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Check
internet.com's
database
of
over
3,000
defined
computer-
and
Internet-related
terms
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| Ad
Clicks |
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Number of times
users click on an ad
banner.
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| Ad
Click Rate |
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Sometimes referred
to as
"click-through,"
this is the percentage
of ad views that
resulted in an ad
click.
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| Ad
Views (Impressions) |
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Number of times an
ad banner is
downloaded and
presumably seen by
visitors. If the same
ad appears on multiple
pages simultaneously,
this statistic may
understate the number
of ad impressions, due
to browser caching.
Corresponds to net
impressions in
traditional media.
There is currently no
way of knowing if an
ad was actually
loaded. Most servers
record an ad as served
even if it was not.
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| B2B |
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B2B stands for
"business-to-business,"
as in businesses doing
business with other
businesses. The term
is most commonly used
in connection with
e-commerce and
advertising, when you
are targeting
businesses as opposed
to consumers.
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| Backbone |
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A high-speed line
or series of
connections that forms
a large pathway within
a network. The term is
relative to the size
of network it is
serving. A backbone in
a small network would
probably be much
smaller than many
non-backbone lines in
a large network.
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| Bandwidth |
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How much
information (text,
images, video, sound)
can be sent through a
connection. Usually
measured in
bits-per-second. A
full page of text is
about 16,000 bits. A
fast modem can move
approximately 15,000
bits in one second.
Full-motion
full-screen video
requires about
10,000,000 bits-per-
second, depending on
compression. (See
also: 56K, bit, modem,
T-1)
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| Banner |
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An ad on a Web page
that is usually
"hot-linked"
to the advertiser's
site.
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| Browser
Caching |
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To speed surfing,
browsers store
recently used pages on
a user's disk. If a
site is revisited,
browsers display pages
from the disk instead
of requesting them
from the server. As a
result, servers
under-count the number
of times a page is
viewed.
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| Button |
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Button is the term
used to reflect an
Internet advertisement
smaller than the
traditional banner.
Buttons are square in
shape and usually
located down the left
or right side of the
site.
The IAB
and CASIE
have recognized these
sizes as the most
popular and most
accepted on the
Internet:
| Standard
Internet Ad
Sizes |
| 468
x 60 |
Full
banner |
| 392
x 72 |
Full
Banner/
Vertical
Navigation Bar |
| 234
x 60 |
Half
Banner |
| 125
x 125 |
Square
Button |
| 120
x 90 |
Button
#1 |
| 120
x 60 |
Button
#2 |
| 88
x 31 |
Micro
Button |
| 120
x 240 |
Vertical
Banner |
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| CASIE |
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CASIE stands for
the Coalition for
Advertising Supported
Information and
Entertainment. It was
founded in May of 1994
by the Association of
National Advertisers
(ANA) and the American
Association of
Advertising Agencies
(AAAA) to guide the
development of
interactive
advertising and
marketing.
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| CGI |
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Common Gateway
Interface. An
interface-creation
scripting program that
allows Web pages to
made on the fly based
on information from
buttons, checkboxes,
text input, etc.
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| Click
through |
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The percentage of
ad views that resulted
in an ad click.
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| CPC |
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Cost-per-click is
an Internet marketing
formula used to price
ad banners.
Advertisers will pay
Internet publishers
based on the number of
clicks a specific ad
banner gets. Cost
usually runs in the
range of $.10 -.$20
per click.
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| CPM |
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CPM is the cost per
thousand for a
particular site. A Web
site that charges
$15,000 per banner and
guarantees 600,000
impressions has a CPM
of $25 ($15,000
divided by 600).
For more information
on the average CPM
rates of sites around
the Web, check the Sample
Rate Page, and the
results of the latest AdRelevance
rate card survey.
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| Cyberspace |
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Coined by author
William Gibson in his
1984 novel
"Neuromancer,"
cyberspace is now used
to describe all of the
information available
through computer
networks.
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| Domain
Name |
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The unique name of
an Internet site; for
example
www.cyberatlas.com.
