SCHOOL OF TERMS AND GLOSSARY



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Every business we have ever been associated with has its own "jargon", and buzz words.  As irritating as that can be at times, it is a fact.  You must speak the same language in order to integrate yourself into the community of people you are working with.  This holds true with delving into the community of people spending hours, and hours, in the comfort of their home on the Internet.  So, in order for you to enjoy your experience online more, and for you to feel more comfortable talking with others in the community of on-line marketing players, on this page we have listed all the key buzz words and definitions we believe will be of assistance to you now and in your future online endeavors. Read on and you too will soon be a great "netpreneur" and speaking like a long-term netizen!

Absolute URL:
A Complete path, or address, of a file on the Internet.  Sometimes called a complete URL.

Ad Copy:
Ad copy is the actual text that makes up the content of your message or advertisement. On the Web, an ad is almost always in banner form, a graphic image of a designated size that, for a fee, is displayed on one site to drive traffic to another site.

Ad-Friendly:
This term describes chat rooms, message boards or classified advertisement boards that accept advertising.

Ad Rotation:
The regular alteration o banner ads that appear on a Web page at any given moment.  This is usually done automatically by a software program on the hosting Web site or through a third-party syndicator.

Ad Space: Reserved for ads on a Web page; usually in a margin.

Ad View: Usually full view without scrolling on a Web page and synonymous with ad impression (appearance of an ad) i.e. link / banner.

Address:
An address is a code or series of letters, numbers and or symbols by which the Internet identifies you or a location where information is stored. Through the use of addresses, people can send you e-mail, look at your Web site, and send or receive files and documents.

Affiliate / Bounty / Multi-Affiliate / Sub-Affiliate:
Merchant Partner site that generates a sale, a sales lead, or some other user action by including links to promote the products or services of another.  In exchange, the affiliate receives a commission, flat fee, or other incentive for all valid transactions it refers.  No money has to be paid to collect commissions

Bounty Program / Flat Fee Program ~ Pays affiliates a predetermined flat fee for every new visitor the affiliate delivers.

Multi-Affiliate ~ Refers to commission payments paid on more than one level / or tier in an affiliate program of referrals.  Compensation may vary from credits to cash and variable percentages. No money paid to qualify for commissions.

Sub-Affiliate ~ Affiliates, affiliate in a multi-tier program or to multiple accounts at multiple Web sites owned by one affiliate.

Affiliate Solutions Providers:
Enable affiliates to review and join prescreened affiliate programs and manage their participation in such programs.

Alias:
An e-mail address that has no Inbox of its own, however works as a forwarding address.

Applet:
A client-side program, such as a Java applet, that is dowloaded from the Internet and executed in a Web browser.

ASCII ~ American Standard Code for Information Interchange: 
A file type that contains standard text characters such as data.  Sometimes called "DOS text" files, or "Plain text" files.

Attachment:          
A file attached to an Email i.e. such as a graphics file, word-processing / spreadsheet file.

Auction:
Auction ~ Bid Increments
When placing a bid on an item, your bid must be higher than the current high bid. All bids increase at a level determined by the starting bid price set by the seller.

Auction ~ Dutch Auction
An auction in which multiple identical items are offered for sale at the same time. With multiple items up for sale, multiple bidders can win. Also, one bidder can try to buy more than one quantity. All winning bidders pay the lowest successful bid amount.

Auction ~ English Auction
An auction in which there is only one item up for sale. English auction are also known as standard auctions.

Auction ~ Escrow
An escrow service works as a go-between for sellers and buyers. The service works like this:
1. A seller posts item on auction
2. A buyer successfully bids and wins auction
3. The seller and the buyer contact each other, usually via e-mail
4. Buyer deposits the item's purchase price with the escrow service
5. The escrow service contacts the seller
6. The seller ships item to buyer
7. The buyer receives item.
8. The escrow service releases the money to seller.
9. The escrow service takes a small commission.

Auction ~ Internet
An Internet auction is an auction conducted online. Auctions are handled by interactive sites that allow for the buying and selling of products either through direct business to business (B2B) or consumer to consumer (C2C) interaction and transaction.

Auction ~ Proxy Bidding
With this feature, you can enter the maximum amount you're willing to pay and our software will automatically bid up to this amount. All proxy bids are kept confidential and eOrbis.com will use only as much of your maximum bid as is necessary to maintain your position as high bidder.

Auction ~ Repost Automatically
This option enables you to repost your item automatically if it does not sell within the timeframe you selected. Automatic reposting is free.

Auction ~ Reserve Price
The reserve price is the lowest price at which a seller is willing to sell an item. The seller sets a "Starting Price" and allows buyers to drive up the price by placing bids. The seller is not obligated to sell the item unless a bid reaches the reserve price.

Auction ~ Starting Price
All bidding for an item begins at this price set by the seller. Any bid below this amount will not be accepted.

