Digital Marketing Glossary Articles
Define Anchor Text
Anchor text is a tool used by website creators. This tool allows a link to be placed within text of a web page. Anchor text can often be recognized as a blue and underlined portion of text, sometimes a phrase, sometimes just one word. Anchor text can be clicked on by the visitor who will then be ta...
Define Ad Quality Score
An ad quality score determines how relevant a keyword is. This is a tool used by Google that gives them insight into how well an ad's quality is compared to that of other advertisers. Quality score numbers run from 1 – 10. An ad quality score with a higher number, the better. It takes time to bui...
Define Ad Copy
What is ad copy? Ad copy is the written portion of an advertisment. This text is used to describe and explain the product or service in greater detail. You can think of ad copy as a type of sales letter. Why is ad copy important? Whether a website owner is selling a product or offering a s...
Define A/B Testing
What is A/B testing? A/B testing is a tool that website owners employ when they want to know which version of a website will perform better. For this test, half of the visitors to a website will see one version (version A) while the other half will see a different version (version B). This is wh...
Define Buying Cycle
A buying cycle is the cycle that a typical customater will go through as they make their way toward a purchase. A buying cycle consists of five different stages leading up to purchase as well as after purchase. As someone who is selling a product or service, it's important to know what a potential ...
Define Display URL
The website address that appears with an ad is known as a display URL. URL stands for uniform resource locator. A display URL us typically located at the end of an ad. Sometimes it will be simplified to make it shorter and easier to read. A display URL will allow people to get a glimpse of where th...
Define a Content Management System (CMS)
A content management system, or CMS, is a type of software that is used for managing documents and websites. A content management system like an organization tool that helps keep track of inter-office content and archives everything as needed. It is a system that can be accessed by a number of peop...
Define Domain Authority
What is domain authority? Domain authority, or DA, is the measure of the power of a domain name. Domain authority is based on: Size Popularity Age What role does domain authority play and why is it important? Domain authority is a determining factor in building a strong search engine optimi...
Define Domain Name
A domain name is the name of a website. It is the part of the website address that comes after the “www.” A domain name can also come after the “@” in an email address. Domain names are registered in the Domain Name System (DNS). What is the importance of a domain name? A domain name is...
Define Click Through Rate (CTR)
A click through rate, or CTR, measures the amount of times that a link that is involved in a paid inclusion is clicked on when appearing in search engine results. A paid inclusion is a search engine marketing product. The individual search engine charges a fee for inclusion of websites in their ind...
Define Content Marketing
Content marketing is focused on the creating, publishing, and distribution of content. This content is commonly aimed at a target audience, so it is relevant to them, which will lead to a greater chance of profitable customer action. There are a number of types of content marketing including, b...
Define a Conversion Rate
Conversion rate refers to the success of a paid advertising campaign. A conversion rate is measured by how many visitors to a website complete the desired outcome, usually a sale, membership registration, or filling out a contact form. Other outcomes a website may desire include: Chatting with ...
Define Cost Per Acquisition (CPA)
What is cost per acquisition? Cost per acquisition (CPA) is a pricing model that refers to the total cost of a sales conversion from start to finish. Cost per acquisition, also known as cost per action, includes, but may not be limited to, the following: Marketing costs such as search engine...
Define Cost Per Click (CPC)
What is cost per click? Cost per click (CPC) is also known by pay per click (PCP). Cost per click-through is the total cost that results when an ad online is clicked on. This cost includes: Listing the ad Additional costs of the click-through by a user Secondly, cost per click is a pricing ...
Define Cost Per Lead (CPL)
Cost per lead (CPL) is an advertising pricing model that is used online. This is a metric that lets a business know how cost-effective their marketing campaigns are. How does cost per lead work? An advertiser pays a fixed price for each customer who fills out a sign-up form. They pay for basic ...
Define Cost Per Order (CPO)
When the goal of an ad is to sell a product or service, cost per order is a pricing model that is often used, especially when it comes to internet advertising. Cost per order (CPO) is also known by cost per sale (purchase) and cost per acquisition. How does the cost per order pricing model ...
