Glossary of online marketing terms
- A -
Ad Package
A collection of advertising products combined to create a cost-effective approach to best reach your target audience.
Ad Tag
A piece of code in a VRC web page, or affiliated-party's page that makes a program call to the ad server to render an ad in that space.
Ad Server
A computer that delivers ads into the websites of the VRC or affiliated sites.
Advertising Network
A group of sites that share a common ad server, typically run by a sales organisation who manage the sales and reporting. An advertising network has the ability to deliver unique combinations of audiences by advertising across multiple sites.
Agency
A media company, advertising agency, or any other kind of representative of an advertiser
Animated GIFs
An animation created by combining multiple GIF images that are displayed one after the other, at determined time intervals to give the appearance of movement. Most advertising banners are animated GIFs.
Applets
A small program that can run inside another program to provide additional capabilities, for example, Java in Netscape, or Notepad in Windows
Application
A software product such as WordPerfect, Corel Draw, Excel, or Access Applications are programs that perform complex tasks for computer users.
Attachment
A file attached to an email.
Av. CTR or Average CTR
The Click-Through-Rate (see CTR) averaged over a day, month, or specified date period.
Av. CPC or Average CPC
The Cost-Per-Click (see CPC) averaged over a day, month or specified date period.
- B -
B2B
Business to Business. A mode of conducting business between two or more companies.
Bandwidth
The quantity of information that can be delivered over a given time period. Usually measured in bits-per-second (bps). In terms of the Internet, the higher the bandwidth, the faster a web page loads.
Banner
The most common form of Internet advertising, a banner is a typically rectangular graphic image (usually 468 x 60 pixels) placed on a web page. Banners are usually designed to entice viewers to click on them, sending the interested party to the advertiser's website.
Bookmark
Just as a paper bookmark is used as a reminder of the page you are on in a book, Internet bookmarks are used to bring you back to a website you may want to return to. Bookmarks in Internet Explorer are referred to as 'Favourites'.
Brief
A direction from a client about booking online advertising.
Broadband
Broadband is a high speed Internet connection with high data transmission rates. This allows an Internet user to view web pages and download files quicker. Broadband connection types include cable Internet, high speed wireless connections and ADSL.
Browser
Computer software used to view Internet web pages. The most popular browsers are Microsoft Internet Explorer, Mozilla, Netscape, and Opera.
- C -
Cache
Pronounced 'caish', it is a collection of recently viewed web pages stored on your computer. A cache is designed to save bandwidth by displaying pages quicker. Many large ISP's also use a cache to store commonly requested files and serve pages from their cache instead of requesting them from the actual website - this affects adServing technologies because it can reduce the number of visitors recorded at a site.
Cache Busting
A technique used to counter the caching problems in adserving. Instead of calling ads stored in a cache, a fresh ad is called every time, overcoming statistical discrepancies.
Click-Stream
The electronic path as tracked by Hitwise left by a viewer as they jump from one page to another within a website. This gives an indication of which pages or particular content holds a viewers interest.
Compression
Compression is a technique used to make a file or a data stream smaller for faster transmission and/or require less storage space. The major compression programs are PKZIP, WinZip, Stuffit, and gnu zip.
Cookies
A cookie is a packet of information sent by a server to web browser and then sent back by the browser each time it accesses that server. Cookies allow a website to store useful information about repeat visitors.
Conversion
When a User changes from a prospect or lead into a customer by buying a product, subscribing for a service or providing some details at your website.
Copyright
The legal protection against copying given to original works, which may be in printed or photographically or electronically stored words, music, visual arts, and performing arts.
CPE (also known as "cost per event")
The average cost an advertiser pays for a conversion or sale at their website. Calculated by dividing total cost of clicks by number of conversions
CPM
Cost per thousand (Roman M) impressions. The price paid by an advertiser to a site to display a banner one thousand times. Typical CPMs vary between $5 and $100, depending on the quality of delivery.