Example:

Auto-Responders / Infobot / Mailbot ~ EMail-On-Demand:
Automatic reply mail sent in response to an inquiry without your intervention.  Similar in concept to FAX-On Demand. 

B2B: (Business to Business):
Many Web sites are focusing on B2B solutions, for example, creating sites that cater to a vertical market such as automotive. These sites are for businesses (think wholesale) and only other businesses can access or buy products on the site.
 
B2C: (Business to Consumer):
This term describes the hundreds of e-commerce Web sites that sell goods directly to you and me. Think "retail".  Retailing is sometimes called "e-tailing" and practiced by "e-tailers".

Bandwidth / Broadband:
Bandwidth ~ Refers to a network connection's maximum capacity for carrying data traffic.  For instance the size of the email you generate is dependant upon the "Bandwidth" capacity of your Internet provider.  A Web page containing many graphics will consume more bandwidth than one containing only text.

Banner:  Usually refers to an inline image displayed at the top of a Web page, and usually replacing the Heading. Most common is 468 x 60 pixels, and a hyperlink image (GIF format usually) found in the margin or other advertising space on a Web page.  Some banners are animated, some are static and come in a variety of shapes and sizes.



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Brand / Branding / Co-Branding:
Brand ~ The process of creating, communicating, and disseminating the brand into public awareness. Brand awareness is the degree to which consumers recognize or remember a brand.  Brands have a unique identity of a product, service, concept, or other commercial entity. i.e. logo, colors, style, perceptions, taglines.

Co-Branding ~ On the Web, usually refers to two or more companies displaying their logos/brands together.  Viewers usually consider the site or feature to be a joint venture.  Typically, the affiliate logo is placed in a frame at the top of the Web page (http://www.crosscommerce.com)

Brick-And-Mortar / Click-And-Mortar:
Brick-and-Mortar ~ Little or no Web presence.  Traditional, physical, as opposed to digital, structures and vehicles - factories, warehouses, trucks, and retail outlets.

Click-and-Mortar ~ A hybrid between Web-based and traditional (Brick-and-Mortar) businesses.

Broadband:  A network with high bandwidth; greater than 256Kbps.

Baud:          
This is the number of bits (bps-bits per second/ Kbps - Kilobits) of data that a modem can transfer per second.  It equals the number of transitions made per second in either voltage or frequency changes.  One baud = one signal per second.

BBS ~ Bulletin Board System: 
Many are Websites without pictures, however, some allow banner uploads.  Great place to gain attention for FREE as to what you do / or are promoting simply by posting messages using an E-Mail format! Be sure to always leave your Signature File!

Binary:          
Not to be confused with a "Binary" compensation plan.  This is a file type in the form of pure data; not text, that needs to be converted to image, sound or application. 

BinHex: 
A Macintosh file format for converting binary files into ASCII for Emailing. 

Bit: 
A binary unit.

Blurb:
This is the term for ad copy that exceeds 48 characters (letters or symbols) usually used as advertising text.

Bookmark (Favorite Places-AOL):          
Browser tool used to MARK your "Favorite Places" on the Web without having to type in what in some cases can be a l-o-n-g website address.  Can also refer to a named location in a Web page that serves as the target of a hyperlink.

Bounce:          
Relates to EMail that gets bounced back due to an undeliverable error.  i.e. wrong address, system down etc.

Browsers:          
Browsers translate HTML (see HTML) into a format which enables you to see what you do on your screen; view, download, upload, surf or otherwise access document (pages) on the World Wide Web.  They also make it possible to search through lists or other collections of information links making simple information access in an organized manner.  Just because you are signed onto the Internet does not automatically mean you can access Websites.  You need a browser (EXAMPLE: MicroSoft Explorer, NetScape) i.e. Browsers translate the website language (see HTML) at a website into the graphical images, text, and Hyper-Text Links that you see on your screen.  The good news is most browsers are FREE with your Internet service, or at least on a trial basis. 

C2C / Consumer to Consumer:
Quasi-consumers as they have no middle business people.  Web-based auction and lassified ad sites are an example i.e. eBay and Classifieds2000.

CGI ~ Common Gateway Interface:
Standard for interfacing external applications with information servers, such as HTTP or Web Servers.  "Commercial" Gateways include American Online, CompuServe, and Prodigy.

Chat Room:
A chat room is a site on the World Wide Web where any number of computer users can type in messages to each other (chat) in real time, creating an online conversation.

C / I Ratio / O/C Ratio:
C/ I Ratio ~ Clicks per impression, or click-through rate.

O/ C Ratio ~ Orders per click (Conversion Rate)

Click / Click-Through:
Interacting with a link / linked banner by clicking on it.  Click-through rates are a good measure of an ad's / or link's effectiveness.

Click-Rate:
The number of clicks on a link / ad as a percentage of the number of times that the ad was seen/impressions. i.e. 1 out of 20 click-throughs.