Define Backlinks
What is a backlink? Backlinks are a type of link that is created when one website posts a link to a page on another website. This link may be in an article, a blog post, or even in a comment left by a reader. Backlinks are also called incoming links and inbound links. How are backlinks beneficia...
Define Cost Per Thousand (CPM)
Cost per thousand is a pricing model that charges the advertiser a fixed amount every time an ad is viewed one thousand times. This is also known as “cost per mille” or CPM. “Mille” is latin for thousand. This pricing model has one very appealing benefit which is its cost effectiveness. Sta...
Define Blog Comments
A blog is written content that can be presented in journal form or used by businesses on their website to help promote their company and industry as a whole. Blog comments are an important part of a blog. It is a space where readers can post comments, opinions, and even questions. But first...
Define a Blog
A blog is online writing that is often in diary or journal-style entries. Though this type of blog still exists, they have also evolved to be more website style with entries. These entries are posted in reverse chronological order, with the visitor seeing the most recent entry at the top and older ...
Define Bounce Rate
What is a bounce rate? A bounce rate refers to the percentage of visitors to a website, specifically one page of the website, and then leave or “bounce.” A visitor may leave on their own after visiting just the one page or their session on the page may time out causing the bounce. How is bo...
Define Branded Keywords
When a user does a search online either through a search engine or social media, they may use what are known as branded keywords. Branded keywords are words that are associated with a product, brand, or service. When a user knows exactly what they are looking for, using branded keywords can make th...
Define Branding
Branding is a valuable concept to marketing and business. It helps people to identify a company, an individual, or a product. Branding includes aspects such as logo, name, slogan, or design that is widely recognized. Branding can be an asset or a liability to a company depending on how much thought...
Define Breadcrumb Navigation
Breadcrumb navigation allows visitors to websites to keep track of where they have been within the websites they visit. Breadcrumb navigation allows users to retrace their steps and find their way page to previous pages they have visited. Breadcrumb navigation is especially helpful on websites w...
Define Meta Tag
What is a meta tag? A meta tag is a an HTML tag that helps to identify that content of a web page. An HTML tag, or hypertext markup language, is a foundational code that is used to structure a web page and the content within it. HTML structures the web page with bullet lists, paragraphs, images, ta...
Define Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Commonly known as SEO, search engine optimization is the process of improving a website so that it ranks higher in search engine results. When people do searches in Google, MSN, or other search engines, you want your website to appear on the first page, ideally as close to the top as possible. ...
Define a Title Tag
A title tag is an important HTML element that is creates the title of a web page. It is displayed in search engine results as part of the web page's clickable headline. As such, you will see the title tag underlined in blue hyperlink. What is the importance of a title tag? A title tag is intende...
Define a Tracking URL
What is a tracking URL? A tracking URL (Uniform Resource Locator) is a URL that is used to track certain elements when a link is clicked on. A common use of tracking URLs is to help measure how effective a marketing campaign is. This tracking works by attaching a digital tracking code to a link on ...
Define a Search Engine Algorithm
What is a search engine algorithm? A search engine algorithm is a method used to determine the significance of a website. Each search engine such as Google, Yahoo!, and Bing have their own set of rules that will determine if a website is real or spam. It can also decide is a website has the informa...
Define a Search Engine Crawler
A search engine crawler, also known as a web crawler, spiderbot, crawler, or spider, is an Internet bot that searches the web to find new and newly updated content. What kind of content is looked for by a search engine crawler? Content includes images, videos, and web pages, which are all indexed a...
Define Search Engine Results Page (SERP)
A search engine results page, or SERP, is what appears when a user does a search in a search engine such as Google, MSN, or Yahoo! It is a list of related websites, images, videos, local listings, and sponsored links. A search engine results page usually lists 10 results per page. The most relev...
Define Social Media Marketing
Social media marketing refers to the use of social media and social networks to market a brand, company, products, and/or services. Social media marketing (SMM) is an effective way for companies and brands to interact with current customers as well as potential customers. The benefits of social ...
