Google's PPC program.
Algorithms are sets of rules according to which search engines rank web pages. Figuring out the algorithms is a major part of SEO. The thinking is that if you understand how they calculate relevance, you can make specific pages on your site super relevant for specific search terms. For more on algorithms and SEO in general, please refer to the Search Engine Yearbook.
The name "blog" is a truncated form of "web log" according to Rebecca Blood's essay "Weblogs: a history and perspective."
Last Updated - March 8, 2003
by Ronald Kenyon of www.geocities.com/rwkenyon
Additional information:
The term "blog" is used to refer to sites that can best be described as mini-directories, often populated with the site owner's personal favorites and his/her comments. Blogs often contain message boards, chat rooms, articles archives etc.
a.k.a. Web browser
A program used to display Internet content. Two of the best-known and most widely used browsers are Netscape Navigator and Microsoft Internet Explorer. Browsers read coded (HTML, JavaScript etc.) pages and display them as web pages. Browsers typically include features such as bookmarks, back & forward buttons etc.
Referring to the different ways different browsers display the same page. A key consideration in web design (and SEO) is to create pages that are browser independent - in other words pages that work as they are supposed to regardless of the user's choice of browser.
click through (click-through; clickthrough) Dex Term: Counts as a “Guaranteed Click”
Referring to the action of clicking through from, for example, a search engine's results page to a web site. Click through rates are especially useful in Internet advertising where it is an important factor in determining the success of an advertisement.
click through rate(CTR)
a.k.a. click rate
Often used in Internet marketing to describe the percentage of users who click on a link or advertisement. The CTR is used as a measure to determine the effectiveness of a link / advertisement. It is most effective if used in conjunction with other measurements like conversion rate.
The total cost of an advertising campaign divided by the resulting number of unique visitors. Sometimes also used as a synonym for PPC.
One hit is one request for a file on a web server. A visitor opening a page with 5 images will in the process generate 6 hits (1 each for the images and one for the HTML page itself). The term is sometimes also used with reference to the number of results (hits) a search engine returns for a specific query.
Hits are often confused with page views and unique visitors.
Also see log file
Hypertext Markup Language. HTML is the primary language used to create web sites.
www.excite.com
One of the major search engines. For a detailed look at Excite and the other major search engines, please refer to our detailed discussion in the Search Engine Yearbook.
Aesthetically pleasing web sites are said to provide eye-candy. The term is used to describe sites both positively and negatively. In the context of search engines and SEO, eye candy is generally perceived as unnecessary, not contributing to the marketing effort.
Short for "Macromedia Flash"
A vector graphic animation technology that requires a plug-in but is browser-independent.
FindWhat
www.findwhat.com
A popular PPC search engine.
ghost domain
See shadow domain.
www.google.com
Arguably the biggest, fastest and most accurate search engine. Google is famous for its PageRank system. For a detailed look at Google, how important it is, how to rank well at Google and how Google compares to other search engines, please refer to the Search Engine Yearbook.
Google bomb / Google bombing
The practice of using anchor text to make a page show up in the SERPs (Search Engine Results Page ) under keywords that are out of context for that page. For instance, if you want your arch enemy's page to be #1 on Google for "absolute moron", you'd get as many people as possible to link to his page using "abosute moron" as anchor text. Google bombing can of course also be used to create a positive effect. In theory you could get your own site listed at the top for very targeted keywords using the same technique. Both these uses are of course aimed at manipulating search results and as such are spam.
Every Internet user and every server has a numeric address. Something like 123.45.67.890. IP addresses provide essential identification online. Domain names can be set up to have a unique IP address, something that is useful in SEO. For more on the role of IP addresses in SEO, please refer to the Search Engine Yearbook.
A word used in a query. In SEO, pages are typically optimized for specific keywords. Keywords are targeted based on what users looking for the specific information or product are most likely to use as part of a query. Accurate keyword targeting is considered by most to be essential to effective SEO. For more on keyword targeting and ways to obtain statistics on actual keyword usage, please refer to the Search Engine Yearbook.
