Above the fold
The section of a web page that can be read without scrolling down. The most valuable
part of the search engine results pages (SERPs)
Alt tag
The alternative text that accompanies an image.
API
Applications Programme Interface. Used to interrogate a search engine data base.
Cache
The copy of an indexed page taken when a site is crawled.
Conversion Rate
The percentage of site visitors who make a position action – make and enquiry, leave
their contact details, make a purchase. Also known as the “look to buy” or “look to
book” ratio.
Cost per acquisition
The absolute cost of gaining a new customer. Calculated by aggregating total web site
costs and dividing by the total of new customers.
CTR
Click Thru Rate. The percentage of search engine results pages impressions that
convert to site visits.
Density
The percentage of copy on a page represented by a keyword or keyword phrase.
DMOZ
DirectoryMOZilla. The open directory project that supports many search engines
including Google and Yahoo.
FFA
Free For All. A link farm that offers unrestricted access foe sites seeking inbound
links.
GIF
Graphics Interchange Format. An image format that when accompanied by an alt tag
can be read and indexed by search engines.
HTML
Hypertext Mark-up Language. The universal code of the internet.
IBL – Inbound Link
A link to your web page from an external web site.
Index
A search engine data base.
JPEG
Joint Photographic Experts Group. An image format that when accompanied by an alt
tag can be read and indexed by search engines.
Link Farm (FFA)
Link farms, some times known as FFAs for Free For All are mass link sites.
Generally anybody can create a link, with few controls. The inbound links from link
farms have little value.
OBL – Outbound Link
A link from your site to an external web site.
Return of investment – ROI
Generally calculated by dividing web site revenue by web site costs.
(Google) Sandbox
A phenomenon whereby new sites are excluded from the Google SERPS, for
competitive phrases, for an undetermined period of time.
Search query
A word or phrase entered into a search box.
SERPs
Search engine results pages. The pages shown by a search engine response to a search
query.
Source Code
The HTML code behind a web page
URL
Uniform Resource Locator. The internet address of a web page or document.
W3C
The World Wide Web Consortium. The body that coordinates and governs the rules
for operating the World Wide Web.