Click Program / Pay-Per-Click:
Affiliates are paid a small amount of money for each individual visitor they drive to a merchant's site, whether the visitor makes a purchase or not.

Client / Server:
Client ~ In computer context, this means an individual's computer and the software it uses to get information from a server computer. 

Server ~ Any computer that stores information and allows outside users to get copies of that information.

Clip:
Bundle of affiliated products or services (http://www.clip2.com)

Clip Art:
The term originates from printed sheets of commonly used images that were printed and then literally clippe out and pasted into an ad, magazine, or newspaper layouts.  In the broader sense, refers to any image that is inserted into a web page design.

Code:
i.e. HTML code / markup language.  In reference to affiliates this refers to online tools that provide them with the lines of code they need to add affiliate links to their Web pages and / of clips.  Affiliates simply copy the appropriate code and pasteit into their own HTML pages.

Commissions  / Compensation:
Commission rates vary from merchant to merchant.  Technically, flat fees to multiple levels / percentage of sales generated by the sale of a product or service. Flat fee (Pay-Per-Click/ Pay-Per-Lead/ Pay-Per-View/ Surf Affiliate Models) programs are a predetermined amount usually provided for every visitor sent to a merchant's site.

Component:
Usually used in relation to a built-in object inserted into a Web page that can be evaluated and executed when a page is saved, published, or browser.

Compression / Zip - Unzip:          
Often called "Zip" software, with the purpose of transmitting information quickly, or taking up less disk space.  It compresses files into smaller data.  When you "Unzip", what you are doing is "uncompressing" a compressed file. 
See: http://www.tucows.com (Compression Software).

Comment:
A means of inserting text; usually web designer notes, io the body of an HTML Web page file that will NOT be displayed in a browser... no one can see them.

Conversion Rate:
Usually prequalified vs random visitors to a merchant's site who actually make a purchase duing that visit.

Cookie:
Many affiliate programs use cookies to track referrals.  These are stored by a Web server on a client system, and used to enable customization of Web content.  When a user return to the same Web site, the browser send a copy of the cookie back to the server.  They are necessary for repeat-visit and multipage processes, such as using a shopping cart.  Ad rotation software uses cookies to determine which ad the user has just seen to nsure that a different ad will be rotated into the next pageview.

CPM / Cost Per Thousand Ad Impressions:
Measures pricing and selling ads on Web sites.

Example:  Ad Site Charges $10 = 1 cent each time a person views the advertiser's banner ad.

Cracker / Hacker:
Cracker ~ A person who enjoys breaking into others computer system.  Some, there "mission" ~ Seek and Destroy!!!! 

Hacker ~ Sophisticated computer user who spends most of their life on their computer.

Cross-Posting:          
Transmitting the same message to multiple bulletin boards, Newsgroups or discussion lists.  Not a good idea unless you want irate newsgroup users sending you hate mail / flames (See Flames & Flamers).

Cross-Sell:
A good example would be a Grocery Store displaying salsa next to ships.  In other words displaying related or additional products to a prospect / customer who has already exhibited interest in a particular product type.
.dll Files:
Dynamic Link Libraries (.dll files)

Directory:
A directory is best thought of as the table of contents of all files contained on or in a specific section of a computer disk. A directory often shows file name, file size, date and time created, file type, and author. Directories are sometimes called folders.

Discussion Group:
An interactive Web site that allows visitors to post discussion articles, reply to previous articles, search articles, or browse discussion threads from a table of contents. Often associated with newsgroups, they can also take the form of interactive message boards, thread message forums, and e-mailing lists.

Disintermediation:
Disintermediation ~ Example: Hewlett Packards direct sell Web site.  It circumvents its traditional resellers / removes those that previously filled intermediary roles between manufacturer and consumers.

Intermediation ~ Intermediary between two other parties. i.e. between manufacturers and consumers. (Distributors, Value-Added Resellers, and Retailers).

Domain Name / INTERNIC / URL:          
Domain Name ~ Similar in some ways as giving your business a "company" name to establish presence.  It usually consists of a sequence of names or words separated by a dot(s). 


INTERNIC ( Internet Network Information Center) ~ This is the organization that controls all Domain Names with.  Universal Resource Locator (See URL):  The naming or "addressing" system thatlocates a particular site on the World Wide Web (WWW).


Download / Upload:          
Download ~ The transferring of a file from one computer to another computer.  This could be from a Client Server, or from an EMail friend / business associate. The reverse process of upload. 

Upload ~ Now that you have downloaded a file to your computer, you will want to "upload" so you may view it, or make it accessible for others to view.

EMail / Bulk EMail / Direct Email / Email Address:          
Electronic Mail ~ The sending and receiving of mail from one computer to another.
          