Define Retargeting
Retargeting is an action that allows advertisers to target consumers according to their previous interactions with a website. Retargeting is also known as behavioural remarketing or behavioural retargeting. How does retargeting work? When a user visits a website, but doesn't make a purchase, re...
Define Robots.txt
Robots.txt is a text file located in the root directory of a website. It is also known as the robots exclusion standard. What is the purpose of robots.txt? Robots.txt is used to communicate with web crawlers, an Internet bot that methodically browses the web, and other types of web robots, whic...
Define Pay Per Click Advertising
Pay per click is an advertising model that consists of advertisers placing ads on advertisement platforms. It is a model that is used to bring traffic to websites with goal of having visitors make a purchase. What are the benefits of the pay per click advertising model? Some of the benefits of p...
Define Nofollow Tag
In 2005, the nofollow tag was created by the head of Google.com's webspam team to help combat search engine spam. First, what is a nofollow tag? A nofollow tag is a non-standard, meaning not normal or frequently used, HTML attribute value. This specific HTML attribute value tells search engines...
Define 301 Redirect
A 301 redirect can most easily be described as and compared to a mail forwarder. When someone visits your website and the URL has changed, the visitor will be redirected to the new, correct URL. Without a 301 redirect set up, the visitor will not know where to go or if your website is gone complete...
Define Landing Page
A landing page is the web page that a user will arrive at when they click on a link in the search engine results page. It can also be a page that is clicking through an email promotion, an ad, or a marketing promotion. A landing page is also commonly known as a destination page, lead capture page, ...
Define Link Building
What is link building? Link building is the task of establishing inbound links that are relevant to your website. What are the benefits of link building? Rank higher in search engines Increase your conversion rate Increase brand awareness. Add to your credibility Lower bounce rates Increase web...
Define Long Tail Keywords
Keywords are an important part of having an online business and website. Keywords are what users type into search engines to get related results. If you are hoping to rank high as one of those results, you'll want to have the best keywords possible. Long-tail keywords play an important role in this...
Define Keyword Research
Keywords are important in many aspects of online businesses, advertising, and search engine searches. First, what exactly is a keyword? A keyword is a term that refers to a word that people type into a search engine or a word that describes content of a website. Keywords are a crucial part of searc...
Define a Keyword Phrase
A keyword phrase are words that users type into a search engine. It is a phrase of two or more words and is important in search engine optimization (SEO). Examples of keyword phrases include: “blue handheld mixer”“size 8 shoe”“how to start running” How do keyword phrases and a key...
Define an Impression
On the Internet, an impression is used in advertising. Also known as a view or an ad view, an impression is the measture of how many engagements an ad gets. How important are impressions in online advertising? Impressions allow advertisers and website creators to know how many times their ad wa...
Define Internet Protocol Address (IP Address)
What is an Internet protocol address? An Internet protocol address, also known as an IP address, is a completely unique numerical label. This label is attached to a computer network that is connected to the Internet. Every device that is connected to the internet including laptops, modems, routers,...
Define Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP)
Hypertext transfer protocol can be considered one of the most important foundations of the World Wide Web. Hypertext transfer protocol, also known as HTTP, is used to load web pages. This protocol essentially defines how messages are formatted and transmitted. How does hypertext transfer ...
Define Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS)
You are probably familiar with seeing “https” when using the internet. It is the acronym that begins the URL in a website address. HTTPS stands for hypertext protocol secure and is an extension of the other well-known acronym “http” or hypertext transfer protocol. You may also recognize HTT...
Define Deep Linking
What is deep linking? Deep linking is a tool that is used to help users get to another page within a website without having to return to the home page first. Deep linking takes the hassle out of searching for what they want and making it a more convenient process. A website creator wants to make...
Define a Description Tag
A description tag is a specific HTML tag that is used by web page creators. This HTML tag is used to provide a short summary that will appear in search engine listings. A description tag will most often appear under the headline of the webpage. A description tag is considered a piece of advertising...
