Definitions
There are a lot of terms that are used between affiliates and online marketers. Some are pretty easy concepts, while others may require a little explaining. That’s why I’ve setup this page to assist you in keeping up-to-date with the latest lingo.
Looking for a meaning to a term and can’t find it listed here, or have a term you think we should include? Send an e-mail to comments@SimplyWebtastic.com and we’ll be glad to try and answer it for you.
Affiliate & Internet Marketing Terminology
Affiliate- An entity with a relationship with a peer or larger entity. Affiliates can also be referred as publishers. In the Internet business, affiliates promote someone else’s products in hopes of earning commissions if the product is sold.
Affiliate Marketing- This is a web-based marketing practice in which a business rewards the affiliate for each visitor or customer brought about by the affiliate’s marketing efforts. Affiliates often use their own sites to drive traffic to another site.
Blog – The term blog is derived from the word weblog. It was originally used for personal web space as a means to communicate musings and other thoughts on a given subject. It has now been accepted as a professional corporate communication device between a company and its public. Blogs are usually very search engine friendly.
ClickBank – They are one of the largest online digital marketplaces that supply affiliates with products to sell. Joining as an affiliate is free and you can begin selling affiliate products immediately.
Click-Through - This is also known as a click. The consumer clicks on an advertiser’s link and is taken to another Web site. Click-through ratio is the percentage of click for the number of advertising impressions displayed.
Conversion rate - The percentage of visitors who take a desired action for an ad. The action that determines conversion is determined by the advertiser and may be a sale on the advertiser’s Web site, a completed lead form, or another action.
e-Tailer- Is a retailer that primarily uses the Internet as a medium for customers to shop for the goods or services provided. A good example of an e-Tailer is Amazon.
Earning Per Click (EPC) – This is the affiliate’s average earnings per 100 clicks. This metric is used by sponsors to measure the effectiveness of individual ads. EPC is a relative rating that illustrates the ability to convert clicks into commissions.
Impression- The viewing of an advertising banner, link, or product.
Internet Marketing – Also known as Online Marketing, is essentially the marketing of goods or services over the Internet. Internet Marketing help grow and promote a business through online media. Internet marketing strategy includes all aspects of online advertising products, services, and websites, including market research, email marketing, and direct sales.
Internet Service Provider (ISP) – A business or organization that provides consumers or businesses access to the Internet and related services. Various technologies such as dial-up, DSL and broadband (cable) are used to deliver the information to the consumer.
Keywords – These are words of significant value which are used as an index to find other information. Keywords are commonly used to target selected web traffic to your site.
Metrics - An in-dept data gathering about visitor behavior on your website. It tells you information such as who is coming to your site, where they are coming from, what web pages they are viewing, how long they stay on your site, etc.
Search Engine Marketing (SEM) – The act of marketing a Web site via search engines. This can be done by “natural” or “organic” search which refers to all unpaid search results based on relevance in the content site. Another way is by “paid” search, which refers to all pay-per-click advertising (such as on Google, Yahoo! or MSN).
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) – Is the process of improving the volume and quality of traffic to a web site from search engines via “natural” (“organic” or “algorithmic”) search results for targeted keywords. In general, it is considered good to have your listings occur on the first page of a Yahoo, Google, MSN or other web search engine. SEO helps to “rank” you higher in these listings.
Web Analytics – The process of analyzing the behavior metrics gathered from the visitors to your site. Businesses use these statistics to help determine how well they are satisfying their customers.
Web Crawling- A web crawler (also known as a web spider or web robot) is a program or automated script which browses the World Wide Web in a methodical, automated manner. This process is called web crawling or spidering.
Web Hosting Service – A company that provides space on a server they own for use by their clients. This allows individuals and organizations to provide their own websites for viewing on the world wide web. Two companies that provide great hosting packages at reasonable prices are HostGator.com and 1and1.com.
