U
underdelivery
This term describes the delivery of less impressions, visitors, or conversions than contracted for a specified period of time. It is a good idea to plan solutions for under-delivery before an advertising buy is completed, rather than trying to haggle on a settlement after the fact.
undernet
An alternative IRC which is accessed through a normal, or public, chat area. Its access is limited, and it is usually used for private conversations. But be warned: unless you are behind a sophisticated firewall, little on the net is truly private.
unethical SEO
Some search engine marketers lacking in creativity try to market their services as being ethical, whereas services rendered by other providers are somehow unethical. SEO services are generally neither ethical or unethical. They are either effective or ineffective.
unique users
The total number of different users, or different computer terminals which have visited a Web site. This is measured using advanced tracking technology or user registration
unique value proposition (UVP)
In essence, what it is that sets your product, service, or company apart from others and why potential clients should care enough to choose you
unique visitors
Unique visitors are individuals who have visited a Web site least once in a fixed time frame, either daily or over a 30 day period. Sites often calculate unique visitors based on the IP address information found in the site’s log files, although sometimes through cookies. Whichever method is used, a variety of factors can skew the results.
unique selling preposition (USP)
The benefit that a product or service can deliver to customers that is not offered by any competitor: one of the fundamentals of effective marketing and business.
universal search
Also known as blended, or federated search results, universal search pulls data from multiple databases to display on the same page. Results can include images, videos, and results from specialty databases like maps and local information, product information, or news stories.
update
Search engines frequently update their algorithms and data sets to help keep their search results fresh and make their relevancy algorithms hard to update. Most major search engines are continuously updating both their relevancy algorithms and search index.
upload
To send a file from one computer to another via modem or other telecommunication method.
upsell
A sales technique for inducing a buyer to purchase more expensive items, upgrades or other add-ons in order to make a more profitable sale.
URL
A URL, short for universal resource locator is the location of a resource on the Internet. It includes the protocol (e.g. HTTP, FTP), the domain name (or the IP address), and additional path information (folder/file). On the Web, a URL may address a Web page file, image file, or any other file supported by the HTTP protocol. Example: https://kerryfinchwriting.com/areas-of-speciality/legal-content/
URL rewrite
A technique used to help make URLs more unique and descriptive to help facilitate better sitewide indexing by major search engines.
usage data
Events that may be seen by some search engines as a sign of quality, including a large stream of traffic, repeat visitors, multiple page views per visitor, a high clickthrough rate, or a high level of brand related search queries.
user centered design
A design philosophy and a process in which the needs, wants, and limitations of the end user of an interface or document are given extensive attention at each stage of the design process
user generated content (UGC)
Content created, contributed and distributed by web users.
user ID
The name given to a user on a system for an online account such as email, remote data storage, collaboration tools, etc.
usernet
Internet message boards (also known as Newsgroups) Each board has a theme, and there are tens of thousands of usernets concerning every imaginable topic. Many of them cover professional subjects and societies and are rich sources of business information; others are junk and contain little but mindless drivel.
V
VGP
Very Good Positioning
valid hits
A further refinement of hits, valid hits are hits that deliver all information to a user. Excludes hits such as redirects, error messages and computer-generated hits.
vertical banner
According to the IAB, vertical banner specifically refers to a banner ad measuring 120×240. There are other banner ad sizes that are also vertical in nature. Vertical banners are often found in the margins on the left or right side of a Web page.
vertical search
A search service which is focused on a particular field, a particular type of information, or a particular information format
video blog
A blog that produces regular video content often around the same theme on a daily or weekly basis.
video email
A video sent within an email platform. Video email is a strong relationship building strategy – particularly when executed via an automated service like jiveSYSTEMS.
video marketing
An online marketing technique that uses video format (flv, wmv, mpeg, to name a few) for communicating, selling or proposing something to site visitors.
video sitemap
An SEO tool that tells search engines like Google about the details of a website’s video content such as its title, description and tags. Ideally, this should be submitted to Google in XML format.
viewer
Another name for a help application
viral marketing
This marketing platform encourages people to pass along a marketing message and its success depends on a high pass-along rate from person to person. If a large percentage of recipients forward something to a large number of friends, the overall growth snowballs but if the pass- along numbers get too low, the growth dies.
virtual domain
Website hosted on a virtual server.
virtual server
A server which allows multiple top level domains to be hosted from a single computer.
virus
These are programs that can be downloaded onto your computer or network from the Internet. Some are harmless, others are programmed to destroy your system, trash your files and disable your software. No kidding. So be careful. Use anti-virus programs. They take a few extra minutes every day to use, but the protection is worth it.
visibility time
The time a single page (or a blog, Ad Banner…) is viewed.
