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Internet Marketing and SEO Glossary of Terms

Knowledge is power because the more you know, the more you can make informed decisions. This old adage holds true when it comes to employing a successful Internet Marketing Strategy where it pays to know what the different Search Engine Optimization (SEO) components are, what they mean and how to use them to your business advantage.



Search Engine Optimization Glossary of Terms

Black Hat SEO: Black hat is computer slang likened to the bad guy wearing a black hat in an old cowboy movie. When used in conjunction with SEO, it refers to techniques aimed at redirecting search results to certain target Web pages in a way that violates search engines' terms of service.

Body Text: The body text is the copy on your Web page that is viewable by people visiting your site. The first sentence of the body text is important because search engines use this copy for key word alignment, and visitors to your site read this copy to quickly assess what your site is about.

Click Fraud: A form of Internet abuse that involves Pay per Click advertising where a person, automated script or computer program causes an ad to be repeatedly clicked on, which then generates a cost to the advertiser without a genuine interest in the message of the ad.

Document Title: (See Meta Title Tag)

Internet Marketing: Also referred to as eMarketing, Web Marketing or Online Marketing, Internet Marketing refers to a strategy for marketing products, services and information through the Internet. Because the Internet offers access to global audiences at no cost, Internet Marketing can be a cost-effective strategy for building a small business brand, expanding customers and increasing revenues.

Keywords: Keywords in the context of SEO refer to specific words that most optimally describe your business, service or main website focus. Meta keywords are used to be indexed by search engines as part of determining how to rank the website. Today, keywords are mainly important to the website content on the Web page itself and should be chosen based on their appropriateness in terms of adequately describing the website content and targeting the content to the right audience.

Keyword Stuffing: Keyword stuffing is considered an unethical practice for maximizing search engine Web page rankings and visibility for particular keyword phrases. This method is completely outdated and adds no value to rankings today particularly where Google no longer provides good rankings to Web pages that employ this technique.

Link Farms: Link farms refer to a group of websites populated with links that point to each other. These sites may be created individually or using automated programs and services. This technique is intended to improve the website ranking among search engines, yet is considered a form of spamming. Many search engines check for link farms and will remove websites from their indexes that employ these techniques.

Meta Description: A Meta Description is a Meta element in the website code that specifies the Web page description. This description will often appear in the description that a search engine publishes when returning your page in response to a key word search.

Meta Keywords: (See Keywords)

Meta Tags: Meta tags refer to HTML or XHTML elements in the code behind a Web page. Meta elements such as key word, description and title tags serve different functions in terms of optimizing the Web page for indexing by search engines.

Meta Title Tag: A Title Tag is a Meta element in the website code that specifies the Web page title that will appear in the browser tab when the page is loaded.

Search Engine: A search engine is an Internet tool used to search for information on the Web. Search engines operate using an algorithm or a combination of algorithm and human input.

Search Engine Spam: (See Spamdexing)

Search Spam: (See Spamdexing)

Spamdexing: Spamdexing refers to a combination of spamming and indexing that is aimed at manipulating the relevancy or prominence of a Web page when indexed by a search engine. Many search engines check for instances of spamdexing and will remove Web pages from their indexes that employ these techniques.

URL: Uniform Resource Locator or URL, refers to your website domain name and extension. For example, www.yoursite.com is a URL.

Web Crawler: A web crawler is a computer program that crawls the Web in a specific, methodical and automated manner in order to support Search Engine rankings and improve the speed of Web page returns.

White Hat SEO: White hat is computer slang likened to the good guy wearing a white hat in an old cowboy movie. When used in conjunction with SEO, it refers to techniques aimed at optimizing search results to certain target Web pages in a way that complies with search engines' terms of service.

About Your Educational Champion

YouCanBeFound "YouCanbeFound is a service of The SEO Helpdesk that specializes in delivering Search Engine Optimization (SEO) services to small and medium-sized businesses. While adhering to Search Engine Marketing Professionals Organization (SEMPO) strict code of ethics, YouCanbeFound advances Website rankings consistent with search engine requirements and policies to provide clients with big business results at small business budgets."

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Note: This information has been compiled by FERAD for educational purposes only in order to convey a general overview of the options and related services available to small businesses in the subject areas introduced. Content is provided on an "as is" basis and is not intended to be an exhaustive representation, nor does it provide advice or create a customer relationship between FERAD, buzgate.org, its affiliates and any other organization named herein, and any reader.
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