CSS
A Cascading Style Sheet is made up of style rules that tell a browser how to present a web page. Style sheets can be embedded within the web page or in a separate file.
Click
When a User actively selects your featured listing in the Search Results and "clicks" on it to display your website.
CPC
(known as "cost per click", or "click charge") the amount an advertiser pays each time someone clicks on their listing.
CTR
(also known as "click through rate") - The number of clicks each listing receives divided by its number of impressions. Used as a measure of relevancy.
- D -
Demographics
The common characteristics of a group of people such as gender, age, postcode, income and so on. It allows you to segment the population and therefore target your advertising.
Display URL
The website address of the landing page, displayed on screen as part of your listing.
Domain Name
The unique name of a computer on the Internet that distinguishes it from the other systems on the network. For example, www.asx.com.au is a domain name.
Downloading
The process of transferring files from the Internet and saving them on your computer. The opposite of uploading.
Dynamic HTML (DHTML)
A more powerful form of HTML that allows interactivity within websites. DHTML combines regular HTML with the power of JavaScript and CSS and is supported by the latest web browsers.
- E -
e (prefix)
A prefix meaning electronic in current jargon terms, such as e-commerce, e-business, e-marketing and so on.
E-commerce
The transaction of goods and services via the Internet, e.g. ordering a CD or buying and selling stocks online.
Effective Frequency
The number of times an ad is set to be shown to one user. An effective frequency of three gives the ad an impact without wasting further impressions on that individual user.
Effective Reach
The number of people who could potentially see an ad within a given period of time.
Email is short for "electronic mail" and is a method of composing, sending, and receiving messages over the Internet.
Encryption
Encryption is the process of obscuring information to make it unreadable, without special knowledge. It is commonly used to scramble credit card numbers and make online commerce safer.
- F -
Flash
Macromedia Flash is a graphics animation program commonly used to create animated advertisements on web pages and rich-media websites.
Featured Listings
Up to three listings at the top of the search results that act as paid links to the websites of commercial advertisers.
Firewall
A computer that acts as a shield between you and other computers on the Internet as a security measure.
Frames
Frames allow you to display more than one HTML document in the same browser window. Each HTML document is called a frame, and each frame is independent of the others.
Frequency
The number of times a person will see an ad in a given period of time.
- G -
GIF
GIF (Graphics Interchange Format) is a bitmap image format that is widely used on the Web, both for still images and for animations, and often used to compress non-photographic images. "GIF" is often pronounced giff with a hard g (that is, like "gift" without the final t).
Gross Impressions
The total number of times an ad is displayed to a single user, including multiple showings.
Generic Keywords
Broadly targeted keywords that loosely describe a range of products or services. e.g. "flights".
Granular Keywords
Highly targeted Keywords or phrases containing detail that helps to qualify a user's intent. e.g. "Melbourne hotel bookings Monday"
- H -
Hits
The number of individual files downloaded from a website. Each time a visitor views a website; their web browser requests each element of that website (i.e. text and graphics). Web page designs vary from site to site, so the number of hits bears little relationship to the actual number of pages viewed or visits to the site and should not be confused with impressions.
Home Page
The main page of a larger website and usually the first page users see when visiting a website.
Host
A host is a computer with a web server that serves the pages for one or more websites. A host can also be the company that provides that service, which is known as hosting.HTML
Hypertext Markup Language is used for the creation of web pages and other information viewable in a web browser. It tells the web browser how to display a web page's words and images for the user.
HTTP
Hypertext Transfer Protocol is the primary method used to convey information on the World Wide Web.
Hyperlink
A hyperlink, or simply a link, is a reference in a web page to another website or other resource. Almost any element on a web page can be turned into a hyperlink, allowing the user to jump to another website simply by clicking their mouse.
Hypertext
Text that contains a hyperlink that allows the reader to move easily from one document to another.
- I -
Impression
An impression is recorded each time your listing is displayed in the search results or a display ad is displayed on a webpage.
Insertion Order (also known as I.O.)
