Sometimes there seems to be lots of jargon involved in Digital so below is a quick guide to help and get you started...
Above the Fold
The section of a webpage that is visible without scrolling.
Ad Space
The space on a webpage available for ads.
Adwords
An advertising program offered by Google that allows website owners to advertise via search results and a wide advertising network.
Alt Tag
Alt tags are alternative text that can be displayed instead of an image if a visitor to your website cannot view images in their browser.
Alt Text
Alternative text that’s displayed when non-textual elements, typically images, cannot be displayed.
Analytics
Web analytics is the measurement, collection, analysis and reporting of website usage data for purposes of understanding and optimizing websites.
Banner Ad
An online ad typically measuring 468 pixels wide and 60 pixels tall (i.e. 468×60), usually in visuals but sometimes in text.
Blog
A frequent, chronological publication on any topic.
Bookmark
A link stored in a web browser for future reference.
Bounce
1) In web analytics, the percentage of visitors who leave after viewing a single page. 2) In email marketing, the percentage of emails in a campaign that are undeliverable.
Button Ad
Like a banner ad, but smaller.
Caching
The storage of Web files for later re-use at a point that can accessed more quickly by the user.
Call to Action (CTA)
The part of a marketing message that attempts to persuade a person to perform a desired action. Usually verb-heavy.
Captcha
The abbreviation of “Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart”. It’s typically an image that contains a series of distorted characters that the reader must type into a field box before the website will allow them to continue.
Click-Through
The process of ‘clicking through’ an online advertisement to the advertiser’s destination.
Click-Through Rate (CTR)
The average number of click-throughs per hundred ad impressions, expressed as a percentage.
Conversion Rate
The percentage of visitors who take a desired action on a website (usually, purchasing something).
Cookie
Pieces of information stored on a user’s computer by a website so that the user’s preferences are remembered when they visit again.
Database (DB)
A collection of information that’s organised in such a way that a computer program can find what it’s looking for kind of like an electronic filing system.
Description Tag
An HTML tag that provides a little description of the content of a webpage for search engines to index.
Domain Name
The “name” part of a website’s address, for example amazon.com, gmail.com, bbc.co.uk.
e-Commerce
A term for any type of business that involves the transfer of information across the Internet.
Email Marketing
The promotion of products or services via email.
Email Signature
An email signature is a block of text that is fixed to the end of an email message you send.
Email Surveys
A survey done through email. Like normal satisfaction surveys, their purpose is to gather customer feedback.
eNewsletter
An electronic magazine that can be delivered directly on a website or in an email newsletter.
Flash
A multimedia technology developed to allow a website to be as interactive as possible without slowing it down. Suffers from incompatibility with Apple devices and search engines.
Hit
A request of a file from a web server.
Homepage
The main page of a website.
Impression
A single instance of an online advertisement being displayed to a visitor.
JavaScript
A scripting language developed to create interactive websites.
Keyword
A word used in performing a search.
Link Building
The process of increasing the number of inbound links to a website in a way that will improve search engine rankings.
Management Information System (MIS)
A system (not only made up of computers!) that provides the information needed in order to run an organisation successfully.
Meta Tags
Tags to describe various aspects of information about a web page.
Navigation
That which facilitates movement from one web page to another web page.
Optimisation
The process of improving a site for some specific purpose sales, conversions, search engine visits, or the like.
Organic Search
The unpaid entries in a search engine results page that were derived based on their contents’ relevance to the keyword query.
Page View
A single viewing of a given web page. A visit to a website may involve many page views.
Pay Per Click (PPC)
Online advertising payment model in which payment is based solely on qualifying click-throughs.
Reciprocal Links
Links between two sites, often based on an agreement by the site owners to exchange links.
Search Engine
A program that indexes documents, then attempts to match documents relevant to the users’ search requests.
SEO Search Engine Optimisation
The process of choosing targeted keyword phrases related to a site, and ensuring that the site places well when those keyword phrases are part of a Web search.
Site Search
Search functionality specific to one site.
Site Stickiness
The degree to which people stay on and return to a given website.
Skyscraper Ad
An online ad significantly taller than the 120×240 vertical banner.
Social Networking
The process of creating, building, and nurturing virtual communities and relationships between people online.
Spam
Inappropriate commercial message of extremely low value.
Underdelivery
Delivery of less impressions, visitors, or conversions than contracted for a specified period of time.
Unique Visitors
Individuals who have visited a website (or network) at least once during a fixed time frame.
URL
“Unique Resource Location”; location of a page, image, or other file on the Internet.
Vertical Banner
A banner ad, usually measuring 120 pixels wide and 240 pixels tall.
Viral Marketing
Marketing phenomenon that facilitates and encourages people to pass along a marketing message.
Web Browser
A software application that allows for the browsing of the World Wide Web.
Web Design
The selection and coordination of available components to create the layout and structure of a web page.
Web Directory
Organized, categorized listings of website.
Website Traffic
The amount of visitors and vists a website receives.
Website Usability
The ease with which visitors are able to use a website.