Bulk Email ~ Targeted or mass E-Mail usually addressed to an end user of the Internet.  Today's sophisticated software enables searching out email addresses of end users that fit specific demographics that you establish as criteria to send your Bulk Email to. 

Direct Email ~ This is a mild form of "Direct" EMail like the "enzine" (newsletter) advertising for the purpose of bringing in qualified leads.  The people mailed are those that have "requested" commercial Email. 

Email Address ~ Also called the Domain Address, or the User Name, it allows the transmission of messages from one computer to another.

E-Mail Link ~ In reference to marketing it normally is one that is setup with an auto-responder, for subscribing to a newsletter, or additional information.  Affiliates use these to place links in e-mail to  a merchant site that will direct users to specific products / services.

E-Commerce:
Quite simply e-commerce means conducting business online. It is now possible to do this electronically thanks to software programs that run the main functions of an e-commerce Web site, such as product display, online ordering, and inventory management. The software works in conjunction with online payment systems to process payments and resides on a commerce server.

E-Merchants / E-Tailers (Retailers):
Those selling products / services directly through their Web site and target end consumers as opposed to other businesses (e-tailers).

E-Shelf:
A CrossCommerce.com (http://www.crosscommerce.com) feature deliving real-time product information.  Affiliate hand-pick products and have prices updated automatically.

DPI (Dots Per Inch):
Used in combination with the number of pixels in an image to determine the size of an image.  For instance, and image scanned at 75 DPI will be smaller than the same image scanned at 150 DPI.

E-Zines:          
Zine is short for magazine.  The "E" is of course for electronic.  The mark of a true E-zine is that it's published by a small group whose primary goal is to do something worthwhile and interesting, not to make a lot of money i.e. E-Mail Newsletters.

FAQ ~ Frequently Asked Questions: 
The best way to learn is by the experience of others And these are usually in a special area.  You can consider them a shortcut to what others before you have had questions about or had trouble with.  A very handy tool that will save you time!

Firewalls:          
Special computer setup that is supposed to prevent intruders from accessing, stealing, or destroying confidential files.  Note:  A lot of "crackers" get a pleasure out of breaking through these.

Flames / Flamers:          
Flame ~ An angry email reply from somebody who does not agree with you.  Usually in response to someone's having broken the rules of netiquette.

Flaming ~ To flame someone is to send nasty or insulting messages,

Flamers ~ Those individuals who think you have broken one of the Internet rules.  Expect some flames, there are alot of idiots with nothing else better to do.  DO NOT create a "flame war" by responding to a "flamer".  It is a waste of time, energy and emotion!!!!!

Forum:
A forum is an online discussion group. Online services and bulletin board services (BBS) provide a variety of forums, in which participants with common interests can exchange open messages. Forums are sometimes called newsgroups (in the Internet world) or conferences.

Freeware / Shareware:          
Freeware ~ Software that is totally FREE via FTP (See FTP) on the Internet. 

Shareware ~ This is the cousin to "Freeware".  Games, utilities, and other software for your business, home, kids, and so on, that you can download for FREE!!! unless you decide to keep it.  This "try-before-you-buy" approach to merchandising is a great deal, and not one you're likely to find with most other merchandisers.  The "honor" system at work, so play fair. 
Go to:

Frames:
An extension to HTML, and pioneered by Netscape that has since been incorporated into  HTML 4.0 that allows multiple HTML documents to be displayed at the same time in separate frame windows within a Web page. Not recommended as some browsers cannot view correctly.

FTP / HTTP:
File Transfer Protocol ~ This is a standardized method, or set of rules you can use to upload / or download files, documents or programs stored on computers around the globe without having established an Internet account at the site.  If CAPS are used, you type CAPS, if "lower case" is used as part of the site address, you use "lower case." 

HyperText Transfer Protocol ~ Using a Web browser, and a set of rules, this protocol enables you to access documents / or a website simply by typing an Internet address on your computer.

General Message:
This term describes a message that you leave in a chat room, message board or classified section that is nonspecific and subtle.

GIFS / JPEG / MPEG:          
Graphic Interface File (*.gif) ~ Includes pictures of, 'cartoon' characters, and animated graphics.  Developed by Comp Serve.  Each image can include up to 256 colors, tranparency, interlacing, and multiple frames (GIF Animation).

Gif Animation ~ A GIF-format image file containing multiplmages that cumulatively create an animation.
          
Joint Photographic Experts Group (*.jpeg) ~ May also refer to the graphic file format named after the group.  These images can vary with the degree of compression used. 

MPEG (*.mpeg) ~ The counterpart for movies. 

BMP (*.bmp) ~ A bitmapped graphics file.

Header:          
The top part of an Email (Header Packet), or newsgroup message that shows where the message came from (Source) when it was posted, and the destination addresses.  The header in this case proceeds the body of the message. Headers are also the TITLE you give your classified ad to capture  "viewer" interest.