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. To enable comparisons among sites, I/PRO uses a 30-minute time-out.
vlog
A vlog is a video blog.
vortal
Also known as a vertical industry portal, a vortal is a Web site that provides information and services to niche markets.
volunteer directory
This is a Web directory staffed primarily by unpaid volunteer editors. Volunteer directories operate under the theory that a little time added by a large number of editors will provide more hours and a greater range of expertise than a relatively small group of paid editors.
VPN
Virtual Private Network
VRML (Virtual Reality Modeling Language)
This is an online programming language for creating three-dimensional programs. Looks pretty, but at current bandwidths it’s VERY slow.
W
WAI
Web Accessibility Initiative
WAIS (Wide Area Information Server)
WAIS, pronounced “ways,” search for data through online gopher databases. Unless you are looking for scientific or technical information, look somewhere else.
walled garden
A group of pages which link to each other, but are not linked to by any other pages.
web 2.0
A term that refers to a second generation of Internet-based services. These usually include tools that let people collaborate and share information online, such as social networking sites, wikis, communication tools.
Web analytics
The measurement, collection, analysis and reporting of Internet data for purposes of understanding and optimizing web usage.
web browser
A web browser is a software application that enables a user to browse the internet. Everything that is produced for the internet must take various Web browsers into consideration, including marketing. Different browsers can have different capabilities and limitations.
web cache
The storage of web documents in order to reduce bandwidth usage, server load and perceived lag.
web crawler
Also known as Spider or Robot, a crawler is a search engine program that “crawls” the web, collecting data, following links, making copies of new and updated sites, and storing URLs in the search engine’s Index. This allows search engines to provide faster and more up-to-date listings.
web design/website design
Is the selection and assembling of components to create the structure and layout of a Web page. Web design has a huge impact on Web marketing efforts it determines how visitors get to the site (SEO), how long they stay there (site stickiness), whether visitors are likely to return (repeat visitors), and how often visitors take the desired reaction – usually to buy or register (conversion rate).
web developer
A software developer or software engineer who is specifically engaged in the development of World Wide Web applications, or distributed network applications that are run over the HTTP protocol from a web server to a web browse.
web directory
The terms “Web directory” and “search engine” are often taken to mean the same thing, but Web directories are organized Web site listings put together by human reviewers, whereas search engine listings are put together by automated. However, some search engines have incorporated directory features to assist with categorization and site quality.
web form
Tool which allows a user to enter data that is sent to a server for processing.
web host
Internet hosting service that allows individuals and organizations to make their own website accessible via the World Wide Web
webisode
an episode of a television show that airs initially as an Internet download or stream as opposed to first airing on broadcast or cable television
web page
A HTML (Hypertext markup Language) document on the web, usually one of many together that makeup a web site.
web portal
a point of access to information on the World Wide Web, portals present information from diverse sources in an unified way
web ring
A web ring is a means for navigating a group of related sites by going forward and backward. Anyone can create a web ring on about any topic. After creating a ring, the ring owner is responsible for attracting and approving applicants. Approved sites become part of the web ring navigational structure. The first web ring system, and still the most popular, was webring.org (now part of Yahoo!).
web site
The virtual location for an organization’s presence on the World Wide Web, usually making up several web pages and a single home page designated by a unique URL.
web site traffic
This is the number of visitors and visits a Web site receives.
web site usability
This is the ease with which visitors are able to use a Web site. Web site usability isn’t simply making sure everything on the site works, but also how easily visitors are able to get what they want out of the site. Usability is important for marketers because of its potential impact on conversion rates, which in turn affect profitability.
webinar
An abbreviation of “web-based seminar”, a webinar is a workshop or lecture delivered over the Internet, either one-way or with some interaction among participants. Webinars are primarily used for generating sales leads or training a large number of people in various locations.