Definition of a 301 Redirect
A 301 redirect is a specific set of coded instructions that routes you from one URL to the other. Technically referred to as an HTTP status code, they are used to signal that there has been a change from one URL to another. They should be used in any situation where you delete a page, change a URL, ...
Definition of Anchor Text
Anchor text is the clickable, often blue and underlined, text in a hyperlink. Though usually blue, the anchor text color can be changed to match that of your website's colors. An anchor text is used when the creator of the website wants to hide a link under text. An HTML code can turn a phrase or wo...
Definition of AD Quality Score
An ad quality score is a tool that allows Google to measure how relevant a keyword is. Also known as quality score, this diagnostic tool will give insight into how well your ad quality is compared to other advertisers. When Google has enough data, keywords that are in an advertiser's account are ...
Definition of Ad Copy
Ad copy is the written material that is found when someone clicks on an advertisement. Ad copy is used to describe the advertisement in further detail. Imagine that you have a product or service that you want to sell. The best way to get people interested is to compel them with your words, while ...
Definition of A/B Testing
A/B testing is a method of testing for an advertising campaign. Also known as split-run testing or bucket testing, A/B testing consists of participants who are unaware of the test being conducted. This is a blind study where half of the visitors see version A, which is the control, and the other hal...
Definition of a Buying Cycle
A buying cycle is what customers typically pass through on their way to making a purchase. You are likely familiar with the experience even if you weren't aware of the term. The buying cycle consists of the following stages: Awareness: During the awareness stage of the buying cycle, a potential c...
Definition of a Breadcrumb Navigation
Breadcrumb navigation is a tool that is used in web searches that allows users to keep track of their locations within websites, documents, or programs. The easiest way to think of breadcrumb navigation is with the Hansel and Gretel reference for which breadcrumb navigation is named. The siblings le...
Definition of Branding
Branding refers to the marketing and business concept of an individual, product, or company. It includes, but is not limited to, the name, logo, design, or slogan that is recognized by people thanks to marketing. A brand can also be thought of as a promise that you make to your customer. You are tel...
Definition of Branded Keywords
Branded keywords are words and phrases that are associated with a service, product, or brand. Branded keywords are used by individuals who are searching for a specific business or brand through social media or a search engine. The most common types of branded keywords include: Brand Names: Bra...
Definition of Bounce Rate
Bounce rate is an internet marketing term that refers to the percentage of visitors to a website who enter and then leave (“bounce”). A “bounce” is when a visitor only views one page and then leaves without viewing any other pages on the website. There is no minimum or maximum time a visitor...
Definition of a Blog
A blog is a website with written content that is added to regularly and in chronological order. In the past a blog was more like a personal journal, but it has since evolved into a web page or website that can be used for personal or business purposes. What is the benefit of a blog? A blog is a w...
Definition of Blog Comments
Blog comments are comments, questions, and opinions that are left by readers at the end of a blog. Having comments enabled on your blog has a number of benefits for both you and your readers. One of the greatest benefits to having a comment section enabled on your blog is to create a two-way dial...
Definition of Cost Per Thousand (CPM)
Cost per thousand, also known as CPM or “cost per mille,” is a model that measures the cost of displaying an advertisement on a web page. Mille is the Latin word for thousand. Cost per thousand is a system that has to do with how many times an advertisement on a web page is viewed. Each time an ...
Definition of Backlinks
Backlinks, also known as inbound links or incoming links, are links that are created when one website links to another website. Backlinks are an important component of search engine optimization (SEO). SEO can drive more people to your website, increase conversions, increase your authority, and help...
Definition of Cost Per Order (CPO)
Cost per order (CPO), also known as cost per acquisition and cost per purchase, is an important part of many web-based businesses. Cost per order is the cost of internet advertising or marketing required to acquire an order. If the main goal of an ad is to create sales, cost per order is the preferr...
Definition of Cost Per Lead (CPL)
Cost per lead (CPL) is an online advertising pricing model. The advertiser pays a set price for each customer that fills out a lead or sign-up form. Advertisers pay for the basic contact information, most often an email address, of a consumer who may be interested in their service or product. Cos...