Hits:          
HITS are something we all want to have happen, as this means our website / webpage is getting lots of potential consumer attention that hopefully will result in a new customer for us.

Hit Counter:
As the name implies, a hit counter counts the number of "hits" to a Web page.  Each visit to a Web page is a hit.

Home Page / Front Page:
Automatically displayed when a Web site or Web folder in a Web site is accessed in a Web browser.  The homepage is where the site's information actually begins.

Host:          
Your HOST is what enables you to take advantage of Internet services 24/hours a day.  Hosts (Web Server) have more capability and storage space than an ordinary computer.

Hover Button:
A Web site navigation button that can display visual effects and play sound effects when the mouse passes over the button.

HTML ~ HyperText Markup Language / Dynamic HTML: 
Various means of providing dynamic content that respond interactively to user actions, such as producing on-the-fly Web pages, starting and stopping animations etc. Standard, glorified wordprocessor that uses "tags" to format and define the text (heading, paragraphs, lists, links and graphics), and other HyperText components for publishing your Web page on theWorld Wide Web. i.e.  In order to create italics text for example type (<I>), your text verbiage, and end it with (</I>), or BOLD(<B>), and end with (</B>).  A little HTML training can take you a long way.  It is a non-proprietary format, simpler than other publishing formats and can be created and processed in a wide range of tools from simple plain text editors to sophisticated wysiwyg (what you see is what you get) authoring tools.

Hyperenablement:
Out sourcing to a third party who participates in a revenue share.  A compare to offline shopping malls that collect a percentage of sales from retailers in a specific mall.

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HyperText / HyperLinks:          
This is the most efficient manner in which to browse the Internet to-date.  It is a system which allows documents stored on computers to contain links to other documents, and possibly on other computers.  Click sensitive, these links are normally underlined and usually in a different color (i.e. blue) than other text.  By clicking on one of these underlined word(s), you're instantly taken to another screen, page, or website.  Links are being used to go to documents, programs, sound bites, or movies around the world that are stored on thousands of computers.

Incentive (Online):
A reward, typically non-cash i.e. store credits.

Infomediary:
Third party Coordinator / Syndicator / Aggregator of the flow of content created at many sources and distributed to many outlets.

Internet:          
A powerful communications tool that enables a network of "host" computers to be interconnected world wide via high-speed telephone lines.

IP / ISP / TCP:          
Internet Protocol: 
The main Net protocol. 

Internet Service Provider ~ i.e. ITN or others.  The horsepower for the web, and EMail.  ISP's provide Internet Access for users. 

Transmission Control Protocol ~ Method used by computers to talk to each other over the Net.

IRC / Channels ~ Internet Relay Chat: 
These are Virtual areas that you use to communicate with other users in "real time" using keystrokes on your computer. 

JAVA:
Created by Sun Microsystem's. It is object-oriented programming language, designed to create programs that can be run securely on any platform, making it  ideal programming language for the WWW.  Programs need to be small because of bandwidth constraints. Sometimes called "applets".

Keyword:
A word used in a search form, such as at Alta Vista, Google etc.

Link:
A link is text and/or an image area on a Web page that a user can click on to "connect to" or reference another document. There are many possibilities of what that document can be. Most commonly, links are thought of as what connects two Web pages or Web sites.

Login / Logoff:          
You have to "Login" in order to establish a connection to another computer on the Internet.  This usually includes verification of your E-Mail address and a password.  When you leave your service it is termed "logging off."

Loss Leader:
Product / Service priced below the retailer's cost; merchant usually loses money on each unit sold.  These are offered to draw customers into the store with the theory they will also buy enough of other products with large profit margins to make this strategy beneficial.  Concept is merchant will make more money on the whole than if the customer was never stopped by.

Lurking / Watcher:          
Someone who watches Interactive Chats, or newsgroup discussions without actively participating.


Mailing Lists / Discussion Lists:
These are usually a group of people with a common denominator of interests that binds them to each other and whom receive messages by e-mail from one another. Often these are discussion groups, and every message generated by a member of the mailing list is viewed by all other such members. You become a member of a "Mailing List" by simply sending a "Subscribe" Email to the list.

Marketing:
From the Oxford Dictionary: Marketing - the activity or process involving research, promotion, sales and distribution of a product or service. See: Selling (Below).

Merchant:
A person or company that sells products or sevices.

Message Board:
A message board is an area on which you can post messages or advertisements for others in the Internet community to see.

Meta Tag:
A tag in HTML that is used to include meta-information in the header section of an HTML file. A common usage is to nclude descriptions and keyword lists that can be used by search indexes to index a Web Page.

Modem:
This is the hardware device you need in order to translate signals traveling viaphone lines to and from your computer. Without a modem, your computer just doesn't understand these signals and information cannot be exchanged.

Navigaton Bar:
A set of text or button hyperlinks, which link to other pages in a Web site. These normally can be found at the top of the page, left / right side and the bottom.