An Insertion Order is the contract you sign confirming your intention to advertise with the VRC
Interstitial Ads
An ad that loads in a small, separate browser window while you are waiting for a web page to load. There are two types of interstitial ads, the pop-up and the inline. Most Internet users consider interstitials to be very annoying.
Intranet
An intranet is a local area network that uses the same concepts and technologies as the Internet but usually restricts access to members of an organisation.
Inventory
The amount of impressions a site can deliver in a set period of time.
IRC
Internet Relay Chat is a worldwide network that allows users to chat (type back and forth) in real time, using IRC software.
ISDN
Integrated Services Digital Network allows digital (as opposed to analogue) transmission of voice and data over ordinary telephone copper wires, resulting in better quality and faster speeds.
Island
An ad that is placed within content areas for maximum visibility. Island ads are 300 pixels by 250 pixels and can be GIF, Flash or HTML.
ISP
An Internet Service Provider is a company that provides other companies or individuals with access to the Internet.
- J -
Java
A programming language used to create applets which can add functionality and interactivity to a website.
JavaScript
A scripting language useful for implementing enhanced forms, simple web databases, and navigation enhancements.
JPEG
Joint Photographic Expert Group is a standard used to compress photographic images for the web. The most common file extension is '.jpg'
- K -
Keywords
1) The terms a user enters into the query field of a Search Engine when they are looking for something.
2) The terms selected to match your listings to users' queries.
- L -
Landing Page
The page of a website that is displayed to a user immediately after they click on your listing. The page of a website linked to by your listing's destination URL.
Latency
Latency is the time it takes for a package or packet of data to move across a network connection.
Links
See Hyperlink.
Listing or Listing Name
The title you provide for the URL added to your campaign. This will be displayed in the search results along with a description. You attach relevant keywords to a listing. You set the location targeting parameters at a listing level. You can have more than one listing attached to a campaign within your account.
Live
When your ad or web content can be openly viewed by its intended audience on the Web.
Location Targets
The names of locations in Australia (at a national, state, regional or suburb level) that you associate with your listing in order to have it displayed to users searching for products and services in that area.
- M -
Mini Site
A separate page within VRC used to integrate advertising content into a special advertising program or site section. Also used to refer to a special section within the network of sites.
MIME
An acronym for Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions, MIME is the Internet standard for email.
Monthly Cap
The maximum, or limit on the amount of money an advertiser elects to spend
- N -
NAP
A Network Access Point is a point where networks and service providers hand over traffic to each other. NAPs are typically the points with the worst congestion problems.
- P -
Page Load
This is when an ad plays immediately after the page is loaded into a user's browser.
Page Impressions or Page Views
A request to load a single web page. A single page view may create multiple hits to the server if the page contains multiple elements such as ad banners (see Hits).
PFP (also known as Pay-for-Performance)
A type of Search Engine Marketing in which advertisers pay only for clicks they receive on listings.
Ping
Pinging provides a basic test of whether a host computer is operating properly and is reachable on the network from the testing host. It works by sending data packets to the target host and listening for replies.
Placement
Refers to where an ad is placed on a website or to what type of ad it is.
Plug-in
A small program that is used as part of a web browser. Once installed, plug-ins can enhance the user's online experience with audio, video and other multimedia functionality.
Portal or Internet Portal
A website that acts as an entry point to the Internet and contains many resources for visitors.
Post Click Tracking
The process of monitoring what the user does after they click on an online advertisement.
PPC (Pay Per Click)
A method of advertising, usually on search engines, in which the advertiser pays only for clicks on their ad.
Protocol
A specification that describes how computers will talk to each other on a network.
Proxy
A server that caches commonly accessed files to speed up service.
- Q -
QuickTime
A digital video standard developed by Apple Computers. To view QuickTime movies, users need to download the free QuickTime player from Apple's website.
- R -
Reach
The percentage of the Australian online population that a website has been measured to capture. This is derived from the number of unique users divided by the total Australian online population.
Relevancy
A measure of how closely a search result matches the expectations of a search engine user after conducting a keyword Search. Can be measured by Click-Through Rate.