Definition of Cost Per Click (CPC)
Cost per click (CPC), also known as pay per click (PPC), is a term that has two different meanings. Cost per click refers to the total cost accrued by an advertiser when an ad is clicked on. This includes from listing the ad to the additional cost of the click-through by the visitor. Cost per click ...
Definition of Cost Per Acquisition (CPA)
Cost per acquisition (CPA), also known as cost per action, measures an advertiser's per conversion cost from start to finish. This is from the addition to search engine results to creating landing pages that will grab visitor's attention. Cost per acquisition measures how much it costs to covert one...
Definition of a Conversion Rate
The conversion rate of a website is the measurement of the success of a paid campaign. A conversion rate is measured by the number of potential visitors to a website performing the desired outcome. The outcome could be filling out a form, buying a product, membership registration, software downloads...
Definition of Content Marketing
Content marketing is a form of marketing that is focused on creating, publishing, and distributing content for a targeted audience. This content is relevant and consistent for the audience in order to drive profitable customer action. There are different types of content marketing including: �...
Definition of a Click Through Rate (CTR)
A click through rate (CTR) is the measurement of how many times a link involved in a paid inclusion is clicked on when it appears in search engine results. It is calculated by the number of clicks an ad receives divided by the number of times the ad is shown. Each ad, keyword, and listing has there ...
Definition of a Domain Name
A domain name is the name of a website. Well-known examples of domain names include: • youtube.com • facebook.com • google.com • wikipedia.org A domain name is what comes after the “@” in an email address and after the “www.” in a website address. Any name that is registe...
Definition of Domain Authority
Domain authority (DA) refers to a measure of the power of a domain name. It is just one of many search engine ranking factors. Domain authority is based on three things: size, popularity, and age. Domain authority can help you build a strong SEO strategy, which makes it an important marketing metric...
Definition of a Display URL
A display URL (uniform resource locator) is the website address that appears with an ad. The display URL is usually found in the last text at the end of an ad and may be simplified if the URL is too long. In this case, the full URL is not listed with the ad. The display URL makes it easier to read. ...
Definition of a Content Management System (CMS)
A content management system (CMS) is a computer software that is used to manage documents and websites. They enable inter-office control of content and act as a company archive. Features of a content management system can include, but are not limited to, the following: • Format management fa...
Definition of a Description Tag
A description tag is an HTML tag that is used by web page authors to provide a short summary for the search engine listings. Most of the time, this text appears under the headline, but sometimes search engines will pull a piece of text from the main body copy of the page. You can find the descrip...
Definition of Deep Linking
Deep linking is a tool used to help point user's to a specific page in a website through the page they are on instead of from the home page. Deep linking can be a good way to help visitors to a website get to a specific page, such as that of a product, without them having to go through multiple page...
Definition of Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS)
Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure, also known as HTTPS, is an acronym that precedes the URL in a website address. HTTPS is an extension of the hypertext transfer protocol. Hypertext transfer protocol secure is used for secure communication over a computer network as well as being used on the Intern...
Definition of Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP)
Hypertext transfer protocol, also known as HTTP, is an underlying protocol used by the Internet. This protocol defines how messages are formatted and transmitted. It also determines how browsers and web servers should respond to different commands. Imagine that you enter a URL into your browser. ...
Definition of Internet Protocol Address (IP Address)
An Internet protocol address, commonly known as an IP address, is a unique numerical label that is connected to a computer network that uses Internet protocol for communication. An IP address usually looks like this: 123.0.4.5. These numbers serve two functions: to collect data for geographic locati...
Definition of an Impression
An impression, also known as an ad view or a view, is used to measure the number of digital views or engagements an ad (sometimes digital posts or a web page) receives. Impressions are used in online advertising. Counting impressions that an ad receives is important as online advertising often pays ...
Definition of a Keyword Phrase
A keyword phrase is two or more words used in search engine optimization (SEO). An example of a search someone might do using a keyword phrase is: “teal running shoes.” A keyword search, in comparison, is usually only one word (sometimes two) and may read as “shoes.” Advertisers can use keyw...
