default, a user session is terminated when a user is inactive for
more than 30 minutes. See General Web Log Analyzer Settings on page 156 for
instructions on how to change the default setting. Synonym: Visit.
URL (Uniform Resource Locator)
The unique identifying address of any particular page on the Web. It contains all the information
required to locate a resource, including its protocol (usually HTTP), server domain name (or IP
address), file path (directory and name) and format (usually HTML or CGI).
URL tagging
The process of embedding unique identifiers into URLs contained in HTML content. These
identifiers are recognized by Web servers on subsequent browser requests. Identifying visitors
through information in the URLs should also allow for an acceptable calculation of visits, if
caching is avoided.
Usenet
Internet bulletin-board application.
User
An individual with access to the World Wide Web.
User agent string
A field in a server log file which identifies the specific browser software and computer operating
system making the request.
User centric measurement
Web audience measurement based on the behavior of a sample of Web users.
V
Vertical banner
A banner ad measuring 120 pixels wide and 240 pixels tall.
View
A view is, depending on what's meant, either an ad view or a page view. Usually an ad view is what's
meant. There can be multiple ad views per page views. View counting should consider that a small
percentage of users choose to turn the graphics off (not display the images) in their browser.
Visits
The number of distinct visits to a web site within a specified time period, such as one day or one month. Visits
are an imprecise term and numbers may vary considerably depending on the type of calculation used, but many
log and statistical applications define a visit as a single browser session by a single IP address. Multiple browser
sessions by the same visitor will often be counted as a single visit if the time frame within which they occur is short.
Viral Marketing
A marketing strategy that works by users passing marketing messages on to their friends.
Visit Length
Also known as visit time, the length of time, as measured by log files that a viewer spends
on a particular page or website
Visitor
A user who access a website as identified by user registration data, a cookie, Unique URL
tagging or unique IP addresses.
Viral video
Online video clips (typically short and humorous) passed via links from one person to another.
Visit duration
The length of time the visitor is exposed to a specific ad, Web page or Web site during a single session.
VRML (Virtual Reality Modeling Language)
Programming language designed to be a 3D analog to HTML.
Video Ad Experience
A term used to describe where the source of the video advertising experience is coming from.
W
Web browser
A software application that allows for the browsing of the World Wide Web.
Web site usability
The ease with which visitors are able to use a Web site.
Web hosting
The business of providing the storage, connectivity, and services necessary to serve files for a website.
WAP (Wireless Application Protocol)
A communications protocol that wireless devices, such as cellular phones, use for Internet access.
Web Server
A computer that stores and serves information for access on the World Wide Web.
Web beacon
A line of code which is used by a Web site or third party ad server to track a user’s activity, such
as a registration or conversion. A Web beacon is often invisible because it is only 1 x 1 pixel in
size with no color. Also known as Web bug, 1 by 1 GIF, invisible GIF and tracker GIF.
Webcasting
Real-time or pre-recorded delivery of a live event’s audio, video, or animation over the Internet.
Wi-Fi
Any of a family of wireless LAN data standards (IEEE 802.11) used fairly ubiquitously for
corporate and home connectivity. Also available as “hotspots” in public areas such as cafes and
airport terminals, either for free or for a one-time use charge or subscription fee.
WIMAX
A wireless WAN standard (IEEE 802.16) designed to provide portable (eventually mobile) wireless broadband
access. Single WIMAX antennas can provide coverage over large physical areas, making deployment potentially
very cost effective. Although not widely available as of 2007, sometimes considered a potential competitor to
cable modems and DSL for residential broadband.
Webmercials
Full screen animated ads accompanied by professional voice over and sound effects. Usually appear between
web pages for 5-30 seconds and used for branding purposes.
White hat
A term coined in the search engine optimisation industry to describe ethical SEO tactics. Search engines
consider certain marketing techniques deceptive in nature, and label them as black hat SEO. Those which
are considered within their guidelines are called white hat SEO techniques.
X
XML (eXtensible Markup Language)
A richer more dynamic successor to HTML utilizing SGML or HTML type tags to structure information.
XLM is used for transferring data and creating applications on the Web. See SGML and HTML.
Y
Yield
In the context of banner ads, yield indicates the percentage of clicks divided by impressions for an ad
on a given page (see click-through rate).
cool Stuff, Very interesting
ReplyDeleteIts gives me lot of information
ReplyDeleteThank you!
ReplyDeleteThis was just what i was looking for.