OEM:
Acronym for original equipment manufacturer. The term originated inthe hardware industry. It is used to refer to a company that produces equipment from components bought from other manufacturers. "To OEM" is theprocess of producing a physical product from the parts made and sold by their original manufacturer(s). For example, your WizBang band laser printer might actually be composed of parts made by Canon, even if Canon's logo appears nowhere on the printer. If the original manufacturer logo appears on the final product, then the arrangemet is usually called co-braned rather than OEM.

Offer:
An offer can include commissions based on a percentage of the sale, a flat fee paid for each impression, or click-through, something more exotic (like noncash incentives), or a combination of these. The details of a merchant's offer are typically provided either by the merchant or by the affiliate solutions provider representing the merchant after an affiliate has been approved to join a merchant's program.

Pageview:
The delivery of a Web page to a user's browser. This is a measure of page delivery only; it does not indicate whether the user actually viewed the page. some users might click through to the next page before the first page finishes downloading, and the firstage would still register as one pageview.

Payment Terms:
The terms agreed to between affiliates and merchants for affiliate compensation, such as flat fee, per-click rate, percentage of sale, and others.

Personal Web Server:
A web server you can install on your local computer, allowing you to publish and test out your web pags locally first, before publishing them to your remote server. Also called a PWS.

Pixel (Picture Element):
Identifies a "point" in a graphic image but also includes bytes that represent its color depth. The number of pixels does NOT determine the size of an image; only the resolution. Size is determined by the DPI (Dots per inch combined with its pixel dimensions.

Portal:
A Web site; usually large, that attempts to provide multiple kinds of content and services to a group of Web users, the objective being to become the starting or key entry point for that group of users. For instance, Women.com is a portal site for women, meaning that women can quickly and easily find any Web resources oriented specifically toward women at the site.

Posting:
A posting is a single message entered into a network communications system or Usenet newsgroup.

Private Offer:
An offer from a merchant that is made only to a particular affiliate or group of affiliates.

Publish:
To transfer your web pages to a server so it may be viewed by others on the WWW.

Push - Pull - Smart Pull:
Push ~ A content distribution model pioneered by PointCast in which the user personalizes a browser and then automatically receives (is "pushed") customized content at some regular interval.

Pull ~ Contrast this with content the user has to go looking for (called "pull"). Due largely to the squandered bandwidth and storage required for content updates-most of which went unseen-the push model has fallen out of favor. the concept of customized automated access to information was resurrected with "my page" features at various portals, using a more economical adaptation called "smart pull", whereby prescreened headlines are pushed but the majority of targeted contnt is not transmitted unless the user clicks on a link.

Smart Pull ~ A content distribution model by which criteria are applied to automatically deliver customized content. Crosscommerce.com's method of delivering, dynamic, criter-based products (such as "today's top-selling golf club") to an affiliate's site in real time is an example of smart pull.

Referral Code:
When you become an Affiliate, you will receive a referral code. This code will allow you to market products/services as your own e-commerce venture.

Revenue Share:
In commission-based agreements, refers to the amount of money each party gets, as negotiated between strategic partners. It is possible for more than two parties to share revenue.

Rotation:
Automated shuffling of banners on a site so that returning visitors don't see the same thing for too long. Under the terms of some merchant affiliate programs, you can choose to rotate all of the banners they provide or you can select only specific banners you want to appear.

Search Box:
A link that allows visitors to perform a search of part or all the the entire inventory of a merchant's site and then clicks Search (or Go, or similar). The user is taken to the merchant's site where a Search Results page displays, containing links to the appropriate places on the merchant's site. This is a good way to provide your visitors direct access to the products they are interested in, thus increasing the likelihood that they will make a purchase.

Search Engines:
A search engine is a program that acts as a card catalog for the Internet. Search engines attempt to index and locate desired information by searching for keywords a user specifies within a web page. The method for finding this information is usually done by maintaining indices of Web resources that can be queried for the keywords entered by a user. These engines are organized by topic, phrases, and also key words... AND they are one of the problems with the Internet today because it isn't always easy to quickly find the content you need.

You MUST submit your site to these search engines specifying the keywords that make up the site so you appear in such searches. One of the best ways to narrow your search results is to search for a phrase. Simply use double quotes to identify the phrase you want to search for. i.e. "Strategic Internet Marketing". That will generate 17 hits, as opposed to the same phrase without quotes that will generate 100,000 hits!!!! Master the use of search engines.

Search Engine / Directory Information & Services: http://www.altavista.digital.com http://www.broadcaster.co.uk http://www.exploit.com http://www.google.com http://www.askjeeves.com http://www.searchenginewatch.com http://www.submit-it.com http://www.yahoo.com (Directory)

Selling:
The process of persuading a prospect to exchange his or her money for your goods or services. It is a part of marketing and an art unto itself (with a bit of science thrown in). And follow-up is vital if you want a repeat customer.