Definition of Keyword Research
Keyword research is an important part of search engine optimization (SEO) as keywords are at the foundation of SEO campaigns. When users search for things online, search engines determine the relevancy of websites based on these keywords and key phrases. When you are a website creator, it is importa...
Definition of Long Tail Keywords
A long-tail keyword is a keyword that contains at least 3 words. Long-tail keywords are used by searchers who are searching for something specific. An example of a long-tail keyword: “Leather jacket black size medium.” Long-tail keywords might be less searched, but because the user knows exactly...
Definition of Link Building
Link building is the process of establishing relevant and inbound links to your website. These links are aimed at helping your website gain a higher ranking with major search engines, which will drive targeted traffic to your website. Link building is not about getting the most inbound links to y...
Definition of a Landing Page
A landing page, also known as a destination page, static page, or lead capture page, is the web page that users arrive at when they have clicked on a link in a search engine results page. A landing page can also be arrived at by clicking on a marketing promotion, email promotion, or online ad. A lan...
Definition of a Meta Tag
A meta tag is an HTML tag that identifies the content of a web page for search engines. Meta tags go inside the element and are usually used to specify page description, character set, keywords, viewport settings, copyright information, and the author of the document. Although hidden, meta tags can ...
Definition of a Nofollow Tag
A nofollow tag, also called “no follow,” is a non-standard HTML attribute value that is used to tell search engines that when a specific hyperlink is clicked on, it should not affect the ranking of the website. Nofollow informs bots that they do no need to crawl links as no endorsement is implie...
Definition of Pay Per Click Advertising
Pay Per Click Advertising, also known as PPC, is an online advertising model where advertisers place ads on advertisement platforms. Pay per click is used to drive traffic to websites. Advertisers pay a publisher when an ad is clicked on that leads to the website. The end goal of ads is for visitors...
Definition of a Robots.txt
Robots.txt, also known as the robots exclusion standard, is a text file in the root directory of a website. It is a standard that is used by websites to communicate with web crawlers and other web robots. A web crawler is an Internet bot that systematically browses the web. A web robot is a software...
Definition of Retargeting
Retargeting, also known as behavioral retargeting or behavioral remarketing, allows online advertisers to target consumers based on their previous interactions with their website. Imagine that a visitor comes to your website, but does not make a purchase. Retargeting is like a reminder to them th...
Definition of Social Media Marketing
Social media marketing, or SMM, is the use of social media and other social networks to market a company, its products, and services. Social media marketing allows companies and brands to interact with customers as well as reach new ones who might not know of them yet. Social media allows companies ...
Definition of a Search Engine Results Page (SERP)
Search engine ranking refers to a website's position in a search engine results page. Each search results page typically lists 10 results. Results can be a combination of websites, videos, images, sponsored links, and local listings. When you see a page of search engine results, relevant links wi...
Definition of Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Search engine optimization, or SEO, is the process of improving your website in ways that increases its visibility when people do searches online for services or products related to what you offer. When your website has good visibility in search results, the more likely you are to have more visitors...
Definition of a Search Engine Crawler
A web crawler, also known as a spiderbot, spider, or crawler, is an Internet bot that browses the world wide web for the purpose of finding new and updated content. This content can include a webpage, video, image, etc. Search engines use web crawlers to crawl the billions of web pages that exist. W...
Definition of a Search Engine Algorithm
A search engine algorithm is a set of rules that search engines use to determine how important a web page is. Each search engine has its own set of rules. The rules determine if a web page is real or spam, if it has important information that people are looking for, and other factors. The algorithms...
Definition of a Tracking URL
A tracking URL is a special URL (Uniform Resource Locator) used for the purpose of tracking certain element when a link is clicked on. Tracking URLs are used in paid advertising and to trace where visitors to your website are coming from. Tracking URLs share important metrics such as the search engi...
Definition of a Title Tag
A title tag is an HTML element that is used to create the title of a web page. Title tags are used by search engines as the title of search listings, which are underlined in blue hyperlink. Title tags are meant to be relevant to the content of the website, which will help them rank higher in search ...