There are six
top-level domains
widely used in the US:
.com (commercial) .edu
(educational),.net
(network operations),
.gov (US government),
.mil (US military) and
.org (organization).
Other, two letter
domains represent
countries; thus; .uk
for the United Kingdom
and so on.
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| DTC |
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DTC stands for
"direct-to-consumer."
The term is commonly
used to denote
advertising that is
targeted to consumers,
as opposed to
businesses. Television
ads, print ads in
consumer publications,
and radio ads are all
forms of DTC
advertising.
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| Hit |
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Each time a Web
server sends a file to
a browser, it is
recorded in the server
log file as a
"hit". Hits
are generated for
every element of a
requested page
(including graphics,
text and interactive
items). If a page
containing two
graphics is viewed by
a user, three hits
will be recorded - one
for the page itself
and one for each
graphic. Webmasters
use hits to measure
their server's work
load. Because page
designs vary greatly,
hits are a poor guide
for traffic
measurement.
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| Host |
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An Internet host
used to be a single
machine connected to
the Internet (which
meant it had a unique
IP address). As a host
it made available to
other machines on the
network certain
services. However
virtual hosting has
now meant that one
physical host can now
be actually many
virtual hosts.
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| HTML |
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HyperText Markup
Language is a coding
language used to make
hypertext documents
for use on the Web.
HTML resembles
old-fashioned
typesetting code,
where a block of text
is surrounded by codes
that indicate how it
should appear. HTML
allows text to be
"linked" to
another file on the
Internet.
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| Hypertext |
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Any text that that
can be chosen by a
reader and which
causes another
document to be
retrieved and
displayed.
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| IAB |
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IAB stands for the
Interactive
Advertising Bureau.
The IAB is a global
nonprofit association
devoted exclusively to
maximizing the use and
effectiveness of
advertising on the
Internet. The IAB
sponsors research and
events related to the
Internet advertising
industry.
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| Internet |
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A collection of
approximately 60,000
independent,
inter-connected
networks that use the
TCP/IP protocols and
that evolved from
ARPANet of the late
'60s and early '70s.
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| Interstitial |
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Meaning in between,
an advertisement that
appears in a separate
browser window while
you wait for a Web
page to load.
Interstitials are more
likely to contain
large graphics,
streaming
presentations, and
applets than
conventional banner
ads, and some studies
have found that more
users click on
interstitials than on
banner ads. Some
users, however, have
complained that
interstitials slow
access to destination
pages.
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| IP
address |
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Internet Protocal
address. Every system
connected to the
Internet has a unique
IP address, which
consists of a number
in the format A.B.C.D
where each of the four
sections is a decimal
number from 0 to 255.
Most people use Domain
Names instead and the
resolution between
Domain Names and IP
addresses is handled
by the network and the
Domain Name Servers.
With virtual hosting,
a single machine can
act like multiple
machines (with
multiple domain names
and IP addresses).
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| IRC |
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Internet Relay Chat
is a worldwide network
of people talking to
each other in real
time.
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| ISDN |
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Integrated Services
Digital Network is a
digital network that
moves up to 128,000
bits-per-second over a
regular phone line at
nearly the same cost
as a normal phone
call.
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| Java |
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Java is a general
purpose programming
language with a number
of features that make
the language well
suited for use on the
World Wide Web. Small
Java applications are
called Java applets
and can be downloaded
from a Web server and
run on your computer
by a Java-compatible
Web browser, such as
Netscape Navigator or
Microsoft Internet
Explorer.
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| Javascript |
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Javascript is a
scripting language
developed by Netscape
that can interact with
HTML source code,
enabling Web authors
to spice up their
sites with dynamic
content.
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| Jump
Page |
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A jump page, also
known as a
"splash
page," is a
special page set up
for visitors who
clicked on a link in
an advertisement. For
example, by clicking
on an ad for Site X,
visitors go to a page
in Site X that
continues the message
used in the
advertising creative.