A measure of the percentage of words on a page that are specifically chosen keywords. When a user enters a query, search engines display a list of pages containing the search terms. These are ranked based on (amongst many things) the percentage of words on a page that are similar to the words used in the query (keyword density). When keyword density is inflated artificially, it is often referred to as keyword stuffing.
keyword domain name
A domain name that contains keywords. Please refer to the Search Engine Yearbook for a more detailed look at the importance of keywords in SEO.
keyword phrase / key phrase
Two or more words that form a "keyword". In SEO the term keyword is usually used to refer to both keywords and key phrases. It simply refers to words entered in a query / words a page has been optimized for.
keyword purchasing
Not to be confused with PPC, keyword purchasing refers to the practice of buying advertising space on specific SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages). It offers a fairly high level of targeted advertising, because the ad is only displayed to users who enter specific keywords in a query.
keyword ratio
See keyword density.
keyword search
Basically the same as search, it refers to a search for documents containing specific keywords.
keyword stuffing
Excessive repetition of keywords in an attempt to artificially inflate keyword density and improve a page's ranking. Keyword stuffing is easily detected by search engines and pages that use this technique are penalized.
keyword tag / keywords tag
A meta tag listing keywords associated with the page.
keyword targeting
The practice of optimizing certain pages of a web site to rank well in a search for specific keywords. Keyword targeting is generally considered vital to effective SEO. For more on keyword targeting and ways to obtain statistics on actual keyword usage, please refer to the Search Engine Yearbook.
KFCP
Keyword Focused Content Page. The term was coined by e-selling guru Ken Evoy and refers to a "search engine friendly" doorway page. Sometimes simply called honest doorway pages.
KISS
Keep It Simple, Stupid. Generally considered one of the golden rules of web design, SEO and online business.
link / hyperlink
Clickable content on a web page usually leads to another page, another site or another part of the same page. The clickable content therefore is said to link to the other page / site / part of the same page. Spiders use links to crawl from one page to the next as they index web sites.
Looksmart
www.looksmart.com
A comparatively small directory. For a complete review of Looksmart and its PPC model, please refer to the Search Engine Yearbook.
Lycos
www.lycos.com
Lycos started out as a search engine and was very highly rated in the late 90's. Today, web search remains one of its features, but there has been a shift of focus to become a more general portal site with features like e-mail, personalization etc. Please refer to the Search Engine Yearbook for a more detailed look at Lycos, how it works and its importance in SEO.
meta tag
An HTML tag placed in the head section of a web page. The tag provides additional information that is not displayed on the page itself. The initial idea was that webmasters should use these tags to help search engines index the page correctly by providing an accurate description of the page content and a list of keywords associated with the page. Unfortunately this left the door open to abuse. Many webmasters used these tags to gain an unfair advantage, forcing search engines to begin disregarding meta tags. For a detailed how-to on meta tags and an updated discussion on their importance (or unimportance) in SEO, please refer to the Search Engine Yearbook.
optimize / optimization
A page is said to be optimized when it has been structured in such a way that it ranks well (on the SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages)) for those keywords it targets. It is a fairly subjective concept. What some see as optimization might be termed spamdexing by others. In the strictest sense, optimization means simply making a page spider-friendly by, for example, using text links rather than image links. In the SEO industry the term is more often used as a collective name for all the "tricks" webmasters use to improve a page's ranking.
Overture Now Yahoo! Search Marketing
www.overture.com now http://searchmarketing.yahoo.com/srch/srch_pr.php
The largest and most popular of the PPC (pay-per-click) search engines. Formerly known as Goto. For an in-depth look at Overture and different PPC strategies, please refer to the Search Engine Yearbook.
paid listing
A listing on a SERP (Search Engine Results Page)that is achieved through outbidding competitors (as in PPC). The term is sometimes also used to refer to keyword-targeted advertisements, where the advertiser pays the search engine a fixed amount to have its ad shown on the SERP for a specific keyword.
Pay-Per-Click. An advertising payment model where the advertiser pays only when the advertisement is actually clicked. In other words, the advertiser literally pays only for visitors rather than per advertisement impression. The term CPC (cost per click) is sometimes used in the place of PPC and the plural PPCs is sometimes used to refer to PPC search engines.
PPC search engine / PPCSE
A search engine that uses the PPC (pay per click) payment model, also known as the CPC (cost per click) model. Advertisers bid on keywords they wish to target. The search results are then ranked based on the bids with the highest bidder's site ranked first. Advertisers only pay when their links are clicked - not every time their sites appear in the results. PPCSE marketing has become a fairly important and potentially effective online marketing technique. We take a look at some of the important PPC search engines (like Overture) and reveal some top PPC strategies in the Search Engine Yearbook.
query
A keyword, group of keywords or phrase, with or without special instructions like Boolean operators, used in a search. In simpler terms, it is that which the user enters into the search box. It is what the search engine compares documents to in order to return only relevant documents.
ranking
Referring to the position of a web page on the search results for a particular query. For example, a page that is listed third for the term "bubblegum" is said to have a ranking of 3 for that term.
relevance / relevancy
The measure of the accuracy of the search results - in other words it's a measure of how close the documents listed in the search results are to what the user was looking for. The ability to return relevant results is a big thing in the search engine world - and arguably the one thing that made Google stand out of the crowd and gain much popularity in a short time.
