Freetimers Web Marketing - Glossary

This is Google's brand name for its Pay Per Click (PPC) service.  When you do a search on Google they are shown as 'sponsored links' in the shaded area above the search engine results (the 'natural' or 'organic' listings of the main Google search engine) and in the column on the right.  These are all paid for advertising.

A measurement index created by Majestic which assesses the quantity of in-bound (back) links to a website and its individual pages.  Along with Trust Flow, it is part of Majestic's alternative to Google's Page Rank index.

A 'catch-all' phrase which could include any marketing that is based on engaging with potential customers through providing informative, topical and interesting content.  Can include social media marketing, blogging, content outreach, email marketing and more, perhaps including the website itself.

The process of analysing, amending and improving any marketing material, web page, or other content in order to improve its ability to get the reader to act, usually in the form of making an enquiry, sending an email, making a phone call, sharing information with others, or making a purchase.  CRO can be very sophisticated and is a never-ending process as almost any material can be improved.  Copy, design, grahics, persona targeting, calls to action, user experience (ux) and customer journey all play a part.  CRO can make a huge difference in the performance of any marketing material.

Cost Per Click, used as a basis for much on-line advertising, including Pay Per Click (PPC)

Conversion Rate Optimisation

A measurement index created by Moz as its all-in-one alternative to Google's Page Rank. Domain Authority also has its Page Authority option for individual pages.  Along with the Majestic Trust and Citation Flow indices, DA is amongst the most widely used indexes for SEO purposes, but in tests has been found to track less well against Page Rank than Majestic's measures, although none of them currently represent a fully accurate and predictive alternative to Page Rank.

Google's version of Pay Per Click

Google's website analysis service, a free and pwerful website statistics and anylysis package with a friendly graphical interface and some very useful ratios and other site performance features.

For the last several years Google has been penalising websites which it deems are undertaking unacceptable practices designed to mislead users or to manipulate the results of its search algorithm.  At one point it has been measured at the rate of 60,000 websites per month.  There are two main kinds of penalty, algorithmic and manual.  An algorithmic penalty can range from very mild to severe, resulting in the loss of some ranking positions, and can result from Google simply changing the weightings of various factors in the algorithm.  Usually these can be rectified by fixing the issues that caused the problem with Google.  Manual penalties can range from losses of rank position for single keyword phrases, to across-the-board losses of 50 place (so from position 6 to 56), to complete bans from Google.  Manual penalties can sometimes be recovered from however it is arguable that a site receiving a manual penalty may always be tainted from that point forward.

Google's online business directory, showing local businesses relevant to the search made and based upon the viewer's location and/or IP address.  It has gone through much evolution and while it is currently free to businesses, it is widely expected to eventually  become chargable.

Formerly known as 'Google Base' and free of charge, this is Google's shopping platform and now works on a 'pay per click' basis.  If a website wishes to include its products in Google Shopping, it must provide Google with either a CSV or feed of the products to be added, and in the process meet a number of Google requirements.  Once approved Google will display your products but on click through the shopper will be directed to the relevant product page on the provider's website.

The results actually produced by a search engine, based upon relevancy to the search phrase used, and excluding paid for advertisements

Natural listings on Google rather than PPC

A measurment index invented by Google which assesses the strength, authority and trust level of a website and its individual pages.  An important part of Google's search engine algorithm, it is a major factor in determining where a website will rank in the search results for any given search.  It is still used by Google to this day, however from spring 2016 Google now keeps the index secret.

Pay Per Click is a method of advertising based upon allowing potential advertisers to bid against each other for the best positions.  Advertisers will bid on the price per click through they are prepared to pay when someone clicks on their link and then goes to their website.  There are simple and complex implementations of PPC, and the most well known version is Google Adwords.  One of the main virtues of PPC is that it can be set up very quickly, but because it is based on an auction, costs can be very high, particularly where they is high levels of competition.

Return on Investment

Search Engine Optimisation

Search Engine Results Page

Social Media Marketing, ie marketing yourself on social networking sites like FaceBook, Twitter, Linked In, Google Plus, Pinterest, Instagram, etc.

Social Network Marketing, effectively the same as SMM, Social Media Marketing

An online platform, public or private, where most of the content is generated by the users themselves, and where this content can be shared with others. Facebook, Twitter, Google+, You Tube, Linked In, Pinterest, and Instagram are all well known examples, but there are many more.

A Pay Per Click advertising service offered on a social media platform.  These can be very sophisticated and allow for very precise targeting by person type, age, sex and also can be delivered where there is relevant content in the social media account or postings.  Timings can also be precisely determined.

A measurement index created by Majestic which looks at the level of authority and trust a website and its individual web pages have accumulated, and which can potentially be passed to other sites it links to.  It represents an alternative to Google's Page Rank although it focusses on specific aspects of this only.  Majestic has another measure called 'Citation Flow' and the two measures are often used in conjunction with each other.