Server:
A host computer or device on a network that manages network resources and holds information. The term server is also used to refer to the software that makes the act of serving information possible. For example, a network server is a computer that manages network traffic. A database server is a computer system that processes database queries.

Signature File - "Sig File":
This term describes a file that, when placed in your home directory on your e-mail program, will automatically be appended to every posting or e-mail letter you write. It appears at the bottom of the message.

Site:
A site is a place on the Internet or World Wide Web. It refers to a body of information as a whole, for a particular domain name. A Web site is a place made up of Web pages.

Smiley's - Emoticons:
Sideways smiles, frowns, and other expressions to indicate an emotion. Users use the left & right parentheses and colon, O's etc. i.e. smile :), or frown :( as a means to express themselves more succinctly since they cannot be heard.

Snail Mail:
Regular on the ground Postal Service mail. Need I say more?

Spamming:
The sending of "unsolicited" bulk E-Mail, or identical and irrelevant postings to many different newsgroups or mailing lists. Usually this posting is something that has nothing to do with the particular topic of a newsgroup or of no real interest to the person on the mailing list. Expect to get "Flames" from annoyed Internet users if you participate in this form of Internet marketing... AND also expect sooner or later for a "Cracker" to go after your hard drive with a malicious vengeance!!!!

Special Offer:
Deals offered to affiliates that are typically linked to a specific promotion; such as a product, a holiday, etc. These deals can be public or private offers that are available for a limited time, at increased commission, for a particular product or products, or a combination of these.

SSL - Encryption:
Secure Socket Layer ~ Safety system to hide your to credit card orders from theives - also used in other "jumbling" systems to protect information.

Encryption ~ The process of transforming information into random streams of bits to create a secret code for data security.

Storefront:
E-commerce-enabled Web pages that are hosted elsewhere (that is, they are not part of your site's URL) and display products for sale, to facilitate transactions. Many affiliate solutions providers enable affiliates to use storefronts that re dynamically updated; however the ability to modify the design of these pages; to match your own site look-and-fell, is quite limited todate.

Storelet:
Prepackaged selections of hand-picked products in a rectangular format that can be dropped onto any affiliate page alongside the affiliate's content; a CrossCommerce.com feature. Like storefronts, storelets automatically receive updated content. Unlike storefronts, storelets reside on your page and can be modified to match your site design.

Targeted:
This term describes a message that you leave in a chat room, message board or classified section that is specific, but does not appear as blatant advertising.

Techies:
This descriptive term is one given to those who are computer savvy.

Template:
A pre-designed page that can contain page settings, formatting, and page elements. You can create your own page templates so that you can create pages for your web quickly and consistently.

Terms of Agreement - Service
An agreement created by a merchant; or its affiliate solutions provider, that describes the contractual obligations of both the merchant and the affiliate for the affiliate program.

Text Link:
A hyperlink www.mlmwatchdog.com pointing to a merchant's site that is not accompanied by a graphical image. Affiliats can use text links rather than graphical links (banners) on their sites. Text links are easy to use, require little space on the page, save download time, enhance usability, and are the most clicked-on types of links available. Text links also enable affiliates to link to a merchant's site from a word or phrase; for example, from within a paragraph of body text.

Theme:
A unified set of design elements and color schemes that can be applied to mutiple Web Pages to give them a common look and feel.

Thumbnail:
A miniature versiof a graphic file (ie photograph). Typically, you click on a thumbnail to see a full-size view of a graphic. Thumbnail save visitors time because they load into the browser more quickly.

Timestamp:
Component that when included in a page will automatically displaythe date and time when the page was last edited or updated.

Tollbar:
A collection of onscreen buttons or icons in a graphical user interface that usually provides shortcuts to menu and other program functions.

Unique Visitor:
A user who enters a Web site for the first time on a given day or some other arbitrary time period; this varies from company to company. Unique visitors are identified by their address (the number assigned to the computer they used to access the Internet); this precludes their being counted twice if they return more than once on the same day or other specified time perio. As a traffic metric, the number of unique visitors is important to site owners, who need to know, for instance, if the latest 100 pageviews comprised 100 people viewing one page each, or one person viewing 100 pages.

Upload:
To copy a file from your computer to a server or host system. The reverse process of download.

Unix:
A multi-user, multitasking operatingsystem originally developed by AT&T Bell Laboratories. The majority of servers on the WWW run Unix, although Windows NT severs are also numerous. A new system Linux is which is a modified version of Unix is becoming very popular.

URL:
URL (Uniform Resource Locater): Absolute A Complete path, or address, of a file on the Internet. Sometimes called a complete URL. URLS are the global addresses of documents and other resources on the World Wide Web.