Also see precision and recall.
Scooter
The name of AltaVista's spider. (The name refers to the annual motorcycle races held at the famous AltaVista Raceway)
score
Search engines usually arrange search results from the most relevant to the least relevant (as determined by the search engine's algorithm). In order to rank documents, the search engine assigns a score to each page and those with the highest scores are listed first. Most search engines simply give the maximum score to the most relevant document and score all other relevant documents relative to that document. Others compare all documents to a theoretically perfect document. The score of a web page therefore refers to its relevance as perceived by a specific search engine.
scored keyword phrase
Name given to phrases that searchers use that are tracked by a system the records the number of times the phrase was used in a search, also known as the score.
script
A piece of programming designed to perform a certain function on a web page - for example to create a rollover effect on buttons or to create pop-ups.
search
The process of locating information - on the Internet typically done by searching through documents in search engine and directory databases.
search engine
A tool for finding information on the Internet. Most search engines consist of the following main components:
1. Spider
2. Indexer
3. Database
4. Search software
5. Web interface
Documents found by the spider are processed by the indexer and stored in a database. From the database the search software extracts documents based on parameters entered by the user. Examples of search engines include Google and AllTheWeb. Directories like Yahoo and ODP are often referred to as search engines although they are not. The details of how search engines work are discussed in more detail in the Search Engine Yearbook.
Search Engine Marketing (SEM)
See SEO & PPC
search engine optimization
See SEO
search engine positioning
See SEO
search hours
The actual amount of time (in hours) all visitors to a search engine spent there during a given month. Audience reach and search hours are the two major factors when calculating the popularity of a search engine.
searchjacking
A variation of spamdexing where pages are optimized for popular search terms even though those terms are not related to the page content. In the long run this technique makes little sense, as it attracts mostly untargeted visitors.
search results
The documents returned by a search engine in response to a query.
Also see SERP.
search term(s)
Words entered into a search engine's search box to form a query.
SEO
Search Engine Optimization. This term is widely used in the search engine industry as a collective name for those activities that are directly or indirectly aimed at improving a page's search engine ranking. Sometimes the term SEO is also used to refer to providers of SEO services - in other words it's used in the place of terms like "SEO provider" and "SEO specialist". For a detailed discussion of the SEO industry and SEO techniques, please refer to the Search Engine Yearbook.
SERP(S)
Search Engine Results Page(s). The term refers to the page of search results a search engine displays in response to a query.
shadow domain
Also known as a "ghost domain", referring to a domain used to funnel traffic (or link popularity) to a site. Typically it would involve setting up a throwaway domain and either automatically redirecting visitors to the "real site" or just linking to it. Both uses are considered spam by most of the major search engines.
skewing
A technique used by search engines. It refers to the practice of artificially altering the search results so that certain documents will score well on certain queries.
spamdexing
All attempts to deceive search engines or gain an unfair advantage in the search results of a search engine. Spamdexing decreases the value of a search engine's index by reducing the precision with which the search engine can return relevant documents. Most search engines have measures in place to detect spamdexing and guilty pages are usually either penalized or de-listed. Many webmasters inadvertently make themselves guilty by braking search engine submission rules. For a detailed discussion of what to do and what not to do, please refer to the Search Engine Yearbook.
spider / spyder
A browser-like program that forms part of a search engine. Its task is to "surf" the web by following links from one page to the next and from one site to the next. It collects information from the sites it visits and that information is stored in the search engine's database. For detailed discussions on spiders, the other components of search engines, spider names etc., please refer to the Search Engine Yearbook.
submission rules
Most search engines have a list of rules that must be obeyed when submitting sites to be spidered. Examples of submission rules include how often the page may be resubmitted (if at all), how many pages may be submitted per day etc. For links to the submission rules pages of the major search engines, please refer to the Search Engine Yearbook.
traffic
Often used as a synonym for "visitors". The term is used to describe activity on a web site - be it hits, page views or unique visitors.
unique visitor
Used to describe one person visiting a site. That one person may generate multiple visits over a period of time, therefore log files normally show more visits than unique visitors. The shortened version "uniques" is sometimes used to refer to unique visitors.
URL
Uniform Resource Locator / Universal Resource Locator. A unique Internet address (for example http://www.pandecta.com) that every Internet resource must have in order to be located.
weighting
Describing the technique search engines use to compare the relevance of different documents to a query. Search engines effectively "weigh" different pages based on things like the occurrence of keywords in the title etc. in order to list documents in order from most to least relevant.
Also see score.
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