The jump page can be
used to promote
special offers or to
measure the response
to an advertisement.
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| Link |
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An electronic
connection between
two Web sites (also
called "hot
link").
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| Listserv |
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The most
widespread of mail
lists. Listervs
started on BITNET
and are now common
on the Internet.
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| Log
file |
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A file that lists
actions that have
occurred. For
example, Web servers
maintain log files
listing every
request made to the
server. With log
file analysis tools,
it's possible to get
a good idea of where
visitors are coming
from, how often they
return, and how they
navigate through a
site. Using cookies
enables Webmasters
to log even more
detailed information
about how individual
users are accessing
a site.
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| Newsgroup |
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A discussion
group on Usenet
devoted to talking
about a specific
topic. Currently,
there are over
15,000 newsgroups.
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| Opt-in
e-mail |
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Opt-in email
lists are lists
where Internet users
have voluntarily
signed up to receive
commercial e-mail
about topics of
interest.
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| Page |
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All Web sites are
a collection of
electronic
"pages."
Each Web page is a
document formatted
in HTML (Hypertext
Markup Language)
that contains text,
images or media
objects such as
RealAudio player
files, QuickTime
videos or Java
applets. The
"home
page" is
typically a
visitor's first
point of entry and
features a site
index. Pages can be
static or
dynamically
generated. All
frames and frame
parent documents are
counted as pages.
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| Page
Views |
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Number of times a
user requests a page
that may contain a
particular ad.
Indicative of the
number of times an
ad was potentially
seen, or "gross
impressions."
Page views may
overstate ad
impressions if users
choose to turn off
graphics (done to
speed browsing).
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| RealAudio |
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A commercial
software program
that plays audio on
demand, without
waiting for long
file transfers. For
instance, you can
listen to National
Public Radios entire
broadcast of All
Things Considered
and the Morning
Edition on the
Internet.
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| Rich
Media |
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Rich media is a
term for advanced
technology used in
Internet ads, such
as streaming video,
applets that allow
user interaction,
and special effects.
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| ROI |
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ROI stands for
"return on
investment,"
one of the great
mysteries of online
advertising, and
indeed, advertising
in general. ROI is
trying to find out
what the end of
result of the
expenditure (in this
case, an ad
campaign) is. A lot
depends on the goal
of the campaign,
building brand
awareness,
increasing sales,
etc. Early attempts
at determining ROI
in Internet
advertising relied
heavily on the
click-rate of an ad.
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| Server |
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A machine that
makes services
available on a
network to client
programs. A file
server makes files
available. A WAIS
server makes
full-text
information
available through
the WAIS protocol
(although WAIS uses
the term source
interchangeably with
server).
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| Splash
page |
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See jump
page.
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| Sponsorship |
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Sponsorships are
increasing in
popularity on the
Internet. A
sponsorship is when an
advertisers pays to
sponsor content,
usually a section of
Web site or an e-mail
newsletter. In the
case of a site, the
sponsorship may
include banners or
buttons on the site,
and possibly a tag
line.
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| Sticky |
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"Sticky"
sites are those where
the visitors stay for
an extended period of
time. For instance, a
banking site that
offers a financial
calculator is stickier
than on that doesn't
because visitors do
not have to leave to
find a resource they
need.
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| T-1 |
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A high-speed (1.54
megabits/second)
network connection.
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| T-3 |
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An even higher
speed (45
megabits/second)
Internet connection.
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| TCP |
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Transmission
Control Protocol works
with IP to ensure that
packets travel safely
on the Internet.
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| Unique
Users |
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The number of
different individuals
who visit a site
within a specific time
period. To identify
unique users, Web
sites rely on some
form of user
registration or
identification system.
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| UNIX |
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A computer
operating system (the
basic software running
on a computer,
underneath things like
data bases and word
processors). UNIX is
designed to be used by
many people at once
("multi-user")
and has TCP/IP
built-in. Unix is the
most prevalent
operating system for
Internet servers.
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| Valid
Hits |
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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.
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| Visits |
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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.
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