Username:
A username is a name that gets you access to features available to those who register with a site. A username is like a handle for a user on the Internet and is commonly left up to the user to decide what it is, although most Web sites or systems will NOT allow the same username to be assigned to two different people. Usually your username is the first part of your e-mail address before the @ sign or the nickname you use in a chat room.

Value Chain:
The sequence of involvement of paties in the production and distribution of goods from raw resources to the end consumer *for example: iron ore mining ==> steel manufacturing ==> subassembly manufacturer ==> automobile production ==> car dealership ==> consumer). In theory, each party along the chain takes a percentage of the final sales price, proportionate to the amount of value it adds (or power it wields). the Web has introduced fundamental change to the relative importance of different players on the value chain, allowing, for example, manufacturers to sell direct to end consumers, thereby circumventing traditional channels of distribution. See also, disintermediation and reintermediation.

Virus:
This is a software program that has been specifically created to infect other programs with copies of itself. Practice safe computing by using your own virus checker to make sure anything you download has not been tampered with. A virus can be anything from weird messages flashing on your screen to having your hard drive reformatted.

Virus Checkers:
1) McAfee http://www.mcafee.com 2) Norton http://www.norton.com 3) AVG Anti-Virus (FREE) http://www.grisoft.com/html/us_index.cfm Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.

Visit:
Visitor session at a Web site, regardless of how many pages he or she views during that session. A visit can be a somewhat arbitrary measurement with respect to repeat viewers, in that a period of inactivity must be assigned by the site owners) to define what constitutes a new and distinct visit. For instance, if 30 minutes of inactivity has been assigned as the end of a user session, and a user visits a site, hunts around, takes an hour-long lunch break, and picks up right where he or she left off, then the site's traffic reports will shw this user's activity as two separate visits.

Webmater:
This commonly used and sometimes misused term refers to many different types of individuals involved with a particular Web site. Most correctly it is "the person who maintains, "runs", or "watches over" the content and functionality of a Web site." In other words, he or she is the "all points information person or ambassador" for a Web site.

Web Address:
A site location on the Web. Also see URL.

Web Browswer:
A software program that browses / surfs HTML and other files on the Internet.

Web Page:
These pages can contain dozens or hundred of screens / pages. Offer information and useful articles. Ensure that the content of the site continually changes. Consider a column of hints and tips.

Web Home - Home Page - Index:
Typically contains the hyperlink text to other pages, which in turn contain links to still other pages. Make this page interesting and let it show clearly what the rest of the site contains. An immediate first impression is very important. You may only have ten seconds to obtain your visitor's attention.

Web Ring:
A popular form of relationship whereby a group of Web sites elects to make all of their sites accessible from other sites within the group. By agreeing to place links to some, all, or randomly selected members of the group, sites form a "ring" that is easily navigated by users. Web rings can be big or small, inclusive or exclusive (not every site can join), and are usually made up of sites related by some common theme or topic.

World Wide Web - WWW:
A full-sensory cornucopia of sound, video, graphics, and text. It is actually the Graphic Interface for the Internet. Before the Web was born there weren't any pictures to see, just typed text. Most people use the works... Web and Internet interchangeably but incorrectly! :>)
WWW Domain Name ~ Also known as URL EXAMPLES: http://www.webpilotexplorer.com
Domain Name Registration / Name Availability Check: http://rs.internic.net/cgi-bin/whois


WWW Website Design:
Keep it simple and offer valuable information. Use your picture to sell people (a pleasant one). Content is important. It must have value. Added value is FREE merchandise. i.e. FREE information / reports, FREE newsletter subscription, contests. Create interest and keep it is the "golden rule" here. To accomplish true on-line guerilla marketing you absolutely MUST promote your Affiliate Code. This is the MOST IMPORTANT part of your on-line marketing campaign. It is the way to succeed on-line. Don't just open the doors to "your" Website with your Affiliate Code and wait --- make some house calls!!!! Convert "surfers" into "subscribers". Be a proactive on-line marketeer. <> If doing business internationally, as well as domestic, DO consider creating websites written in other languages for the huge Asian, and Hispanic markets.

WWW Website Host Servers:
WWW Website Host Servers ~ Where your website is hosted. Count on paying anywhere from $10. To $100 a month. Careful now. Make sure your host doesn't charge you too much as your traffic increases. Some do. Also cheapest is not the best.

WYSIWYG:
What You See Is What You Get. Usually refers to Website building software that lets you look at what you are doing just like you where typing. You do not have to know computer programming.

XML - Extensible Markup Language:
It is a programming language designed especially for Web documents. It allows designers to create their own customized tags, enabling the definition, transmission, validation, and intrepretation of data between applications and between organizations.

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Comments, corrections, and additions are all welcomed. Please send an email to: University at mlmconsultant.com Once again type that in your email sender using the @ - This is done so the email scavenger rippers don't vacuum up this email address and fill the University box with spam. That is a cute trick for you to use on your website!!