Rich Media
A type of advertisement that includes richer graphics, audio, video or interactivity. Some popular types of rich media advertisements are created with DHTML, Shockwave & Flash.
ROS
Run of Site is an ad position that will appear throughout all pages of a selected website, instead of being confined to certain sections of a site.
Rank
The relative position of a listing within the Featured Listings section. With the highest ranked Listing, appearing closest to the top of the screen.
- S -
Search Engine
A utility that lets you perform keyword searches to find information on the Internet, intranet or database.
Search Marketing
Promoting or advertising in, or in association with, the set of results delivered by a search engine in response to a user's keyword query.
Search Results
The complete set of information displayed to a user after they enter a keyword into the VRC search engine query field.
Server
A computer that runs software making services available on a network to client computers. Some examples include web server, ad server, etc.
Skyscraper
A skyscraper is a tall ad format served down the right hand side of a web page. (120x600 pixels)
Site Producer
The person in charge of administering a particular website.
SMTP
Simple Mail Transfer Protocol. The protocol used to send mail between servers and from your mail client to a mail server.
- S -
Sticky
"Sticky" sites are those where the visitors tend to stay for an extended period of time. For instance, a banking site that offers a financial calculator is stickier than one that doesn't because visitors do not have to leave to find a resource they need.
Streaming Audio/Video
The ability for an audio or video file to begin playing while it is being downloaded rather than having to wait until the complete file has been delivered
- T -
T-1
High-speed (1.54 megabits/second) network connection.
T-3
Even higher speed (45 megabits/second) Internet connection.
Targeting
The process of identifying the specific needs of segments, selecting one or more of these segments as a target, and developing ad campaigns directed towards them.
Third Party Website
A website owned, operated or hosted by a third party and authorised by VRC ® to make the search results available. This can be in the form of a link from, add-on to, or otherwise in connection with, the websites they control.
Ticker
A scrolling piece of text or image that is usually hyperlinked to another site.
Toolbox
An area on a site that offers visitors a drop-down menu of useful functions.
Top-up
The amount by which you elect to increase your monthly spend in order to keep your listing active in the search results after you have exceeded your monthly cap.
Tracking
The measurement of click-throughs within an ad placement - usually done by the ad server or at a third party location.
Tracking Code
Are tags added to an ads link in order to track or record a user's clicks around a website, or the web.
Traffic
The number and type of people who come to a site. Traffic can be measured in many different ways.
- U -
Unique Users
The number of different individuals who visit a site within a specific time period.
Upload
To transfer a file from your computer system to another system via the Internet.
URL
Universal Resource Locator. The address of a website, for example www.vrc.net.au .
User Session
A measure of the amount of time that a single person spends at a website
User Surveys and Syndicated Research
In addition to panel and census-based measurement, there are many research companies that conduct regular quantitative and qualitative research through online user surveys, random telephone surveys and focus groups. This research is particularly useful in trend projecting and forecasting.
- V -
Valid Hits
A further refinement of hits, valid hits are hits that successfully deliver all information to a user. This excludes hits such as redirects, error messages and computer-generated hits.
Visits
A sequence of requests made by one user at one site. If a visitor does not request any new information for a period of time, known as the "time-out" period, then the next request by the visitor is considered a new visit.
VRML
Virtual Reality Modelling Language. The language used to describe interactive three-dimensional 3D graphics on the web.
- W -
WAP
Wireless Application Protocol (WAP). A standard for wireless communication on mobile devices
Web Property
The combination of related websites and pages owned by the same company.
Website
A collection of html pages grouped within a particular domain.
- X -
XML
Extensible Markup Language (XML). A simplified subset of SGML that facilitates the sharing of structured text and information across the Internet.
- Y -
Yield
The percentage of Click-throughs vs. Impressions of an ad within a specific page, expressed as a percentage.
- Z -
Zip
Describers a method of file compression and a file extraction for files that are zip compressed. See Archive or Compression