webmaster
The individual assigned to administering a corporation or organization’s web site. This person lays out the information trees, designs the look, codes HTML pages, handles editing and additions and checks that links are intact. In addition, he or she monitors, routes and sometimes responds to email generated by the site
web syndication (RSS)
A form of syndication in which website material is made available to various sites.
website audit
Analysis of a website’s online visibility and effectiveness resulting in the identification of problem areas that negatively affect site traffic and assessment of a website’s user experience.
white hat SEO
Ethical SEO techniques used to boost a website’s search rankings. Considered white hat SEO are internal linking, reciprocal linking and content creation.
whitelist
A list of accepted items or persons in a set as opposed to a blacklist.
Whois
A tool that gives ownership information about second-level domains. This often includes the name and address of the registrant, administrative contact, technical contact, billing contact, creation date, expiration date, and domain servers
widget
A widget is a live update on a website, webpage, or desktop. Widgets contain personalized neatly organized content or applications selected by its user.
Wikipedia
A multilingual, web-based, free content encyclopedia project. Wikipedia is written collaboratively by volunteers from all around the world. With rare exceptions, its articles can be edited by anyone with access to the Internet, simply by clicking the edit this page link. Since its creation in 2001, the name Wikipedia is a portmanteau of the words wiki (a type of collaborative website) and encyclopedia.
wiki
A web application that allows users to add content, as on an Internet forum, but also allows anyone to edit the content. Wiki also refers to the collaborative software used to create such a website
Wordnet
A lexical database of English words which can be used to help search engines understand word relationships.
WordPress
Popular open source blogging/website software platform, offering both a downloadable version and a hosted solution. WordPress has become the platform of choice for internet marketers because of its adaptability, ease of use, and easy customization.
WordPress Themes
These are the designs that you can apply to your WordPress site to customize it. There are thousands of themes available for free download via WordPress, but to have some individuality, it is best to pay for one. They are not expensive.
Wordtracker
Feature rich paid keyword research tool which collects data from a couple popular meta search engines, like Dogpile.
WWW (World Wide Web)
The web allows computer users to access information across systems around the world using URLs to identify files and systems and hypertext links to move between files on the same or different systems. The web is a client/server information system that supports the retrieval of data in the form of text, graphics and multimedia in a uniform HTML format. Allowing hypertext links and interactivity on an unprecedented level, its introduction transformed a sleepy, academic communications system into a powerful marketing tool linking businesses and customers around the world.
WYSIWYG
What you see is what you get. A type of editor used for creating web pages, it allows you to type in data as you would with a word processor, while it converts the material to HTML in the background. Makes building websites easy for non-geeks!
W3/ W3C
World Wide Web Consortium. The W3C, or World Wide Web Consortium, is a standards body dedicated to ensuring interoperability between all the varied system and network types that comprise the World Wide Web part of the Internet. The W3C log format is commonly used by several web server software systems, such as Microsoft IIS.
X
Xenu Link Sleuth
Popular free software for checking a site for broken internal or external links and creating a sitemap
XHTML
Extensible HyperText Markup Language is a class of specifications designed to move HTML to conform to XML formatting
XML
XML stands for Extensible Markup Language which is a set of codes that is readable by machines like search engine bots or spiders. It is the preferred language of search engine crawlers when viewing the sitemap of a webpage.
Y
Yahoo!
Internet portal company which was started with the popular Yahoo! Directory.
Yahoo! Answers
Free question asking and answering service which allows Yahoo! to leverage social structures to create a bottoms up network of free content
Yahoo! Directory
One of the original, most popular, and most authoritative web directories,
Yahoo! Search Marketing
Yahoo!’s paid search platform, formerly known as Overture.
Yahoo Slurp
Yahoo web crawler
YouTube
Feature-rich amateur (and increasingly professional) video upload and syndication website. Very popular with online marketers who are able to create their own ‘channels’ within the framework. Once a video is uploaded here you are able to copy a code provided and embed it in your website.
Z
Zine
Magazines that are published digitally, rather than on paper. Some are mainstream, others are oddball and cover almost every topic imaginable
Z-Index
Using the z-index property of CSS allows you to better control positioning of overlapping elements. This element is sometimes used for black hat SEO purposes.